Josh's Adventure (Released!)

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Well, posting here has been very sparse. Just figuring out what I'm doing with the game has stopped production for a while as I try and figure out what theme the next world will use and what ideas I like. Combine that with lots of life events (good and bad) and some really fun games (Punch Out Wii!) I haven't gotten much work done. But I'm always thinking and planning the title, and today I had enough time to do some work.

The fourth and final world theme's been decided: Jungle theme! Although a jungle doesn't work so well on RPG Maker 1, it's something I've wanted to implement since the beginning, and have only now realized I've wanted to do this for some time now. I also have the planning finished for the first level, 4-1 Monkeys + Barrels = Fun! As you can guess, it's a level with a lot of monkeys and barrels. I also took some inspiration from one of Dray's games again, this time being Slayer's Reign. I rather liked one of the earlier levels, where ghosts pushed logs you had to avoid. It made for an interesting level design, and I'll be doing something similar.

I've got the basics of the level down, but there is one problem bugging me; the level is damn ugly. It started off using a pre-existing level until I realized there were some spaces you couldn't walk on. So I erased it, leaving the event data and made a new one that could make it work. Unfortunately, if you use the "inside" option, you can't use a background of trees like I planned. Ugh. So, yeah, it looks butt ugly, and hopefully I'll be able to flesh it out some more before it's done.

For World 4 I also have this idea I want to implement. It doesn't really make any sense per se in a jungle world as opposed to something spacey, but I've made a jump pad that turns Josh upside down, and lets him walk around upside down. This will not only give me more freedom with level design, it can also be used to make new puzzles and interesting new levels.

So, I got some good progress done today, and hopefully I'll get out of this non-making mood and get back to work.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Some good progress today.

I spent about 2 hours today slaving away at 4-1. It's almost completely finished too. First, I deleted the dungeon for that level and added trees as background, which required me to match up the event code again. The next step was to add some nice touches, like tree sprites to make it look good. Then onward to enemy placement (which was a hit more hit and miss than I would've liked, since I was using so many duplicates).

One cool area is one where there are a lot of monkeys and lots of barrels to avoid. It's pretty hectic, although the end section is a little easy since most of the barrels fall into a similar routine, but that's fine with me.

A new idea I implemented into the level was a different way of approaching chests. There are three chests, each with a piece of an incomplete token. Combine the three by opening all the chests, and you get a nice reward. It's nothing huge, but it adds a little variety the game could use.

So, all I need to do is add enemy code and some other small things, and I'll be done with the level. Oh, and I'll need to playtest it too.

Anyone else find listening to Dray's LPs helpful when working on their games? I do it sometimes and it helps!

So to wrap up this somewhat random post, here's some interesting facts about the game right now:

The game has taken 100 hours to make up to this point. That's longer than any other game I've made up till now (although I'm sure system idling had something to do with that high number).

The game is now using 9 scenario blocks. I think I'll have enough memory to complete the game without too many problems.

That Winter 2010 release date? I'm skeptical about it. I don't really think I'll be able to make it by then. Until I can predict a more accurate release, I'm sticking to that. Besides, I'd really like to be able to finish it this year.

And that's it! Until the next update!

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Alrighty, so after doing some enemy coding, 4-1 is finished! Woohoo!

I also decided to go back to the third boss fight with chicken Caesar. I originally just wanted to fix a warp, but I ended up playing the entire boss fight and got a little sucked into it. No doubt in my mind, boss battles are where the game is at it's most unique and fun. After playing it, I realized there were a couple areas that needed to be fixed, since I could make certain events replay themselves. It took a while, since figuring out what I had done prior was a bit tricky. Thankfully I managed to figure it out and get stuff fixed.

I'm also going to try and work on this a bit more often, since I'll probably be working 6 days a week, have jury duty, and still find time to unwind. So, if I just wait for my days off to work, I'll get nowhere quickly.

So 4-2 will begin production soon, and I have a rough idea what I'd like to do with it.

I also updated the wiki slighty. The development section hasn't changed, but the Features section mentions the game's three difficulty options; Normal, Hard, and Difficult. You start the game on Normal and unlock them as you beat the game. After beating the game on Normal, you'll unlock both the co-operative mode and the credits, along with getting to play Hard mode.

I'm pretty gung-ho for getting a cooperative mode in the game somehow. It's something I really want to do. Something I feel I HAVE to do. Simply because there are no cooperative games on RPG Maker at all.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Hey, how y'all doin?

I figured I'd try a new little post intro since the "did good progress today" was getting a little old.

