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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsButton Up! - Android and iOS - latest release: 13th March 2015
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Author Topic: Button Up! - Android and iOS - latest release: 13th March 2015  (Read 48501 times)
oodavid
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« Reply #120 on: September 18, 2014, 06:59:16 AM »

@ryansumo - Thanks man! Always appreciate a follower Smiley Yeah, I'm just overtly aware that "Match" is synonymous with "Match 3", which this game most certainly isn't if anything it's closer to floodit but with more complex flood rules...

Cheers for the GFX suggestion, my plan is to get everything functional using whatever art I can cobble together and then I can release for analytics / feedback and work on the design without too much pressure. BTW Party Animals sounds awesome Smiley

@ JobLeonard - tempted...
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oodavid
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« Reply #121 on: September 19, 2014, 01:45:55 AM »

I thought I'd share a little about how my level files have progressed from something quite inflexible to a more versatile bitmask solution

My level files used to have a "board" property that described the valence of the cells, so 1, 2, 3 or 4 like so:

Code:
"board": [
[1,2,2,1,2],
[2,1,4,2,2],
[1,2,2,4,2],
[2,2,2,2,2]
]


Then I added zero's to represent inactive cells:

Code:
"board": [
[0,2,2,1,0],
[2,1,4,2,2],
[1,2,2,4,2],
[2,0,0,0,2]
],


At which point I thought "oh hey, this is looking really good, I should probably plan out the other cells that I need..." and that list looks something like this:

  • Cells that have "sludge" behind them
  • Cells that have "double-sludge" behind them
  • Cells that have a "lock" over them
  • Cells that contain a randomly chosen valence
  • Cells that contain a "Cherry"
  • Cells that are active, but empty

Of course I want to be able to combine them to say stuff like "An active cell, with a randomly generated atom, a lock over it AND double-sludge behind"



So what I've done is created a bitmask to represent the different properties:

  • 0   = inactive cell
  • 1   = active cell
  • 2   = random valence
  • 4   = valence 1
  • 8   = valence 2
  • 16  = valence 3
  • 32  = valence 4
  • 64  = cherry
  • 128 = locked
  • 256 = sludge
  • 512 = double sludge

So to represent the above example I would have 643 made up of:

1 = An active cell
2 = Randomly generated atom
128 = A lock over
512 = Double-sludge behind

I've yet to refactor my level editor to generate these, I'm still testing them so hand-writing them suits me just fine for the time being...

« Last Edit: September 19, 2014, 01:52:57 AM by oodavid » Logged


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oodavid
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« Reply #122 on: September 19, 2014, 05:07:48 AM »

Was reviewing some of my code and noticed an old stackexchange Q&A that I asked (and answered) about making gravity work with complex shapes etc...

http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/63329/falling-blocks-and-complex-shapes



Worth a read if you're into gridstuff
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oodavid
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« Reply #123 on: September 22, 2014, 01:54:56 AM »

If I can find a little time today I should be able to finish refactoring my level editor to fit the new bitmasked level JSON files.

As it stands you can select the tool at the bottom, then apply the value by clicking on the board.



This "Clear the sludge" level would require the player to create a molecule at the bottom of the screen to drop the unusable red (4) atom, after that they would have to work strategically to get a blue (1) atom in that place in order to clear the sludge. Devilish.
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oodavid
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« Reply #124 on: September 24, 2014, 02:14:36 AM »

The editor is up and running and a great timesaving tool compared to manually writing the levels.

So my current plan is to create a suite of levels for each different game mode, making sure that the game functions as expected.

I'm hoping to tackle each in a single sitting over a period of a few weeks, ie:

  • A Perfect Molecule in X Seconds - I'll do these today
  • Score a Medal in X Seconds
  • Score a Medal in X Bonds
  • Score a Medal in X Molecules
  • Clear X Sludge in Y Seconds
  • Clear X Sludge in Y Bonds
  • Clear X Sludge in Y Molecules
  • ...and so forth - there's 31 combinations!

I should be able to knock up a few hundred levels in no time! Smiley
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oodavid
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« Reply #125 on: September 25, 2014, 02:26:25 PM »

New Game Modes: Drop The Cherries / Clear the Sludge



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oodavid
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« Reply #126 on: October 20, 2014, 05:42:03 AM »

Done quite a bit of work on this, but the biggest thing to show off is the work on the graphics / interface; I decided to strip out as much of the complexity as possible, the UI is pretty much just greyscale, there's only two fonts: Helvetica used everywhere and Pacifico for the on-screen "praise".



