Harry Salt and his Quest for Pepper
Community Forums/Showcase/Harry Salt and his Quest for Pepper
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| This is my new game, its an old-style platform game heavily influenced by Jet Set Willy but its more dynamic. I made a game before this using physics (Blaze of Glory ) and i tried to use the physics engine (Box 2D) to make a platform game, it worked ok.... but i still prefered the old method of making platform games, which seemed more flexible and accurate, so i used that. so no proper physics in this game :) its not the most serious game in the world and the graphics are temporary - i have been concentrating on the gameplay :) hope you like it, still lots to do but you get a good idea of how it plays. The level design is not final and i need to make it more exciting and add more monsters. the plot is that Harry Salt is looking for his girlfriend Pepper Milo who has been kidnapped. it sounds very cliche but it has some really big twists :) EDIT : JULY 2011 : LATEST VIDEO IS NOW THIS ONE -->> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvKHxdaz4YU Gameplay : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pMvvIUCPiI More Gameplay including the secret room and shows the real-time map editor in action. also i am very proud of the zooming effect when you die at the end. you can actually zoom in and out when playing but i didnt demonstrate that, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgC_neRi3kc i welcome any comments, even if you dont like it :) Last edited 2011 |
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| This is so awesome. Love the creativity, humor, and style. |
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| thanks very much Sauer :) i worked quite hard on it, so im glad you like it. i have lots of ideas, just taking a break now for a couple of months to recharge my creativity batteries :) im glad i got the basic game up and running. i spent quite a lot of time on the control of the main character, you can actually jump a couple of steps after walking off a platform , although you dont notice this when playing the game. this was because the main character moves quite fast and it can sometimes feel like you fall off the edge of a platform when you are pressing the jump key, so i made it more lenient . pleased you like it thank you :) |
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| B-rilliant... Very JSW. Can't wait to play it ! |
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| I like the blue monsters with the big teeth. |
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| Awesome! Will be interesting to see with your final graphics! It might look cool to have the screen slide between frames, perhaps with some kind of motion blur effect? Dunno if that would slow down gameplay at all... Or what if you had room zones set out so the camera would be free to pan within these areas but still have the same "switch" effect when you go from zone to zone. |
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| Thanks Steve, haha yes is a lot of JSW in there :) i made the control a bit more dynamic and faster, which changes how it plays. i still have a lot to put into the rooms though - they are a bit empty at the moment. puki , lol thank you, they do look quite funny :) i drew all my graphics left-handed for this game (i am righthanded). its just where my computer is its easier to have the mouse on the left side. thanks Skn3 :) i like the zone idea, i might do some places like that. - theres still a lot more places to add to my game. i like having the house flip-screen cos its better for the gameplay in some ways to see the whole screen at once. another reason is so there is a nice contrast when you leave the front of the house and it starts scrolling in all directions - so its a nice surprise for people when that happens. |
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| My nick on here used to be Nomen luni, so you better believe I like JSW. This is excellent work. It has a definite JSW flavour but has a fresh twist. Likes: 1. Gameplay dynamics 2. Switching between flip screen and scrolling 3. Graphics. They need polish, but even at this stage they have character. Dislikes: 1. Zooming out on dying.... looks great but gives away potentially unexplored rooms which kills the adventure aspect. 2. The name stinks. Good luck with this. |
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| I would be curious about some screens, can't view flash movies here. |
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| Looks promising. As others have said, you seem to have brilliantly captured the JSW vibe. Well done! Having said that, the graphics are atrocious and need replacing. I see what you're trying to do with them, but remember - JSW's graphics were deceptively simple and wonderfully surreal but not poorly made. Some of the sprites were actually pretty detailed and carefully drawn. It'd be a shame to undermine your other great achievements with shoddy visuals. EDIT: Also, I agree with John Galt about the zooming - don't give away the surprise of unvisited rooms. Exploring the mansion was always one of the most appealing parts of the game for me, and discovering a new room is a nice little gameplay reward for the player. |
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| Hurry up... I have money burning a hole in my pocket here! :) |
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| Looks great, I think the swinging rope is a bit more Technician Ted than JSW. Looks brilliant! |
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| Thanks John - i remember nomen luni - with the plane crashed into the house. I think it means Name of the Game (Ultimate's old subtitle). thanks for all the tips. i had to put the zooming in somewhere because i spent over a week getting it to work! but yes i agree it does ruin the exploration aspect - and its pretty easy to spot the secret room too haha. so i will change it for final version. you can actually zoom in and out in game - but that wont be in the final game. You can keep playing when its zoomed in or out as well. i just noticed the new Castlevania 2D game on Xbox live lets you do that too. damm :) i quite like the name at the moment, but i will def consider changing it. it reminds me of all those old long 8 bit game names like Quest for the Golden Egg Cup and The Thing on a Spring. Luke - dont worry they are temporary graphics. i have to resize them a lot at the moment to get the ganmeplay right, so i wont do final graphics until i have finished. someone has offered to do them for me when i get to that point. i draw all my gfx left-handed (i am right handed) so thats my excuse, that and not being artistic :) Blitzplotter - thank you very much, my rope is a bit more solid than the JSW one, but it works teh same. i borrowed the rope routine off someone on here, and then altered it a bit for my purposes. i wish i could remember who so i can thank them, it was a post on the forum. (i will have to search and find out) im still on a break i am afraid. but i will get back to doing this soon. i was starting to feel a bit stale so i needed a creativitiy break. i might do things like make some music for it in the mean time :) |
