Gravity Coming to Mobile!
April 25, 2013
Because I was not working on nearly enough over here, I decided to add something else to the plate. (Yikes?) As I wait to finish the first round of feedback about the Electric Shocktopus, and with the Circuits game under-development-part-time… I’ve turned my attention briefly back to the Gravity Simulator. Why?
The Gravity Simulator was one of the first things that I made and put up on the site. At its core, it is a very simple idea. (Play around with it if you haven’t yet, this will all make more sense.) I’ve never invested too much time or effort in developing it, and I certainly never marketed it at all. Yet in spite of all that, it remains to this day one of my more popular creations.
So when I got some feedback from a player that he’d like to see the game playable on tablets — I realized everything fit perfectly. I had a bit of time to squish it between other projects, people seem to enjoy it, and it was always really designed for touch screens. And to boot, I’ve been learning HTML5, which is a great tool for making games cross-platform. So I’m picturing a new browser version, yes… but also putting it on iPads, iPhones, Android, the works!
I’ve just started working on it, and in spite of hitting my head against a bunch of tech-issues (learning a new language and using new software tends to lead to a bumpy ride), I’ve got a version working on my iPad. Check out something I drew… with my fingers!
There are two big things I’m looking to get out of this. One, of course, is to make the game playable on a bunch of new platforms. But the other is to really improve its design & use-ability. I don’t just want to transfer the simulation, I want to improve it. So, to that end, I turn to you, the users. What could be better about the Gravity Simulator? What features are you dying to see?
-Andy
Shocktopus Pre-alpha
April 11, 2013
Guard your sensitive electronics, because the Electric Shocktopus is in his way. And he looks determined. In fact, I’m getting ready to upload a pre-alpha of the game just so he stops terrorizing my hard drive. It is just a dozen levels or so, mind you, and everything is still very rough. But it is a game nonetheless!
It feels great though to finally have a sensible level-progression, instead of just random ‘demo’ levels. And it feels good to replace blank screens with actual drawings.
But what good is a prototype without people to play it? I’ll be on the lookout for some playtesters over the next couple days. If you’ve liked my previous games want to take part in making the next one better, shoot me an email to let me know. (If you didn’t like my previous games, that’d be great too! …but why are you here?) I’ll be uploading the first Pre-Alpha of the game soon, and YOU, yes YOU could give it a try.
-Andy
Shockto-progress
April 3, 2013
I’ve spent a bunch of time this past week working on ~~The Electric Shocktopus~~! (Sorry, the punctuation… it’s obligatory!)
I did a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. Getting rid of bugs, smoothing out the electromagnetic calculations, getting the movements in the game to ‘feel’ right. But since you guys can’t actually *play* the game yet, that doesn’t mean too much to you.
So instead, I’m going to show off a couple new images from the game. Feast your eyes on Level 4:
We’ve got platforms, and spikes, and electric charges (the red and blue circles), and the electric field in the background. On the left side, shown in pink, is a magnetic field. And of course, there are some missiles trained on our hero. How will he possibly make it through the level?!?
For added fun, compare this to the screenshots from a couple weeks ago, or even from the original prototype. Whoa. And the Shocktopus has a nemesis now, too. The diabolical (and rage filled) Mag-Yeti:
There are many reasons I wouldn’t want to get close to that guy. Just think, he’d probably fry your cell phone! How evil!
-Andy