PokeyPoke DEVLOG #1 - Game fundamentals & tutorial level design

[@SaraSpalding]

let me know what you'd like to hear more about! After crunching so hard on making actually well edited videos this was very refreshing to make and I'd love to make more of it (to give me more breathing room for the rest of my videos!). I could talk endlessly about PokeyPoke, so if there's more you'd like to hear about I'm very willing to talk. Whether it's design, code, or whatever else! Lemme know.

[@johnjay6370]

Hey, Great video! One thing you can talk about that you might have talked about before but i am new to this. Is talk about how to get your game noticed! I am sure you already talked about this many times, but I am new... Anyways if you want a early copy of my game let me know, I am looking for feedback positive and negative so I can make my game better!! If you have read this thanks for your time!!! This is a really good video, I will make one like this over the weekend. Thanks!

[@Pridetoons]

Can we have Mac and Linux versions of this game too?

[@SaraSpalding]

@@johnjay6370 I'm certainly no expert on this but I'll happily try to bring you all along my journey as I try to work it out for myself! I did very little with Another Perspective but it got through Steam Greenlight at a good time where being on Steam was a big deal in and of itself. Being a popular-ish youtuber was also obviously very helpful for getting my game out there at least a little bit (although mostly to devs rather than to potential players, not the same audience!!).

[@SaraSpalding]

@@Pridetoons While it's not a top priority immediately I certainly want to do that. I think the game will always be "best" on mouse and keyboard so any platforms that typically use mouse and keyboard would be great to get the game on to!

[@Pridetoons]

@@SaraSpalding That sounds cool

[@Bitlytic]

One idea for the issue you were describing around 3:35 about people not realizing they can hit rocks is to have some visual indicator that shows that someone or something has hit the rock before. Maybe a scrape in the ground with some debris or something. To help connect this to showing players that they can hit the rock this could also be applied to the first couple of rooms so the player recognizes that if they see a scratched part of ground with debris they can most likely use their spear on it. Obviously this wouldn't be all throughout the game, and you may be content with the gem just explaining it, but it was something I had in mind that may pique your interest as well. I really love the progress on the game so far though, will definitely play the hell out of it when it comes out!

[@SansTheSamurai]

Reminds me of Celeste the way the controls look so responsive. Can't wait to actually play it some day!

[@e_buffturtle]

Amazing progress! I think the stars should unlock special spear cosmetics when you get a certain amount. For example: you can have a trident, bone spear, pila, etc. I think some fun cosmetics could add a lot while not necessarily doing anything for gameplay. I also think you should add a mud / clay block surface that the players spear slowly slides out of. This will put pressure on the player as their climbing since they will lose their grip if stay too long (think of Celeste’s climbing mechanic)

[@Codiffyy]

Wow, this game already looks so cool! The graphics are amazing and the gameplay looks so smooth. I can already tell this is going to be a speedrun favorite for sure! I love it

[@levildd]

Great insight! you are so right speedrunners are gonna flock to this game

[@MattMakesMusic1]

Yo Shaun you've been an inspiration for me stepping into game development. I know how hard it is to make youtube videos but you're ALSO developing a full game? Crazy work ethic. Keep up the good work and I'll be buying this once it comes out!

[@bivisbuns]

Bro, your tutorials are very sound and informative - and immediately as I watched them I trusted you just based on how awesome your game looked. The proof is in the pudding. The way the entire game is centered around a quirky but powerful movement mechanic with a female protagonist reminds me a lot of Umihara Kawase. The second you see that spear dig into a wall you understand the whole hook of the game - can't wait to play it

[@supersand24]

I honestly can't wait for this game, it looks so much fun.

[@SuperGamersgames]

You know, for the challenge statues, you should make it have an animation where the player stabs the spear into the pedestal before taking you there. It might work as a better transition. :) Also, finally have new PokeyPoke details! :D

[@levildd]

Mannn I wish life was like this. Loving these constant updates. Makes me excited for the future of gaming!!

