Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

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pjbebi
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Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

viewtopic.php?t=8326

In high school I drew a webcomic in which my friend Tyler was a bar of soap. Last time PJ visited home, Tyler couldn't help but notice his old friend really needed a bath. Maybe he doesn't have any soap? As Tyler, it's your job to collect 300 pennies from around the house so you can ship yourself to your old friend PJ. My goal was to make a flick-screen platformer in the style of Monty on the Run or Jet Set Willy with the advantages of new hardware, hoping to create something that's equally fresh, familiar, and fun, allowing players to earn a sense of achievement in a game that relies only on their own skill and wit.

GOALS FOR FINAL:
more maps
more soundtrack
more polish
build for apple/linux/android

EXTRA CREDIT:
Art by Matt Edson/RMZ/Red Triangle Games
Last edited by pjbebi on Thu Jun 09, 2022 10:19 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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kylekrack
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by kylekrack »

Good.

A few things:
- For how slippery it is, the framerate feels a little low. Controlling the character, especially midair, is extremely finnicky.
- The minimum jump height is too high. It should be just enough to get up onto a half tile, since that's the lowest jump you might need to make
- There's an frame of animation of the character laying down when reloading the game. I need to be able to do this on command, I don't care if it does anything, I want to fall on my slime. The ability to duck and lower your own hitbox would also be a nice touch, without adding in too much gameplay
- There are certain respawn points that drop you to your death pretty quickly. Pausing after death until the player presses the jump button would let you see where you're about to fall before you die in a fan 4 times in a row in rapid succession.
- Why do the save pools gradually eat the UI? Doesn't seem to be a purpose to that other than hiding my health bar.
- Sometimes you lose upward momentum when jumping into a wall, which is just kind of punishing. It's especially rough when it happens against a small platform.
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pjbebi
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

kylekrack wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 10:30 pm - Why do the save pools gradually eat the UI? Doesn't seem to be a purpose to that other than hiding my health bar.
- Sometimes you lose upward momentum when jumping into a wall, which is just kind of punishing. It's especially rough when it happens against a small platform.
wow. lots of good stuff here. thank you! I added some of that stuff to my list of goals for alpha. the framerate is kind of low, and at most you're moving 8 pixels per tick. I'm undecided about that since I've experienced some slowdown at higher framerates. If the problem is on my end, I could probably load slices per screen. As of now, I'm running the whole map the whole time.
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

titityler0017.gif
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Made myself a title screen. Saves/Loads are also working as intended. Release A2 is coming friday with lots of stuff.
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RMZ
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by RMZ »

Absolutely love the work you're putting into this. The sudsy bubbles in game look great too!
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »


It's hard to talk good when you're trying to play your game good. Oh well. Maybe we should stream it sometime.
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RMZ
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by RMZ »

Really great video.

What are your plans for like tutorials and stuff for some of the mechanics? Some of the features require you to hold the jump button, is that something you want people to pick up naturally? Unfortunately there's a percentage of players who like everything spelled out for them and those that like to figure it out, the former tends to complain the loudest and even takes to discussion areas of Steam to immediately air their grievances with your game. It's hard to think of everything somebody might complain about and squash it like a programming bug, so just curious on your thoughts for tutorials.

Been an absolute joy working with you on whatever art you let me do. I've always wanted to be a part of a sidescroller and getting better at animations like the coin and the noodle were fun for me.
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

RMZ wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 1:29 am What are your plans for like tutorials and stuff for some of the mechanics? Some of the features require you to hold the jump button, is that something you want people to pick up naturally? Unfortunately there's a percentage of players who like everything spelled out for them and those that like to figure it out, the former tends to complain the loudest and even takes to discussion areas of Steam to immediately air their grievances with your game. It's hard to think of everything somebody might complain about and squash it like a programming bug, so just curious on your thoughts for tutorials.
I hadn't thought of doing a tutorial. Maybe I'll put up some signs in the first rooms that give the player tips like "hold jump" or "jump here".
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

Oh yeah. devlog stuff.
FIXES IN A3:
-fixed loss of horizontal momentum when bumping the ceiling
-two slices for plunger, so you don't get hurt by the invisible area near the handle
-tweaked fans. hopefully they'll stop making you fall through the floor on occasion
-smoother landings. less overlapping of player and floor
-handsome maptiles courtesy of RMZ
-music selection working in mini map menu
-backdrops are going, a work in progress
-enemies clear and load for each screen instead of all in the beginning to run the whole time.
-more sprites and sprite animations
-canceled 'continue' option in the intro if no save exists
-refined speed of enemies: spatulas, feet, flies
-better hit detection with platforms
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

