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Blog – Yashika

Role: Gameplay Support Systems, Input Validation & Interaction Balancing
Focus Area: Miss Detection, Combo Logic, and Gameplay Accuracy

Overview

During the development of the project, I am focusing on improving gameplay fairness, interaction accuracy, and support systems that strengthen the overall Whack-a-Mole experience in Unity.

My work involves handling missed-click detection, improving combo reset behavior, supporting feedback systems for player actions, and helping make the scoring system more balanced and skill-based. These contributions are aimed at making the gameplay loop more polished, responsive, and easier for players to understand.

Major Contributions

Miss Detection System

One of the main systems I contributed to was the implementation of miss detection logic.
This was designed to detect clicks that do not hit a mole but still occur within the active game area.

The feature was implemented using a separate MissDetector script attached to a transparent full-screen collider in the background.

Key contributions include:

  • Detecting missed clicks using Physics2D.Raycast
  • Separating valid mole hits from invalid background clicks
  • Ensuring miss logic only works when the game is active
  • Keeping miss handling modular and independent from mole scripts

The core logic is:

if (hit.collider != null && hit.collider.gameObject == gameObject)
{
    if (missSound != null)
        audioSource.PlayOneShot(missSound);

    GameManager.Instance.ResetCombo();
}

Combo Reset Integration

I also contributed to refining the combo system by ensuring that a missed click breaks the current combo streak.

This improved gameplay balance by making score progression depend not only on speed, but also on player accuracy.

My work in this area included:

  • Resetting combo state on miss
  • Supporting combo UI consistency after a miss
  • Helping make scoring more skill-based
  • Improving fairness in the gameplay loop

This feature adds a stronger challenge element to the game and makes combo-based scoring feel more rewarding.

Audio Feedback for Misses

To improve interaction clarity, I also worked on miss feedback through audio support.

A separate miss sound is triggered whenever the player clicks on the background instead of a mole. This provides immediate feedback even when the action is incorrect, helping the player better understand the result of their input.

This contribution helped make the experience more responsive and informative.

Support for Gameplay Quality

In addition to scripting support, my contribution also focused on improving the quality of the gameplay loop by ensuring that:

  • Misses are properly identified
  • Combo resets occur only when appropriate
  • Interaction handling remains fair and predictable
  • Support systems improve the overall responsiveness of the game

These additions helped strengthen the user experience while keeping the implementation lightweight and maintainable.

Key Technical Changes Made

  • Added a dedicated miss detection system using background click checking
  • Connected missed clicks to combo reset flow
  • Added audio feedback for miss events
  • Improved gameplay fairness through more accurate interaction handling

Learning Outcomes

Through this work, I gained a better understanding of:

  • Raycast-based click detection in Unity 2D
  • Separating valid and invalid player input
  • Supporting main gameplay systems through secondary scripts
  • Balancing arcade-style gameplay using simple but effective mechanics

Key Implementation Snippets

1. Miss Detection Logic

The system detects clicks on the background (i.e., misses) and resets the combo accordingly:

if (hit.collider != null && hit.collider.gameObject == gameObject)
{
    if (missSound != null)
        audioSource.PlayOneShot(missSound);

    GameManager.Instance.ResetCombo();
}

2. Combo Reset Handling

The combo reset mechanism ensures that the scoring system remains fair and accuracy-based:

public void ResetCombo()
{
    combo = 0;
    comboText.gameObject.SetActive(false);
}

3. Input Validation using Raycast

To detect whether a click hits a mole or not, raycasting is used:

Vector2 mousePos = Camera.main.ScreenToWorldPoint(Input.mousePosition);
RaycastHit2D hit = Physics2D.Raycast(mousePos, Vector2.zero);

Next Steps

Going forward, I would like to continue improving this area by exploring:

  • Visual feedback for missed clicks
  • Accuracy tracking and summary statistics
  • Improved combo UI transitions
  • Additional support systems that enhance user interaction clarity