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| Don't sweat the name. IMO a name doesn't matter too much and this is just 1 guy's opinion. You could bring the zoom in when the player has visited all the rooms in a given area. As a mini 'reward', the camera could zoom out and show the map for that section only. No adventure lost once you have seen all the rooms anyway. It could even highlight the hidden room as a grey square giving you a clue. |
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| i like that idea John! *thumbs up* i probably wouldnt show the secret room on the zoom at all . theres a secret basement room you can get into with my friend in it at the moment lol. the only way in is to stand under the moving platform on the left wall of the house. when it comes down it pushes you through the floor (intentional) and into the room below |
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| Like it! We've got the inside scoop now. |
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| I've done about 5 months work since the last video now. improvements include - more background graphics e.g. bookcases, plants - pushable (+pullable) blocks - new rooms - lots of new enemies inc. vertical ones - sound effects - lots of bugs have been fixed here's a screenshot of a new area i made with a waterfall (looks better when it's moving). the butterflies flutter about too.  i intend to make a new video and then take a break, but it probably will be at least a month before i make a video. maybe 2 months. hope you like the screenshot :) Last edited 2011 Last edited 2011 |
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Fianl screenshot for now. This room is my tribute to The Forgotten Abbey in JSW. the disco-balls spins, the lights flash and the Autotron's Dance! Whenever one of my friends plays this room, he cant stop laughing. i think its the way the Autotrons dance. this is his favourite room lol |
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| I look forward to playing this! I'm a huge David Crane fan, and this reminds me of his Pitfall games. Nice Job, Rico! Jason |
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| I watched the YouTube video - nice. |
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| Hi Jason - thanks very much. i can see what you mean about Pitfall because of all the green. actually i am not a big fan of Pitfall, but then i only played it for the first time about 8 years ago. if i had played it at the time i probably would have thought it was pretty amazing. the main reason the game is green is because on every computer i have ever had - i have tried to make a platform game but given up or got bored. i always used blue blocks. this time i decided a fresh attitude was in order so i chose green as the basic block. there are lots of other coloured blocks in the game now, just i started with only the green block so most of the rooms are still green. Thanks very much too stanrol - pleased you liked it. the new video will show the updated game. much of the basic house is still the same although there are some new enemies.... and also an Egyptian pyramid in the shed :) Last edited 2011 |
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| I'm loving this - it's been an inspiration for me recently. Looking forward to the finished product! |
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| No idea about the game but i like the title. |
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| Thanks very much Matt :) are you making a platform game too? One thing i tried to do with my game was to make the basic control really good, because i see a lot of platform games with good graphics but the control isnt quite right. so i hope i have got mine right. If you are making a game i recommend getting the control feeling really good and only then move on to the rest of the game. (as you can see a lot of my game in the original video was quite empty feeling - lots to add later!). A lot of physics-based platformers can feel a bit too floaty-feeling, so try to find ways to avoid that if you are making one of those. In my game because the main character moves quite fast - it can feel like the program hasnt registered your jump before you fall off the edge of a platform. This isnt the case at all - it is just the player's perception that this is happening. So to make the game control feel 'friendly' for the player - i allow the user to still jump for a couple of frames after he has left a platform. It sounds strange but its impossible to notice when the game is running and just adds to the 'feel' of the game. There's some other stuff i do like that which isnt noticeable but just makes the game 'feel' better. I notice Nintendo do a lot of that in their platform games - e.g. in Mario you are 'helped' round blocks if you jump up and they are in your way. In Bomberman you are also 'helped' round blocks that are in your way. Most players don't notice that stuff but it makes the game feel good. so do a lot of that :) Taumel - sorry you cant see my videos but at least you can see some screen shots now :) Here's a zoomed-out (in-game) screenshot of part of the map so you can see how the waterfall fits in - it pours into an underground river. See if anyone can spot the Jet Set Willy 2 poster :)  Last edited 2011 |
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| This looks cool! Hoping for a Mac version. Whilst i mostly get physics working in games just fine, i hate the fact that it's more out of your control and that it can consume a lot more processing power. On the other side it has its pros as well. Depends on the project. |
