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Main forum => GLBasic - en => Topic started by: Emil on 2012-Jul-22

Title: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-22
Hi all!
I'm a 3D graphics artist by day but when I get home from work, and after the family goes to sleep, I become a game programmer =)

Have been playing around alot with glbasic lately and now I feel I can tackle a simple puzzle game.

This is the first time I post here and it's also the first game prototype I'm showing off.., so.., feel free to comment and post feedback!

My plan is to implement even more features to the gameplay and when all that is finished (and bug free) start working on refining graphics, probably doing a complete overhaul.

The game itself is fairly simple right now..,
. go from blue cross to red cross
. you can only travel horizontally or vertically and you go until you hit a wall.
. special blocks (right now I only have "arrow" blocks that blocks you from the opposite direction of the arrow)
. all maps are randomly generated

-- deleted link to game files (was adult content on the upload site)

/Emil
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Jul-22
Hi Emil

That's a really nice little game (very similar in concept to my B'lox! game) - I love puzzle games and have coded many over the years, so this is right up my street.

A cracking start :)

Any chance of seeing some of your 3D stuff?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Sokurah on 2012-Jul-22
Quote from: RayRayTea on 2012-Jul-22
Um, so how do I start it? I tried to just run it from IDE (the evaluation version) but I get a bunch of errors. (I'm new to GL Basic, as you can see :P )

You don't "run it from the IDE" - you just unpack the files to a folder and run the EXE file in the archive. That should do it. You don't need GLBasic to run it.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-22
Hi Ian.., don't have anything really specific to show off.., since everything at work is a group effort.
Here's our vimeo channel https://vimeo.com/magoo3dstudios (https://vimeo.com/magoo3dstudios)
Some years ago I worked on the video game penumbra: overture if that's recognisable to anybody(?)
I checked out your B'lox! game, looks awesome! :)
And yeah.., very similair in concept! Was it tricky to make it work on apples app store?

@RayRayTea: Yeah just do what Sokurah said :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: RayRayTea on 2012-Jul-22
Quote from: Sokurah on 2012-Jul-22You don't "run it from the IDE" - you just unpack the files to a folder and run the EXE file in the archive. That should do it. You don't need GLBasic to run it.
Whoops, I was looking at the wrong directory that coincidentally had the same name ("bricks") and some old GLBasic files that don't work. (I deleted that post.)

Anyway the game is fun!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Wampus on 2012-Jul-22
Looking good so far.

Is it me, or is level 8 impossible?  :-[

Quote from: Emil on 2012-Jul-22
Some years ago I worked on the video game penumbra: overture if that's recognisable to anybody(?)

=D great
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Jul-22
QuoteWas it tricky to make it work on apples app store?

It was approved quick enough, but getting anything onto the AppStore takes the patience of a saint - there are so many hoops to jump through and things to get right. Having to use a Mac and XCode is a right pain in the ass. Apple have made it as difficult as possible for devs AND we have to pay for the privilege via the Dev License.

As for Penumbra - I vaguely recall it. Wasn't it a survival horror game?

I couldn't get past level 8 either :(
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-22
edit: Ian, I'm sad to hear about the troubles you encountered with the AppStore... I was thinking of trying to release this on there if I take this to the appropiate level of completion. Was there anything specific that you had a hard time with?

On level 8 you need to use one of the arrow blocks (going in the opposite direction so that you stop right next to it).
Every level is possible to solve. Or should be atleast.., as long as my algorithm is working correctly  :whistle:

and since it's randomly generated.., in theory the levels are infinite...
I made it so it would get trickier and harder over time (first levels are dead easy as you noticed).

But I need to add more special rules.., the "trickiness" stops at a halt and so far I can only generate a map that has 19 steps neccessary.

I'm thinking of stuff like having keys and locked doors.., blocks that can be pushed or crumbles when touched etc...

Penumbra is indeed that horror survivor thingy you thought off Ian :)

I'm glad you like it (so far) Wampus ^_^

level 10 is my favorite so far.., It was tricky (for me atleast) to solve it in the least amount of steps.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Jul-23
I didn't have any trouble with the AppStore itself - once you've got the code compiled in XCode the rest is pretty easy - it's getting certification and other things correct that gives everyone hassle. All in all, with proper instructions it doesn't/didn't take too long. Without them, you're in a world of hurt. I bought a guide for the process, which saved me a lot of head-scratching, but it still takes a while to work through properly.

