May 22, 2018 -- day 152There's nothing much new to the game... but with a game trailer left to make. However, laziness kicks in and I procrastinate for near a month. Not saying i don't want to, but I feel unmotivated making the game trailer... Making a "attractive" trailer needs REAL effort & I'm just so lazy about it- uhh! Still... game trailers are a MUST to me, and it has to be done! It's just a short 31-second trailer, that's all! (tell myself to suck it up & just DO IT!) The trailer probably will be released before June. (for better or worst :D) The Return of 'Alien Maze' DevelopmentAfter that trailer is done, I will continue the development of the 'Alien Maze'. (or making 1 more update on Tap 'n Dash before that... not decided yet)
Frankly, although I've done an early demo version. (decent enough) but I'm starting to worry (and a bit dreaded) about that alien puzzle game... it might go beyond my ability. While the 2 games I've made is totally within my design concepts & coding skill, this one is an uncharted water. Yeah... :( Only time will tell. Until next time guys! Apr 20, 2018 -day 120I almost forgot to add new links for the game... so here it is. (click on the pic to direct page) I love this site. It has nicer game page and user friendly. Don't forget to follow/like/donate if you want to. :D Another game portal you can visit to. Feel free to drop by if you're one of the GameJolt regulars. 'Tap 'n Dash' is made for mobile gaming in mind. It has new leaderboards & achivements web versions don't have. You can also play the game on Kongregate which has most players & leaderboard and stuff. (my prefered site)
link picture's on the right side. (on dev log selection page) 9 April, 2018 - day 109Hello guys! Before I delve into topics, some people might want to know how well is Tap n' Dash work. Well... only 80+ gameplays for 6 days without any advertising whatsoever. You see, I haven't yet do any social-media/cross-platform advertising and spreading... because I found out ver 1.0 (on Kongregate) has design flaws. It keeps many gamers away after they played just 1 level. Thanks to my design flaws many doesn't know there's upgrades & other stuff going on. So yeah, I'm busy working on them now. So, here are the changes of ver 1.1:
now for some new Add-ons:
Now, about the music...I am still a beginner and sometimes I made some tracks not quite as good & fitting for my game.
I'm sure you have the same feeling when playing Tap 'n Dash, like: Eh strange music... :O Isn't it a bit too urban & techno/rave, the sounding is a bit "mature" for the game? (excuse me for my limited knowledge of music terminology) ...It's a mistake scheduling music tracks as the last thing to do. :P I'm not removing the existed tracks, but I will do 1 more game track that will be better... ...something more cutesy & colorful. Wrapping up, Ver 1.1 will be updated very soon in just days. Also, I will try to publish to other few major game portals (gamejolt or itch.io) & Google Plays store. 2 April, 2018 --Day 92After 3 months of development, the game is now ver 1.0 and is released on Kongregate. Here's the URL: https://www.kongregate.com/games/Allentthesnouty/tap-n-dash The game's not Kongregate exclusive, so I'll be checking some other game portals to link the game soon... 2 will be the maximum. Also, Android version will also be released in the near future. That's all, folks. Happy web-gaming! Mar 21, 2018 - day 80
The game is near it's ver 1.0 release. Here's some of the changes for the week. Lessons learned from the beta testing: Because some players tend to confuse the 'solo tile' visual cues as a button and click it just to find that it never works, the randomized 'solo tiles' pictures is now re-located from the left side to the center(lower half) above the turtle character. (See it in pic 4 from gallery below) In that way they can't reach their fingers too far away from the 'effective solo tiles click area'. Also, for future mobile gamers only... Because of multi-touch functionality of mobile devices, people can cheat for higher score by rapidly tapping the area( just below the 3 tiles) using another finger so that they won't miss the randomly approaching solo tiles. For that I've put in an anti-cheat function where they can't repeatedly tapping without getting punishment... a 'X' (Eehh)! The BG touch-ups are simple yet pleasing enough. At least the backdrops won't be bland and static. Check out the screenshot gallery below. There's no much stuff left to say so I'll wrap this up early. It's only music left and hopefully the tracks will be decent when it come out. Updated: The release date is settled on April 2. So, only a few days to release, people! 28 Feb, 2018 -- day 59Sorry I have to postpone the game development again.