[@xDJKerox]

Love to see PokeyPoke again, it's been on my wishlist for a heck of a long time :D

[@menik6575]

I'm more than excited for this game, it looks great, and best of all it's challenging and fun. Always glad to see more of it.

[@NieJestemWikingiem]

I really really like this format. Keep it going

[@endmarkgames2670]

Excellent DevLog! Awesome to see the progress on this game and hear your thought process behind the design. Video was everything I hoped for and more.

[@alicemation]

as someone who now has 7.5 hours in the demo, the newest version is looking so cool!! (sidenote: its nice that the running animation doesn't play when you are sticking the spear into the wall now xD)

[@SaraSpalding]

I really was planning on leaving it that way but Inkedsplat would not allow it.

[@Mentaclink]

i'm so impressed by how smooth and pretty the gameplay is!! the concept is also super fun, can't wait to see more

[@tornadopig1620]

Please upload more devlogs! I can't get enough of this gem!

[@LunarcomplexMain]

Either KZbin's algorithm is getting better and better or there really are just alot of people making dev logs all of a sudden, or both lol, but it's gonna be great to see this game's dev log, definitely looking forward to it. Also, will there be any specific timed areas, say like, in the first Sonic game, I believe it was the boss fight at the end of Labyrinth Zone, you had to quickly jump all the way up while water fills up from under you. It would be kool to see lava or something rise up and you had to quickly escape an area.

[@SaraSpalding]

There is a gem in the game at the moment that is a timed challenge, not so much with a rising threat, but you press a button and a door stays open for about 30 seconds while you have to do a fairly difficult section to reach the gem behind the door. (Normally you can take as long as you like).

[@michaelafton2307]

It's so nice to see as a new member of the community the potential of game maker. Thanks to you I'm getting more familiar with it

[@daizbid]

Some other great games that showcase the potential of Game Maker are Hyperlight Drifter, Islets, and, of course, Undertale!

[@RunstarHomer]

@@daizbid also Levelhead

[@gamedevsteve7388]

Really enjoyed this! Can't wait to learn more!

[@RunstarHomer]

Wow, this is looking great! The visual effects are awesome. I like the swoosh effect when you move the spear quickly, and the death animation looks really cool, and I LOVE the way the ghost appears and disappears. Really good work! I haven't been very active in gamemaker for a few years, but this makes me want to jump into it again.

[@acorngnome]

I LOVE how the spear has a special sprite for every orientation!!

[@retrotoast]

Hey Shaun, nice work. I've played the demo and thought you would like to hear that I find the gamepad controls much easier and more intuitive than keyboard and mouse. There are probably a bunch of gamers out there who will feel the same, so don't give up on pushing gamepad controls along with development.

[@minirop]

Didn't pay much attention to PokeyPoke before, but that video really sold it to me.

[@Vyse2077]

This game looks like it would be a great game for speed running

[@FrostDrive]

this game looks REALLY fun! I can't wait to play it!

[@DemoniumSama]

I love the movility in your game

[@IngoLingoAnimations]

This game looks cute! I'm excited for when it comes out.

[@balohna]

The format is cool! Looking forward to more.

[@NeatGames]

So~~ this is why my game gets so many clone/hate comments haha. (it also has a spear and my character used to have goggles doh.... I guess great minds think alike? hehe) I love how your spear is also used for climbing as well and all the versatility you can do! Mine is far more simple and will stay that way hehe. Look forward to more Devlogs :D

[@SaraSpalding]

I get the same nonsense but with celeste etc lol I wouldn't worry about it.

[@feelgxxd]

Hey Shaun, it looks like a very good take on Celeste like platformers. It looks so much fun, i can't wait to play! Keep us updated please.

[@Jpzarde]

This looks really good!!!

[@BrendonReimer]

This is such a cool and unique idea for a game.

[@mrshodz]

Hi. The game looks interesting. Is there a release date?

