DreamFeel

Last month I made the trip over to Cambridge for TigJam Uk 5 and had a fantastic time there for 3 and a half days. Much jamming and merriment was had, and I met some really interesting people. I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity again.

Less of this, more coffee.Saturday and Sunday I spent most of game making time on a single concept: "a rhythm-action box puzzle game". I had intended to first finish it on the trains and plane home, and then finish it in the next week, two weeks etc. Unfortunately my final bits of college work caught up and I've only done a small amount here and there since it's inception. However, with DCU all behind me now (I literally emailed off an assignment a couple hours ago), and a short break before I move to Scotland (more on that again), I hope to get it finished in the next couple weeks. Here's a pic of the 3/4 time level:  

Expect lots of puns and primitive graphics! :fun:

It has grown in scope quite a bit since TigJam and at the moment all the levels (and their melodies and drumbeats), 15 of them, are essentially complete but I'm tidying them up, finishing loose ends, the death screen was a lot of fun, and writing the few brief story beats. A couple playtests have proved the game is a lot more difficult than I thought, and I'd definitely like to do a lot more to see what needs polishing. And on top of that, I've got the silly notion that I may create another 7 levels before release. It would be nice if I had a level creator and if I was to do this again, maybe for an iOS version which could expand the concept with lots of instruments for instance, it would be a top priority. Or perhaps if anyone plays it and they think it would be a good addition for player's to share creations. I also can't shake the feeling it would be a lot more popular if I redid it as a lo-fi flash game, instead of a lo-fi .Net requiring download, but I can't really help that now!

There's also been some changes to 'Amator' in the last month, not least another temporary title change to 'Skirting on the Surface', and conceptually has crashed headlong into some interesting ideas, let's just simply say there's now dialogue. However, more notably I decided I'm going to potentially release it as PC title first (and maybe still have a WP7 release after), playable with a computer keyboard or even potentially midi keyboard. This will need experimenting. The aspect ratio will stay the same (flip your monitors Ikaruga style!). Unfortunately, these changes haven't included any actual lines of code, bits of art or pieces of music since the start of July, and as my immediate goal is to finish Beat Box Story, I can't expect SotS to be finished any earlier than late October and more likely December time. Let's hope all this simmering results in a tasty stew, and isn't just overcooked. In the meantime, music!