As for the game, I didn't have much time to play as I loaded it up just before going to work, but I saw and played enough to enjoy it.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-23
Ok, I haven't even started working with XCode yet so now I know what to expect I guess :)
Thanks for the tip about getting a guide! Which one did you get if you don't mind me asking?

I've started brainstorming ideas for graphics.., no paint/3d work yet but a little sample of a cool particles idea.
I'm trying to mimic the bokeh effect of a real camera. something akin to the startup graphics of the PS3
(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w233/moulinoux/Particles_wip1_.jpg)
Is there a way to do polys with vertices that have 0 alpha? right now I'm just using additive blendmode.

I have almost no idea where exactly I'm going with the "blurred" out particles but something cool can be done, I think...  :zzz:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Wampus on 2012-Jul-23
Not sure if this answers your question, but if you're using ALPHAMODE then you can't use the value 0 for the equivalent of total transparency. However, having a value very close to 0 will have the same effect as total transparency. If instead you're experiencing a problem with the edges of polygons having imperfect blending there is a discussion of this problem here: http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?topic=8038.15 (http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?topic=8038.15) and here: http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?topic=6671.150 (http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?topic=6671.150)

Nice effect btw. Are you getting that by re-drawing the same polygons multiple times but changing the scale? Or using pre-rendered bitmaps?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2012-Jul-23
Really nice effect, is the background fog very blurred particles? Or is is an image?
Keep it going! :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-23
About the alpha thing.., I think you misunderstood me. You can set color for polys on their vertices.., but is there a way to change alpha also instead of only rgb? I'd like something similair to a rgba(red, green, blue, alpha).

I'm glad you like the effect :)
And no it's not redrawn polygons or a texture. Just a simple idea:
1: make a circle
2: make it "blurry"
3: add "glow" or "glare" to really bright particles
(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w233/moulinoux/particles_explanation.jpg)

I'm working on the perspective part of the particles now (making it become smaller the further away they are etc). I think I've cracked the math.., Will try to implement it later this evening.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Wampus on 2012-Jul-23
Yes and no. Nothing similar to RGBA with the Polyvector command. However, if you change the Alphamode value prior to defining a new vertex that should work. Haven't tested it with Fan or Strip polygon modes but I know it works with Triangle mode and should in theory with the others too. I suspect that is what you're already doing? Something like this:-

ALPHAMODE -1

POLYVECTOR xcoord, ycoord, patx, paty, rgb

ALPHAMODE -0.5

POLYVECTOR xcoord, ycoordbig, patx, patyy, rgb

ALPHAMODE -0.01

POLYVECTOR xcoordbig, ycoordbig, patxx, patyy, rgb

ALPHAMODE -1

POLYVECTOR xcoordbig, ycoordbig, patxx, patyy, rgb

ALPHAMODE -0.5

POLYVECTOR xcoordbig, ycoord, patxx, paty, rgb

ALPHAMODE -0.01

POLYVECTOR xcoord, ycoord, patx, paty, rgb
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-23
Oh, so that's how it works!
Gonna try it out!
Thanks for explaining it to me :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Albert on 2012-Jul-23
Nice effect, I especcially like the big blurred circle with only 4 points looks like a star
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Jul-23
yeah that's design by mistake.., but yeah it works  :P

Here's the program as is now.., still a bunch of kinks to work out.
arrows and space to control:
up: move forward
down: move backwards
left: focus further
right: focus closer
space: make particles move a bit
http://www.mediafire.com/?9u9uy21y87fudv9 (http://www.mediafire.com/?9u9uy21y87fudv9)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: matchy on 2012-Jul-24
 :coke: Really nice sample screenshot
8) Clear and cool sketch
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2012-Jul-24
The exe works wonderfully here, congrats!
But I suspect it dosen´t quite go 60fps on my end.

And yeah, the background were particles out of focus, really pretty stuff! :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Wampus on 2012-Jul-24
Looks very smooth in motion. Good going.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: BdR on 2012-Jul-29
Nice game but it needs better graphics of course, for example 3D models of rolling/rotating spheres.

