Duck Duck Development Journal

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Meatballsub
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Duck Duck Development Journal

Post by Meatballsub »

For those that don't know, this game is called Homeward Bound: The Account of Duck Duck. You play as Duck Duck, who more or less needs to make it home, but meets resistance along the way. Duck Duck will be a puzzle game with combat mechanic blend of the original Mario Bros and the Bomberman series.

For a little more information, check out the first thread on Duck Duck here.

I decided to start a development topic for my upcoming title so that I can keep myself motivated. It has been awhile since I released my last game (or worked on any game for that matter), so I think this will be very helpful.

I'm open to suggestions or comments of any sort concerning the game. That is, if you are
really interested in a game about a duck going feces every few seconds.

Friday - January 15, 2010

I've started to work on upgrading graphics from placeholders to something a little bit better. I've started on some of the maptiles today, mainly the water tiles.

Every time I've released a game, I usually do "placeholding" graphics, then at least 2 more updates to them before a game is released; meaning these will likely change again before launch. I am getting a little more satisfied with how things are shaping up cosmetically though, except for the title screen. portrait, and Duck Duck's walkabout (which all need some work done).

I'm going to keep working on this graphics for a few days and then I will be able to make some more levels! Right now, the very first level is the only one complete. It shouldn't take very long to create the others though because of two things:

1. The maps are very small, similar to Kickle Cubicle on the NES.

2. I have already drawn rough sketches of the next nine levels, which should cut production time in half if all goes well.

Also, not that it is a big deal but I've added a decent tutorial that you can either read at the very beginning of the game or at your convenience any time during the game from the main menu. It discusses most of the mechanics of the game, the object, and the random item/powerup spawns so that you will have an idea of how things work before you start.

More to come soon...
Last edited by Meatballsub on Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Meatballsub »

After running into several problems with my knockback ability, I decided it was not worth the trouble and scrapped it. In its place is a new ability, called Flight, which allows you to fly for a short period of time. This makes you invulnerable to most damage from enemies, but you cannot activate switches or pick up keys while in the air. It was also drain your stamina, so it cannot be used an infinite amount of times.

Things are coming into place pretty well. I have the first three levels down, and should have the other six plus one boss stage finished by the end of this week.
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Post by Meatballsub »

Instead of plunging forward with the level design, I decided first to take some time to clean up my code. I found that I had 100s of redundant lines that could be erased with the for() command. I feel a lot better about my script now that it is straightened up a bit.

I managed to get an additional level complete as well. The main thing I've been working on though is the shop for the first ten levels.

As mentioned before, points are accumulated by killing enemies, finishing levels in surplus time, and finding certain items. Points can be used at Gunther's shop for health and stamina upgrades, new abilities, restoring health and stamina, and for additional lives.

Which reminds me, I've decided to not have a save feature available in the game. The maps are short and the entire game shouldn't be very long at all. Instead, you will have lives that work similar to Super Mario Bros and 90% of other platforming games.

I also cleaned up the UI a bit. I decided that the placeholding portrait took up too much of the screen, so I replaced it with a small duck icon.

More to come soon!
Last edited by Meatballsub on Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Baconlabs »

Meatballsub wrote:I also cleaned up the UI a bit. I decided that the placeholding portrait took up too much of the screen, so I replaced it with a small duck icon.
I like this new version better. Much more organized.
Plus the old duck portrait stuck out like a sore thumb, stylistically speaking. Simpler works better for this sort of game, from what I can tell.
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Post by Meatballsub »

I agree.

I like the new look better but to be fair the portrait was a placeholder and would have been updated drastically before release. It still would have been too large to use though. The maps are really small and can't afford to have a lot of clutter on them.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

I hope the portrait in some form sticks around, if only for story scenes, or something like that.
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Post by Baconlabs »

Meatballsub wrote:The maps are really small
Ah! Then I assume those screens up there are all from one level, and that is the level entirely.
Interesting! Working with such small maps, reminds me of Do You Want To Be A Hero. I'm expecting a similarly fun and fast-paced style of gameplay, then.
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Post by Meatballsub »

James Paige wrote:I hope the portrait in some form sticks around, if only for story scenes, or something like that.
I plan on using it. Although the game is not really story-driven, there will be a few places where the portrait will come in handy.
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Post by Meatballsub »

Duck Duck is not dead! I had to pack up and move suddenly this past week, which killed the vast majority of my time for any extracurricular stuff. I had enough time to work on some features for the Hamster Wheel and complete some stuff for Hamsterspeak, but that's it. I should be back into the swing of things this next week with new updates on my progress.
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Post by Meatballsub »

I uploaded a demo of this last night. It can be found here:

http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewgame.php?t=3841

I haven't been in the OHR loop since March, and I haven't really touched this game since it was previewed in HS #34, so I'm undecided whether I will continue working on the game or not.

