93 replies to this topic

[TheUltimate]

 
Well, here we are. Fourth Jam entry, third game I’ve started by myself, around one year since I started using GM... Yeah, it’s pretty cool.

I'd like to offer a HUGE thanks to everyone who tried my game, left feedback, voted for me, or even just took the time to skim through the topic to see what this was all about! Without you guys, this game wouldn't be as good as it's going to be (right after the update lol).

What is this I don’t even…
It’s a puzzle-platformer in origami world, where you can fold the level to get past obstacles and stuff. Trust me, it’s way cooler when you’re actually playing the game.

Suggestions, gameplay ideas, content ideas, and stuff like that is always welcome!
And the old promise still stands: You try my game, I'll try yours. Just tell me what it's called (so I don't accidentally resurrect a dead topic or something) and I'll give it a whirl.

Screenshots: Marvel at the complete stylistic difference from everything else I’ve ever posted here!

--> DOWNLOAD V.0.5 HERE! <--
Devblog / Jam post - Original Jam version
File size: 3.2 MB




VERSION INFO (please at least skim through this before commenting. Thanks)

So yeah, it shouldn't have taken this long, but I managed to add a little bit nearly every day. 15 minutes here, half an hour there... it adds up eventually.

New in v.0.5!
- MORE LEVELS AND PUZZLES! The levels that currently exist constitute the tutorial. I had a LOT of levels and stuff planned out on paper, but since I had a lot of other stuff to do this weekend, this ended up being more of a way-less-than-48-hour project than a 72-hour one, and I didn't quite get the opportunity to add it all in. There are some levels with actual puzzle elements thrown in, so keep an eye out for that.
- Being able to unfold horizontal creases (gotta get the vertical platform movement working first)
- Better graphics... they're definitely better graphics.
- Tweaking the movement a bit, especially getting rid of the half-implemented walljump that I forgot about before the Jam ended, which is wreaking havoc with the collisions
- Enemies
- A level select screen

Coming up next:
- Mountain and valley folds
- More features as the game goes on, like switches, pushable blocks, etc. (would this be a good idea, or would it get too cluttered?)
- What you saw at the end of v.0.5

What I'd like feedback on:
- The difficulty curve. I know some of the levels aren't in order of increasing difficulty at the moment, but what I'd like to know is what you thought of the current content. Is it too easy and repetitive? Just right? That sort of thing.
- Whether the new version of folding is self-explanatory enough (it's at the bottom of page 3)
- Should I keep the achievements? They were only there to fulfill the Jam 6 handicap.

Known bugs
- Sometimes when you try to fold one part, everything folds at once. This is left over from that time when having more than one fold in a level didn’t work at all. Just hit R to restart and you should be fine.
- When you go between levels, you should continue moving when you hold the key down, but occasionally you don’t. I have no idea why that happens, but since it’s a minor thing, I won’t look into it unless I have time.
- I know the click-and-drag game mechanic might feel kinda weird at times, but programming this thing was insane. It was the only thing I could come up within the time frame that both worked and felt (somewhat) natural.
- You have to click the dot on TOP to unfold stuff (no idea why... it was a direct cut and paste)
- Sometimes things will misalign by 3 or 4 pixels
- Spikes + folding = wtf?
- THIS IS NOT A GLITCH: if you're standing between the two dots, unfolding won't work. This is so you don't get stuck inside the wall.




So… what’s this got to do with the theme?
The word Tranquility gave me a LOT of ideas, but the one train of thought that really clicked was Tranquility --> Doing something calm --> Origami --> A puzzle game where you fold stuff to get to the end of the level
(It’s definitely a LOT better than Jam 3’s Colour My World, where Live turned into Liveliness and then Colour somehow lol.)


^ That came outta nowhere

ALL THE JAM 6 REVIEWS

Spoiler

Yep. Every review. You guys have provided me with a lifetime supply of quotes to put in the topic title, and I would like to thank you by pasting everything here.

Rusty
"Now here's a game that's had my attention for a little while now. I gotta say, I was unsure how you were planning to put this concept into an actual game but it does seem to work. I'd suggest putting more origami options in than just level folding though, maybe corner to corner to make ramps and etc? I love the music and graphical work though, even the small things like the origami birds in the background of the title screen were a great addition to the calm and peaceful feel of the game.

