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EDIT: Lots of positive reactions! <3 you guys! A lot of people have asked where they can play it, so I decided I'd add a link to download the most recent build. It's still in its really early stages though, so don't expect a masterpiece 
+ Show Spoiler +Here is the latest build of my game. It's super basic, pretty much just a sandbox. Although it has the fireball and shield spells, they really don't serve a purpose aside from testing, as there are no enemies yet lol. The only NPC's are some friendly mip's flying about, that you can't interact with in any way... yet lol. The most fun spell to play around with is the levitation orb http://www.mediafire.com/?i95t6d5ct64uoyiControls Arrows- move Space- jump (hold to jump higher). Press and hold space again while in midair to activate levitation orb. Z- fireball (hold up to shoot up, hold down while in the air to shoot down). X- Shield Control- Refill mana to 100 if you are a lazy bum who doesn't want to wait for the mana to recharge (just for testing purposes lol). I know there are occasionally some animation bugs, primarily when colliding with a ground object that is above you, but they're actually pretty rare. That being said, if you find anything that you think is a bug, let me know. And sorry for the annoying water-mark. I haven't upgraded to the full version of Game Maker yet, but I'm planning on getting it pretty sooooon.
First two blogs
+ Show Spoiler +
I've made a bit of progress since my last blog, but I also took 5 days off of working on the game (not because I was burned out, but because my friend wanted me to make a simple, arcadey racing game for him, so I made one in 5 days ).
If you haven't seen my other blogs, I'm basically making a magic-themed, sidescrolling platformer/adventure game. Here are some basic animations for my main sprite .They aren't all at the exact animation speed that they are at in game, so if something looks too fast/slow, use your imagination  (This goes for all the images in this post):
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TJQQ0.gif) ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5Vh52.gif) Rightmost one is him casting a spell, if you couldn't tell.
Anyway, I've finished all of the spells that I want the main character to have (for now), and have also implemented a mana pool, and a meter at the top that displays your current mana. The player has a max of 100 mana, and regens 6 mana every second that he is not using a spell. He can also accelerate this rate by standing still while regenerating (more detail later on).
I have also added ramps into the engine, and started to work on some art for the environment and the first few NPC's.
Here is a list and description of the current spells:
1. Fireball- Ranged attack spell. The basic way to deal direct damage to enemies. Can be shot straight to the side, straight up, or straight down.
Mana Cost- 10.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/oZXIG.gif) Imagine this fireball flying through the air :D
2. Levitation Orb- While in mid-air, the player can press and hold space to activate the levitation orb. Not only does it stop the character from falling, but it accelerates him upward. This allows him to reach great heights, especially when used with a full mana bar.
Mana Cost- 25 to cast, 30 mana/sec to maintain.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/np1YD.gif) ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/PQjGG.png)
3. Shield Orb- Press and hold x to cast a shield around the character. This shield protects him from all incoming attacks, and converts it into health for the character. Kinda like Ness's PSI magnet in SSB Melee.
![[image loading]](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111031154756/ssb/images/thumb/6/69/PSI_Magnet_Ness_SSBM.jpg/185px-PSI_Magnet_Ness_SSBM.jpg)
One difference though, is that the shield orb will absorb melee attacks as well as ranged attacks.
Mana Cost- 15 to cast, 15 mana/sec to maintain, an undetermined amount of mana each time an attack is absorbed. This will likely vary based on the strength of the incoming attack.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/NVUs1.png) He is also running, which is why his legs look silly.
4. Mana Charge- This isn't really a spell, so much as it is a passive ability. If the character stands still in one spot and does not cast any spells for 2.5 seconds, his mana will start regenerating at an accelerated rate. IIRC it will regen 30 mana/sec, but I'm not positive on that number (too lazy to check).
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5gtLG.gif) ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/h1pcn.png)
I have also started working on the first NPC's. They are small floating creatures called "mips". There are going to be good and bad mips, and they are going to have different abilities/attacks based on what color they are. Here is the blue mip:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/2DHvb.gif)
Finally, just for the heck of it, this is what the mana-bar looks like. I'll probably end up changing the color of the border pixels, but this is what it looks like atm.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8j6Up.png)
Whew, that was a lot. Next, I'm going to focus on adding behaviors and simple AI to the mips, and creating even more NPC's. Once I have NPC's with the ability to attack me, I will work on implementing health for the main character.
I hope you guys liked reading my blog! I tried to include as many screen-shots and animations as possible, as I personally find pixel art to be one of my favorite things in many indie games. I, myself, am certainly no pixel artist, but I'm pretty reasonably happy with how well my simple sprites have turned out.