It's kind of similar to the cheese puzzles in my Triple Dutch game. Since you can only move 4 directions, up down left right, you could use the tilt controls to control the game. Here is the code I used in my game, using the GLBasic GETJOYX/Y commands. This method could use refinement to calibrate the neutral position of the device, because now the neutral position is fixed.
Code (glbasic) Select

    CONSTANT DIR_UP = 1
    CONSTANT DIR_DOWN = 2
    CONSTANT DIR_LEFT = 3
    CONSTANT DIR_RIGHT = 4

    LOCAL xAccel, yAccel, iDir

    // tilt control (accelerometer)
    xAccel = GETJOYX(0)
    yAccel = GETJOYY(0)

    // tilt control - determine direction
    iDir = DIR_NONE
    IF (yAccel >  0.5) THEN iDir = DIR_UP
    IF (yAccel < -0.5) THEN iDir = DIR_DOWN
    IF (xAccel < -0.5) THEN iDir = DIR_LEFT
    IF (xAccel >  0.5) THEN iDir = DIR_RIGHT
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Aug-05
Thanks for the nice comments :)

Thanks for the code Bdr!
I'll be sure to try it out later.

I've been working on recoding the algorithm (which is a pain) but now I think I'm on my way to make a much better one.
Soon my wife and I are going to have a kid so I might not be able to update as often as I want to but when I have something new I'll post it.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Aug-06
No kid yet, but some more coding...

I just realized that the foreach command doesn't work well with my code since it only works on 1-dimensional arrays.

maybe this is common knowledge but I had to retype it to this to get it to work

Code (glbasic) Select
FOR i = 0 TO BOUNDS(mapcopy.quadcells[],0)-1
FOR j = 0 TO BOUNDS(mapcopy.quadcells[],1)-1
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].reset()
NEXT
NEXT


instead of
Code (glbasic) Select
FOREACH quadcell IN mapcopy.quadcells[]
        quadcell.reset()
NEXT


this caused me quite some headache before I realized what was wrong

If it wasn't for the awesome help files I would probably still be lost :P
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: kanonet on 2012-Aug-07
Oh hmm i though it FOREACH was already implemented for multidimensional arrays? At least it was suggested and Kitty said he plans to implement it, so maybe it will come in future versions.

Your workaround is correct just a few suggestions if you need to speed it up (ignore this if your game is fast enough):
- if you write '...TO BOUNDS...' BOUNDS gets called every time when i gets increased which means you lose some speed. Better store the BOUNDS in a variable and just use '...TO var...' this is slower i you have just one or 2 elements in that dimension but faster if you have more.
- if you just acces the array entry one time its all fine:
Code (glbasic) Select
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].reset()
But if you do it multiple time its slow:
Code (glbasic) Select
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].a=1
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].b=2
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].c=4
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].dosomething()
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].another_function()
                mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].reset()

In this case, better use a point so, this is faster:
Code (glbasic) Select
                ALIAS cell AS mapcopy.quadcells[i][j].a=1
                cell.b=2
                cell.c=4
                cell.dosomething()
                cell.another_function()
                cell.reset()

Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Aug-13
Thanks for the reply Kanonet!
That's awesome for making it faster.., I'll need it to be as quick as possible since I'm doing several iterations to 'select' a good enough map. The more iterations I can do the better.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Sep-11
Still lots to do and still super busy with rest of life. But I managed to do some fun concepting this evening.
I'm not so sure about the guy with the backpack but I really like the small block character (I'm thinking he's the one moving around on screen)
The freaky ball thingys in the background are enemies.
(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w233/moulinoux/dii_wip1.jpg)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2012-Sep-12
This is superb!
Love the hexagonal thing! :good:

Did you wacom that concept?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Sep-12
thanks, and yep
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Oct-28
little update on the graphics
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Oct-28
That's looking really good now. Much better :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Oct-31
Thank you so much =)
Here's yet another little wip
Been working on the character again and the colors alot.
(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w233/moulinoux/wp7.jpg)

Really thought about how one intuitively looks at this and interprets the colors.

