The month of May has certainly been interesting. I feel that there has actually been a lack of development on the game. However, many of the moments I had to work on it, I did a lot of clean up, and added quite a bit of dynamism to the the programming, making it easier to make things for. In turn, a demo can be completed sooner since I sat down and fixed everything I had apprehensions with.
This previous month I kept a change log of additions to the game.
5-2-12:
Updated bus route system, 2 way travel, and cheaper.
Updated the message system, looks much nicer.
5-8-12:
Added Blitzing Enemies.
Added Laser Enemies.
Added Poison Enemies.Added Glass Block.
Added Cowbell Block.
Updated Particle Explosions.
Made Field Interior GFX.
5-9-12:
Completed Phantom Skull.
5-16-12:
Fixed enemy projectile misalignments.
Made Graphics for Jepson's shop.
5-29-12:
Superjeenius PS2 Smash Minigame added.
Revised dark level graphics.
5-31-12:
Updated level changing methods to be dynamic.
Random enemy spawner, for variety and challenge.
6-1-12:
Updated save points, made dynamic.
So let me address some of those items in detail.
The bus route system is the form of quickly travelling from point to point through out the world. They were once one way, but after making a world map and the means to come and go to and from town, it was updated to be two way and much cheaper on the price, only taking 25 coins per ride. When the bus picks you up, you can select where to go by clicking on a location you have been to. It's basic, but has so much use.
Adding a variety of effects to some of the enemies was a challenge. Different types of devil men now exist, and some of them are certainly a force to be reckoned with. Laser enemies are high-damaging high-accuracy opponents used in only the toughest of levels. Blitzing and counter-blitzing enemies are unique in their design. The term blitz simply describe what they do the best. They attack by moving more aggressively towards the player while counter-blitzing is the opposite. Poison enemies suck. You get hit by these guys and you get your abilities disabled for a moment, rendering the player to be as slow and simple as they were in the first levels of the game.
A few new blocks have been added. A simple glass block that breaks if its been impacted too hard by anything, or if the player runs across it. If the player is walking, it doesn't break at all. The cowbell block... you'll just have to see that for yourself, sorry.
The phantom skull is the first serious boss of the game, and it will appear in the demo. The design of this monster was an interpretation of a drawing done by the real Matt Jordan himself. A little while later, I showed it to him and he agreed to create new monsters and bosses that specifically fit the areas of the game. I am so excited to have fresh material drawn by him just for the project, expect some creepy stuff.
Some of the troubles I had also have been fixed outright simply by updating Stencyl to version 2. Before I did, save points wouldn't hold onto the location where the player had saved. Now they do, and being more dynamic, I can have save blocks outside of town. A majorly good thing. Even if otherwise, I'd make it work this way, but being dynamic sure helps :)
One of the biggest and most troubling dilemmas was the difficulty of connecting the levels. Once a level was made and connected, the dimension could never change because the level changers needed exact coordinates. I made a dynamic system that linked level changers together by name. This allows me to link levels extremely quickly, and I will finish the next chapter of the game for the demo only that much faster.
Lastly, the Super Smash Jeenius mini game is an event that is nothing but lulz and fun. For those who follow Superjeenius on youtube, you probably can guess where this is going. Superjeenius was cast into SMJ before he posted the following video:
I didn't have his character do anything too terribly specific, so I ran with it. I ran with it as if my butt was on fire. I built a whole new playable character system to handle melee weaponry. Even though this will likely be one of the few, possibly only places in the game where a melee weapon is used, people have wondered if Matt Jordan will have some kind of sword at some point in the game?
Answer: No.
Reason: I don't trust Matt with anything that sharp. :D.
I plan to make many mini games. Some of which have been exposed already and may be in the demo. The Super Smash Jeenius mini game will appear in the demo.
So alas, its been an odd month for development. I'd like to address an odd problem I keep getting that's not specific to this project that many of us developers could experience at some point within our projects.
I have had a short conversation with an individual a week ago that was irritating. He stated that since I use Stencyl, I'm not a REAL indie game developer. Despite the dangerous amount of effort I have weaved into my projects. I hope to my audience that the proof is in the content I post.
Despite some beliefs out there, I'm a serious developer. I have worked with real programmers on real games. The difference here is without a ton of money on a payroll, I have to settle with what I can find.
... and I love RPG Maker. I have an amazing project happening that's been in the works for 5 years, and is a thousand times more serious than SMJ (using a ridiculously modified RPG Maker XP). Expect that in a few more years. ;)
I am not a toy maker. Video games are not toys. They are pastimes of art, music, story, thinking, fun, and wonder. I regard games like books. Some are short, simple, and delightful. Others are epic, profound, and emotive.
Well, that concludes this article. Sorry about having to rant a little, but like I said, this last month was a strange one. I will try to post more screen shots as I go.
If you have ANY questions, comments, feedback, or just saying hello, I would love to hear it. I check my stuff everyday, and I respond to everything, and I can always answer your questions the best I can. If I can't answer your questions, I will say why.
STAY TUNED!
