End of Class and other changes

Well, last night I uploaded the final version that I made of this game for my development class. It has been a long 8 weeks but I am pretty happy with all that I got done with this game.

Next up on the to do list, I am going to go through and remove all parts of the game that were added solely because of my course requirements. First thing to get the ax is the awful scoring system and high score table. While I will probably keep the code in case I feel like adding it back in later, I feel that it is unnecessary for the game and detracts from what I am going to accomplish.

Also, gathered from more player feedback, I am probably just going to ax the room in the first stage with the chaser and the elevator. When I look at the map with KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) in mind, I realize it is just a really bad design. So I am going to make a new map design that introduces the concept of chasers hitting buttons for the player in a different way.

Next on the to do list, a small game play video. Screenshots don't really do the particle system in the game justice so I'm going to take another look at the particle system before I do that, to make sure it is working well and is being utilized where it should first.

Last, I'm going to work on a dedicated game demo. I think there is a way I can do it as a copy of my project in VS so that the game continues to get updated, but the content does not. That way any bug fixes or game play changes I made down the line will get reflected in the demo.

For anyone interested, my game is now on Steam Greenlight and IndieDB! I'm adding the links to them on the side of the blog, please stop by the pages and show support for the game!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=154530325

http://www.indiedb.com/games/dual-core

Game Update

Today I am releasing an update to Dual Core. This update features:

• Finished High Winds level and boss fight
• Updated menus
• Game play tweaks
• Placeholder Audio (Testing the audio engine I created for this game)

A ton of work went into this update. Please don't forget to leave feedback and thanks for checking out my game. :)

Version Update 0.02a
***General***

Small visual update to opening menus
Added placeholder background music
 - Note - This audio is placeholder only. I did not create this audio and it is pretty much only there to satisfy the requirements of the class I am taking

Increased platform velocity to decrease wait times
Fixed platforms moving horizontally causing players to bug out and not know which direction to face
Fixed several platform physics bugs
Balanced some individual maps in the Normal level
 - Note - There are atleast 2 bugs remaining involving platforms:

 Bug #1: If you are standing off the edge of a platform while it is traveling up, you will continue traveling up through level geometry. If you try to jump while inside level geometry, your character will glitch

 BUg #2: If you are standing off the edge of a platform while it is traveling down, you will also glitch into any level gemotry. This also applies to AI using normal physics (chasers, bosses).

Added right trigger on XInput controllers for players to attack
Added left trigger on Xinput controllers for Tom to block
Added coding hooks for zooming the camera in and out
Finished outline for High Winds level
 - Note: There may be some missing connections and some glitches -
Added High Winds boss fight


***Mike***
Changed firing timer. Mike can now fire while holding the button down, as before, but can also fire up to twice as fast while tapping the button.

***Tom***
Tom can block while in the air
Tom can now change directions while blocking
Tom can now block immediately after firing


Download Link:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-PWPsdVYXH6QmFPSGktTkFPSW8/edit?usp=sharing

Epic Blog Post

Tonight I am going to post about some of the feedback I have received about my game and the changes that I have decided to make to it.

Level Changes

First, there was one room in particular that has received criticism as being awkward and difficult by play testers. It is room 6 in the first level of the game. This map begins with the player falling from the room above it into a center area surrounded with enemies. Originally the map was designed with a turret on each top corner that players had to ride a platform to and kill in order to advance to the next area. However, this was very confusing, because there wasn't a clear link from the turrets to the doors, so players had trouble navigating the room.

To fix this, I initially put buttons in place of the turrets. This gave players a clear location for where they should be going and trying to get to. However, the number of enemies in the area was still too high, so I reduced the total number of enemies in the room, and added an enemy spawner, so that there is a steady stream of enemies in the room, providing a more consistent challenge. The current version of this map area is shown below.

Art Changes

This change is a work in progress and is not in the current beta build for this game. In the feedback, I often see that players are unsure of what button, switch, or level activates what. I have decided to add a new art function that will visually link a switch and an activator.