I still have a few ideas for games that I'd like to see come to fruition though. A lot has happened since I "left" to now. I'm divorced, so I'd at least have more time to devote to projects than before.

Anyways, let me know what you think about the game. Don't expect amazing physics and top-notch collision detection though (does not have pixel-based movement). This game was my first stab at a non-traditional JRPG OHR game.
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Post by Pepsi Ranger »

Your game description mentioned four levels and a boss, and I was able to get to the fourth level (the one with the huge lake taking up most of the screen) before facing any real problems. I couldn't finish it, though, because two chase enemies blocked the narrow beach that I needed to escape, and I had no choice but to run through them, killing my duck (on my last life).

I think the game would be worth spending more time on if you variate the puzzles (Mr. Triangle's Maze is a great test subject for alternative puzzle types). However, the biggest setback that Duck Duck has at the moment is that stepping on switches and activating bridges while trying not to get hit by an enemy becomes repetitve quickly. It's a good "starter" puzzle, but shouldn't be heavily relied on.

I'm sure the plan involves changing landscapes, and the game could sure use them, but unless the puzzle styles update with the new areas, I wouldn't count on the game experience improving much over several levels. Put more emphasis on puzzles and less on enemy movements, however, and this game could get much more interesting, and quickly.

I do really like the shop setup and the points system. Those can remain as they are as far as I'm concerned.

I could also see themed levels making the game more interesting.

The game's aesthetic is quite nice. I'd keep that, too.
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Post by Meatballsub »

I really appreciate the feedback man. Everything you mentioned makes sense to me and would definitely make it more enjoyable.

I definitely want to incorporate more styles of maps if I expand the game. Perhaps I should go ahead and re-work some of the first few maps to change things up as well. I do know that at this point it is all very basic, and I can understand it getting repetitive even after only a few levels.

There are at least two other types of "landscapes" that I had in mind for the full version, so that can definitely be done.

The fourth level can be a little frustrating. I've found it helps to have the "Flight" ability to help evade situations like you mentioned before.

Again, thanks for playing, and I'll make note of all of these suggestions. I just need to decide whether the project is worth continuing or abandoning.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

This is nice. i like it. I think it has a lot of potential. The graphics are great, it has a nice atmosphere.

I agree with Pepsi that there is a lot of depth that can be added by focusing on puzzle elements.

After playing Duck Duck, I went and tried out Kickle Cubicle. It looks like using stunned enemies to build bridges across water is a pretty important element, and I wondered if you have any plans to do anything like that. Seems like a little writemapblock magic could make it happen.

Also, I ran into a bug when I tried to exit out of the shop without buying anything. If you need any help with the menu scripting, don't hesitate to post and ask :)
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Post by Meatballsub »

After playing Duck Duck, I went and tried out Kickle Cubicle. It looks like using stunned enemies to build bridges across water is a pretty important element, and I wondered if you have any plans to do anything like that. Seems like a little writemapblock magic could make it happen.
I thought about doing this, but I decided that it would make it a little too much like KC. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'd like to try and be a little different than other games if I can help it.
Also, I ran into a bug when I tried to exit out of the shop without buying anything. If you need any help with the menu scripting, don't hesitate to post and ask :)
Really! I just played through it again and tried to reproduce this bug at both shop vendors and I couldn't get an error. Did you play with the bundled GAME.exe file or did you use a different one? I'm very interested in trying to figure out this issue!

Thanks for checking the game out. :v:
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Post by Meatballsub »

Also, what did you guys think about the tutorial? Was it too long? I've thought about setting it up so the first few levels you learn how everything works while playing instead of having to read about it. I'm not sure whether I should do that or not though. If the tutorial seems fine as is, I'll probably just keep it like that.
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