This sprint was primarily dedicated to finalizing the core features for the App Store. This being noted, it is likely the App Store will be revisited in the near future. Last sprint set up the unlock system and basic purchasing process. This past week involved implementing a universal HUD, adding the visual slideshow, and creating a set of confirmation states for App Store interactions.
As noted from a previous examination of the App Store, there was no simple way to communicate the player's currency. While that App Store itself could have been designed to represent this value, it was likely that many other menu locations would benefit from the currency display as well. Therefore, the Main HUD is also applied to all other menu states, allowing them to add it on top of the current display. All States will be able to display and update it accordingly, but the actual interactions with currency and HUD values is reserved for specific situations, such as Achievement value increases or App Store decrements.
Currently within the App Store, all available Apps to purchase will not only be viewable from a navigation list, but a slideshow at the top of the App Store will also automatically cycle through splash arts for available games. App purchasing works the same as the listed Apps, but each time an App is purchased, the slideshow is also reset to reflect the next available App, as well as to reset the timer in which it swaps to the next splash art.
This slideshow will likely undergo a transition feature later on, allowing it to have a smooth lerp effect between splash arts. Currently the splash arts for the Micro-Games are being directly accessed, but eventually these will need to be replaced with cropped versions.
When selecting an App in the App Store, there are three different Pop-up displays that can occur. All of these are handled by a State Handler, which receives information regarding the state to move to and the related App information. Therefore, regardless of whether an App can be purchased or not, the State Handler receives the next state to move to, as well as the app's name, cost, and class. This allows for specific feedback information to be generated depending on the state.
If the user does not have enough currency, a basic pop-up stating the lack of funds and App price occurs. The user is only given the option to tap an 'ok' button to return to the store. In this event, the state Handler notes the return to App Store, turning itself inactive and removing all confirmation pop-ups.
If the user has enough money, a pop-up with the App information appears, asking the user if they are sure of their choice. Tapping 'no' results similar to the 'ok' button, but tapping 'yes' will send an event to actually purchase the app, then move to the final state.
The bought state only occurs after the buy state, and simply serves as recognition of the successful purchase. It also conveys an 'ok' button that refers the player back to the App Store. By reading in the App cost, name, and class, it is possible for all states to dynamically generate their text to reflect the current select App being examined by the user.
Aside from a few scattered bug fixes, the additional features to the App Store reflect the bulk of the work during this sprint. It is likely that the next sprint will primarily focus on polishing the Achievement system and working on dividing Micro-Games into varying difficulties. From there, it will mostly be a matter of incorporating those difficulty tracks into the gameplay, as well as rapidly creating more Micro-Games.