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[Zack Bell]

[Zack Bell]

The map is getting large. How do you adventure and metroidvania folks keep track of such large maps? 55-60 rooms/screens and I'm already getting a tad lost.

[ThePortalGuru]

Design doc.  When your maps get to be huge, you'd best start loggin' em.

[Zack Bell]

Yeah, I've basically been drawing out the whole damn thing on graph paper. Scaled to one block represents a 64x64 area.

[SolarLune]

Yeah, I've basically been drawing out the whole damn thing on graph paper. Scaled to one block represents a 64x64 area.

You draw them to scale? I just draw room 'concepts' and how they fit together - I don't worry about the sizes. I'm sure that's not to my benefit, but it's working alright so far...

[Zack Bell]

To scale...ish. Enough that I can recognize which room it is without having to pull it up on my computer. 

[Zack Bell]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/29279751/Games/TUNES.exe

Again, same demo as before (I don't want to spoil all of the changes that I have made  )

BUT I added the cave music to the demo instead of the title screen music. BREAK BEATS.

[Zack Bell]

An actual update...

TODAY I:
-Finished the layout for the cave levels
-Tiled the rest of the cave levels
-Implemented the background music
-Implemented the object that changes the music when you exit one area and enter another
-Placed a few of the collectables within the caves
-PLAYED A LOT
-Had a few close friends play through all of it

[Zack Bell]

Hanging out between my math and programming classes I added as much level design as I could. (And I still have an hour to spare).

I focussed on adding a sense of scale to the world. I wanted the world to seem TALL because you will be traveling from the depths of the deepest cave to above the highest clouds.

Between the sky and caves there is somewhat of a neutral area (the fields). Here there are no obstacles or hazards; only catchy tunes and some pretty blades of grass.

This neutral area is now four screens high from the entrance of the sky levels to the entrace of the cave levels. From there, both the sky and caves are about 4-6 screens high as well.

I also designed it so that you can take a leap of faith from the sky all the way down to caves with ease. 

[todd]

Between the sky and caves there is somewhat of a neutral area (the fields). Here there are no obstacles or hazards; only catchy tunes and some pretty blades of grass.

 

[Zack Bell]

A quick peek at what part of the ruins area MAY look like...

[Zack Bell]

I added more music to the game. There is now a title/credits track, a track for the field, and a track for the caves.

I added a gradient to the sky in each room. Each room horizontally, as you travel towards the sky levels has a different sky gradient. I wanted a slow progression of color from room to room. From blue to more of a pink and orange (sunset ish).

Sorry that the progress is slowing down! I've been focussing on school and my programming studies rather than the game because the programming aspects for the game are out of the way already