Hey guys and gals! We are doing a re-make of a platforming game we made way back in 1999. You might have played it back in the day on Ezone.com: http://ezone.com/games/halloween (only follow that link if you are one of the two people with a working version of the Macromedia/Adobe Shockwave plugin!) It has always been one of the most popular games on our site, so we thought we would have a go at making a new version in Unity so you'll be able to play it on iOS and our website. We've already made a start on the new assets which look something like this: Right now we are in the prototyping stage and we thought it might be interesting to share how a game evolves as it goes through the various stages of development. Over the next few days we'll be putting up playable Unity web builds that you can try out and give feedback on as the game progresses. Without further ado, here is the first prototype to test. Don't worry too much about the artwork (it's using assets from another game), this is purely to test whether a two button control scheme will work. http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a1/ (note: you'll need a computer browser with the Unity plugin) Use the ARROW KEYS to jump left and right. You can also double-jump. Let us know in the comments of this thread what you think of the controls. As you can imagine we are under the pump if we want this game approved by Apple before Halloween, so we will be cranking out the builds for you to try out. Also, if there is anything else you want to know about what goes into making an iOS game, let us know! ** UPDATE: Here are all the builds so far: http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a1/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a2/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a3/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a4/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a5/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a6/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a7/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a8/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a9/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a10/ http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/gm1/ <-- submitted to Apple!
Build 2 - Boo-Boo is back! Here's build 2 to try out (Unity plugin required): http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a2/ Changes: - New graphics: - "Boo-Boo" the ghost - Title - Candy - Easier controls: shouldn't get stuck on a block - You can die if you go too far to the left - Fullscreen web player Can anyone spot the in-air collider bug?
Halloweeen Build 3 - Wall Jumping Here's build 3: http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a3/ - Fix for the in-air collider bug - Wall jumping test (far right of level)
Build 4 - New Art and Controls It's really starting to take shape in build 4: http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a4/ Hold down longer to jump higher. Controls: the longer you hold, the higher you jump New title art New background art New gate and street signs New trees in foreground Glowing candy! Pumpkin baddies Baddie bounce height based on vertical speed Candy collect explosions Bigger baddie explosions New mansion goal New "trick or treat" win sound
Looks cool! Wish I could get Firefox to recognize I've installed the Unity Web Player. Safari recognizes it, but it's just a completely yellow screen with music. Well, when you release it, I'll play it!
Build 5 - Clock and New Levels @JCho133!! How's it going?!? Thanks for checking it out @marcorocco, and sorry it's not working for you @curtisrshideler. Here's the new build to try out: http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a5/ Controls still need some tweaking... Clock: complete the level before time runs out Level 2: Purple terrain and zombies Level 3: Blue terrain and vampires
Build 6 - Lives and Control Tweaks Here's the new build (6) to try out: http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a6/ Have gone back to a simple double-jump control and no wall-jumping (was difficult for a lot of play testers) Lives: start with 3, lose one for every hit, gain one for completing each level Lives: you don't restart the level if you lose a life (unlike the original 1999 version) Clock: if clock runs out you lose a life Controls: back to the previous double-jump Controls: removed wall-jump (playtesters: interfered with the hold down to auto-jump) Enemies: need to add some physics/rigidbodies so they don't float around!
Build 7 - Level Design 101 Here's the new build (7) to try out (see if you can beat my score of 752!): http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a7/ Now we've nailed down the controls (hopefully!) and we've started on some level design Level 1: design layout Scoring: added a x10 multiplier Scoring: reduced time bonus (so you get a higher score for collecting everything quickly, rather than just blazing through a level) Scoring: hard to get candies worth 5x more Sound: new candy collect Sound: new damage sound for Boo-Boo UI: Instructions built-in to first level Enemies: added physics and simple AI so they can fall off ledges (or not) Assets: mansion lights turn on when level completes (visual clue if sound is turned off)
Build 8 - More Level Design Here's build 8 with layouts for levels 2 and 3: http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a8/ Levels 2 and 3 finished layout and added a glide to the double-jump Level 2: design layout Level 3: design layout Controls: hold down during a double-jump to glide (you are a ghost!) Player: fixed jump animation when bouncing an enemy Player: change facing with button press during double-jump Enemies: colliders a bit bigger
Halloweeen Release Plan Hey, sorry we didn't get the new build of Halloweeen up today, but it is shaping up to be a big one with a ton of changes! However, we do have some details about the release plan: - free - ads between levels - no IAP - no revives - no pay to win (you'll have to earn your high score!) - GameCenter - release Monday Oct 27, 2014 (subject to app store approval timing) To reward the early adopters we are thinking about removing the ads permanently for everyone that downloads the game before Oct 31st. What do you think?