I was won back over simply by it's potential to be something amazing, after playing it again I couldn't help but run my brain over all the different possibilities this concept could become.

TheUltimate, I know you're out there... somewhere. And if you drop this project after the GMC Jam, I will hunt you down and... well... I don't know, I haven't honestly thought that far ahead. But come on, really, I want you to step up after the Jam and hit us with your best shot."


orange08
"This is pretty sweet. The jump near the second origami part is really tough though. For some reason jumping next to a wall makes the game lag or something. Weird. I got to a dead end, I think."


speedchuck
"Wow. A pity this is so short. You really have something here, this is a nice game. The graphics were stylized and smooth, looked really nice. The game had a relaxing atmosphere, and the sound helped that. The platforming physics felt a bit weird at times, specifically while trying to jump up against a wall. The character wouldn’t jump as high. I would love to see you continue this."


Follomania
"I really like this game idea. I myself do a lot of origami. The levels were short and simple, as the beginning levels should be. However, the harder levels never came, which made me quite sad. The music was relaxing, as well."


Snail_Man
"This was an interesting little game. (I seem to be saying that a lot don't I) It was a standard platformer with a good gimmick. The folding of levels was visually pleasing, and it seemed to be relatively bug-free. The graphics were pretty good, cut-paper style. The music was okay, but it got slightly annoying after a while. The sound effects were pretty good, and didn't really get that annoying for quite a while.
The gameplay was a basic platformer, except with the folding gimmick, it was made slightly more interesting. There were a couple problems with the physics, such as the fact that I got stuck in a fold once, and the gravity was slightly too high for my taste. Also, some of the rooms seemed to run a significant amount faster than others, and the dieing animation seemed to take a little long. Overall, it was a very innovative game, that needed a little more variety."


RedNepZ
"Unique concept! I liked it a lot! The graphics weren't great and the music was average. However, the gameplay was really good. I had fun. Too bad it was so short."


johnki
"Wow, really clever idea.

I really liked the graphics. The player sprite was charming and the backgrounds looked great. I would have opted for a less repetitive paper graphic, but it still looks good even so.
Some of my favorite music so far. Really nice, calm track. The player and paper sounds weren't bad either.
The level design started to get really clever. For such a simple mechanic, it felt like you began to do a lot with it. I wish I had made it further, just to see, but I got stuck at one point and ended up giving up.
The game was really finicky though. By that, I mean that I often got stuck on corners I was jumping up to, when in certain spots, the framerate would drop heavily, I once got stuck inside a fold, and I once got flung into the air after jumping while trying to fold.
Overall, the game could have used a bit more polish, but it's a great idea and I'd definitely like to see it continued.
9/10"


11clock
"The gameplay is interesting. You need to fold parts of the level together to get through obstacles. However, it's not as indepth as I had hoped. The game needs some more interesting puzzles."


Black Sheep Games
"The graphics of the game were ok but it lacked some details. The gameplay was interesting but the movement of the player was a bit slow and there weren't any random rewards for the player."


zeddidragon
"Cool gimmick. Game was decent.
-Laziest achievement."


TheUltimate (yep, I just pasted my own review. Deal with it.)
"Origami: The one with the insane game mechanic that I can’t believe I got working"


brighteyes
"A platformer puzzle with a really great concept, but it obviously needs some work. You mimic the japanese art of folding paper by warped the stage to get past a few obstacles. Unfortunely there are some errors with the platform engine and the levels are unfinished. I'm looking forward to see what becomes of this one. Awfully familiar music too"


HayManMarc
"*****
Great puzzler/platformer! Everything was great. Perfect length to see what it's all about and leave me wanting more. Cheap achievement, but a good one. Music, sounds, graphics were all great and non-annoying. Game mechanic was awesome!"


Spydog
"Great idea for a game mechanic! The player sprite was really well-drawn and animated too. That said, the game did lack polish and it began to lag terribly on one level so I didn't finish it. This seems like a starting point for what could be a really good game. "


twee
"Not a new concept, but I still find it's a good one. This one, however, is less polished and a little buggy, but I still prefer the art of this one. A solid game with decent music and a somewhat unoriginal concept."


Dangerous_Dave
"I really liked this game, especially the puzzles where you had to fold then unfold parts to reach the right areas. The graphics are great, and fit in well with the Origami theme. Origami also fits in well with the Jam theme."