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| Yes. when are you going to post a demo(mac)? I am itching to try it already! is that your picture on the top left? |
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| +1 for Mac demo. I can compile it for you if you don't have one. |
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| @John Galt, you know how to compile Blitz exes into mac programs? |
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| @John Galt, you know how to compile Blitz exes into mac programs? Nopez, that's not possible. Monsieur Galt offered to compile the source into a Mac program (I'm assuming it's a BlitzMax project) |
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| Taumel - thank you :) yes physics are good for lots of things. i did start to make this game with Box2d but i decided to go for the old-school feel. it seems easier not having to worry about forces to fudge the player into staying in certain places etc. i think using physics makes some things easier and other things harder. Jesse - no thats my friend Rossy. she wanted a room in the game. i think its quite a cool room - although it is very girly + pink. my friend Ben is actually in the game (as a sprite rather than a picture) too but in a secret place. He is pencilled in to be a serial killer. none of my other friends are getting in - no matter how much they ask! I dont know how to do a demo yet. ive never actually put a game out anywhere yet,. i will have a go soon though. its locked to the display rate on my screen at the moment (60hz) so will have to do stuff like that and maybe change the controls. i dont have a mac so i will get john to compile it for me. nice of him to offer :) Thanks very much Jon - yes sure i can give you a code for a mac version when i do a demo :) Last edited 2011 |
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| ok here is the video showing some of the new rooms and the river. hope you like it :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvKHxdaz4YU i am a bit disappointed with the image quality in the video and Fraps made it judder and pause a little but imagine it looking sharp (but still with the crap graphics) and very smooth and you get a good idea of how it runs. Enjoy :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Features Include : - Lots more Background Graphics - Push/Pullable Blocks you can stack and stand on - Lots more monsters! - You can use a boat! - The Game is slightly less green than before. - Lots of bugs have been fixed. - You can be trampled by monsters or knocked off ledges after you die. your dead-corpse can even bounce up and down on the springs. - If you fall too far - you will fall head-first and get your head stuck in the ground. - the game now has sound effects - Controllable cat character! - Butterflies! (deadly ones) - More rooms! - Dissolving floors + ceiling spikes Last edited 2011 Last edited 2011 |
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| Oh, I'm assuming it's BlitzMax, otherwise I can't compile a Mac version? |
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| oh! I am really liking! it Rico.it's turning out good. I like the room with the Autotrons and the effects through out the whole game and the boat is nice too. |
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| John - yes it's in BlitzMax so a Mac version should be possible :) Jesse - Thanks very much. i used a loop from a Soulwax song in the Autotron room. I remember you helping me out with the the rotating platform for the boat - got it working in the end :) the river is actually the waterfall rotated onto it's side and doubled up. |
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| There's something magical about this game. I'm convinced there's a market for something like this on xbox live and porting to Monkey to access that target shouldn't be too killer. |
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| Enjoyed the video. Some good humour in the game. |
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| thanks John :) i would love to be able to port it to Xbox Live. Does Monkey use the same kind of commands as BlitzMax? when i program in Blitzmax i dont really understand Object-Orientated programming so i just write most of it straight, i hope you can do that in Monkey too? I was playing Adventure (Atari 2600) on Xbox Live today. its the only game i own in my (classic games room) Arcade on there, that is an incredibly simple game but just feels good to play. @Big10p thank you, im pleased you liked it :) Last edited 2011 |
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| Rico, Yeah you can program Monkey just the same. There's one piece of OO 'boilerplate' code you need but you don't need to understand anything to use it. |
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| ok sounds good will bear that in mind for when i eventually finish the game :) |
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I am still working on this, I have actually done a lot of new things but for now I made this new video just to show the new death animation when 'Harry' gets hit by a rocket. Also I wanted to show how he can get trampled by enemies after he dies. Just fun things really. Rocket Approaching  Ouch! (note Harry's head flying off to the right, the body parts also scale, so they appear to move towards the front of the screen.) Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSNOvqDWcJg or here : PS I will eventually get rid of some of those green blocks - those were just the standard blocks I used when originally testing the game, so they tend to be everywhere still. |
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| Blimey!, the character of this game must of upset someone really bad, even the light bulbz are out to get him. :D |
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| Glad to hear this one still being worked on, waiting patiently for this... |
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| Haha that's great! |
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| @Steve haha yes most things in there are out to get him. Thanks OldNESJunkie, good to know that like you like the look of it. I did have a little break but I have been working on it for many months now, adding things and fixing things. I will make a proper vid at some point showing them. It just seems to take me ages to program new things, even quite minor ones. thanks too Foppy :) |
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