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[Moromis]

Version 1.0
.exe
.swf

Bocage is a precision platformer (I think). The features thus far are:

-Movement, including shift+movement and wall-jumping

-An auto-save system

-10 levels

-Menus and the like

-A boss


Controls:
Arrow Keys - Left/Right movement

Space - Jump

Z - Interaction with objects - the game tells you when you need it.

R - Restart the level, if needed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________




Well, I've been working on my first real game for a couple of weeks, and I decided to let the world see, as I've heard devlogs are cool things, and this project is far enough along that it probably won't collapse upon itself. I'll be updating with various pictures.

[zephyr]

The art looks good already, even if it's just a placeholder.
The main character reminds me of the one from Tower of Heaven,
any connections? 

[Moromis]

So, I started on the actual, rather than placeholder, art. Here's a sample screenshot of the first level (this is probably not the finalized look, I'm not fully content with it overall). I want it to not necessarily look like the generic platformer, as in that it will not have distinct platforms, but rather just a whole painted map.

[jO]

oh man, those large trees look super good!
The small one in the front looks kinda off.

[Impmaster]

Heh. Will this have some sort of main mechanic, like Fez? If so, looks like fun!

[Moromis]

@zephyr: Somewhat. I started this game after playing SMB, Tower of Heaven, Rayman, and seeing Fez. I've always liked platformers in particular for games, and I wanted to make a nice, happy game with a nondescript main character.

@jO: Thanks! I did actually remove the foreground tree, as I never did like it too much.

@Impmaster: I've been thinking long and hard on that one. Obviously I like "gimmick" games (they're actually solid platformers) like Braid, Fez, etc. but I don't feel that's necessary, as Tower of Heaven and SMB (haven't played all the way through either) are mostly just uber-difficult. I tried out an idea where you would press a button and you would shrink down, and do puzzles that affected the larger world, a la LoZ:TMC, but that didn't really seem to work for the game. I might add a puzzle element, but other than that and having as top notch music, art and gameplay as possible, it'll just be a normal platformer. Anyways, long rant.

A forest glade setting, not in game so still 320 x 320:

[Moromis]

The first boss of the game. He might look small now -- but I believe he'll take up 1/4 of the screen. (scaling makes me not sure)

I wanted to actually post a list of features implemented currently and a small list of things I currently have on my mind to implement:

Currently there is:
-Movement: walking, running, jumping, shift+jumping and wall jumping.
-Core sound assets, not including music.
-A menu.
-Multiple levels and being able to globally switch between them (for some reason this was really hard).
-Spikes and electricity producing boxes.
-Your cat! You rescue him/her every level.

To come:
-Child menus (Main menu -> Overworld -> World maps).
-Save system.
-Death Counter (? Do you want this?)
-Various music, BG SFX, BG scenery, and little scurrying animals and various other cute things of the forest.
-And finally, more levels and bosses of course.

I believe my final consensus for the direction of this game is a cross between Rayman and Super Meat Boy (of course, I'm going to be invariably influenced by all platformers I've played, but mainly I'm going for hard levels in a well-drawn universe with no player weapons).

More updates to come, I'd like to finish this before June.

[Moromis]

Code:

	        override public function update():void
		{
			if (!onScreen() && this.x <= 0)
			{
				velocity.x = 250;
			}
			if (!onScreen() && this.x >= 640)
			{
				velocity.x = -250;
			}
			if (!onScreen() && this.y <= 0)
			{
				velocity.y = 250;
			}
			if (!onScreen() && this.y >= 320)
			{
				velocity.y = -250;
			}
			
			if (rand1() == 2)
			{
				fly();
			} else {
				velocity.x = 0;
				velocity.y = 0;
			}
		}
		
		private function fly():void
		{	
			if(rand() == 1 || rand() == 3)
			{
				facing = LEFT;
				velocity.x = 100;
				rand();
				if (rand2() == 1 || rand2() == 3)
				{
					velocity.y = 100; 
				} else {
					velocity.y = -100; 
				}
			} else if (rand() == 2 || rand() == 5)
			{
				facing = RIGHT;
				velocity.x = -100;
				rand();
				if (rand2() == 2 || rand2() == 4)
					{
					velocity.y = 100; 
				} else {
					velocity.y = -100; 
				}
			}
		}
		
		public static function rand():int 
		{
			return Math.round(Math.random() * 6);
		}
		
		public static function rand1():int 
		{
			return Math.round(Math.random() * 4);
		}
		
		public static function rand2():int 
		{
			return Math.round(Math.random() * 2);
		}
		
	}

}

Programming a butterfly. It was actually really interesting, using random numbers to make it fly in different directions. If you run it as is, it's a bit jerky right now, so I'll probably change it later, but it's still fun to watch something do unpredictable things.

Status update: 6 levels of the first world are done, out of a total of 10. The music system is now unbroken (you didn't even know it was broken!  ), fauna and flora are being created, and the music has been updated.