Build 9 - Level Up! Here's the new build, and there is a lot here! http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a9 We've been wanting to make a game where levelling up changes not just your character, but the environment as well. Having a single score (rather than multiple levels) is also better for competition between players. In this build you start at level 1 with just a single jump and as you gain XP (from your score) you upgrade and unlock new abilities (jump left, double-jump, double-jump glide, etc), new elements in the environment (higher value candy, tougher enemies, clock bonus, more time, hidden areas, etc), and currency that you can use to buy cosmetic things like hats. Have a play through and see what you think of the levelling-up. New: Player: added XP and levels Level: objects tagged to appear depending on player level UI: removed multiplier UI: clock removed until unlocked UI: lives removed until unlocked UI: hide instructions after a few runs Player: cannot die until lives unlocked (just lose score on enemy hits) Controls: can only jump right at level 1 Controls: unlock jump left at later level Controls: unlock double-jump at later level Controls: unlock double-jump glide at later level Controls: unlock triple-jump glide at later level Scores: no negative scores UI: XP bar for levelling up at game end Scores: fix score multiplier Clock: fix score bonus Sound: level-up Clock: item unlock UI: Show level-up item unlocked Enemy: zombies require 2 hits Enemy: vampires require 3 hits Player: improve collision with enemies UI: level display To Do: Levels: tweak xp and unlock timing Scores: higher up you land on the mansion, larger the score Scores: increase multiplier when collecting multiple candy without touching the ground UI: on-screen display of score for each item UI: Badge for new best score Bonus: add score for lives remaining UI: continue with extra xp after level-up Coins: award Coins: unlock hats/ghost party Coins: unlock more streets UI: coins display Enemy: fix AI for zombies and vampires
Build 10 - Getting Close! Build 10 - Getting Close! This one is getting very close! We better submit it today if we want it approved before Halloween. Could be a late night tonight... http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/a10 New: Scores: increase score multiplier when bouncing multiple enemies without touching the ground Scores: higher up you land on the mansion, larger the score Scores: add bonus score for lives remaining Scores: GameCenter (iOS) Objects: increase height of mansion collider Objects: add more secret candy to the left Enemy: fix AI for zombies and vampires Enemy: lock max velocity Enemy: reverse direction when bounced Coins: award UI: on-screen display of score for each item UI: Hide share button for web UI: Hide GameCenter for web UI: Don't show XP if score = 0 UI: Sound volume toggle UI: Badge for new best score UI: Badge for new best score wiggle UI: Ezone logos UI: Change web links UI: Fix non-responsive pause menu UI: coins display UI: disable 'quit' menu on iOS UI: Pause menu during game To Do: Levels: tweak xp and unlock timing Coins: unlock hats/ghost party Coins: unlock more streets Bonus: randomly show the ghost party mansion where you can buy hats UI: Share score/screen button UI: Credits menu Player: Pointer when off top of screen UI: Everyplay replays
Gold Master 1 - Submitted to Apple! Submitted. Now for the waiting game... with current App Store approvals taking a bit over 2 weeks we will be very lucky if this gets approved before Halloween http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/gm1/ As you can see from the list below, there are still a number of features that didn't make it into the first iOS submission. We'll be adding them in over the next few days for the Android version and also be ready to submit an update to Apple as soon as the first version gets approved (not ideal, but development is always a game of trade-offs and compromise) New: Levels: tweak xp and unlock timing UI: Share score/screen button - Everyplay replays Ads: iAds, Chartboost and Vungle Screenshot: 5 for each iPhone4, iPhone5, iPad, iPhone6, iPhone6+ Video: Preview video for iTunes Metadata: Descriptions, keywords, categories, etc To Do: Coins: unlock hats/ghost party Coins: unlock more streets Bonus: randomly show the ghost party mansion where you can buy hats UI: Credits menu Player: Pointer when off top of screen
Official Game Trailer Here's the brand new game trailer: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
