Meal Deal Roulette
services: web game
software: construct 3
Industry: food, gaming
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved the idea of making games. Throughout the years, I’ve been on the hunt for a way to make fun online games without the need for much coding knowledge. Coding is something I’ve tried to learn, but I would rather have a more visual interface so my creativity can flourish. I was delighted to come across a system called Construct 3 that has allowed my ideas to become reality. My first game idea came to me while eating my lunch. What if you could spice up your meal time with a random selection of the humble meal deal? The machine will help you choose a random main, snack and drink. The question is… will you eat the machine’s choice?
the design
Even though the machine’s name is roulette, I wanted to go with a slot machine style design. Each window will have a selection of items that cycle through. I went with the philosophy that everything on the machine had to work like it would in real life. I didn’t want anything arbitrary that didn’t look like they fit in with the entire design. That’s why I added levers to the machine to reset it and to turn the sound on and off, rather than some buttons on the side. I had to source each image of the items from different supermarket websites. I tried to go with items that almost every supermarket would have so that you can easily purchase your result. As well as just the items, I thought it would be fun to add the different nutritional values of each item so you can get a good idea of the healthiness of each combo.Â
It took a while to set up the workings of the machine. The learning curve was there, but not as bad as it could have been if I had had to learn to code properly. Each item had to be added individually to the animation. Then I had to set it up so when each button is pressed it will stop on the item displayed at the time. It also took some time to get the levers working. Once the basics had been put into place I was able to add a few finishing touches. There are a few items that when chosen by the machine will play a fun sound related to the product. After one spin of the machine a small printout will appear below telling those playing it to share on Twitter and Facebook.
the application
The whole game was exported as an HTML 5 game that I was able to embed onto a seperate page on my Apparel of Laughs site. The page you can find it on also has a few menus nudging players to take a look at my food related shirts. It’s been a fun addition to my site and one I am proud to show off. I’m even thinking about it being used in actual shops. I can imagine Boots or Tesco Express having this game on a tablet in front of their meal deal selections for customers to try their luck. This is hopefully something for the future, but in the meantime it will be available to have a go at on my site.
final thoughts
I really enjoyed coming up with this game idea and building it within the confines of the Construct 3 system. It allowed me to flex my game design skills in a way that was visual rather than with coding. It was a fun challenge to create something that wasn’t just a static image. I had to think about how a person might play the game and what little flourishes I could add to make it a fun experience. I am currently thinking about some more game ideas I could create, but I am also happy to undertake game projects for clients. They could be a great way of advertising or just something to get people onto your site. Trust me, no idea is too silly or wild for me to have a go at.