Developing games takes a long time. Developing them with a tiny team takes even longer! In effort to best communicate our plan, we decided a product Roadmap would be an exciting way to welcome Spaceschuter when she arrives!
Work completion status
We’ve divided up the resources into Major & Minor systems as well as cited needed assets
Major Systems
Back-End
Admin Application
- Application to manage all of Spaceschuter McGavin!
- Configuration and settings
Login System
- Android logins are in place and operational
- iOS is outstanding
User System
- Users are operational
- Needs unit tests
Tournament System
- Tournaments are operational, but is being razed by refactoring
- Unit Tests need to be updated
Username System
- Creating Usernames operational
- Changing Usernames nearing operational status
Notification System
- Notifications are hosted in app, but there is no “device” (iOS, Android) notifications yet.
- Needs “new message” flag on inbox, cleared when inbox is viewed.
Item System
- Items are categorized, typed, and subtyped across generations and seasons.
- Still working out how they’re uploaded to the server
Marketplace System
- Marketplace functionality still being built
Front-End
Login System
- Android logins are in place and operational
- iOS is outstanding
User System
Tournament System
Reward System
- Needs to handle AdRewards token sub-system
Notification System
- Notifications are hosted in app, but there is no “device” (iOS, Android) notifications yet.
Level Loader System
- Operational except for a bug that corrupts the payload
Main Menu
- Needs UserChallenge and Marketplace screens developed
Item System
- Currently being refactored for new Item structure
Marketplace System
- In development
Boss Systems
- Mini-bosses ready for Beta
- “Real Bosses” still in design (4 in total)
ECS Animation System
- Facing a platform bug that’s crashing Unity
Animated Movie System
- Still in design
Powerup System
- Missiles Powerup needs development
- PsionicSpeed Powerup needs development
Minor Systems
Back-End
Tournament Scheduler
- minor bug: not l showing all recently ended tournaments
- needs additional tournaments added to schedule
Rewards Scheduler
- Complete, but in refactoring for marketplace changes
Friend System
User Challenges System
Bonus Ad Rewards
- Needs to redeem AdToken for rewards
Emoji System
- Still designing
Avatar System
- Still designing
Descriptor & Title System
Front-End
Friend System
- Aesthetics needs to be updated
User Challenges System
- Still designing
Bonus Ad Rewards
- In Development
Emoji System
- Still designing
Avatar System
- Still designing
Descriptor & Title System
Assets
Avatars
Emojis
Titles
Descriptors
Animations
Timeline
Februrary 2022
An orange shaped cube is born!
Say hello to the first “boss” of Spaceschuter McGavin!
Hot on the heels of the initial prototype, Delightful-Games was founded to usher in our first self-produced title, Spaceschuter McGavin!
March 2022 – July 2022
Alpha testing for Spaceschuter McGavin
A select group of associates helped test our initial prototype to get some feedback on the title before heading to Beta
August 2022
Beta launch fail
Due to technical limitations of Unity, the game’s performance tanked on older mobile devices. As a result we had to delay the closed Beta and wait for an upcoming feature (Unity DOTS + ECS) to be production ready before we could proceed any further.
September 2022 – November 2022
Burnout #1
Need I say more? Working on a project nights & weekends for over a year has a toll, and after the news that I had to wait for Unity ECS was just a nail in the coffin. Even well-timed burnouts are still a bummer.
December 2022 – May 2023
Spaceschuter McGavin back-end
While waiting on Unity ECS, we began to flesh-out the back-end services needed to support the game. First, was our Transcalent Tournaments, allowing users to place on multiple tournaments in one playthrough. After that, managing user inventories. It was then we started to feel like Spaceschuter was on track to be a success.
May 2023 – June 2023
Waiting on ECS…
Unity announces it’s getting ECS close to production ready, and as of then, we were solely waiting on it.
July 2023 – April 2024
Unity ECS is HERE!
With ECS becoming production ready, I teamed up with Johnny Turbo from the TurboMakesGames YouTube channel to dive in the deep end of Data-Oriented-Design (DoD) and pull our title from the grave to a new platform that could handle its performance cost.
April 2024 – June 2024
Prepping for Beta
Running a distributed, closed mobile Beta, needs a lot of prep-work. In fact I’ve learned it needs “MORE” setup than if I were just to publish the app.
July 2024
Closed Beta Testing Launch (2nd attempt)
As per usual, bugs occur (in Unity) and delay launches of software. May none of you ever realize the pain it is to release a mobile app from Unity.
August 2024 – June 2025
3rd time’s a charm…
Instead of trying to rush the Beta out and miss another launch, we decided to develop a richer experience for Beta testers, closer to the actual product before releasing it for testing. It meant a lot of back-end/mobile app development had to happen
July 2025
Official Beta launch of Spaceschuter McGavin
We planned it, we executed the plan, the plan hit snags. Much to the dismay of Beta testers we missed our window and had to delay the Beta once again. 4th time’s a doozy I hear.
August 2025 – November 2025
Spreadsheets!
Not backing down from the failures, we decided to finish our “Product Marketplace” in the game for Beta testers to stock up on powerups and prepare for the eventual production launch of Spaceschuter McGavin. Two thousand+ SKUs don’t scare us!
December 2025 – February 2026
Developing the Marketplace
Of course developing the marketplace data showed how much information we weren’t ready to handle server-side or client-side. So a refactoring we go, ripping up files that had 97-100% test coverage, just so to support the major system. I swear we’re having fun!
March 2026
TENTATIVE – Beta launch
When the marketplace features are under wrap, and the client bugs solved, we will launch into a closed Beta to test the Economy, Game Logic, etc. Feedback from this will determine if anything beyond this point will need to be pushed back.
December 2026
TENTATIVE – Product Launch
Should all our ducks be in a row, we’ll be ready to launch the game to the public (Free of charge)
December 2027
TENTATIVE: Spaceschuter McGavin: 2nd Generation
The overall expectation is improvements to the game alongside a new generation of powerups and spacecraft for users to smash space rocks for even higher scores. We intend to provide new content on a yearly & quarterly basis for the foreseeable future.