[@russelltoll3347]

Holy shit the game is lookin beautiful can't wait for the release

[@DanteCorwyn]

Crumbling platforms? Lovely. It's one of the stumbling blocks on my own game just (every instance is affected for some reason). Good to see your progress, and see what can be done in GM

[@DaveUnreally]

The small eyes and the big goggles makes the mc look kind of like Ugandan knuckles at first glance. I love the mechanics of your game!

[@kro9970]

oh my god! looks dope!!

[@martinperon4576]

The game is looking good!

[@ryverlore3869]

it looks so fun, can’t wait to play it. I hope the game gets released for macOS too.

[@Henry-zw4po]

so so so good

[@luigisopa]

You did not really show us death and the the first thing players will do: die to spikes. maybe explain how/why you designed the respawning :)

[@Novum228]

Can I call this game "The Better Getting Over It"?

[@JoshuaEfron]

Less emotionally abusive, at least! :P

[@SaraSpalding]

You know it's interesting, I hear that a lot but getting over it has some design advantages by being intentionally mean. Long falls in that game are at least funny and intentionally devastating, in my game they just feel like bad level design lol

[@NotSoDrewby]

How do you make games at a large to medium scale? I'm working on a platformer and I don't know if I should make every single mechanic that I have in mind first or if I should actually just start making levels. I also have many bugs with the movement and momentum. Your tutorials have been a huge help!

[@SaraSpalding]

I don't know for sure the "right" answer but it's important to pick an answer. For me I did a bit of everything at first, then decided to lock down all the mechanics I wanted, and now I've done that I'm doing the level building.

[@kn-ki4637]

Can you do a tutorial of how you made the ghost that guides you? I would like to make something similar in another game for my player that leads the way. Is it a video that plays or something else?

[@michaelafton2307]

He made a ghost recording tutorial for that.

[@SaraSpalding]

Yeah I actually have a video for this! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bF6mmICAm7FqiKs A lot more than this goes into the visuals and so on of Pokey's ghosts, but the fundamental behavior is all there.

[@kn-ki4637]

Uh. My bad Thank you guys:D

[@eyalav6293]

just played the demo and i gotta say *add to wishlist*

[@pinguluk1]

I've completed the demo in 1.4h (collected all the 26 gems) and the game doesn't feel easy neither hard, it's challenging but with some practice, I think everyone can finish it. So overall the level design is pretty neat. Also any planned date for full game?

[@Wagnerbaum]

this is literally the perfect game for speedrunners

[@Tadda_]

In regards to collision with the player and spear, how do the slopes work? Are you using your tile based collision code or does the game have a different way of handling slopes (or just collision in general)?

[@SaraSpalding]

Yeah it's all my old tile-based stuff. Slopes can be a little weird with the spear sometimes but it's largely solid.

[@kuuluna]

The game looks promising. I like platforming games where there's no right path. Anywhere you go is right path. Like choose your own path to take and see where it leads you. And story is not mandatory (sort of side quest instead) I like that you can use the spear on the ceilings and throwing it to activate some contraptions (I hope this get used a lot in map coz it's sad when you put a feature and never fully utilize it's potential )

[@mocapcow2933]

Will this have controller support?

[@8_BitKing]

I personally do not like locking abilities until you've seen the tutorial for that. I like to encourage people to try stuff around and press the controller buttons once ingame to figure stuff out, like in the good old days. Although alot has changes since then for the better, I do not like where tutorials are headed generally as they just assume I am dumb and cant figure stuff out myself. generally I really like your tutorial sections and I like the ghosts to get the important mechanics across but locking people out from finding cool stuff themselves (which for me is a huge part of the fun when i pick up a new game) im not a fan of. This might just be personal preference. I am hyped for your game to come out it looks really fun and like something you can sink huge amounts of time in to get really good.

