Phew, we're finally almost done with this new prototype, involving the huge redesign we mentioned.
As mentioned in our previous post, we set out to fully redesign the 2 levels that we had in the prototype, shifting the focus of the platforming sections away from the rhythm puzzles and moving platforms, to mainly exploring the levels that we've redesigned (and populated with some other forest critters to enrich the experience).
Having said that, we still really liked the rhythm puzzles and moving platforms, and thought it would be a waste to totally remove them from the game.
Plus, we did get feedback from our fan community over at our discord server (plug plug:
https://discord.gg/cBqRT6C) that they liked the rhythm puzzles too.
And so, we decided the rhythm puzzles would stay, but we're putting them in areas where it's optional, and don't hinder the overall progress. Plus we also redesigned the visuals on them, something that's been bothering us for quite a while. Thankfully, after the numerous recent playtests, we found that the new visuals really helped. Previously, it took quite while for most people they could figure out what to do with the platforms, and we put quite a bit of information on the visuals too.
But now, even without having to clutter the UI with the icon on the top left showing the notes you can sing, players have been able to figure out what to do.
The note icon (the "S", indicating that you press "S" on the keyboard) pulses according to the rhythm (that you will also hear) needed to activate the platform. The circles below the note icon also light up according to the length of the rhythm pattern. In this case, it has 2 beats in the rhythm. As it lights up, it will change colour according to whether you got the sequence correct. It lights up as red by default if you miss your input attempt. This new style includes the notes involved in activating the platform being shown on the platform itself, and the length of the pattern being represented by lit up circles instead of a bar. The bar which we showed in the previous gif didn't make it clear how long the pattern was until you've seen it fill up a few times, plus it didn't reflect whether the player was successful in that portion of the sequence.
Also, a bit of a sidenote, back in October, when we were attending the game conventions we mentioned in the previous post, we also had a little competition where we invited fans to design their own bird characters, and we'd select a few to put in the game. We called this competition the BirbChallenge.
Why do I mention this now? That's because we're including some of these designs into the current prototype that we're making. The optional areas with the rhythm puzzles are also where we'll be putting these BirbChallenge winners. Players will find these birds' feathers around the levels, hinting that there is a hidden rhythm puzzle section in the area where they can find the bird.
Other than that, we also included other critters to populate the world. Some serve a purpose, some don't. I'll reveal the purpose once we get the demo out
We're currently aiming to release this new demo version out at the end of January. This demo serves to show the public the redesign decisions we've made so they get a better idea of what the game will be like when it's out, and will also be the "vertical slice" version we'll be showing industry peeps.
And with that, I'll leave you guys with some pics of the critters. (These aren't from in game ^^")
Oh! I almost forgot, but we made some new songs too, though they aren't completely polished mechanics-wise in the current prototype yet.
We've posted some previews on our audio guy's soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/hahanifty/sets/songbird-symphony-previewsGive them a listen, and let us know what you think
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