29/09/15 Update

Just a quick update. I haven't been working much on the game for a while but I do have a few updates to share on here.

First is the fact that I finally managed to get it to change power ups within the level when you roll over a certain object. I made a placeholder present box to roll into and this triggers the next power up. So for example, in this level you start out as a standard donut with no powers, but once you roll into the present box you can then jump! yay!

There's also another power up - or power down? that tuns you into a sticky donut for a certain time. I plan to make levels where you have to use the sticky power to climb up walls but I couldn't figure that out yet, so at the moment it just slows you down. at least I figured out how to get it to change the sprite! that's a start!

There is a lot to fix, and the frame rate seems to be going quite slowly at times. Maybe there's too much colliding? also the collision messes up when you pick up a sweet after you collect a power up, as you can see in the video below, you begin to float up after you touch it... hmmm...

I've also made the enemies a bit more dangerous as they now throw things at you!

I've also started on the layouts of a few more levels but really that should wait until all the basic gameplay elements have been created and the physics have been finalized. its the worst thing ever to make a level then make a change to how the player controls, only to find that the entire level is now unplayable thanks to a jump that is slightly too big now! >.<

Now for a video showing all those new features in action!

Ok that was actually quite a big update in the end!

Thanks for reading, hope to post more soon :)

07/09/15 Updates

It's been a while since my last update... That doesn't mean I haven't been working on the game, just not had time to write about it...

Firstly, the background has now been separated into layers which let me use each layer separately to create some awesome looking parallax scrolling. It was tough to set up but hopefully now I've done it once I can copy it onto each scene without too much trouble!

Next, some new tiles including some underground sections which will let me have a bit more creativity in the levels.

Here's a full view of the first true level. It will no doubt change during the course of development, but this is how it looks at the moment.

Another thing I managed to get working is moving platforms, luckily I found some behaviors on the Stencyl Forge which helped a lot and saved some programming time! The platforms can move both left - right and up - down.

The next things for me to focus on are

• A way of keeping track of collectibles throughout the levels.
• How to restrict some abilities until an item has been picked up (Thinking maybe swap out one player actor for another when the power-up is touched. If this creates a bit of an awkward transition then I might disguise it behind a transformation animation or some sparkles...)
• A proper level select screen or a map

The player has been slowed down a bit as I thought maybe he moved too fast before, but don't worry, if he's going down hill or hits a speed boost, he can still go quite fast and make some big jumps!

And if you want to have a go at a VERY early demo (Even earlier than this update) then go to this link: Super Donuts Demo


Thanks for reading

31/08/15 Updates!

Lots more updates this week. Firstly, With the help from +Risu chuu we made some new sprites for the game, including, for the first time, a real enemy!

This bird will patrol the skies above the stage, swooping down to grab you if it sees you.
There is also a red version which is faster, so watch out for him!

It took me forever to figure out how to change the animations from left to right as it flew through the sky, so I will share this code block here for people to use... Bear in mind that all the animations should be under the same actor, not as separate actors.

As well as the enemies, she also created some new objects and items too! First up is the claw, which lifts you up when you roll into the claw it will lift you up. There are so far three different versions of it at different heights.

As of yet I haven't figured out how to get it to recognize you have walked into the right part of it yet. Maybe in next weeks update I will have!

As well as this there are also now baby donuts to find throughout the stages. Two have been made so far. I plan to have five different ones hidden around the levels. (Think Jinjo's from Banjo Kazooie!)

Now for some technical changes I've made to the gameplay. First of all, the Jump has been added back in, maybe as a permanent addition, maybe not... I'll see how the game plays once I've created some actual levels, rather than small test areas.

The speed of the player has been slowed down, and I instead added a Dash button to make it go at the speed it went before, this will help with some of the platforming elements in the levels, as well as let people who want to run through the level as fast as they can!

Finally, the background has now been implemented making the levels look so much better than before! I'll see if I can make some parallax scrolling next but that might be a bit tricky!

Finally, a gameplay video showing all this new stuff in action!