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Thanks!

Day 6 

Player animation is now working in Unity. I want to add some frames to fix the breath condensation on jumping, but that should be quick and easy.

Next up, camera tracking and probably adding a background to the game.

Anyone looking forward to the weekend to spend more time on their game? I really need a big mojo weekend. So much to do. :)

Those models are looking good! Great work!

Thanks Sonderful!

Yeah, even though it's slow, the daily progress does start to add up over a few days. I still need a good weekend to really ramp this up, though. :)

Thanks J! Thanks for the color feedback, too. I originally started with yellow, but switched to orange and liked it better for the same reasons you mention.

I've actually got a year plan in place for getting better at gamedev, and am making a weekly video journal about the process. I'll post the next episode in here. The basic idea is exactly what you mention: do something that you can keep up over the long haul. I've been working on this in bursts for a couple of years now, but really want to change up to making steady progress instead.

Day 5

Player running animation = done! Now back to Unity and onward!

Day 4

Fun times with Aseprite! Idle player animation = done. Little guy is hyperventilating a bit, but I'll slow that down in the game. I got the running animation started, but will need to finish that tomorrow.

I'm going to need a huge weekend to get this done in time. An hour or two a day in the evenings won't cut it.

Nice idea, nice progress.

Sorry if I missed this, but what are you using to build the game? Will this be a sort of visual novel sort of game? 

Day 3

I got basic player movement in place today: jumping, running, not jumping while in the air. I wish I had more time, but the daily progress feels good.

Now it's time to work on the player art and animation. Stick man must go. :)

Excellent! Good luck! I look forward to following your progress.

Thanks, J! Got three cards done today. First steps! Player prototype can stand on an ice block in a scene. Woot!

Tomorrow: Building out the first scene ice landscape. Creating rounded ice blocks. Adding player movement. Adding player jumping.

So much to do, good times!

Looking really good. Is this Unity you're building in?

Looking good! Aseprite is an awesome tool. Good choice. :)

Thanks! Not quite the whole project maybe but a chunk of it anyway—as far ahead as I could think. :)

If I don't do something like that I get totally off the rails. :)

In! Super excited about this. I've been a away from game dev for a while, still mostly a beginner. I'm going to try to dig back into Unity and build a cold-themed platformer.

I built *most* of a heat-themed platformer for a My First Game Jam about a year and a half ago, so building this will be a good way for me to remember what I used to know, and get back into building stuff with Unity.

I've got a Kanban set up with tasks if anyone is interested in following along.

I'll try to keep this updated with daily progress. I look forward to checking out everyone's projects, too! 

Let's do this!

Thanks for the feedback and for trying the game. I took a break on it for a bit, but started working on it again this week. I've finished the third level, and am starting on Level 4 next.

I'll take a look and see about switching the camera motion to be on movement rather than facing, and see if it feels better. To a degree I think backing the camera up some might help with the issue as well. I think the camera might be too close to the player.

Thanks again!

I'm not sure if anyone is still around, but I'm still grinding away at this for about an hour or so a day, and have made some good progress.

• Create fire (damages player)
• Created snakes (enemy, damages player)
• Created first aid kits (increases health)
• Created quicksand (stops player movement for a few seconds, needs improvement)
• Other minor gameplay modifications
• Completed Level 2 (fire and snakes)
• Squashed some bugs, created new bugs

I'm planning to create vultures next, then build Level 3 and 4.

Here's a screenshot from level 2...

Thanks Leiahuang!

I'm going to start working on the levels this week.

Thanks J!

I've just returned home today and am looking forward to building the levels out.

Thanks, that's very helpful! I'll take a look at it next week when I get back from being on the road. I remember watching a video tutorial that talked about that sort of an issue, so I have an idea what I might need to do to fix it. The screenshot helps a ton.

Nice work on this! I'm not sure I got to the last level, but there was one that was pretty brutal with sliding blocks I kept falling off. I'm not sure I have the mojo to get past that one. :)

Really fun gameplay with lots of good ideas, great job!

Thanks for taking a look and for the feedback, Jatsu! I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I've added the bugs/issues you mentioned to the Trello board for when I get back from travel next week.

One quick thing, if you revisit this thread. Are the black lines/clipping you mention appearing in the sand? I think I remember watching a video about what might cause an issue like that. I'll check it out.

I think the oases transport issue is a mixup with something I did with the prefab. It should be a quick fix. Thanks for letting me know.

I'll adjust the game over music volume too.

Thanks StabbyJoe!

