*Controller Rumbles*

:D

Powerups

It's pretty common for small changes to be made to a game's design during development, but there's one thing I always end up going back to and changing completely. Powerups. More specifically, powerups that you have for a short period of time, or lose when you get hit a couple times.

Think of something like Bubble Bobble or Mario, both have fun and unique mechanics. The idea behind powerups in those games is to compliment those mechanics, and add a little flavor to make the game more dynamic on a moment-to-moment basis. The problem is, do you include a temporary double jump powerup that can appear anywhere, and miss out on having a permanent upgrade for the same thing? (which would open up new areas metroid style)

I often decide to include a ton of powerups early in development, only to decide later that I'd prefer to have them as items you obtain permanently. The reason being that I like games with exploration, and without something to obtain, what reason is there for the player to explore? I want levels to have nooks and crannies, and I want the player to actually have a good reason to try and find them. Collectibles don't cut it either, unless they add up to something amazing.

Looking back, I think the lack of things to find is the biggest problem I have with both Kuro and Eroico. Eroico has the excuse of being simple by design, but all Kurovadis had was upgrades you could get by leveling up anyway, and everything else you needed to progress. I think the idea of nooks and crannies and a world that feels like it has depth is something I need to put more attention into as I make more games.

CGs
Also, I've decided not to hire a CG artist this time around. I'll probably be hiring someone for the next game, though.

I'm currently coming up with a style for the CGs. To match the in-game graphics, I'm probably going to go with something bit more simplified.

Other than that...demo? Eventually -__-

Might look for a CG artist.

Just giving you a quick update, no I'm not dead, and no the game hasn't been cancelled, restarted, or any variation of "NOT GOING TO BE FINISHED". I'm still making progress, and working towards a demo.

I've been considering looking for a CG artist to help speed things along near the end of development. (CGs are what I generally do last). So if anybody is interested in doing hentai CGs for the game (and is a better artist than myself), let me know and send me an email with some examples of your work. From there we can decide on prices.

Otherwise, I'll probably hit up some art forums or communities. Newgrounds is probably a safe bet, given the amount of adult content there. 

Player Template

I started working on the first of a series of templates I'll be making for GM.

I only started today, so this one is limited to the player's basic movement, and an attack.
Basic template WIP

Once completed (Let's call it Platformer: Basic), the template will contain,

- Simplistic player moveset (idle, run, jump, fall, crouch, attack, shoot, hit, knocked down)

- Simple enemy AI (pace, follow, hop, shoot, etc)

- Basic collision detection

- Simple hazards

- Room switching

- Healing items

- Health bar HUD

- Start Menu

- Pausing

- Gameover/restart

- Simple H mechanic

More mechanics will come in more advanced templates down the line. The idea of this first template (when it's done) will be simply to allow you to make a basic game without getting held up by things like basic platforming physics. The foundation will be there, but in such a way that is easy to modify, replace, and build onto with your own content.

(However the file above isn't quite set up to be easy to understand yet, mind you, so it's more for those who are just interested.)

I'll also be doing a more comprehensive video tutorial series later on, to help with the fundamentals of Game Maker itself, so that you'll not only know how to use the templates, but how they work. I've asked this before, but feel free to make suggestions on what you'd like to see in a basic template, keeping in mind that it will be fairly simple.

This will all be free of course, but feel free to make a donation if you ever find any of it useful. (Let's just say that hiring an artist better than myself for the next game will be great, but hiring TWO would be even better)