 Showing off my swipe controls for changing scene in my game (Feedback?)

StormyStudio

Good evening GameSalad folk of the world.

Posting again to get some feedback on the user interface I've created for my game 'Horror Box' which has a long long way to go before the game is ready.

The premise of the game, is that your stuck in a lift and have to solve puzzles to escape, before finding yourself trapped in the next 'Box' type environment, be that a train carriage, phone box, coffin, padded cell...etc. Hoping to allow around 30 minutes of gameplay for each environment your stuck in.

The below video, shows my menu in the making and then a basic textured lift, which the user can drag and swipe to change the view in the lift, drag down to look up at the ceiling, drag up to look down at the floor, (reversed so it feels familiar like in Safari) then left and right...etc.

The lift is yet to be populated with all the puzzle solving items, but I just wanted to nail the user interface first, I did'nt want the screen cluttered with arrows or large touch areas for moving round the scenes.

Also if you don't drag for a few seconds, the breathing movement start again. (as seen in the menu)



(Filmed my iphone 4 running the game using my wifes iphone 3GS...sorry for the breathing...next time I'll hold my breath)

juzcook

This is looking really awesome man! And I see you've changed the name again. The only problem I can see with it is the scene changing. If you could make the whole lift in one scene to save loading, then the game will play MUCH better. Take Grisly Manor for example, Joe put multiple rooms on the same scene so that when you're moving around in a hurry the game's loading isn't interfering with the flow of the game. For what it's worth, if you can make it all happen on the one scene (per level of course), then I think it will be MUCH more enjoyable.

The swipe motion would still have the same effect, and I think it works pretty well for your type of game.

Love the breathing effect by the way!

StormyStudio

Thanks. Glad you like it, tricky thing with making it all one scene,

You'd get weird angles going on when tryin to draw it all as one image. In grisly manor it worked well though, seein the view through a door of the next part of the screen. Will have a think.

The nice thing about it being on separate screens is I can keep the project quite tidy. hmm or am I making excuses.

You may well be right

Edit: I think you are right, annoying as I'll have to sit and do sone more maths to get the camera jumping to right places. Anyone know what the widest a gs game can be is?

JohnPapiomitis

The scene width can be as wide as you want, without affecting anything.

gazjm

If you didnt know, the best behaviour would probably be to interpolate the camera origin point to move smoothly to the point once swiped!

gazjm

Looks ace though!

gyroscope

Yes, looking really good; very claustrophobic! The swipes don't seem to be reacting as they should sometimes though if you don't mind me pointing out; down to GS handling of the swipe event I'm guessing.

StormyStudio

Thanks for all the proper honest feedback. It really is helpful, otherwise I'm just looking at it my self going..ooh look I can drag, and oooh that loading time is ok.... definately worth the small amount of effort putting the video up. thankyou,,,

So things to do,

Change the setup so all the sides of the lift are in one scene, so you only have to load the level once.

@Gyroscope, regarding the swipes, I think your right (I've spent ages getting it as close as it is), but its setup so I can easily keep tweaking it as I work on the game, until it works as expected, at the moment you have drag at 75 pixels from where you first touch, and keep your finger touching for like 0.3 seconds once you've swiped (needed a slight delay to stop GS to getting confused). When I show it to my wife she tries to flip round the lift as quickly as in the photo viewer on the iphone. It should help things once its all in one scene as there will be no delay with the loading.

Cheers

Hunnenkoenig

You could use animations after the finger swipe to show the turning around.

If you know what I mean.

That would be more fluent and would give a better feel about what you are doing.

StormyStudio

@Hunn nice idea. Could get complicated as I wanted to add flickering lights, at points in the game the lights are off completely. Plus different items in each scene. So you'd need lots if custom animations to make it look right. Also full screen png sequences might kill the game a bit.

Nice idea though, I'll have a think how to make the movement as smooth as possible

Hunnenkoenig

for SFX don't use visible objects, just sources outside the scene.

Like flickering light.

Make an actor top of the layer, which flickers light.

Make the animation without that SFX.

No matter which animation you play, the light will flicker. Just don't show the source of it, so you don't have to make different animations.

The animations should be just a filler.
Like when you see in movies, when the bad guy throws a knife.

The camera makes a whooosh
and then they show the other guy with a knife in his troath.

The knife was always there, but the camera whoosh did an effect, which makes you believe that it would follow the knife.

So they made you belive, the knife was actually flying and it has hit the guy.

If you understand what I mean.

StormyStudio

Yep.

Thanks I'll make a visual whoosh transition.

Thanks

Hunnenkoenig

You don't have to take my words literally :-P

While a whoosh effect may be suitable for a thrown knife, it is not necessarily suitable for turning in an elevator :-)

I imagine it so:

Make one scene with the whole elevator.

Show the door.
If the player taps on the door, show an animation opening a door and tranisiting (fade in-out) into the elevator. Check it with an attribute if the player is in the elevator.