Things happened and I have to work on other stuff at the moment. Therefore, the release will be around somewhere on March. Promise, I will be working the project & doing the finishing touches in no time. (at least ver 1.0 version) Be seeing ya. Feb 14, 2018 - day 45This week I got really nothing to show.
My family and I are preparing CNY stuff. Busy busy busy. CNY is like Christmas, the most hyped holidays for us Chinese people to gather and celebrate. Still, I manage to finish the sequence, where the turtle finish the amount of quizs and reach through the "white box" and do victory post and show statistics... Well not much of a winning sequence to be honest, but it's passable to say the least. What's left are the music parts basically, I wouldn't want to be perfectionist about it but I can't find any inspiration (for now). They are supposed to be just generic fast-paced beats... X( Anyway, I'll relax a bit and have a good time! Happy Chinese new year & have a prosperous new year everybody! Jan 31, 2018 - day 31It's now about 70% finished. All the game mechanics for ver 1.0 are completed. What's left are only music track, some jingles & sound FXs, graphic revampings, and a win sequence. Back to today's topic! Combos'Combos' are especially huge on a brain-reflex game. The game rewards you with higher scores when you hit the combos! There was a timer between the quiz and your answer. Once you click quicker than the timer, you get a combo. (of course you have to get it all correct to add in the combos) For mobile version the combo timer is set a bit slower to accommodate tapping speed. (0.05-0.1 sec difference) 'Combos' works on all levels but first you have to unlock it from 'Upgrade' section. Stats: Reflex, Upgrade'Stats' shows the gamer the additional datas outside of main gameplay screen. This time instead of having detailed stats, I try a minimalistic approach. I condense the datas into only 2 parts: Reflex & Upgrade. 'Reflex' screen: It shows how fast you click the correct answers -- second per quiz. It's a reflex game therefore it's crucial to focus on how fast the player plays(taps). Also, Combo Max shows how much combos you can get in one chain. This screen is like a good trophy room-- something to brag yourself/others about. (hehe) 'Upgrade' screen: Originally this should be on the main menu screen, along with 'Play' & 'Stats'. The points on the top are total sum of 'best score' from all levels. (6 to be exact) The 4 tiles are the 'upgrades'. (just another term of 'unlockables') Each opens up a new feature on the gameplay to help you get more points or help you reach the end goal. This upgrade system is a bit different than usual: It didn't follow the 'skill tree' style. There's no base. You have the freedom to choice any upgrade as your first one, you choice another when you reach higher score "checkpoints". Example: If you reach 3,000 points, you can unlock only 1, unless you reach more than 6,000 points then you can unlock another (and so on). I make it easy so It would not be too hard to get all the 4 upgrades (reach 12,000 on 'total best score'). Bear in mind that these is only what ver 1.0 would cover. I'm sure I will add more stuff for ver 1.1 and that's for some other time. Another thing: I'm aware that the menu backdrop color is less dynamic, lack punch and some vibrance. I will try to add some colors to get the "zany" feel I wanted, at least can be a match with gameplay screen. Suddenly some words...Something has to be said about this game: It's not fair for everyone. (Hello, reflex game here!)
