As a refresher, here are the rules we set up in the initial post:
1. In the game universe there exists several objects.
2. Each object has a color.
3. Objects that don't share the same color are destroyed if they touch.
4. Objects that do share the same color are combined if they touch.
To these we added five more concrete rules and modifications:
5. An Orb is an Object that moves in to the game universe at ever decreasing timings.
6. An Orb's velocity can be interacted with by an outside force.
7. A Gate is a special Object that is stationary and will absorb Orbs of the same color that pass through it.
8. If a Gate is destroyed, it can be rebuilt by combining 5 individual Orbs of that Gate's color.
9. If all Gates in the game universe are destroyed, the game is over.
With these rules in mind I felt like we had a pretty good starting point. Our Game DNA felt pretty solidified. Just thinking about how this would work felt pretty interesting. So we started implementing it.
Naturally as we implemented Absorb and could see it running on the screen, some questions arose that were answered with even more detailed rules. More importantly at this time we came to a great realization: This game is at least somewhat fun, but what is the point?
In our case we entertained the thought of this being a "get the high score"-style arcade game. Boooring!
We liked the idea of having levels to progress through. I also really liked the idea of having a very consistent game world, where the levels were more about seeing what could be accomplished given the set rules. Much like how the rules started building, we came up with several styles of levels. Here's an example of a level along with a sneak peak of Absorb.
(I apologize in advance for the video quality)
No questions today, but as always would love to hear your thoughts! If you like the post make sure to share it with your friends.
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It seems that there are usually very simple, basic rules at the heart of most video games. Classics like Mario and Zelda always have very basic game play at the center of intricate stories (there are only so many moves your character has to work with). It is great that you have these simple yet interesting rules at the heart of your game; I especially like your inventive use of gravity. BTW You make your game look easier than it really is.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it can be difficult or impossibly to have all the rules figured out before development begins. I'm sure that's one use of game prototypes.
ReplyDeleteBTW, that was really fun to "fall" into the game as you moved the camera down :)
@Kate - Thank you :) You hit on a really good point. Some of the best games give you nearly all of the abilities/skills right up front, then the game is about honing your skills and preparing you for ever-increasing challenges. Mario is the king of this, and I think that's why Mario games are still successful today.
ReplyDelete@Ben - I'm always surprised how much a simple prototype can help in teaching you what you don't know you don't know. Maybe that's why they are always a key ingredient in successful software.
I like where you're starting with this, you should see if you can get a flash version up with mouse controls and get more dev input. Some of the things I noticed from the demo:
ReplyDelete-Love the sound effects and lack of BGM, gives off that electroplankton vibe.
-I like where your interface is now, seems responsive and simple.
-If you wanted to go for level progression over a high score, does the game even need a HUD?
-I see momentum and gravity in the game already and think that (combined with ever-increasing orbs) can really be the challenge to the game, simple to learn, difficult to master.
-What would happen if orbs themselves had mass and gravity (or polarity)? Larger orbs draw close smaller orbs, gates have opposite polarity to orbs of the a smaller mass and orbs of the same color. This way the bigger an orb is, the more focus gets drawn to it.
-Is there a way you could implement a particle system? Say an orb collects pixels while the player holds their finger on it, like pollination, once the pixels germinate into orbs you have to be cautious not to draw other, smaller orbs of different colors closer.
-How does the game work if orbs of other colors decrement health from each other rather than destroy them altogether?
Nice to see you having fun with the project, keep me updated!
Thanks John! Glad you checked it out. Some responses/answers...
ReplyDelete-Flash version would definitely be cool. My testing so far running on the iPhone Simulator is that the game is extremely hard/clunky with a mouse. That being said I bet we could get at least something up in Flash. I'll keep you posted if we do.
-Thanks! I definitely thought of Electroplankton when doing that. I figured most people want to listen to their own music, so we might as well have fun with it.
-Thanks!
-As far as a HUD, I may be a bit off base but Apple REALLY needs to include some kind of pause button on the actual device. It's a lame excuse but virtually the entire HUD is purely for the Pause button. Without the gray bar on the top to prevent Orbs from bouncing up there, the pause button caused lots of problems.
-Yep that's exactly where a lot of the difficulty comes from. A lot of the game ends up being space management, when mixed with the gravity things get very interesting.
-It's a bit hard to see in the video but the gravity of the orbs is in fact affected solely by their size. The bigger ones have a much larger pull than the smaller ones. We experimented a bit with opposite polarity for different colors, but that was a bit too much for the little screen. I like the idea of incorporating that on the gates though... maybe on the iSlate version.
-This is a really interesting idea. In my early prototypes of the game I had a little planet building simulation running similar to this. Might have to mess around with this, I could see it being an entirely different game.
-Not sure how this would work, it's definitely an interesting idea.
Thanks for the feedback John! Hope all is well.