Originally Posted by GamesterXIII Anyway, the level is linear
I agree! By definition any level that scrolls from left to right is linear. No one can argue with you there!
Just to clarify, that's not what you said before, and it was your comment "about as linear as a level can get" that I was arguing.
(By the way, if you play the first game there's a boss that very closely based on Donkey Kong. Featuring bosses from other games is nothing new for Hatman. It's one of the relatively few games that is worth downloading here so if you don't download much here, I recommend it )
Yeah I know, I actually liked the hat engine, but never played much more than that. I think I played an early hatman or hatman 2 or something and didn't like it though. Felt like a door/key game, but with switches instead.
Originally Posted by GamesterXIII The boss fight is ripped straight from sonic games
I didn't know that. Interesting, thanks If you can remember where the boss is in Sonic 2, could you point me to a video? Just out of interest, what are the other three Sonic references?
Originally Posted by GamesterXIII As for the level design . . . I don't see how you can rate the level design properly without seeing more of the game.
But I also disagree that the video above is "about as linear as a level can get". Perhaps you'll think it's negligible but I enjoyed the simple navigation problems to find treasure and the use of the floor switches to open doors in Hatman. I know we're not seeing earth-shattering innovation but there's certainly a lot of room for a level to be more linear than that.
Wow, calm down children!
It's quite similar to the boss he's referring to - I believe it's from Wing Fortress - but that boss involved simply dodging a laser while jumping up to attack the laser on moving platforms.
Sonic 3&K has a similar one in Flying Battery Zone where you just dodge a laser, which shoots the ship and destroys it regardless - no element of jamming up some sort of mirror and convincing it to shoot at you into its own supports.
Inspired, sure, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's lifted or ripped.
The first level is going to be pretty linear :/ If you want to get all the secrets anyway, you'll have to be doing a lot more going back than I did.
Also, yes, there was a different HatMan 2 alpha I started making but it wasn't fun at all so I stopped and started over to try to capture the feel of the first.
I've been keeping things hidden on my end because I haven't really decided whether or not I want to participate. Today I decided that I might as well keep going. That prize money is very tempting considering my current living conditions.
Anyway, here's a peek:
Because I don't have the time to make it a full-fledged adventure, I'm going to settle with making two or three open-ended levels with multiple goals in them, a la Super Mario 64.
Looks like I may not be able to get my game finished for this, got a project that needs to be done by January (contract! :S). Shame, because I really want to get this Christmas game done! I think I'll get it done anyway and release it even if it's after Christmas, because so far I'm pretty proud of how it's going. I could also adapt it to be non-Christmas themed, since I don't have many set graphics in there.