Today I worked on designing a new level, 4-2. Originally it was set to have Josh walking over trees and traversing the level never touching the ground, but this didn't work out so well since it always looked unnatural and I couldn't get it to work right. So I scrapped the idea and instead came up with a completely different idea. This one has you walking next to a river. Along the way you'll come to the exit, but it can't be reached since it's across the river. There is a bridge though, and if Josh could find some wood, maybe he could whittle a path to clear the level. Farther in you can find some and complete the level.

I rather like how it looks personally. The whole nature angle (rather than beaches) gives me some freedom to make more details in the game, like trees and flowers rather than sand and rock. It's a bit more diverse, and I like that.

So the level design is down and good, and it'l be time for enemy placement soon.

That's all for now. Until the next update.

Oh, and LMAO, I typed in Josh's Adventure in google just for fun, and I got THIS:
http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcove...enture/6474005

Although I was surprised the search result had the pavilion's JA topic as it's second choice, and video options showed a magcon video. Pretty cool.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Oh boy. I'm going all over the place.

I don't have a lack of level ideas, which I'm thankful for. My issue is figuring out just what kind of world I'd like to settle on. I don't think the jungle is working for me. The whole "joke" of that level was that there are only forest sprites, so the joke was that it was supposed to be a jungle, but was obviously a forest, to which the characters would joke about. It's just a one trick pony that's not very funny to begin with.

So what I might settle on is a world I wanted to make since the beginning; a sky world. I wanted to mess with the jumping mechanic, and although I like the "walking upside down" idea of a space world, the new "wind" idea for a sky level is much more interesting and can make for more diverse ideas to play around with. There could be a direction of wind, and every jump will be affected by the wind's direction. I have the idea that early levels will simply blow one direction and you must simply make the air neutral, but later levels will allow you to change the direction of the wind. This could lead to some very new and interesting ideas.

The newly redesigned 4-2 has that aspect. The wind is blowing westward, and the platforms you must jump to can't be reached since the wind alters your direction. So after jumping all over the place, you can find a machine to release moisture into the air and stop the wind. And thanks to chatting in the chat room, I got a lot of work done on that.

The mag chat room seems to really drive me to create. So does Dr. Pepper. Imagine if I combined the two....

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm probably switching over to a sky world (more ideas to work with), and will probably get more work done tomorrow.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

A bit more progress and some new stuff today.

I've wanted for a while now to include the story back into the game. It's a creative little story and it helps explain why Josh is out trying to play these levels. So today I coded and completed the introduction and story into the game.

I cut the story out before simply because 1. The original idea for it was way too long and complicated, and 2. I was trying to figure out how I wanted the game to play out. Well, I tackled both of these issues today when I worked. The introduction I made for the game is short, sweet and simple, and it took only about an hour to finish. I don't know if I like the forth wall breaking, but it's the only thing I could think up that really felt like it worked. We shall see.

The screen fades in and you have Josh in front of you. He breaks the fourth wall by introducting himself to the player. He remarks that he heard RPG Maker players generally have no patience, so he gets to the point. At school, he hears a rumor going around saying that if you're inside the local arcade at the stroke of midnight, the lights all come on and the games play for free!

When Josh gets to the arcade, it turns out the rumor is only half true; the lights turn on, but the games don't play for free. Being royally ticked off at this point, Josh sticks his hand in the back of his favorite arcade game to hopefully find the free-play switch. What he gets is a nasty dose of electricity, thanks to some loose wires. The Grim Reaper is there to take him straight to Heck, but since Josh still has a heartbeat, he's still technically alive, and can't be taken. So the Grim Reaper offers up a proposition; an all or nothing bet on a platforming game. Win, and you walk away with your life. Lose, and it's a one-way ride to Heck, no exceptions. So grab a roll of quarters Josh; you'll need all the extra lives you can get.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

I sunk most of my day today working on Josh's Adventure, and a bit into the night working on a feature some people wanted for this game, and today they're going to get it: paralyzed jumping.

If you remember the Magcon there were a few members that would be preferred Josh to do a freeze or paralyzed position instead of doing his walking animation through the air. I want him to walk through the air, personally. So, I was torn for a bit on what to do. Then it occurred to me; why not give the player the choice of what they'd like? So today I sent out to make that option work. At the hubworld save point, you can access the options and open up the "Jump Options" tab to change the setting.

This took a lot longer than I suspected. It didn't occur to me just how many jump pads litter some levels. There's only one level that has no jump pads (2-1 March), and some has upwards ten unique jump pads. And I had to go to every one and program the paralyze jump.

