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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsThe Anniversary Game - Hotseat co-op platformer made with love
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TheCube
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« on: November 03, 2009, 01:49:22 PM »

So I'm working on this game in Game Maker, see.  I made it for my wife, Alicia, for our first anniversary, but it was kinda thrown together because I ran out of time near the end. Go figure. So now I've picked it back up (because I'm unemployed) and I'm going to release it as my first game (since I'm pretending that all the games I made in Klik n Play when I was 8 don't exist).  So yay! 

The idea is that two players at the same computer must reach the same goal to progress. Basically, it's a puzzle platformer.  At first the levels are essentially symmetrical without any cooperation, as to acclimate the players to the controls and such, but later levels will have the players cooperating and assisting each other to reach the same goal.  Some challenges can only be overcome by one player or the other, since they are immune to obstacles of the opposite colors. It's possible to play this game with one player (and so far none of the challenges are really reaction based so it's just a matter of doing it slowly), but that's not really the intention.

Screenshot(s) to follow:



It's not very hard at first, mainly since my wife doesn't play a lot of video games and I didn't want to make it diabolical, but it'll get harder.  I know my art is fantastic, no need to compliment me.


Instructional and warning signs.  I'm trying to make it so that you can play the game without reading any tutorials, in the style of Portal.  Is that last one in the lower right readable as "Warning: Deadly Lasers?"  Also, assume that green is transparent.


Features so far:

  • 7 exciting levels!
  • Some sound effects made with the excellent SFXR!
  • Spikes, lasers, switches and doors!
  • Some other things I am sure!

Features that will be implemented later in this devlog:
  • Probably like 20 levels!
  • Graphics that suck a bit less!
  • Crates that actually work instead of not working!
  • Music! (er, any volunteers on that front, actually? I suck at writing music)
  • Menus!
  • Saving!
  • More tiny signs!
  • Meaningful messages of love?

So I'll be updating this (and my blog) every once in a while with progress and an eventual release, as well as a possible beta if anybody really cares.  Any constructive (or instructive, or destructive) criticism is welcome.  Yay!
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Nate Kling
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« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2009, 08:50:54 PM »

Hey sounds cool TheCube.  I love co-op games and I also like the idea of really personal games like this one.  Id hate to see this game have characters as just spheres especially one grounded in such meaning.  Im sure there are lots of pixel artists floating around here that could so some quick small character animations if you didnt want to do it yourself.  Good luck.
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TheCube
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« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2009, 04:51:44 PM »

Thanks for the support, Caliber.  I'm actually sort of attached to the little blue and red dots, and since I kinda want to just finish this and get it out there, I think I'll just stick with those.  But yeah, it's kind of a silly game anyway, so it's not too bad.  Next time though!

Formal update:

Made a title screen today, yay!



Yes, I drew that in Paint.  Skip would be the level select, and Stuff is options, but I figure it’s more fun to just click on them than to try and explain it.  Also finished another level yesterday, so the total is 8 at this point…yep.

Unfortunately, my hacked together platformer engine is, well, hacked together, so the dots keep getting stuck in walls.  Not that often, but often enough to be ridiculously frustrating.  Gotta figure that one out.
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TheCube
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« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2009, 12:00:59 PM »

Lessons I will probably never learn vol. 1

The way I've built my tilesets, I have to make the level, then put down all the outlines on the architecture (don't ask).  What this means is that a level has to be entirely finished gameplay-wise before I put all the outlines down, since changing anything after that involves two steps, which is kind of a pain in the ass, but oh well.

So I finished a level, and I tested it to make sure I didn't screw it up.  After testing it, I realized that it wasn't exactly clear what I wanted the players to do, so I added in some spikes to direct them the way I wanted them to go.  (That is called "The player is always wrong and I am awesome so do it my way," and I'm sure there's another lesson in there somewhere too).  Then I added in the outlines.  That was two days ago.

Then I was running through the entire game again today (since apparently I had nothing better to do) and I realized that (a) I'd made one entire passage pointless with those spikes, and (b) I'd made the level impossible to complete.  So...I had to rearrange the architecture significantly, THEN redo the outlines. It probably only took ten minutes, but it was still a face-palm moment.

So, today's lesson that I will probably never learn: Don't change anything after testing if you don't plan on testing it again!  You will inevitably screw up the entire level.  If you're me.

Progress today: Finished another level (up to 9!), researched saving to INIs, ate a sandwich.
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