After wetting my toes in the Pico-8 pool with my Tile Swap game, I figured I should try a bigger game. It's still a WIP, but playable already, so I thought I'd share it.
The game is called Bumble Bots. The idea of the game is "stolen" from the Rolmops game developed by the team that I was part of in this year's Global Game Jam. The Jam's theme was "waves".
v0.1: The game is still basic. Each level has an identical, tiny map. I am planning to add much larger levels, with other building blocks and enemies. Nevertheless, the game is quite fun to play already. I especially like the emergent dynamics of the game that follow from the waves in combination with the enemy AI. Even though the level looks fully symmetrical, as you start to play, you will notice that one of the four spheres is much harder to pick up than the others. Level two with only two enemies is already tricky. I have not managed to finish the levels with three or more enemies. Are you able to?
v0.2:
- Support large tile height differences: improved rendering and player/enemy move logic accordingly
- Define levels from maps
- Created various different tiles including: bridge, pillar and tower
- Added level 2, "Pillar Maze" (now: "Barsaman")
- Added level 3, "Bridge and Channel" (now: "Gutter and Stage")
- Made level start, player death, and level end fancier
- Let pick-ups block enemy movement
v0.3:
- Added teleports
- Added Level 4, "Telerium"
- Added score and high score
- Added name for each level
- Improved title screen and label
- Added support for large maps, with auto-scroll
- Bug fix: Fixed possible null-pointer exception when falling of the map
- Minor improvements to tile rendering
v0.4:
- Added Level 5, "The Race"
- Added movable boxes
- Added fillable gaps
- Added Level 6, "Mind the Gap"
- Added (fancy) level menu so you can start at any level you have reached
- Storing high score and level reached in cart data
v0.5:
- Added three new levels, each revolving around a new game mechanic:
- Added Level 7, "Beam me Up"
- Added Level 8, "Tea Party"
- Added Level 9, "Besieged"
- Added fall interactions: a box or enemy is now destroyed if something falls on top of it
- Improved player control by adding instant retreat
- Improved "Drop in gap" animation
- Improved "Caught" interaction. Enemy needs to be at similar height as player
- Improved Enemy AI to avoid it getting stuck
- Improved level resume. Allow restart at new levels after upgrade
- Added hard reset for levels where continuing does not make sense
- Fixed isoline-based drawing code
v0.6:
- Added new box type and associated level-ending condition
- Added three new levels, with some fancy new tiles:
- Added Level "Down the River"
- Added Level "Boxing Day"
- Added Level "IC Trouble"
- Pimped message box
- Added Auto-Destruct menu item
I'm not even able to finish it with one enemy, how are you supposed to get the sphere to the right?
@jeb, through persistence, patience and skill :-)
Btw, the above sequence may still exploit the feature in v0.1 of the game that when you reach a tile with the last pick-up as well as an enemy, you do not die but complete the level. This will be fixed in the next update of the game, which will simply prevent enemies from entering tiles with a pick-up. That should make this level slightly easier, and also opens up other level design opportunities.
This is a cool concept but proper hard! Looking forward to the finished version :)
The latest update, v0.4, includes movable boxes which enables Sokoban-like puzzles. In combination with enemies, teleports and height-based move restrictions, a wide spectrum of levels is now possible from peaceful puzzles to adrenalin-boosting action. The current level with boxes is just scratching the surface.
I am interested in hearing any feedback on the current levels. Are they too easy, too difficult, or just right? This will help me when designing additional levels.
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