itch.io

That's a fair critique. The tight level layout bogs down the movement somewhat, I still stand by it because speeding up and realistic momentum was a core mechanic I wanted in the gameplay but it it doesn't suit the level layout. Please check out the dev logs, I speak to my shortcomings in level design. 

I really love the art style of this game. Gave me a bit of grief to run, even on firefox but really good work

Cheers. I commented on your game. Please check out the dev logs, I explain all the reasons for the lack of content in my game(spoiler alert, I am fairly new to this and found it quite challenging, but fun! :))

Really cool concept. The controls are very tight and the movement of the gameplay really satisfying. I found it more fun to bump into poles and distort the shape of the ball, almost wish it was more integrated into the gameplay. 
I wish you could mute the sound effect of the ball rolling too.

Otherwise, great music, awesome sound effects and gameplay. 

Absolutely. Checking it out :)

Awesome concept. satisfying as heck.

:) Thanks heaps. I wanted to make so much more too! I feel like I gotta explain that, if you care to check out the dev logs, I talk about it and explain myself further. Thanks, again. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Hehe. I spent a lot of time trying to find a distinct cat sprite but then I realised the theme gave me a lot of room for interpretation. Thus Cat-bit...or Rab-Cat....or Rab-line. 

I wish I could've done so much more with the level too. If you care to, check out the dev logs, I talk a bit about the limitations and shortcomings of this project.

My initial post for reference: https://itch.io/jam/game-off-2018/topic/316553/complete-beginner-using-phaser-3-...

When I started out , my goal was to create a fun 2d platformer. I had no idea what it would require or what it would look like. I'm please to say that I am enjoying the process so far and the platforming so far does feel satisfying and theres enough room in the framwork to add movement options and improve the feel of the gameplay.

I started off with the basic Phaser 3 tutorial and improved my knowledge base so much. Things that I learned and things I didn't consider at first:

- I have exclusively been using open source graphics for everything in our game. Enemies, characters, particle sprite animations and I'm happy to share that there is no shortage of character sprite sheets to use for my game. I had no trouble finding a stand in for all my character sprites and animations. If I'm nitpicking. It is lacking in a certain aesthetic but that's always subjective.

- I have learned about using surge.sh to publish my game

Some features I am proud of. 

- I am please with the story we are slowly generating and creating. 

- I added a skidding mechanic similar to nes mario games were your character skids to a stop if the player builds up enough momentum. If the player holds back against a skid and presses jump they do a cool backflip jump like in ario vs donkey kong on gameboy and mario 64. Does seem like much but took a lot of tinkering to get just right. 

- Our sound and music artist is putting together awesome sounds for the game which I'm really excited to incorporate. 

Have a look and keep in mind its a playtest level and it's still a lil buggy but you can get a sense of the movement and speed.
http://gameoff2018.surge.sh/

Having Gameoff everyone.

Looks like a funky card game. Am I close to the mark?

Thanks for all the clarification.

Hey TDOT. Out of curiosity,
What are you building your game with?

I've followed your twitch. Keen to see what you do.

Not an official but I'm certain you can. I am so I hope that statement is true. 

Had a look at those frameworks. I especially like Bitsy definitely worth consideration for beginners.

Cheers

Hey Smax,

Thanks for sharing. Definitely makes me feel less alone. 
 
I took a look at your stuff. Sam-urai is really satisfying with it's physics and character animation is cute as heck. 
I'm cloning VAVO to take a look now. 
I noticed Gadot after seeing last year's game off winner using it. Looks really promising. Is Gadot your current preference?  

I would be really keen to have someone who is more seasoned in Phaser and game dev in general help me. 

I'll tell you what I thought would be a realistic goal for the entry. 
I want to have(in order of priority):
- At least 2 levels
- At least 2 different enemy types
- Sound effects for jumping, enemies, enemy defeat, option select
- Boot/Loading screen
- Title screen
- Game over / continue screen

I don't know what type/look those elements will have, I'm waiting to find out what the theme is before deciding. 
Those elements listed above I think I will certainly want in the game. I'm open minded to ideas though. 

What do you think of this:

Would you be keen to work on enemy development? 
This would be getting the movement and feel of the enemies to feel just right and satisfying to beat.
I think as long as the minimum 2 enemy types are interesting and diverse enough, they can create some interesting platforming challenges.  

OR MAYBE 

Would you be interested in helping with level development?  
I have learned how to use Tiled to create levels and load them on different events but I'm still not very confident if I'm using best practices to achieve that. 
If you would like, you could consult on my current method for level development. 

OR 

I'm open to any ideas you have for what you'd like to do. 

I have a person for the sound which is good. I don't have a person to do the graphics yet. 
I'm not too worried about graphics because there is a big well of open source graphics to use and I already have a few sprites that if they fit with the theme, I won't mind using them.

Do you have any familiarity with Phaser 3? 
It's ok if you don't, I think a lot of Phaser 2/CE devs pick up phaser 3 fairly easily. 
Devs who switched from Phaser 2 to 3, have said the performance improvement is pretty drastic so I'm definitely going to stick with Phaser 3. 

We can chat more. Do you have a discord? 

Thanks again for reaching out.

I think so. I'm still learning myself. I have hit the occasional roadblock but there seems to be a method for each issue so far. I think the Phaser 3 documentation is still a bit lacking but would definitely vouch for the framework. 

Is there anything you're looking to build in particular?

Hey All,

I've always been a gamer who games often. In my professional life, I work as a Front End Developer building websites and the like. 
Over the past years I have dabbled in Unity, Unreal and Plain JS to create very basic and unfinished games. I always enjoy it and have always been keen to make a fun platformer. 

Currently I am using Phaser 3 to learn the fundamentals. I have used Tiled to build out sprites for characters and levels. 

So far, I have learned:
1. To create a character that moves with keyboard input and sprite animation for running and jumping.
2. Running and jumping physics that are somewhat satisfying if I do say so myself. 
     I've incorporated basic momentum physics so my character builds up speed the longer they run to allow for longer jumps.
3. Basic collision detection with platforms and items which changes the physics for jumping.
4. How to setup a camera that follows my main character. 
5.  How to incorporate WebPack to modularise my game.
6. My most recent accomplishment is utilising Tiled to setup a working level that my character can collide with.

My next goal is to setup an end point so a new level will be loaded with a different map. 

I put a strong focus on satisfying gameplay mechanics. For example, I spent a lot of time just getting the jumping to feel satisfying and just right in regards to momentum, velocity and speed. My level/character/UI design skills are quite poor.  

This is the level I am currently at. 

I've learned all this through a combination of Phaser's documentation and scouring the internet to glean small pockets of tutorials and information to build my knowledge base. Phaser 2/CE has a lot of info/tutorials online but I don't currently see a huge well of tutorials for Phaser 3 for beginners but I am making it work. 

All of this is to say, I don't have much experience but would be keen to collaborate. 
Maybe you would like to:
- Look at level design for a fun platformer 
- Utilise your digital design skills to provide cool assets for levels/characters/npcs/titles
- Bring me in on a project where you want to work on the overall game and where I can hone in on gameplay mechanics/ physics.
- If you do not want to work full time on a project, maybe you could teach me more Phaser 3 fundamentals to further my skills so I can improve. 

If there are any other complete beginners who want to feel and help me feel less alone, please shout out. I'm very keen to hear about your experience with game development so far. 

Thanks All,
MHC.