Berg

Long before learning Swift, I had always wanted to know how to design and code a simple 2D game, and Berg was my first go at such a physics-based app. Built using the SpriteKit 2D framework, Berg is an infinite, regenerative game with vibrant textures fun animations.

I began working on Berg by building a skeleton design with simple outlines, to pin down the expected movement and flow of the game. I was surprised by the amount of Maths involved (but enjoyed every second of it) to carefully calculate the angles and distances for actions and animations.

Physics bodies and collision/contact masks were added both in Storyboard and programmatically, giving me flexibility with complex objects like Berg, which were made of several smaller sections. I also made use of the physics engine impulses to give Berg her hop.

With the basic game working, I turned my focus to the more aesthetic elements such as the parallax background, giving a 3D depth to a 2D scene using custom animations, and adding particle system effects to give the feeling of motion.

I also decided to incorporate an ad-based reward scheme using the Chartboost SDK, which developed into learning about network calls and error validation.

It was nearly time to launch, so final touches such as Haptic feedback, sound effects and custom fonts were added to give the game its final look and feel before it was submitted for beta testing and released in the AppStore.