[#Update 70 - Character sounds]

#Update 70 - Character sounds

So I did two things other than play testing and fixing a few minor level design things:
- Updated the walking path.
- Started adding new sound to the characters movement.

Sounds





I really like how the sound feels alien. It correlates well with the environment and I think this is the way to go. I tried having "regular" footstep sounds earlier, but it just didnt feel as good to me.

Path

I tried out different versions of the path to make it feel a bit more alive and not so stale.


Original straight path.


Wobbly path.


Masked out path.


The path geometry.

I ended up using the wobbly path. It really gives you the sense of being out in the forest on a more natural and organic path.

[#Update 69 - Deeper art dive]

#Update 69 - Deeper art dive

So yesterday I continued digging into the art style and it is starting to feel really good. Here is a list of what I accomplished:
- Added particles to make the scene feel more alive.
- Added wind to the trees and foliage to make the scene feel more alive.
- Played around a little bit with music, ambiance and sound in general.
- Made the main path through the level unlit with a custom lightning model.


Final particles and wind.

I did a few tries of adding geometry along the path to make it come alive more. Also got inspired by ItsMadsTalking in update 66.


Path geometry 1.


Path geometry 2.

Also madness when the wind is too damn strong!

[#Update 68 - Upgrading slam]

#Update 68 - Upgrading slam

I felt that I had find another way of activating the slam ability. Pushing the left stick down and pushing A(jump), while in air, is not very clear. So now I have a visual queue that shows the player when its charged up and when it gets activated. It gets activated by pushing the left stick down. This has turned out to work really well, and every play tester has found it by themselves (so far).


Slamming in wind.


Slamming in water.

I also had:
- A meeting with Erik Odendahl from Fast Travel Games who helped me out with my narrative
- Play test with a friend
- Fixing stuff from both of those sessions
- Worked on the upcoming 3_5 level

[#Update 67 - Deeper art style]

#Update 67 - Deeper art style

I started the day with some play testing, then continued by fixing a few issues that had appeared from changing different things:

- Added damping to the wind again, since removing it led to all sorts of bugs and unpredictable behaviour.
- Bug fix for ChuChu not getting pushed enough after changing kick force.
- Resetting flaps instantly when new cube is picked up.
- Made wind more visible on light background.
- Changed color for slam cube.
- Fixed bug where levels on planet 3 did not get completed.

puh, all these "minor things" takes so much time, but adds so much to the experience.

Art style direction

I finished the day by digging into the art style. I wanted to make sure that the new art style direction was actually gonna work for the other planets as well. Here are some images from that:

[#Update 66 - Looking into art style again]

#Update 66 - Looking into art style again

I started out yesterday by finishing up level 3_3 and 3_4. I added and updated transports to the levels. It ended up looking like this:


Getting transported.


Level 3_3.


Level 3_4.

Prototyping new art style



I really like the direction this is heading. And it feels so much more plausible than the old direction did. Also a friend (ItsMadsTalking) made a  mock up of what he though it should look like:



I think it look really cool with the organic environment in contrast to the alien cube. What do you guys think, should I go towards this style?

[#Update 65 - Floating water and magnets]

#Update 65 - Floating water and magnets

I finished level 3_2 yesterday and made some changes. Both to game mechanics but also to my "tools". Here are some new obstacles that I put together using the new mechanics:


Flap obstacle 1.


Flap obstacle 2.


Flapping hard when jump cube picked up.

I also updated the magnets, removing the collision with the center piece.


Traumatized from getting flung around in the magnet.

Added features

So I finally got so annoyed or afraid of this happening in a final build so I added some stuff:

- I added a beam drop off point that only happens if you are in the editor and have checked a box. I did this so I wont have the character beam down somewhere random from when I was developing. (See teal label for "EditorDropOffPoint" and blue label for "BeamDropOffPoint").

- The camera will always move to look at the beam drop off point before the level fades in. This way the experience will be consistent across maps as well.

