Monster Party Prototype
March 2023 – April 2023
Freelance Project
Overview of Monster Party Development
Monster Party is a nostalgic game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). During the development of the prototype, I faced difficulties in implementing the collider, child, and rigid body systems. This marks my initial foray into remaking classic retro games. During development, I played the Monster Party game while recreating the levels by mirroring the screen content in the Unity game engine, including the player, monsters, items, bosses, and more.
Monster Party Level Setup
I concentrated on levels 1 and 2, dedicating time to memorising the level structure, including boss placements, enemy types, item locations, and other details. For the game’s development in the Unity engine, I focused solely on creating level 1 similar to the SNES version as provided by the client. This project is known as the remake of Monster Party SNES for the Unity engine, utilising components from that game.
Monster Party Sprite Setup
According to the project’s requirements, the client provided a link to the sprite sheet I utilised with software tools like GIMP for slicing before exporting it for the Unity sprite system.I discovered that the sprites from the website might have licensing issues I was unaware of, as this was part of a game project test for the client. Unfortunately, I mistakenly used resources from that website.
Monster Party Mechanics Setup
I implemented mechanics where monsters and bosses drop items upon loss to the player. Levels usually respawn the normal minions after they are lost in battle. This allows players to earn scores for defeating them. Most monsters possess unique attacks, hit points, speed, and movement attributes, while bosses have distinct gameplay systems but share some similarities with enemies and other bosses.
Monster Party Collisions Setup
During development, I was unaware of the 2D platformer effector component, which can disable collisions when jumping from below the collider’s ground. Instead of using that component, I disabled the collision filter during player jumps and adjusted velocity for one-off collisions while not jumping. Consequently, no collisions occurred after the player jumped. One mechanic I integrated involved players being knocked back when struck by an enemy or boss in the opposite direction. After some time, collisions with the enemy cease.
Monster Party Animations Setup
The sprite colours transition from red to orange repeatedly before returning to the original colour. In certain levels or areas, the scene transforms into a horror theme by disabling the old level and activating the horror version. I successfully delivered the project after modifying the animated objects and sprites in the Monster Party game, introducing new players and monsters instead of using the original sprites.
Challenge in Development
I also faced challenges with animated object sprites, which aligned with my religious beliefs. Consequently, I edited the images to ensure they did not appear lively in the game, reflecting my personal perspective of good or truth. The game functioned well before the final delivery. I also incorporated sound and music that could be adjusted while the game’s main screen played, similar to the classic version of Monster Party on SNES.
Monster Party Gameplay
This sprite needs to be set up to create the prototype of Monster Party. Those sprites contain a player character, player transformations, levels, items, and bosses. I use Unity Sprite Editor to split those into a single sprite, and whenever that does not work correctly, I use the Krita software to fix the sprites
Monster Party Boss Fight
The sprites consist of different animations and characters. Mainly featuring boss enemies for use in the game and the main menu of the scene. Some of the sprite-like pumpkin and flower types appear on the level 1 boss. After the player enters the room, they can’t go back out. Boss enemies usually drop key items, scores, transformations, or randomisation from those 3 keys.
Main Menu Interface
This is the main menu of the sprite for the main screen. Different bosses can be used to animate inside the screen
Monster Party Development Conclusion
After the final delivery, I ultimately failed to secure another project with the client, and I believe I last reached out to her then. That experience proved valuable, especially since I had never played an SNES game before. The game’s remake incorporates mechanics that resemble those of the classic retro Monster Party. However, the collision dynamics differ in some instances, and the dragon-like flying transformation, particularly in terms of physics, reflects the capabilities of the game engine.
I drafted this article from my own perspective and used AI to polish the language.
Concept art (created with generative AI, touched up manually).
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