Like the fact that the starting position and the tail of the player is the same hue (green).., and so is the body/head of the player and the goal (blue).
Swampish green is the color for blocks and golden outline for the "coins".
I think I'll continue to use red for special blocks or where ordinary movement isn't allowed (like a stop sign)

also I tried to tone down the overall brightness and colorfullnes of my iteration before this one :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Oct-31
Yep, that's looking so much better :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Nov-13
Now I got teleporters working :)
Was trickier than anticipated to get it to work but at last it does!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2012-Nov-13
Wow!

Things look and move really great!
Love the special effects when moving. :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: r0ber7 on 2012-Nov-13
Nicely done. I especially like the graphics of the spawn point and the teleporters. :) Perhaps the main character would benefit from some animation.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Nov-13
Thanks!

And yeah r0ber7, It's on the todo list :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Kitty Hello on 2012-Nov-14
make a small delay/animation when teleporting. It's hard to follow when it's so fast. Very nice.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Nov-16
Just implemented the delay for teleportation.., Much nicer now, thanks!  :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2012-Nov-20
I got my mac mini yesterday and have been fooling around with it. After som trial and error I got the game unto my iphone only to discover that the game is tremendously slow. I fixed it somewhat by changing my drawroutine to draw with rotozoomsprite instead of polyvector. So right now it works quick but I had to skip my trail behind the character and the teleportation effect (for now).

Anybody knows how to make drawing with polyvector quicker?

Also how would you handle the input of three fingers or two on the iphone?
Tried it quickly with checking if button1 for mouse2 had been pressed but it didn't quite work as expected.

I'll upload a video later when I get it to work better :)
But this is really cool, quite exciting to have the game in your hands!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: matchy on 2012-Nov-21
Nice! Looks good. My only suggestion; it seems a little confusing (perhaps on low frame rate video) when the map changes as not sure if teleporting (as per-suggested) or moving to next page because my eyes are on the cool lighting strip.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: r0ber7 on 2012-Nov-21
Quote from: Emil on 2012-Nov-20
Anybody knows how to make drawing with polyvector quicker?

I heard using a single spritesheet helps, although I haven't tried it myself.
Something else which may speed the game up is this. (http://www.glbasic.com/forum/index.php?topic=8530.msg72091#msg72091)

QuoteAlso how would you handle the input of three fingers or two on the iphone?

I'd like to know this too!

Quotequite exciting to have the game in your hands!

Yep. :)


Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: kanonet on 2012-Nov-21
Multitouch gets mapped to multiple mice. So you use SETACTIVEMOUSE to switch between different fingers. You need to write your own multitouch gestures.

Yes polyvector gets really fast if you use spritesheets and only very few STARTPOLY calls.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: fuzzy70 on 2012-Nov-21
Not wanting or meaning to hijack the thread but out of interest what is a good/best way to draw a tile based map (not a scrolling type as I can work the maths out for that no problem) with polyvectors.

What I mean is what mode to pass the startpoly (fan/strip) & if strip how much polynewstrip would speed up things.

Lee

Sent from my GT-I5700 using Tapatalk 2

Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: kanonet on 2012-Nov-21
Im not really deep into POLYVECTOR, but i would say that every POLYNEWSTRIP that you use to replace a STARTPOLY speeds things up.

Now lets say you want to draw a quad (thats the case most times, right?), then using trianglestrip or trianglefan will mean you need to call 4 POLYVECTORs. If you would use simple triangles you would need to call POLYVECTOR 6 times. This means that you will call it 2 times unnecessarily, which means you send 2 not needed pairs of coords to the graphic card, of cause this +50% overhead will cause a slow down. So you should avoid using simple triangles. Of cause its faster if you dont just draw a quad+NEWSTRIP+ next quad+ etc... but use a longer strip/fan to draw more tiles in one run. If you use strip or fan depends on the situation and personal taste, but i prefer strip, cause its easier to imagine and realise it in code. With strip you could be able to draw your whole tilemap without a single NEWSTRIP or STARTPOLY, but its hard to create. But just draw quads(strip)+NEWSTRIP should be a good compromise between execution speed and development speed too, as long as you dont have to many STARTPOLYs. Just a few thoughts from me, nothing that keeps you from testing on your own. ;)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: fuzzy70 on 2012-Nov-22
Thanks Kanonet  =D, at least what you wrote has given me ideas on how to implement polyvectors. It's just every time I look at the online help the text based layout describing the 3 poly modes just throws me off course a bit lol. I cannot think of a use for using single triangles as yet with regards to a tile based map but something may pop into my head one day while playing around.

