"A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad" -Shigeru Miyamoto Ok.. fine.. I guess this is LESS true now in the age of "minimum viable products" and constant patches.. but still.
Hey anger dude, no reason for you to pop a cork! How do you figure simply stating this has been a long time coming is so negative?! Let alone pissing on someone's parade?? #Hello!! There was NO intention of negativity there on my part! Nope. Get a grip. I was just mentioning that it's been quite awhile and maybe hoping the dev would give an idea when it'll be ready to go or a possible timetable. No reason to read any more into it than it was. Also, no, I did not know it is being made by just one person! #
Suzy Cube Update: January 20, 2017 As usual, thanks to everyone following for your kind words and encouragement! I concentrated on getting build up for the IndiePlus 2017 competition this week. I'm glad the upload process to TestFlight went off problem free. On my crappy internet, I usually have to retry the upload several times. This time, no connection interruptions and uploads finished pretty quickly. I uploaded one build, like, Wednesday with a couple stopgap hacks but then uploaded an updated build on Thursday which, among a couple smaller changes, fixed the infuriating pause menu bug from last week. If I can go on a short tangent... Unity folks: Turns out what made my pause menu unresponsive to taps and clicks was the inclusion of a canvas component on the menu's parent panel... I did this to avoid Unity having to re-batch the whole UI just to animate the pause menu but it also caused this bug. Still don't get it. I removed the canvas component and the menu started working again. Performance doesn't seem affected really, so, whatevs! OK, back to the update! So, other than getting the build ready and uploaded for the contest, I also finished the implementation for the Piggy Bank.. uh.. not enemy? It's behaviour is super simple. It just perpetually runs away from Suzy, just a tiny bit slower than her run speed. Trapping it in a corner works best for actually popping it and getting that sweet sweet shower of coins! I've also made good progress on Level 5-2, the one with the rolling snow boulder. I've adding obstacles and hazards to the slopes and decided to use teleporters between distinct sections in order to get around the problem of checkpoints. You see the issue is in ensuring the boulder doesn't just start at the beginning of the level after a respawn. Instead, I split the level into distinct sections each with its own boulder which is usually triggered by Suzy sliding down the first slope of the section. Anywho. Next week, I'll be concentrating on more level design. I've decided to shelve the further changes to the Level Select screen I'm planning to do as getting the levels done is really what's holding up the next round of testing which needs to happen sooner rather than later. See you all next week!
Well, this is certainly turning into an impressive piece, especially more so since it's made by just one dude! And I like the way he intimately leads us through every step of his production like that! Still, as a gamer, on one hand, of course I wish it would happen faster, but on the other hand, I realize for a game to be rushed out is not happening, as you want it to be the best a dev can possibly muster! Can't wait to play this! #
Suzy Cube Update: January 27, 2017 Hey, folks! Looky what we've got! Level 5-2 all up and drafted! I put the finishing touches on the initial design yesterday. I think the stage will be a fittingly challenging one which should be a nice fit for World 5 and be a perfect lead-in to the more relaxed feel of Level 5-3. The constant pressure of the Impending-Snow-Boulder-of-Doom certainly helps keep the tension high throughout the stage, and the varied obstacles should keep our little Suzy on her toes. (if she had toes) I am starting to get a sense of there being a light at the end of the tunnel. My level design to-do list now only has four regular levels and four special levels left on it! Before we all get too excited, though, I must remind all of you... And myself... That once I get through this list, I will have a draft version of every level done. This will lead into several rounds of user testing and iterations to improve the levels before gradually giving way to levels getting nailed down and ready for final decoration. Completing the level drafts is, of course, a HUGE step toward releasing Suzy Cube, but it is by no means the final step. Much work still lies ahead! Though this first design pass isn't meant to include any decorations, I did have to put in one little thing... Oh no! In case players don't immediately get that the big rolling snow boulder is dangerous, maybe noticing this poor frosty dude totally eating it will help drive the point home. That's actually it for this week. Pretty much concentrated on the level the whole time. By yesterday afternoon, I started on the paper design for the next stage, but nothing ready to show yet. Check in next week to see my progress. Ciao!
Suzy Cube Update: February 3, 2017 Been hard at work on Level 3-4. A wet, water filled forest level brimming with logs and rafts to float on! I had other duties this week, so I wasn't able to finish the initial design pass on the level, though I'm continuing work this afternoon. The early bit of my week was spent finalizing the paper design and coming up with a nice, cheap and stylized solution for all that flowing water needed in the level. I really wanted to reuse an existing scrolling material I had created for other animated water effects. In the end I ended up mapping a square, split into strips, onto a simple straight gradient section of my water effects texture atlas. By offsetting the trips which make up the plane, I was able to create a wave-like effect. This is what it looks like in motion... And with added particles, the waterfall effect is complete! Oh! Another neat thing I did in this level was to get around the challenge of trying to maintain spatial continuity by using a fake cave entrance leading to a connecting section of the level which gives the impression of Suzy traveling behind the waterfall in order to emerge in the next section of the level. In truth, these passageways are actually teleporters and none of these bits of the level are actually anywhere near each other ^_^ It's Movie Magic! Well, that's it for this week. I've got to get back to my watery playground! See you all next week!
