Got round to playing this game and it was a really cool proof of concept. I can see the puzzle elements becoming very fun as the game develops. The sprites and art were all really endearing too! I did get one bug. In the final screen where there is the ornate door and you climb down a rope, that enemy eneded up walking to the left and through the wall. It went far enough that when I went through the hole I could see it hovering above me.
As for an extra weight stage that makes certain scenarios impossible I think thatās a really good idea. If endings will be tied to weight then that could be an interest risk/ reward mechanic. If you walked into a room at this new max weight you would need to decide if you think you can pass the room at such a high weight, or use one of your finite weight loss resources. Plus Iām sure you can come up with some scenarios where a higher weight is actually beneficial.
I like the extra weight stage idea you have. Mechanically, it adds a little strategy because it gives the player one last stage before a game over. And kink wise, more weight stages are always fun
I think a good way to handle another weight stage making some things impossible is to make it so that it locks off certain paths and endings, but still have a path that they can go on even at the highest mobile size. That opens up choices like whether they want to expend a use of the limited weight loss mechanic to take that path, and also provides some replayability by making it so the player needs to do multiple playthroughs, or at least go back to an earlier save.
A quick video preview with some teases of stuff in the next update. Working at it slowly but surely!
Iāve also started trying to add another weight level. Struggling to get decent art assets made for it, I donāt know how to draw the Thief any bigger in pixels so my current attempts look a bit like inflation frankly.
Any advice or links to other games that do pixel art fats well would be appreciated. Iām still not 100% certain Iām actually adding another stage, but I figured Iād at least play with it.
Meanwhile Iām just building rooms and trying to design puzzles, if you have any puzzles you particularly like in these kinds of adventure games Iād be happy to hear! Iāve never designed a game like this before honestly, so right now itās just winging it.
I donāt want to share too much, but I kind of wanted to give an update, Iām eager for people to see what Iām working on I suppose.
Well, Iām pretty excited for the project myself! You are doing something really cool. The demo definitely showed that and Iām excited to see what else you have up your sleeves. Good luck on the project dude!
I feel like itās probably some kind of taboo that Iām breaking by responding to an update request, (per the forum rules) but honestly I donāt mind a ton.
Truth be told there isnāt much to say. Iāve been very busy with my real life responsibilities and at a road block with the game creatively. Realistically speaking while I love this style of game, it relies on puzzles.
Iām not great at making puzzles. I just donāt have any ideas on how to make them or better yet, how to make them fun. So right now progress is slow.
Iāve actually been working more on a completely unreleased project, thatās been in development longer.
Regardless itās not like Iāve done nothing. Hereās some new stuff.
Thanks for the continued interest in the project, I appreciate it.
Making puzzles is a nightmare. Well, good ones that is.
Although itās a bit cheaty, I would look at other puzzle games and perhaps modify some of the puzzles they have. Not copy per se, but mould puzzles from there. Gives you a base at least.
Hey, I am glad this project is still being worked on! I have thought way too much about puzzles due to setting them as well as playing them; I may be weird for liking constructing them, apparently. I have some thoughts on this topic that I can share in case they are useful:
I think good puzzles are puzzles which (1) can be resolved by the player, and (2) can be resolved in a satisfying way. A puzzle with a sensible resolution which I cannot find is probably not that fun to me, but neither is a puzzle I quickly can find the solution to by brute force search ā there is not any thinking so much as just mindlessly pressing buttons. If the puzzle is very simple, this can be okay, though ā usually, j867bbwās puzzles involved searching blindly for the right interactable, but the options were so few in number that it took no time at all, and was okay for that reason. Considering this is a fetish game, thinking about if/when to fit the fetish in to the puzzle is also something that might help guide what sort of puzzles you want.
I have thoughts about what might work in a game with a setup like yours ā the puzzles can be easily motivated with a piece of treasure out of reach, or a blocked path that must be passed. The motivation seems like it will be important for making the puzzle enjoyable, and reasonable for the player to find a solution. The puzzle itself need not be that difficult, so long as it is natural, but conversely, an involved puzzle is usually only good if natural and sensible to complete. I can imagine you implementing a puzzle that must be traversed in one particular direction using your ledge-hopping, or there could be a very simple, vertical rope maze.
No idea if this rambling is helpful, but I remember your project as promising, and wanted to say something encouraging and share something that may or may not be of use. Good luck with your current project, at any rate!
Puzzle making is hard, but there is a bit you can do to make the puzzles more like putting 2 + 2 together as opposed to making the player find an x value. (If you will forgive the math analogy.)
Always make sure the player has the information they need. One of the simple things to do is have enemies or other characters do things to show the play. As an example, say you want to put floor traps into the game. Having an enemy trigger one first to show floor traps exist feels better than the player accidently stepping on one and getting punished for something they didnāt know was in the game.
There are other ways to do it (Show obvious skeleton to warn of danger, have a broken trap trigger but be unable to hurt the player.) but the important part is the establishment and lead up.
Good puzzle games usually start simple and then ramp up in difficulty while staying true to earlier concepts in a different setting. A great example of a puzzle game that shows this is Baba is You.
Good lord, Iād almost forgotten about this game. If you need help with puzzles, Iāve played quite a few platformers that use puzzles(as well as a lot of Zelda games), so if you need help with creating puzzles, I could try to help.
For help looking at pixelated weight stages, might I recommend taking a look at āGrowing Port Leeā and āSpacethumperā by Chubberdy, or the āStarbound: Big Fattiesā mod by Dispatch?
Haha Iām glad you remembered it at least. If you have any puzzle suggestions Iām willing to hear, Iāve been gradually working on them.
My most recent major additions are the weight loss mechanic, and a new enemy pathing system that fixes the issues people were having with enemys walking off the map.
Itās smooth going, just kinda slow! But yeah again, suggestions for puzzles or general scenarios are cool.
Iāve decided against any more pixel weight gain stages for now. At least not playable ones. But thank you for the suggestions, I have been following Growing Port Lee and think itās cool!
