Itch.io: https://greenserpentgames.itch.io/blackmarsh
X: https://x.com/greenserpgames
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenserpentgames
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#Blackmarsh - !NEW: Level Boss preview
ripe rose
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ripe rose
After half a day of work, I'm super happy to have successfully implemented a Hud!
pure bramble
I love this art style. Large sprite, unique shape, fluid walk cycle. This is going to be golden. Looking forward to see it come to fruition. Kudos!
pure bramble
Itch.io: https://greenserpentgames.itch.io/blackmarsh
X: https://x.com/greenserp...
If you do tile swapping instead of setting these up as sprites, you can fit an extra color in there for shading.
ripe rose
Thank you for the kind words and the tip. The cool part is that those symbols are actually part of the font so extra colors are possible. These symbols still need to be polished so shading will probably be added in the near future. No sprites are involved here, just a few simple GBVM commands to do the font index swaps.
ripe rose
Been doing some more player movement behind the scenes. Next things on the list are "coyote time" jump, weapon switching and explosive barrels.
pure bramble
Looking awesome so far! I think the only thing that would make pushing the barrel around better would be to add a feeling of "weight." So maybe the character has an actual pushing animation where they have to put their shoulder into it. Or! Because they're a witch, maybe they could use magic to push the barrel from a distance 🙂
ripe rose
Thanks! I thought about this but unfortunately there's not much room left for extra animations. I could go with the second option and reuse the basic attack animation. I'll look into it, thanks for the suggestion!
ripe rose
I also tried to slow down the movement, making it seem like the barrel is heavy but I can't seem to get it working.
pure bramble
Maybe moving it via magic is the better option then. After all, if I were a witch and could use magic, I wouldn't waste my energy with manual labor either.
ripe rose
100% correct 😆👍
ripe rose
A little more in-depth article about the player movement and attack mechanics, explaining why I made certain choices. @pure bramble took your suggestion to heart and I'm glad I did. Looks much better! 😄
https://greenserpentgames.itch.io/blackmarsh/devlog/667466/an-introduction-to-ella-and-her-capabilities
pure bramble
That's awesome! I look forward to seeing what you do with this. It keeps getting better 🙂
ripe rose
Explosive barrel test successful! The idea is that you need to push these barrels past a fire source (like a wall torch) to activate the fuse. You'll have a few seconds before the barrel explodes. These barrels can be used to jump on obstacles, destroy fortified walls or kill enemies. The player can also be damaged by the explosion.
pure bramble
Awesome! I love the push animation. I like how you can see the character's fingers spread out during the push.
Will you be able to shoot a fireball spell? If so, maybe having it default to shooting "above" the barrel on the same height line as the wick would make more sense. So then you can use the height at which the fireball shoots to instinctively go in the right place to light the barrel without having to line up jumping. This could be accomplished by having the fireball shoot from higher on the player's body, or make the barrel just a bit shorter and shoot more from the chest.
This way the player doesn't have to jump and shoot to line up the fireball with the wick. Reduces frustration.
ripe rose
@pure bramble Glad you like it! I used the exact same animation for the barrel push as the player attack animation because it looks convincing enough 😄
I'm not planning to ignite the barrel by player or enemy attacks. The barrels will mostly serve as a puzzle element for example: the player needs to get the barrel to a specific location to blow up a wall but has to push the barrel past the correct torch to make sure the fuse isn't lit too early. Having the player ignite the fuse at any location would be too easy.
ripe rose
Got dialogue working. Your loyal companion will provide you with valuable information during your stay in Blackmarsh.
pure bramble
Nice!
ripe rose
Updated dialogue mechanic. I'm considering using a menu-based dialogue mechanic so you can choose what questions to ask in the order you like but I'd have to run some tests first.
ripe rose
Scroll pickup mechanic. I initially used a timer for the pulse of the scroll (hide/show) when it reached the top but that seemed to slow the game down so I manually added a hide and show event with a 0.1 second delay in between 4 times. Seemed to have solved the lag issue.
pure bramble
Nice! Glad to see an update on this game again 🙂
ripe rose
Thanks! I have been making more progress behind the scenes. I have successfully implemented a weapon switch system where you cycle between 3 weapons. How it cycles depends on which of the weapons are discovered by the player so if you found weapon 1 and 3, it only switches between those. Sounds simple and straightforward if I explain it but it took me a while to set it up and get it to work. 😄
I don't have any visuals to go with that yet but once that's completed, I'll post a small video.
pure bramble
I'm excited to see what you came up with for the three abilities.
