Archives

OddBall Screenshot Saturday #19

11:54 AM September 29, 2012
Check out Screenshot Saturday number nineteen for the OddBall game! This week I've been working on new level textures, tweaking background world textures, and adding particle systems to the game.

Today's image shows level 41 which is part of "Area 3: The Packaging Plant". In this section the player learns that crates can actually be useful rather than just a blocking obstacle (crates can depress buttons and keep doors open). Normally you can use the Anvil Powerup to transform an OddBall and depress buttons. The buttons trigger moving platforms/doors that will remain open only while their button is depressed.

The trick with these puzzles is that you need to score all 3 of the OddBalls to pass a level and the final scoring target might be blocked by a door. You could use an anvil to open this door for the first 2 OddBalls, but removing that OddBall from the button to score it would close the door. This is where crates come in handy because they can remain on a button to keep a doorway open. So this section of the game, "The Packaging Plant", involves a lot of crates that need to be moved to crucial buttons.

I've also added some particle systems to the game for extra polish. Scoring an OddBall will now trigger an electrical particle system on the scoring target, and likewise triggering an OddBall Powerup will display a quick electrical charge around the ball. I've also added a smoke "poof" particle system to the cannon when firing an OddBall, as well as a few other small particle systems to various actions throughout the game. The result is a game that is very much starting to look "finished". I'm still aiming to wrap up all features for OddBall by the end of the year, with the intention of releasing the game on the AppStore in early 2013 :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #19

This entry posted by Graham in Velvety Couch Games
Tags: Game Development, OddBalls, ScreenshotSaturday