Another month just zoomed past. Time flies when you're having fun, as they say!
Continuing from our last update I have been working through all the side stuff in order to get it out of the way. Getting as much done as possible now gives me the opportunity to focus on the core part of the game all the way through to the end of development instead of risking burn out by leaving the "less important stuff" to the end.
Anyway, let's get into it!
Randomizer Mode
This mode is often created by dedicated fans of their respective game and involves a lot of messing around, testing and error handling to reach even a minimum viable product. I'm a fan of randomizers and wanted to bake one into the game to avoid all the instability that comes with modding.
If you've played any rogue-like game you should be familiar with seeded randomness to some degree - that is, a seed number is supplied so all future randomness delivers the same result every time.
Simply put, aspects of the game that are usually static get randomly changed based on the type of randomizer you want to play, let's take a look at the options that appear when you start a new file!
Seed - [SET | RANDOM] --- Lets you choose a seed for yourself or lets the game decide one for you.
--> (if set) Set Seed - [####] --- Set the value!
Explorer Mode - [ON | OFF] --- When enabled, bonus warps can lead to bonuses that belong to different stages which in turn spit you out somewhere else. Likewise, entering a stage in the overworld may send you to a completely different stage in the game. Finding your way home suddenly gets much harder!
--> (if off) Stage Order - [ON | OFF] --- You can switch Explorer mode and toggle the specifics individually
--> (if off) Bonus Order - [ON | OFF] --- Same as above
Exclude Space Stages - [ON | OFF] --- Understandably, not everyone will want to play the post-game stages in their randomizer so this option means only the easier main stages will be used.
Position of Baddies - [ON | OFF] --- Take all the baddies in the stage and scatter them around all over the place. Some parts may become easier but other parts may become way harder!
Position of Bonus Warps - [ON | OFF] --- Same as above, but for bonus warps of course!
Position of Collectibles - [ON | OFF] --- All the other stuff is now anywhere and everywhere!
Position of Player - [ON | OFF] --- When you select a stage, this determines whether you appear at the start as usual or if you appear in a random location like everything else.
Random Music - [ON | OFF] --- Your typical stage music will be something else (!!!)
Chaos Mode - [ON | OFF] --- It's not my place to say you can't do a randomizer and chaos mode at the same time. Do whatever you want!
I took some time to look closer at some of the options popular randomizers of other games use to make things both fun and fair. If there are options missing that you think would greatly benefit this format leave a comment! There are some things I've chosen not to do due to the workload involved but I'm still interested in hearing your thoughts.
And there's the result! If you want to experience a different Windswept every time then look no further than Randomizer Mode!
Baddies
Most baddies in the game so far have been more like functional prototypes so every now and then I might just cut to talking about some that were completed during the month. I had a bit of a backlog to get through so there's quite a few this month, awesome!
The goal of every foe in Windswept is to have purpose, most of them are designed to fill different roles that affect how the player approaches them. I'll detail their purpose below to give you an idea of what I mean. Future updates won't mention it though, you can try work it out for yourself ;)
Horumoru
Remember those Diggin' Chucks from Super Mario World that would flick balls of dirt at you? Windswept has a whole mining operation thing going on so you'll see a bunch of these dudes eventually. Their helmet protects them from above so you'll have to find another way.
Purpose: Can only be attacked and deflects jumps. Fires a projectile to protect itself from attacks.
Peppastep
That alligator's head is on fire, be careful! And if that wasn't bad enough, its mouth is wide open and its back is covered in spikes. Maybe this one should be avoided.
Purpose: Can't be attacked or jumped on. Moves quickly to force sudden player reactions.
PipPop
Another Pip variant! They're everywhere! Inspired by Balloon Pikachu in Pokemon Yellow and the balloons that drop enemies in Yoshi's Island, PipPop just floats there minding its own business. If you pop it, Pip will fall and run along the ground - if you defeat Pip instead, the balloon will fly away. Just watch out for the [!] Balloons, they pop automatically when you get too close, dropping Pip onto you from above.
Purpose: Forces the player to slow down and think. Provides additional movement options.
P. Shooter
And now they have cannons? Who gave them cannons??? P. Shooter has a horizontal and vertical variant. They fire a cannonball periodically so be sure to avoid them.
Purpose: Super vulnerable but fires long-range projectiles to protect itself.
Thrillhex
Thrillneck may be a thrillseeker, but not without consequence! Thrillhex are the ghosts of Thrillnecks that met their unfortunate end doing what they loved most, spinning! Unlike other baddies these ones don't actually hurt you though. In fact, their spirit lives on through you!
Purpose: A sense of relief from typically dodging everything. Provides additional movement options.
