Arcade mode scoring, jump pad chaos and a year of HRT
Hello! I spent these last couple of weeks adding a scoring system to my game’s arcade mode and making the most chaotic videogame level that I have ever created. But first…
Going gridless
Recently I’ve been worrying about my game looking a bit too much like a turn-based game at a glance. People often look at my game and go “oh it’s just like Crypt of the Necrodancer!” which perhaps isn’t the best sign for a fast-paced action game.
During one of my recent development streams on Twitch, a viewer told me about the Frogger GBA games which have a similar real-time grid-based feel to my game but don’t have a visible grid.
So I tried making my game’s grid invisible, and after playtesting it for a while I think I like it! It seems to make the game look less turn-based in screenshots and it doesn’t cause any gameplay issues either:
The only problem is that it makes the ground look very plain and flat, now that there’s no grid there to give it some visual interest. But I can fix that whenever I do some more work on the game’s environment sprites.
Scoring system
I decided to get my arcade mode’s scoring system into the game now instead of leaving it until later, so it will passively get playtested for the rest of the game’s development period whenever I play through a level that I’m working on.
The scoring system is pretty simple: there’s a chaining system that rewards you for defeating lots of enemies in a row (or even chaining the whole stage), a group KO system that rewards you for hitting enemies into other enemies instead of taking them out one at a time, points for blowing up lots of enemies with a bomb, and time bonuses for clearing rooms quickly.
It’s a lot of fun, it tests the skills that I want to test, and it’s not overly reliant on enemy movement RNG while still giving experienced players ways to push their scores further! Here’s a run where I fully chain the penguin arcade stage:
Jump pad chaos
I updated the enemies’ pathfinding so they knew how to use jump pads, and then I got carried away and made a jump pad themed stage full of chickens and penguins. I thought my game was already chaotic but this stage takes it so much further:
This is the most chaotic thing I have ever made but I love it! There’s something thrilling about using jump pads to chase down enemies and cut off their escape path, or hitting them onto a jump pad and positioning yourself so you’re ready to hit them again as soon as they land.
Because you’re invincible while you’re in the air, jump pads sort of act like an invincible dodge roll that gets you out of danger. But because you can only use them in a few places and they only activate once you’ve finished stepping onto them, they somehow seem to avoid being overpowered.
I only made jump pads because I thought they would be a useful upgrade for traversing the overworld in adventure mode, but they turned out so much better than I expected. Hopefully I can find some more fun gimmick ideas for stages!
I’ve been on HRT for a year! Or 7 months. Or 15 months?
It's been roughly a year since I stated hormone replacement therapy. Recently I've been thinking about how for the first time in decades, I don't hate my body. I wrote a rambly post about it over on cohost, so check it out if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Ducky’s Delivery Service is on sale on PC!
It's the wholesome games celebration over on Steam, and Ducky's Delivery Service is part of the event because it was featured in wholesome direct 2023. So you know anyone who is interested in Ducky's Delivery Service, let them know it's 35% off this week on Steam and itch.io!
Anything else?
I haven’t played any new games recently, so I’m going to give those Frogger GBA games a try soon. I’ve been listening to the radio a lot so my recommendation for this newsletter is the online version of the UK radio station Rinse FM, if you're a fan of UK electronic music. It's one of my favorite ways to find out about new music and I'm grateful it exists.
And that’s it! I’m going to go get some rest and daydream about new level ideas for my game, and I’ll see you next time!