[Leon Fook]

are the guys arm always that short or is it just a mistake? Why not use the short arm as the core mechanic of the game? Like, he can pick up an arm extender in some level so he can do extra stuff like pushing and picking up stuff.

i think this piece is pretty sweet.

[Moromis]

are the guys arm always that short or is it just a mistake? Why not use the short arm as the core mechanic of the game? Like, he can pick up an arm extender in some level so he can do extra stuff like pushing and picking up stuff.

-Snip-

i think this piece is pretty sweet.

Thanks, I worked a long time on it.

That is the final art for the character, so yeah... That does seem interesting, and I hadn't thought of using that as a mechanic. Thanks for the idea, I might implement it in a level or two.

[Moromis]

MENUS!!

First, the main menu (with all my developer nonsense):


Then, navigating through the play button, the overmap:

Each world/place/thing will only be shown once you complete the previous one.

From there, clicking on the forest:


A gameplay GIF:


There's a couple things in there. I added a portal disappearing animation to the player's left to show that they had moved forward a map (and for the polish factor). Also, there are blurry foreground trees. Also, I got the save function implemented and working, so that's cool.

Currently there are 7 levels done, and there will be 10 levels and 4 worlds. Thus, there will be 40 levels total, and the first world is almost done. Once I finish the first world, I'll upload a prototype build so I can start getting some feedback.

That's it for now.

[Leon Fook]

The foreground blurry tree doesn't really stand out too much, but if stand out too much will block the view of the player, so it is unnecessary. Foreground image usually works in the game with left and right motion(the world), so if you put in the one screen game, it can really ruin the view of the player.

And also the platform on the 3rd stage, it's almost invisible when i doesn't look at the screen for awhile, and the foreground tree really help(to make them invisible). Should put some grass on top of that like in the second level

[Moromis]

The foreground blurry tree doesn't really stand out too much, but if stand out too much will block the view of the player, so it is unnecessary. Foreground image usually works in the game with left and right motion(the world), so if you put in the one screen game, it can really ruin the view of the player.

And also the platform on the 3rd stage, it's almost invisible when i doesn't look at the screen for awhile, and the foreground tree really help(to make them invisible). Should put some grass on top of that like in the second level

Yeah, you're probably right about the foreground. I thought it would work at first, but it didn't pan out as I envisioned. Also, the platforms in the 3rd map are supposed to be semi-invisible when retracted, but they do need some detail work to make them more wood-like. Also, a little update:

You now die, crumble into a pile of ash/dust/whatev this guy is made of, and these piles stick around till you finish the level.

[Moromis]

Da da da da da da


Got sick, but I'm almost over it. I'm starting work on the first boss after some concept time in my head. Should be good, and I'm trying to get it done as quickly as possible so I can get a demo out so that I can start getting feedback.

I also added a "rising lava" level, which kind of breaks up the slow pace and precision jumping monotony of the previous levels.

[godsavant]

Nuh! How dare you.

Tower of Heaven guy is my original character. Do not steal.

[Moromis]

Then I shan't!

Stuff looks weird. (it's nice that things are generally working on the first try nowadays though)


Unfortunately, even though the boss level is falling in place, the general engine is still a mess and I'm weighing the cost of redesigning the code.

[Moromis]

The demo is here. I have braced myself for the bug reports, so the time is nigh.

Here's the .exe

And here's the .swf

Controls:
Arrow Keys - Left/Right movement

Space - Jump

Z - Interaction with objects - the game tells you when you need it.

R - Restart the level, if needed.

The first area is the little forest clearing at the bottom right of the overmap. The demo ends after the first boss. There are 10 levels so far.

[Moromis]

I feel like all the images I post are of odd bugs. This one is where I finally gave my butterfly smooth movement, but it also had a very large velocity left over from trying to get it to move nicer.

Changelog

Sounds have been added for:
-Scroll opening
-Cat picked up
-Birds taking off
-Rock Boss smashing
-Player death
And any others I forgot...
Various sound levels have been adjusted, though are still not perfect.

As for art, grass that waves when you walk over it, a frog, and a squirrel have been added. Post if you think of an animal that would fit, I'd like to do more flora and fauna.

I'll probably host a new build tomorrow, as I also fixed a rather serious bug.

[Moromis]

The .exe and .swf have been updated to a new version. I think I'm going to just call it good with this project and slap a finished badge on it. I started the game from this, originally, and once I got it to the state of completion that the tutorial detailed, I wasn't quite satisfied, so I embarked to implement wall jumping.

So, thinking of it as a way to learn Flixel inside out and work towards a working game demo with some cool features, I started adding features. And I've been doing that for weeks now. I believe now's the time to just say that, with the state of the code (it's shabby and ugly!), I really do want to just start something new. I hadn't ever coded before this game, so it took me a long time to do everything in this game. Anyways, do please play the game, I would like it if even one person played it, as it is technically a complete and hopefully interesting game, just lacking in a large breadth of plot or conclusion.