A good ability has both an offensive and a utility use.
ripe rose
Weapon 1 will be your broom (starting weapon and useful when you run out of mana)
Weapon 2 is a straight fireball like the one you've already seen
Weapon 3 is a bouncing ball which allows you to hit smaller enemies and allows you to attack from high ground.
Then there are some potions which you can brew by finding the right ingredients. One potion will make you float (while slowly dropping). This allows you to reach areas which weren't accessible before, increasing replayability. I'm planning to add hidden scrolls in the levels. If you find them all, you can unlock bonus levels.
pure bramble
A few ideas have come to mind (feel free to use or ignore these ideas). But what if the bouncing ball was a ball of energy and there were sections where you have to bounce the energy ball over obstacles and have the ball land in a slot in a statue or something or a door to power a mechanism. Then the ball has an offensive, tactical ability as well as a utility/evironment functionality.
Even better if the abilities can be powered up.
So the ball could go from an energy ball to a stunning lightning ball to a room clearing powerful chain lightning burst.
ripe rose
Hmm that's definitely interesting though I would have to run some tests because since this is for the GB, I'm not sure where the limits are.
Though your first idea actually seems fairly easy to implement
Like a room where you need to move a barrel to a specific position and have the ball bounce to change the trajectory to finally hit the target.
pure bramble
Exactly. Or for the lv2 energy ball, it stuns a single enemy. You can use that to pause an enemy on a platform to keep a closing door open, for example. Lv3 chain lightning would pause multiple enemies so they trigger multiple platforms/switches.
ripe rose
I'll definitely explore those ideas and see if I can integrate them. Thanks for the suggestions!
pure bramble
Maybe even have a freeze spell where it stops enemies AND turns them into platforms you can step on to get to higher areas.
ripe rose
Ha, that's nice as well!
pure bramble
Or freeze the ground so enemies slide in the direction they're moving?
Just suggestions. Like I said, abilities are way more interesting if there is a way to use them for utility outside of combat as well as damage-dealing attacks. Just my two cents. It's not my game, it's yours. So feel free to do what you will with this info/ideas.
ripe rose
No that's actually great. Especially the utility use of the projectiles. Creates some room for more puzzles and a more open level where you can reach certain areas only after you've acquired an ability.
ripe rose
Introducing the latest addition to Blackmarsh: the possessed bouncing ball. Once picked up, Ella will bounce around for a couple of seconds. With a little bit of practice, you can take advantage of the momentum and jump to incredible heights!
pure bramble
nice
ripe rose
After some trial and error, I'm happy to announce that I’ve made significant progress with a couple of systems in Blackmarsh: the HUD and the weapons & ammo.
Ella wields two weapons, each requiring a different type of mana. Throughout the world, you’ll find bags filled with manas. The mana shifts from Bright to Dark mana. It’s crucial to choose the right moment to pick up a bag, depending on the type of mana you need.
When your mana runs out, Ella will automatically switch to her default weapon.
The broom is not yet implemented, in case you were wondering 😄
ripe rose
Working on the very first enemy of Blackmarsh: the sewer mutant.
ripe rose
The Sewer Mutant is alive and well!
ripe rose
Working on the potion brewing system. Select up to 3 ingredients to add to your cauldron. Careful what you brew though. When combining the wrong ingredients, you may end up with a potion that will have unexpected results. Thankfully, recipes can be found in Blackmarsh.
ripe rose