Feedback Catch the Clown

[TheRaven81]

OK - so before you disown/shun/throw whatever negativity you have at this, I know this is the game the first tutorial "My First Game" shows you how to make, and about everyone has made it, I'm sure. But I've taken it further, to learn with, and made this:

All the functions were done with the Drag 'n Drop method(as I'm still learning). Since all of the game's functions work with just a Left Mouse button press, I was able to build for Android as well as Windows, since the Left Mouse button presses directly translated to touches on the screen(which was really nice), and so everything works in both builds.

For those who don't know already, The "Clown" character bounces around inside the box of crates, and the goal is to "catch" him by either clicking on him(Windows) or touching him(Android). Doing so gains you 100 points, and the Clown jumps to a random spot within the box. The more you catch him, the faster he goes, and the harder it is to catch him.
The game has no actual "end", so it's good as a time-waster

All the buttons work for their functions:
"RESTART": Will restart the entire game.
"SFX ON/OFF": Indicates whether the SFX will play from the mouse clicks or the clown hitting the wall - when pressed, will switch the sounds on or off.
"MUSIC: ON/OFF": Will turn the BGM on or off.
"QUIT": Exits the Application.

- The "Move Fixed" actions have been replaced with "Move Free" actions, and so the direction isn't just in a fixed 45 degree increment anymore, and he'll rotate to a random circular direction(between 0 and 360)
- The "Jump to Random" action has been replaced by a "Jump to Position" action, with the "random_range(n1, n2)" function in them for the x and y values, with n1 and n2 indicating the range inside the box for him to appear, so that he stays inside the box. And following the advice of the Manual, there's a piece of code at the head of the Create event of "obj_clown", containing the "randomize()" function, so that the random seed is randomized(I'm not sure if that was the right place to put it, though - wondering if it should be in the controller instead?).

LINKS:
Files from the Windows Installer Package in a .zip
Android APK
GM:S Project File (since it's not exactly an original idea, just a different format with new functions)

 

[TheRaven81]

geez.. soo many views and zero feedback - not a single opinion. awesome.

 

[Dogwithswords]

Very simple. It would be a great time waster just to see if the player can get a higher score. The graphics are decent.
I am well aware that the development of the game may be early. You will not hear harsh criticisms from me. I am not mean.

However, there are just a few things I could suggest:

1.) Consequence
-So far, the only consequence I experienced is just the increased speed and erratic movement but never the sense that I can lose. So I'm just left clicking frantically until the clown finally runs into my mouse. Maybe if there was a limited time to click on the clown, it would be much more challenging? If a player cannot hit the clown within the time limit, game over. The player then has to start all over again. You could also include a continuous mode so that players can just click on the clown for however long they want.

2.) Reward
-There aren't any rewards yet unless we're talking about the higher score. Maybe if there was a way to unlock new features after reaching a certain score, this could provide some incentive to the player. Maybe include a power-up that temporarily slows the clown for a few seconds before resuming the fast speed? Or a double-point power-up? Homing missile? I guess anything can be possible!

3.) Challenge
-I thought it would be funny if there was a more challenging clown on a jet pack that would not only bounce on occasion but loop around the room in a less predictable pattern. Or maybe another clown that has three bouncing balls that he also bounces off of? Or a mime that sets invisible walls that block the player? A good variety in challenges will certainly spice up the game-play!

What are your future plans for this game?

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I am guessing you are new to Game Maker and this is a great first attempt. Albeit the simplicity of your initial product is clear, there are still plenty of possibilities. I think you have the idea of design and visuals down. Furthermore, I encourage you to explore with the different ways of making the game challenging, engaging, and (most of all) entertaining. See what you can come up with, write/draw your ideas down, and dive into the programming! And you've come to the right place in case you get stuck or have any questions.

This has the potential to be a great game! In closing, I hope my suggestions helped! Happy coding!

 

[TheRaven81]

What are your future plans for this game?

I have 2 mode ideas here, and each mode will still have the same basic difficulty mechanic as it does currently in that every 2 seconds, he changes direction, and every time you catch him, he re-appears in a random spot and moves faster
#1: "Timed" mode
Timed mode will have a timer(2, 3 minutes maybe), and then you hit the clown as many times as you can before the timer expires, and the game is over.
Rewards:
As you hit the clown, if you are able to get a certain score before the time expires, then a bonus item would appear for a few seconds, and if you touch it, then you get a bonus time increase of 30 seconds.

#2: "Endless" Mode
Endless Mode would be much like it is now, but the key would be to catch the clown constantly, without missing him. You'll have 3 lives, and if you miss him, then you lose one. Once you lose them all then the game is over.
Rewards:
Rewards would be similar to Timed mode, but instead if you can catch him enough times consecutively, then you'd get an extra life. The score for endless mode would basically be a counter, and count how many times in a row you could catch him.

