Suzy Cube Update: Friday June 17, 2016

#suzycube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity 

One more boss level in the bag and lots of tweaks thanks to my testers. Sorry, just plain solid work weeks don't always make for exciting updates.

As stated above, I've got Level 2-B done and ready for testing. It might be hard to see in the screenshot above, but the boss basically uses the colour scheme from the old lava themed boss since I decided to give the lava themed one a more sinister makeover.

More scarier is more betterer

Same Old New Boss Fight

I've mentioned before how all of the game's boss fights are fought against variations of the same boss. So, how do I plan to keep these fights from getting boring or repetitive?

First, let's not forget that they are all separated by five other levels, so aren't really meant to be played back to back. That being said, it's still important that I not simply force the player to suffer through the same boss fight five times, so each version of the fight plays out a little differently. For example, the Level 2-B fight has you using the double jump power up hat to bop the boss on the noggin. 

High flyin'

Most of the other boss fights have you relying on the boss using some sort of close range attack to expose itself. This fight's reliance on the double jump makes it refreshingly proactive! You still need to wait for the right opening, but it certainly distinguishes the battle. 

Finally, let's not forget the lead up to each boss fight. Boss levels have you climbing up to meet your opponent and the different towers each have their own look and feel.

High and dry

For Level 2-B, we see an Egyptian desert inspired level which has you scaling a single face of the tower as you navigate the tricky timing of the platforms which move in and out of the rear wall.

Up you go!

The theming and different challenges keep each boss level fresh and the mixing and matching of different attack patterns and methods for damaging the boss keep the fight from feeling too similar from world to world. That way, I can deliver on five worlds worth of boss fights without blowing my budget on them!

Mo Testing Mo Problems

Last Friday, I spent some time out of the house where I could have access to a better internet connection in order to review the gameplay clips my testers had uploaded. Man, I'm so glad I took the time to hook up gameplay recording! I'm still not sure if I'll flesh it out into a full fledged feature for the game's release, but it's been an invaluable tool for testing. There's really nothing like watching several players run through a level to help highlight the kinks.

I spent all of Monday simply working through my list of notes from last Friday's viewing session and implementing changes and fixes. 

With Level 2-B in the bag, that leaves only a single boss level to go, Level 4-B which I will be getting started on next week. I'm sure I'll also have more changes and tweaks to make to existing levels as I'm planning another tester video binge watching session this afternoon.

Check back in next week!