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[blekdar]

I just keep going today, forgot to mention there's a new build out, addressing mainly bugs.

http://boncho-games.itch.io/blitz-breaker-alpha

Quick list of fixes:

- Fixed an issue with the character shooting out of the screen
- Fixed an issue with conveyor belts not registering properly
- Changed collision movement when hit from the side, character no longer bounces off, but hangs in the air for a brief moment (thank you Chaotic Heart for this one)
- Tweaked the difficulty on a few stages (ie. Mish Masher 9000 now has enough coins to complete the level when rushed through, thank you FloatingCoder on that one)
- Changed a few level layouts (ie. Robot's First Maze now showcases how the dissolving platforms work, thank you johnguydude)
- Fixed a game ending bug when you pressed space on the results page (thanks again johnguydude). For now the space key does nothing, but will be added again in later versions
- Sort of fixed a camera issue where if you went up during a downwards screen transition the camera didn't move back up. If the camera is not overlapping the area Blitz is in, it does correct itself, it just looks a little odd at the moment.

I'm very thankful that you guys are playing it and posting your feedback and crits, so keep at it!

Oh, and to cap it off. Here's the chicken head doing battle against a robot octopus.



I'm also working on improving the font, as I hear about it somewhat often.

Cheers!

[tehPHEN]

Hey Blekdar,

Just gave your alpha a try. Very polished so far! 

Some things I've noted straight from my head (in no particular order):

• Minor detail, but I would love to see the main menu's navigable via primary controls (WSAD)
• Near the end of 1-1, you have multiple Keys, but there's no indication of which key opens what gate.
• The controls are tight, and physics is very consistent!
• I didn't immediately understand how star's are rewarded at the end of levels (I slowed down did some reading)
• Area 1-2 level 5 was the first level I had the most challenge with. Difficulty curve seems great so far
• I noticed when I die I have to hit spacebar twice to restart, one of the screens indicated the game to restart, and the other indicated to begin. Are both screens really needed here?
• Area 1-2, level 7, I had a offscreen death and that felt unfair (going from the right screen,to the left and hitting a spike before the camera panned).

[crusty]

Holy crap this game is amazing.  This is art.  It might be a better game than kirby tilt n tumble.

The only thing that weirded me out when playing was that the level select stuff didnt look like a level select until after I beat the first couple and went back and realized how it worked.

[blekdar]

Holy crap this game is amazing.  This is art.  It might be a better game than kirby tilt n tumble.

Box art quote right there. Now to make some box art.

The only thing that weirded me out when playing was that the level select stuff didnt look like a level select until after I beat the first couple and went back and realized how it worked.

Minor detail, but I would love to see the main menu's navigable via primary controls (WSAD)

Once I finish the indiecade ios build, I'm going to work on making the menus make more...sense when playing on PC. This should include controller input as well.

I didn't immediately understand how star's are rewarded at the end of levels (I slowed down did some reading)

I may need to look at changing this, so people are less confused by it.

I noticed when I die I have to hit spacebar twice to restart, one of the screens indicated the game to restart, and the other indicated to begin. Are both screens really needed here?

Unfortunately it kind of is, for a couple reasons. Some of the levels start off needing some very quick reflexes, so the two screens give good preparation time. Also there was an odd bug if I just had the one screen, where quick button presses would tweak out the transition.

Area 1-2, level 7, I had a offscreen death and that felt unfair (going from the right screen,to the left and hitting a spike before the camera panned).

It sounds odd, but that's kind of what I was going for. I was aiming for this level to teach the player to be aware of whats coming up, so I can introduce similar puzzles later, albeit harder and requiring better timing.

The controls are tight, and physics is very consistent!

You have no idea how much I loved hearing this. I have spent WAY too much time tweaking that. Seriously, I know I shouldn't stress out about things like that but it really did sometimes.

This is awesome, you guys are awesome. Everything is awesome! Thanks for the comments + crits! I appreciate it!

Edit: Hey look, over 5000 views ^ ^yaaaaaaay

[crusty]

Yeah I concur on the physics!

Movement mechanics feel perfect to me.  The game inherently has no slideyness factor -- which means that as a player I will never feel that the game is at fault.  But at the same time, it still feels fluid cuz of that sweet sweet rebound window and the awesome sound effects/animations/screenshake.  Really satisfying and never stressful.

All that being said, I'm curious if other people are having trouble on the base jumping level.  This is the one level I've faced so far that actually does have a bit of hidden slideyness (acceleration due to gravity).  I felt like I was flying through the game till I hit a brick wall with that level -- even after a night of sleep -- which science suggests is when we obtain skillz.

If this opinion is representative of the majority of playtesters, I think that reducing the terminal velocity cap (or implementing one) might make this particular level easier while not nerfing the difficulty on other levels (since this is the only one I've encountered so far where you have to make a move after falling for a long time).  For me, it's just a really small timing window to hit reliably.