Lee
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: BdR on 2012-Nov-26
I like the graphics, except for one thing; the face is always looking to the right. When it's moving left or up, I think it would be nicer if it's also facing left or up then. Either that or I would have it face in a neutral "forward" direction, like towards the camera.

And like others suggested, the teleport animation could be slower, it is a bit disorientating when the blueface jumps around the screen at the speed of light.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: spicypixel on 2012-Nov-26
Quote from: Emil on 2012-Nov-20
I got my mac mini yesterday and have been fooling around with it. After som trial and error I got the game unto my iphone only to discover that the game is tremendously slow. I fixed it somewhat by changing my drawroutine to draw with rotozoomsprite instead of polyvector.

Not wanting to hijack this thread but I thought polyvector were faster than the sprite commands anyway. Reading this it seems not. I know if you use tint other than RGB(255,255,255) but I recall Crivens writing recently that his latest code when compiled in XCode 4.5 IIRC was quicker too with sprite commands rather than polyvector. What's going on?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2012-Nov-26
I think it all depends on the machine, the gfx card, and how hard the program is working and what it's doing. It's always been horses for courses. You have to pick the right tool for the job; sometimes sprites are better, sometimes polyvector. Generally there isn't really that much difference, but it can vary significantly. But remember that polyvectors can be much more versatile than sprites and lend themselves to distortion and colour changes easily.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jan-04
I've had to abandon (for the time being) the lines behind my character (that fade away). I'm thinking of maybe doing some particles spawning behind it instead...

This is how my game looks like right now.., except I got problems with alphamode -0.5 and 0.1 on the iphone (the shading you see on the picture) everything looks really flat for some reason on my iphone.., I've tried searching but couldn't find info on glbasic/iphone limitations when talking about alphamode....

Anyways.., A couple more features, as you can see by the picture, and also some bugs to straighten.., but it's coming along nicely

(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w233/moulinoux/game_wip_13_01_04_zpseecd4cbc.jpg)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Hemlos on 2013-Jan-04
The site you are hosting the game on, tends to have some adult oriented advertising, considering children frequest these forums i would only make this suggestion to host your game on a less risque host site such as http://www.binhoster.com/signup.php

I also dont want to hijack this thread, and im only going to make a suggestion here, no demands...
Its free, has a really nice cpanel, and the advertising seems a wee bit more on the neutral side of life.

PS> pretty cool concept for a game here, keep up the good work!  :good:

Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Jan-04
Really good work, I agree.
The line path is a nice sfx, can´t you do it some other less taxing way?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: r0ber7 on 2013-Jan-04
Quote from: Emil on 2013-Jan-04

(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w233/moulinoux/game_wip_13_01_04_zpseecd4cbc.jpg)

I'm liking the lighting. How did you accomplish this? Polyvector brightness adjustment? If you did, perhaps that is why it seems flat on some devices. One time I heard someone on this forum say that RGB(x,x,x) for polys didn't do much on phones. I could be wrong, I never tried it personally.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jan-07
(http://i50.tinypic.com/19xkt5.jpg)
This is what it looks like on my wifes iPad.

I'll try to get the line FX to work somehow. Don't know exactly how yet though...

The shading is done with textures that I lay on top of everything with the help of alphamode -0.5 (or some similair value depending on if I want to brighten or make it darker). But as you can see it doesn't work on the iPhone/ipad.

I deleted my link to the file Hemlos.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Jan-07
Just out of curiosity, how are you drawing them? Drawsprites or polivectors?

One alternative could be using alpha -1 and apply a pre-set(photoshop, etc) transparency on it, you could also make it weak, like a 10% and stack it up  to get it whiter.

Hope it helps.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: bigsofty on 2013-Jan-07
Looking good, iPad shading aside, i hope you see this through to completion.  :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Hemlos on 2013-Jan-07
Quote from: Emil on 2013-Jan-07
The shading is done with textures that I lay on top of everything with the help of alphamode -0.5 (or some similair value depending on if I want to brighten or make it darker). But as you can see it doesn't work on the iPhone/ipad.

Did you find a bug, or is this expected on apple machines?


Quote
I deleted my link to the file Hemlos.

No problem, an alternative would be to simply put a direct link to the file for beta testing purposes.

