32 replies to this topic

[the_bob42]

The Legend Of Bob is a 2-d side-scrolling platformer, my first serious attempt at a game. I'm looking for play testers to really get an idea of if this game is enjoyable or not, or if I'm just bias since I'm the one working on it. It's been about a year since I've done anything with Gamemaker, my old computer spontaneously decided to quit powering on so 0.26 is mostly a lot of alterations from 0.24 (since that's the last back up .gmk file I had). However, it's coming along and I'm having fun building on it.


Version: Gamer Maker 8.1
Size: 7.00 MB
Fullscreen: Windowed mode at start, but you can toggle back and forth.

Plans for 0.28:
+The first fantasy clique dungeon is underway: the Icy Abyss! Because everyone loves sliding, getting smacked by hail, and no platformer is complete without some under water stages! Enemies in this area are weak to fire based attacks (surprise), and they love to freeze Bob with their numerous Icy (cold... numbing... come on adjectives) blasts.
+ Snee, the Helpful Monkey has returned and will be popping up in maps to offer up less useless advice then usual!
+ Fixed the room wrapping problem at 2nd boss. Kinda forgot to get rid of it when the boss was killed. (Sorry playtesters!)
+ Fixed the text right before stage one. After numerous tests it finally dawned on me that I forgot the R in Introduction.

Version 0.27: Complete!: 0.27

First boss video:


Updates:
+ 2nd boss added.
+ Status effects now show time and effect over the hp bar. In case anyone was curious how long the poison lasts.
+ Fixed a ton of death glitches - player had a habit of not spawning the Restart sign.
+ Fixed the boomerang bug where it bounced around the player for a few seconds.
+ 10 more rooms of fun fun fun.
+ Double jump boots now obtainable.
+ Playtesters have informed me that it'd be helpful if I ever mentioned that double tapping left or right lets the player run. Whoops!

Version 0.265 Version 0.265

Updates:

+ Lots more content.
+ Updated character outfit, added some color to him.
+ More Npcs to talk to and slap around
+ Intro text changed
+ Monster hit damage now displayed along with immune status if any
+ Hearts show how much hp you get back when you pick them up
+ Main Menu actually has music for once
+ Lowered volume on sound effects - all two of them!
+ Postponed working with the stage time/difficulty, at least until I get even more content in here.

version 0.26: Beta 0.26

Updates:
+ Room transitions a lot smoother
+ Fixed duplicate items dropping if you already have it equipped.
+ More fun with stage time
+ Boss Rush Mode has one goof off boss, mostly for Lol's
+ Backgrounds simplified because they caused my netbook lag. (Eventually will get rid of a lot of the particles.)
+ Changed the hp icon to a heart because before it looked more like a Metroid energy thingy.
+ All the rooms are the same size. Mostly to make the transitions work peachy, and for some easy level design.
+ Hard Mode postponed until people tell me how annoying Easy Mode is.

Latest Screenies (version 0.26):





version 0.25: Beta 0.25

Updates since 0.24:
+ Tutorial and Boss Rush Modes removed. Replaced with "Challenges" and a Load Game option.
+ Metroidvania approach instead of the linear style.
+ Invincibility frames. (Okay this took awhile. Sorry!)
+ Help Screen updated.
+ Tons more.

Controls:

Arrows move.
Z = Jump. Jump a second time IF in midair and have 2x boots equipped.
X = Melee attacks. Punching and Swords.
C = Projectile attacks. Slingshots, Torches, and Bows. (Kicking if you have nothing equipped.)
S = Toggles between Melee attack and boomerang. (Boomerang concept I blatantly ripped off of Zelda One. Because it rules.)
Space bar = toggles sign and npc text.
Left Mouse Click = offers description on most things.
P = pause.
R = Restart from last save spot.
Double Tapping Left or Right = lets the player run. (12/13/12 added because I forgot to mention this ever before!)

Last version to actually have music in it since I'm lazy and haven't tried composing anything lately.

Beta 0.22
http://www.mediafire...dnkjf1jp4q4ofs6

Edited by the_bob42, 14 December 2012 - 06:00 AM.

[Klassic]

Some comments as I play:

-Not sure what happened, but I tried to attack the monkey and it shot fireballs at me. Perhaps let me know that I shouldn't be doing that XD
-I'm not a huge fan of the music, it's a bit jarring
-It's somewhat hard to tell what a couple of the objects do. Perhaps add an effect around the affected (hah) area (eg. when I stepped on the button I wasn't sure what it did)
-Platforming engine is decent, no real complaints there
-I went back from the second room by accident, and had to redo the entire level D:
-I enjoyed murdering innocent civilians
-The boomerang should return faster
-I pressed '1' or something and was teleported to a random area?
-When I was on fire it was a bit hard to see where exactly I was
-Stopping when swinging my yoyo is a bit annoying
-I like the collectibles, but I'm not sure what they do
-When I fell into the lava, It dropped me back at the entrance for a moment while I spun around dead, and then told me to press R
-Sometimes my yoyo goes through blocks directly in front of me

OVERALL: A bunch of things that could be improved, but pretty damn good for a first 'real' game!

