Scrap Bots
Team Size: 3 | Developed with JavaScript, P5, and SQL | Development Time: 3 Months | Responsibilities: Implemented game mechanics and systems, Documentation, Art, UI, Database management
OVERVIEW
Scrap Bots is an online multiplayer Scrapyard management and robot-building game, where the player has inherited their grandpa’s scrapyard and must improve it, buy and trade parts to create different robots and sell them for profit.
Game Page: https://fizz2.itch.io/scrapbots
Scroll Down for Screenshots & Process
PLAYTHROUGH VIDEO
(Servers offline)
SCREENSHOTS
CONCEPTUALIZING
The idea for Scrap Bots emerged from a desire to create a game that combines resource management with creative building and competitive combat. We envisioned a scrapyard setting where players could explore various aspects of robot creation and management.
V0
V1
V2
GAME LOOP
Scrap Bots has 4 main gameplay aspects: Collecting Resources, Acquiring Parts, Assembling Robots, and Selling Robots.
There are 2 other minor gameplay aspects, Upgrading the Scrapyard and Fight Robots in the Arena.
Fighting Robots
Collecting Resources
Assembling Robots
Selling Robots
Acquiring Parts
GAME MECHANICS
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
In Scrap Bots, resource generation is at the heart of the player's ability to progress. Buildings within the scrapyard produce two primary resources, Oil and Gears, at a consistent rate. Each building has a storage limit, which determines how much of each resource it can hold before requiring the player to collect it manually.
Oil and Gears are produced over time by specialized buildings. Each building has a cap on how many resources it can hold. Once the storage is full, resources will stop accumulating until the player clicks the Collect button.
Players can spend resources to upgrade buildings, increasing both their production rate and storage capacity. This becomes crucial as demand for resources grows when players assemble higher-level robots or invest in more expensive upgrades.
PART ACQUISITION
Players can acquire parts through the Parts Shop, where they can choose from three types of part bundles or buy individual parts using resources (Money and Gears). Parts come in different quality levels, directly influencing the stats of the robots assembled from them.
Players can choose between Small, Medium, and Large bundles, which contain 10, 25, and 50 parts respectively. In addition to bundles, players can purchase specific parts (Head, Body, Left Arm, Right Arm, Legs) using Gears. These parts are stored in the player’s inventory for use during robot assembly.
The scrapyard’s inventory automatically stores all parts. This system helps players manage their resources and plan out future robot assemblies.
ROBOT ASSEMBLY
The Robot Assembly process allows players to mix and match various robot parts to create unique robots with varying stats. Players can customize five parts of the robot: Head, Body, Left Arm, Right Arm, and Legs. Each part has three key stats: Attack, Defense, and Speed.
Players can choose from available parts in their inventory. Different parts contribute different stat values to the robot. The robot's final stats (Attack, Defense, Speed) are determined by the combined values of the individual parts used.
Once all five parts are selected, the player clicks the Assemble button, and the robot is created after a short cooldown period (e.g., 5 minutes).
ROBOT SELLING
The Robot Market is where players can sell their assembled robots to NPC buyers for Money and other rewards. Each NPC has specific requests, which may demand certain stat combinations or part types, providing a challenge for the player.
NPCs will specify the kind of robot they are looking for, such as high Attack or balanced stats across Defense and Speed. The better the match between the robot’s stats and the buyer’s request, the greater the reward.
Rewards come in the form of Money, which can be used to buy more parts, or bonuses like rare parts. NPCs and their requests change every 6 hours, ensuring that the player always has new challenges.
ARENA COMBAT
In the Arena, players can use their robots to either defend their score from attacks or challenge other players' robots to earn rewards. The Arena introduces a combat system where robot stats play a key role in determining the outcome of battles. Players designate one robot for defense and one for offense. The defense robot passively defends the player's score, while the offensive robot can challenge other players. Combat is turn-based, with the robot having the higher Speed stat attacking first.
The robots take turns attacking each other, with the first robot to lose all its Health being defeated. Health is determined by a formula that considers the robot’s Level, Defense, and Speed. Winning an Arena fight grants the player Score and Money. Losing in defense results in durability loss for the defending robot, while the defeated attacking robot enters a Recharging state and must wait 5 minutes before being used again.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
What went right
Engaging Gameplay Loop: The mix of gathering resources, upgrading buildings, assembling robots, and battling in the Arena created a rewarding and fun gameplay loop that kept players hooked.
Art Style: The colorful, cartoon-like art style was a highlight, and as my first attempt at digital game art, it was a personal achievement. Both the sketches and final designs worked well together to give the game a distinctive and appealing visual identity.
Multiplayer Features: Introducing multiplayer robot combat in the Arena was a success, adding a competitive layer that increased player engagement and made the game more dynamic.
What went wrong
UI Challenges: Designing a clean, intuitive interface for resource management and robot assembly took longer than expected, leading to multiple iterations before finding the right balance.
Combat System Complexity: The turn-based combat system was challenging to balance, particularly in calculating damage and health. Some players found the system too simplistic, while others felt it was unclear.