As you can see there's still a few remnants of the old style; (the wobbly buttons, map and colored overlay) however I have a friend who's agreed to help me design a new map in a clean flat style as suggested by ryansumo and the others will be tackled in due course.

I will have a new version to play before the 15th Nov as I'm attending a Job fair in London where I want to show the game off as a portfolio piece.
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« Reply #127 on: October 20, 2014, 05:52:44 AM »

Question: why? Because flat UI is the current trend, or because you think it's actually an improvement?

Because it makes the whole thing feel a lot more sterile to me.

(Disclaimer: I'm heavily biased against the (what I consider) overuse of flat visual design of recent years)
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« Reply #128 on: October 20, 2014, 06:01:17 AM »

Agree to the above poster.
I liked the colourful graphics better. Smiley
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« Reply #129 on: October 20, 2014, 06:18:47 AM »

Question: why? Because flat UI is the current trend, or because you think it's actually an improvement?

Because it makes the whole thing feel a lot more sterile to me.

(Disclaimer: I'm heavily biased against the (what I consider) overuse of flat visual design of recent years)

It boils down to skills really, I know I'm just awful at graphics and this stripped back interface is something I can use as a non-offensive placeholder knowing that it won't look like a train wreck. When I can team up with a designer I'm not forcing a particular style on them, essentially they will have a blank canvas to work with.

Agree to the above poster.
I liked the colourful graphics better. Smiley

Oh dear, I'm starting to regret this...
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« Reply #130 on: October 20, 2014, 06:20:26 AM »

Quote
Oh dear, I'm starting to regret this...

Don't listen to them, I prefer the new style! Smiley
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« Reply #131 on: October 20, 2014, 07:06:35 AM »

Quote
Oh dear, I'm starting to regret this...

Don't listen to them, I prefer the new style! Smiley

I'll keep a tally Smiley
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« Reply #132 on: October 24, 2014, 01:39:49 AM »

I now have Facebook sharing up and running, after completing a chapter of levels you unlock postcards which can be explicitly shared to Facebook, ostensibly this is so the user can show-off their skills in the game, but as a developer it's free advertising - I guess everyone knows this to be true.

Also, it means that once connected to Facebook I can then properly store progress on the server should someone install the game on another device or uninstall the game to play in the future.

I've a friend on board to look art the artwork, he's a traditional artist (ink) that also works on comics - I reckon he could be just the thing to revitalise the design direction.

Finally, I've got round to testing the game on iOS, works a charm. One thing I must say, iTunes Connectcould take some cues from Google Play, the former is a horrendous mess of UI and UX and the latter a tight and enjoyable experience.
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« Reply #133 on: November 02, 2014, 01:15:07 AM »

So this weekend I've spent a bit of time with the editor, I've a few people interested in collaborating as level designers so I've made the editor accessible online with a simulator so that there's no need to compile to an Android or iOS device.

Nothing special to look at per-se, but it's working rather well and should help grease the wheels of production Smiley

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« Reply #134 on: November 03, 2014, 03:50:07 AM »

I've further modified the editor to fit in with the new style of the game:



Previewing the above gives this on the browser simulator:

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« Reply #135 on: November 04, 2014, 06:05:46 AM »

Good news!

I have someone working on the audio AND the map design! I'm attending siliconmilkroundabout.com in about 12 days so I'm gonna really push to get this presentable to use as part of my portfolio... I'm a happy man Smiley
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« Reply #136 on: November 04, 2014, 03:08:28 PM »

Decided to give multi-bonding a quick go, lots of bugs to iron out, but the result is a massive improvement on pace!

This level below would normally take me around 40 seconds now takes 13 - I could probably get down to 8 with a touch interface!

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« Reply #137 on: November 05, 2014, 02:36:47 AM »

OH. GOD. YES.
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« Reply #138 on: November 05, 2014, 02:53:29 AM »

This looks really awesome! Solving the atom bondings was one of the most fun aspects of high school chemistry, and turning it into a game is a genius idea in my eyes! I can see myself playing this often!  Hand Any Key
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« Reply #139 on: November 05, 2014, 04:38:41 AM »

OH. GOD. YES.

Cheers man! I can send you an APK if you want to try it out?

This looks really awesome! Solving the atom bondings was one of the most fun aspects of high school chemistry, and turning it into a game is a genius idea in my eyes! I can see myself playing this often!  Hand Any Key

Thanks Vadinci - don't get me wrong, this game is intentionally HARD - I'm tired of seeing puzzle games that have a poker-like balance regarding luck and skill. There's no level in this game that I can't complete on the first try. But then I am rather good at it!
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