[@SaraSpalding]

The biggest issue it caused is sometimes people found the throw first and then assumed that was their primary tool for interacting with the world because unlike most abilities in most games, it actually solves very similar problems and functions very similarly to your existing abilities. You can super jump, you can vault, etc. So if you find that first, there's no actual reason to assume you're missing something instead of just assuming the jump/whatever is weirdly hard to solve. Players don't tend to try new things unless they feel like they have to. They will use their existing tools rather than assume they are missing tools, unless it is abundantly clear (and in this case it isn't). It was especially prominent with pad players, who have a tendency to push all the different action buttons until they find one does something interesting (and then they don't move on, interestingly, unless prompted or they really have to.) You would imagine the first ghosts really drive the idea home that they're not doing the intended thing, but uh, yeah you'd be surprised! It's definitely more an issue with younger players, but I'm certainly not assuming anything about the intelligence of my players either way. I've watched them do it! I don't really think most players are going to feel particularly smart about "trying another button" so I think the majority of what is lost is a sort of continuity and immersion thing. It can feel kinda contrived and gamey, so I don't like that aspect of it. But thankfully the upside is that most players don't notice, because they either hadn't had reason to try that button until that point and even if they did, they've very often forgotten the fact that it didn't do anything at the time! Brains are weird.

[@8_BitKing]

@@SaraSpalding seems to make sense. I tend to design my ideas for a limited group of people, or at least thats what Im telling myself. I am still uncertain if im bad at game design or if its viable to just target the 5 people out there that play games exactly as I do... This conversation helped for sure :D thx

[@eitanmiller9797]

will there be a game breaker in the new game? and do you have any idea of when is the game comming out? this game hit my top 2 after terraria.

[@SaraSpalding]

not in the *exact* form it took before, but yes. When I have any idea of when it's coming out I'll try and let everyone know :D

[@eitanmiller9797]

@@SaraSpalding thank you very much(:

[@stoatch]

lookin so good! is gamebreaker still around? 👀

[@SaraSpalding]

Not for now but the technique will make a comeback

[@itsmj3103]

It's curious to hear how you manage to stay focused on your game for such a long time considering you're a person who seems rather versed in even more complex GM systems, how do you resist the urge to jump into something grandiouse with various mechanics and systems like skill trees and inventories and maps and you know, the whole shtick. I've always heard you say to restrain yourself and you seem to follow this philosophy personally, even though you're not a noob who could overlook things like the majority of us watching lol

[@TheRealAudioDidact]

Have you updated anything since the Steam Demo?

[@SaraSpalding]

Loads has changed yeah, I'll be trying to update the steam demo itself in the near future

[@Dahandax]

please make it possible for switch

[@zye247]

i feel like it would be VERY difficult to give every gem their own dialogue and different name, since there will probably be many of them...

[@darknside]

nice video

[@shylvia2098]

please make tutorial draw text with color. timestamp : 02:21

[@andycarr3711]

My wife loves this game. Well for a couple of minutes.

[@Soumein]

I guess I'm ruined by Hollow Knight as I expected to bounce off the spikes. A quick lesson to unlearn, as logically a spear would just slide along whatever spike it collides with down to the floor, not bounce and reflect the energy back.

[@konsth191]

the screenshake when you hit a wall is awful, especially when it's quickly repeated. I hope you turn it off in future videos, it gives me a headache

[@05pincat10]

I can already see people speedrunning the sh!t out of this game

[@kevin-bf4ww]

why dopes pokeypoke pokeypoke permanent :D before acquiring the pokeypoke maybe before the pokeypoke spear :| then after :D

[@SaraSpalding]

it's a dumb face I drew in the original jam game/prototype that stuck around and is in a way a subconcious reference to games like IWBTG and VVVVVV with similar design ideas and dumb faced protagonists :')

[@Visint]

I might ruin your perspective of the character if you read more When I first saw this I thought the eyes were the goggles and that terrified me at least I figured it out

[@jannyboi260]

noic ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)