PuzzleRaiser development issues, fixes and design + Introducing Cube 2.0 #unity3d

Thanks to those that tried out the puzzleRaiser prototype build. Had lots of really nice feedback. The best thing is that most of the concerns were based around technical issues, which is great because I’ve not touched anything outside of the basic game mechanics.

All I wanted to know is whether the basic idea is actually any fun, then I would know whether it was worth carrying on…and it seems as though it is, so I will.

As mentioned in the previous post, I wanted to keep development ‘open’, so any issues that are raised I’ll talk about why they occurred, and how to get around them…I’ll also outline how I approached creating certain features, along with the code.

Issues raised in version V0.051579244…

Right Click + Web Browser

One of the first rules of making a game for a web browser is to try and avoid using the right mouse button. It really is more hassle than it’s worth, and if you’ve already got the player using the keyboard and mouse, then hopefully it should be too much of a hassle asking to player to push a modifier key or something.

The issue I have is that I want puzzleRaiser to be a mouse-only game. Why? Well I believe web-based browser games should be as simple to play as possible, built around a strong idea and solid game mechanics. The way in which puzzleRaiser is designed means that it should be based around solving difficult puzzles with a combined series of logical, simple solutions.

A few people mentioned that whenever they pushed the right mouse button, all they got was the contextual menu to go into full-screen mode. If the player decides to go into full-screen mode then everything is fine, they can use the right mouse button exactly as it’s supposed to be used. However, if they don’t want to go full-screen, and there are a number of reasons a player might not want to do so, then the game is broken.

Solution? Well, there are a couple.

Disable the contextual menu.
If you make the decision to have the game running purely in-browser, not full-screen, then it’s possible to disable the contextual menu by using some parameters…This is all outlined on the Unity website

http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/Manual/WebPlayerBehaviorTags.html

Insert a Full-screen button (and don’t remove the player from the experience)

So if you’ve disabled the contextual menu, but still want to go full-screen, then you can do it through a button of some sort.

Many games put full-screen settings in the video settings of their menu systems, which is fine, but if you’re making something that is designed to be simple and user friendly, then it should really be within arms reach.

I’d recommend putting it on the screen, so that it is ever-present. Of course, this relies upon you having enough screen-space to accomodate such a button, but if you do, then try and do this. The reason is simple, try and keep the player in the game. The moment they have to pause the game, they are removed from the experience, inviting them to be distracted by something else. Whilst it’s impossible to ever prevent people from becoming distracted, if it happens before they get ‘hooked’ on your game, they might never return.

How to you do a full-screen button?

The simplest way is to do it with a GUI button…you can do something fancier later if you wish, but to do it with GUI you can try using Screen.fullscreen on a GUI button.

Screen.fullscreen = true;
Screen.fullscreen = false;

Introducing Cube 2.0

Something I had anticipated was that players weren’t entirely sure which direction the cubes would actually grow in. There are no indicators, it’s purely a case of basing it on the formation of the cubes and the direction they are facing/visible.

In order to combat this then some sort of indicator needs to be present for the players to understand exactly what will happen. This is something I’m working on, and in order for it to be in context with the game, needs to remain subtle.

However, later on in the game, players will be able to interact with cubes that grow in any direction they choose.

The shapes below were created with one cube. By selecting different sides, the player can choose which direction the cube will grow in, giving them full-control, and eradicating any issues with growth direction.

Of course, the fact that these cubes can grow in any direction, as opposed to the fixed cubes will also need to be communicated to the player…which is also something I’m working on.

Possible Solutions….

I’m thinking a light and dark effect. The dark cubes have already been identified as non-interactive, so why not apply this approach to the interactive cubes?

For example, cubes that can only grow on one side will only be light on that side, the other faces will remain dark…

seems simple enough.

If you’ve got any additional things to add regarding the things raised in this post feel free to comment.

Filed under : Development Diary