Some controls enabled

This weekend I didn't get as focused into this, added some minor player controls, updated a collision and tweaked the dolly path. The downloads should be lighter for Windows. Next steps are learning how to use Butler to upload the game and generate proper diffs / semantic versions.

There are some basic controls, the up/ right and down / left buttons will speed up and slow down the cat. It's almost a game? There isn't any score yet so not yet an interesting game.

In looking at the analytics, it seems like updating every 3 days with some changes and a blog will keep the most eyes on it. Might do a trial of that next week to see if that helps visibility.

Aiming for 100 downloads, currently at 7 which feels pretty good for not having very much game yet. Still, to get a feel for how much game is enough game I went back and played through Super Mario World. It's a game I've enjoyed considerably and it has just enough game in it, quite a lot of interesting play that can come out that game space. What do I mean by that? There isn't much you as a player can do, but those limited tools allow for lots of interesting interactions. And then the game plays with those different options. This project is a long way from Super Mario World, but it's good to go back and check your inspirations.

Regarding download size, I noticed that there is a folder named "_BackUpThisFolder_ButDontShipItWithYourGame" ... which is all the game content and was embedded with previous versions of the game... oops. So, now the Windows version is 15Mb rather than 60MB, rejoice!

Updated the dolly track that the prototype character moves along to have a more interesting interaction with the environment. This reminds me a bit of the levels in Little big planet, you get to move along a path and have to do things as you go. Maybe adding a push or knock over verb to the game will make that more interesting and representative of the goal.

Changed the flower vases to have an additional cube collision at the base to help them stand upright until hit. They had been falling over just as soon as the game started, but was a neat physics test. Now you the player get to knock them over! Much more fun. 

Maybe this is like a rail shooter but you're a cat pushing things off shelves... and the better you are at push timing the more points you get? Similar to scoring in dance dance revolution? Feels like it could be fun.

This isn't a focused blog but it is a consolidation of some floating ideas.

-Toli

Want to yell at me through the internet?
catnfever@tolicarter.com