F: Platform Builder

Like playing 2D platformers?
Want to make your own but don't know how?
I have the solution. Build your own 2D platformer by selecting which backgrounds, platforms, enemies, collectables you want.
Set up all your scenes, then press play and try out your creation!
Don't like something, edit it and play again.

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Here is the web build : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/56011417/PlatformBuilder/WebBuild.html

Comments

  • Finally have a playable test build to upload and eskom decides to shed the load...I'll update the OP later I guess
  • edited
    OP updated with web build, any feedback welcome.

    Still TODO: enemies, score and health system
  • Updated the web build. Now includes shootable enemies and score.
  • Updated web build in OP. Included more scene options and climbable ladders.
  • Added background parallax instead of scrolling background and added a new player.
  • edited
    Posted a prototype early to get feedback because im not sure about the idea and what works and what doesn't. Over 130 views and not one comment?
    C'mon guys. Tell me its crap. Tell me you hate it. Tell me you like it but.... Anything please :)
  • A. It's your job to get people to be interested. And that means:
    - Screenshots
    - Maybe a video
    - Making it appealing in general. Ask yourself, did you click on someone else's prototype that presented itself in the same way you did?

    B. Everyone's kinda busy. So you have to make an effort to make it worth people's time :)

    Now on feedback:

    1. The window's too big, I had to scroll around to see the whole content.
    2. The way you talk through the building is nice, but clunky for building long term.
    3. The way you click on a piece on the left then click right to place is confusing, more so for collectibles as you have to click left and right and left and right. For platforms you want to attach a "shadow" to the cursor so the player knows what they're placing.

    4. ... In fact, this is SUPER ambitious for a simple quick prototype, level editors (in fact any editor) is a huge undertaking because there's so many UI requirements for it to be useful - and what you're looking for in a level editor is usefulness, not a new and interesting "mechanic" which a prototype should be looking for. I can name a whole bunch of other things that could make the experience of the level editor you've made better, but those things add up to usability tweaks and not prototyping for fun. Do you see the difference?

    If your goal is ultimately to build a good level editor and learn what makes a good level editor, then sure, take this exercise and polish this up. If your goal is to prototype and make something fun, then focus on that, look for mechanics that fit that.

    Hope this makes sense :)
  • edited
    Thanks for the great feedback @Tuism
    Tuism said:
    A. It's your job to get people to be interested. And that means:
    - Screenshots
    - Maybe a video
    - Making it appealing in general. Ask yourself, did you click on someone else's prototype that presented itself in the same way you did?
    True, I will remedy that soon.
    B. Everyone's kinda busy. So you have to make an effort to make it worth people's time :)
    Yes I know this. :)
    Now on feedback:

    1. The window's too big, I had to scroll around to see the whole content.
    2. The way you talk through the building is nice, but clunky for building long term.
    3. The way you click on a piece on the left then click right to place is confusing, more so for collectibles as you have to click left and right and left and right. For platforms you want to attach a "shadow" to the cursor so the player knows what they're placing.

    4. ... In fact, this is SUPER ambitious for a simple quick prototype, level editors (in fact any editor) is a huge undertaking because there's so many UI requirements for it to be useful - and what you're looking for in a level editor is usefulness, not a new and interesting "mechanic" which a prototype should be looking for. I can name a whole bunch of other things that could make the experience of the level editor you've made better, but those things add up to usability tweaks and not prototyping for fun. Do you see the difference?
    1.) Strange, maybe a web build thing because I placed everything using screen width and height so it should be good.
    2.) After a while you don't even need to look at the writing so I think it is ok as is.
    3.) Click once to select and click twice to place was done so that you can click and drag them after, else when you click to drag a platform it would instantiate another at the point you clicked. I never did think about a way around that yet but I`ll look into it.
    4.) Super ambitious maybe, but I have always been a very rapid prototyper and seeing as I haven't really spent long to get it this far, I think investing another week in it would be ok.
    If your goal is ultimately to build a good level editor and learn what makes a good level editor, then sure, take this exercise and polish this up. If your goal is to prototype and make something fun, then focus on that, look for mechanics that fit that.
    Hope this makes sense :)
    Perfect sense yes. The funny thing is that I never thought of this as a "Level Builder" until you mentioned it :D
    This was for people who don't know how to make games, the fun element would be playing your creation once completed, not the mechanics.
  • I think, it's about the feeling ownership - for example, Little Big Planet was successful in letting people build levels because there were so many options and ways to build them, making engines that moved and donkeys that honked and whatever, as long as you could be bothered to work through the system to getting it. Same with Minecraft - it had options, many many options. Same as Besieged (check it out if you don't know what it is, it's huge on Imgur right now).

    The point I'm making is - yes people will have fun making things, but they want to make things that are "original" - and that comes from building blocks - in minecraft it's little blocks of different colours that can combine to be whatever shape and colour. In besieged it's non-descript bits of wood and gears and explosions and fire that could be anything shape and do anything (and then catch fire and explode).

    Your assets (platforms, enemies, backgrounds, etc) are too "already there" for the creator to feel like they own it. So for people to feel like they own it, you need smaller pieces that can be manipulated for the player to feel like they "own" it.