Every character you encounter is there to make you consider your best plan of action. Can this one be attacked? Can this one be jumped on? Does this one shoot at me? Swoop at me? Fall on me? Chase me? Mimic me? They are designed to be simple and predictable, so you know exactly what to do every time you encounter them after the first time... Unless the situation you're in changes, of course!
Rideable Buddies!
Wowwowwowow wow Windswept becomes more DKC-like by the day!
Believe it or not, rideable buddies weren't intended to have as much of a presence in Windswept (there was only one), I decided to expand their roster after reading through feedback for our demo. I had mentioned in a previous update that some players felt the game was too reliant on our heroes teaming up, that losing one of them made the game feel a bit stunted and less enjoyable - incidentally the demo features very few mandatory team-up moments but if that's the impression it gave then some more work needed to be done in that space...
Rideable buddies solve this because they are hero-independent, meaning it doesn't matter which hero you're stuck alone with. The controls will be the same when you're riding on one - and likewise there's no team mechanics. They also serve as an extra hit you can attempt to retrieve when they run away, achieving the secondary goal of keeping your hero structure intact during difficult moments. More hit chances, more gameplay variety, more stage puzzles! Can't argue with that!
Throughout development we've never been shy about admitting that Windswept is trying to mimic a lot of the original Donkey Kong Country series, even going so far as to call Windswept a DKC-like, but we're also doing our best to change the gameplay enough for it to establish its own identity.
Much like the baddies, these rideable buddies each fit a specific purpose with little overlap. It turns out there are very few purposes a mount can offer in a side-scrolling sort of setting without becoming too powerful. You're about to see a lot of similarities with other well-known animal buddies, but I have plans to vary up the way you'll use 'em that are quite different to their inspirations! Let's dive in...
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Skree the Bat!
Squawks Clone, BUT... A lover of music and all things retro, equipped with a cassette player they fling tapes at baddies and carry our heroes through stages just like the source inspiration, but unlike DKC's character, and sorta similar to DKCR's version of Squawks, Skree has a secondary ability to alert you when there's hidden stuff nearby.
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Hue the Chameleon!
Yoshi Clone, BUT... An artisan at heart. A poet and a painter, but are they any good? Hue technically borrows qualities from a bunch of different characters, but Yoshi will be the first thing that comes to mind due to its main attack being a tongue whip. Unlike Yoshi who eats baddies, Hue's tongue is more like an extended punch that knocks things out from a short distance ahead. The trade-off? Hue is quite frail and can't jump on baddies at all. They also can't Tongue Up, sorry Yoshi's Island fans!
Their secondary ability looks to Mario 3's Tanooki Suit which lets you turn into a stone statue to escape damage at the cost of no longer being able to move. Hue's ability is the same except it paints itself onto a canvas. I also borrowed an idea from Kirby's Rock ability where it takes on different forms, some rarer than others. When Hue paints the canvas the painting will be a different image each time, some much rarer than others!
(and yes, while we're nodding to animals from other games it was a conscious decision to include a purple bat and green chameleon - if you know, you know)
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Nippa the Crab!
Squitter Clone, BUT... baby. Despite being called Nippa they don't use their claws for anything. Their abilities borrow everything from DKC's Squitter, they shoot bubbles instead of Webs and they create water spouts that can be used as temporary platforms. However, unlike Squitter, Nippa is much heavier/sturdier and can jump on enemies making it quite the powerhouse. Additionally, their floaties let them do platforming underwater instead of just sinking to the bottom. If you've played Bubble Man's stage in Mega Man 2 or any water stage in Shovel Knight you should get an idea of how it'll feel.
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Nugget the Dog!
Rambi Clone, BUT... Well, nothing really! Nugget is my stubborn headstrong dog that will be immortalised forever in my game. His only ability is Rambi's stampede, but all the time! When you ride Nugget he doesn't stop, he charges in the direction he's facing and smashes through everything in his path. You have some control over his speed but it's up to you to make safe, calculated jumps to avoid danger!
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Bluppo the Dolphin!
Enguarde Clone, BUT... A weathered seafarer. Not sure if they're actually a captain or if they just found the hat somewhere but that's not important. Just like its DKC counterpart, Bluppo can swim in all directions and has a corkscrew attack that propels it horizontally through the water PLUS a charged spin that propels it forward until you hit a wall, take damage or cancel out of it.
On the surface this isn't much if a stretch from the source material, largely due to the limited nature of water levels in platformers but the devil is in the details. Despite being functionally similar, a forward lunge vs a corkscrew lend themselves to different ideas. I have a bunch of stage puzzles that'll use these mechanics in a way I hope you'll find fun and engaging.
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Touching on that last point. I have omitted how the abilities of all these buddies will fit in to stage puzzles. You'll have to wait and see how their Attack + Secondary abilities can be used for more than just what I've described. If I say more it kinda spoils the puzzles, right?
Until next time...
Be good!