I recently decided to take part in my very first game jam - well, I have entered several ones before, but always had doubts and never submitted my games. Not this time!
The game jam name couldn't be more fitting: I Can't Draw But Want To Make A Game (Again) (https://itch.io/jam/i-cant-draw-but-want-to-make-a-game-again). The goal will be to dash into little paint droplets and deliver them back into the big paint bucket (that fell over). I already finished a simple movement mechanic and some simple gameplay. Today I added a player indicator to implement 2 player gameplay later down the line.
Tomorrow I am planning to create some more levels for the game and test out the game mechanics a bit.
Good for you. I think Gamejam's are terrific for developing coding skills as they force you to think about finishing a game to a deadline and come up with novel ideas based on a theme. I keep meaning to enter a few myself but usually chicken out at 3 day deadlines and the like.
Have a crack at the next Syntax Bomb competition once you've done a few of these. Consider it a warm up exersize :)
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean by chicken out :)) I've seen the posts about the Syntax Bomb jam, but I was late to the party. If all goes well, I will participate in the next one.
Today I wrote the code to shuffle the color array (basically which colors of enemies spawn in the level). Otherwise the game became too predictable and less varied. Shuffeling an array and checking for duplicates was something I never had to do before and coding it myself was a nice exercise. Especially the nested loops can provide quite some pitfalls, but I managed to get through.
Unfortunately it took me a bit longer than expected, but I will try to add more levels to the game this afternoon.
Instead of adding some levels, I fiddled around with a couple of color palettes to find something pleasing. Once I found one that I liked, I started overhauling the main menu and using the new colors. I am overall pretty satisfied how it turned out.
Today I've created some levels and squashed some bugs. Still plenty left :)) Out of 7 levels I found 4 to be pretty fun. 2 are tutorial levels (and not done yet). 1 level will be discarded as it wasn't fun to play.
I've also added a bullet animation for the turrets, which looks quite alright.
I've added an options screen where players can manage the input options (which required a check, if any devices are connected or not).
9 days to go in the game jam, looks like I might actually hit the deadline on my first project!
I really REALLY like the visual style you've got going here - good colors that feel right.
Here's a couple of potential suggestions for you:
1. the border is currently a 4x4 tile (2 on top and 1x2 on the bottom). Think about using just one of the blocks and not the 4x4. that way the characters would be that bit more prominent.
2. And you're gonna hate me for this.
I Love the graphics style, but the thing that is shouting to me is animation. What I mean is, however you are doing the graphics do another set, that are the same but different. and each frame (or 4 frames) flip between one set and the other. this would give you sort of flickering in the outlines and possibly color shifting enhancing the 'drawn' look. it would give the same effect as used in the TV show Rhubarb and Custard:
I can just see all the menu text and players with that sort of look :)
Rhubarb and Custard!!!!!
I so remember that cartoon from when I was a kid. A while back, cough.
I'm humming the tune in my head and not thought of it in at least 30 years, lol.
The iconic Roobarb and Custard! 8)
Quote from: iWasAdam on June 02, 2020, 14:33:17
I really REALLY like the visual style you've got going here - good colors that feel right.
Here's a couple of potential suggestions for you:
1. the border is currently a 4x4 tile (2 on top and 1x2 on the bottom). Think about using just one of the blocks and not the 4x4. that way the characters would be that bit more prominent.
2. And you're gonna hate me for this.
I Love the graphics style, but the thing that is shouting to me is animation. What I mean is, however you are doing the graphics do another set, that are the same but different. and each frame (or 4 frames) flip between one set and the other. this would give you sort of flickering in the outlines and possibly color shifting enhancing the 'drawn' look. it would give the same effect as used in the TV show Rhubarb and Custard:
I can just see all the menu text and players with that sort of look :)
Thank you for your suggestions and your feedback! Can you elaborate on 1.)? I didn't get it, but I saw your suggestions to some artist in the forums here and they were amazing.The levels feel a bit empty, but I can't really put my finger on it, why. Or let me rephrase that: it's because there is so much empty space in a single colour around the level, but I have no idea how to fill it (well... the game jam is called I Can't Draw But Want To Make A Game ;) )
2) That's what I am going for, the character outlines are actually already flickering. It is more prominent during gameplay/moving images, though. I've attached the little 8 way fella sprite. Applying this effect to all menu text would be a nice feature, but something I most likely would add after the game jam is over. So many to do's on my list ???
there you go :
(https://vjointeractive.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/image5.png)
That's actually a pretty smart idea and, like you've said, helps to keep focus on the players. Guess I will implement those today ;)
give us a quick gif/video of the gameplay and maybe we can suggest other things?
