Well, it’s that time again. The time of the month that I suddenly realize that I haven’t posted anything on this blog in a few weeks. But anyways, I said had news, so I should get on with it.
I always feel that it’s best to get the bad news out of the way first, so that the good news can give me some hope in the end. It’s more dramatic that way. So the bad news is that Fij is postponed indefinitely. Meaning that I most likely won’t work on it for a while. Truth is, I probably won’t finish it, looking at my history of unfinished projects. However, I definitely have some ideas that I want to pursue with Fij, so it will sit on my back-burner.
The good news is, I’m working on a new project in Game Maker. Which I know probably seems like a step back from real programming. But it’s actually going great.
The game is about cooperating to solve puzzles. So it’s naturally a two-player game (at the minimum.)
I don’t currently have a name for the game, so it’s just Untitled Cooperative Platformer in my mind right now. I also don’t know whether the current graphics are any indication of what the final game will look like, but the little blocky people have a certain charm to them, don’t they?
The design process is sort of an exploratory one, I just doodle out levels and try out any gameplay elements that I might be thinking of in different ways. If I can make it through the level some how, then it’s a puzzle. But usually I don’t know if I will be able to make it through the level before I test it. So the game is telling me what it should be. And I’m just sort of letting it become itself. Not to say it doesn’t require work, or that there aren’t bugs. But I do keep an open mind before I squash bugs, and try to see if the bug is actually functionality in disguise.
And just in case you want to test it out in it’s currently simple state, here’s a demo-ish length version of the game. It is my first game maker game, so if there’s some wierd .dll file you need, then let me know. Feedback of any kind is gladly appreciated. However, do keep in mind that it requires two players to play the game. It is possible to get through it on your own, but it would require some serious skills.
(Sorry, demo is no longer available for download.)
Low Tide Productions 