Ok, so I’ve decided that the public release video can wait until I get all the features in (like powerups and stuff) and I’ll turn it into a proper edited trailer. I still have a lot to learn about capturing a decent vid without weird slowdowns here and there, and making cuts, adding tracks, etc… I’d like to devote a proper effort to it so it represents the game well.

My to-do list has not gotten any smaller lately since I was on a much-needed vacation last week. I did absolutely nothing with Abrickadabra. Dang it felt good. But, back into the swing of things!

• Shield powerups are in!
• Reflect, Absorb, and Invulnerable. (Reflect is pretty fun).
• Still need to polish them up a little bit more with enhanced effects and such but they are fully working.
• Next up; Spell powerups. These would be the things like: Magic Missile, Lightning, and Meteor Shower, oh my.

• As always, the little bug fixes and random design additions continue:
• Fixed an issue where certain barriers did not always delete existing ones properly.
• Crushed a visible bug in the staff object when certain powerups wore off.
• Adjusted the draw depth of all broken objects.
• Finished off Ponycorn boss exclamations and minion spawn code.
• The ball is no longer affected by ghosts and does more damage to enemies when under the Grow powerup.
• The Grown big wiz takes less damage from missiles and charging enemies.

I’m planning to spend some more time nailing down additional elements of design. Aside from having to finally decide how the Spell powerups will work, I’ll also be considering things like: should there be a scoring system? how would it work? should a single-hit block type be added? what would it look like? should the players be able to spend their money on anything? hats? I’ll have to be careful because I don’t want the scope to increase beyond my ability to finish (the art asset load is already bad enough), but I also want to place a few meta games to entice the player to keep coming back. I think achievements, leader boards, collection, purchases, and character customization can all be worthwhile examples and relatively cheap to produce, if smartly designed. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions on what you’d like to see.

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The “to do” list keeps on growing, no matter how much I seem to do!

• Added dynamic health bars for all enemies.
• Dynamic means that it will size according to total health, and center itself over the enemy.
• I also added the ability for custom borders, for bosses and such.
• All enemy and boss exclamations now happen in chat bubbles.

• It looks better, plus I added a “pop” and fade to them.
• Fixed various bugs:
• Powerup expiration effects, sometimes didn’t happen.
• Enemies moving in the south direction kept running into barriers.
• GUI element polishing (completed after the screenshot was taken):
• 1Uppy now gets bigger or smaller depending how much food he’s storing.
• The money pouch/bag works in a similar way.
• Further enhancements planned for both:
• 1Uppy will animate when you’re at 1 life left.
• He’ll also look all stuffy and fat when you’ve got lots of lives.
• The money bag will burst and some sort of effect will happen at 100 coins.

I’m also working on a short little video. I might edit a little and create a short trailer out of it, but it’s also possible I’ll just release it as an “alpha gameplay” video. I have about 8 levels to show out of the planned 19 or so…

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• Added Barrier powerups.
• There are now 5 different barriers.
• They prevent the ball from going off screen.
• Some take a single hit, some are sectioned, and some are invulnerable.

• Created a few more props and tiles for the Tower.
• Pillars, vase & pedestal, niches, arches, etc.
• Spent some more time on the Library level.
• Added unique boss behaviors.
• Crossbow ponycorns fire aimed shots.
• Helper wizards can die! Do you protect them at your own expense…?
• Reclassified unbreakable objects.
• More work done on the intro cinematic.

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The main push lately has been in “game framework”.

• The title screen is being fleshed out, the navigation framework is done.
• Options and Help will be done from the same main screen.
• Users can now choose control type through the GUI (for reals this time).
• Started work on the intro cinematic.
• Fixed numerous bugs and enhanced GUI a little.
• Resolved a bunch of tile alignment issues.

• You can no longer jump with slow or speed self powerups active.
• Snails don’t jump!
• Added various little polish elements.
• As in graphical niceties, not like… cabbage or kielbasa.
• Animated all of the Ponycorns.
• Added new missile type “the Arrow”.
• The Helper Wizards in the Library now cast spells, though they are still jerkholes.
• Made a giant blue cyclops with a spear, just because.

Filed under: Devlog by bgogol
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I should probably get more creative with the devlog titles…?

• Finished the lock & key system.
• Any enemy can visibly carry keys.
• Keys can unlock chests, rooms, level sections, and level exits.

