Quick video of a tutorial teaching the player how to make use of a power-up soon to be acquired. Make some sweet moves to unlock the container storing the power-up. [previewyoutube=RvmZUoPX-DI;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2025-03-28 16:31:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

As development of the full game has been ongoing, fixes, updates and improvements have been made to many areas. As some affect the content available in the demo, it seemed like a good idea to release a new version of the demo. In particular the game controller support got many improvements. See the Gamepads, gamepads & gamepads blog for details. Player jumping has been improved to be more predictable and reliable. The tutorial for how to use the first power up has been re-worked to be a better integrated part of the solution for solving that particular level predicament. Please let me know if you have any issues using a game controller to play the game. Also of interest would be to know if there are any issues using a Steam deck.

[ 2025-03-14 19:36:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Sidetracking extravaganza with gamepads this past week. Originally started a check to make sure that using a gamepad was working well when solving a particular puzzle. While doing this, I noticed a bug with the gamepad and started to work on fixing it. This led to taking a thorough review and improvement tour of the gamepad implementation.
Three out of seven different controllers used while testing. Good to have been a gamer for many years... I managed to search the house and find seven different controllers. Oldest models being a Playstation 2 replica from Logitech, SNES controller replica (8BitDo) and a XBox 360 controller. The most modern I (kids rather, but don't tell them) had was a XBox Series X controller and a Nintendo Switch Pro. Thanks to browsers having a quite solid Gamepad API, most gamepads work as intended even though there is no 100% standard set for what a gamepad sends as input. Unfortunately different browsers have some variations, meaning a gamepad can be perfect in a browser based on Chromium, while half-working in FireFox. As I build the game using Electron, which is Chromium based, I am only worried about making sure it works as intended for it.

List of improvements

First change I made was adding a prompt for the user to select what type of button layout the gamepad has that was connected. Gamepads do not directly have a value that says "I am this type of gamepad". They do have a device string that contains something about manufacture and the model, but in a way where you essentially would have to compile a long list of string for each gamepad and use that to automate assignment. I decided that simply asking would be the most foolproof and quickest way to implement.
This prompt is only shown the first time a new gamepad sends input. Next time you play the game, the first gamepad used will be the gamepad for player one and the type of gamepad will be retrieved from the stored gamepad profile. While all gamepads connected get assigned to a player, they can all be used to navigate the menus. If the current gameplay is only for one player, then all gamepads can be used to control the player. Only when doing a hotseat multiplayer activity will the different gamepads be limited to different players. In fact you can, if you want, use the keyboard to control part of the player, one gamepad for something and another for something else, and then to go full mental and use the touch controls as well. Neat and a good waste of time! Gamepads now have icons for their buttons, previously it was only text that said what button had been configured.

Xbox gamepad to the left, PS gamepad to the right. Icons and configuration auto updates based on the last gamepad used. So if the gamepad configuration window is open, like shown above, the settings are directly updated to match the current gamepad used. Final improvement was how the game handles a disconnected gamepad. If a gamepad is disconnected, the game will wait for one of two events to occur. Either that the missing gamepad re-connects, and then will be re-assigned to the player that had it previously. Or, that a new gamepad connects and that gamepad will then be assigned to the player missing a gamepad. Now I really should get back to moving the actual game forward in its development.

[ 2025-02-21 16:01:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

[previewyoutube=jgrstb9IB4s;full][/previewyoutube] A quick friday evening update to show some gameplay from the puzzle adventure game A Ruthless World. All levels have unique puzzles to solve while unraveling the story.

[ 2025-01-31 22:01:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

While adventure platforming is a joy in itself, at times a little shoot 'em up isn't wrong. A first of more to come was completed a few weeks ago. Work continues towards a release in 2025. [previewyoutube=qV-QI6Jihdg;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2024-12-06 12:21:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

In preperation for Steam Next Fest a demo of A Ruthless World has been released. The demo features the first few levels of the game, hopefully giving you a good insight into what to expect from the full game. [previewyoutube=XYqq8Vu1Hs4;full][/previewyoutube] Try it out, wishlist and stay tuned for more updates as work continues towards the release of the full game in 2025.

[ 2024-10-01 10:41:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

A Ruthless World While work with the game ARW has been intense, the progress reports have been lacking. It seems the last report was posted back in October 2023! ARW has not been dead, after doing a another game in a game jam in October, updated Hive P v. S in November, ARW was again the main focus in December 2023 and beyond.
Change of direction Originally ARW was more of a puzzle game, with emphasize on solving and being fast. Each level ending with a summary of how many objects collected and the time it took. ARW has changed to be more of an adventure platformer, a game where you explore and meet friends and foes. Each level remains a puzzle to solve, but the idea is to create puzzles that are something to tinker with and not so much being difficult to solve. Some parts will perhaps be a bit scary, some will be nice and cozy. There are characters to meet, notes and terminals to use for interaction and story drops.
Code progress In January last year the engine was feature complete for this game. All progress since has been writing code for actual game, characters and levels. There has been bugs to fix and some smaller additions needed to the engine, but so far it keeps running as well as I could have hoped. At times there is an urge to redo engine stuff, to improve and make use of all things learned. Trying really hard to remember "if it works... it works". Heres a snippet that binds the input from the player to trigger interactions. In this case to make the player character think of potential clues to solve a problem.
Level editing To create levels I use the open source map editor called Tiled. Very robust, configurable and for each release gets more and more scripting functionality to add own behaviours and functionality. Tiled is a must to use if doing a game on an engine that does not come with a dedicated editor. Here's a screenshot with all the good stuff in a level visible. Thankfully you can hide and show layers as you work to not make it so cluttered.
Future The plan is to have this game finished some time next year. About 1/4 done so far and if nothing strange occurs, this should be doable. Next major event will be in October when ARW participates in the Steam Next Fest. This includes releasing a demo of the game. Let's end with a look at some levels. First up, the starting level. Tidy up and get ready for work!
It seems like a lovely day as you go to work... But is it?

[ 2024-08-23 22:33:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

A daily stream running while I'm working on A Ruthless World. Aiming for a release at the end of the year, but not set in stone.

[ 2024-04-30 06:53:34 CET ] [ Original post ]