- I added level 3_1 and 3_2 to the third planet and updated all the related logic.

Finished Level 3_2



Play test

I also did a play test of these two new maps and the floating water puddles were very unintuitive. I am not sure how to solve this.. they kind of work like a swing, but you can access them from below and the sides. And I really like how they behave.. hmm 

[#Update 64 - Bullying homing orbs]

#Update 64 - Bullying homing orbs

Homing Spitter
A spitter for the magnet world has been added and it shoots.. homing orbs! I hope the color switching of the orbs is intuitive. But I will see after some play testing.


Final version after iteration 1.


When the game is bullying you (earlier when it was a bit OP).

Updated floating water


Map 1 of magnet world

[#Update 63 - Birds and fixes]

A magnetic swingy tampon!

I like the direction you are taking with the magnets, but I suggest not to over do it, it can get confusing figuring out that many variations/features and things similar to each other but that work so different.

I also like the bit where you tried different shapes, since the character already is a little bit gummy it makes sense for it to reshape into appropiate forms for different circumstances.

Haha yeah, not really what I wanted to convey, but hey. Something to work on (:

I think you are right about the magnets. I need to make sure I dont overdo it and that the players find the different interactions interesting. AND not confusing, thats a good point.

Ah cool, I see what you mean. But at the same time, thats almost like a core mechanic on its own. I feel like I have to watch out with the scope if I ever want to finish this.

Thanks a lot for the feedback, I really appreciate it

#Update 63 - Birds and fixes

Birdie

I added a new enemy for the third level which will be sort of like a patrolling bird. I want the first world to be about the ground, second about water and third to be about the air. I mean in general.

This is what it looks like after the first iteration:


Bird attacking.

Magnetic transportation

I added this transportation system which makes it possible to choose which side of the transportation cube you will travel on. This becomes a minor puzzle and will hopefully work well together with the bird.


Transportation system.

Water surface walljump

I finally found a nice technical solution to find out if the character is at the surface. I have wanted to be able to let the player do walljumps when at the surface but not when under water. This is how it works now:


Water surface walljump.

Final

I still feel like there is something missing in this world. Probably gonna try doing something with a homing-orb-spitter and also some type of enemy that works well together with the ground slam ability. Also need to watch out for what @desdemian wrote about not overdoing the magnet theme.

[#Update 62 - Magnetic mechanics]

#Update 62 - Magnetic mechanics

I have added some mechanics that are mostly related to magnets.


Spinning around magnet.


Magnet pushers.


smaller magnetic spheres. I am hoping to be able to make some kind of puzzles out of these by having them rotating in different directions.

Experimental features


Magnetic swing.


Travelators.

[#Update 61 - Slamming energy]

#Update 61 - Slamming energy

New energy cube
I added another new energy cube for planet 3 which makes is possible to... SLAM!.. into the ground. I really struggled trying to find how it should affect the character. But I guess I found it by thinking of what the opposite of flapping was( ...  ). And its not as it is an uncommon ability. Anyway, it feels as though it complements the other abilities well and will hopefully be a fun thing. This is what it looks like at the moment:


Slamming into ground, water and wind.

One thing I am worried about though is how to teach the player that you will need to push the stick downwards before pressing the jump button. I have so far not introduced any visual tutorial for controls. By that I mean no images of "Press A to jump" or a controller-stick moving downwards while showing the jump button being pressed. Any suggestions?

Heres a list of the abilities that I thought of:
- Shoot yourself in a certain direction when let go of jump button.
- Being a magnet that shifts from positive to negative each jump.
- Slowing down time permanently. Or slowing it down depending on how fast you are running.
- Getting cloned, so you would have to move 2 characters at once (both listening to the same input)
- Change shape.
- Become a liquid.
- You can see sound as a fourth dimension.
- Teleportation.
- Invisibility.
- Starts talking and making sounds. Affecting the surrounding environment.
- Jump to a different dimension where you can pass certain objects.
- Turning into a prism being able to direct light.
- Moving between lights.