Quote from: iWasAdam on June 03, 2020, 08:43:49
give us a quick gif/video of the gameplay and maybe we can suggest other things?
Sure, will do later on. I might be able to supply a playable build either today or tomorrow - depending how things turn out ;D
Today I was focusing on sounds so far, because a silent game isn't really fun and you don't feel all that powerful dashing around. At first I went for an 8 bit/NES style, but it didn't fit the art, so I went for a more realistic approach with swooshes and clangs and all that.
although I've not seen the gameplay, the thing that keeps coming to mind is Robotron 2084:
That might give you some ideas about making it frantic or thoughts about enemies, obstacles, etc :)
Although I wasn't around during the 8 bit Area, I own several C64s, Atari 2600s and even a Vectrex (to name a few) and I love classic gaming. I knew about Robotron, but it's not quite the gameplay I was going for.
You are dashing around the level, avoiding the obstacles, eating the enemies and putting them back in the big paint bucket (that doesn't look like one at all) in the correct order they appeared. The clock is constantly ticking down and everytime you get hit, you lose precious seconds. I do hope for some frantic situations - especially with two players.
Thanks to the suggestions of iWasAdam, the game looks a bit cleaner now (see attached image) and the player doesn't become too distracted from the characters. I still have to set the correct pieces for the corners of the walls, but overall, I am very pleased. For now I have implemented the new wall GFX for the first level, but it's a breeze to get going for the other levels.
I overhauled the collision system today, it feels a bit more satisfying, but still clunky in some situations. However the game is playable and I honestly don't know, if I am able to fix all the wonky collisions until the deadline.
Here is a very short gameplay excerpt (from Level 2-3, that's why the walls don't look correct). No balancing is done on them so far (e.g. how fast traps shoot/enemies spawn etc.). Tomorrow I want to release a playable build and would love to hear your (constructive) feedback. I probably should have started playtesting earlier, but that's the way how jams are ;D
I just found a screenshot from the old version. The game has definitely improved :))
Today I sent a testbuild to a friend of mine and was able to identify and fix several bugs (I'm sure there are still a *LOT*).
I've added a couple of menus, most notably an options menu during gameplay. I've adjusted the level editor to be able to place and display the kind of walls iWasAdam suggested.
Unfortunately my friends couldn't get his Xbox controller to work with the game - which runs fine with my controller. If someone could test it out, it would be greatly appreciated (like any other feedback).
Keep in mind that the levels are by no way finalized or done. I just focused on the movement and the menus, but it's already pretty fun to dash around in the levels. From level 3 onwards the new walls are still missing.
Objective:
- Dash (LCtrl) into the colored buckets
- Spit (LShift) them back in the big bucket in the order they appeared
You've got video playback disabled from any site other than youtube so the embedded video isn't going to work for us.
I assume the game is Windows only so can't test it for you as i'm on a Mac here. Sorry.
I did enable embedding now - it should work? Yes, sorry, Windows only since it's made in Blitz3D.
I made a testbuild with the B3D version of Blitzresearch. Does the controller issue still persist?
Despite the recent controller problems, I am continuing work on my game.
This morning I've set up an instruction screen.
I also delayed the flickering effect when the player was hit by something and started showing it, once the invulnerability phase actually starts. The player character goes into an animation that prevents it from moving - which was hard to see, because it instantly started to flicker. Now the player immediately understands what happened and why he can't move around. I'm glad I made that adjustment.
I removed the dash cooldown, which makes for more fun and fluid movement.
Thanks to the help with troubleshooting from Dan, I got the controller to work!
Yesterday I spent mostly tidiying up the graphics. I added a new turret graphic, because the old one was *very* placeholder.