It was amusing to me how the earlier levels had many unique jumps, while later ones used duplicates more and more. That sort of thing is two sided; I feel kinda bad about it since earlier levels had more attenion paid to them. On the other hand, I love duplicates because it makes coding so much easier. I just change one event and all the rest do too. It's so nice! I would've pulled my hair out a couple of times had I not done it, since some levels have so many.

And adding it in didn't cut into the memory that much, thankfully. I even found some unused code that I deleted to make more room.

Some levels got a little too unique with jumps, and got pretty complicated when I used Josh as an event instead of his main character. I had a problem in 3-2, See N Saw, because I had to duplicated the entire code that made the rock fly, and I screwed up somewhere and had to start over. Thankfully I got it to work, and I playtested some of the levels to make sure I got it.

I think I can rest easy knowing someone out there will enjoy this little option, because it took a long time to make it happen.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Today was a good day for progress.

Earlier today I wrote down an idea I had for a new level. I wrote it down and kept it for later today, when I could get on the PS2 and try and make it work. And, with a little modification and playtesting, it's completely finished! Hooray! A level completed within the span of a single day!

The level is 4-2, Scare Tactics. At the beginning of the level you see several contained enemies. These give you an idea of what the enemies will do, such as chase or run from you. After leaving the beginning area, you find the end of the level.....blocked by a pixie that runs away from you. Thanks to how it's designed, you have to go around and make the pixie move up by going down. But on your way back, the bridge disconnects and reconnects to a new section of the level. Moving onward, you jump into a big blank area, that quickly gets surrounded by enemies! An ambush! You make your way between the enemies and get to the other side, jumping to safety. Then, after a series of wall jumps, you come back to the beginning of the level. The pixie is out of the way, and you're free to step into the level exit.

My biggest problem with the level is.....sometimes the pixie doesn't move if you're too fast. Then you're stuck in the level with no way of beating it. I think I'll add some jump pads so you can finish the level regardless, but that kinda takes away what makes the level so fun. Still, I don't want to screw over the player, so I'll probably go through with it.

Lately I've just had a lot of motivation to keep working on this game.

One problem I may run into is of scenario data. At 9 blocks, I still have some, but it's starting to get down to the wire. If worst comes to worst, I will probably cut out a difficulty level to make it all fit. So the game will have a Normal and Hard mode, and will not have Difficult. I'm still hoping the scenario data will hold out to let me try this, but that doesn't seem to be the way the game is headed right now. A little disappointing.

I must admit, I still am unsure whether I'll hit that Winter 2010 release I've been looking forward to. But it's not looking entirely impossible now. At the very least, I'm confident the single player campaign will be finished by then.

I'm really looking forward to this, and I hope you are too.

[Valkysas]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Why not just add a scenario card?

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

The way I'm setting up the game, I'd really like to have the main game span one card, and have extra stuff on another card. So instead of switching scenario for, say, a different difficulty mode, I want it to all be on one card. Hopefully I'll be able to do this like I planned.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Some ranting with the progress update today.

It's amazing how difficult it is to make your own game. I'm realizing this as I'm starting to get near the end of JA, that it's been one heck of a tough road the whole way through. Creating an original work is tough. With something like Donkey Kong, most everything is already handed to you, so you just need to learn the maker itself and make it happen within those limitations. But with something completely original, you have to come up with everything, from the level design to the story to how the game flows and what kind of "feeling" you want to put in the game. I know I ridicule people who simply port other games to RPG Maker XP/VX, for example, but making your own stuff is tough as nails.

Alright, enough of the ranting. Time to talk progress.

I designed a new level, 4-3 (no name yet). In this particular level, you have a basic maze of chasing enemies, and after some jumps you get to an area with more chasing monsters. The trick here is maneuvering around these guys while doing stuff you need to in order to finish the level. So basically, you have to manipulate monsters to get past them. You have to build a bridge, but a ladder blocks your way. You have to get to a different section of the level where you'll find sticks of dynamite. Throw one a good distance away (via 3 way command) and you'll bust the ladder. But do that too early, and you'll miss the hard-to-get treasure that awaits on the top of the level. You can also throw a stick of dynamite really far, and destroy an enemy in the process, getting you some treasure.

Programming this level was a *****. I personally love the bridge builder in the game (you can see it in level 1-3 and 2-4 beforehand), but making it work is always a crapshoot. There's so many switches and page conditions moving around that keeping track of it is difficult. I had to test play it several times, and it would constantly screw up. Finally after several hours I got it all to work. Thankfully enemy placement was pretty good. The first time I laid them out the level was tough, but still beatable. I did cut out some enemies, because I simply placed way too many, and the second half of it was nigh unplayable.