Many of these could be a core mechanic of a totally new game. I really wanted to avoid introducing something too advanced/complex.

Stuff I tried


What if you had a spinning magnet?


What if the cube changed your shape into a circle? (the collision geometry is a circle, not visible).


Other visuals for flapping (I think the old one is better).

[#Update 60 - Flapping]

#Update 60 - Flapping

New energy cube
I added a new energy cube for planet 3 which makes is possible to... FLAP! I mean I guess fly a little bit. This combined with some new elements of floating water makes for some interesting interactions.

I went through 3 iterations before settling for the final version.
- First one felt like having a rocket boost on the back. More like levitating.
- Second one felt better but still confusing to people as it gave different results depending och when you flapped.
- Third one resets the y-velocity each time, hence gives the player predictable results. And it feels good.

I try to visualize how many flaps you have left with the pink dots. Not sure how close that is to a final version, but people seem to understand what is happening and what it means, which is the important thing for now.


First version.


Second version.


Third version.

New mechanics and interactions

I added floating water puddles that can be used for multiple purposes. As you can see in the first gif of this post, it resets the flaps. But it can also be used for jumping upwards and creating obstacles together with the magnets.


Jumping between water puddles.


Water puddles + magnet set up.

[#Update 59 - Magnetizing]

#Update 59 - Magnetizing

Trying to get started with the third and last planet, I started making prototypes of some new mechanigs. So far I have added positive and negative magnets. I'm thinking that they could potentially be the core theme of the planet. Also conveying that the planet is a bit unstable gravity wise, so there are floating puddles of water and things like that. But well see..


Positive magnet.


Negative magnet.


Jumping on sliding blocks.


Attracting sliding blocks with positive magnet.


Deattracting sliding blocks with negative magnet.

[#Update 58 - Fishy boss]

#Update 58 - Fishy boss

I have started working on the second boss now. It is a big fish that you will need to feed with smaller fish by tricking them into its mouth. This is just a first prototype of the boss the be able to show it to people and let them try kind of what it will end up being in the end.


Part 1 of boss so far.


Part 2 of boss.


The whole boss.

I also started prototyping features for the next world which is probably going to be something with magnets. But well see.. 

[#Update 57 - More darkness]

#Update 57 - More darkness

I have kept working on darkness levels and finished up level 2_7 and 2_8.

A few gifs showing how the shadows come in to play. I really like how the cut away most of the screen. In combination with not seeing that far away from the character, this makes you very focused on what is important in the scene.






Scary pusher shadows.


Level 2_7.


Level 2_8

I also started thinking about the boss for world 2. I have a few ideas but haven't settled yet on which one/ones to go for yet.. 

This sounds so nice and relaxing!

I am curious about what exactly the gameplay will evolve into. I get so many nice thoughts about sliding around on icey slopes with my penguin buddies , taking it easy - then suddenly you see a polar bear or seal and go

Get me one of those penguins and put it to max chubbiness and Ill do everything I can to keep their lil' flippers warm 

[#Update 56 - Darkness (levels)]

I like the style, and the game seems to have a lot of thought put into it.

..also, as a Finn I can't resist the sisu

Hey, thanks a lot! Glad to hear that you like the style and that me using Sisu is a positive thing

#Update 56 - Darkness (levels)

I am taking a break from the art stuff and revisited the concept of having dark night levels. The energy cubes has been removed since the last time I tried it so I needed to make the player start glowing when picking up the cubes. I think it worked out really well, both from a gameplay perspective but also that it added these really nice shadows which could potentially be used for gameplay (thanks for the idea Mahatmaindie ).



I also introduced a milder version of the spitter which has orbs that only pushes you back instead of freezing you. I will probably use these in the first world.