Thanks, Jatsu! I wish I could have gotten the whole plan done during the jam, but I've still learned a ton and had a lot of fun.

Doesn't RPG Maker MV have a Mac export option? I was pretty sure it does....

Thanks much for the kind words!

Final Update and Alpha Build (Most Likely)

I've got nothing left but work, family stuff, and travel between now and the end of the jam, so I decided to build and submit what I've gotten done and call it a jam. I did manage to get a few things done late this evening:

• Splash Screen for Main Menu
• Credits Screen and Navigation
• WebGL Build Submitted to GameJam

Here's the submission page, and a direct link to the playable web version.

There are two known issues with the Alpha Version:

• The menu buttons are blurry (not sure what happened, will fix later)
• The first level oasis acts as a transporter back to the beginning of the level if you jump while inside it. (bug, will fix later)

When I get back from my trip, I want to build the core 4 levels of the game, with added monsters, obstacles, and a final boss. I'll probably even keep updating this devlog, just for my own records.

Things I've Learned...

• I really enjoyed doing this jam and trying to complete my first game ever. I just like doing the work, and am excited to learn and do more.
• Making even a simple game takes more time than I realized.
• Time management, planning, effort, and focus are super important, way more important than talent.
• It's been a lot of fun following others as they build games. Everyone has been so supportive.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and support!

I'm both happy and disappointed, but mainly happy. I feel like I learned a lot and got a lot better, and I'm happy with what I got done. However, I had hopes to finish the whole 5 levels during the jam timeframe. I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get there.

You've done some great work here! Way to be steady with the effort. It's really paying off. I look forward to giving it a go!

Day 9 Update

Really big day today, but it's still not enough to finish in time.

• Main menu works
• Saving mechanism works
• Pause menu works
• Level Select mechanism works
• First tutorial level is complete.

Everything went pretty smoothly today, but it was a grind getting through this stuff. The UI stuff was probably my least favorite part of building this game so far. It does feel great to get it behind me, though, as only fun stuff remains.

The problem, however, is that I'm heading out of town on Friday afternoon and have work and family activities that fill up most the time right until I depart. So there just isn't the 8-10 hours I think I need to finish this.

My plan, however, will be to submit what I've got done. The tutorial first level works now, and I can probably get some of the second level done too. That'll have to do, and then I'll finish the rest of the game after the jam ends.

I hear ya. I worked on UI stuff all day today and am fried.

Good day so far. Got menus, saving, pausing, resuming, and the level selection system all working. Probably my least favorite part of the whole process, and now it's behind me. 

Time to start working on more levels!

Thanks! I've learned a ton from doing this, and it's been fun to do.

Nice updates! That's awesome that you're close to being done! I look forward to trying it out.

Day 8 Update

A good day, but not good enough, I'm afraid. Things done.

• Created the Oasis art
• Got the Oasis working as a hydration stop
• Created a level end sequence
• Got the fire art done
• Added a Lives system to the game
• Game over screen working

But the pace isn't fast enough to be able to finish by Friday, when I have to leave town. Must. Go. Faster.

Tomorrow I really need to get the Level Selection Mechanism, game saving, pausing, resuming all in place quickly, so I can start working on more obstacles and enemies. If I could get all that done tomorrow, I think I have a chance to get levels built in time to finish a functional but untested game in time.

Thanks! Getting the health and hydration bars working felt great. It was new ground for me, and I had to piece together stuff from three tutorials to figure it out. I was stoked when I got it working.

That's odd, for sure. Hope you can figure it out!

Looking good! Great idea of a game that you can get done in the timeframe of a jam!

Day 7 Update

Good day today, but I've got to head out of town this Friday, so that leaves only four days to finish, and there is still a ton to do. I should have all day Tuesday to work on this, which will help a lot. I'm hoping I can make a huge push then.

Today, however, was a good day. I got the health bar working. I got the hydration bar working. I added water bottles which add hydration. I also got some object respawning working, and adding some player motion tweaks.

Things left to do:

• Add four more levels (Monday)
• Add navigation guides to the first level as a tutorial (Thursday)
• Add an end point for a level (oasis) (Monday)
• Add snakes as an enemy (Tuesday)
• Add quicksand as an obstacle (Monday)
• Add vultures as an enemy (Tuesday)
• Add fire as an obstacle (Monday)
• Add a mechanic for moving between levels (Monday)
• Add a splash screen. (Tuesday)
• Add a start, pause, end game, and resume menu (Wednesday)
• Other stuff I can't think of at the moment. (Thursday)