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[Happy Shabby Games]

Hey everyone,

I recently finished my second game, Doppler, and thought I'd share it. I'm new to game design so any CC concerning the art/gameplay/story/music is very welcomed.

It's a short, 3 level game and the basic story is that you are a meteorologist working with an experimental Doppler radar system. The weather has gone crazy and it's up to you to go and collect field samples to discover what is causing it. The gameplay is fun and hectic, and there are cool dialogue segments in between each level.

-Story Mode
-Endless Mode with local high score table

Newest Version
DOWNLOAD
Windows compatible only
Instructions in-game

OLD GAMEPLAY VIDEO




Enjoy!

[RichMakeGame!]

looks amazing! gonna check it out tomorrow morning

[Spooner]

I only took a quick look, since it seemed the same as the last pre-release version I looked at. I thought this had a really nice style and the cut-scenes added a great deal to the relatively simple, though elegant, game-play.

Shame the scarf didn't work out for you :D

[oyog]

Don't have anything constructive to say, just; "That was fun!" and, "Attractive pixels!"
 

[Happy Shabby Games]

@RichMakeGame! - Cool, please let me know how it goes!

@oyog - Thanks for playing and I'm glad you enjoyed it. 

@Spooner - Spooner, you're awesome. Thanks for the kind words and all the great cc from the previous builds I sent you. I'm going to test the scarf out tonight and if it goes well I'll post a new build in the am. The main thing I added since the last time you tried it was view scaling to make the pixels nice and crisp.

[leonelc29]

it's...wow...

the game is good, but the title screen is kinda blank a little.

i don't know about other, but the umbrella thing-y is kinda...like, not much of the use. i must admit that it help me for some time, but then it doesn't really help me most of the time, which is because of the wind that change constantly. but otherwise, it's a good game.

 

[Happy Shabby Games]

@Leonelc - Thanks! Yeah I'm not so confident in making promo type art for title screens and the like... Yeah the umbrella is very hit and miss and I'm not sure how to fix this. Would making the winds direction change less often help you think?

@Spooner - I couldn't get the scarf to look right, so I added a wind compass below the player.


Here's the new version with the compass. Updated at the top also.
DOWNLOAD

What do you guys think? Does it help at all?

[PompiPompi]

Fun game,
I also agree the umbrella isn't so useful, mostly because it's hard to tell where it will take you. I assume you are suppose to know by the direction of the wind, but it's hard to follow.
In the last level there were also a lot of rain drops that are impossible to take without getting hurt. So maybe you should consider to change that?

Overall, great game! Kudos!

[RichMakeGame!]

Hi! i loved it, really charming little game great artwork

while I was playing, I did have to remember to use the umbrella, I think it's maybe not quite as central to the game as possibly originally intended?

I wondered, maybe if the wind changed more often, and there was a stronger indication of it (i mean, particles more prominent, or moved faster) I might use it more? (the compass is useful but I don't feel it always gave me an instant idea which way I'd go, because it's quite a small element in the bigger picture)

there's one alternate idea I had, which you may hate, but what if the umbrella could take you in any direction but if you use it too much it turns inside out and can't be used for a while.. I know this goes well against the idea, but I wondered if it'd be fun for gameplay.

anyway, all in all it was a challenge but I managed to comfortably complete it, which I think is what you want in a game like this. Enjoyed it a lot!

PS, i think you should make a more exciting tagline like: clouds may crush you! or, er something.

[Happy Shabby Games]

Fun game,
I also agree the umbrella isn't so useful, mostly because it's hard to tell where it will take you. I assume you are suppose to know by the direction of the wind, but it's hard to follow.
In the last level there were also a lot of rain drops that are impossible to take without getting hurt. So maybe you should consider to change that?

Overall, great game! Kudos!

Thanks for the kind words and for playing it PompiPompi!

-You can tell the direction of the wind by the wind particles, the windsock on the tower, and the little compass below your character.

-There are unlimited raindrops so you just have to judge which ones are worth getting

@RichMakeGame!

while I was playing, I did have to remember to use the umbrella, I think it's maybe not quite as central to the game as possibly originally intended?

