Finished Battle Mechanics + Multiplayer Preview

I finished more stuff today here's the list:

• Pressing X pushes players and bombs away
• Controller rumble from damage
• Explosion and jump sounds
• Pressing left bumper stops your last thrown bomb

That's it for this week. I'll be back on next week with more changes. I'm hoping to get to the menus, score screen, and player info (health / shield charge).

Here's a video with all of the changes and multiple players

Bomb and Shield Mechanics

My accomplishments for the day:

• Added bombs
• Added shields
• Bombs damage shield then player
• Added invulnerability time after spawning and taking damage
• Shield charge time
• Multiple ways to throw bombs
• Extended out of screen area (Player won't die immediately)

Here's how the battle mechanics work. If a bomb hits a player it explodes. If the player has their shield up the bomb will go through them instead. The shield has a charge to it which is essentially its life. The player has to actively use the shield with the left trigger. When a player is hit by an explosion with their shield up, the bomb damages the shield first and then the player (if there is left over damage). The shield restores charge when not in use, and depletes charge when on.

Making a map using the editor

Bomb mechanics

Blast Lords Animations

My accomplishments for the day:

• Initial player spawning
• Changed the map size to deal with safe area on tv's
• Player speed based on tilt of controller
• Player jump based on length of time A is held
• Death animation and wait time
• Spawn animation and wait time
• Movement and jumping animations

Tomorrow I'm working on the battle mechanics which should be a lot of fun. For now here are two videos, the first is of the map editor, and the second is the gameplay on the created map. I'll post another gameplay video tomorrow when the battle mechanics are in and with more people playing.

Map Editor

Gameplay

New Game "Blast Lords"

After a ton of work I finally I have a rough working version of Blast Lords. It takes the 2D fighting of Super Smash Bros. and blends it with the items and explosions of Bomberman 64. It's currently targeting XBLIG, but if it's successful I will easily be porting it to PC. The game has a working map editor that I plan on including. I really like to focus on customizability so the game feels like it has an infinite amount of content. Players will be able to save and load their own maps (possibly trade them online). The physics settings of the game are fully customizable as well. This includes (but isn't limited to) number of lives, number of jumps, gravity, max speed, friction, jump impulse, etc... These settings will also be able to be saved and loaded. Before entering the game players will be able to add skill points to their characters which will enhance them in the battlefield. There will only be a set amount of points so players have to chose carefully where they want to assign them. Some of the skills that can be enhanced are number of bombs, number of jumps, damage, explosion size, knockback distance, and many more.

From this point on I'm going to try to make daily posts during the week with what I've worked on for the day. I'll include videos and images if something visible has changed.

Here is what it currently looks like on a not so pretty test map:

C#, XNA, and My New Game

Over the past month I've been learning C# and working on a game in XNA. This project is HUGE for a single person to undertake. All I can say so far is that it's a 4-player party game that I'm hoping to release for XBLIG. I got the idea when playing the original Super Smash Bros. with my roommates. How was it we could still play something so old and simple, and have a ton of fun? It's because the game had an endless amount of possibilities and we were always able to find new ways to beat each other. The game is timeless and I'm hoping to emulate that with what I'm doing. I want a group of friends to be able to sit down and battle all night long. Drinking, cursing, and rivalry encouraged.

So far I have tested the core mechanics with family and friends. It was fun, and even after I was bored nobody wanted to put down the controller. I've transfered that over to a full project where I have the physics working. Maps are loaded by using serialized data (no more making my own .txt files). Right now I'm working on the map editor so I can have a nice set of levels to test on as the game grows.

Here's a video of a bug I had when first hacking it together to test the mechanics. (It's long since been resolved)

What I've learned so far:

• How to serialize data (saving and loading maps)
• Using controllers and controller states
• Platformer physics
• Collision detection and resolution
• The C# language through game development in XNA

What's coming next:

• Map editor
• Player weapons and shields
• Learn a shader language for fun effects