-Neil
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jan-10
Erico, I'm using drawsprites (rotozoomsprite to be precise). I'm avoiding polyvectors right now since I got such a huge framedrop with them.

Bigsofty, thanks! That's my goal. :)

Hemlos, I created a new program that drew semitransparent rectangles with this technique and it worked. So I'm probably doing something else that breakes it.


I'm looking forward to my next update. Having a big family really constrains my time to work on this.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jun-29
After a long time I've finally managed to do some more work on this project!

Have rewritten and fixed lots of bugs. And I'm proud to say it rus smoothly on the iphone now. Had some issues before but theyre gone now  :)

Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jul-06
I crafted a little demo of the game that you can try out!

It's only the first 20 levels then it restarts at level 0 again
use WASD to move around, down key gives you another instance of the level(different seed value) and space jumps to next level.

https://www.box.com/s/gujw1p1gkmvqcsx98u4b (https://www.box.com/s/gujw1p1gkmvqcsx98u4b)
Hope this works and please tell me what you think of it!
I'm interested in how the puzzles feel to play and not so much graphics right now.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Jul-06
Gave a first try, very interesting concept, I like the visuals and sound so far.
Will give a deeper go on the puzzle´s mechaniks later on.

Congrats, it has been a while and it all looks great!

No front end or endings? Or did you remove them for the solo purpose of gameplay tests?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jul-06
Didn't remove anything. I've been so busy with everything else that I haven't got time to start menu and score/stats screen. Although, it's coming soon hopefully. :)

Great that you like it, thanks!  :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Jul-11
Hi Emil, I gave a more extended go.

The puzzles, while only having dots, are a bit easy as you can mind trace the path from the goal to the player.
Things get a bit more complicated this path when other elements are around.

Maybe some bonus to pick up laying around could make it even harder? Maybe one bonus gives you back some tries, or things like that.

I´m marveled on how you coded ´infinite´amount of random-fully-working-levels, that is really awesome.
I take that was the hardest part to code?

Again, excellent results so far, I really dig the graphics, specially the sprites. Very charming.
Maybe the background could use a different approach? Something that could somehow add to the experience?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jul-11
Thanks for the extended feedback erico!

regarding the dots.., I'll try to not make this sound as an excuse.., but the early levels (with only dots) were designed to be easy as to have an easy learning curve for people not used to this kind of puzzle games. But you think maybe it's to easy to begin with? I'll think about having bonuses spread around the maps to maybe avoid boredom (especially if it's to easy in the beginning)

Your idea about bonuses giving you more tries is a good one  :good:.., I need to decide whether or not I wan't to have "tries" as such to begin with.

If you want you could contact me on skype if you wan't to know how the random maps thing is done.., I'm thinking of doing some kind of article about it (If there seems to be any interest) so I don't want to explain it here.., I could but I wan't to do it correctly the first time.

And you are right about it being the hardest part.., but mostly because I'm not a programmer by trade.., The idea is simple but the execution has devilish details that make it troublesome (again probably because I'm not that savy a programmer)

Regarding the background.., tips are welcome.., I'm not sure how to make it lively.., tried to make different things but I keep coming back to this one.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Jul-12
About the dots-only, they are fine, and should do perfect for a start-up, they even can get a bit harder if too many, like it takes a while to figure out the optimum path. :good:

On the bonuses and tries, I better explain. By tries, I meant like if you are going to count in how many turns/moves a person can finish a puzzle. Lets suppose a puzzle can optimally be finished in 5 turns, but getting one bonus on a 7 turn path will reduce 3 turns used and so by the end you kind of did in 4 turns. It is a bit fake and works more like 'score'. Just an idea, I´m not that good with puzzle games at all (Ian Price is a master of puzzles, let´s hope he drops by and checks it out :good:).

Skype/hangout talking would be nice, I´m looking foward to checking the article. You can always use a well written article to promote a game after it is released and such subject is sure to interest people. I kind of think it probably has something to do with a path finding routine, but tailored to the game environment.

About the background, I did not think much about it. But everything has a charm to it and I actually though the background could somehow add more to it, not visually as it is fine already, but somehow it could take a role into helping or distracting or something entirely different.

