It's a cool idea. I wonder though, what are the constraints for modding? Are you able to change core game mechanics? Are able (in theory) to create an entirely new game out of it just be modding?
Hey there, I'm glad you liked it! It is quite a big question and I wanted to answer it thoroughly, so it is a big post.
There are some constraints on the modding, as I wanted to make a moddable game (as opposed of making a tool to make platformers). You can change the game to behave differently, but not entirely different. To explain myself better, I will separate it into parts.
What you can do:- Create character skins. This includes a walk, jump, and idle animations. You can change the milliseconds per frame, so you can make the animations faster or slower. Also, there is a still frame for when the character dies (When you die, it is similar to the bit.trip runner death).
You are able to create characters in-game a-la Worms, or Little Big Planet, and also outside the game itself via Photoshop, Inkscape or any editor. - Create sprite sheets. This is the skin for the level, in essence, how the level looks. You make one sprite sheet which is composed by floors sprites, coins sprites, etc. You make one sprite sheet and works on every level.
- Create levels. The users have access to the same tool I use to make levels: Tiled. This changes how the level is. In-game you can also change the amount of jumps allowed (1 jump is the classic thing, but you can double jump, triple jump, etc) and the gravity of the level.
- Create level backgrounds. You can change the level's background.
In-game you can mix and match different characters, sprite sheets and backgrounds to give a different feel to the levels. For example, you could with a Cowboy, with the Space sprite sheet, and with the Casino background, or play with the Cowboy, with the Old West sprite sheet with the Old Western background (Not actual things, just for the sake of the example)
Technically, you can translate it to other language, but this is not implemented for the time being. Plataforma ULTRA is in English and Spanish (both made by me) but it is not available in other languages.
There are also other "less fun" customizations, such as editing the buttons and backgrounds of the menus.
Constraints:- Sizes. The size for character, sprite sheets, etc is fixed. You can't create a character bigger than that, or smaller. What I mean by this, is that the bounding box of the character is fixed so for example, each character frame has to be 64x64 pixels.
- Limited blocks. What I mean by limited, is that you are tied to the blocks I made (floors, springs, teleports, etc). I thought about letting the player create his/her own blocks, but after a lot of thought I decided it would be best not to include it. This was mainly because it takes a lot of time, and I wasn't sure how many users would use it.
To answer the last two questions.
Are you able to change core game mechanics?
You are able to change some of the mechanics, specifically jumps and gravity of the level. However, you can't make the player do extra stuff such as a horizontal dash
Are able (in theory) to create an entirely new game out of it just be modding?
I guess it depends on what do you mean by that. You are able to create whole new levels, and you can make both the levels and the characters look however you like. On the other hand, you are still tied to the level mechanics I created (springs, teleports, etc).
If you want to hear more about the customization, you can check this video devlog I made:
Phew, that was long. Feel free to ask more about this topic, or other topic whatsoever!
EDIT: better formatting
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