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| MONKY BUSINESS: ESSENCE OF MAYHEM - OLD NEWS |
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December 13, 2003, 2:30am After some intensive play testing by Monty (Mr. E. Leg) and Victor, it was finally decided that the levels I was creating were far too insanely unplayable. The traps I was creating were too cramped for what they really were, and without enough of a break in between--the player was either always on his toes, or forever without them. So, I've evoled my technique, and I'm glad to say that the levels feel like they're flowing much better. The traps are still very similar, but I've allowed space and tried to minimise traps that require perfect timing on a consistent basis. I'm very happy with the way the map is working out. The shards (keycards) proved a problem initially, as with the 'Keep Keycards After Level Exit' patch, Keen still keeps any keycards collected up until his death. So I've adopted an unlikely idea suggested by Xky on the Keen:Modding forum, namely placing all the keys and all the doors in the level at the start. I'm surprised at how well the game still flows with this wacky security measure in place. It will hopefully not be necessary in the final release, though, as the patch will likely be modified yet. The way my original levels were going, I decided I needed to put in a bonus level for the player to visit every now and then when the frustration became too much (yes, I would have killed me too). But the in-level teleporter that leads back to the world map kept crashing the game due to a conflict with the map-doors patch. Fortunately, I managed to improvise and created a really neat solution--bonus level doorways. It's more or less a matter of taking a few steps, walking through a doorthat takes the 'Trippy Shard', and exiting off the other side of the screen (no visible exit door). This means that Keen has to sacrifice his beloved Trippy Shard in order to continue on the map. In these levels, though, are alternate paths which can lead to extra lives. The demo will feature three or four of these. It's incredible how they maintain the flow of gameplay. I've got a rather amusing title screen design now, too (possibly the most brilliant idea that's ever hit me in the head). Whether it will turn up in the demo or if you'll have to wait until the full release I'm not sure as yet, though. And I'm not giving anything away about it yet. Man, it feels great to be back in the flow again. I'd keep going all morning, but I've pledged myself to helping out my grandma on her computer and then disappearing into Victor's lounge room for some insane projector-style X-Box Halo playage with some other JimSoftians. I'll be back with some trippy new stuff soon! Oh, the evilness... >:) I may include levels like this every now and then... optional, of course. It's incredible the adrenaline rush while trying to get through those perfect-timing traps. >:)
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