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[TheLastBanana]

DRILLBOID

PLAY IT HERE

I've been working on this game with capnbubs for the Unity contest on Kongregate. We're at the point now that we'd love to hear some feedback on it.
The idea is a 2.5D platformer in which you explore procedurally-generated caves containing treasure and high-tech alien ruins, as well as some alien flora and fauna. It's still in early alpha, so there's a lot missing, but there's enough to play with that you might find it interesting:

Feel free to check out our development log, too - I'll be posting on there about the methods I'm using for procedural generation and all that fun stuff, and capnbubs will probably have a bit to say about the art side of things, too!

Enjoy!

[Conker534]

Cool, Miner Dig Deep inspiration? :3

[deathtotheweird]

the play test build link takes me to blog

have to say, the character design is lovely. nicely animated too. controls feel nice and smooth and that's pretty important.

[sinoth]

Really digging (heh heh) the main character.  Sexy jump-boost flames!  Too bad there is nothing to do in the game yet :[

[Conker534]

Really digging (heh heh) the main character.

Watch out you know how the forum can get when they see this. XD

[SFBTom]

Great, really smooth animation, I like that when I'm in the middle of turning and I roll up, it doesn't jump to the side frame but rolls up mid turn. Lovely!

[reindeerFlotilla]

Pretty interesting. The main character's animation is really fluid. Couple things though;
When you roll up into a ball, is that going to affect gameplay in some way? Like would you be able to deflect bullets or something?
Also, maybe mention the jetpack in the sentence explaining controls, I got a little bit stuck for a second when I mined too far down and couldn't get back up.
Keep at it man!

[TheLastBanana]

Cool, Miner Dig Deep inspiration? :3

I can't say I've played it before, actually, but maybe capnbubs has.

the play test build link takes me to blog

Oops. Fixed that.

When you roll up into a ball, is that going to affect gameplay in some way? Like would you be able to deflect bullets or something?

Yeah, the ball will let you get through little tubes in underground bunkers and possible cracks in the dirt. We'll see if we get that far before the deadline, but if nothing else, it'll also be used as an attack on certain enemies.

Also, maybe mention the jetpack in the sentence explaining controls, I got a little bit stuck for a second when I mined too far down and couldn't get back up.

Jeez, I totally forgot about that. Thanks!

[Danrul]

Drillboid is a game by TheLastBanana about the tribulations of a mining robot.

My uncle was hired to work on the rainwater drains project in Tokyo, as lack of proper drainage was flooding the streets any time it rained heavily.  The tunnel boring machine they use is capable of moving several tons of dirt and rock a day.  Its blade is 8 metres in circumference and is diamond encrusted.  It's quite a piece of machinery, to which Drillboid himself does not compare.

Regardless, the way Drillboid disposes of dirt without a slurry pump is most admirable, I will give this game an 8/10.

[TheLastBanana]

There's a goal in the game now! Every level contains a glowing orb, and you have to locate it and bring it back to the surface. There's nowhere to bring it yet, but you can at least play around with the orb and see how it works. As well, capnbubs put in some lovely new backgrounds and effects.

[capnbubs]

We just put out an update on our site everybody. There's an enemy now and a bunch of additions. We're getting close to the contest deadline now so expect frequent content updates for the next couple of weeks!

[suggo]

it looks really good and plays pretty well, but i couldn't find this orb and got bored, it felt like it was getting a little monotonous. maybe I'm tired but I also didn't understand the map when i pressed tab

It is also pretty late and I need to go to sleep, so maybe that is why I stopped playing a little early. I know you're also trying to keep the mystery but I feel like I need more light, sometimes there just isn't that much to look at and it feels a little boring, maybe a few more firefly things in random places to add a little light.

just my 2 cents, good work though it is looking really good.

[capnbubs]

Thanks for the feedback suggo, hopefully we'll make it easier to understand before the deadline!

As for it being boring well for the next two weeks before the contest we will be concentrating on adding more content to the world and making it more varied. We'll also be adding an ambient light slider so people can adjust it to their preference if the game is too dark for them.

[ohgr]

for what's there, you guys (there's more than one of you, right?) have done a fantastic job. Movement and all actions felt very fluid and streamlined and all of the effects and textures are great.

Content is really the only thing kind of lacking, but as i understand it that's the focus right now which is good to hear. i'd suggest maybe more than one thing to look for underground other than the orb; powerups, points, equipment, etc. I kept finding myself wishing i had some sort of flare drop/signifier or something to kind of act as rudimentary waypoints for where i had and hadn't dug around/explored (the map does work well enough for this by showing the general area you've been in).
i'm sure it's on the dev list somewhere as well, but adding some basic ambience/music would break some of the monotony some people might feel.

keep up the great work, i really like it so far and can't really think of any big complaints.

[TheLastBanana]

for what's there, you guys (there's more than one of you, right?) have done a fantastic job. Movement and all actions felt very fluid and streamlined and all of the effects and textures are great.

Yep, it's capnbubs and I working together on this.

Content is really the only thing kind of lacking, but as i understand it that's the focus right now which is good to hear. i'd suggest maybe more than one thing to look for underground other than the orb; powerups, points, equipment, etc.

Yep, that's the plan! For the contest version, it'll mostly be treasure scattered around and guarded by creatures, but there will eventually be equipment and such that you can buy with the points you've collected.

I kept finding myself wishing i had some sort of flare drop/signifier or something to kind of act as rudimentary waypoints for where i had and hadn't dug around/explored (the map does work well enough for this by showing the general area you've been in).

We've discussed flares, actually, and we're still determining how best to implement them. That's an interesting point you make that they could be waypoints, though!

i'm sure it's on the dev list somewhere as well, but adding some basic ambience/music would break some of the monotony some people might feel.

It is indeed on the list. There'll be some more going on in terms of sound effects and music in the near future.

keep up the great work, i really like it so far and can't really think of any big complaints.

Glad to hear it!

[TheLastBanana]

I hate to double-post, but we just updated the game again with some really cool effects. The caves have reverb, broken tiles drop chunks of rock, and we also have some music. As well, Gelfis now have an unbelievably satisfying explosion and ragdoll effect on them. Give it a try!

[capnbubs]

Seems there was some kind of problem and the old version was still up, it's updated to the new version now!

[TheLastBanana]

We just updated again! This time around, there's some more enemies, and some mysterious alien bunkers (complete with deadly lasers, of course).

If exploding jellyfish aren't incentive enough to play, I don't know what is.

[Inane]

Dayumn!   How good this looks I'd expect people flocking to this thread like locusts.

[capnbubs]

Dayumn!   How good this looks I'd expect people flocking to this thread like locusts.

I'm glad you like it!

It would be nice to get feedback from some more people xD