Soulsnatcher
"Another cool concept. I reached the end and was satisfied. The idea seemed to work well, and the level design was fairly sound. The player sprite was good, and the effects when landing a jump were a nice touch. On the last level I managed to do two folds in one go (at the place on the far right where you jump over the spikes, and back again), and as it was the last level didn’t get to test the effect again. The movement was a tiny bit buggy at times, and I tried unfolding when jumping over spikes, and the level restarted, but I don’t think I hit the spikes. Anyway, good job here!"


Desert Dog
"From the insanely polished, to the unpolished. This games levels abruply run out, just as we're
warming up to concept of this unique game. Do I like it? Yes! Nice character sprite, very fitting
music. The creative concept gives this game a big boost in my books."


TeamSteeve
"Didn't have a lot of fun playing this. I do think it's a cool concept though.
I don't know if I missed some achievements but I only found two. Getting to the end doesn't seem to be separate from the main goal or objective to me. Lucky there was another achievement."


lukew23
"I love the originality of this game mechanic. Sure, the game wasn't overly polished, but polish is hard to pull off in a 72-hr Jam. This was enjoyable, original and a great puzzle game. It also shows a lot of potential - the mountain and valley folds pentioned would make a great addition to the game. For me, this was the game which stood out the most."


creators124
"I love the game cause of it's originality using origami as a tranquility theme.
it might be buggy but I love the engine, and the animation.
it had the best dev log out of the three I chose."


GameDevDan
"This game has a wicked concept that is brilliantly implemented in most
places. Its graphics are a little cheap and cheerful, but not disastrously
so. What lets this game down is its lack of levels. I would love to see
more of this game after the jam."

Shameless Plug: My other games
What The @#&% ?! (first game)
Colour My World (Jam 3 6th place)
Sophia's Spirits (Jam 4 2nd place!)
Julius Dragonslayer (Jam 5 25th place)

Credits
Paper textures from Google
Music from Chrono Trigger
Ideas, graphics, programming, and everything else by me

Enjoy the game, and please leave a comment or two!

◊ TheUltimate ◊

Edited by TheUltimate, 03 June 2012 - 09:32 PM.

[TheUltimate]

Changelog/devblog/whatever you want to call it:
(sorry if this isn't allowed. I just don't want to have too many things in the first post)

Spoiler

DAY 1
ZERO MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
- Decided to join the Jam
- Made a menu to start while I'm thinking of ideas for the rest of the game:

TEN MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
I already have an idea. It's a cool idea, and I still have to flesh it out as an actual gameplay concept, but if I can somehow pull this off, I'll be REALLY happy. (Not posting it here so nobody will go in the same direction as me!)

FIFTEEN MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
Uh... yeah. I sorta told myself I'm not gonna make a platformer, but since the only viable genres for my idea is between platformer and top-down, I'm going with what I'm best at.

TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
Started actually programming stuff cuz I don't need no freaking design document! So, see ya in a couple hours I guess!
I wonder if it counts if we put "Achievement unlocked! Read the loading screen!" on the loading bar? *ahem*

ONE HOUR AND TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
Got the platform engine and some other stuff working. I swear, I'm getting faster at this every time I enter one of these things.

TWO HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
Okay, back from my break. I have the main game mechanics mostly working. Now to start making levels and eye candy! At this rate, I might have something worthy of a WIP thread by the end of the day.

THREE HOURS INTO THE JAM:
Uh... scratch that. I've run into my first problem of the night. Can't really say what it is without divulging the entire point of my game, though.

THREE HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
Solved the problem, so now I'm starting to make graphics. It's going to be completely different from the pixel art style I usually do.

FOUR HOURS AND FIFTY MINUTES INTO THE JAM:
Whoa. Whoa. I have a working version. Like, an actual build of the game that works properly. I guess I'll start the WIP thread tomorrow. It's getting late here, so I'm gonna call it a day.

DAY 2
HOUR 22.5
Well, I just got on the computer and I'm going to start making stuff. I posted a demo if anyone wants to try it.

HOUR 23
There are now enemies, spikes, and a death effect, not to mention random explosions because why not!

HOUR 28
I haven't done anything since I added enemies, (which aren't anywhere in the game yet) so I spent twenty minutes and made a level.

Edited by TheUltimate, 29 April 2012 - 04:04 AM.

