Hello there!

This is my first entry so I guess I should introduce myself.

I'm a computer science major attending Univirsity of Louisiana at Lafayette. I am currently pursuing a degree in computer science with a concentration in video game design and development and making games is about all I do these days. Aside from, you know, playing them....

I usually use a new project as a means of challenging myself to come up with new ideas and also expand my programming vocabulary/profieciency.

A few days ago I finished my latest project which was a clone of the game Asteroids. It's not much but it plays almost exactly the same except it makes use of Unity's physics system.

Usually I choose an older game and try to recreate it using modern tools. When I do this I try to include new features or challenge myself to come up with something completely new, put a new spin on things but I really couldn't think of anything else Asteroids might possibly need.

If you add anything to a game like Asteroids it feels like you change the game, I guess because it's so basic at it's core any improvement just changes the game completely. The only idea I had that I might get to is adding several different enemies for some variety. As it stands now there are only asteroids floating around. If I'm not mistaken, I think the original had one enemy space ship that appeared from time to time and shot at you. Here are some of my ideas that could possibly work to improve the original Asteroids:

• Increase enemy variety and strategy
  
• Add a boss to face once the player has destroyed all of the asteroids.
  
• Add an upgrade tree
  

Increasing Enemy Variety and Strategy

Adding different types of enemies and also giving them various different means of testing the player seems like the easiest and most honest addition to a game like Asteroids. At it's core it's about staying alive so I feel like the best way to stick to that theme is to introduce enemys that test the player's profieciency in either manuevering or shooting accurately. Adding this feature would also synergize well with the next possible addition.

Boss Encounters

Really good idea, serves as a gating tool. When the player reaches the boss, I'll test their ability to use what they've learned. If they manage to defeat the boss it means they're ready to move on to a more difficult challenge.

Upgrades

I'm on the fence on this one. I'm the type of gamer who does enjoy the upgrade addiction but it feels like it changes the game a bit too much and instead of being an improved asteroids, it's now a unique space shooter, albeit not all THAT unique lol. I think I'll leave this out for now.