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So I have this mechanic, what now?

A topic by NotExplosive created Dec 03, 2015 Views: 1,150 Replies: 17

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NotExplosive9 years ago (1 edit)

So I've got this prototype and I think I have a pretty need mechanic. You can collide with the red squares to attach them to yourself (or other red squares you've already acquired). It's a bit buggy right now since I actually made this a few months ago and forgot about it. I'd like to revisit the idea (probably rewrite a lot of trash code) but I'm not really sure how to proceed.

What additional mechanics do you guys think would make this "playable prototype" a "game"? I have a handful of ideas but I don't want to restrict creativity by revealing them just yet, I'd much rather see what you guys come up with just at a glance.

I'm getting a 404 on that link.

Darkest Kale9 years ago

Yup, link's broken sadly

Amos9 years ago(+1)

Project is private and that's not the secret link — OP, you can find the secret link in the topbar of your game!

NotExplosive9 years ago

Fixed!

SolarLune9 years ago(+1)

Link's broken and I don't see any similarly-named projects on your page, so Ionno, but just brainstorming from the sounds of it, maybe there are different kinds of squares and you can mix them up to give you different abilities, Kirby 64-style. 3 water blocks gives you a strong water beam, 2 water blocks and an ice block has you shoot larger water bullets that slow enemies, that kinda thing.

Or, the squares themselves are parts (think parts to a ship or mech) and their position can change your combat and movement capabilities (like having a "push" block on the bottom lets you jump, while having it on the side allows you to push enemies away, or air-dash). That kinda thing could be fun to play.

NotExplosive9 years ago

That's a pretty neat idea. The link is fixed so you should try it now and lemme know if you come up with anything else. Thanks. :)

NotExplosive9 years ago

OK! Links fixed! Sorry about that!

slimefriend9 years ago(+2)

Hmmm...

Maybe there are enemies of certain shapes and you have to make the same shape and overlap them to defeat them?

NotExplosive9 years ago

Interesting! Could you expend on that? What would happen when you overlap an enemy? Do you lose all of the things that were used for that shape? What if you collected more blocks than you needed?

slimefriend9 years ago (1 edit)

The enemies would just like...disappear (screenshake, particle effects to accompany it obviously, maybe there's a points system?). I think the blocks around you would disappear too. If you collected too many it just wouldnt work, you have to be the exact same shape. So you kinda have to avoid these weird tetromino-like enemies while collecting squares in certain spots. I dunno how fun that would be tho, just an idea

ChillinChum9 years ago

Yeah, I kinda had tetris come to mind when I saw this, and I was thinking of some way that you had to fill a particularly sized spot with the right bricks attached to yourself.

But I was thinking of it more in a puzzle sesne, where you had to say.....fill a chasm with a bridge for someone else to cross.

This idea just seems to be a more pure version of that mechanically.

SolarLune9 years ago

OK, another idea after having played the game.

You build up a sword to fight with sliver by sliver. Rotating is your primary method of attack.

slimefriend9 years ago

yeah, following up on this: every square would be like its own self-destructing weapon, so you're in a constant cycle of picking up and destroying these cubes to try and protect yourself

You could also do like a match 3 thing. Make the play area smaller and if you touch a wall, then gameover.

NotExplosive9 years ago

Could you elaborate? I'm familiar with match-3 games but I'm not totally clear on how you mean.

Zarkonnen9 years ago(+1)

Reminds me of Langton's Loops, a type of artificial life. You could have a game-of-life-esque system where blocks of various colours interact with each other, and you need to try and accumulate useful sequences of blocks.

oz2mura9 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

so that's what happened.

i'll just say my feelings and thoughts that occurred as i played.

i wanted to make it bigger, i wanted to collect more, it was tricky trying to build the shape i wanted, and when i failed i just accepted it and moved on. when i saw that there was no more shapes to add on to it, i was sad. i was also expecting the screen to zoom out a lot, and there to be even more shapes to add on to it. simply put, i really wanted to see how massive this shape could get.

reflecting on that experience. the vibes i had with katamari came to mind. a timed experience to see how big it can get. bonus points for getting certain shapes/combinations. flailing helpless square beings all trying to get back home traveling through space. or a puzzle game where you goal is to remove existing blocks by attaching enough of the same color together. blah blah blah.

i like it, i hope you find something appropriate for it.

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