I actually got most of the level finished, and only have some minor touch ups to do. The game is starting to finish up, so it's very easy to get motivated at this point. I'm a little eager to have someone play what I've got finished right now, but I'm trying to wait until the game is nearly finished. Even though the finish line is in sight, I've still got a lot of work to do.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

A bit more progress today.

I penned up the level design for 4-4, called Formation. It's a level where there are multiple chasing enemies and it's another game of keep away. There's enough variety to keep things interesting. I got the level made, now I need to add the proper scripts.

Another thing I worked on is the upcoming boss battle for World 4, which is shaping up to be one of the most amusing of the lot so far. There's one particular sentence in the boss's intro that's getting a lot of attenion from me. I got it all written down, and have lots of side ideas for new stuff to add. Over the next couple of days I'm going to go over it and polish it up, removing words I don't like and trying to make it flow better.

So the foundation is set for me to do more work the next time I fire up that shiny red disk.

And the theme for this level has been mostly ignored, simply because this world focuses on enemy movement far more than any worldly gimmick. I decided to make the world a sky one. As I mentioned, there are no gimmicks or tricks here; this is straight up enemy territory here.

I wonder, however, if the levels are too similar, or if the whole game idea is wearing thin at this point in the game? Will players be bored by the same tilesets? The similar gameplay? I'll have to have some playtesters give some input after this world is complete. It's starting to wear me a little thin. Then again, I'm looking forward to making the Hard mode, which will take level concepts and play around with them, so that could turn out to be interesting.

Hope you guys are still sticking around, and maybe I'll be in a more opportunistic mood for the next update.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Rather sad news today.

Unfortunately, unless I really hit the grindstone, I'm almost certain the game won't hit it's projected Winter 2010 release date.

There's too many factors to consider for the game to be released by then. I'm just finishing up the main mode, but then there's Hard mode, co-op, extras, playtesting....there's too much I need to do before releasing this game. Usually with smaller projects I'd be able to hit a release date with excellent accuracy, but there's too many unpredictable turns in a longer game to set down a release date. And I don't want to work on it when I'm not feeling up to it, because then my emotions put a damper on the game.

Technically, I could have the game done by then if I cut out the co-op mode. But the thing is....I can't. Not that I'm obligated to have it, but I want it in the game. Really badly. Enough to delay the whole game to include it.

So I apologize if you were looking forward to playing this sometime soon, because it's not gonna happen. I promise I'll try and post some new, interesting stuff to make the wait a bit easier. It's a case of delaying the game to give it the proper amount of development time it needs.

I don't have a projected release date to give out at this time.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

Alrighty, more updates.

I placed and set up all the events for 4-4. The level's not quite complete; not all of the enemies are completely coded and I haven't playtested it.

I suppose I just quickly got through this level so I could move on to the one I've been looking forward to working on: the World 4 boss. This time you're going up against Bradson, a man who defines the word "perfect". He's the only boss to have another appearance in a different game (as an enemy in an ending of A Work in Progress), although I'm sure most people haven't seen him before. He's rather...proud of himself, so to say. His opening reveals this pretty humorously.

I'm rather looking forward to making more of this particular level.

[1ce]

Re: Josh's Adventure

I haven't posted for a while, have I? Sorry about that; sometimes it's good just to get away from something for a while. In this case, I didn't use the internet much for a while. Progress has been going on, however.

I'm working on the boss level for World 4 against Bradson. The intro to the level is set up and working great, and I have an interesting ending for it as well, but nothing in the middle. I haven't come up with any interesting ideas to stick there. So for now I've been editing and playtesting. Now all of the levels in World 4 have been programmed to use the paralyze jump option, and the playtesting sessions I've done have removed many fatal bugs. I do have, unfortunately, this nagging feeling that the playtesting and debugging is only OK right now. I've run across a lot of mistakes, and they're only getting caught by me accidentally finding them. So how many bugs exist that I'm not fully aware of? Someone, please remind me to go through every single event in this game and give the game a very thorough debugging. I didn't realize that a game of this size could have so many things go wrong.

I also played through World 3. Not to playtest so much, as just to get an idea of what I'm making. Sometimes you get so involved in what you're doing that you sort of forget what you're making, as odd as that sounds. I do think the gameplay is a little lackluster, but the presentation, graphics, and style really sell the game. I'm also glad with what I have made so far. It's almost odd how creating something can be frustrating to figure out, but when looking back on it you're happy and impressed with it.

That's it for now. Thanks for the continued viewing guys.

EDIT: Oh, and 500 posts! Yaaay!