Post-jam update!

Introduction

Hello all! 

It's been quite a while since July 10 (it's the end of August) so it may be unusual that I choose now of all times to update AntiDON'T.  Updating AntiDON'T has always been something that I intended to do, it was more a matter of when rather than if.

The inspiration for this update came from addressing the feedback that I received during the GMTK 2020 game jam! During the jam the community was really active and I was overwhelmed but grateful to receive so much commentary (at least compared to previous game jams).

So I went through the comments and people were saying very similar things...

• The screen is too small/ I can't see much
• When the marshmallow grows it covers too much of the screen
• It doesn't "feel" like I'm picking up items
• There should be a tutorial to explain the mechanics
• The formula changes too quickly

As a result, I compiled all of these critiques and decided to (hopefully) assuage them all in this update.

In this post I will summarize the changes I've made and what is next for the future!

Updates and changes to the game

1. Tutorial

Now there's a tutorial stage before you play the game! It's rather simple and really quick. All it's meant to do is teach the player basic mechanics (ie movement). Even though the controls are listed on the game page and in the "about section" of the game, I was surprised to see a lot of people who didn't know how to move/get items! So it is now addressed here.

2. New music & sfx

Whenever you pick up an item there's an SFX which plays (so it hopefully "feels" like you're picking up an item).  When you press SPACE on the light bulb slot, an SFX is played to signify that you've triggered a check for victory. Moreover, the game music I had placed was temporary and rushed (I implemented audio 40 minutes before the deadline) so I cleaned up the music which hopefully sounds better (and jazzier).

3. Move camera & larger screen

Now the camera zooms out as you're playing. Additionally, the previous dimensions of the game were 1068 x 780. Now this has been changed to 1600 x 900 which translates into a larger screen. These 2 things combined means lends itself to greater visibility for the player. Even as the character gets bigger, its size relative to the screen remains fairly consistent. It's slightly surreal (because it looks like the items get smaller) but it gets the job done!

4. Bug fixes

Finally bug fixes! There were quite a few that needed to be fixed so I'll list a few of them here...

• Increased turns from 17 seconds to 20 seconds (not a bug but it addressed a problem from the game jam)
• Items aren't destroyed during "re-rolls", the extra time is now accounted for
• No delay for death
• Can no longer win the game by "carrying over" items earned from previous play-throughs
• Resets item placements properly on board
• No more delays when pressing "SPACE"
• etc.

Why the update now?

To be brief, I was working on another project! You can now see the game page for Karen and the Body pillow (a collaboration between me and my friend lepeachdebob). The game is playable and a release date is going to be announced very soon. So my job as a programmer and artist for the project is mostly complete. With the game being in the final stages of development, I had new free time on my hands that I could use to polish AntiDON'T.

What's next?

Relating to AntiDON'T, I hoped that I could also have a web build version of the game that I could upload to itch.io. So even though the window and mac builds are done, I'll see if a web version can be working. This is my first game in unity and my first time making something suitable for the web so it may take a bit of time.

I also intend to release  Karen and the Body pillow very soon as well. And after the release... who knows!  I will most likely move to more Unity projects versus working in Ren'py. At the end of the day,  I hope to improve my skills as a programmer, working in a more flexible/code-oriented engine would help with that!

Thank you so much for following the development of my games! I hope you like what's to come in the future :)