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[I_smell]

 
Let me tell you about a bear I once knew.
In the mid early late 1950's it was a commonplace scene to see bears at the circus, in a show, or on the streets in Eastern Europe. They'd Perform elaborate dance routines to seduce money from the pockets of honest-working men and women.
The bears weren't as economically minded as they seemed though; for behind the curtain was a league of masters that used bears as hollow tools of greed and deceitful gain.
Borris was one of these bears, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Borris could never leave- he had a wife and a mortgage and he needed the money. He knew though that one day he'd break out. Then they'd all be free. Because Borris had the gift. He was the bear messiah.

I've bin meaning to start a Devlog for ages, but I'm so unorganised that it'd just come out as a mess. This one'll work though, it's pretty small and neat. I started this game for not the best reason: At the start of this week I lost my phone- I lose stuff all the time and it makes me feel like an absolute useless idiot kid. I'm really bad with this. So before I buy a new one I need to make a game again. Not to make the money back, just so I feel less dysfunctional. And I need to make smaller games.

Blastmaster Borris, the Bear that Blasts Big Blue Beams is a platformer combined with the beam mechanic from Robot Dinosaurs that Shoot Beams When They Roar. The beam obliterates just about everything, and helps you get around with some jetpack-like inertia. I want the game to be a small couple of levels with one sub-boss and one boss so it can end before it loses momentum. I want to finish it within the next couple weeks.
It starts in the circus, then Borris travels across the country, and I'm not sure where I want to end it- Wether it should end modestly, or an extremely over-the-top epic struggle for mankind.

Comments and feedback on the game as it goes would be absolutely fabulous.

Oh, here it is by the way:
http://www.tombrien.co.uk/Games/BORRIS.html

[mark]

I love you.

Sorry, that came out wrong...

I like the way you think and I applaud you making more games about things shooting lazors.


Feedback:
Seems a little short.


PS. if you're buying a new phone the HTC phones are actually awesome.

[Wander]

that's pretty dope Smelly.

i like the sharpness and thin little lines much better than some of your other games.  It looks good scaled down. :-)

i agree that it's a little short too, but i think you already knew that.  nice job so far.

[I_smell]

Okay good, that's a good start.
level one is done enough to show how it's ultimately gonna look: http://www.tombrien.co.uk/Games/BORRIS.html

Having second thoughts about the dimensions.
Oh and I'm absolute shit at background art, incase you can't tell.

[Wander]

say - that's pretty nice.  i like how the lazers double as a jump propulsion system.  can you DOF out the BG?  I think that would look really coooool, but also it's flash, so I don't know if flash does fuzzy lines.  Maybe a little BG fogging to a color would push that BG back and really give you some depth - so a semi-opaque sheet over it or somethin.

Whatevs though, it looks cool.

[I_smell]

Oh, Flash can do all sorts. That was a good idea, and seperates the background well.

I like it better without the blur.

Actually, I just toned down the blur and now I'm keeping it.

[Afinostux]

That bear totally stole Bruce Campbell's lower jaw :D

I'm liking how this is looking. My one complaint is that there's not enough screen area below borris to do the laser jump accurately, since very small mouse movements can make the jump unstable.

Actually, after playing it again, that problem is only inside the starting tent. Shooping da Woop in there seems to have different physics. Clicking really close to borris' head makes the laser scatter all over the place, for instance.

[ElijahKatz]

Very cool. Respawning needs to be improved. I kept respawning in the air and dying...

[Wander]

Oh, Flash can do all sorts. That was a good idea, and seperates the background well.

I like it better without the blur.

Actually, I just toned down the blur and now I'm keeping it.

cool - i'm glad you dig!  I hate to backseat art, but then again - i guess i don't hate to backseat art when I don't get yelled at.  That last screen looks good.  Keep killin it. (^_^)

[mark]

I'm more for the second one to be honest.

But they're both very nice.

[I_smell]

No, a backseat artist is exactly what I need. And I've got a compomise with that blur.

The respawning is fixed. I liked having him pop up as he respawned, but it did interrupt the game.

[Dom2D]

Well I laughed a lot at the first scene in the Circus. Hope there's more exaggerated carnage coming in the game

[I_smell]

UPDATE. Tip: It's the same URL every time. I'm gonna have to stop updating with the full game and start doing screenshots sooner or later though.

Anyway this is looking very ametuer right now, so excuse that. I've added tutorial signposts for anyone who gets stuck and needs a hint, I hope they help.
I like the little hiker guy and want more things like that all over the place.
I like that he goes in a very video-game cave, but it does feel very generic and boring. Like every indie platformer in the world has a section like this, and I feel dumb. If I keep it swift and funny though I could probably get away with it.
Wow, the art needs work. Background tile looks good, but it's obviously not tiled right.
Needs more things to shoot.
Commentary blah blah.
Tell me everything I'm doing wrong, and what I should do right blah blah.

[Jared C]

Looking very nice, Smelly.  The game mechanic is very fun, and I can't wait to see where this thing goes. 

[Wander]

This is fun.  I jumped over the tent and went to the left and died. :-(

Keep it coming with the content.  The only problem I see is that WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR YOU TO FINISH IT.*  Good thing you're damn fast.

*that's SUPPOSED to be a compliment, though it sounds like a snooty statement. (^__^)

[I_smell]

Do clouds go in the sky or on the ground?



Each has it's strong point. I could probably use them on the ground when you come out the top of this mountain. I wanted to have parralax scrolling mountaintops there though.
I'm definately gonna start using the blending modes in Flash, I've recently found them to be really good for effects.

[Montoli]

I vote ground!

Or maybe both, if the paralax background in screenshot #2 is tall enough that you wouldn't see them both at the same time.

But between the two of them, I think the clouds on the ground add more.

[I_smell]

But you get higher up as the level progresses, so just as they start looking nice they're gone.

[ElijahKatz]

But you get higher up as the level progresses, so just as they start looking nice they're gone.

I say they start in the sky and as you go higher they get lower...
LIKE REAL LIFE!!! 

[moi]

Or they could just remain stationary.
Low clouds on the horizon (like in screen 1) always look cool.