Mega Man RAM
Main Developer
(August 2020 - November 2020)
Download link: https://gamejolt.com/games/mega-man-ram/551844
Programming responsibilities: Gameplay programming, UI programming, systems programming, technical design, enemy behavior implementation
Team Size: Solo developer, various contributors
Misc. responsibilities: Level design, encounter design, pixel art and animation, sound design, musician, quality assurance and playtesting, project management
Mega Man RAM is a short Mega Man series fangame made using the Megamix Engine in Game Maker Studio 1.4 which takes notes from the NES classics, Mega Man 9, and Mega Man 10. Mega Man will have to face off against six new Robot Masters led by a transformed Sheep Man. The game includes new environments, new stage obstacles, new weapons, and is overall a complete, if not condensed, unofficial classic Mega Man experience.
Development history and retrospective
Mega Man RAM was my first major production as a game developer, heavily inspired by my recent introduction into the online Mega Man community and the fangames that came before it. My main goal of the project was to “make a Mega Man series game;” in other words, I wanted to create a game I could work on consistently with a set deadline which resulted in a finished product of some kind, disregarding a lower quality result. Given I was heavily getting into the Mega Man franchise and experimenting with a publicly available engine which accurately recreated the classic series’ mechanics, it was the perfect opportunity to dive-in head first to solo game development, and it paid off in the end.
I involved myself in all parts of game development, including basic drafting and organization skills, learning how to prototype and create enemy behaviors and stage designs, concept art and pixel art animation, conducting playtests, and piecing all of those skills together and more in order to create a game which one could play start to end. Although it may have affected the end result to some degree, having a 3-month deadline as a solo developer gave me invaluable experience managing time and scope for a project. RAM’s completion and release paved the road for my future game development endeavors and ignited a passion for gameplay programming.