It is hard to think of something unique that would go along the current game design. For example, maybe the last game solved could run shaded on the background and the player´s movement on the background could shift some pieces on the foreground?. It sounds a bit crazy.

Don´t worry too much, it is looking awesome so far and I love the trails. That, together with the random puzzles, is what really got my attention!
Keep it up! That is coming out for android too right?

Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Jul-13
Android.., I dunno, hopefully.., I'll start with iphone first since that's what we use in the household :)

if anybody wants to add me on skype my username is emil_meiton, I'm not always online (especially now when I'm taking care of my two kids 24/7) but would be fun when I have time on the evenings :)

erico, I like your ideas.., the last solved game in the background sounds fun.

I said I wasn't going to but here's a gif explaining how the algorithm works, kinda:
(http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4199/2c1.gif)
it goes through everything on the map adding things randomly and reacts accordingly.., then when finished it adds the goal at the "trickiest" spot.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Jul-13
That gif is marvelous! :good:
I can be found on skype at ericomont.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Aug-13
Ok, so now I'm having this strange problem

I started using the getspritesize function to be able to dynamically change my spritesizes without having to hardcode it into the game.
The problem is my background sprite would show up blank.
like this:
(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3797/vkum.jpg)

But if I change my sprite from this:
(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9623/2fs8.jpg)
To this (added a pink "transparancy" pixel in the bottom left corner):
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/9650/0jbn.jpg)

Then it looks kinda alright (except for the fact that there's a "hole" in the corner:
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1821/w5y5.jpg)

This problem doesn't show up when I skip getscreensize function and does it manually..., strange
Any ideas?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: r0ber7 on 2013-Aug-13
How about adding an alpha layer to the original image, without adding a transparent pixel?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Aug-13
Can't get it to work.

If I take away getspritesize and instead let the value be 16 then it works. But when debugging the value should be 16 even when I use getspritesize..., this is really weird
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Aug-13
Is that bkg sprite a solo file or is in a animsprite?

If it is the former, can you try BMP?
Also, since it dosen´t need alpha, save it as BMP 24bit r8g8b8.
Maybe your function is messing with the alpha channel or the likes.

Try this one:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Sep-20
Here's a new test on the design side of the graphics. It's just a mockup but I really like it thus far.
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/4065/7xon.jpg)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: mentalthink on 2013-Sep-20
HI Emil  I don't look this thread form it's begun... The game are you doing iy's really cool, the first image I see with green spots it's really good, but all I watch about the game it's really really interesting... graphically superb...

I hope see the game in a near time... Regards, and Wellcome I think I don't say nothing never before... Regards
:good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Sep-20
Hello Emil,

personally I´m more found of the pixel style. But that dosen´t mean the new one is not cool, just different. It might appeal to a different public/taste.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: kanonet on 2013-Sep-20
Im not such a big fan of pixel art like all those old men around here *wink at erico* :P The old style was nice, new one is cool too (but loks a bit less 'personal'). If both are done completely I see no reason not to include both, so the use can select which one he likes more.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Sep-20
Grunf bunf rant grunf! What?? That is no respect with the ancient elders!! I will have a word with your parents! :D  :D

Kanonet has a reason, but since the game is capable of generating infinite levels, you might also consider splitting it into a sequel with a few added features/blocks for a sequel?

Not that I don´t like the new style, no, I like it! But IMHO, I feel it is more of a ´technical´ style.
It may appeal to people into puzzles that want a direct play with it without the character or artistic deeds to distract.
Let me try to explain and my opinion really should not count much:

Primarily, I´m not found of puzzles...but those I´m found, I´m obsessed.
Those, usually carry some sort of art, story and style all together(even if it dosen´t describe it at all), a bit hard to put in english, but it is what first gets me into it.
I can recognize a self pattern, for example, Ian Price´s puzzles like Aquaventura and Hellowian, games like Adventures of LOLO, etc.
I guess Kanonet´s ´less personal´ sentence means the same?

As much a puzzler gets close to an induction of a tell story gender(fantasy, farwest, horror, etc) is what attracts me to try it I guess.

With the powerfull engine you already have, you could try both styles!

