8 Bit Runner

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll see what I can do.

An endless mode seems like a good idea, I will try to focus on designing normal levels first, and see which kind of bonus stages would be fun to add in a second time :-)

About Introducing gameplay elements gradually, if you take a look at the levels that are already available, you can see that the second one introduces the blue bumper, and the third one introduces the use of the wall-jump.

I was thinking about creating levels that are very independent from each other. But I realize that not having a proper difficulty progression tend to frustrate the player.

I'll probably redesign the levels.

The slide is designed after the one that you can find in Megaman 2 for Gameboy. But I have an idea to improve it. I will keep the time during which you can't cancel the slide, but I will shorten it a bit, and you will be able to slide as long as you keep the down arrow key pressed.

Or maybe I can just make the character slide when the player holds the down arrow key down, without any "no-cancel" timer.

I will try adding more inertia (I gradually added some in each version, but it doesn't seems to be enough), to the character, to force the player to be more precise during his jumps.

JohnnySix

Wow, thanks !

I really love the track we can hear in this one : http://www.johnnysix.net/games/KFT11b/

Something like this in a more "chiptune" style would be so awesome !

Albatr

Here's a first draft for you haha, see what you think :

8-bit-running

Great job it sounds really cool !

PM me if you need more informations.

Sorry if I am a bit late, I just came back from vacation :-)

<font size="4">EDIT 08/28/2012</font>

Here is a test build without the leaderboards test features :

http://www.rockmypixels.com/HTML5/8BitsRunner/

Now the up arrow is used for jumping, C/V keys to cycle through the tracklist you made in the jukebox menu.

(Sorry for double-posting, but I didn't find any other way to bump the thread)

<font size="5">-THE LEADERBOARDS ARE HERE-</font>

<img src="http://img88.xooimage.com/files/0/2/6/leedahboardz-378bab3.png" border="0">

Controls are still the same, except for the jump button. Now you have to press the up arrow key to jump.

I still have to finish the jukebox menu, do some minor changes to the gameplay, and then I'll make new levels (the old ones may be replaced in the next builds). I will also have to do something about the font.

Because I am using a third party plugin, I unfortunately can't upload the game on Scirra's Arcade anymore.

You can play the game here :

http://www.rockmypixels.com/HTML5/8BitsRunnerTest/

Don't forget to tell me if you find bugs :-)

My friend is working on new animations, he added more frames to them to get an even smoother result. Here is a sample of his work :

<img src="http://img86.xooimage.com/files/4/e/1/runner_run-37835a8.gif" border="0">

Sorry, small image here XD

As you're now using 3rd Party - Mipey's spritfont plug-in and this font would be cool :

dafont.com/bienvenu.font

I used it in mine for awesome 8-bit style.

Can't wait to see the new levels.

<img src="smileys/smiley4.gif" border="0" align="middle">

Thank you Johnny :-D

I found a way to use this font without having to install the spritefont plugin (there's a tutorial explaining how to do it on the blog).

I created a simple facebook page after someone told me during a developer meetup in Paris today that it's a good way to advertise the game.

http://www.facebook.com/8BitsRunner

I will still post a few updates here on the forum, don't worry :p

I find Facebook more of a means to stay connected with people who already know about your game and show interest. In Facebook, pages get dilluted into a messy solution of undiscoverableness. Wha I mean is that, it works more like a website, it only spread when people share it. Furthermore, Facebook search shows relevant results but give priority to the pages which have larger fan bases.

It is just additional way to make people talk about the game. I think it is easier to give a facebook link to someone than a forum thread, well, at least it's easier for them to get all of the informations about the game.

As I said before, I will keep posting updates on this forum, and I will put a link to them in the facebook page :-)

I did a couple more tracks - may not be what you're looking for, but was fun making them. :D

http://soundcloud.com/user990716/sets/8-bit-runner-tracks/

Albatr

Awesome game! I feel it's a little too difficult too early on, but I really enjoyed the challenge. After I got comfortable with the controls, I found your game very addicting. Good work on it!

JohnnySix

You're a talented guy! I like your music. What are your rates? I don't have a need for music right now, but I want to keep you in mind for a future project.

No rates, I'd gladly trade music for coder help though. :)

Looking forward to seeing the new levels Albatr!

Great game! Reminds me of the VVVVVV, a must.

PS: Sorry for the english, I'm Spanish ^^

Lolita haha, VVVVVV is one of the references in terms of graphics and gameplay.

<font size="4">-UPDATE-</font>

A new updated demo version of the game is available.

Unfortunately, I can't release the new "first level" for now, maybe for the next build :-)

Here is a short changelog :

• The new soundtrack was added.
• Some of the graphics were changed.
• The new font is now properly displayed ingame.
• Minor changes to the second level (the leaderboard for this level was reseted because of these changes).
• Jukebox menu updated.
• Minor tweaks in the jukebox system (you shouldn't see any change as a player).

There is still no tutorial for now, because it is still a test version, so here is a list of the controls :

Ingame

Left/Right Arrows : Move

Up Arrow/Space : Jump/Wall-jump

Down Arrow : Slide on the ground

Ctrl : Go back to the last checkpoint (counts as a death, doesn't resets the timer)

R : Restart the level (resets timer and deaths)

In the menus

Up/Down Arrows : Move the cursor

Space/Enter : OK

Escape : Back

Any feedback and bug report will be very useful :-)

http://www.rockmypixels.com/HTML5/8BitRunner/

(the game is hosted on my blog, so it may take some time to load, don't worry)

Have fun !

And again, thanks to JohnnySix for his amazing musics \o/

No worries! I just played through, I love what you did with the fonts, the game is looking really polished now.

Can't wait to try the new levels!

that game is hard.. <img src="smileys/smiley36.gif" border="0" align="middle" />