Playmaker Forum

PlayMaker News => Work In Progress... => Topic started by: marcos on November 24, 2013, 04:14:14 AM

Title: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on November 24, 2013, 04:14:14 AM
(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/parasoltitle_zps194992f1.png)

(Shameless cross-post from the Unity3D forums, but considering this is a playMaker game, I think it belongs here too!)

After spending about 6 months working on my solo project, I feel that it's finally at a point where I can start showing people.

Parasol, our hero, loves them apples. Unfortunately for him, he can't fly. So, it's up to you to guide him there, and simultaneously give him a 'crash course' in the finer points of flight.


To kick things off, here's an alpha gameplay video of one of the levels:


Controls are simple. Drag your finger, or use a twist gesture to rotate the level, tap the screen to make Parasol fall to a block. Currently if no block is below him, it prevents him from falling into the abyss.


Some stills of the art of the game:


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/Parasol_zps04d8224c.png)

Parasol, our protagonist.


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/basic_zps0af1896e.png)

Basic block.


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/crumble_zps63d37478.png)

Rickety block. You can only step on these once, after exiting a rickety block, it falls out of the level.


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/switch_zps02783b54.png)

Switch block. Switches turn a group of blocks on or off.


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/apple_zps4f028de3.png)

A delicious apple. This is the goal of the level, guide Parasol here!


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/star_zps87d5ddc4.png)

Star! If you get to the apple in the least number of drops possible, you will be awarded with this shiny thing!



Parasol is being programmed entirely with playMaker, and I'm also using a couple of plugins to make things easier here and there.


As for release platforms, I'm going to be targeting iOS devices first, then afterwards I'll be investigating Android.



Stay tuned!

- Mark
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: Bhaktaraj Singh N on November 26, 2013, 01:30:03 AM
Great work keep up da good work I just started using playmaker and this is great insperation to get started :) :) :)

Bhaktaraj singh N
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on November 27, 2013, 06:27:08 PM
Thanks!
Definitely stick with it! :)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: jeanfabre on November 28, 2013, 01:49:08 AM
Hi,

 Very nice! Indeed keep up and keep us updated!

Bye,

 Jean
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on November 30, 2013, 11:17:16 PM
Cheers! I shall :)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: Graham on December 10, 2013, 09:15:56 PM
Neat little concept, I totally dig your art style!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on December 21, 2013, 01:00:06 AM
Thank you!
I'm working on the collectible hats at the moment, will post the whole bunch when they're all finished! :)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on January 04, 2014, 05:05:05 AM
Here are the newest hats:


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/crashhat_zps1a12f949.jpg)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/crashhatworn_zpsccc9ec36.jpg)

Safety first!


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/earhart_zpsce2512ae.jpg)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/earhartworn_zps1bff0900.jpg)

Transatlantic cap and goggles.


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/cybernetic_zpsdaf50e11.jpg)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/cyberneticworn_zpsaf519b83.jpg)

P-1000 cybernetic eye.


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/hipster_zpseae81203.jpg)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/hipsterworn_zps9e59db29.jpg)

Ironic glasses, hat and summer scarf.


Hope you all like them! :)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on February 13, 2014, 02:07:52 AM
Hello!

Cross posting from the Unity forums, but here goes.

So, I've been a little bit busy ticking lots and lots of things off of my Parasol to-do list.

Here's a new gameplay video that shows the current state of the game:


As you can see, the menu system is in place, as is the system to save progress and track what levels you have a star on. Sound effects and music now exist, and can be muted individually. I updated the UI to match the colour scheme and feel of the game, and the fonts have also been updated to be more consistent and friendly. Furthermore, I added little touches like the win text changing based on what hat you're wearing, this text and the level title scales based on how long the string is.

Currently there are 24 levels in game, the rest of the planned 40 should be done within the week. The first four levels act as a tutorial, the first of which you can see in the video.

I'll make a post about how I design levels soon, likely when I start to tackle the remaining 16.

Anyway, hope you like the update. Getting close to the home stretch now!


- Mark.
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: snowconesolid on February 16, 2014, 02:25:51 AM
My friend Marcos (unity forum friend) haha.
Its looking excellent just like your previous game. :)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on February 18, 2014, 08:36:41 AM
Thanks!
I'm really keen to get it released!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on March 16, 2014, 03:05:09 AM
So, I've been quiet, but busy!