If he is in, replace the background with the last one, which you showed in the animation (back wall of the elevator).

Spawn any items, you want to be used.

When the player swipes to left, play an animation turning to the left and change the background to the last image of the animation.

Destroy any items, you had in the previous one and spawn the new items, which you want to be usable.

And so on.

With attributes like

inelevator back
inelevator left
inelevator right
etc.

you always can check, where the player is facing and what items to destroy or spawn.

But I think, you know this, so I don't have to explain...

So you can spare loading times within one setting.

Of course I don't know, what your game is about and how the gameplay works, but you know, what I mean. You can adopt it, how you think is most suitable for your needs.

I was just thinking loud, how I would do it...
Good luck with the game! :-)

StormyStudio

@Hunn

Thanks, I appreciate your input. And thinking out loud on the GameSalad forum I find is the best way to write.

I think I'm going to try making an extra wide scene first.

As spawning and destroying actors, and keeping track of associated attributes could get confusing when you start problem solving any bugs etc. At least if its all in one big scene it will be easier to keep track of stuff. I think I'll partially use your idea,

for example the flickering light, as you said I can just have an image with a blending mode that flickers on and off over everything.

But at one point in the game, I want the lights to go off and glow in the dark paint to appear, so I can change the backgrounds then with an attribute 'lights off'.

I'm gonna tinker with it a bit over lunch, then back on it again tonight... With a good 5 hour stint penciled in for Saturday night.

StormyStudio

Ok, I'm just starting re-making how the lift scene works...will post results later if I can get it done in my 3.5 hour window of pure gamesalad problem solving.

Any tips welcome...currently on Ginger Beer, then tea, then hot chocolate...(Alcahol free Game making...what ever next)

I'm hoping the 1 hour spent sorting out the maths and numbers on paper on my lunch break at work will make it plain sailing....unless my numbers are wrong then I may drink a real beer..

Edit: Top tip, keep saving versions of the project...just lost 2 minutes work, but could easily of been worse...

MLCinema

Hello,

Your game looks great. Could you please tell me how you got your scenes to slide off. I have the effect kinda working, but it will not go straight down. It seems to go to the side. Weird! Or maybe it's me.

Thank you very much.

StormyStudio

MCCinema

Explain your setup and I will do my best....is it the menu bit you are referring to?

my minds a bit fried after trying to achieve what I wanted tonight.And only acheiving 50% of what I hoped to get done.

I now have all my game scenes in one scene, with the same swipe mechanism, but only setup for going left at the moment, as its a bit of a maths mess at the moment. Will post an updated video once its working properly.

gazjm

stormystudio said:
my minds a bit fried after trying to achieve what I wanted tonight.And only acheiving 50% of what I hoped to

Ha, sorry, nothing productive but this reminds me of my GS sessions so much!haha.

StormyStudio

yep, its now morning....tried to go to sleep twice, then decide , nope I'll try one more thing to see if I can get my game doing what I want. Both times it failed....been trying for an hour this morning...still no luck...

move camera right round scene, with cool camera moves all in one scene. I know its possible cause it works fine going left round my cube, but going right.... AAAAHH! damn you mind.

MLCinema

stormystudio said:
MCCinema

Explain your setup and I will do my best....is it the menu bit you are referring to?

my minds a bit fried after trying to achieve what I wanted tonight.And only acheiving 50% of what I hoped to get done.

I now have all my game scenes in one scene, with the same swipe mechanism, but only setup for going left at the moment, as its a bit of a maths mess at the moment. Will post an updated video once its working properly.

Hello again,

Yes, I am asking about your menu system. What I am looking to do is: I have two full size actors, the one on top, I have a timer and would like it to slide off the screen after 10 seconds. I have everything working except I can't get the actor to slide straight down. It always seems to go down and to the left or right. This must be a math thing? Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Thank you again.

StormyStudio

@MLCINEMA

Evening again...

Just checking you should make your scene height twice the normal, and animate the camera from one to the other, and not have the actors constrained to each other in a normal sized scene, as it will be far easier and you can move around both full size actors in the preview window.

Then simply have it so, if button is released change an game.attribute to 1, then if that game.attribute = 1, move the camera control actor up to the middle of the other full screen actor....using interpolate. Check the positions of your actors, and work out the correct numbers....

Let me know how you get on, if your still stuck I'll make a quick project file.

StormyStudio

Ok, after a total of around 12 hours, I've nearly successfully changed how my scenes worked, so that all the lift sides are in one scene, will also add a 7th side, which will be a close up on any selected item, and maybe an 8th which will be a menu screen to save loading times. It does seem to work very well.

Edit: I thought it was gonna work perfectly that test...but nope...just all went a bit damn crazy....2 days of solidly trying to solve behaviours is damn knackering...

Chaser

I like the idea and how the others point out smoother changes to the other walls. It may also help to keep the amount of scenes down but not an easy task

MLCinema

OK. Let me try this. Thank you.