[creators124]

I like how it is but the left and right movements are a little shaky when there is a wall collision.

[TheUltimate]

Heh, yeah, someone else already mentioned the collisions to me. I'll try to figure it out if I have time. Right now, I'm concentrating on making enough levels to qualify as a game, then after that I'm replacing the placeholder graphics.
Thanks for taking the time to try it.

BTW: Version 0.2 is up!

[creators124]

I love on how when you die you turn into a crumpled up piece of paper!
also I can see this game is not going to make the top ten unless the game graphics and coding improve!
lol! I died! and the end of the level!

[junhalestone]

Hey - really liked the game so far! It needs more levels, but clearly you'll add them soon.

> I like the concept.
> The graphics are pretty good, considering you said they were placeholders. You could always add a 'random room colour' for each 'level' if you wanted quick variety.
> The folding system works pretty well, but it would be nice if there were an option with each fold. For instance, if there are two 'fold locations' you should be able to choose left-right OR right-left; this would mean more planning was required on a level. (I understand this may be difficult to implement)
> New levels which are more puzzle-based would be good.
> Perhaps you could add (if you have time - far later on) water and/or fire? Water could soak the paper (or you) and make you heavy / slow / unable to walk / crumpled. Fire could burn you or the environment.
> Scissors may also be a good addition?

I've just put a lot of suggestions and clearly you won't want all of them in the time limit, but I hope you found some helpful.
In terms of a name... Corrugation? Not too sure, sorry.

Thanks - good luck!
JUN

[TheUltimate]

"Hey - really liked the game so far! It needs more levels, but clearly you'll add them soon.
Thanks! I'm working on more levels as I'm typing this.

> The graphics are pretty good, considering you said they were placeholders. You could always add a 'random room colour' for each 'level' if you wanted quick variety.
They are? Compared to what I'd like it to look like, it's kind of bland. I'm going to keep the colour scheme the same, though, since there's going to be another area after 5 or 10 levels.

> For instance, if there are two 'fold locations' you should be able to choose left-right OR right-left
I added that today, but I just haven't uploaded it yet.

> New levels which are more puzzle-based would be good.
Yep. That's next. I might have to make the view size a little bigger in order to do that, though.

> Perhaps you could add (if you have time - far later on) water and/or fire? Water could soak the paper (or you) and make you heavy / slow / unable to walk / crumpled. Fire could burn you or the environment. Scissors may also be a good addition?
Fire and water is a REALLY good idea! I'll experiment with that if time permits.

In terms of a name... Corrugation?
That might work. I'll see what else pops up before finalizing the name.


ONE LAST THING: I started making graphics for the main character, but to me, it looks really generic and kind of sucks. Any suggestions?

(obviously I'm going to add shading and detail, but this is the general idea so far)

[Follomania]

You have a really interesting concept here! All my suggestions have already been stated by earlier posters, so sadly I can't offer anything helpful in that regard.
I think when this gets completed, though, it's going to be a pretty fun game. Good work!

Also, I'm not sure how you're doing your movement, but the same shaking usually occurs in my games when I don't check to see if (x+acceleration, y) is empty before I accelerate my hspeed. Not sure if that's the problem, but it might save you some time if it is.

Spoiler

//Code example in case I didn't explain well using English
if (keyboard_check(vk_right) == 1){
    if (hspeed == 0){
        if (instance_place(x+.4,y, obj_ground) == noone){
            hspeed += .4
        }
    }
    else {
        hspeed += .4
    }
}

[creators124]

I see your change log is untouched so that means you're making a big update or you've been lazying off or just having lot's of trouble.
lol!
this is what it would look like if it was interpreted into code!

if(update = 0)
{
     	if(update large = 1)
     	{
     	show_message("I'm so happy!")
     	}
     	else if(lazy = 1)
     	{
     	show_message("ARE YOU NUTZ?!")
     	}
     	else if(trouble >= 1)
      	{
      	show_message("hope you figure them out!")
      	}
}

please tell us if there are anymore updates!

[TheUltimate]

"I think when this gets completed, though, it's going to be a pretty fun game. Good work!"
Thanks! You have no idea how glad I am to see that others like the concept.

