Feb 26, 2024
CRT7 - Amicable Animal
Hi all, Tom here!
First off, I'm sorry it's been a little quiet around here. I've mentioned before how real life has been busy and getting in the way. The joys of making a game as a solo part-time developer!
I really appreciate you all for sticking around thought, so I've decided to be a little more regular with my updates. From today, I'm going to try and post (at least) a monthly development update to keep you all up to date on the progress of CRT7.
So... what about February? Well, I've finally had a little time to get back to working on CRT7, and I've taken aim at a couple of things I've been wanting to work on for a while... Get yourself a cup of tea and settle in, these posts will be a little longer than my previous ones! Obviously beware of at least minor spoilers too...
So... I fixed it:
This might seem like a simple change, but there was quite a bit of work behind the scenes to get this working. Previously, the screen was static β I manually made the messages and the backgrounds. Now, however, the messages read from a file that stores (most of) the text that appears in the game. Not only that, but it can tell whether it is a received or sent message and create the background automagically. Long story short: it works more like a real messaging app now. I can define as many messages as I like and it will create the backgrounds, set the colours correctly, and allow players to click and drag to scroll through them. I've even put in a little bounce effect if you try to scroll too far! The messages are placeholder for now, but are easy to change and update thanks to this update.
Not only that, but it is set up that later on I can add functionality for players to receive new text messages as they're playing... Mysterious!
Above you can see the 'Nuclear' mode in action. It is, of course not finished yet (and also it is set to be way harder than in the final game so I can test everything is working) but hopefully you can get the idea of the main twist in this mode. 'Bomb' pieces will regularly appear on the board, and you disarm them by creating a quad that contains them. It's inspired by modes in other big arcade puzzlers you might have played!
The tricky part is the bomb space blocks you putting down your pentomino, and if you aren't quick they can blow holes in your board... holes that don't contribute to your completion percentage and will cause you issues later. On the more complicated board shapes, things can get out of hand very quickly!
The eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed another mode in the top right is now active. I wonder if you can guess the big twist to that mode? Any guesses?
In particular, there are more lights that need to be turned on in this dark basement, a strange and potentially haunted radio to interact with, and an important use for those strange gold pentominoes you've been finding around the place... And that's just a taster of what's in store.
As always playing, sharing, and wishlisting is hugely helpful and allows solo developers like me to make weird games for you to enjoy. So, if you haven't already, please do nudge a friend or two to try the demo and wishlist CRT7 as well:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2096780/CRT7/
Keep your eyes peeled and I'll see you again soon for another development update!
- Amicable Animal
First off, I'm sorry it's been a little quiet around here. I've mentioned before how real life has been busy and getting in the way. The joys of making a game as a solo part-time developer!
I really appreciate you all for sticking around thought, so I've decided to be a little more regular with my updates. From today, I'm going to try and post (at least) a monthly development update to keep you all up to date on the progress of CRT7.
So... what about February? Well, I've finally had a little time to get back to working on CRT7, and I've taken aim at a couple of things I've been wanting to work on for a while... Get yourself a cup of tea and settle in, these posts will be a little longer than my previous ones! Obviously beware of at least minor spoilers too...
Reading Your Messages
First, almost all players I've seen have attempted to read more text messages on the phone when first opening the game. It makes sense, right? Almost everyone has used text messaging or something like WhatsApp, and the fact the in-game phone didn't scroll the messages always felt off to me.So... I fixed it:
This might seem like a simple change, but there was quite a bit of work behind the scenes to get this working. Previously, the screen was static β I manually made the messages and the backgrounds. Now, however, the messages read from a file that stores (most of) the text that appears in the game. Not only that, but it can tell whether it is a received or sent message and create the background automagically. Long story short: it works more like a real messaging app now. I can define as many messages as I like and it will create the backgrounds, set the colours correctly, and allow players to click and drag to scroll through them. I've even put in a little bounce effect if you try to scroll too far! The messages are placeholder for now, but are easy to change and update thanks to this update.
Not only that, but it is set up that later on I can add functionality for players to receive new text messages as they're playing... Mysterious!
Modes and Nodes
The second major thing I've worked on this month is some new game modes for the CRT monitor arcade game you can play. For a while now there have been five mode buttons, but only two of them you could click. I'd planned the other modes, but not had the chance to make them. Well, this month I changed that:Above you can see the 'Nuclear' mode in action. It is, of course not finished yet (and also it is set to be way harder than in the final game so I can test everything is working) but hopefully you can get the idea of the main twist in this mode. 'Bomb' pieces will regularly appear on the board, and you disarm them by creating a quad that contains them. It's inspired by modes in other big arcade puzzlers you might have played!
The tricky part is the bomb space blocks you putting down your pentomino, and if you aren't quick they can blow holes in your board... holes that don't contribute to your completion percentage and will cause you issues later. On the more complicated board shapes, things can get out of hand very quickly!
The eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed another mode in the top right is now active. I wonder if you can guess the big twist to that mode? Any guesses?
The March of Time
But what, I imagine you asking, is next? Well, in March I'm going to start working on what happens in the game after the segment in the demo. I already have a bunch of functionality there from early prototypes, and it's now time to start integrating it into the main game flow again. I'm hugely looking forwards to this, as there are some really fun things I can't wait for you to get your hands on.In particular, there are more lights that need to be turned on in this dark basement, a strange and potentially haunted radio to interact with, and an important use for those strange gold pentominoes you've been finding around the place... And that's just a taster of what's in store.
As always playing, sharing, and wishlisting is hugely helpful and allows solo developers like me to make weird games for you to enjoy. So, if you haven't already, please do nudge a friend or two to try the demo and wishlist CRT7 as well:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2096780/CRT7/
Keep your eyes peeled and I'll see you again soon for another development update!
- Amicable Animal
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