Time has gone so fast, and it has been over half a year since I posted the very first blog post on this blog. The game has changed a lot since the last February, in my mind and on the workbench too. First, it was a simple polygon-based top-down shooter, but now the space theme has got over. That theme change has cost me a lot of time, but I think it was worth it, and it gives lots of opportunities to expand the game.
Overall, all has been going somewhat well. I have managed to get lots of under-the-hood features to work, like gamepad support and a functional save/load system. Also, from a programming perspective, it is very easy to add new power-ups and weapons at the code level. So it should be an easy task to add new weapons or power-ups to the game.
But as always, time is of the essence.
Many things didn't go so well either. I had a very optimistic plan to get a playable demo out at the end of the spring. Just a couple months after I started doing this project regularly. Well, obviously that didn't happen. Then I changed the demo release day in my calendar to the middle of summer and then to the end of summer. Both cases failed.
So what went wrong? Too optimistic estimation of how long some features could take and some refactor situations give me setbacks. Right now, 80% of those things I have planned for the demo are done, but I think the game is not ready for public testing, and the main reason is in the gameplay. I have not balanced anything yet in the game; it has not even started. Also, the gameplay itself is a bit boring right now. More different weapons, enemies, and a few new power-ups could be a huge upgrade.
The problem is, when I add a new weapon, enemy, or whatever, I have to draw lots of new icons, animations, etc., and that takes time. Not so long as it used to take, but some time still. Can I cut corners? Maybe, and probably I should, but where is the golden line here?
Now to the new trailer, showcase... video, which shows the current progress. Enjoy!
Still, I have a real intention to get this game into the publish stage. When will it happen? I can't say, obviously, I'm not very good at time estimations. In my mind I have a month and the year, but let's see how close I can get.
In the more technical sense, I have plans to start balancing the systems. Enemies, weapons, the whole set. Then, it is probably easier to add new features when I can see what needs to be added to keep things in balance.
That is all for now, thanks!
-Teemu, TheAspen