I agree. It was meant to be a quick way to get to the water globules and a way to dodge obstacles(which I think it does fairly well). It's a bummer because it ended up just being a last resort when you're in a pinch that doesn't work in your favor all the time. I thought about having the umbrella go whatever direction you want like you mentioned, and it's not a bad idea, but at this point it would change the majority of the gameplay. I guess the lesson is to make sure the mechanic is 100% useful before banking on it! I feel it's at 50% right now. I'm going to think about this some more.

I really appreciate the detailed feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed the game  

PS, i think you should make a more exciting tagline like: clouds may crush you! or, er something.

Yeah it sounds like a data entry sim...  

[leonelc29]

there's one alternate idea I had, which you may hate, but what if the umbrella could take you in any direction but if you use it too much it turns inside out and can't be used for a while.. I know this goes well against the idea, but I wondered if it'd be fun for gameplay.

rich say it all.

[Happy Shabby Games]

Okay I took your guy's advice, and I'm stoked on how it turned out!

You now have total freedom over the direction you go, and there is a meter that drains quickly when using the umbrella. When you deplete the meter, an inside-out umbrella icon appears above your head and you are unable to use the umbrella for a short time. It becomes more transparent the closer your umbrella is to being usable again.
                                         


New version. Updated at top also.
DOWNLOAD

Let me know how it goes!


p.s. - I'll be working on some tunes today for this. Wish me luck.

[Spooner]

The new umbrella-sprint, especially with the inverted-umbrella cool-down mechanism, works pretty well. I would have preferred a workable system that still used the wind-direction, but the lack of a clear wind indication (or a good way to show it) really made that not workable, which is a shame, but sometimes playability is more important than realism :D

EDIT: Congratulations for hitting the indiegames.com front-page

[Happy Shabby Games]

Wow thanks  , I don't even know how that happened! I'm humbled and very grateful.

[Headless Man]

Just saw this on indiegames.  Fantastic, but you HAVE to create a score-based endless mode that ratchets the difficulty up.

[superflat]

Really like the art, reminds me a bit of Contact on the DS (which I loved.)

[James Edward Smith]

Yeah, the art and the general design of the evironment and characters was really good in this. I also appreciate the atypical theme as meteorology games seem to me at least, to be a severely underserved space.

I think the game could be improved by making more elements on the screen show the player the wind direction. The station on the side having the wind sock on it and the wind speed wheel and all that is cute and all, but it's too far away from where the players eye want to be looking basically all the time, the actual ground the player is standing on. If the game field had visible blades of grass on it that could reveal the wind direction during gales and if the player had some element of clothing that did so as well and stuff like the birds also did this, then the game would look much more appropriate I think and gales pushing you would feel more "right" because you could see them doing it.

[Happy Shabby Games]

Just saw this on indiegames.  Fantastic, but you HAVE to create a score-based endless mode that ratchets the difficulty up.

Thanks! And that's a great idea. It would get insanely hectic haha. A two-player endless mode with health would be niiiice. 

Really like the art, reminds me a bit of Contact on the DS (which I loved.)

I checked out Contact and I'm flattered. Thank you!

@Geothermal - Since I changed the umbrella mechanic(you can go whatever direction you want) the wind doesn't play as big of a role. I'm bummed it didn't work out as originally planned but I had to do something to salvage it. The only thing the wind effects now are the gales and the direction the tumble weeds move.

I really can't afford to place anymore wind indicators on screen. There is the wind sock like you mentioned, and wind particles on the screen. Their number at least doubles when a gale is going. You also have the gale warning which gives you a second or two to see what direction the wind is blowing. I'm afraid there isn't much else I can do regarding that  .

Thanks for the feedback and for giving the game a go.


Here is the next build with some tunes I made today!
DOWNLOAD

If you don't feel like downloading the game again, you can just check them out on my soundcloud.

Enjoy guys 

[leonelc29]

i now feel more swift and useful now! but the game is still chaotic as ever, which is still nice

[RichMakeGame!]

I like it!

I wondered, maybe the wind can affect you at all times (like the gale, but less so). So you can still dash against the wind, but if you go in the wind direction you still get a little boost compared to otherwise. Since the free-dash makes the game slightly easier, maybe that would balance it a little back the other way

I'm just thinking out loud there, if it sounds over-complicated feel free to ignore

congrats on the indiegames mention!