(Those who follow me on Facebook have seen/read this already, but I’m putting it here for those who may not have seen it elsewhere.)
I’ve been working hard on my Jet Dancer game. I had to deconstruct a lot of it and put it back together in order to make it less messy. I wanted to talk about the gameplay that I’ve designed since I finally have Jet to a point where she doesn’t feel sloppy and unpolished. I got rid of several superfluous attacks that were causing glitches and not benefiting the game much.
The vertical gauge that glows is Jet’s power gauge. It fills up rapidly and certain attacks and moves drain it. Jet can only dash or fire her kick cannon (not shown) when the gauge is full, but most moves such as dashing, backflip and getting injured drain it.
Jet can now dash in the air, at a downward angle. It extends the length of her jump distance significantly when used properly. If you jump as soon as you dash, the energy is maintained and she can dash again out of the air. It’s useful for getting around since Jet is invulnerable while dashing.
I also implemented a power stock feature. When Jet lands her signature Rebound move (or collects a certain power-up item), her gauge increases up to a max level and an aura glows around her. Rebound also accelerates the recharge of her power gauge. During this time her attack power increases significantly. However, the buff is only temporary (I’m still playing around with how much time I want it to last for) but can be reset by landing another Rebound. This means that a skilled player can maximize damage (and score) by doing multiple Rebounds and dash evasions in combat.
Finally, I implemented a much-needed crouch ability. It can stand to be animated better…I’m thinking of changing it to a dance-evasion ability that renders her invulnerable for an instant, since Jet Dancer currently isn’t doing a whole lot of…dancing.
I’m ready to move onto designing better enemies and levels now. My next goal is to produce the first boss enemy and set up the fight.
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I’m planning to use a part of my site as a developer diary, as part of my goal of putting more effort into developing this game. I’ve decided to stop dancing around numerous projects and just focus on this for now. I expect every once in a while, I’ll want to take a break and add another piece to my 100 Girl Artbook, and I’ll do that, but I’m no longer considering that my primary focus.
Jet Dancer will be a playable game, and I intend to make massive progress in the year 2017. The framework is there, now I just have to build on it.
