Over Halfway There
Originally published February 2nd, 2018
A little over half of War Ender's content is now in place.
February officially marks the point where I can now confidently say over half of War Ender's content is in place. This includes levels, mechanics, enemy types, and so on. As of now I'm getting to work on chapter 4 of the game and, if all goes according to plan, the final chapter after that. It is truly an exciting time! Sadly, I cannot keep talking about what is coming. If I did that, I might run out things to write about later!
Since the last dev blog, I have completed all of chapter 3's levels, including its bonus level that can be unlocked by performing special actions in the game. In addition, there's been some extra additions made to some previous levels. Let's start with this bi-weekly update by going all the way back to chapter 1 of War Ender, specifically within the Wall of Lasers boss battle. I'm not really sure why I put it off for so long, but the story goes that after Red defeats the Wall of Lasers a self destruct mechanism activates, blowing up the facility that housed the machine. Though Red escapes the explosion, he finds himself beneath the City as a result, and must make his way above ground from there.
That's fun and all, but the task that took up most of the development time over the last couple weeks was the newest boss. Thankfully, it didn't take nearly as much time to put together as RAWM did. In fact, it might have taken less than a week if I had allowed the time. Nonetheless, this newest boss came together after about a week of working on him. The Cyborg Soldier is a half man, half machine boss that fights Red courtesy of the Detractors of War, whom I talked about in the previous dev blog.
What does the Cyborg Soldier do? Well, lots of things! Perhaps his most notable trait is his ability to teleport, which he will put to use frequently in your battle against him. But don't worry, he can only teleport to so many places. He comes bearing improved versions of enemy attacks you've come to know and love. For instance, he has a modified version of the basic grenade that creates an electric current in its wake that will continually damage you so long as you stand in it. This foe also brings a rocket launcher attached to his back that fires homing rockets at you as you fight. These and more make the Cyborg Soldier the most challenging fight in the game so far.
Finally, to round out this dev blog I'll spend a little time talking about the game's third bonus level. I don't remember if I've ever talked about bonus levels on any of these dev blogs, and if I'm honest I'm just too lazy to go through each blog and check. Basically they are exactly as they sound; additional levels outside the main game. I'd tell you how they are unlocked, but I'm genuinely curious to see how many people do the thing required to unlock them. It's more obvious than it may seem...
Bonus Level 3 offers more of a platforming challenge than anywhere else in the game so far. There are plenty of moments throughout both the bonus levels and the main game that ask you to accomplish platforming tasks to progress, but they're only part of the levels. They're not even all that difficult if you've played a couple platformers in your life, and that's largely thanks to the shoot-float mechanic in the game. However, this level is where it mixes it up a bit and asks a bit more of your platforming abilities. About half of the level is dedicated to platforming with some combat areas thrown in to mix it up. It's a unique level and one I hope people play through. But of course, they'll have to unlock it first, and I'm not going to say here how one unlocks them.
That will do for this dev blog. A lot of stuff happened over the last few weeks and War Ender is getting closer and closer to completion. I'll also be working harder to get the word out for War Ender and make the general public aware of the game. So far, that effort has been going better than expected. January happened to be yet another record breaking month for the website as far as traffic goes. I sincerely appreciate everyone taking the time to check out the game. It seriously helps keep me going, especially on tougher days. Give yourself a pat on the back!
By the time the next dev blog goes up I expect to have chapter 4 completed and ready to talk about. It will be difficult talking about it without too much getting in the way, but I'll do it one way or another. Also, on the same day that this goes up, I'll be over at the Saint Louis Science Center demoing the game. If you happen to be in the area at that time, swing by and say hello!
Until next time!
-Lance T.