• Pause feature fully implemented.
• Pause is built into the Escape/Exit dialogue.
• Stat tracking system now actually tracking statistics.
• Like things previously mentioned: kills, loot gain, lives, and MUCH more.
• 2 new levels created: Hallway2 and Library.
• The Library will feature a very unique game element: Friends!
• Friends are NPCs that can help you in various ways.
• Gargoyles added and behaviors scripted.
• Added new enemy group: The Ponycorns!
• Evil unicorns, sort of similar to Minotaurs.
• The Ponycorns will contain a new enemy type: The Charger.

Filed under: Devlog by bgogol
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• Added the “jump” ability!
• This is effectively the classic Breakout “paddle bump”.
• You can slightly modify the angle of the ball return by jumping.
• The staff meets the paddle a little earlier than it would have, giving a little more control over the ball direction.
• Jumping also slightly modifies the ball speed, so you can “push” the ball around a little faster too.
• Managing depth for objects in code now, rather than when it was placed in the room.
• This allows for a more believable look to the levels, now with objects correctly behind others.
• Explosions from the Explode Ball now scale along with the ball.
• Did you know? Some powerups can stack.
• For the example above, you can get an Explode Ball and a Grow ball powerup to make a huge bomb!
• Added a new enemy type: the ghost.
• This enemy has its own class due to the ability to affect the ball… ooOOOoooo.
• Completed rough designs for 9 more levels in the Tower.
• Completed new level “The Armory”.

• Completed “final” design for The Dining Hall level.
• To compare to the early design, see the screenshot of this level in Devlog 2.
• After playing through, I found that the switch placement was no good.
• Also, the whole bottom section was extraneous so it was removed.
• The block area still takes up about half of the playing field, with the “moving blocks” (enemies!).
• A little more information about level win conditions:
• All colored blocks must be destroyed.
• All enemies must be annihilated.
• No bosses left alive.
• The exit cannot be locked.
• If you don’t collect all the loot before that, it’s left behind!

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• Restructured the control schemes into scripts.
• Organized game state logic into scripts.
• Now an optional dialogue message can appear at the start of levels. (Screen 1)
• Quit, Fail, and Win are also included.
• After completing a level, the Win message pops which includes level stats. (Screen2)
• The various stats will be tracked globally and used later for achievements.

• The dialogue system has been fully fleshed out.
• Includes support for animated portraits, custom boxes, and text color. (Screen 1)
• Built on the scripts originally created by YellowAfterlife at http://yellow.orgfree.com/
• Completed animations and code for the recent new enemies; the Figs, Bumblebee, Flower Monster, Shroom Guy, Treant, etc.

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• Lots of time spent lately organizing and cleaning up code.
• Got the basics of the win conditions and animations in.
• Added a pathing system.
• Added code to nudge the ball if it gets stuck.
• Added more depth to the ball physics when it hits the staff.
• Tweaked frozen and burned blocks so they do not collide with ball.
• Removed Draw events for a large number of objects to optimize.
• Added new level: the Hallway.
• Playtested all levels and redesigned nearly all of them again.
• Made another push in art assets:
• Created 4 new props, various Tower level tiles including more doors and windows.
• Created 9 new enemies.
• Created a new set of wooden blocks.

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• Ice system finally done!
• Enemies can be “frozen” by being encased in a block of ice.
• If they touch an ice cube they become chilled, slowing movement.
• If an ice block is burst by an ice ball, the effect spreads to nearby blocks.
• Fire and ice don’t mix well…
• Big blocks can catch fire or freeze if the conditions are right.
• Added custom ball splashes per ball type, also scale.
• Created the “Bathroom” level with its own custom enemy and spawn system.
• Finished the spawn controller for the Dining Hall.
• Enemy movement system is now 4 directions.
• Re-designed all level layouts after playtesting. Added stone blocks here and there.

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• Spent the bulk of the last day or so making the fire system:
• Fireball sets things that are marked flammable, on fire.
• The fire is animated, casts light (can sort of see that in the screenshot to the right), gradually gets smaller if it has no fuel until it puffs out.
• Enemies can also be set on fire. They wig out until they burn to death. It’s cute.
• If they bump into each other while on fire or walk into flames, the fire spreads.
• Certain blocks can also be set on fire. Interesting rules surround burning and burned blocks!
• Toying with the idea of the regular ball being able to “catch” fire…
• Finished self powerups for now.
• There are currently 5: Fast, Slow, Grow, Shrink, and Blink.
• Created a few new bugs in the process, must crush.
• Added more depth and efficiency to the lighting code!
• Torches now look softer, also use a half-circle instead of full (can’t take credit for that one).
• Will likely clean up my ham-fisted mods and maybe add args for lighting color, at some point.
• Overhauled a lot of the enemy behavior and collision rules to accommodate the fire stuff.

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