Tap Runner [update]

Development for Tap Runner continues to progress at a decent rate.

The overall framework and game progression is in place, the game is playable and is starting to look half-decent.

Pro-tip: don't step on landmines.

Originally, I had intended to use a bright colour scheme and super-low res graphics but after some experimentation, a more moody med-res look has emerged. The gameplay has expanded a little too, allowing the player to have more control over the running man character. There will also be some sort of bonus level where the player has to outrun a bear and control switches from jumping to Tekken-like screen tapping to run fast enough to escape.

The largest remaining challenge is to make the game more fun and increase its longevity. Right now, it's the same thing over and over getting a little harder with each increasing level. New obstacles need adding and maybe platforms of some sort - the scope of what's feasible is quite large.

Tap Runner

I have spent a little while undertaking some R&D in regards to procedural level generation for Kingdom - as a result, I have elected to do another side project for the time being. Kingdom is turning into a larger and more daunting project than I'd anticipated.

A nifty looking game by the name of Dino Run caught my eye a few months ago. I've not played it so far but it's ingeniously simple and appeals to my love of retro / pixel games. The plot appears to centre on the extinction of the dinosaurs and you control a running dino as he tries to outrun various calamities trying to overtake him.

This simplicity fits nicely with where I'm at in what I want to develop at the moment. Simple is good. Achievable goals are a necessity.

He just keeps on running

I've spent a few hours today putting together a small prototype of a one-tap type game. In this instance you're guiding a little man through a randomly generated world jumping over obstacles as they appear. That, in itself, is obviously going to have limited appeal so I'll be developing various ideas over the coming days, finding ways to expand the game to be more fun and interesting to play. It should be a fun project.

Not anticipating a long development cycle for this one - a few weeks at most provided my motivation stays buoyant.

Building an Engine

Christmas is here again and I've got 12 days to focus on my next Android project.

Various ideas have been floating around my mind for the past few months and I've yet to decide the theme overall theme - either another Sci-fi game or swords and sorcery type stuff.

What I do know is that it'll be another Roguelike, based on the Pixel Station code but advanced in some ways.

Cardinal Quest 2 has been a big influence on my process this time. I like its atmosphere and particularly the way the map is revealed while you play. CQ2 also has some very nice random level generation going on - something I'll be getting deeper into soon.

Initially I'll be adapting the Pixel Station code to run at a different resolution then developing further the map/level code so the player discovers the layout as their character sees it.

Other than that, I'll be using a more linear approach to the levels. Pixel Station allowed freedom of movement around the levels but they were pre-made rooms - with random level generation, re-visiting rooms may not be feasible. Although I want the game to be as sandboxy as possible, that doesn't always add to the gaming experience.

I'm not sure how far I'll get this holiday but I'm planning to spend longer than usual on this game and get it just right.