Several big changes from cosmetic to functional. Now that the new second boss (the Gourmand) is implemented, I can do some comparison tests to see if it is more intuitive to fight. You can read more about the life and changes to Qualdrin's second boss in Qualdrin Deep Dive - Boss Iterations.
The game now has music for the stages and boss fights! Music created by Jordan Peloquin (portfolio: https://jwesternskies.itch.io/portfolio).
Game speed adjustment is a real game changer, allowing you to make the game slower. Now the game is even more accessible to players with challenges that can make it difficult to react as quickly as others.
In a continued effort to be more direct in what I want players to learn and do, I created a cutscene introducing the Bottom Feeder and how it behaves. I also added an Options menu to provide additional options for accessibility.
I received some good feedback from my old college classmates. Hopefully these A-Ship Clusters will provide scripted scenarios where large blocks are better than small blocks. I was hoping by chance clusters of enemies would necessitate large blocks but now realize those moments were either ambiguous or non-existent.
The 2017 Halloween Game Expo was the first time I showcased any games since graduating college. It came at a great time: I was already remaking Qualdrin and this was the kind of milestone I needed. I'll be breaking down the lessons I learned into several articles, since I felt each deserved its own attention. Starting off is the feature I had the highest hopes for: the Bottom Feeder.
(To get familiar with the game, check this video of the older version.) April has come and gone. If you remember my previous blog post, I set some goals that month for Qualdrin. Well how did it go?
Today, I am going to announce some big plans for Qualdrin! The Student Game Showcase of GameFest 2014 will be April 25. I submitted Qualdrin and I am hopeful that it will be displayed along with some other great games. To prepare, I am addressing a concern that came up during my latest playtests: Adding more fun.
Fun is very tricky, especially in this game because many players continually request power-ups and more abilities to add more fun. I am reluctant to make those kinds of changes and I will try explain my reasons in a future Deep Reflection post. But I am confident these new plans will help satisfy my players. First things first... Not everyone has the time or ability to experience every game they want to play. Believe me. I'm never going to catch up with Assassin's Creed now. So I uploaded a full gameplay video of Qualdrin to YouTube! I'm looking forward to adding more gameplay videos in the future. You can view the video here and on the Qualdrin page. (I used Open Broadcaster Software for recording.) |
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