Suzy Cube Update: February 10, 2017 Ok, gonna keep it short and sweet this week as I've been goofing off most of the morning and really should get back to work! Level 3-4 design draft? Done! If you fancy a nice stroll down some rapids, then this is definitely the level for you! Took me longer than expected to get the level to this point, so it took me until Thursday to, finally, put pencil to paper on the next stage, 4-4. Hope to have more progress to share on that level next week... Along with more on this mean lookin' character! What's it all about!? Why is it holding a bone!? Check in next week to find out. Bye for now!
Suzy Cube Update: February 17, 2017 Well, holy crapola! Suzy Cube is one of 10 finalists to the IndiePlus competition!! That means I'm going to be flying to San Fran in two weeks for GDC after all since I've been invited to attend the winner's ceremony/party! And THAT means my work on the game has been completely derailed in favour of prepping for the conference! Last year, I think, I spent nearly two months preparing for GDC, this year, I got a week and a half! So, I'll be preparing promo materials.. Like this sweet ass poster... ... And also decorating a couple of levels to use as a showcase at the con. Last year, I put a lot of time into all of World 1 in order to have a nice demo to show. That much work just isn't feasible this time around so I think concentrating on two levels is a good plan. Did I get anything done this week besides the poster? (which, BTW, I had to touch up from screen captures from Unity as I don't own 3D rendering software! Suzy herself is a complete vector trace-over of her in-game model!) Well, yes, yes I did get something done! I've started work prettying up Level 3-4 for GDC. The waterfalls are cool, so I think it'll be a nice showcase level... Should have screens for you next week before I fly off. I also finished work on the eyepatch wearing Skull from last week... What's it do!? Yep, it's basically a Hammer Bro. It can throw any manner of trinket, but I pre-made two versions, one which thrown bones (as seen above) and one which throws BOMBS!!! Mwahahaha! Well, that's it for this week's update... I'm going to go back to freaking the hell out about GDC!! BTW, If you're going to be at GDC and want to meet up and play the game, hit me up on Twitter (@LouardOnGames) See you next week!
Suzy Cube Update: February 24, 2017 Days to go! Only days to go! GDC with only days to go! HOLY CRAP! Given that GDC is (I don't know if you know) only days away, I concentrated my efforts this week on getting the game show ready! And freaking out a lot... The only piece of new content I worked on was a set of more mummy-like animations for the Mummy Skull enemies. They used to simply use the basic Skull animations and behaviour but I thought this made them too similar and lack personality. They are now more zombie like in their unrelenting and, frankly stupid, chasing of Suzy. And they walk around like cartoon mummies... As for the whole getting-ready-for-GDC thing... I chose to showcase two levels, Level 2-1 and Level 3-4 because they are quite different both visually and in game play. I made some small design tweaks to both levels, fixed small bugs and had a go at some optimizations. (BTW, huge thanks to my old colleague Sim for optimizing my scrolling texture shaders!) Mostly, though, I spent my time on decoration! And what better way to illustrate this than with screenshots!? If you're interested in seeing a couple more screenshots (and bigger versions) you can find them on my blog: http://louardongames.blogspot.com/2017/02/suzy-cube-update-february-24-2017.html So, all that's left to do now is to make the final demo build and upload it to TestFlight for safe keeping! I'll likely have a Mac build handy to try out too. (no, the game isn't coming to Mac... probably not...) Ok, folks! Wish me luck! And, don't forget, if you are going to GDC and are interested in trying out the game, hit me up on Twitter (@LouardOnGames). I plan to post my location during down time at the con for folks who want to find me and try the game. I look forward to telling you all about how the conference went next week!
Hey! if it isn't my most loyal tester! Yes there will be another round of testing some time after I get back from GDC. Probably going to be a few months at least, though... sorry...
Suzy Cube GDC 2017 Update Hey, folks! I'm back from GDC and have written a big ol' blog post about it all right here: http://louardongames.blogspot.com/2017/03/suzy-cube-at-gdc-2017.html#more TLDR: Lot's of cool games and folks! Suzy didn't win IndiePlus Suzy DID win 2nd place at the Big Indie Pitch! Usual update next Friday!