More devlog stuff! Don't snooze on me. (please)

FIXES IN B1
-meredosia logo in title screen
-better text and animations in title screen
-panning backdrop in ending
-bubbles react to fans
-variance in enemy timing: ants, spatulas, lazers, bouncing balls
-fixed randomization of falling socks and underwear
-menu for unlocking/choosing maps
-light switches
-new baddies: fork, icicle, arm, mosquito
-instructional signs
-consolidated containers for moving platforms
-higher framerate/tighter control and hit detection
-more alertive text for returning after getting hit
-walls clear and load for each screen, eliminating slowdown
-(light bulb) platforms that fall when you stand on them
-slower falls for tyler when you hold the jump button
-animating bubbles for collection
-wasps instead of sloating apparitions
-new tyler graphics
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RMZ
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by RMZ »

I've got the majority of the art freshened up. I played through the beta tonight and it's even tighter than the last build I tried. It's really coming along man.
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by Hedera »

FEEDBACK FOR THE JUNE 9 VERSION:


THE GOOD:

- I really like the slow fall mechanic, it's incredibly underrated in terms of moves for platformers. You can do some slick maneuverability with it.
- Speaking of underrated, games running at 50 frames/second, a la ones from PAL regions back in the day.
- The enemies/obstacles are really creative and neat to see, very much in the vein of Glider Pro.
- There's an automap!
- There's a lives/health system that's not particularly punishing, since when you run out of the blue bubbles you just return to wherever you'd saved last.
- Collecting pennies on various maps is a lot of fun, trying to figure out how to get through all the things that kill you and how to make trick jumps.
- The music owns and the fact that the pause menu/automap also has a sound test also owns.
- hell yeah yuri poster

THE BAD:

- I like how the game uses one button for pretty much every action Titityler makes, but the fact that holding down the jump button is both used for slow fall and for jumping higher on springs makes it feel awkward in the parts that use springs. What if one of them were done by holding up, as opposed to holding jump?
- Titityler's movement's supposed to be slippery, since he's a bar of soap... but it'd be really nice if you could brake more effectively when on the ground. Think Sonic The Hedgehog, where you're moving forward and bouncing/sliding about, but you can stop yourself (most of the time) when you're about to run into an enemy or spikes or what have you. It'd complicate the scripting for movement, but it'd be worth it IMO.
- speaking of things that'd be nice to have but would require rewriting a bunch of code, fast travel that goes between save points would make exploration a lot easier
- Save points should be more visible on the automap, so the player can figure out where the closest one is for when they need to save.
- There're a couple places where floating down to the bottom of the screen cancels out of the slow fall, once you're in the next screen. Is this intentional?
- The respawn-where-you-came-onscreen mechanic is neat, but a lot of times, you immediately fall down a screen and have to climb your way back up. This is definitely one where changing it to something else (keeping initial velocity?) would take a lot of work rewriting code, but it'd make these parts a lot less frustrating.
- What about making it so that rooms that get darker the longer you're in them, reset to their initial brightness when you die, so you don't have to jump out then jump back in in order to progress?
- There's a bug where in one of these dark rooms, one of the not-Gordos-from-Kirby doesn't get darker. Screenshots at the bottom of this post.

THE UGLY:

- the fire obstacle

overall I'm very interested in this game and where it goes
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Completely dark
Completely dark
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Halfway dark
Halfway dark
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The dark room, just as it darkens.
The dark room, just as it darkens.
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pjbebi
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

