a lot happened this week

character tutorial

the tutorials have been missing something, as learning a game isn’t just learning a dry list of controls.

i released that theres no way of sharing level specific info in a diegetic way.

a tutorial popup can tell someone what to press, and an objective can tell them what to do, but nether can adequately give tips or tricks, or explain why something is happening.

so i’ve done a pretty common game trope and added a character to instruct the player.

i generally haven’t like this approach much as they usually try to be funny and if funny doesn’t hit it really falls flat. so i’m making this character, the Engineer, just a down to earth instructor unless insulted.

this is also a good way to include a multi level tutorial scheme, you can get heavy, light, or negative tutorialising depending on what you select.

this also lets us add a little sprinkle of lore without causing issues. the Engineer doesn’t know about “game” stuff, like controls or settings. they might know about buttons but generally they’re designed to be someone who could be doing the players job in universe.

folks, the Engineer

gameplay loops and progression

the gameplay loop of BA is pretty simple for now:

  1. start a level
  2. build a bullet
  3. destroy an enemy
  4. go to next level

this level based loop is a classic. it has no overlaps between levels, nothing carries over. you start with an empty factory, are assigned tools, and you do the work. you then see if your creation passes or fails the combat test and if it fails then try try again. its really a puzzle game setup.

but after trying a few other games with the same loop, i actually don’t like it that much as it feels too mobile game, and overall has a very proscriptive feeling. it feels like the player doesn’t have a lot of say about what they think might be cool to make.

personally i prefer games that present open challenges and let the player decide how to solve it, the alternative feels like i’m playing wordle.

theres a few different options

  • mobile game
    • keep it as level by level
  • most “action adventure” upgrade systems
    • add cross level upgrades, assume the player always acquired the optimum one
  • metroidvaina
    • make level order non-linear, with different parts unlocked in different areas
  • like 50 more options

theres also a question of what is an upgrade?

  • different factory floors
    • bigger, smaller, better or worse laid out
  • turret turning speed
  • factory operating speed
    • we’re currently operating at a tiny fraction of this
  • new components
    • missile
    • shield gens
    • sensors and triggers
    • nuclear explosives
  • new machines
    • electronics
    • minifies
  • completely whack new concepts or entirely different factory styles
    • organic factories that use blood, eggs, teeth, and acid
    • organic factories that make living weapons more like an auto battler
    • phototonic factories that produce lasers and must deal with heat
    • plasma and exotic state matter weapons that require variable particle acceleration

all of this is somewhat moot though; whatever the progression method the tutorial will probably be proscriptive as this is an effective way to teach. additionally, ive got too many other factors to adjust before adding a meta progression system.

the factory and combat engines are the main part of the game and until i feel like they’re in a good state, i wouldn’t want to move ahead with yet more systems, but if you find anything here interesting lmk

visual flare

two new visual additions this time around, bullet trails and muzzle flash

bullet trails make it much easier to see the shot

trail width is based on the power that the projectile has and the length on the speed

the flash makes shots feel more or less powerful.

similarly the blast size is based on the power and the length on the speed

codex migration / wiki

i think i mentioned it a few weeks ago but i wanted to add an in gamer glossary as well as just make it a little easier for me to update docs. i actually made some progress too, where any tutorial seen gets added to a codex for later review.

but the mistake i made was not just pushing this into main before moving on so i got to spend a few hours today reconciling 2 very deviated branches.

but now there is a codex in game with a search and highlighting.

notice that each tutorial slide joined as a single long page

this also marks a change to the underlying knowledge system in the game. previously it was popup windows that held everything but this was a massive ballache.

godots window system is jank and its tab system is more jank and the two together make for a very annoying update experience.

now all knowledge appears in a simple HelpSection object that basically a vertical flex box. when the info is displayed it shows in a different format based on the viewing port. in a help popup, its a slide by slide view, but in the codex all slides are joined into a single long scrollable page to reflect the different absorption methods.