- Level 30 is now the official end of the game! Now that's a solid goal you can strive for.
- I made some timing changes for the earlier levels; namely, 7 seconds per star instead of 8.
- Over level 20 you start losing total time, culminating in the Level 30 battle where you only have 4 seconds per star.
- After stage 15 on any level, you will have an additional obstacle drop.
- At a few levels > 20 you will also get additional obstacle drops, culminating in a whopping 5 obstacles per star on level 30.
- The stars now max out at 20 no matter what level you are on (so level 30 has 20 stars still).
- I switched in some fonts that are - I know, I know - unreadable at this time. Going to work on fixing that up, but it's a placeholder for now.
I guess this means the game is really shaping up, except there's no excitement or spice in the first 15 levels. I guess I'll see if there's something I can put in around levels 8 and 12 to spice it up a bit.
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I think the controls, movement, and squid graphics are really nice! I made my first jumps out of the water today (go ahead and laugh).
ReplyDeleteThe levels though don't seem interesting yet, so here are some ideas for levels:
1. The dropping objects don't seem to do much. They're all obstacles, and my actions don't matter much. Here are some ideas:
a. Make an object drop into the water and then start growing tendrils/arms, to become a larger obstacle. If it connects to a neighbor they become one bigger obstacle.
b. Make an object that you can use as a tool, by attaching it to your tentacles. The tools might let you go faster, turn faster, move in the air (jet pack), break through obstacles, etc.
c. Make an object that gives you bonus points, like the stars in Mario games.
2. Vary the goals of the levels. Collecting stars is interesting for a while but when I get to level 4 or 5 I feel like I'm just doing the same thing over and over. One thing that might be interesting with the tentacle physics is to *move* stars around instead of just touching them.
Andy,
ReplyDeleteThe game is looking great! When is the deadline?
I really like the way the squid's shorter tentacles swish and wave. The torso flexing is really great too. Sometimes I wish the long tentacles wouldn't get all hung up on my head after tight turns, but I'm not sure the best way to do that. More fluid drag on them?
It think there is some room for fine tuning on the controls. I tend to oversteer a lot, then overcorrect for that, resulting in my flopping around near the star I want but not actually getting it. It might be worth trying to tighten up the steering a little bit, so that the squid stops rotating more quickly after a left/right arrow key is released.
Like Amit, I'm finding my interest starting to wane after level 4 or 5. Perhaps the game should get harder, faster?
I like Amit's idea for additional goals. What if the goal of a level was to bump all the floating beach ball guys into a net or other goal area, and the stars simply acted as your fuel?
@Rob: Deadline May 1st! I just blogged an update about my progress and where I'm heading next.
ReplyDelete@Amit&Rob: I think adding a hard mode will improve the game for those looking for more of a challenge, but some people are still not able to defeat level 3 and find the slow ramp up a bit more .. tolerable. :) I like to think that the challenge of the game is not just beating the level - but beating it well. And once you find out just how low you are on the high score table, you might be motivated to do better?
Of course, there are those that like the challenge of beating the level and not so much the high scores - so I am thinking about putting in a "hard mode."
For the time being - try using the level advance buttons and try out level 20+. Things get really interesting after your 15th star, and you likely won't win L24+ on your first try as you get hardly four seconds per star.
@Amit: Your additional goals and gameplay ideas are great! But they'll have to wait for a sequel or a new version of some sort. I just don't have time left in the month to get it tested, done, and then released. :)