[mikedoty]

Hi everyone,

I didn't see an introduction thread on the forums, so allow myself to introduce myself. My name is Mike, and I like to code in Python. I started programming in high school because I wanted to make video games. I was going to be a real life video game programmer when I "grew up," but that didn't quite happen.

I like to remake old games, I think it's a nostalgia thing. I always liked playing the Lode Runner games. A while back, I thought I would try to make a game that combines Lode Runner with an RPG.

I never had a lot of luck finishing RPGs in years past (we've all been there ;), but I feel pretty confident about how this one is going. I think I've learned from some of the mistakes I made in the past.

The game plays much like the original, but instead of only collecting gold and advancing from one level to the next, you'll actually explore a large world full of people to talk to, quests to complete, items to find, and the like. Here's a quick screenshot of the game with a link to a recent screencast I did, to demonstrate how the game mixes in some of the various elements. I also put up a brief overview of the game on the main site (project page).

Dev Diary / Screencast:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRvLBfp3dJ4

Screenshots:

[Verious]

Welcome mikedoty, that looks like an interesting game.

I watched the video and it looks like you have implemented most of the core mechanics.

I recommend changing the current effect when new text appears on the screen. In its current version, you have to wait for all of the text to appear before you can start reading it, which seems to slow down the gameplay. Most games usually implement a fade-in or typewriter style effect, which lets the player start reading the message sooner.

[mikedoty]

Thanks Verious! I think you're right about the text when you talk to people... I need to either optimize the effect to make it appear faster, or employ a different effect that avoids the problem. I'll have to toy around with it a bit.

[TheSuddenFire]

I actually like the effect. I'd limit it to 1-2 seconds. I also like the rich coloring and tile work. Everything looks... shiny? Not Oblivion shiny, though.
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Chameleon, on the floor, writhing with a blood-stained neckline. Glowing eyes stare unto this changing one.

[mikedoty]

Thank you, TheSuddenFire. :)

I added in a modification to the text renderer that lets me use the same effect, but it operates one line at a time instead of entirely at random. Kind of like a scattershot version of the typewriter method, you might call it? I'll throw a shot of it into the next video I do.

[Verious]

Line by line would probably be a big improvement. I look forward to seeing the new effect in action.

[Jinroh]

Looks very cool man, I'm not a huge fan of the original Lode Runner, but with some RPG elements I think this will win me over. :D
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Mao Mao Games
The wolf and his mate howl, taking solace in the silver moon. Pressing ever foreward to see what the future holds.

[mikedoty]

Thanks! I've been lost in UI work for the last week or so. I joked to someone that I might change the name of the game to A Lode Runner Menu. ;) I'm almost caught up on that stuff, though, so I'm hoping I can put together another video in the next week or two.

[mikedoty]

I finally finished off the latest batch of bugs and revisions. With that, I put together another "dev diary" going over some new features. Before I start, I'll post a quick link to the video.

Dev Diary 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeEWLtlaFqE

I have several new screenshots that demonstrate some of the new and revised game components. The video goes over most of these in more detail, but you can get a quick idea of the highlights below.

Digging under Bridges


I added this snow world not too long ago. Earlier in the game's development I had a kind of icy blue snow world, but it didn't really have a very good contrast. After a little experimenting, I found that
the red brick actually works really nicely as a base for the snow textures.

When I made the bridge for this theme, I saw all of the whitespace under it and decided to set it up so that you can dig beneath the bridge, even though you can't walk under it. It'll give me some opportunities
to create some new puzzle variants that people who have played previous Lode Runner won't have seen before, while remaining true to the central concepts of the series.

Merchants


I'm really excited (and somewhat nervous!) about how I've done the logic for the merchants in the game. Most of the merchants will have different items that you can't buy from any other merchant.
I wanted to randomize each merchant's inventory, though (within certain parameters relating to item quality / etc.).

To do this, I set up a system of virtual "warehouses" behind the scenes. It works kind of like a tag system; for each item in the game, I "tag" the item with one or more warehouse locations. An item
called "running shoes," for example, could belong to "warehouse1" and "warehouse5." On the other end of the spectrum, I specify which warehouse each merchant has access to. The merchant in the screenshot
above might have access to warehouse1 and warehouse3. Because he has access to warehouse1 and the running shoes also appear within warehouse1, you will have a chance of seeing that item in that merchant's
inventory. Also, I can adjust an NPC's warehouse access on-the-fly, adding and removing warehouses as necessary. With this system, I can adjust any merchant's inventory, possibly unlocking better items
as a quest reward, for instance.

Quest Indicators


Whenever the player has a chance to complete a quest, I want to make my best effort to make them aware of that. If you need to collect X pieces of gold in a room for a quest, an indicator at the bottom of
the screen will list that you have collected # / X pieces of gold in that room. In the picture on top, the status message lets you know how many enemies remain in a "survival" wave, which requires you to
survive a small number of enemies.

Moving Platforms


I actually added these very early in the development of this game, but they have been on ice for some time while I worked on some of the other features and UI elements. When you enter special puzle rooms in
the game, you will often have to manipulate one or more platforms, sections of the level that can move as you hit levers.

A platform's movement will depend on the current shape of the level. If you dig part of the level away, you can free some extra room for the platform to move; moving it just one space farther up or down might
put it in the perfect position to solve the puzzle!

Gratuitous UI shot


I redesigned the load/save game screens to feature a 2-column listing with a thumbnail always visible for each entry. (I previously showed only the "currently highlighted" thumbnail off to the side of the screen.)
Each of the boxed sections is actually rendered as its own self-contained menu (i.e. a menu within the menu for every saved game), just without utilizing actual user input.

Skill Trees


When you complete quests and other goals in the game, you earn XP. Leveling up unlocks skill points that you can spend on a variety of skills. However, you must decide on one of two skills within eacha tree.
In the image above, you can select either the Remote Bomb or the Mega Bomb. Each one offers its own unique strengths; you can decide which one fits in better with the way you're trying to play through the game.
You can continue to upgrade each skill you choose, unlocking new side effects and making it more powerful overall!

I know that was a lot! I hope I didn't skip over anything. I also included a few dialogue portions in the video, so you can see how I revised the effect. :)