[the_bob42]

-Not sure what happened, but I tried to attack the monkey and it shot fireballs at me. Perhaps let me know that I shouldn't be doing that XD

There was suppose to be a message that would pop up when you attacked him, I figured since all the NPCs are kill-able I'd throw a random into the mix.

-I'm not a huge fan of the music, it's a bit jarring

Still working on the music. Trying to go for a 8-bit sounding background (considering the graphics), and I'll put more sound options in there eventually.

-It's somewhat hard to tell what a couple of the objects do. Perhaps add an effect around the affected (hah) area (eg. when I stepped on the button I wasn't sure what it did)

I'm thinking of putting more tutorial objects in, the first room is mostly a "testing" room where I tried out switches and optional room wrapping (thus why when you fall through the cliff you wind up up top. Very Pac-Man ish).

-Platforming engine is decent, no real complaints there

Thanks. I've spent about three months (so far) working on this, still in the process of getting all the kinks out.

-I went back from the second room by accident, and had to redo the entire level D:

Not all the rooms are persistent, another thing on my To-Do list.

-I enjoyed murdering innocent civilians

I threw a bunch of Npcs with that option because I've lost count of the number of games (early Nintendo especially) where the Npcs are either useless or annoying. I thought it would be nice to be able to slay them.

-The boomerang should return faster

Yeah. Also it has a habit of getting stuck on breakable blocks.

-I pressed '1' or something and was teleported to a random area?

Actually, that's my bad. I thought I got rid of all the warp options. Playtesting it, I had a lot of room warps so I could skip through and check additions.
The cheat pop-up allows for a couple level warps, the bow and arrow, and double jump boots.

-When I was on fire it was a bit hard to see where exactly I was

Using Particles for the flames. If I click "below objects" they're impossible to see through the background.

-Stopping when swinging my yoyo is a bit annoying

Added to To-do list!

-I like the collectibles, but I'm not sure what they do

I'm thinking about putting a mouse click option, so you can click items and they give a brief description - might work out better then another
dozen show_message("") things. Not sure yet.

-When I fell into the lava, It dropped me back at the entrance for a moment while I spun around dead, and then told me to press R

Hmmm. I'll have to work on that.

-Sometimes my yoyo goes through blocks directly in front of me

The melee mask is a bit tricky, I'll have to check on that also. Or I'll fix it so when it hits a block it doesn't destroy the melee mask, so more then one block in it's path is destroyed.

[the_bob42]

Version 0.22 working. Lot of attack revisions (and inclusions), and enemy upgrades. Will probably be awhile till the next version.

[the_bob42]

In the works is version 0.23, trying something different:
1. I'm going to see the size without the midi background tracks.
2. The tile sets are going to be condensed and every room is going through a visual update.
3. A few other inclusions will be the new enemy types, and a beefed up stage 2.
4. Any other new ideas that cross my mind between now and release.

Hoping to accomplish this by Thursday-Friday at the very least.

[walkingbush]

Hmm. I tried the first level, thought it was cool, then i went into the town, talked to the people (didnt think about killing them till i read the thread lol), then went into the first room. I thought the door blocks were activated by switches so i spent a good 5 minutes looking for a button to blow up the door block. Turns out you just hit it. Then I went into the temple of doom with the evil monkey, and i basically could not find the key. End of my legend of bob xD

Needs more introduction like messages or something. Like, break the door.

Edited by walkingbush, 30 August 2011 - 06:09 AM.

[the_bob42]

Hmm. I tried the first level, thought it was cool, then i went into the town, talked to the people (didnt think about killing them till i read the thread lol), then went into the first room. I thought the door blocks were activated by switches so i spent a good 5 minutes looking for a button to blow up the door block. Turns out you just hit it. Then I went into the temple of doom with the evil monkey, and i basically could not find the key. End of my legend of bob xD

Needs more introduction like messages or something. Like, break the door.

A little more tutorial for the first part then, that won't be too hard to include. Lol - evil monkey. Has smacking it been everyone's first impulse?

[ash47]

Lookin' good

[the_bob42]

More tutorial objects in the rooms. This means more signs to click (and smash), and pop ups when you walk into the newest addition: The Hint Hand! The Hint Hand points you in the right direction and rewards you with a thumb's up. Rather then have the horde of Npcs say anything useful, it was easier to put something new in rather then go through all the text I have already (Npcs have three different comments usually).