I also made the collider for picking up energy bigger to avoid annoying moments where you would miss to pick up an energy cube, even though it looked like you should have gotten it. This feeling especially occurred when the camera was zoomed out.



A part from that I have made some minor changes to the levels to make them more fun and less annoying.

[#Update 55 - Art style struggle]

A very good start! I follow!

Thanks! I appreciate the support 

Your tech art stuff is so neat! The gradient tile gen is super cool, looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Thank you! I am glad that you like it, Ill try to write more about it as I continue to develop it 

A very good start! I follow!

#Update 55 - Art style struggle

I had a hard time yesterday trying to figure out how to put levels together in an efficient and nice way. And at the same time create an art style that is interesting and sticks out from the crowd.

I also worked on the tiling tool, which feels done at the moment.

Tile based tool

So yesterday I mentioned shortly that I had some issues in the background mesh where the sewing did not quite work. Well it turns out that the gradient that I created in paint.net does not create coherent colors for each horizontal line. Even though it was only a really small different, it ended up meaning that the edge where two meshes connect is visible.

I solved this by using Inkscape instead, which works with vector graphics and created coherent gradient values.

I also had to make sure that the normal map is tiled, otherwise it ends up with the same problem of having some vertices being offset at the edges.


No gap between tiles.


6 tiles put together. They partly depend on world space coordinates to create some differences.


Using different gradients to elevate the mesh.

Art style


Prototype 1. Too much going on.


Prototype 2. Still too much going on.


Prototype 3. Background is too detailed and draws too much of the attention.


Prototype 4. Welcome back to the early 2000nds.


Prototype 5. Less distracted by the background. Starting to like where this is heading.


Prototype 6. Added shadows.

There are so many things that end up being troublesome though, just to get it to work the way I want it to.

- When you offset vertices in the shader, the camera will cull those objects depending on the original mesh shape. This creates a very nasty popping effect.
- For each type of tile, you will need to create a separate material. And then if you want different normal maps on similar tiles, well then thats a new material.
- Vertices being offset differently because image editing software (paint.net and apparently photoshop when a friend tried it) does not create perfect gradients.

A bit of a rant, but I thought it could be interesting to know about stuff that comes up from all of this 

Final

Funny thing that could be used for deforming the landscape when something happens in the game.

[#Update 54 - Back to tiles]

#Update 54 - Back to tiles

Yesterday kept looking into being able to use tiles instead of one mesh for the landscapes. I found that by using different black and white gradients to control how different normal maps are applied to the tile mesh, I can hopefully sew them together in a nice way without getting too much visible repetition.

These are some early examples:



Gradient do get tile to rise in middle only, making it possible to connect flat tiles on the right and left side.


Gradient do get tile to rise on the left side only, making it possible to connect flat tiles on the right side.

Here is an early image:


Still issues with getting edges to work well together in some cases (see upper right part of image).

[#Update 53 - Getting ready for Stugan spotlight video]

#Update 53 - Getting ready for Stugan spotlight video

Yesterday I was working on putting together some stuff for the spotlight video that Stugan does for each team. I am a bit nervous about it. But in the meantime I created some gameplay footage that could be used in the video and a youtube header. (it will get recorded today I think)

[#Update 52 - Tool for tiles]

#Update 52 - Tool for tiles
 
I started looking into creating a shader for stiching together different 3D tiles. First I wanted the edges to be able to have different y-positions (height). I got it working and it looked pretty cool.


Stitching tiles together.



I did get some very rare occasions of vertices not ending up at the same location, and also the tiles would need to have the same amount of vertices at the edges, and they need to be using the same tilable normal map.

So what I did instead was keeping all the edge-vertices at their original position. This way I can mix and match different tile sizes and different types of tiles without running into stiching issues.


Getting a paralax effect from different sized tiles.


3 different sizes of tiles next to each other.

And finally some images from more art style tests:




Testing depth of field to see if it would make sense in this game.