Ludum Dare 37 | Ludum Dare 35 |
We just finished a (somewhat) working level editor for Shape Escape.
Try it out here: WIN/UNITY Standalone/DROPBOX
It doesn’t have all of the features used to create the original game, but it should work well enough despite all of the bugs. Plus you can save and share your created levels, although only by manual uploading at this point.
Play and rate the original Jam entry here!
The level editor is still a bit rough, but ready to use! It still has several moderately large bugs, which are likely to break old level save files, so we will not be uploading a build just yet, but stay tuned!
Here’s a link to the game if you want to try out the original levels: Shape Escape
For the last couple of weeks we have been working hard to finish up this game. Here are some (WIP) highlights of what we’ve got.
Level Editor
As levels will be the only source of content, we wanted to make level editing easier than the inefficient workflow we had before. As we were already making a level editor, we figured we might as well make it user friendly and let users save and share their own levels.
Mechanics
We polished the player physics to give a more pleasant gameplay experience. The biggest complaint in the feedback we got was difficulty jumping in the direction you wanted, so we implemented pseudo-friction, giving you the ability to jump with some forward momentum from a standstill.
Graphics
We also created a shader which tiles the seamless textures we have automatically across the front space, eliminating the need for any fancy UV generation. This means we can throw in any old models and they will automatically meld seamlessly with other elements in the level.
Planned Features
We have several more features planned which are not ready to be shown off quite yet, such as character customization, level sharing, and maybe a campaign with specialized levels.
We hope to have this game fully finished before mid April. Let us know what you think!
As always, here’s a link to the game if you want to try it out.
And, if you want to follow our progress, follow us on Tumblr,
Hi guys,
This is our first LD entry ever, and boy are we happy about the reception we’ve gotten. We are a two man team: a programmer and an artist. We specialize in fancy graphics 3D games so this was something new and interesting to try.
The Idea
Our first reaction was “oh man, they chose the worst possible theme from the list!”, but we grudgingly went along with it anyway. The idea for Shape Escape was just the first one that popped into our heads. “A physics based shapeshifting platformer”. I played around trying random stuff, settling on sphere rotation for locomotion and rectangle shapeshifting for jumping. By a happy accident, it provided the game with unexpected depth, despite the simplicity of the controls.
Day one
The good
As it turns out, the artist had a hidden knack for cutesy 2D art. Despite not having touched his tablet for months, and having very little experience with any sort of traditional art, he managed to come up with a consistent style which we think worked really well for the game.
Similarly, I (the programmer) seem to have done an alright job designing the levels for a first try, though I made the mistake of not having beginners test them before submission, resulting in the difficulty being a little higher than we were aiming for.
They see you
The bad
We weren’t all that serious about LD before we started. We decided at first to make something small and crappy, keeping the workload at a minimum. However, on the third day, after spending around 10 hours total on the game, we saw some potential in it. We crunched from 8 am to 3 am nonstop, barely managing to submit the last bugfix at 3:59 am, just before submission hour ended. There is still a gamebreaking bug which happens occasionally on level entry which we did not have time to fix. We definitely should have gone in at full power right from the start.
Because of the lack of time, the square shape didn’t get the attention it deserved. We needed to put more work into it to make it more useful. As it stands, it is only beneficial for shaving a few seconds off of your time, and requires considerable practice to use properly.
Lastly, we failed to get a third level in as we intended on doing. We felt that fixing the last few bugs and adding the last little tidbits, such as the black transitions and a nice menu, was more important than more content. We already had two full levels, and leaving the game unpolished for the sake of a little more content wasn’t worth it.
Day two
Our workflow
We have always had a good system going between us when working on games. We have a quick meeting, decide what needs doing, then split up and only rarely disturb the other person’s work to ask for input. When one of us finishes the work they were allocated, we have another short meeting to figure out what to do next. When working in a team, it is very inefficient to be looking over your partner’s shoulder and be tempted to change the design as they work. It is better to finish what you decided to do, and only then consider changes, evaluating the extra time it would take to get it done.
While it is true that jam games definitely need a lot of flexibility when it comes to overall design, you should consider setting the design and implementation details in stone before the first day’s over. This will let you focus on the smaller things that make the game what it is, such as adding a little extra flare to menus, or polishing controls to a mirror finish.
Day three
In the end, we were very happy with how it turned out, and we hope we can do as well next time.
Finally recovered from the caffeine overdose and lack of sleep and did a “speed” run of the second level of our game. Can you beat it?
Fixed the last serious bug just in time. A shapeshifting physics platformer with a twist!
First stage complete. Video of a full playthrough (~4 minutes).
Tomorrow we’ll add menus, put in some nicer assets, and polish it up.
6 hours in.
Making some sort of skill/puzzle based platformer??
