This might just turn into a repository for devtober vlogs if I can motivate myself enough to record consistently, but we'll see.

I was sick as a dog with con-crud yesterday, but I managed to get some planning done for the first project I'm working on this Devtober. It's a fixed-screen platformer about a goblin trying to protect its warren from interlopers. A lot of dashing around and trying to stab adventurers in the back. I'm thinking some kind of stealth-focused play similar to joust where you can't just hit your foes head on? We'll see, still planning.

Progress is slow because I'm sick but I did manage to get some placeholder spritework for our protagonist worked up:

Day 2 update: I've gone and implemented basic controls - wasd, arrows, joystic, d-pad. I've also got a basic placeholder tilemap.

Consideration now is for goblin mobility. Should our little guy be able to climb walls/ceilings, should we add ladders to the levels, or boost his jumping ability? I don't really see him being very bouncy - fast, yes, nimble, but he's a cave dweller, and I don't want the "escape" of being able to just jump away from foes - stealth is more important than nimbleness.

Tiles are also 8x8, but I'll probably go 16x16 eventually. Final layout will probably be more "warren-like." Tunnels and chutes to give our player room to play a bit cat n' mouse with the invading adventurers.

I like your goblin. Amazing what can be done with a few pixels.

Day 3, upscaled to a 16x16 tileset (gobbo is still 8x8).  Gobbo is currently able to clear a 1-tile gap with a jump pretty easy, but doesn't have the vertical reach to jump up level to level, and that's how I want it.

Added and implemented ladders. This involved remapping "up" to mean climb and setting a dedicated jump button. Getting "jumping" and "climbing" to work together was maybe the trickiest part. Gravity effectively turns off when you're on a ladder tile. Added the climbing animation.

Next step is going to be implementing the antagonists; I think they'll also be around 16x16, much bigger than gobbo and essentially just barely fitting in the tunnels. Still considering a shift from "climbing ladders" to "climbing walls and ceilings" but for now this is fine.

Day 4: Light work today. Came up with a placeholder sprite for the Knight enemy.

16x16 compared to the 8x8 goblin.

Started implementing its logic, but most of that will come tomorrow.

Day 5 is going to be busy, so I don't have a lot of time to code. I did come up with the logic for the knight AI.

State 1: Wandering aimlessly. They'll walk along whatever platform they're on. If they run into a ladder there's a random chance they'll take it, and then walk in a random direction.  Every so often they stop, and there's a 50-50 chance they turn around and go the other way. Hitting a wall or a platform end means they turn around and go the other way. If they see a goblin, they'll go into State 2.

State 2: Chase. They will move twice as fast (almost goblin speed) and pursue the most direct path to their target. If they see another closer goblin, it becomes their target. If they lose sight of their target for 2-3 seconds, they'll go back to State 1.

If a guard catches a goblin, that goblin dies. If the player hits a guard from behind, the guard dies.
Also made up sprites for baby goblins:

These wander around the level. Your job is to save them by killing the humans. If all the babies are killed, the game is over.

Really nice pixel work you got there :)

Hey, still working on it, but I've been sick with con crud for a week. Should have something done by the end of the month... will update when I am well enough.