Parity Update

Parity update now live!

The parity update for All Ways Down brings both the WebGL and the standalone version up to date with the recently released Android version of All Ways Down (available now on the Google Play store).

New features include:
  • New collectables system:
    Each level now contains a golden collectable.
  • New level rating system:
    Each level now has a rating system, where a level completion is rated based on whether the level is complete, if the player died or if the golden collectable was picked up.
  • Further improved UI, including new UI animations.
  • And finally the ability to alter some graphical settings, such as overall quality and Vsync.

Other changes include general performance tweaks, bug fixes, new save system, level tweaks, and the combining of continuous play(Story mode) and single level play.

The parity update is now live on Itch.io, Gamejolt, newGrounds, and Kongregate.

Available Now on:


All Ways Down Now On Google Play Store!!!

Yes, the day has finally arrived! All Ways Down has finally landed on the Google play store.

Featuring:

  • New collectables,
  • Further improved and reworked menu UI,
  • UI animations,
  • Nvidia Shield Controller support,
  • Improved performance,
  • General improvements,

All Ways Down is available now on the Google Play store!

Get it on Google Play

Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

All Ways Down + General news

It’s been a busy past couple of weeks so I figured I would post a bit of an update on progress and upcoming plans.

Just before Christmas I uploaded All Ways Down to newGrounds and shortly after to Kongregate, with some reasonable success, managing to hit the front page of newGrounds just a few days after uploading :-).  I received some great feedback from the users of these sites, which has allowed me to improve the gameplay, iron out some bugs and give it some more polish overall(I’ll include the full list of changes at the end of this post).

Because I’ve been working on these further updates I decided to temporarily put the android build on hold, and focus on improving the version that was available. But, do not fear, I am still planning on releasing All Ways Down on Android. However, I want to make sure it is ready and tested before I do so, which may take a little longer. Though I do currently have a stable finished build running on both a mobile and tablet so it shouldn’t be too long, it just depend on whether or not I add a feature I’ve been thinking about…

Now All Ways Down is almost finished, (again), I’m starting to think about my next project. I have a couple ideas in mind which you might hear more about once I’ve fleshed them out a bit. I also have a couple ideas for this site but we’ll have to wait and see.

Anyhow, I’m off to go have some fun in Unity,

Joe.

All Ways Down Change-log:
  • Increased pickup size.
  • Increased goal detection area.
  • Increased level rotation speed.
  • Improved various UI elements.
  • Added current level number to pause and level complete screens.
  • Added trail effect.
  • Tweaked overall game difficulty.
  • Added mute button.
  • Added mouse input for level rotation.
  • Tweaks to early levels to adjust game’s difficulty curve.
  • Added restart button.

All Ways Down Anniversary Update

It’s been almost a year since the inception of All Ways Down during Ludum Dare 34, and to mark this occasion I would like to announce the release of the All Ways Down Anniversary update.

The update includes:

      • New Levels.
      • New Obstacles,
      • New Menu UI,
      • Level Selection,
      • End of game stats,
      • Improved performance,
      • Touch support,
      • And many more improvements and bug-fixes.

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The update is now live on its itch.io page and here on noddingTortoise. Further the game is also now available on GameJolt. So there really isn’t a reason not to check it out 😀

GameJolt page.

Last but not least, I’m currently working on the Android version of All Ways Down that I’ll hopefully have finished before Christmas.

Joe.

All Ways Down Graphical Update

All Ways Down graphical update is now live! You can check it out over on its itch.io page, either via the web player or by downloading it for your respective system, or all three, your choice 😀

The update includes:
-New graphics
-Full controller support
-New Menu UI
-Minor Bug fixes
GraphicUpdate2

GraphicUpdate3

All Ways Down is available now to download for Windows, Mac and Linux or can be played in a supported web browser:

All Ways Down Post Ludum Dare Beta now Available

A little later than planned but All Ways Down Post Jam beta version is now available.

PostJam5

Changes include:

  • Various bug fixes,
  • Increase pellet size,
  • Faster player,
  • Input from left and right arrow keys,
  • 5 new levels,
  • New obstacle type – Zapper
  • And most importantly, Camera Shake!

The post jam version can be either downloaded or played in browser over on its itch.io page.