What's new:

- 40 levels
- New UI, with anchors and so on for different screen aspect ratios. All buttons now have down states too.
- Hat unlock system
- Victory Screen
- Win camera animation
- New logo


Here are some new screenshots:

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5285_zps82ced2d5.png)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5289_zpsd0d3f531.png)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5287_zps545e8eea.png)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5288_zps0fce9227.png)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5286_zps7a21faa0.png)



Next up will be some random technical things and optimisation.

- Mark
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: Graham on March 25, 2014, 11:54:09 PM
Looking fantastic!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on March 27, 2014, 07:52:58 AM
Looking fantastic!

Thanks! Almost done!

When Marsh finishes up the Game Center actions I'll link up all the achievements, then it's just a short beta period away from being submitted! :D
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on April 03, 2014, 09:48:11 PM
Achievements are in!


(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5562_zps31fc6ca9.png)

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/IMG_5563_zps6726bdeb.png)

Used these actions:

https://hutonggames.fogbugz.com/default.asp?W994

The plugin seems to work fine, despite the reviews and lack of updates in over a year, which didn't fill me with confidence at first.


I think I'll improve the first tutorial slightly to make learning to play a little bit easier.

Not much left to do after that!


- Mark
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: jeanfabre on April 04, 2014, 06:44:21 AM
Hi,

 thanks for your feedback on all this, very good to know what works and what's not.

bye,

 Jean
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on April 05, 2014, 09:45:34 PM
Hey Jean,

Don't mention it. I'll likely write up a bit of a post-mortem once Parasol is released.

I've been meaning to do Playmaker-oriented posts, hopefully I'll have time to record a video of the game playing in the editor with some FSMs open. (This might reveal how much I still have to learn, haha :))

- Mark
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: jeanfabre on April 08, 2014, 07:43:09 AM
We all do... :)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on April 13, 2014, 06:48:13 AM
Reworked the first tutorial level, it now limits what movements you can do at each step of the level, and generally holds your hand a little bit more:


I also added a couple of subtle particle effects in the background. A little cloudy sort of thing around the viewable stage, and floating dust. I think they make spinning the world a little bit cooler :)

Also, you may have noticed at the end of the video, Parasol has more feathers, and no longer an excuse to be unable to fly.

(http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz72/marestarr/screenshot001_zpse285a08b.png)


Here's the game running in the editor with the FSM for the tutorial subtitles open. It's probably rather esoteric. It basically checks for various things and then updates based on the player's current progression through the level.




- Mark
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: TrentSterling on April 17, 2014, 05:21:20 AM
Wow the art for this is awesome! Playmaker seems to be a great fit for this kind of game.
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on April 20, 2014, 10:51:52 AM
Cheers!

Yeah, Playmaker has been really awesome for logically controlling the flow of the game and all of that. Makes it straightforward to change or add things at the right points.


I've been working away, made a few improvements based on some excellent feedback I got from a tester:

- Main Menu button returns to Level Select screen, instead of the title.
- No more tutorial popups, everything is presented in those subtitles now.
- Different text when you finish a level but don't get a star, e.g "So close!!"
- Trailer is almost finished, just waiting on some music
- Website is basically finished, just waiting on trailer.

So yeah, very nearly there. Just need to pester my musically talented friend a bit more then I'll be able to bring it all together and hopefully submit the thing within a week or two!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on May 04, 2014, 11:23:07 PM
Just submitted to Apple!

Fingers crossed that all goes well in the app review process!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on May 10, 2014, 09:49:32 AM
Approved!

Parasol will be released worldwide on the 22nd of May!


www.markybola.com (http://www.markybola.com)
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: escpodgames on May 11, 2014, 01:19:46 AM
Congrats!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: Graham on May 11, 2014, 10:10:50 AM
Look forward to trying it!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: TrentSterling on May 11, 2014, 04:24:14 PM
Congratulations! This project is so pretty, and it's a wonderful example of what playmaker can do!
Title: Re: Parasol - A Mobile Puzzler
Post by: marcos on May 12, 2014, 05:09:00 AM
Cheers guys!