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Feedback => DevLogs => Topic started by: PeteDevlin on July 04, 2014, 12:56:57 PM



Title: Turn platformer (no proper name) - Now with added gif-ness
Post by: PeteDevlin on July 04, 2014, 12:56:57 PM
Thanks for reading!

This game is slow paced puzzle platformer involving reordering (rotation, shifting, flipping, reorganising) the level geometry and features, in order to complete a challenge, puzzle or set piece. You must save the mind of an isolated king who is slipping deeper into depression. Rotate huge towers and turn them into bridges, reform platforms into beautiful artwork, reorganising the world in order to re piece the mind of the king gone mad!

Video of recent experiment, explained a couple of posts down: http://youtu.be/45Nh6hZ0UgI?list=UU6kfZcU8V5ruv7swXwFkbTg

My latest gif test (17/07/2014)

In this, I'm platform controlling the blue guy, and triggers are designed to flip the rotatable section left/right by 90 degrees but at the moment i'm free rotating it.

(http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/198/4/4/test_with_gif_ness_by_petedevlin-d7r2yrm.gif)


Title: Re: Turn platformer (no proper name)
Post by: PeteDevlin on July 06, 2014, 01:44:42 PM
Very rough example video put together (nowt flashy in the slightest)

http://youtu.be/U5GT_MVPXII (http://youtu.be/U5GT_MVPXII)


Title: Re: Turn platformer (no proper name)
Post by: danieru on July 06, 2014, 04:11:59 PM
In the video the rotated platform appears to be off kilt after rotation. Is it supposed to be like this? I cannot imagine it being due to floating point rounding errors since it is too large but the top most platform merges with the rotated platform.


Title: Re: Turn platformer (no proper name)
Post by: PeteDevlin on July 07, 2014, 12:40:44 AM
In the video the rotated platform appears to be off kilt after rotation. Is it supposed to be like this? I cannot imagine it being due to floating point rounding errors since it is too large but the top most platform merges with the rotated platform.

That’s right – Two things are out here because I didn’t have the time to implement them to demonstrate the idea. First, is the rotation should be a clean 90 degree movement each time, but I was actually manually turning them so I couldn’t get it lined up while trying to control it singlehandedly. Second, the player movement should be Prince of Persia but I had to use a stock control which is more Mario and a pain because you can see it looks like it’s sticking to some block. I still think it demonstrates the idea, but it’s also shown me some limitations of the idea. I’m know sure as a mechanic itself it can't carry a full game presented like this.
 


Title: Re: Turn platformer (no proper name)
Post by: PeteDevlin on July 16, 2014, 12:03:39 PM
What a difference a week makes! If you’re reading this then thank you. Do stay put, it’ll be worth reading. After originally starting this devlog I seemed to get a lot of hits on the devlog but only got one reply. Now, in itself that’s actually really useful feedback: either I didn’t really explain it very well, or it simply wasn’t interesting enough.
 
Additionally, and this is the thing, by making an example of the idea in flow I realised myself it didn’t work that well. 9 months I carried the idea in my head convinced I’d be making a full game of this idea and not once did I actually test the idea! Admittedly my wife gave birth to our second child 8 months ago so I have been fairly busy – But still, I could have tested it and just moved on. Lesson to all – Prototype ASAP and post for feedback!
 
So, in my original devlog post I felt like I had explained the idea well enough and I was confident the reason for the lack of uptake in responses was because the idea wasn’t attractive enough. Onwards and upwards. I decided that I really like the idea myself so perhaps I could incorporate it into a better idea and so off I went brainstorming.
 
And so to the meat. This is my second attempt to see if I can catch some traction – I like the rotation aspect but not when it’s liked to a rigid structure – What if the puzzles/toys were floating interactive ‘things’ – Like a cross between Mario Galaxy, Fez, and The Room. I already had a number of ideas so to think about adapting them.
 
One idea was a reformed clock. By taking my idea I’ve managed to craft an example level that was fun to put together but in itself isn’t complete. Read the idea before you watch the video, it tried my best to make it self explanatory but just in case.
 
There is a clock face with a big hand and little hand, on orange and one green. It is surrounded by two platforms and on each is a button, on orange and one green.
 
You are on an immovable platform, but you can use the right and left triggers to spin the clock face 90 degrees left or right. As you do so, the hands turn, at their own independent speed. You need to rotate the hands to the desired time and then hit their colored button to make the hand move at the same time as the clock face.
 
The time you need to set the clock to is actually written on the immovable platform in Roman numerals.
 
http://youtu.be/45Nh6hZ0UgI?list=UU6kfZcU8V5ruv7swXwFkbTg

I'm not saying this is a final puzzle by any stretch, nor would it be the most complicated. I’m looking for any feedback!


Title: Re: Turn platformer (no proper name)
Post by: i.i on July 16, 2014, 12:18:57 PM
I definitely like the interaction it has with the clock. Seems like this could turn out to be a really interesting puzzle platformer.

I think here at tigsource we are really fond of screenshots, mockups, and most of all gifs, gifs, gifs. Unless its a trailer, a gif will go a lot further with traction than a video will. Check out gifcam and make a gif form of that video in your latest post. I think it will help a lot.

Good luck on this project. It looks pretty cool.


Title: Re: Turn platformer (no proper name)
Post by: PeteDevlin on July 17, 2014, 09:53:53 AM
I definitely like the interaction it has with the clock. Seems like this could turn out to be a really interesting puzzle platformer.

I think here at tigsource we are really fond of screenshots, mockups, and most of all gifs, gifs, gifs. Unless its a trailer, a gif will go a lot further with traction than a video will. Check out gifcam and make a gif form of that video in your latest post. I think it will help a lot.

Good luck on this project. It looks pretty cool.

Thanks for that - How well does this show??
(http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/198/4/4/test_with_gif_ness_by_petedevlin-d7r2yrm.gif)

http://fav.me/d7r2yrm