"Also, I'm not sure how you're doing your movement..."
I've already solved that, but thanks anyway. It ended up being something slightly different: I forgot to put "if abs(hspeed)<0.5 {sprite_index=s_stand)" in my code, so if you stand against a wall and move right, for example, it registers that you're moving right AND that you're standing still.

"Please tell us if there are anymore updates!"
Lol, don't worry, anyone who knows me well knows that I never give up on things. I've had some other stuff to do this weekend so I haven't been working on this 24/7, but I'll definitely update it, maybe even tonight if things go well. When it goes to v.0.3, that's when there's some new content, so be sure to come back then.


Edit: Also, if anyone wants to make levels so I have enough of them, feel free to shoot me a PM or post them here! Even if your level doesn't make it into the game, I'd still be more than glad to put you in the credits.

Edited by TheUltimate, 30 April 2012 - 04:21 AM.

[creators124]

"I think when this gets completed, though, it's going to be a pretty fun game. Good work!"
Thanks! You have no idea how glad I am to see that others like the concept.

"Also, I'm not sure how you're doing your movement..."
I've already solved that, but thanks anyway. It ended up being something slightly different: I forgot to put "if abs(hspeed)<0.5 {sprite_index=s_stand)" in my code, so if you stand against a wall and move right, for example, it registers that you're moving right AND that you're standing still.

"Please tell us if there are anymore updates!"
Lol, don't worry, anyone who knows me well knows that I never give up on things. I've had some other stuff to do this weekend so I haven't been working on this 24/7, but I'll definitely update it, maybe even tonight if things go well. When it goes to v.0.3, that's when there's some new content, so be sure to come back then.


Edit: Also, if anyone wants to make levels so I have enough of them, feel free to shoot me a PM or post them here! Even if your level doesn't make it into the game, I'd still be more than glad to put you in the credits.

I understand...
Hope your game mekes it to the top 20 at least!(mostly hoping less)
I'm glad you fixed the movements!

[imonster]

The game is fun.. keep up the good work.
and finish it as fast as you can.

[imonster]

Love the new graphics :D although the origami sounds seems to have been deleted?

[TheUltimate]

Love the new graphics although the origami sounds seems to have been deleted?

Thanks. Glad you like it.
Btw I just tried the and the sounds all seem to be there. Are you sure it's not just really quiet on your computer or something?

Edit: What did you think of the level design? Too easy, too hard, just right?

Edited by TheUltimate, 30 April 2012 - 06:11 PM.

[Follomania]

It's getting a lot better! The difficulty is just right for the beginning levels. I'd suggested increasing the difficulty more in the upcoming levels. I was able to get through all the levels quite quickly without dying.
I think you should add some more bad folds. Right now, if you see two folding clickers, you can assume you need to fold there. If you add some that will ruin the chance of winning if they're folded, that will increase the puzzle factor.

[TheUltimate]

Thanks again Follomania.
I have a bunch of harder levels done, but unfortunately the REALLY hard ones I had on paper are gonna have to wait till after voting because I can't get the vertical unfolding to work properly. I bet it's something really simple I'm missing about moving platforms, cause when you unfold it, it teleports the player off the screen.
But hey, I'm still quite satisfied with what I have. I didn't know if this concept was even possible when I started making it, but as it turns out, it works pretty well.

[creators124]

Thanks again Follomania.
I have a bunch of harder levels done, but unfortunately the REALLY hard ones I had on paper are gonna have to wait till after voting because I can't get the vertical unfolding to work properly. I bet it's something really simple I'm missing about moving platforms, cause when you unfold it, it teleports the player off the screen.
But hey, I'm still quite satisfied with what I have. I didn't know if this concept was even possible when I started making it, but as it turns out, it works pretty well.

lol!
I love it!
already making it my vote!
I love the origami concept!
also hope you posted your problem!(even though you might not make it to solution)

[wakeskater_X]

NICE but i got an error:


ERROR in
action number 1
of Mouse Event for Right Pressed
for object o_dot_bottom:

Error in code at line 4:
if o_player.y>y+75 || o_player.y<asdf.y-31
^
at position 40: Unknown variable y


at this location:


I got it twice clicking on stuff

[TheUltimate]

Lol yeah, I found it RIGHT after I posted it. I put a fixed version up, so feel free to redownload it again. It should work this time.
Thanks for trying my game!

[creators124]

pic:

yeah I unfolded the fold in the second level and started to move back that I teleported straight to that spot!