Beefing up the graphics, fixed the message box so it sticks out more (yes currently it's the show_message("blah blah blah") but I'm striving to make it cooler). And testing out the difficulty, since it seems like the furthest most people get is to the evil monkey.

[walkingbush]

A little more tutorial for the first part then, that won't be too hard to include. Lol - evil monkey. Has smacking it been everyone's first impulse?

Not only was my first impulse to smack it, but to smack it, then read the message, then smack it again, to make sure that it was the one responsible for spawning the heads, then smacking it a few more times to kill it. I subsequently died from flying head infestation lolz. Best part evar xD

[the_bob42]

A little more tutorial for the first part then, that won't be too hard to include. Lol - evil monkey. Has smacking it been everyone's first impulse?

Not only was my first impulse to smack it, but to smack it, then read the message, then smack it again, to make sure that it was the one responsible for spawning the heads, then smacking it a few more times to kill it. I subsequently died from flying head infestation lolz. Best part evar xD

He used to be in the very first room, but shot fireballs rather then spawn heads like the one you meet further down the road. The very first commenter mentioned "perhaps let me know that I shouldn't be doing that" - so I figured I'd let players get used to being able to smite the Npcs with a vengence before throwing in a curve ball. Remember Charlie Brown, where Lucy would take away the ball at the last second? Kind of like that, except I'm letting the players get a few good kicks in before messing with them.

Version 0.22 Mute Version Progress:

The Music Mute Version is taking a little longer then expected. I'm about halfway through all the graphic revisions of stage one, and it's looking good.

I'll have to update the "attract" screen, the one that pops up if you idle at the main menu too long (20-30 seconds, around there) - it has all the item and powerup commentary before the Torch and Brittle Blade.

New stationary objects: Dead guards adorn the floors and walls of the Doom Temple now (I was going to call it Chaos Temple, but Final Fantasy Fans would ridicule me), meaning more things to smack and loot.

Room changes:
"aMazing" is now easier.
"Find The Key" doesn't rely on going AROUND the whole map to find a switch to open up the area with the key. It still has two routes, one of which is a royal pain in the... - and the somewhat easier moving platform obstacle course.
"Broken Bride" I'm thinking about making a little longer. But I'm keeping the Punch Golem Fists.
"Water Area" Could be extended too, but fortunately since everyone loves underwater areas this one can wait a little bit.[/sarcasm]

Edited by the_bob42, 01 September 2011 - 12:43 PM.

[the_bob42]

Version 0.23 mute is available.

Rooms PAST the first mini-boss aren't done yet. But seeing that no one has commented about the first mini-boss, I have no idea if anyone has gotten that far yet.

[the_bob42]

Okay. Tutorial was added to the main menu. Boss graphics fixed, and so was the room I forgot about ( eighteen rooms in Stage One, I don't feel too bad for missing one). It'll be another week or two until another update, Stage Two is going to take awhile so there won't be new content. I'll continue to check here for comments and questions, but rest assured that there won't be an update every other day.

[the_bob42]

Wasted a morning trying to cut the size down even more. After a lot more graphic reduction, got down to 6.67 MB. Not much of a difference download-wise, but would mean spending a lot more time re-revising all the rooms I already did. Half a MB isn't worth the frustration. So, I'll be focusing on more content and converting it from a linear game to more of a Metroidvania.

[storkEXEC]

is beta 2.2 the same but with music? i want the music

[the_bob42]

is beta 2.2 the same but with music? i want the music

2.2 has music, roughly the same stage layout. I'd have to replay to really think of all the tweaks and changes.

[the_bob42]

I figured since everyone hated Water Area's to throw some into this. A preview of the latest room I'm working on.

[the_bob42]

Version 0.24 updates:

+Title Screen fixed (it looked really plain before)
+Boss Rush Mode added.
+Weapons no longer are automatically picked up (spacebar picks up, so people have the option of grabbing or leaving)
+Stage One expanded.
+Impossible mini-boss (Floating Ghoul) removed.
+Stage Two is now reachable (before the game ended at the bonus room)
+Backspace does nothing now. Pause now shows the mini-map, numeric hp, and achievements.
+A couple more plot related Npcs introduced. (No, they aren't Monkeys.)
+Page Down now brings you back to the title menu - in case people get stuck.
+Score was replaced with a monetary system.
+Stage Time variable events: less time = easier monsters, more time = harder.

[njp]

the name 'bob' is so over used.

[the_bob42]

I almost named it "Legend of Too Lazy to Come Up With An Original Name Man" but the acronym looked awful.

The video was my first attempt recording, thus no sound or other goodies to it. However, it's something new to look at.

Edited by the_bob42, 08 September 2011 - 05:57 PM.