next »

[locknic]

Day 1 - Testing

Yesterday I started my own game development challenge, and have given myself 5 days to create a short 2d platformer about a boy that falls down a well and has to find his way out. I chose 5 days as this will hopefully be the first video game I finish making, and so I wanted more time so I don't have to rush or lose any sleep over it. I've decided to make youtube videos to show off the progress each day, as well as blog posts each day that go into more detail about my development. I hope to get some feedback, so let me know what you guys think. Go easy on me, it's my first game.

I am programming the game from scratch in Java. Day 1 has just passed and I have managed to make a program that loads maps (using some placeholder textures), and a player character that I drew up quickly. You can move the player around and collide with walls so far.

Youtube video:


Blog post: http://custardgames.com/2013/02/12/the-well-day-1-devlog/

[locknic]

Day 2 is over! I have made some good progress, putting in an animation system and some real physics as well as drawing some animations for the main character. I fell behind schedule today, so I will have to work hard if I want to complete this in 5 days!


Youtube video:


Blog post: http://custardgames.com/2013/02/14/the-well-day-2-devlog/

[locknic]

Day 3 is done! A lot of progress made today. There is now traps and checkpoints, which makes it start to come together almost like it's a real game. Exciting. Also, I got some art done, and now have someone helping me with the art too, which makes the levels actually look like levels.

Blog post: http://custardgames.com/2013/02/15/the-well-day-3-devlog/
Youtube video:

[locknic]

Took a day break, but another day done now. I did some testing with some of my friends sending a version using the black and white theme and the textured theme. Pretty much all of them that played it said I should stick to the textures so I guess that's what I'll do for now. Though if I wanted to make another game with that art style, really all I need to change are the assets and level and not really any code. Anyways, here is the update:

Youtube video:


Blog post: http://custardgames.com/2013/02/17/the-well-day-4-devlog/

[poe]

I like your graphics. The game looks difficult in an unfair way at the end but this is good work for a week

[locknic]

I like your graphics. The game looks difficult in an unfair way at the end but this is good work for a week

Well this is just my testing level to check all the coding is working. I'll be doing the proper level later today.

[locknic]

I am finally finished!

Try out the game: http://custardgames.com/2013/02/18/the-well/

[poe]

Beat it, died a lot, took a bit. That was a cool game and I look forward to seeing what you make in the future . The jumping was a bit sensitive and some of the areas were too cramped but overall it was nice!

[mono]

^ was that pit just to mock me?

[poe]

I thought it was kind've funny. All the C's telling you to jump.

[Sir Raptor]

This game's jump physics is walking the line between overly sensitive and completely arbitrary. I learned to fear any jump that had spikes overhead, because I had no clue whether I would overshoot or not. This is bad programming.

[Joxno]

Heyo,
I played the game for about 10min give or take 5min, completed it and quite enjoyed it,
I also have some minor feedback that I hope you find useful.

In terms of the Jumping mechanic it seems as if though it almost had 4 modes of jumping,
1 being quite a small jump, then a mid-tile height jump, then slightly higher than that and finally the one that essentially makes you defy gravity and fly.

I wouldn't say that the problem is the jumping, but it's the time sensitivity for the different jumps. In most cases I ended up dying due to not being able to properly use the correct timings to hold down the jump key in order to not die because of the timings being like.. 50ms,80ms etc. (Ballpark figures but you get the point.)

Something neat would be to have the spikes be lower than a full-tile because at times it can be hard to tell if I'm on a platform or on the spikes.

I liked the multiple choice routes you kinda got later on and also the semi-hidden checkpoints were kinda neat, although it would've been nice to just walk over these in order to activate them instead of manually activating them.

Besides from that, well done on finishing a game.

Cheers!