Arya - Roguelite Platformer basis

[Gad]

Controls:
jump - space
run - arrows
change room - shift
map - tab
pause - esc
fullscreen - f

Current version 0.1.1:
Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dmri11kx1gjk8m...1.zip?dl=0

FirstPost (Click to View)

Hi guys. I'm planning another project. I've jumped into game maker, which seems pretty good for projects like this one. It was on humble bundle so I've decided to purchase it.
I had few games projects, but from they were made in ways so it would take too long, and ofc code was too messy ;D... Game maker is pretty easy and fast, so I think this one can actually do the job if I do it right.

So that's very early basic build. I just wanna test general movement feeling.

Please test and post your opinions. If it's intuitive enough, or is something bugging you.

0.0.0 (Click to View)

Download at:
http://www.filedropper.com/arya

0.0.l (Click to View)

Changelog:
• friction more noticable
• more control in air and on ground
• higher wall jumps
• reduced general speed and range of jumps
• added simple menu with level choosing
• ESC will now bring u back o menu

Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wx0p9bqw32z9pvd/Arya.zip?dl=1

0.0.2 (Click to View)

Changelog:
• Added 2 new types of blocks
• Few more levels
• Fixed wall jumping bug
• Changed wall jumping power

Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2psaa1oxda38sf...2.zip?dl=1

0.0.5 (Click to View)

• Remade physics values
• Remade graphics
• Added picking up with Shift
• Added markers for pickups
• Added new types of bricks and new usables
• Created a boss room with boss

Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dl6znwxd3tn5bi...5.zip?dl=1

0.0.6 (Click to View)

Changelog:
• Added menu and redone some graphics
• Redone levels
• Added titles ingame (instructions etc)
• Added new saw on rotating arm
• Changed physics for chain/lock blocks

Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ca4xs3r18foxng...6.zip?dl=1

0.1.0 (Click to View)

Changelog:
• Remade whole concept of the game
• Created a random map generator (picking from pool of rooms)
• Added coins to pick to clear the lvl
• Added a map preview
• Simplified collision system
• Added surfaces and shaders
• Added temporary sounds
• Added music
• Added platforms
• Little change in character movement physics

!! watch out this version has a memory leak causing game to jam over time !!


Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4afr4d89jxxxd5...0.zip?dl=1

0.1.1 (Click to View)

Changelog:
• Fixed some issues with surface and memory leak

Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dmri11kx1gjk8m...1.zip?dl=0

[STM1993]

(Avira thinks the file is a dropper.gen trojan.)
Controls do make sense due to the heavy emphasis on wall jumps.
X-movement is way too slippery, both in mid-air and when landing on the ground. I know its necessary to clear that leap of faith in the beginning, but leap of faiths are generally a bad idea.
Gravity seems a bit too weak when falling from a jump, but a bit too strong when I tried to jump down the saw blade section.
Maybe there needs to be a maximum velocity cap.

Wall Jumps are generally okay, but it feels like I should be able to gain more height than it currently does if I held down spacebar for longer.


I cannot wall jump back up if I fell into that diagonal bit (hence the more height on holding down).

[Gad]

ive tried to work with it
thx for attention and comment

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wx0p9bqw32z9pvd/Arya.zip?dl=0

• friction more noticable
• more control in air and on ground
• higher wall jumps
• reduced general speed and range of jumps
• added simple menu with level choosing
• ESC will now bring u back o menu

[STM1993]

The midair inertia would be pretty bad for precision jumping (as I found out trying to land on single tiles and later half a tile).
You could make the initial tapping of walljump slightly lower on height and instead emphasize how much to hold spacebar, or simply design levels to not have only 1 tile of space - it is difficult to jump back unless you drop to about 2/3 down a tile (based on character's head).
I like how the camera changes size accordingly, and I've always liked platformers that have small characters but large visual range.

Also gonna point out this is possible to stage 3:

At this point its pretty much how you plan to design your levels to work with the controls, though currently bigger levels and less precision (minimum 2x2 spacing) would be preferable.

[Gad]

oldpart (Click to View)

Thanks once again for testing it out. My current goal is to make the game feel smooth and easy to learn. If we get this settled I'll be implementing more features to the gameplay. I think we're almost there.

The midair inertia would be pretty bad for precision jumping (as I found out trying to land on single tiles and later half a tile).

The thing is if we add more control into direction changing in air it will start to look weird on the other aspects (like too high acceleration)... So we need to find something between and I think that current one is pretty much ok, bu I'll have to stick with 2 tiles precision mainly.

You could make the initial tapping of walljump slightly lower on height and instead emphasize how much to hold spacebar, or simply design levels to not have only 1 tile of space - it is difficult to jump back unless you drop to about 2/3 down a tile (based on character's head).

Yah, I actually didn't realize I didn't allow to hold jump after wall jumping. Fixed it, will release a new build hopefully today with some more things than just jumping.

I like how the camera changes size accordingly, and I've always liked platformers that have small characters but large visual range.

So do I. I'm trying to make gameplay similiar sa some hardcore platformer titles. As you can probably tell the mechanics are pretty much the same as in Super Meatboy. Although I'm adding some extra features to make the game more entertaining.

Also gonna point out this is possible to stage 3:

Yah. It was intented to leave more than 1 way to get it. I think I'll add some speedrunning indicators, so player is supposed to find the shortest way, which sometimes is not obvious.

