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[Chris Pavia]

Cutting stuff is almost always a good thing in the end. I agree that the color shifting currently seems to be minor part of the game. Maybe cut everything that doesn't revolve around that mechanic, and brainstorm more ways to use it (if you haven't already)?

What if enemies were immune to everything but their own color shots? Or you could start the player off only shifting between 2 or 3 colors, then add more as the game progresses?

[Theophilus]

Uploaded a gameplay video, for those who don't want to download.



It's not really that low of quality, just the video.

[Theophilus]

Day 14

Today, I:
-Recorded a gameplay video to get some feedback on it
-Added scanlines (Visible in the video). Looks extra nice!
-Played my game a lot. It feels a lot more organized, and with what I have planned for the main game modes, I'm feeling good.


Tomorrow, I want to:
-Start implementing what I've been talking about, with the wave system and what not. Time to get some actual gameplay!


Here's a higher quality screenshot so you can see it a bit better than in the video.

[Theophilus]

Day 16

Today, I:
-Made a menu mockup and implemented it in another project file
-Changed scanlines to gridlines, looks much better and it's less scanlines in indie games, so that's always a plus.
-Emailed a musician
-Made plans for a wave system

Tomorrow, I want to:
-Implement the wave system
-Add better saving/loading
-Make the menu with the main game
-Touch base with the musician and tell him what I would like.


Here's the gridlines:

[Theophilus]

Day 17

I did nothing today. I didn't feel like working on it, and if I did, I would have done sloppy work.

So nothing today.

[Theophilus]

Sloppy work is better than no work 

I disagree. What I have planned next is the kind of work that, if done sloppily, will have to be undone and then done right (At least I think so). So I decided not to.

I'm off school this week for fall break though, so I'll have plenty of time to work on this puppy.

[eigenbom]

Im loving the chunky scanlines :-)

[Theophilus]

In the past week, I managed to do absolutely nothing.

I don't really know how that happened.

[Theophilus]

Day ???

Today, I:
-Programmed the wave system. Sketchily works, but so many bugs.
-Drew some TOP SECRET ENEMIES (top secret until I scan them)
-Considered some new ship designs

Tomorrow, I want to:
-Get back into the groove of things and make a list of stuff to do.
-Fix dem bugs, mebbe push a build.


Two weeks without a post? Ri-dic, yo.

[Theophilus]

Day 29

Today, I:
-Worked out the wave system
-Made a list of things to do to finish the game. It's a shockingly long list
-Added some graphical flair. I love doing that.

Tomorrow, I want to:
-Add mo' enemies.
-Enhance the skillpoint spending menu.


Woo! Indeed, WOO-hoo. This day was a glorious day. I have conquered something that has held me up for two weeks, and that is waves.


Here are the graphical effects:



I added the explosion, and Chunky Pixels now shoot out of the point where the enemy was killed. And you can't see that in the image, so that means...

HERE'S A NEW BUILD:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9942053/Neon%20Strikers.zip

Enjoy, my friends.

[droqen]

Hello. I know nothing about your project. I worry about EXP, and I have no idea what you're planning. Do you have a plan? Be careful about grinding. You could possibly make things more interesting by involving some kind of limited resources. Recall that I have not played your game at all yet, but I thought it would be polite to respond before telling you how funny I found a little bit of your last post.

I'm going to start calling you Tom Nook if I remember to, and ever have the chance to call you anything in particular.

edit :: why why why do I always start new pages T_T

edit :: DO YOU SPIN TO CHANGE HUE
that would be fantastic

[Theophilus]

Hello. I know nothing about your project. I worry about EXP, and I have no idea what you're planning. Do you have a plan? Be careful about grinding. You could possibly make things more interesting by involving some kind of limited resources. Recall that I have not played your game at all yet, but I thought it would be polite to respond before telling you how funny I found a little bit of your last post.

I'm going to start calling you Tom Nook if I remember to, and ever have the chance to call you anything in particular.

edit :: why why why do I always start new pages T_T

edit :: DO YOU SPIN TO CHANGE HUE
that would be fantastic

Yo Drqqen,

Thanks for your concern, I guess. Experience is there to earn levels and thus make wave completion and general combat easier - otherwise it plays as a standard-arena-shmup-get-kills-for-points game. I've thought of other ways I could expand the use of them, but that encompasses adding whole new gameplay modes, something not so light. Maybe I could have some boss rush thing, or some such.

Calling me Tom Nook is A-OK.

You may want to have a look at the project. Feel free to browse, but try not to carouse!

[Theophilus]

Day 30

Today, I:
-Changed the explosion effect. Particles!
-Added a new enemy: The splitter. Upon dying, it splits into two smaller parts. These can combine, akin to other enemies combining with the same hue, to reform the splitter. The splitter can only do damage in it's broken down form.
-Adjusted it.
-Made chunky pixels gravitate towards you
-Made a new gameplay video.


I must admit, it's looking better, but maybe a bit busy. Any suggestions?

[Theophilus]

Day 33

Today, I:
-Sat on my butt playing Cave Story


I'm having a difficult time getting back in the groove..

[eigenbom]

Get off your butt and finish this!

I like how the pixels are attracted to you, adds a good sense of physicality to the game.  I think you should add a few composite enemies next. Is there sound effects/music yet (I forget)?

[Theophilus]

Day 34

Today, I:
-Added a new enemy: The pusher. This pushes you away if you get too close. Hopefully you have a sharp eye can foresee the divergence of the blasts.
-Started a music track
-Made some sound effects.
-Made a menu mockup.


Pretty good day. Big thanks to Peanutbuttershoes for motivating me to work today.

Made the following sounds:

-shoot
-hurt
-push
-collect a chunky pixel

[Theophilus]

Also: updated the first post.

[Theophilus]

Day 36

Today, I:
-Took out XP from the design. Read below.
-Thought up some potential new weapons.
-Fixed bugs.

Tomorrow, and this weekend, I want to:
-Do some hardcore AI programming!


So I took out the XP part of the game. Leveling up seemed secondary to playing; its only purpose was to make the game easier, which is really dum. So I took it out. Also, grinding.

I feel this change better reflects my vision for the game: skill based. I would have liked to keep some sort of progression in there, but it just didn't work out.

[Chris Pavia]

I feel this change better reflects my vision for the game: skill based. I would have liked to keep some sort of progression in there, but it just didn't work out.

Maybe you could trade a level up system for a combo system? As you raise your combo (by doing something like consecutively killing enemies quickly), your power/abilities increase, but they get reset once you mess up and start back at the bottom. Then the player is moding up and down periodically over time, adding both progression and more medium-term goals.

[Theophilus]

Day 37

Today, I:
-Added some explosion sounds
-Upgraded the enemies to have a bit more proper behavior
-Started on a font for the game. The one I have now is a debug font.


Successful day, though I didn't do too much I feel that it's really coming together now. I'll have a build tomorrow!




EDIT:

I did some extra work, and here is a new build.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9942053/Neon%20Strikers.zip