How to make a drifting shooter
How to make an Asteroids-style game with AI
Updated
Quick answer
What makes this genre is inertia: your ship keeps drifting after you stop thrusting, and shooting a big rock makes smaller, faster ones. Say both things out loud in your sentence, otherwise you will get an ordinary shooter. Teleplay builds it in about half an hour, and you tune the drift with sliders while it runs.
Space and shooter games on Teleplay
The two rules people forget to ask for
- Inertia. "The ship keeps drifting until you thrust the other way" gets you the feel. Without it, the ship stops when you let go and the game turns into a different genre.
- Splitting. "Each rock breaks into two smaller, faster rocks" is why the screen gets busier the better you do. Your own success makes the danger.
- The wrap. "Leaving one edge brings you back at the opposite edge" removes corners to hide in. It is optional but changes how the space feels.
An example sentence
An example for this guide, not one of our published games. Its theme swaps space rocks for junk, which also gives the art something of its own.
Pilot a tiny repair tug that drifts until you thrust the other way, blast space junk that breaks into smaller, faster pieces, and wrap around the screen edges to survive each wave.
Tuning the handling
| Number | Try first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Thrust | Gentle | Heavy thrust removes the drift, which is the point of the game |
| Turn speed | Quick | You aim by turning, so slow turning feels broken |
| Shot range | Short | Long shots let players sit still in the middle |
| Rocks per wave | Few, then more | Splitting already multiplies them |
Move these beside the running game and press Reload. Those changes stay in your tab, so when it feels right, ask for the same values in the editor to keep them.
Your game, not the arcade's
Thrust-and-drift shooters have been a shared idea for decades. Whatever you make here gets a new title, new art and new sound. Keep the old name out of the request, because Teleplay refuses requests that name a known game, and describe the physics instead.
Questions
Why doesn't my ship drift?
Your sentence probably didn't ask for it. Say that the ship keeps moving until you thrust the other way, or ask for it in the editor.
Can it have a boss?
Yes. Name it in the sentence or add it later. A large wreck that sheds smaller pieces fits the idea well.
Can this be 3D?
3D arena games are in beta, open to testers first. They are arena games and single-player, so this guide is for 2D.
Which controls work best?
Keyboard suits it best: turn, thrust and fire. The game's page lists the keys it ended up with.