This will be the final build for NaGaDeMo. We wanted to do a lot more, but for various reasons this is all we got to. I’ll expand more on what went right and wrong in a later post, but for now all I’ll say is please enjoy. Let me know what you like or don’t like. Hopefully all the bugs have been addressed. Play it below.
Play the latest version here.
Added the visuals for the multiplier bonus, and a timer. If the timer reaches zero, your multiplier is reset. That’s all really. I had an idea for a graphical timer, but couldn’t get it to look right. Maybe later.
Tomorrow, I’ll add in an aiming indicator, and maybe some non-collectible obstacles to help/hinder your progress.
Play the build here.
Some visual changes, added a hideous space background image that doesn’t fit at all. Added back in the grid texture to the arena (not sure how or why that came out). Also added in the multiplier concept. The multiplier is set to the highest number of gems collected at one time, and the value is used to multiply your score for every subsequent collection. However, it resets to 1 if you form a triangle but fail to collect any gems. In the future, it will also reset if you take too long.
There was something else, but I’m really tired, and I hadn’t checked in my code in so long the diffs are useless. Let this be a lesson: Don’t go dark, boys and girls!
Edit: I remember what the other changes were! The gems take longer to blow up, giving you a bit more time to figure out what to do. I did not fix the color matching bugs (gems not collecting when they should). Also, the multiplier value is displayed at the top, and yes I know there’s an alignment problem. It’s just a prototype, I don’t have to have the whole thing finished for, like, 4 more days. Oh jeez…
Play the demo here.
I added the color matching mechanic. Currently there’s only 2 colors, but the code is easily extendable to as many colors as we need. In the end, we’ll probably only use 3 to 5, as I can already tell that the difficultly increases quickly with more colors.
The description of the color matching mechanic, in case you couldn’t figure it out, is that you have to bounce off (or start from) at least 1 surface of a matching color to pick up the gem. So if you try picking up a blue gem, but you start from and bounce off of all red surfaces, you won’t be able to get it.
In the next update, the gems themselves will have multiple colors. To pick up a multicolored gem, you have to bounce off at least 1 surface of a matching color for each color in the gem. I’m tired, so I’m sure none of that makes any sense. You’ll see it when I post it.
I’m posting a build, even though it’s not a lot different from the previous one. The basic gameplay is unchanged, although I tweaked the visual a bit to prepare for the actual art that is soon to come. Behind the scenes, however, I fixed some bugs. You shouldn’t be able to launch the puck out of the arena anymore (at least, I couldn’t, but please let me know if you manage to do so.)
Play it here.
Up next is multiple colored boundaries and gems, with the next major game mechanic. Then it’s probably just polish from there on out.
Play the new version here.
In this build, I added scoring and a losing condition. If you let a gem sit too long, it explodes, ending your game. For scoring, each group that you collect gives you 2^n points, where n is the number of gems in the collection less one. So 1 gem is worth 2^(1-1) = 1; 2 gems are worth 2^(2-1) = 2; 3 are worth 4; 4 are worth 8; etc.
I also added some variations on the sparks, to give you an indication that a gem is about to explode (small blue sparks), and an indication that a gem exploded (big orange sparks).
Play the new version here.
This is the first fun build, in my opinion. There’s still no actual gameplay, but the visuals make it a bit more compelling to toy around with. Changes I introduced are:
Bugs I’m aware of:
Only a couple of hours to work on it, and I’m still moving pretty slow. But here’s a demo where the collectible objects are removed when a triangle is drawn around them.
Moving a bit slower still than I’d like, but it’s getting there. This demo is a bit more interesting, at least it seems like something is happening. The collectible item in the middle of the board goes away regardless of what you do. What should happen is that after a triangle is formed, all collectibles inside will go away. The one there now is just serving as a placeholder, and no test is being made. Also, after objects are collected, more will appear to replace them. That will be the prototype. Then we’ll figure out what we want to do going forward.
So far progress has been pretty slow as I struggle to find my pacing. Last night I spent a good chunk of time setting up version control and task tracking. The time frame for this project is pretty short already, and it may not have been the best idea to introduce these changes to our normal workflow. Normally, I would attempt to redeem myself somehow, showing you the logical reasons why I decided to move forward with those changes. But I can’t think of anything other than sometimes I make bad decisions.
Moving on.
For version control, I decided to set up a mercurial repository at bitbucket.org. They offer 5 private repos with collaborators for free, which was a better deal than github. I went with mercurial because I wanted to try it out, and compare it to git. I let you know what I think about that after I’ve used it for a while. From some cursory reading, it seemed like an easier workflow than git, which I thought would be nice for Adam (the artist).
For task tracking, I set us up a board over at trello.com. I’ve played with Trello before, and I liked it. They have an iOS app, which will help me stay on top of things. Currently there’s only one card on our board, though: “Make a prototype”. If anyone is interested in seeing the trello stuff, I’ll try making the board visible to the public. Leave a note in the comments if that’s something you’d like to see.
And finally, the interactive demo. Not a lot of changes visually; I’m still trying to remember things about Unity. But you can click-and-hold on the screen to get the sight line, and release to move the puck that direction. Aaaaand, that’s it. The next version will be much better.