#8 | 16-08-24 | Shop System

Hello!

After the last devlog, I decided to build the shop and health/ammo counters right away rather than build them after receiving feedback and spreading the work over a few days. This log will go over that work.

I'll make a point to gather feedback in person rather than online because it's a little more reliable, I can ask my family/friends/coworkers to test this game.

Previously, I had two separate scripts to handle counting time and kills. Creating more scripts to handle other counters wasn't going to be an effective method, so I opted to create a master script to handle all the counters called the Counter Manager. This script would be placed on the Game Manager object alongside other scripts that have to run independent from the player.

Like the CanvasManager, this script interacts a lot with Canvas and UI elements.

I had to significantly overhaul the CanvasManager script to include the shop mechanic and reworking the game over conditions and results. So far, this script is the longest and most complex.

The code for the shop itself was much simpler than reworking the entire CanvasManager. The "BuyAmmo()" and "BuyHealth()" functions are called by buttons on the Shop UI canvas and "DisplayUI" displays the player's current score, health and ammo values.

The shop system will get more complex when I add different weapon types and other consumables. But for now, this will do.

I've spent many hours outside of home building this game. I find that when I'm not home, I have less distractions despite being in public. I can focus easier. I bring my laptop with me to work and build this game before and after my shifts, spending only minimal time at home before I'm back at work or building this game. I think getting out is improving my mood and health, so I'll strive to continue this for the sake of myself, this project and future projects.

Thanks for reading!