Feb 24, 2017

Suzy Cube Update: February 24, 2017

#suzycube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity 

With GDC only a few days away, my week has, predictably, been all about getting the game show ready! And freaking out about it...

An Injection of Personality

The one new piece of content I worked on this week was a custom set of animations for the existing Mummy Skull enemy.

The enemy used to use the same animation set and behaviour as the Basic Skulls with the only difference being that it could come back to life after being stomped. I was never quite happy with this as I felt the Mummy Skull was missing a personality of its own. So, I took the time this week to make a new set of more mummy-like animations and switched out its behaviour for a simpler, more zombie style one. The Mummy Skull now relentlessly and stupidly walks toward Suzy.

Urghhhhhh....

Now the Mummy Skull not only looks the part but moves the part as well!

Pretty Pictures

The rest of the week was all about decorating the two levels I chose to showcase at the convention, Level 2-1 and Level 3-4. I chose these levels because they are visually distinct and offer varied gameplay. Level 3-4 is set in a misty forest and involves more of the standard Suzy platforming while Level 2-1 is set inside a pyramid which Suzy explores from a Zelda inspired top-down perspective.

I made a number of small design changes to both levels to get them ready for new players and I tried to address some small bugs and optimization issues here and there. I want to give a big thanks to my old colleague Sim for optimising my texture scrolling shaders. He bought be a full 2 fps when running Level 3-4 on my iPod. The majority of my time, however, was spent on decoration, of course! As such, I figured, rather than bore you with the details, I would just share some screenshots!

Level 3-4: Behind the waterfall!
Level 3-4: Look out for Bone Throwers!
Level 3-4: River ride...
Level 3-4: Don't miss the boat!
Level 2-1: What awaits inside!?
Level 2-1: Suzy has really turned a corner...
Level 2-1: Where to first?
Level 2-1: What a puzzling room!

And, there you have it! I've got two, very different levels ready to show to press and players. All that's left for me to do now is make and test the final demo build and pack my bags! Oh man! So excited / nervous!!

I don't know yet if I'll be writing updates from the convention every night like I did last year, but at the very least, I should have a nice recap for all of you next week. See you then!












16 comments:

  1. Will you be meeting up with TouchArcade again at GDC this year?

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    1. They are all booked up but seem keen on squeezing me in. So, yes, I hope so! I'll also be going to a couple of their parties.

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    2. Ok. So excited to see!

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    3. I sat with them and they've uploaded a new video!

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    4. I saw the video. The game is looking good!

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  2. Android Tester Available!

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    1. How large is the game size?

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    2. You wish Phil! I won't even let you test if I do release on Android!.. Ok.. I'll probably let you test...

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    3. It is possible that another round of testing might happen before april?

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    4. So, first off, i noticed that you added a sprint feature! Thats pretty cool. I was wondering if you could add a long jump. Also, do you think another round of testing will start this month?

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    5. Not this month, no. As for a long jump. While sprinting, Suzy's jump height is increased, and combined with her faster speed she can, indeed clear wider gaps.

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  3. When is the realse date for iOS this game remaind me super Mario 3D land thanks for taking the time to make a simuladed game

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    1. No release date yet, sorry. Glad you are looking forward to it, though!

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  4. I just wrote a heartfelt comment on the toucharcade vid from this year, but I'd like to just reiterate that I appreciate what you are creating here, and hope that you keep up the good work. I'm glad to see someone putting the requisite time and care into creating a fun, and fleshed out mobile game, and I hope it paves the way for more ambitious and innovative mobile titles in the future. It is clear to me that you have a passion for video games as a craft, and that your doing this out of a love for the platforming genre. I look forward to seeing the progress!

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    1. Uh... Wow.... I don't know what to say ^_^ ... Thank you!

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