If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions on the development and/or details of the game, feel free to post them here or drop me a PM!
I'm out!
EDIT: Just finished the first enemy! It's an evil mip that things at you. You guys will be able to see it and (hopefully) some more enemies in my next update!
EDIT: Oh yeah, and I'm planning on upgrading to the full version of Game Maker as a Christmas present to myself. Hooray no more annoying water-mark!
 
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This is really cool! Nice read GL and cant wait to see what's going to happen!
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Gl with it :D. Best of luck,if you need people to try it out you can always ask TL'ers :D
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On December 17 2011 10:34 mrafaeldie12 wrote:
Gl with it :D. Best of luck,if you need people to try it out you can always ask TL'ers :D
That's the plan. It won't be in a playable state (other than just being a sandbox to test the engine and animations) for quite a long time.
EDIT: If anyone wants to try out the sandbox, send me a PM.
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TL'ers will play ANY game from their fellow posters... seriously, I remember playing this super annoying game from a guy doing an "RTS Sruvey"... and so did like 4000 other people xDDD
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Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one.
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On December 17 2011 11:27 Dubzex wrote:
Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one.
Welp, can't unsee that.
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On December 17 2011 11:27 Dubzex wrote:
Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one.
>.<
In-game, it won't loop over and over again like that, so it won't look so....... fappish.
Surprisingly, that is not the first of my animations that, when looped, looks like someone is vigrously masturbating.
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On December 17 2011 11:46 ClysmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On December 17 2011 11:27 Dubzex wrote:
Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one. >.< In-game, it won't loop over and over again like that, so it won't look so....... fappish. Surprisingly, that is not the first of my animations that, when looped, looks like someone is vigrously masturbating.
Hahahahaha. This is why TL is the oasis in the desert of the internet.
Shoot me a PM, I wouldn't mind trying out the game:D
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Waaaaaaaaiiittt a sec your doing this in Gamemaker 8? wtf that would take me like a year to do 0.o
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On December 17 2011 11:27 Dubzex wrote:
Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one.
LOL! Jackpot! Can't unsee!!!
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On December 17 2011 12:23 BobTheLob wrote:
Waaaaaaaaiiittt a sec your doing this in Gamemaker 8? wtf that would take me like a year to do 0.o
Game Maker is easier/quicker than any other programming language IMO... this only took me like 4 or 5 weeks.
Using GML as opposed to drag & drop really speeds up the process too lol.
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This is so cool! 80ish 90ish graphics.
Let us know here about the final version ok?
I would love to beta for you
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the casting animation looks like a spanking motion...
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On December 17 2011 11:46 ClysmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On December 17 2011 11:27 Dubzex wrote:
Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one. >.< In-game, it won't loop over and over again like that, so it won't look so....... fappish. Surprisingly, that is not the first of my animations that, when looped, looks like someone is vigrously masturbating.
You have no idea how many straights you are driving away from game developing and how many gays are going to join game developing because of this one blog. GL and HF with this though! I did some easy game developing once when I was little in a workshop but haven't toyed with it since.
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Your sprites look pretty good. Keep it up.
Is there any place we can play this?
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awesome dude! cant wait to see the final product!
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On December 17 2011 13:16 3FFA wrote:Show nested quote +On December 17 2011 11:46 ClysmiC wrote:On December 17 2011 11:27 Dubzex wrote:
Ok so the spellcasting animation is definitely a guy slapping his dick. Might need to rework that one. >.< In-game, it won't loop over and over again like that, so it won't look so....... fappish. Surprisingly, that is not the first of my animations that, when looped, looks like someone is vigrously masturbating. You have no idea how many straights you are driving away from game developing and how many gays are going to join game developing because of this one blog. GL and HF with this though! I did some easy game developing once when I was little in a workshop but haven't toyed with it since.
I love TL
And btw, I added a download link in the OP due to the number of people asking to try it out.
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I had some fun. And thanks so much for that incredibly detailed PM. That really helps. 5/5 !
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Cool stuff - I'll definitely be watching to see how it progresses! The sprite work is quite good, and yeah the casting animation doesn't look nearly as awkward in game as it does on infinite loop here.
Only one gameplay comment I have: because of the way the character runs down hills, he's quickly alternating between being airborne and on the ground, meaning there's a small chance that any jump command issued will be ignored. I dunno if that's something easy to fix with GameMaker or not, but just pointing it out (can be tested in the upper right corner when trying to jump from the angled ledge to the platform up there).