I guess youngsters around here *wink at kanonet* :nana: might prefer the more technical approach though!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: kanonet on 2013-Sep-20
Yes thats exactly how I mean it, the old style is is clearly made by an indy dev thats loves what he does, by watching it you even have the feeling of 'touching his soul', dont know how to describe it, so I call it personal again.
For the new one you found a perfect word: technical. This is really describing it, it does look nice and everything but it 'feel a bit colder' I mean it could be anything the same style could be an application to log something about your health etc. (dont know maybe old men like erico could need this?^^).
Like I said both are nice; but I slightly prefer the 1st one. But of cause I have only seen one single screen shot of the 2nd one, so this is definitely not enough to be sure about this. Since you have done both, I hope you find a way to use both, would be sad to lose the effort that clearly was put into this.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Sep-20
Quote from: kanonet on 2013-Sep-20
... I mean it could be anything the same style could be an application to log something about your health etc. (dont know maybe old men like erico could need this?^^)...

:D :D :D gotta love this community!! (that does it youngster! to your room now!! no amstrad cpc for you this week!!)


edit:back on topic, I agree.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Sep-21
Thanks for the feedback!
I'll just try to implement it and see how it feels from there :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Nov-01
I've made a version of the game that's very simplified, but complete in a sense.
This is so that I can try and add it to the appstore. It's gone kinda smooth up until the point where I need to upload it and verify all bundle ids and whatnot.., I really have no clue about how I'm about to continue right now.., I'll add more information about my problems later when I sit at the correct computer.

But from memory I get error that my bundle ID is wrong or that it doesn't match something else.., But I can't figure out what it should be.., I read somewhere that it should be something akin to com.company.IDname or something.., is it possible to screw this up so it's impossible to have a correct ID?
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2013-Nov-01
Apple ID signing and bundling is a PITA. PM your email address I'll send you a .PDF guide to hopefully get you up and running. :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Nov-02
That's awesome Ian. PM was sent!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2013-Nov-02
Replied :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Nov-04
Seems that I didn't even need the app to have correct ids and stuff. Its out now on AppStore :)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sweeper/id733497117?l=sv&ls=1&mt=8
Really need to update it soon since It's in its most basis form.

Even so, yay! :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: kanonet on 2013-Nov-04
Gratz on publishing it!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Nov-04
Good going Emil, let us know how it scores on the app stores.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Nov-04
Thanks!
Found it on the swedish toplist for paid apps at place 256 just now

Didnt expect that
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: mentalthink on 2013-Nov-04
I have to test, I think I bought, but apple don¡t said me nothing about the money... but I buy sure, I like a lot the graphics.. I comment something about the game when I played a bit--.

Congrats for finish the work, finish a game it's more complex than the planets put them in line... =D =D
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Nov-06
Thanks mentalthink, I look forward to your criticism!
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Dec-18
(http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/9670/dyq4.jpg)

A stab at a new character. I like him, thinks he turned out quite cute  :P
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2013-Dec-18
He is cute :)
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: spacefractal on 2013-Dec-18
please annonce it in the annonce forum for the finished Ios game  :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2013-Dec-18
Ian, isn't he :)

Thanks for the tip spacefractal, had forgot about that.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: erico on 2013-Dec-18
Great sketches! I love the expressions, feels like like petting him/her. :good:
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Emil on 2016-Aug-15
I'm thinking about bringing this project back from the dead.., I've been away from glbasic for quite some time now but for this game the small build size that glbasic provides is very intriguing.

Here's some tests from a new pixel art software (pyxel edit) that I got tipped of to use.

(http://i.imgur.com/27LKYUi.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/DyF6MEV.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ORxceFV.jpg)

Will probably do some more tests. I'm not convinced going with a 'nes' style color palette is the smartest thing to do so I might try something more fancy next (but still pixely)

PS:
I just looked at defold (been using unity for a while now) but the build size for an empty ios project is still twice the size of my earlier build at 2.5mb.., and unity file size we shouldn't even mention!  :P
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: Ian Price on 2016-Aug-15
Good to see you back and with progress :D
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: dreamerman on 2016-Aug-15
Two first sets are really nice (third set is to bright for me at least it look so on pc), specially those grass details :-) Overall style is pleasant to eyes.
Title: Re: simple puzzle game WIP
Post by: MrPlow on 2016-Aug-15
Welcome back.

Yes, I too love the small compact size of GLB .exe and .apk files :)

Your graphics look nice and colourful

:)