Or if you haven’t already, you can check out the jam version of All Ways Down on its entry page over here 🙂

Joe

Post Mortem – Reflection – All Ways Down

NTVerTitleAWD

So it’s almost been a week since I finished All Ways Down, and seeing as everyone else is doing one :-), I figured I’d do a bit of a postmortem of the game/experience, looking at what went right and what went wrong. Like many who entered, this was my first Ludum Dare, and whilst at times it was stressful( especially the last two hours), in the end it was an amazing 3 days and I had a lot of fun taking part. Overall, I’m very happy with how the game turned out, though there are plenty of things that I think could be improved (more on that at the end). The jam also meant I got to learn a bit about Unity webGL exporter, which up to now I had not really been following.

Postmortum

What went right:

  • The mechanic: The basic concept started quite simple, ‘a rolling ball that has to be a certain mass to finish a level, it does this by consuming objects and growing. Player can spin the world?’. From this I sketched out what I thought a level would look like with a simple storyboard for play and put some ideas for level hazards underneath. Thankfully I was able to implement this mechanic and it worked.
  • Thankfully most of the core development went quite smoothly(unless you count Unity crashing twice), with no major issues or bugs.
  • Sound: This is an area I generally find the hardest, but I’m quite happy with the end result, and have got some positive feedback on it.
  •   Unity webGL, a day before the jam I decided to update unity. In hindsight this could have ended up going very wrong but, in the end it meant I learnt more about unity’s WebGL exporter, deciding from the start that I would use WebGL as my target platform.

 

Post18

What went wrong:

  • Whilst not wrong per se, based on feedback the ball could be a bit heavier at the start of levels, so that it moves around the level a bit quicker.
  • Deciding to make 5 more levels 4 hours before the end of the jam, resulting in no playtesting of these levels.
  • The size of the web player. I would have liked the actual game screen to be the max size allowed on this site, but unfortunately as this was the first time I had used the WebGL exporter I didn’t realise that the export size set in Unity doesn’t include the custom Unity bottom bar, thus cutting off bits of the game screen when its embed size is set at the same size as export. Meanwhile exporting without the Unity bar means you need to provided the functionality that makes it go fullscreen. I really wish I had known all this before the jam, and not learnt it in the last two hours when I was trying to submit?

 

Post1

Whats next:

I think I’ll be developing this game further post comp. I’d like to make more levels, add in a couple of hazards and puzzle that didn’t make it due to time, along with polishing the graphics and adding more effects, maybe even a camera shake 🙂 . I’d also quite like to port it to mobile as I think its control mechanism is very well suited for the platform.

Overall I’m very happy with end result, and looking forward to working on it a bit more and making it even better ?

You can check out All Ways Down jam page here.

Joe

Update: Loading jam, Itch, and LudumDare

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, a busy few weeks, so I thought I would do a quick update on a couple things.

LoadingJam:

First there was loading jam. This was a bit of a last minute decision to enter, though I’m glad I did. I didn’t hear about the jam until three days before it finished and even then didn’t decided to enter until the next day, which gave me less than 48 hours to make a game based around loading and possibly patents if possible, though totally optional.

PatentPusher2

You can check out my finished results over on my new itch.io account(pc, mac and linux) which probably deserves a post in itself.

I think the game turned out well, though there are a couple things I’d like to improve based on feedback, such as adding some tutorial text, stopping the mini games from going straight to the main game if you fail, and maybe build a web version.

LudumDare:

TitleScreen

This brings me to my second game jam of the week/two weeks, Ludum Dare. This was my first Ludum Dare so I decided to take it easy by entering the jam rather than the competition. I was slightly more prepared for this jam, though only slightly. The theme was two button controls and or growing(there was a tie, so two themes were chosen), which seemed somewhat familiar. It was an amazing three days, stressful at times, but still fun! You can check out my entry page for the jam here, or check out the game over on itch.io.

I’ll probably do a recap post, which will included ludum dare posts and screens from various stages during development. And eventually I might do a reflection post on the experience and the finished product(or not so finished???)

Finally, TaOvarg update:

Yes, I have been working on an update to TaOvarg. Unfortunately, progress on the update was slowed by an input bug, however, as soon as I’ve ironed it all out it will be ready for release, and will give TaOvarg full controller support, along with a couple other new things.
Joe