If this opinion is not representative of the majority then ignore me.  I'm not saying the level is too hard, just that it felt out of place in the progression.

[blekdar]

This is the one level I've faced so far that actually does have a bit of hidden slideyness (acceleration due to gravity).  I felt like I was flying through the game till I hit a brick wall with that level -- even after a night of sleep -- which science suggests is when we obtain skillz.

You know I haven't fully considered the max falling speed. I went and analyzed this a bit and decreased it by about 20%. It seemed to be more predictable when falling higher distances. Thanks for pointing this out!



Started working on a nicer looking font, and keyboard prompts. Thoughts? Does it actually look any better?

[Fat Bard]

Don't looks much more readable. For heads, you HAVE to make a secret Fat Bard head. Little orange beard (depends on color palette) and hat w feather in it .

[BigThink]

It does look interesting but in my own opinion I don't see the fun clearly.
Any videos to showcase main mechanics and the fun?

[blekdar]

It does look interesting but in my own opinion I don't see the fun clearly.
Any videos to showcase main mechanics and the fun?

Well, not every game is for everyone. I did build it around the concept of a platformer that was easy to control on both PC and mobile.

That being said, personally I'd recommend playing it yourself and seeing if you enjoy it. The current build of the alpha is here:
http://boncho-games.itch.io/blitz-breaker-alpha

If you'd rather just watch some of the game play, you can watch it here. The video is old, but it does showcase gameplay:




Let me know what you think, if you have any comments or critique.

Little orange beard (depends on color palette) and hat w feather in it

You're damn right I can do that.

There should be another build update in the next (hopefully) couple days. This would add (maybe) Area 2-2 and the character selection screen. Either 2-1 or 2-2 is probably where I'll cap off public builds. Gotta leave some surprise to the final version.

[CakeDrake]

I went through one of the small walls in level 2-4

[blekdar]

Reworked the title screen, got bored of the dark grey back ground. Almost got the indiecade build ready to go. May need a few iOS testers if anyone is interested.

[blekdar]

New build on itch: http://boncho-games.itch.io/blitz-breaker-alpha

Adds the character selection screen + addresses bugs. The full list is over on the playtesting thread.

Also built a screenshot album over on imgur to help show off the premise of the game, and for a bit of exposure. Nothing I haven't shown off here before but if you wanna have a look... Bam: http://imgur.com/gallery/mytcr

Swap out the PC controls for touch controls and you have what I'm gonna submit to Indiecade, barring any bugs I've missed (very likely) and possibly the second half of world 2 (also likely), but as far as mechanics and extras this will be my go to.

Any thoughts or issues you guys find please let me know. Thanks!

[oldblood]

Looking forward to playing the new build. Will let you know my thoughts once I get a chance to play it...

[Crabby]

This is really fun!
It seems to be perfect for mobile devices!
Looking forward to more!

It's just great!

[blekdar]

I made a bread head. Cause I can.

Also been tightening up the build for Indiecade. Ran into a music issue due to how construct 2 handles sound files. I found a work around and it seems to work for now.

Managed to start working on World 3 after a long time. Working on actual levels is a great way to make the annoying bits seem less...annoying?

Anyways once I've polished up the indiecade build I'm gonna start working on proper pc + gamepad controls for fantastic arcade. I find these festivals + showcases help me make deadlines. Works pretty well actually.

[ashtonmorris]

Looks good. At first I thought the colors were too monochromatic but the recent gif's show a better contrast with the character and conveyors etc.

I think the key to these games success is simplicity in controls and it seems that you have a great handle on that. Best of luck!

[blekdar]

Looks good. At first I thought the colors were too monochromatic but the recent gif's show a better contrast with the character and conveyors etc.

I think the key to these games success is simplicity in controls and it seems that you have a great handle on that. Best of luck!

Thanks, the main reason a lot of it is monochromatic is to help the player quickly distinguish what objects are on screen. I've never been a fan of platformers that are really vague about on screen dangers, so I'm trying to make it really clear what kills you and what doesn't. Glad you like it!

[blekdar]

I'm back. Character/head select screen is looking like this now:



I like it like this. Now to add like 50 more heads (I may or may not be serious)

[blekdar]

Got me some box art. Lu with Sleepy Sheepy (Holobunnies artist I believe) made it, and did an awesome job.

Also somehow managed to submit Blitz Breaker to Indiecade! Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo okay I'm done now.

Have a good one everyone!

[blekdar]

So I've been working on getting keyboard controls in the menus up and going, as well as gamepad controls. While doing that something occurred to me and I need some opinions/advice:

In a game where there's only 4 directions, should I even implement analog stick controls? They're kind of sloppy compared to the precision a d-pad offers, which would be key in this game.

What do you guys think?