{"author_name":"Photon","cat":"October Challenge 2013","comments":[],"epoch":1381356180,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"37760","p_author":"Photon","p_authorkey":"7658","p_urlkey":"73376","p_title":"Photon\u2019s October Challenge 2013: Day 9","p_cat":"October Challenge 2013","p_event":"LD27","p_time":"1381356180","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"0","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"7658","us_name":"Photon","us_username":"photon","event_start":"1377216000","event_key":"18","event_name":"LD27"},"text":"

(Copied from my blog: www.photongamedev.wordpress.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Woohoo! I think I have the physics just about where I want them: nice and “crispy”! The only thing I might change eventually is the wall jump, as it feels a little unnatural at times. However, I don’t feel its going to hinder the progression of my game design as it stands right now.<\/p>\n

I also decided I need to take some time to really consider how I wanted to flex this game’s “fun” muscles before I dove too far in. I have a great concept, but as far as execution went, I hadn’t thought too specifically about how to make it a well-oiled machine as opposed to a cluster of gimmick-stages. So I fell back on some of my personal musings about the construction of games, particularly this writing: http:\/\/wp.me\/p3AkJt-4V<\/a><\/p>\n

So where were do my priorities lie? As a ninja-based, action\u00a0platformer, surely this was going to fall somewhat on the instinctive side of things: a healthy dose of speed<\/strong>\u00a0with some nice variation<\/strong> to keep the player on their feet. But I was also struck more profoundly about the side-effect of my reset power: the ability to directly undo your progress<\/strong>. In most games, progress is undone as the result of stuff like a lost life or failed objective… mistakes by the player. But not this game; the player has\u00a0direct\u00a0control over the ability to undo (some) progress.<\/strong> And as I said before, the mischief here is that such a thing can be for better or for worse.<\/p>\n

So what does this mean for the design of the game? Obviously, I’ve been working\u00a0on the fluidity and speed, as I want the game to feel crisp to control. Pacing will be important to some of the potential chaos that can ensue. Beyond that, I think the utilization of some simple switch-ups and traps will keep the player guessing at times. My suspicion is that the player might start to lean on the reset power as a panic button when needed. A simple trap might spring that puts the player in an urgent situation. Do you mash the reset button in your haste? Careful, you may have to backtrack and redo a certain section of the level to get back that lost progress. I want to utilize little things that can subtly punish the player.<\/p>\n

So, in summary:<\/p>\n