Catch Game: Catch & Dash

My version of Catch Game with movement enhancements made in Unreal Engine 5 using Blueprints.

Controls:
Move left - A/Left
Move right - D/Right
Jump - W/Up
Dash - Space/Left Shift
Fast fall - S/Down

Case Study:

I made this game to examine how movement enhancements would affect the gameplay of a simple Catch Game, while also practicing working with the engine.

Golden Apples:

I introduced Golden Apples as a progression system. They spawn on a fixed timer and the first five collected each unlock a permanent upgrade:

• Apples 1-3 - increase movement speed
• Apple 4 - unlocks jumping
• Apple 5 - unlocks dashing

If a player fails to collect a golden apple, the timer continues to count down and after a given time, another one will appear. Failing to collect a single apple does not result in any penalty other than a delay in unlocking the next ability.
This way, progressing doesn’t feel like a pressure, while players who actively try to collect the golden apples are rewarded.

After collecting 5 golden apples, they aren’t removed entirely. Instead, there is now a 15% chance that they will appear on the same timer. They give 10 points as a rare special drop instead of additional bonuses.
This keeps them relevant and surprising throughout the session without inflating the economy.

The intention was that players wouldn't expect them, but would feel genuinely rewarded when one appeared.

Problem 1 - The Playable Area Was Too Wide:

One of the more interesting design problems came from the platform choice. The game was built for PCs, so the play area was much wider than the typical vertical screen used by many games of this type.

This led to situations where fruits appeared so far apart that the slow character simply couldn't reach both in time.

Solution:
Dynamic spawn zone. At the beginning of the session, the spawn area is limited to the center of the screen. With each frame, it gradually expands until it reaches the full play area. Collecting a Golden Apple triggers a small burst expansion on top of the gradual increase.
The boundaries of the zone are visualized in the game using semi-transparent overlays, so the player always knows which area is active.

As a result, the distance between fruits is always adjusted to the character's movement capabilities.

Problem 2 - Movement Speed Had to Progress With the Spawn Area:

Simply keeping the respawn area permanently small would solve the previous problem, but it would also limit gameplay possibilities. It would give the impression of being a restriction rather than an intentional design solution.

Solution:
I linked the expansion of the spawn area to progress with movement. Golden apples increase the character's movement speed before they unlock jumping and dashing. This allows the player to access a larger area and navigate around it more effectively. Tying zone expansion to both time and player actions gave the system a natural feel.

This way, the movement upgrades became part of the solution to the original spawning problem, rather than just additional abilities.

Observation:

The combination of increased movement speed, more complex movement capabilities and faster falling objects has significantly changed the nature of the game.

The game has shifted from a simple, casual friendly experience, where you just run around and collect colourful objects, to a more skill based game that involves reading and reacting to what’s happening on screen. In later stages, avoiding bad fruit is now the priority, while collecting good fruit happens secondarily.

This shift wasn't fully planned from the beginning, but came naturally from the interactions between systems. However I like this change because it made the game more focused on player skill and reaction rather than simply collecting as many objects as possible.

What I Would Change:

Difficulty modes:
At higher speeds, the three colours of banana peels and the four types of fruit can blur together, making it easy to get confused.
To solve this, I would introduce difficulty levels so that players who don’t want a greater challenge would not only have fruit falling slower and less frequently, but would also find it easier to distinguish the different elements visually. I’d do this by having the easy mode use only one colour of banana skin, normal mode two, and hard mode all three.

A way to recover lives:
Currently, there is no margin for error beyond the initial three lives. In a game that ultimately demands quick reflexes, the occasional mistake is inevitable.
A carefully designed second chance mechanic (maybe related to achieving specific scores or available as a rare drop) could reduce frustration without diminishing the challenge.

Key Takeaway:

This project taught me that movement system enhancements can affect more than just the way the player controls their character.

Increasing movement speed and adding new skills changed the way objects are spawned and how difficulty curves, ultimately transforming the whole game from a simple, casual game into a dynamic challenge requiring skill.

Credits & Assets:

• Pink Monster - Character sprites and animations - free-game-assets.itch.io
• Fruit Pack - Fruit sprites - ninjikin.itch.io/fruit
• Nature Landscapes - Background - free-game-assets.itch.io
• Pixel Platformer - Ground tiles - kenney.nl
• Retro Coin 04 - Fruit collect sound - LilMati via freesound.org
• Splat 1 - Bad fruit sound - sebastientate via freesound.org