Suzy Cube Your game is looking great! I just checked out your blog and saw all the progress you've made over the last couple of years. Whenever your looking for beta testers I'm ready!
Beautiful I saw the Toucharcade article about Suzy Cube and I have to say I am already in love! Anything built with this much commitment, dedication and talent is going to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Can't wait to try this, so if you need any input from a more relaxed (older) user I'd be happy to help anyway I can. Don't rush, make the game you want and the rest will follow Regards, Mike
Suzy Cube Update: March 10, 2017 Hey, everyone! Back for my first weekly update since returning from GDC! Funny enough.. not much to update you on... Sorry! It's tax time and I've been busy with that. I did tackle a handful of small bugs and tweaks just to make SOME progress, though. Check out the facelift I gave the Rock Skull... Though it had the colouration and rock-like treatment before, it used the same model and expression as the basic Skull. It's now a bit more squat and has that heavy brow, making it much easier to read as a different enemy during game play. Suzy also garnered some attention this year at GDC. You can read my big GDC wrap-up from Monday for more on that: https://louardongames.blogspot.com/2017/03/suzy-cube-at-gdc-2017.html Oh! I almost forgot! The folks from Pocket Gamer asked me if they could have a video to add to an article they will be publishing about the Indie Pitch winners... I told them I'd have a video ready for when they needed it! And so, I present to you: Suzy's first pre-release trailer! GIFs are fun and all, but c'mon! Who doesn't like a full-on video from time to time? So, I guess I was busy with a bit more than taxes. On that, I say farewell and see you when I see you. I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks and won't get to put much work into Suzy Cube, if any. But please, keep checking back in for my next update! In the meantime, you can share the video with everyone you know ^_^
How about combing the two ? Use the new eyes ,but keep the grey rock colour. The other bright colour does not suggest rock to me. Then add a line to show the skull cheek area with two more teeth. Just a suggestion - please don't shoot me
Sorry.. ya.. that image really wasn't helpful... The little red guy on the right is a regular Skull for comparison. The rocky guy on the left is Rock Skull as it now appears in the game. What I was trying to say is that the Rock Skull used to have the same expression as the regular Skull, which made them hard to tell apart at a glance.
Suzy Cube Update: April 7, 2017 Late update this week! But hey.. it's an update! That's right, I'm back from vacation and did almost no work on the game!! There was some unpacking... Some relaxing after one of my wife's typical (totally not relaxing) vacations... And some upgrading to Unity 5.6 The upgrade to 5.6 hasn't been too painful, but, like all major releases, there are new bugs and errors to look at and their new lighting system forced me to rebake the lighting on all levels. I did get around to a bit of work surrounding the redesign of Level 3-3, though! This was one of the first levels I worked on as it's dab smack in the middle of the game and I thought it would be good for figuring out what a "typical" Suzy level should be. You know, length, difficulty etc. Problem is, it now stands out to me as a low point in the game, especially its slow pace... Mostly the fault of these things: The major hook of the level is that many of its elements are timed to the music. The problem with these rotators is that they force players to sit and wait alot... Which isn't fun. I'm looking to replace them with these: I call them Beat Blocks... and yes.. I DID mishear someone talking about the BEEP Blocks in Super Mario 3D World! These weren't hard to implement or anything, but they did require some special considerations to get right. Instead of setting them up using my generic triggers, I ended up writing a custom script to ensure no bugs and perfect timing with the music. To get the timing right, I wrote the script to calculate the timing of the blocks based on entering the exact length of the music clip, the number of bars in the clip and the number of beats in each bar. Also, the script can spit out the proper state of each block at any arbitrary time which is important as the game's culling system regularly disables chunks of the level so any scripts within the disabled chucks also don't run. The way I have it, a set of Beat Blocks can sit disabled for any length of time and know exactly which state to set all blocks as soon as it becomes active as those states are basically a function of the current game time. I also had to hide a trigger inside each block to disable collisions with the block if ever Suzy is inside it. This keeps the physics from freaking out if a block turns solid while Suzy is inside. And finally, I used the same trick I used on my collapsing platforms, adding a slight delay to the collision being disabled when the block disappears. This gives players an extra split second to react once they see the platform pop away. Finally, finally, I've been starting talks with a few interested mobile publishers. I'm not saying I'm going to go that route, but I'm definitely coming around to the idea of partnering up with a publisher to help ease my workload and help Suzy get in the hands of as many players as possible. That's, unfortunately, it for my big return update. Hopefully next week's will be beefier but it is Semana Santa down here, so we'll see. I've got some more 5.6 related issues to look at and hope to make some progress on the Level 3-3 redesign. We'll see how much I actually get done next week. See you then. It's great to be back!