Gold Master 2 - Out Now! Wow! A lot has happened since our last post - but the main thing to know is that 'Halloweeen!' is OUT NOW and available for download on iOS and Android: iTunes App Store Link: http://ezone.com/ios/h Google Play Link: http://ezone.com/android/h Web (Unity3D): http://ezone.com/beta/halloweeen/gm2/ After submitting GM1 to Apple last week we also posted it to Kongregate. Based on player feedback we knew we needed to add in the extra things like more streets, the ghost party and hats. As you can see from the list below we got most of it into the web and Android versions which we were very happy with. Now we had a dilemma. The early version in the review queue at Apple was now a shadow of the GM2 build. The problem was, if we rejected GM1 and submitted the new one we would lose our place in the queue and maybe miss out on Halloween entirely. We decided to take a risk and try for an 'expedited' review. We've never tried one, but thought this is worth a shot. Here's what we sent to the review team: This is a scary tale of Halloween woe Of a developer who acted too slow We are haunted as Halloween draws near Our game won’t be approved in time, we fear The darkness is closing in on us! Please don’t tell us that we’ve “missed the bus!” Developers since the app store’s commencement We’ve never asked for any special treatment We’ve taken much care to craft our ghost game To miss Halloween would be such a shame Oh! Hear us in our sincerest plea! and please approve our game rapidly We humbly thank you in advance For giving our game’s success a chance! Alright, maybe the commencement / treatment rhyme is pushing it, but the great news is that our expedited review was approved and 8 hours later it's available in the store. Thanks Apple!! In summary we are really pleased with the way the game came together (in less than 3 weeks!). The two-button control scheme actually turned out better than we hoped for and the game has that nice balance of being simple to play, yet nuanced enough that a skilled player can rack up some impressive scores. The real keys were making the player maintain their vertical velocity when bouncing off an enemy combined with the bounce multiplier. The other key to a big score is to make sure you hit the mansion as high as possible with a good bounce multiplier to end the level. Anyway, looking forward to seeing some heathy competition on the GameCenter leaderboards! Now to start getting the word out... New: Coins: unlock hats/ghost party Coins: unlock more streets Bonus: randomly show the ghost party mansion where you can buy hats Bonus: Lock ghost party until level 3 Levels: change order of level-up items Levels: add all enemies and level unlocks Level: Don't show extra lights on win if ghost party active Level: lives instructions change from L3 to L7 Player: Add effect when swapping hats Player: Pointer when off top of screen NPC: Stop when level finishes Sound: Ghost party house volume adjust for sound settings Sound: start level sounds Sound: Disable ghost party sound at start Scores: Save local and global scores for multiple levels Scores: Add Kongregate web scores HUD: Add XP bar to game XP: Increase required for last level UI: Menu for street selection UI: Street menu fix slide in/out UI: Pause menu change Quit to End UI: Fix buttons to activate on release (for dragging buttons) UI: Re-enable button after pressed UI: Scrollable street menu UI: Title menu add street selection and coin count UI: Menu for hat selection UI: Fade to black between levels UI: Pause menu show coin total UI: Random coin pickups to levels UI: Hint button (can only proceed if that button pressed) UI: Hint menu system to guide players through menus/unlocks UI: Show street menu after awarding first coins UI: Gameover menu add street name UI: Don't reload level on first run UI: Improved fade-in/out between levels UI: Resize hat button collider if purchased UI: Fade to black between levels UI: Change collider on unlocked hat button UI: Fix ghost party pause bug UI: Gameover menu add main menu button UI: Pause bug UI: Buy confirm button UI: Remove Everyplay (less memory requirements) UI: iOS sharing dialog UI: Android wired up the share button To Do: Items: save original prices UI: Pop-up message alert UI: Ezone logo goes to credits UI: Gameover number of unlockable streets UI: Level-up candies and enemies add point values UI: Show 'Maxed Out' for level > 20 UI: Credits menu Player: Scroll vertically