    And that's a huge undertaking!
  • @Tuism I agree that would be huge. This is only my 2nd attempt at 2D. Its also only about my 5th game attempt, so if it doesn't win competitions, I`m ok with that :) I`m just making it to learn and share that learning experience with y`all.
  • I would like to add to the above with the following:

    What makes your game, a game? What is the purpose/goal of the game?

    Is the purpose to make a game, or to play and win the game you create? Is this a tool like game maker, or is it actually a game?

    Minecraft/Terraria starts of as a game, where the key is survival. How do you survive? By creating shelter, make weapons and gather equipment. Then it transforms into a free form open world "building" game.

    It just feels like the direction of your game is not clear enough.
  • edited
    Please don't get me wrong! I'm not discouraging you from making what you want to make, I'm asking you if you are hitting the goals that we thought you were pursuing.

    If your goal is: make exactly this and learn from exactly this, then that's great! You didn't even need to be in comp F to make this :) Well done, keep making exactly this and let us know what you want out of it so we can comment accordingly.

    If your goal is to be part of comp F: then we will comment towards whether or not you're fulfilling the goal of successfully building a prototype that is fun and fulfils comp F's criterias.

    --------------------------------------------------
    vintar said:
    @Tuism I agree that would be huge. This is only my 2nd attempt at 2D. Its also only about my 5th game attempt, so if it doesn't win competitions, I`m ok with that :) I`m just making it to learn and share that learning experience with y`all.
    I didn't actually say anything about 2D or 3D - Terreria was 2D and it was huge too. Little Big Planet was 2D too. That has nothing to do with the complexity. The number of attempts previous to this also has nothing to do with what I'm saying - you really have no need to "defend yourself" from comments - we make them so that we can all improve. Please don't ever feel like your efforts are unappreciated - anyone here taking time to comment is hoping that you'd improve, not to bring you down :)
  • I'm new to developing so I don't need to defend myself. Sorry if you took it that way, was just saying how it is :)
  • Actrox said:
    I would like to add to the above with the following:

    What makes your game, a game? What is the purpose/goal of the game?

    Is the purpose to make a game, or to play and win the game you create? Is this a tool like game maker, or is it actually a game?

    Minecraft/Terraria starts of as a game, where the key is survival. How do you survive? By creating shelter, make weapons and gather equipment. Then it transforms into a free form open world "building" game.

    It just feels like the direction of your game is not clear enough.
    Not sure what's unclear. I took the core verb of the competition "build" and used it. You guys are critting tho from a gave dev perspective. Sure we can all knock out a 2D platformer, but what about those that can't, kids even? I can imagine the fun in creating something then watching it in action. It is this exact thing that I love about developing, watching my creation in action.
  • edited
    Well, barring some bugs, I certainly found level creation easy enough with your step-by-step instructions. It seems to be shaping up to be a functional enough level-builder, but like the others, a simple live level editor lacks meat for me. I understand your attempt to create something like Littlebigplanet or Mario Maker though. I'm sure that folks who aren't already game designers might feel very differently about the game compared to us. ;)

    A few bugs: The Player selection menu didn't pop up for me, and the pivot points of certain tiles were offset from the main sprites. I'd also encourage you to implement some sort of grid snap or some other system to allow aligned tile placement. I was able to overlap a bunch of stuff, and it would've been nice to just have it snap to a grid instead. Unless you already have this, and I missed it because I didn't read. :P

    I'd also have tile selection be persistent once the player's selected one. Having to click the same button each time I wanted to add multiple instances of the same object was a little clunky.
  • Thanks for the feedback @Gazza_N

    The player section will only pop up on level2 scene5, this is currently the last scene. As for the snap-to-grid, well I could try it, but I guess if you don't want stuff overlapping, then don't overlap it when placing it :D
    I know about the pivot points on some platforms being offset. Actually there are no pivot points, you are just clicking on it`s collider, the same collider that's used to stop the player from falling through it. I will add bigger trigger colliders to these platforms to compensate.
    Persistent tile selection is a bit tricky, as I replied to Tuism before, once you select a platform, then click the screen to place it, you are able to click and drag it. Now if the tile was persistent, when you click to drag it, another tile would instantiate. I`m sure there is a way around it, just haven't spent any more time on the game lately. Actually I might pull it and start from scratch since all comments lead to there either being no clear direction or not enough meat :)
  • The player section will only pop up on level2 scene5, this is currently the last scene. As for the snap-to-grid, well I could try it, but I guess if you don't want stuff overlapping, then don't overlap it when placing it :D
    Aaaah, okay. Wasn't aware of that, but I admit I was playing on the fly, so if it was in your instructions I missed it. Also, tsk tsk regarding grid snap - the first rule of good UX is not to *allow* the user to make mistakes in the first place. :P
    Persistent tile selection is a bit tricky, as I replied to Tuism before, once you select a platform, then click the screen to place it, you are able to click and drag it. Now if the tile was persistent, when you click to drag it, another tile would instantiate.
    Well, that's not necessarily a issue. Just check that nothing's already there first with a quick raycast from screen. If no thingy is intersected, instantiate a new thingy of the active type. Else if an existing thingy is intersected, DRAG MODE ENGAGE on intersected thingy, and don't instantiate. :)
  • I should've really put each level on one screen, but I wanted them to be quite long so it gets quite involved, code wise.
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