At this point its pretty much how you plan to design your levels to work with the controls, though currently bigger levels and less precision (minimum 2x2 spacing) would be preferable.

Yes. It turns out that 1 tile is sometimes not enough to do precise jumping (especially if you are falling from greater height). Although for short jumps it can still work in current configuration.

---

!! NEW VERSION CHECKIT OUT IN FIRST POST

(sorry for reposting, but i need attention)

[STM1993]

Game crashes every time I die.


Seems kinda odd that after picking up an item it stays where it is until you decide to use it.

No idea what to do with the boss, I just see a key, pick it up and then try to shoot it into a lock, only to find it disappears and removes the locks that initially appeared at the top, and then its back to picking that key.

[Gad]

Game crashes every time I die.

Oh sorry, wrong build uploaded ;d.
If you can redownload it should be fine now.

Seems kinda odd that after picking up an item it stays where it is until you decide to use it.

2 reasons:
- some puzzles will use that mechanics (for example to get double jump), so player has to jump from the block and use it afterwards, after use block disappears
- if you pick up a block and then decide to switch it for another one it would have to spawn again in previous position // what if it's already blocked by something else?

Kinda complicated mechanics to be implemented (like finding next available blockspace) and my initial purpose was to use them for platforms and then shooting in air.

No idea what to do with the boss, I just see a key, pick it up and then try to shoot it into a lock, only to find it disappears and removes the locks that initially appeared at the top, and then its back to picking that key.

I've sent this build to some ppl and they figured it out with ease. Use your brain!

STM1993 edited this post 09-27-2016 07:08 PM because:

Kk, figured it out this time, but still didn't have the patience and being too half-asleep to clear the boss' last heart. Might try again later. Should probably change the bottom locks at the beginning to a different colour because they are not being unlocked by the key. And it sure takes a very long time to open the locks, the timing is often such that the instant you get the key you should press Ctrl. Character doesn't change facing direction if I simply tapped direction key.

[STM1993]

Okay I just cleared the boss, again there's a fatal error crash.
On hindsight its possible I didn't instinctively know what the key was for last night partly because of the camera not always showing the ends of the arena.

I noticed in level 1 that the saw pickup would not disappear but continue to saw at a solid wall, and due to also looking like the saw obstacle, I initially thought that the saw would be fatal if I walked into it.

Nothing else new to report from the mod edit I made.

[Gad]

Thanks so much for the efforts you put It helps and motivates me.

Okay I just cleared the boss, again there's a fatal error crash.

Ya, no big deal, I just didn't code anything for the end of the level. So as boss looses the target it crashes.

On hindsight its possible I didn't instinctively know what the key was for last night partly because of the camera not always showing the ends of the arena.

Yah i know. I'm thinking to show the whole room for the boss fight.

I noticed in level 1 that the saw pickup would not disappear but continue to saw at a solid wall, and due to also looking like the saw obstacle, I initially thought that the saw would be fatal if I walked into it.

Yes I know this can be misleading. I think i'll change the look of the saw. I don't want it to disappear, since it will also add a puzzle element, so you can throw the saw and it gets blocked, then you unlock it and it clears the way, but only after you used these wooden crates as a platform before.

---
Ok new build ;D.
I've built some new lvls. Not too many and only few of the elements i coded are open.
If you guys (I hope somebody will read it, beside STM )could test if the gameplay is feeling good and if they can be completed by a causal gamer (I do them almost every time, but I'm a hardcore platformer player).

Changelog:
• Added menu and redone some graphics
• Redone levels
• Added titles ingame (instructions etc)
• Added new saw on rotating arm
• Changed physics for chain/lock blocks

Download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ca4xs3r18foxng...6.zip?dl=1

[STM1993]

I'd say I'm a casual platform player and I'd rather die finding out my jump controls were wrong than die to find out information that should've been given upfront.

---

Level 4 - quite a difficulty spike. For a while I thought the dark grey boxes were just background rather than solid boxes I could land on.

Level 6 - that textbox itself is a trap. It exaggerates how fast you need to be to get over the disappearing box, it blocks your vision when trying to jump over the saws while avoiding the topmost giant saw, and also obscures vision of the 1st invisible block. After that its a leap of faith to find out where the 2nd invisible block is, which really should have been visible. There's also a little sweet spot at the bottom where the saws are, but its also a trap as far as I can tell.

Level 7 - I can't solve it. I couldn't find any hidden blocks/items nor the exit location, I can't jump high enough to reach the top of the right side, the only apparent way out is a death pit, and I even outran the 1st set of locks to find out if there was a lock I had to quickly get to. No success.

Level 8 - a little bit annoying that I have to keep hugging the left wall while waiting for the locks to disappear. More importantly, this level makes it very apparent that keys & locks should be colour-coded with a direction(especially since this is the first level to demonstrate that locks don't have to be touching each other to be unlocked), and the first blocks to disappear should be indicated clearly.

Level 9 - nothing new, just little things when I re-attempted: I once got trapped between the bottom 2 saws after a bad jump during the last 2 hearts. Small nyancat doesn't telegraph its charge, so I usually just play it safe and try to be on the opposite side of the small cat. Big cat will follow you while its flying, and then after a while it will drop and immediately shoot, so its usually a good idea to deliberately get it to land slightly off the center where the keys would be.

Pressing Esc while the screen is black will cause the screen to remain black but if you clicked around you can still select a level.