Today I am planning to implement some more levels and I have to fix some bugs. Besides, I have about 3 things on my to do list. Overall I am pleased with my progress and hope I can deliver on time on thursday ;)
Today, I've released my game jam game on itch.io as a submission for the I Can't Draw, But Want To Make A Game game jam. It was a fun experience and most importantly of all, I've learned that better than good - is good enough. If you have a deadline approaching it helps to make decisions and not trying to always aim for the optimal solution (which simply can't exist for each problem, but we tend to forget that). I am super proud of it, since it's the first project I've completed and released ;D
If you want to check it out, I'd be delighted. Unfortunately it is Windows only, since it was created with Blitz3D.
https://hosch.itch.io/paint-bucket-pals
Well done - looks great :)
Thanks for your feedback. It looks great, because of the tipp you gave me considering the walls. Thanks so much for that, it improved the game big time! I might ask for your opinion in future game projects ;D
Hi,
i'v downloaded the game and noticed the fmod.dll in the archive.
With the Legacy blitzbasic you do not need to have it provided, because the dll is already in your compiled exe.
(just a thought.)
I'v played the game a bit, and now, with working joypad, it is alot easier !
Here are my suggestions for improvement:
One thing i'v noticed is that the retry screen uses the second joypad button to continue, instead of #1. I understand that because the game jumps immediately to the retry screen, the second button avoids the accidental misclicks.
It would be nice, if there was a text which tells the user that he should use the second button, to go forward.
The timing on level 3 is a bit tight.
It would be nice, if the levels would teach the player how to play the game, first, before the difficulty gets raised.
Because of the difficulty it is hard to figure out what to do on the level 3. I see there are 4 different colored buckets and they need to be ... put back in the order in which they came out ?
Or maybe add an info screen which tells the player what to do. (clickable on the main menue)
I noticed that there is a time penalty for trying to put a wrong colored bucket back, but no time reward if the correct one is returned.
If the timing is tight, then a timing reward feels better.
Anyway, the game plays very well !
Hi, thanks for your feedback!
I've read somewhere that the .dll is baked into the legacy version, but after the gamepad disaster I didn't want to take any chances and stuck it with the game just in case. Good to know for the future, though.
I am calling FlushJoy() and FlushKeys() before the player reaches that screen, so that was not my intent. I wanted to stick to the Xbox 360 formula, in which Button A is confirm and Button B is discard. At least that's the case with my controller, did yours work differently?
I've received similar feedback concerning level 3 from other players - I totally agree. One reason more to let other people playtest. No excuse or anything, but I found balancing the levels difficult myself, since I knew what to do and probably can finish it blindfolded by now :)) Which timeframe would you suggest?
It should show an instruction screen once you start level 1, where it states you have to put them back in the correct order. A proper tutorial level would have helped, though, that's true.
That's a pretty good suggestion as well, it will make the game feel so much more rewarding! I am planning to expand on Paint Bucket Pals in the future and will defnitly implement this feature! Feels more 'arcady' this way.
Thanks for trying out the game!
Today I've added shapes to the colors, to make the game more accessible to the color blind. This will be the last polish for the game jam version, now I want to focus on porting it over to AGK... after I've completed my small scope learning project for it, which I might be able to start next week.
Quote
I am calling FlushJoy() and FlushKeys() before the player reaches that screen, so that was not my intent. I wanted to stick to the Xbox 360 formula, in which Button A is confirm and Button B is discard. At least that's the case with my controller, did yours work differently?
It is only on the retry screen, where the buttons are switched.
FlushJoy and flushkeys are fine, but i would use a code which would do something like this
this is pseudo code:
If gameover=1
While Joypadbutton1Down = true
delay (10)
flip
Wend
goto retryscreen
EndIf
In this case the screen would change to the retry screen, when the user releases the main button.
For the Time, maybe the 35~40ish seconds would be better, maybe more.
When i think about possibilities of gameplay, then you could make the first 15 levels (p.s. i haven't played them all, yet)
like 1 minute for the first go.
Then the next round, repeating levels (1-15) with 40 seconds timer
and the hard mode (the next repeating levels with 20 seconds and maybe 2~5 seconds bonus for every correct hit)
Well possibilities are endless ^^
The main problem is, for the beginner, he is not used to the game and so the 20 seconds maybe too hard, but for someone who has played the game many times, the 20 seconds maybe just right.
Oh yeah, now I know what you meant with the buttons: fixed!
Yes, possibilities are indeed endless. I want to expand the game in the future and will keep some elements of the game jam version, but revise the current mechanics.