However-- it is for everyone, for different purpose. If you're young, and very good at finger coordination/ reflex games, it would be a cakewalk and tops everyone easily. But for older people or those not used to fast pace gaming, myself concluded, might struggle on this game (on ranking), but then it may send be a good jolt to your brain & some adrenaline rush. Can be a good thing. It could also be a good brain-workout for elderly. XD (No kiddin') If you think the early levels are too easy for you, then try the 'Similar' Mode instead of 'Same' mode. (I will mention them on next log) It's much challenging and you definitely feel the brain twist! ;) That's all for now. Not to rush the development, Tap 'n' Dash ver 1.0 release will be postponed after CNY, maybe be on the very end of February. I probably will post one more log next week, before I get busy with the CNY activities. Until then! Jan 15, 2018 - day 15Working everyday, with most of the game structure done & art assets ready, Tap n' Dash is now reach 40% completion! Today let me show you how the game works, it's has a very simple game mechanic. A level contains a series of graphic only "questions/quizs". Each quiz contain 1 "Question" picture & 3 Selectable "Answer" pictures. You tap on the right picture to proceed to next quiz. Tap it wrong gets you a short time penalty, lost a "heart", but also proceed to next quiz. You win the level by reaching the goal (total quizs finished) with remaining lives. That's how a basic level goes. This GIF footage en-capsules all the basic gameplay. For web game version, you can also use keyboard directional keys( left, down, right) as secondary for the 3 tiles. This-- in most time quicker than mouse clicks/finger taps, but also can cause errors more easily. So you can see, It's really shows a brain/finger reflex game in nature. By design, the quizs are way too easy to be called a puzzle game, however it emphasizes on your reaction time. How quick you are attributes to the score and get a good rating. This is not all the game feature you see in the GIF. There's quite a few elements left to discover. In fact for you, here's one... Solo Tilesa Solo Tile is a special, single tile. it came by randomly but it won't stop like the usual '3 tiles'. It could run pass you quickly unless you're fast enough to tap/click it.
The keyboard input is the 'Up' arrow button. It only works if you press at the right moment when the tile is in front of the turtle character. So far there's a speed-up and also intoxication as variety goes. One helps you to zip through the quizs much faster; and other one dis-orientates you. They all only last for a while. On next log, It will be the 'Combo' feature, and also a quick look at 'Stats'. Happy January! Jan 1, 2018 - day 1Hello 2018 everybody! I have a new game in planning, and it's going to release quite soon! You see, I came to know making a "full-fledge" game takes a long time, especially for solo devs. After 'Fry Me Omelettes', which took almost 2 years to release. I feel now it's a good time to make a mini-game. Only this time, I have a fixed deadline. I have to, at least, upload a playable version officially before Chinese New Year. (Feb 16) The Origin: A Game Assignment from CollegeBack in the college years, There's a course-- 'interactive web design'. And one of the monthly assignments was 'game design'. I was trying to make a fun and unique game, then an idea struck. Arcade game, especially japanese ones are quite creative for their time. 'Hyper-Bishi-Bashi-Champ' is a game where 3 person compete through many mini-games. One of the most unique part is the controllers are only 3 buttons (for each player). The games is very fast paced and adrenaline inducing. That idea & gameplay simplicity inspired me to make 'Tap n Dash'. I wanted to make an unique finger reaction game. It's a face paced arcade style mini-game a lot like with only visual quizs. Each quiz consists of 1 "question" picture & 3 "answer" pictures. You have to click the right picture to proceed to another quiz. Until you reach the goal (total numbers of quiz in a level) If your health (hearts) has gone to zone, it's GAME OVER. This took me 2 months to develop a trial version, which only have 4 levels to play on. Each level has different modes: Same, Similarity ,etc. All I can say is... Tap n' Dash is fundamentally a brain-reflex game, very small in puzzle element, but requires finger/mouse reflexs, or quick thinking. What about that turtle character? You haven't introduce him yet! Look, the character is not important to the gameplay. (Well originally they will be 4 of the characters based on 4 sacred beasts, but it is not the case here.) Any cute character can fit the bill. Seriously... a running turtle? ...Any cute character can fit the bill. So what about this new 'Tap 'n Dash' development?Yes. First of all, my old 'Tap n' Dash' flash game is non-commercial, and it uses many art & audio assets from others (copyright infringement), which is i want to avoid if I want to make money with the game.
So this is an opportunity to remake the game. (in HTML5 format by Contruct 2 engine) However, I want to make a more short, simplified, mobile friendly version. It will probably have only 1-2 game modes. And It will be a mini game much smaller than 'Fry Me Omelettes' or 'Alien Maze'. Also, the development will be faster since most art assets were already made & the game idea is already there, therefore saving a lot of development time. That's about it for today. Next time I'll write about the game structure, and also the work schedule. See you on next blog. |