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On December 17 2011 14:54 BajaBlood wrote:
Cool stuff - I'll definitely be watching to see how it progresses! The sprite work is quite good, and yeah the casting animation doesn't look nearly as awkward in game as it does on infinite loop here.
Only one gameplay comment I have: because of the way the character runs down hills, he's quickly alternating between being airborne and on the ground, meaning there's a small chance that any jump command issued will be ignored. I dunno if that's something easy to fix with GameMaker or not, but just pointing it out (can be tested in the upper right corner when trying to jump from the angled ledge to the platform up there).
Yeah I'm aware of that. It's supposed to ignore gravity while the character is in contact w/ the stairs, and just snap him down when he moves, as opposed to letting gravity pull him down. I HAD that working just fine, but then I changed something with the stairs and it broke it again, and I put fixing it on my to-do list... but I completely forgot about it lol. Thanks for reminding me though, it should be a quick fix.
EDIT: Fixed :D tyty (It's not a big enough bug to re-upload it though lol)
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Haha, this is sick!
I could totally see myself loading this up idly and playing between matches of Starcraft or something ^^
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Sorry if you already stated this but what are you using for creating your sprites?
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gj, but yes the casting animation...LOL, same for the one with the casting animation + orange thing LOL might wanna edit that some @_@
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Wow, awesome stuff, can't wait to see more! :D
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why people always use x and z as keys for things;O
german keyboard has Y and Z changed compared to the english keyboard. For people who don't know how to change the windows keyboard to english in a program pretty much don't get the experience.
I will take a look at the game later on, seems not too bad
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Why does the characters arm lose its black outline during the cast animation?
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Dang it already looks pretty fun to me and I've only seen the sprites lol.
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Well, you better finish it, I like that kind of games, GL.
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On December 17 2011 16:00 prOxi.swAMi wrote:
Sorry if you already stated this but what are you using for creating your sprites?
Paint.net, which is pretty much just MS paint with a few additional features. GM has a feature, where if you load a sprite that has a name like 'spriteName_stripXX' where the X's are numbers, it will divide the image into that many frames, and automatically animate them at whatever speed you set it to.
For example, the image below is called runRight_strip8. So Game Maker will automatically animate it to look like what you see in the OP.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TVzCT.png)
On December 17 2011 22:13 sob3k wrote:
Why does the characters arm lose its black outline during the cast animation?
Idk it's supposed to give it a kind of blur effect. I'm sure I'll slightly alter all of my sprites multiple times anyway, so if I find that it looks better with the outline, than I'll change it.
On December 17 2011 21:32 LML wrote:why people always use x and z as keys for things;O german keyboard has Y and Z changed compared to the english keyboard. For people who don't know how to change the windows keyboard to english in a program pretty much don't get the experience. I will take a look at the game later on, seems not too bad
T.T I didn't know that. I use the Dvorak Keyboard anyway, but I just switch it to english in the control panel when I play games. But my ultimate goal is to either allow the player to remap the keys in a configuration.txt file or something. Or maybe I'll port the controls to support game pad input. I don't really know how to do either of those, but I know GM allows for those things and there is a pretty helpful wiki/forum, so I'll be able to figure it out. It's not high on my priority list though, but thanks for making me aware of the problem.
On December 17 2011 18:40 avilo wrote:
gj, but yes the casting animation...LOL, same for the one with the casting animation + orange thing LOL might wanna edit that some @_@
I don't really have a problem with the fireball casting animation, as it looks pretty smooth in-game, and it doesn't loop, so it doesn't look like he is masturbating/spanking >.<
I agree that the shield casting sprite isn't too great. His hand covers his face kinda awkwardly... so I'll probably re-work it at some point. Luckily that sprite is just a single frame, which is easier to change than if it were 4 frames like the fireball cast.
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i want a beta key for this shit. the levitation orb seems pretty fun to use
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I just put up a blog about one of my games. I usually never read blogs, didn't know there were other gamedevs on here. BTW, I really liked your implementation of the double jump/hover. I thought it felt really natural.
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I'm not really a gamedev lol... I'm just a high-school kid with a hobby
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a tiny bug, nothing big. but not having these makes it seem so much more professional
edit: i cant seem to make the image link work, cuz im a noob soooo... heres a direct link: http://imgur.com/HuxaY
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Weird, I can only recreate that bug when I'm facing right, but not when facing left... I'll look into it.
EDIT: Fixed! Thanks for bringing the bug to my attention. Twas just a small syntax problem
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EPT
