New Games Approach
Originally published April 1st, 2020
With one game finished, it's time to move on to the next.
Before we get too into this, I want to express my sympathy for those affected by COVID-19, better known as coronavirus. And for those wondering how I'm faring, things are fine on my end. Remember to wash those hands, keep that social distance, and we'll get through this.
Now then, let's return to our typical dev blog.
Check out my games!
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Infinite%20Level
Itch: https://prof-smash.itch.io/
The time after releasing a game is always simultaneously awkward and exciting. It's a bit awkward because the “go go go” attitude you have during the climax of a game's development suddenly vanishes. The dust settles, you evaluate everything that has happened, and you're left wondering what to do next. That last point, finding the next game to work on, is why finishing a game can be so exciting. I'm sure many other indie devs out there would agree that though we do love the games we make, there's always that desire to move on to the next thing.
I've got two new things to work towards myself, one of which you might already know about if you follow my work. I'm referring to “Future” and, I must say, this month it has seen some great improvements. Shortly after Impressions finished development I took the time to play through “Future” and see how I felt about the game. Unfortunately, there were some aspects that I felt didn't feel too good, so I've since taken the time to compile a list of gameplay items to address and get to fixing them. I haven't gotten through that list yet, but what I have completed has made the game feel a lot better.
Some of the fixes made have been fairly small. For instance, two changes involved increasing the movement speed of the player character and giving one of their projectiles a little more “oomph” when used. Other improvements are more drastic, such as editing previously created maps to contain a lot more platforming elements. Perhaps the biggest change made was the enemy spawning system I had in place. Before enemies would spawn whenever you enter rooms, but now they're spawned from the moment the map loads and drop invisible “spawners” on death. After a few minutes those spawners will activate and recreate a new enemy. This change has made it easier to visualize where enemies should be placed as well as figuring out how many to put in a given room.
I mentioned adding a lot more platforming sections in previous maps before. The image above shows one such example of this change. The gray cube looking thing is a placeholder enemy that fires large chunks of ice at the player from beyond the chasm. It can only be hit from behind, so the player is forced to platform their way across the chasm to defeat the foe. While not all platforming will simultaneously have enemy encounters, the platforming has done much to break up the pacing and keep the game engaging. I've been playing Doom Eternal in my down time (fun game, by the way) and its platforming sections inspired me to mix up my own maps with some platforming. It helped that Doom Eternal, believe it or not, happened to have some movement mechanics similar to “Future”. Main difference is simply the speed at which movement occurs in the two games. I still need to create these platforming moments in other maps where applicable, but if my work on this map is any indication, the next few maps to get this change will become a lot more fun to run around in.
Now I'm going to shift gears and talk about something completely different. An entirely new game is being developed here at Infinite Level. And while I'm not in a position to say much about it, I can at least drop a few details. So, imagine this – a turn based, boss rush role playing game. I bet I can guess what you're thinking: “How in the world do you make a boss rush game, a game that typically involves a fast pace and recognizing enemy patterns, into a turn based game?” This wasn't easy to figure out, but I think I have a solution. I've been toying with this idea long before Impressions finished development, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. It's been quite the design challenge so far.
I've only been actively developing it for a few weeks as of this writing, so when I say it's alpha, I mean it's alpha. But the progress so far has been great! The player controls three units fighting a singular entity, and right now those units can do basic attacks and “follow-up” another unit's attack. There's also a simple win/lose state, and of course the enemy can attack back. But back up...what's a follow-up? It's one of this game's more unique mechanics where the player units can immediately attack the enemy after another unit strikes. Why would you ever do this? Well, most monsters will be able to counter attack you, but units performing a follow-up attack can typically avoid the enemy's counter attack. In addition, follow-ups can be done to lay on extra damage if the first unit's attack does something such as expose a weak point.
There's little else I can say about it for now, but I'll at least leave this photo of the game's prototype for you to look at. Remember, this is the game after only a few weeks of development, so many things are inevitably going to change. I look forward to telling you more about this game and “Future” as time goes on. After a year of making a game about arguing pundits and aliens, it does feel good to work in new worlds and new gameplay mechanics. What will come of each? Who knows? Let's find out!
Until next time!
-Lance T.
Check out my games!
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Infinite%20Level
Itch: https://prof-smash.itch.io/