A Small Robot Story (DEMO AVAILABLE) | Dev Log

— For this I'm only focusing on Desktop. So PC, Mac, and Linux. So far it runs great on PC and Mac, but unfortunately I don't have a Linux machine to test on!

bclikesyou I have an Ubuntu machine at home. It is a hm.. 7? years old computer but I can give it a shot if you'd like?

— Thanks for the offer. When I get closer to releasing the demo, I'll keep it in mind!

Name change and gameplay title reveal! Don't mind the skewed fonts; I had resized the window to make the gif and it scaled the fonts.

looks cool, keep up the work

Ruskul thanks!

I made good progress on work this week and actually managed to get ahead of schedule.

• Set up mid-game title reveal + changed game title
• Finished up all dialogue and cutscenes
• Installed and set up layout transitions. I recommend these or something like it. Having nice transitions really adds that extra bit of polish.
• Set up pause function and screen
• Got title screen code working and started working on title screen art

What's left, bc?

• This week: Finish title screen and game over screen
• 2nd week: 1/2 of enemy art
• 3rd week: remaining 1/2 of enemy art
• 4th week: music and sfx
• 5th week: bugs and polish

The new title is a whole lot more interesting than the one you had before. A good choice!

Ruskul thanks!

I made good progress on work this week and actually managed to get ahead of schedule.

• Set up mid-game title reveal + changed game title
• Finished up all dialogue and cutscenes
• Installed and set up layout transitions. I recommend these or something like it. Having nice transitions really adds that extra bit of polish.
• Set up pause function and screen
• Got title screen code working and started working on title screen art

What's left, bc?

• This week: Finish title screen and game over screen
• 2nd week: 1/2 of enemy art
• 3rd week: remaining 1/2 of enemy art
• 4th week: music and sfx
• 5th week: bugs and polish

nice, busy busy. Way to keep plowing ahead. I just spent 4 hours last night trying to fix a problem in my game only to find out there was no problem except I was sending the debugger the wrong values from my script... >.>

Ruskul Ha! Definitely been there. This weekend I accidentally discovered that I was creating dialogue boxes EVERY TICK because I had a "create dialogue box at x,y" when two variables were true. They were stacking and looked totally fine in preview. However in the debug I noticed my instance count was ROCKETING up and was all, "Wha? What am I doing wrong?"

Hey, I have a critique for you based on what I can see of the game. Take it for what it is (my opinion), and do with it as you see fit

Currently, I like the art a fair bit. And by that, I mean I think the art is charming, coherent, and serviceable. Pixel art, as a medium, is always a great choice when making games like these. It is easy to produce, and if experienced, fast to make. However, it does provide certain constraints, and in a lot of cases its best to follow these.

Based on the game tile art, your game apears to have a specific resolution that your art sticks to, but the title screen does not stick to this resolution. It has pixels that are smaller than the pixels in the tilemap. This is a way, makes me as the player ask, why the heck is the title screen in resolution A but the game in resolution B? When you create a pixel art game, part of it looking good comes down to style and skill, but another part of it comes down to consistency. Its like you are creating a world but when you break the rules of your world the player becomes less immersed in that world because it is no longer as believable. Does this make sense? In general, I believe pixel art should never have sub pixels unless it consistently has sub pixels in points of interests everywhere. In other words, if you break a "rule" break it in a way that makes sense in some form or fashion. Don't just break it arbitrarily at one point just because.

The title won't look better just because it is higher resolution. So in its case I would stick to a lower resolution. I would, also not draw it then morph the image, unless done carefully. Currently the title looks like something drawn in ms paint, rather than carefully pixel plotted. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying it looks bad. It just looks different and is not consistent with the game. Because the title is one of the first things your player will look at, you need it to be a part of your game.

Does this all make sense. I don't mean to sound nit picky or anything, It is just an observation on my part. And it isn't something I would worry about until other higher priority tasks are complete, just something to keep in mind.

Ruskul Ha! Definitely been there. This weekend I accidentally discovered that I was creating dialogue boxes EVERY TICK because I had a "create dialogue box at x,y" when two variables were true. They were stacking and looked totally fine in preview. However in the debug I noticed my instance count was ROCKETING up and was all, "Wha? What am I doing wrong?"

That's hilarious, but an insidious bug to be sure. Often when devs play a game, they only play it for a minute or two. Its a good thing you caught that when you did. I could just see me missing it for weeks and then on longer play sessions wondering why performance is tanking. lol

Video!

Haywire patrol bot coming through + revamped player animations.

3 more enemies to animate and then just music and sfx and the demo will be done! I can see the end!

'lil drill bot freaks out and charges you when you get close. Better tighten up them jumps!

Hey, I have a critique for you based on what I can see of the game. Take it for what it is (my opinion), and do with it as you see fit

Currently, I like the art a fair bit. And by that, I mean I think the art is charming, coherent, and serviceable. Pixel art, as a medium, is always a great choice when making games like these. It is easy to produce, and if experienced, fast to make. However, it does provide certain constraints, and in a lot of cases its best to follow these.

Based on the game tile art, your game apears to have a specific resolution that your art sticks to, but the title screen does not stick to this resolution. It has pixels that are smaller than the pixels in the tilemap. This is a way, makes me as the player ask, why the heck is the title screen in resolution A but the game in resolution B? When you create a pixel art game, part of it looking good comes down to style and skill, but another part of it comes down to consistency. Its like you are creating a world but when you break the rules of your world the player becomes less immersed in that world because it is no longer as believable. Does this make sense? In general, I believe pixel art should never have sub pixels unless it consistently has sub pixels in points of interests everywhere. In other words, if you break a "rule" break it in a way that makes sense in some form or fashion. Don't just break it arbitrarily at one point just because.

The title won't look better just because it is higher resolution. So in its case I would stick to a lower resolution. I would, also not draw it then morph the image, unless done carefully. Currently the title looks like something drawn in ms paint, rather than carefully pixel plotted. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying it looks bad. It just looks different and is not consistent with the game. Because the title is one of the first things your player will look at, you need it to be a part of your game.

Does this all make sense. I don't mean to sound nit picky or anything, It is just an observation on my part. And it isn't something I would worry about until other higher priority tasks are complete, just something to keep in mind.

Oh snap I just saw this. Don't know how I missed it!

And you're spot on! When I first started this game, a buddy was helping me. He did that title screen and the level tiles. He made the title in Photoshop and used "perspective" skewing to get that look. It definitely skewed the consistency of the pixels. And the different color of the title has always messed with me. It's definitely something I can edit.

Thanks for pointing it out! Consistency is something I definitely strive for.

Spent last night finishing up boss art while a Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future longplay played in the background. Art is done for the most part. Have to add some polish but I'll be starting music this week.