Dove straight back into improving the saving and loading system. My idea for the respawning of the player is that they dive straight back into the world that they had already interacted with. So doors that they opened should be opened, objects which were destroyed stay destroyed. And because of this I was faced with a big problem that when I finally learned how to restart the level while playing the game, the doors that should be opened instead stayed closed. Even if I had a save file that would open the doors if I loaded the game normally, the restart function reset the level without checking the save file of the level. In other words I have to figure out a way to load the level and all the necessary details before it actually gets simulated. Still don’t know how to do that, but at least I know what I’m working with.
Besides that I found animations that seemed appropriate for spawning and saving the game, added sounds and effects too. I wanted to really convey the idea that the lantern is the source of power and life for the character. It creates the checkpoint from which the character will return if destroyed. I imagine in the future much better effects and animations for the process, but as usual this holds well for now.
One of the themes I want for the game is hopefulness. Sure the player may get beaten up a lot, but the path to victory is riddled with failure. And I want to have a game that is challenging and rewarding. I will do the best I can to make it so. If I can’t make it fun then I know I have failed, and all that means is I shall try and try again.
There are a few things on my to do list. Since the whip can pull objects it can also spend a “super-charge” on it, which is an issue because it doesn’t do anything special. Either I make sure the charge doesn’t get spent or I figure out something that the charge does do the chair. I need to fix the air attack, sometimes if you attack right after falling it still plays the air attack animation. Still the top of my priority list is figuring out a way to track all the data of the level and carry it over when it level restarts. It would be so much simpler if I didn’t care about what was interacted with. But coming back to life and seeing doors open and torches lit has a different impact compared to seeing the entire area untouched. It could help with immersion, and give players the feeling that they can affect change in this world.
GoldenGratus Games 