In the game Portal, there are very similar puzzle elements that use a similar mechanic. In this game, they solved the same problem by adding a line connecting the two. 

Below is a screenshot of one such room, which contains a confusing switch activator system.

I have included below a sketch of how a line connection system in the game could look, as it is currently planned to be implemented.

The second version makes it much more clear what the player needs to do in order to proceed.

Character Changes

The last change that I plan on implementing, deals with complaints about the characters themselves. In general, players felt that the two playable characters were too similar, and that Mike (blue) was clearly superior to Tom (Red).

The main complaint I got with Tom, was that his shield didn’t feel responsive enough. In order to use it, your character must be still, and there is a delay associated with the player attack that can sometimes keep players from deploying the shield when they want.

I have decided to make the following changes to Tom, although they have not yet been implemented:

•        Remove delay in deploying the shield after firing.
•          Allow the player to shift the direction they are facing while blocking
•         Allow the player to block while in the air, but not while accelerating upward (jumping)

I am also considering allowing the player to move while blocking at half speed, and possibly to fire at a slower rate while block and stationary. These changes will be considered after the above changes are implemented and more feedback is gathered.

In addition, I want to make gameplay as Mike feel more unique. So, I have decided to change the way that mike attacks his enemies.

First, I am going to change the condition on when Mike attacks. Currently, players can hold the attack button down to attack at full speed. However, this will be changed, so that players can still hold the attack button to attack a specific speed, but also have the option of tapping the attack button to attack even faster. This will give Mike the more agile, attack focused gameplay in contrast to Tom’s more defensive focused gameplay.

Well, it is kinda playable

Today, I am distributing a rough playable build. This build includes one playable level (Normal) and half of another (High Winds). I have been working on this game for a class of mine so I have been able to get a lot of work done on it, but with the move to Austin I have been very busy.

In this build I have a completely original art style, except for the sprite used for the main characters. I got this sprite from a Google search and I have reached out to the owner for permission to use it. Here is a link to the animation panel.

http://artofgame.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/project-little-robo-climber-controls-animation-model/

All credit to the animation goes to the creator, @GregPXL

In this build are several new concepts and bug fixes. Mobile platforms now almost work perfectly, with few enough bugs that I'm taking a break on them for now. I have also introduced some new puzzle elements and I have all the level elements fully functional, like high winds, acid rain, and high gravity.

There is still a couple pieces of placeholder art in there, such as the level icons, and the menu system needs an artistic overhaul. However, I am pretty sure I won't be able to get to those by the end of my class, and to be honest I'm not sure I am going to continue this project after that. It has been a ton of fun working on this and I have learned a ton, but I also don't want to get bogged down into a single project for my entire academic career. The more I have to show as my work the better.

Anyway, below is the current build of the game. Like I said before, there is one full level, Normal, and one half level, High Winds. The others are testing areas that don't take you anywhere.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-PWPsdVYXH6VjhaMFBmZDd2VzQ/edit?usp=sharing

Pardon the Dust

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been very busy getting prepared for a move to Austin, Texas. I have been very busy preparing for it, and I haven't had as much time as usual to work on my game.

That being said, this week I am working on overhauling the artwork. I decided to change the game to a much simpler art design, looking at things like old Atari games and Geometry Wars for inspiration. Artwork is something I have pretty much no talent at whatsoever, so it is unlikely that I would ever get far enough doing pixel art in any reasonable amount of time to have for this game, so I opted for something similar.

In addition to new, simpler sprites for everything, I am going to add particle effects to more objects to give everything a better sense of cohesion and action. So far I have completely some of the very basic enemies and projectiles, but I am having a very difficult time with the player characters and bosses. At first, my original thinking was making Tron like entities, but I haven't been able to make anything worthwhile so far, so I may have to look at simpler options.

Below is a screenshot of a testing level, showing what I have done so far with the new art style.