So, here's the main thing I've been working on since I posted VVVVVV Moonfall. I've been a lot more relaxed with it, and I've been taking measures to not write total spaghetti code, and some of it's even commented. In all, I'm really proud of how this has been coming together. The camera needs work, as does some little aspects of the movement, and some things need tweaking, but I'll get to all of that eventually.
For now, I've decided to post this mainly because I'm kind of exhausted creatively, and don't really know where to go next. So I'm gonna be taking a break from it, and probably from Pico-8 too. (making carts, at least.) I've been spending almost all of my free time lately on it, and I feel like that's kind of been sucking the life out of me, among other things. Anyway, enough about me.
So I'm not sure what to call this, and I'm not sure where it's going either. I've had a few ideas, but it all needs more thought. It was first going to be an attempt at a 2D collectathon, then I wanted it to be a metroidvania, now I've just kind of accepted I don't really know where it's going and I'm hoping I'll think of something while I'm taking a break from it. Really, I've been most focused on making everything feel good and getting the mechanics I've already decided on feeling as solid as possible. Plus probably more polish than I should be trying to put in at this point, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and that's kinda just how I am sometimes. Also, the background is a placeholder, so don't worry about it maybe looking a little...familiar.
I started this I think about a day or two after submitting Moonfall, and this uses the collision code from that, but nothing else. Everything here is my own code, from the parallax scrolling to the particle system, anything that isn't Pico-8 default here is my own, besides two lines for a cpu and memory counter I took from the wiki. The spritework is also my own, and so is the music. I'm sure I don't need to say all of this, but I'm just making sure.
Anyway, there isn't exactly much content here, as it's just a test map with some placeholder enemies that don't even move, but I'm really happy with what I've got so far and I hope you like it, too.
Controls:
- Z/O: Jump
- Z/O in air: Double jump
- Z/O + Left or Right when against a wall: Wall Jump
- X: Attack
The fox sprite is very good, same for particle effects
(not a huge fan of the tileset tbh - lisibility is so so)
@freds72 Thanks! And yeah, I had a lot of trouble working out visibility. I ended up being really proud of that log sprite and didn't want to tamper with it, among other things, and the background is kind of an issue in spots too. That'll all be worked out eventually.
A good choice of pallet sets.
That change the sky color to alt color to make it look warmer.
Also, I found an attractive palette set in the code!
@shiftalow oh, yeah, those! I didn't expect anyone to find them. They still need some tweaking, and I had a few more in mind including doing snowy and rainy ones with particle effects. Surprised you found that and not the actual easter egg, though. Heh.
ooh, this is really cool. the background is really pretty and I LOVE the cute lil fox sprites. that being said, I couldn't help but think about how that orb thingy could be used in some more interesting ways. have you considered letting the player hold the button to keep the orb in place? a player could use that to activate and hold down switches, or set up a boomerang effect to slice thru enemies. I actually hacked this into the game to get a feel for that:
(that block with a hole in it is supposed to be a switch, but rn it doesn't do anything bc this is a just a proof-of-concept)
hopefully this doesn't come across as me making this about me and my ideas, I genuinely love the vibe you got going here. the game has a lot of personality to it and I think that's very cool!! I don't want to pressure you into finishing it or anything of course, take your time, but I'm interested to see where this cute lil project ends up going!
@sol Thank you! Actually, I had quite a few ideas for the orb, the version of it here just attacking is simply a placeholder. The idea was for it to kind of be like a grappling hook, with a slingshot mechanic inspired by Knuckles' Chaotix. Ie, you hook onto something, say, hold left, then let go of left and it'll fling you to the right, and if it was an enemy you hooked onto, fling them the opposite direction as well. But I don't really know where to begin coding that, honestly.
The holding in place thing, I actually had it like that originally, but dismissed it because I couldn't really think for much good use for it. But, I didn't even consider switches and things like that. Maybe I should give it more thought.
Also, trust me, I haven't given up on this. I'm now back from the break I mentioned in the post, and while I haven't worked on the actual platformer, I have worked on an overworld system for selecting levels and such, as well as an entire RPG-esque text box system for talking to NPCs, among some other little things here and there.
Currently, I'm working on an alternative to Pico-8's built in tracker, plus a thing or two on the side. Believe me though, I'm gonna finish this, even if it's not everything I want it to be.
Also, this may be a little out of the blue, but would you happen to use discord? I don't use social media but you've got a lot of neat ideas and It'd be cool to discuss stuff like this with someone. If that's weird though, I totally understand. lol
@Spaz48 I see! and no worries, it’s perfectly fine! my discord is sol#3991, feel free to shoot me a message there any time!
randomized music? i like everything about this but i think the music is just a lil to short
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