Wonderful! thanks for the feedback. I'm trying to get a little update together before I leave my house for a month. There probably won't be any big shifts in the final version of the game, since I've already done so much beyond my original vision. But I definitely want to flesh out the environments, put in more levels, and continue working on getting those mechanics perfect.
Hedera wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:13 am - I like how the game uses one button for pretty much every action Titityler makes, but the fact that holding down the jump button is both used for slow fall and for jumping higher on springs makes it feel awkward in the parts that use springs. What if one of them were done by holding up, as opposed to holding jump?
I need to get this clarified. You only need to hold jump while ascending. The bouncing mechanic reads how far your fall is, to determine how high you bounce. So I'm undecided about the use of other buttons if they only need to be used in a single instance. Kiefer suggested I have the player release the jump button before going into the float mechanic, which might work if I throw in a longer pause before tyler starts actually falling.
Hedera wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:13 am - Save points should be more visible on the automap, so the player can figure out where the closest one is for when they need to save.
- What about making it so that rooms that get darker the longer you're in them, reset to their initial brightness when you die, so you don't have to jump out then jump back in in order to progress?
- There's a bug where in one of these dark rooms, one of the not-Gordos-from-Kirby doesn't get darker. Screenshots at the bottom of this post.
These are things I can easily fix in the next update. With the dark-screen, I just need to make sure it's layered over all the enemies.
Hedera wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:13 am - There're a couple places where floating down to the bottom of the screen cancels out of the slow fall, once you're in the next screen. Is this intentional?
The slow fall has a limit of about 80 ticks.
Hedera wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:13 am - Titityler's movement's supposed to be slippery, since he's a bar of soap... but it'd be really nice if you could brake more effectively when on the ground. Think Sonic The Hedgehog, where you're moving forward and bouncing/sliding about, but you can stop yourself (most of the time) when you're about to run into an enemy or spikes or what have you. It'd complicate the scripting for movement, but it'd be worth it IMO.
I'm still trying to find new ways to balance the inertia while keeping tyler intentionally slippery. For the next update I've added a harder stop after falling at full speed, which cancels x-axis momentum. But that may not be enough.
Hedera wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:13 am - speaking of things that'd be nice to have but would require rewriting a bunch of code, fast travel that goes between save points would make exploration a lot easier
- The respawn-where-you-came-onscreen mechanic is neat, but a lot of times, you immediately fall down a screen and have to climb your way back up. This is definitely one where changing it to something else (keeping initial velocity?) would take a lot of work rewriting code, but it'd make these parts a lot less frustrating.
I could have probably put more thought into the stage design for the first "feature" level. Maybe I'll swap that to one of the less random maps. I definitely intended some of the platforming elements to force you to climb back up instead of straight up dying. But I do want to rework some of the unfair falling into hazards.
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by pjbebi »

New release today!

FIXES IN B2
-refined sounds at title screen
-better detection for down-directing one way tiles
-better detection for moving platforms
-better placement of tyler after he takes damage
-far falls affect tyler's x-axis momentum for easier landing.
-darkness from light switch room now covers all npcs
-darkness from light switch goes light when you're hurt and returned to your entrance
-better jump physics/more hang time before tyler falls
-walking acceleration is more determined by speed now, allowing for shorter, slower walks when necessary.
-reconfigured the map selection menu, and swapped the feature map.
-tyler gains less x-axis momentum while falling, making for easier lands
-better motion for tyler when saving
-more handsome graphics: flames, mailbox, coral snakes, golem, batteries, ants, mosquitos, light switches, instructional signs, save zones, popsicles
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Re: Titityler: A Soapy Platfohrmer

Post by Bob the Hamster »



I finally found time to play this today-- it was really fun!

I am very bad at this type of frustration-jump platformer, but the controls were really nice, the animation and variety of the art was delightful, and the level design is great.

I give it 3/5 frustrated slimes :zombie: , and 5/5 fun slimes :D

Tyler felt slippery, but in a good way that worked for me. I really like the household implements as enemies, and although each screen works as its own puzzle, the whole layout feels house-like. The backgrounds do a great job of making things feel varied, and I often laughed out loud when I found a new weird enemy.

I only recorded my first session-- I played again later in the day and got even further. I managed to get back to the save point with 150 coins, and at one point I had over 180.

My favorite moment (unfortunately not in the session I recorded) was when I got down to just 1/2 bubbles with no healing bubbles anywhere in sight, and I had a room in front of me with like six knives. I have no idea how I did it, but I got past it, and made it the 7 screens back to the save point (that was when I secured my 150)

Overall really nice work, and although I rage-quit eventually, I feel like it is already drawing me back. I'll play again.

If I manage to get my kid to play I'll let you know what they think.

I found only one bug to report. After you die and continue, or save and load, the music doesn't play until you switch songs. Also, not a bug, but I think the music should default to 1, and not to 0 silence. The music is all so great, but I played for a long time before I even realized that the music existed. I felt like new players should be greeted with the joy of cool music on their first play.

EDIT: I went back to play again, and I realized that the purple bubbles in the bottom left are limited saves. Ouch! I started again from the beginning so I can use them more carefully

EDIT2: Dang it, am I addicted now? Possibly. Anyway, I did find a small bug. It is possible to execute double-jumps against a wall, but it is super hard to do. I almost feel like this should be one of those bugs you don't fix, just so that somebody can do an insane speedrun exploiting it someday :v:
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