Since my last update, I've added dangers / traps to story mode. I've also added some minor visual enhancements, and have rough versions of the first three levels of the story mode campaign.
I figured I'd release an early alpha version of story mode at this point, which you can find here: https://github.com/ryantherileyman/riley-basic-games/blob/master/garden_of_eating_story_alpha_1_2_0.zip
Currently, the levels are actually in reverse order. I only did this because it made it easier to jump into the most recent level I was working on for play testing. So for anyone who tries it out, just know that the levels get progressively easier, instead of harder. ?
You can even try your hands at creating your own maps and levels. The story mode wiki page explains how to do so -- all you need is a text editor, and basic knowledge of JSON.
The screenshot below shows an example of a spike trap hurting the snake. The snake's eyes now turn into "X"s momentarily when taking damage.
And this is a screenshot from level 3 of story mode. Each level gets progressively harder in some way. This can manifest a number of ways: faster snake speed, more barriers, food spawning patterns that encourage the player to wrap the snake in on itself, or traps.
I also added text that floats and fades away when the snake eats a food item, showing the scoring information. Players get bonus points if their path to the food was as short as possible..
New Features Identified
From my GitHub wiki page on story mode, I've identified a number of features I'd like to work into story mode. Most of these came to me while designing the first three levels. Lots of "it would be neat if..." moments!
- Additional triggers for spawning food or traps.
- Triggers for custom sounds to play.
- Triggers for dynamically changing the barriers on the map. (Lower priority)
- Show a scoring summary after each level. (Lower priority)
Up Next - Cut-Scenes
As I get further and further on level design, I was really feeling the importance of getting support for cut-scenes into the game. I'm at that point now where I'll be tackling it head-on. The new feature above "triggers for custom sounds to play" is intended to complement the story telling aspect of the game, and is something I plan on tackling alongside cut-scenes. You'll be hearing a narration of sorts when certain things happen. Fun things ahead! (I hope not just for me, ha! ? )
