Pellmell stuff

In last nights post to this Blog i mentioned that i was working on Pellmell. Well just to remind ya, here is the short list of stuff to do.

1. Add Auto-fire and double the refresh of the bullets
This is now done and makes the game much more of a shooter, only it makes the first 20 or so levels way easier than the original design. I am not sure if this is ok or not. Is it so bad that people can easily play through a whole bunch of levels. I guess it is aok if they are enjoying themselves. for myself though, there needs to be some level of challenge. Needs more wowork.

2. Research how many levels to fix.
This one is about 20 levels. research shows they are now too easy. Even the next 6 or so after this provide little challenge, but at least some. I am not sure what to do. The first version of this game took so many hours to balance. Changing this seems a bit drastic right now. Needs more work.

3. Reduce the size of the ccgame file.
Done, now at 19MB and counting back up as i improve and add stuff.

So now i need to find a new challenge in those first 20 levels. I am not sure i can change my initial game vision that much. It might make it a completely different game.

Tomorrow i go to Indiecade so long as i am well enough. You can meet me at the Sony booth, Home section. I would love to meet anyone that follows my blog etc. And it's ok, we don't have to just talk about Home.

g'night

Pellmell needs some loving

Taking what i have learn't over the last year or so and applying that knowledge to Pellmell is my current undertaking. I love the basic premise for my game. I love what i did with all the extra effects and transitions etc. But there are a few obvious shortcomings i wish to address.

So players found it annoying that they kept running out of bullets. Well the game was supposed to be a choice between shooting now or later and dodging now or later. By balancing the two ideas, one can achieve harmony with the game. However this is not wanted. Soo the game will change slightly. It will become more shooter oriented.
* Add Auto-fire and double the refresh of the bullets

Players have complained they can simply push their dude to the right and really run Pellmell down the level. Yes they take hits, but they finish the level. Where i bestow upon them a huge health boost. So nullifying the damage they took running there. This is a tough one, as the levels are balanced with the introduction of new enemies as you get through the levels. Bringing in new enemies into something like the 40th level (off the top of my head). So whatever i do, i cannot make those later levels (where you cannot possibly just run down the level and make it) harder than they are. So i need to fixup the first 20 or so levels.
* Research how many levels to fix. Maybe only refresh you life at the end of the level if it below a certain amount, or maybe i start off giving you nothing and then each level up the amount of health i give back.

Price point is too high? Well i haven't really had any complaints about this. But i would hope that if i made the price point only 1 dollar it get a few more downloads (currently about 20 a month).
* Reduce the size of the ccgame file. This is now easier due to better handling of assets etc.

55MB, not sure i have the space mate. Ok, so it was a bit large, but it has a lot of music in the game. Now with the newer Xact i can compress that way down. YAY!
* Already reduced the ccgame to 19MB, a much more appealing size.

I am not sure what else to do to the game at this point. I will examine some reviews and any feedback i missed in the previous playtests and reviews. So after working on it for 2 hours, it is time to say.

G'night