Earok 2011 Collection: Other games preview
Submitted by admin on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 21:34Heart of Ice
None of the gameplay has really been altered so far, but I did a little bit of work on graphical enhancements, such as you can see future levels off in the distance (perhaps inspired by Apple's Time Machine). Also level transitions involve the camera zooming forward to the next room, rather than plain fade in/fadeout. Two player mode should be coming soon.
The Kiwi's Tale
Two player split screen co-operative is up and running. Introducing Zak, Nik's true blue Kiwi mate. Actually I'm not sure that blue, or at least that shade of blue, really works for him. But we do need something to differentiate him from the regular kiwi.
From our limited testing, the two player mode works pretty well, but there are still a couple of bugs left to iron out. For instance it is still possible to kill the other player by hijacking his vehicle!
On a related note, Michael has managed to get the XNA build of the game playable on an actual XBox 360. Awesome.
WitchBlaster
No two player mode or gameplay changes yet, but a few graphical enhancements. The native resolution of the game has been doubled, so I can use a higher res (and much better looking) version of the Witch sprite. However I am still hoping that Anthony can do some new Witch graphics for the game.
The next Auckland Game Developers Meetup will be a showcase of local indie games, so I'll try to have an updated showreel ready by then.
Comments
Looks good.
Have you got one player using keyboard, and another with the gamepad?
Have you looking into two players with a gamepad each?
At the moment, a control pad is required for the second player. However I intend to make the second player keys and control port customizable. The player one controls are already customizable so I don't have to change much of the underlying architecture to accommodate that.
Going to put a achievement system in the games? :P
I'm tempted to put one in for Blow Stuff Up, there's all sorts of things you can "achieve" (Like setting off a domino chain of five buildings collapsing, ramming into a fighter plane etc), but generally I find achievements to be tacky and distracting.