So many downloads

Wow. So gamejolt featured Spectrum Break's prototype and it got 1600 downloads in under a week! Thank you everyone for your love. I'm curious if anyone found the secret block.

The gaming booth at the Montreal Indie Games Festival went well. I had a lineup of people playing the game which was awesome. It was quite a challenge for most of them, but they all had positive feedback.

This week I'm addressing the big question everyone had about the prototype. How do I get to level 2? I've added a level one tutorial and credits. The level select screen will no longer show levels past what is available in the prototype. All of those levels and more will be available with the steam release sometime next year (I really need a steam page).

Changelog

Added tutorial and credit levels to the prototype.

The level select menu no longer shows levels that are not in the version being played.

You can now hold tab (or Y on controller) to zoom out.

When you light up a block the camera will check if there are any remaining blocks on screen. If there are none. The camera will adjust itself to imply direction (this was already the case with the final block in any level).

Block activating sounds now change in pitch when hit in quick succession. This is followed by a different sound that plays on the 12th block hit in a row.

The D-Pad and right thumbstick now count as input on joysticks. When manual rotation is not enabled the trigger button on a joystick now count as jump input. This effectively means that you can play the game one handed even with a joystick.

Improved the lit ups secret block look.

Simplified and improved camera shake (again).

Blocks off screen can no longer shake the camera.

Moved HUD timers to the right a little.

Optimized static objects.

Started working on the 3rd major block type behavior for levels 36+.

Montreal Indie Games Festival

It's getting pretty crazy on my end. I've been developing while working out the logistics of what my next step is. I would really like to be able to develop full time. I might try raising the funds to do that.

I've applied for a government grant and I think the presentation went well. Wish me luck because if we get selected we'll be getting another developer. Which means more content.

I have a gaming booth at the Montreal Indie Games Festival next week. There will be all 40 levels there if you want to try it and meet me in person.

Changelog

Merged the better parts of 2 old levels into one level.

Removed an old level that didn't have enough purpose.

Added 2 more levels to replace the 2 above.

Added level complete text.

Added reset button image to the menu.

Added teleport to the credits.

New Icon.

The music now fades when it changes.

Blocks no longer play particles again on win, if the block already has particles.

Added screen shot key 'P'.

Fixed the wall jump tutorial instantly fading away.

You can now skip the initial camera look with any input.

Temporarily removed the already activated block collide sound.

Happy Halloween

So I went to CGX Montreal and had a good time. The feedback I got there has changed the tutorials of the game. I realized that no one reads on screen tutorial text.

On Saturday I had a full day where all I did was clean the codebase and optimize. It felt pretty great. I'm going to another event in Montreal soon. I'll have a booth at the Montreal Indie Games Festival in November.

As a side note I discovered this week that I could make meme levels in 15 minutes or less. I'll have to think of something.

Changelog

Removed text tutorials. Removed old level 1 and moved those tutorials to the old levels 2 & 4, which are now levels 1 and 3.

Added a new level 4 and edited several old levels.

Improved camera shake.

Added the following sounds. Menu select, block collision, secret activating.

The main menu now includes the main character jumping across the letters.

Increased particle color. Reduced the falling stars size to compensate.

Cleaned codebase and optimized code.

Increase player horizontal control.

Fixed a bug which would enable double jumping.

The game now checks if all the blocks left are off screen and adjusts the view to compensate (checked when a block is hit).

Changed player collision particles to be a darker red.

Increased block glow size slightly.

Sound effects!

Good news everyone. Sound effects have been added.

I'll be at the Capital Gaming Expo in Montreal this weekend. If you're a game developer and want to meet up, you can find me there.

Changelog

Added sound effects.

Added credits level.

Set a maximum particle effect limit for massive platforms.

The level select menu now selects to current level immediately.

Removed the level name text in the menu.

Edited read me.

Made menu text much larger.

Changed player particles to bright red.

Added rotation control images to the settings menu.

Improved Glow Effects

In addition to the improved glow effects, I've added some community suggestions this week like a speed run mode.

I have enough automatic rotation now to turn off the rotation controls that most players had difficulty with, but I'm a big fan of hard games so a manual rotation mode has been added that brings the control scheme to its roots.

With 40 levels done it's about time I started finishing up some of the features I've planned. The coming weeks will involve a lot more coding, animation and sound effects.

Changelog

Improved glow effects.

Added new music for levels 21-40.

The lighting of the scene no longer changes as the platforms are hit.

Added 3 levels and replaced an old level with a better one.

Edited several levels.

Darkened a few bright colors.

Removed some unneeded serialized data.

Replaced auto skip with speedrun mode. Toggling this on skip the level view times and shows the following timers while playing. Level time, Best Time, Session Time.

Added manual rotation mode.

Rotation controls are now turned off by default.

Added manual rotation mode. Toggling this on turns off most automatic rotation and enables the rotation controls.
 

The Plot Thickens

This week was one of planning. I've done three blind playtests this week and with it comes several edits to old levels and a better idea of the features that will be included when the game is done.

If you are wondering why the rotation tutorial is removed, it is because I think I will be turning it off by default, and adding a "Manual" rotation setting as an option.

Changelog

Edited several levels and added 3 more (now at 37 total).

Jumping off a steep incline will now rotate the player to a standing position.

Removed the rotation controls from the level one tutorial.

Darkened the orange color.

Added a short respawn time.