After the game ends in each mode, you would see a High Score table, to enter your name into. That's one thing I'll have to re-figure out though, since from what I hear, the old High-Score system has been rendered obsolete...

I would also like to build a front end for it, as a place to choose between the 2 modes of play, and maybe an options screen to change things about each of the modes(amount of time, number of lives, scores needed for bonuses)

So by the end, when I'm done, this should be only slightly similar to what the tutorial teaches you(it's already several steps away from it with the sidebar and buttons included).

 

[Guest User]

Wow, someone actually took this further than the tutorial, and it wasn't @roytheshort. *clap clap*

Anyway, learning is good and all, but I'd strongly advise against trying to build on this project for too long. The base idea (obviously) isn't all that interesting and there are more productive and efficient ways to learn. Try coming up with your own idea and (given it's interesting and there are quite a few obvious ways in which it could be expanded and developed) building on it and making a game from that, you might get further.
Good luck!

 

[TheRaven81]

The base idea (obviously) isn't all that interesting

I realize that, for sure - but my thoughts are that usually once I learn to implement something, then it'll be easier to implement it elsewhere. Like for example, the lives system, the timer, the bonuses, things like that - just general little things. I can then take what I learned here and implement it elsewhere. I take a lot of notes and once I definitely learn how to get something working, the notes are a huge help.

 

[Sabnock]

geez.. soo many views and zero feedback - not a single opinion. awesome.

I know how you feel

 

[Guest User]

I realize that, for sure - but my thoughts are that usually once I learn to implement something, then it'll be easier to implement it elsewhere. Like for example, the lives system, the timer, the bonuses, things like that - just general little things. I can then take what I learned here and implement it elsewhere. I take a lot of notes and once I definitely learn how to get something working, the notes are a huge help.

Alright, sweet! Enjoy.

 

[Sabnock]

AVAST says this file may be a virus.

 

[Brian]

AVAST says this file may be a virus.

View attachment 2858

Super common with gamemaker games. Everything I compile says it's a virus, even if I upload it to a site and redownload it on my own PC I get warned that I'm trying to virus myself.

Known bug in the program, YoYo doesn't know how to or can't fix it.

 

[Surgeon_]

You know I also have Avast! but this never happens to me. It was one of those things:

So I turned them all off. Not that it makes any difference if you have even the slightest idea what you're doing with your computer, but disabling these stops Avast! from being a giant pain in the ass for everything GameMaker-related.

Also, @Brian It's not a bug in GameMaker, so there's nothing to fix. Avast! is supposed to warn you when you try to run an .exe coming from an unknown source, and all of us who are using GameMaker are generally unknown sources.

 

[TheRaven81]

AVAST says this file may be a virus.

View attachment 2858

Yeah that's strange because I got the same thing from your Galaga game before you made it a .zip file, and I use Microsoft Security Essentials. So what I've done is created the Installer Package, I installed it on my machine, and then zipped up the contents of the install directory. The .zip is up in the OP, replacing the Standalone .exe, so see if that works for you. If it doesn't then you can still grab the .gmz from the 3rd link and play it that way if you like.

 

[Sabnock]

Yeah that's strange because I got the same thing from your Galaga game before you made it a .zip file, and I use Microsoft Security Essentials. So what I've done is created the Installer Package, I installed it on my machine, and then zipped up the contents of the install directory. The .zip is up in the OP, replacing the Standalone .exe, so see if that works for you. If it doesn't then you can still grab the .gmz from the 3rd link and play it that way if you like.

Yep, it's super annoying as well isn't it

Played the game and apart from the menu there's not much different from the tutorial game. i like your idea of building on this though and look forward to seeing where you take it.

 

[Guest User]

Super common with gamemaker games. Everything I compile says it's a virus, even if I upload it to a site and redownload it on my own PC I get warned that I'm trying to virus myself.

Known bug in the program, YoYo doesn't know how to or can't fix it.

I'm pretty sure most security programs recognize any .exe file from an unknown publisher/source as a potential virus; this is likely all that's happening.

 

[Sabnock]

I'm pretty sure most security programs recognize any .exe file from an unknown publisher/source as a potential virus; this is likely all that's happening.

seems that way yes.

It's good to have this talked about as it seems to happen a lot.

 

[TheRaven81]

Yep, it's super annoying as isn't it

Played the game and apart from the menu there's not much different from the tutorial game. i like your idea of building on this though and look forward to seeing where you take it.

Yeah it's just a learning thing for now.

 

[yinchanvo]

Just wanted to say that I think exactly how you do, TheRaven81. After completing this tutorial, my first instinct was to enhance it with each new concept I learn.