GAME: HAULER VERSION 1 (PART 2 / ?)

Welcome to Part 2 in my new series describing my “Hauler” prototype. Links to the web and PC version are at the bottom of this post. (And you can read Part 1 here, if you haven’t).

PROTOTYPE 1 (0.0.1.1)

In the previous post I discussed the many (and serious) issues I had with my first Hauler prototype. This latest version was basically a rebuild and, in addition to the front-facing changes, many internal details (reorganizing code) occurred too.

If you play the prototype you will notice that we now have:

• New Movement Controls. The controls are more logical, with the player deciding which direction to travel, rather than adjusting orientation.
• Background art. There’s some basic art in place that pretties up the prototype.
• Proper Tail Code. The tail and its collision actually match up now, though there are still some issues with it.
• Controller Works. Gamepads or controllers hooked up to the PC should function, both in gameplay and in the menu, including the ‘special ability’ button (currently this performs a jump action).
• Simple Menu. Pressing escape invokes a restart/quit menu.
• Ship Facing. The ship points the direction they are suppose to go and rotate correctly.

Issues

Obviously we are missing final art still. We are also missing music and sound effects. This is polish stuff and will be tackled later. More immediately concerning to me was:

Long Tails

The tails are long. Like really really long. Makes it awkward to get around very much.

Gameplay — Still Isn’t Good

Simply having an ‘arena battle’ style of gameplay is not sufficient. I had hoped with the improvements, between the last prototype and this, that it might be good enough without adding another gameplay layer. I was wrong and this prototype makes it clear.
In the next prototype I focus on adding more gameplay elements to the experience.

Wanna Play It?

Web Version

Web Version.

PC Version

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Gallery

I also have a gallery page from which to easily review all my prototypes.

Thoughts/Feedback

If you play the prototype and have some thoughts regarding it, let me know via the comments and we can discuss them (or I can incorporate the discussion into the next post, which I plan to present sometime in late October).