Coding.

So, I've realized that much of my coding has been really sloppy and should have been made much more organized. At this point, I really don't want to go back and reorganize all my code, but it looks like I might have to.

Part of the problem lies in that I have certain variables which I want to remain constant throughout the span of the game (ex: points), other variables which will only need to be refreshed with each new level (ex: health) and the remaining variables would be particular only to the portion of the level in which they belong (ex: enemy variables).

So I would need at least 3 different layers of code, each spanning over various chunks of the game.

Also, I realized how terribly ugly and poorly written my hitTest coding for all my enemies has been. I really should go back and condense it, not just for the sake of organization but because the way that I currently have it written is just plain embarrassing.

I just don't feel like going back and dealing with this quite yet. Maybe once I've gotten a bit more of the art I need done, I'll go back and fix all this junk code.

I did however already go back and fix a bit of the code that I realized was just plain stupid. I managed to condense about 30 or 40 lines of code down to about 2 or 3. I don't even want to talk about how I did that because I feel really dumb for it was written before.

For some of the hitTest stuff, I think I'll have to go back and make some new hitboxes. I really realize now why making hitboxes are so important. It isn't about the structure of the box, or where it is that's important to the programmer, it's because it serves an independent purpose as an instance which makes coding SO much easier. This may however negatively effect the way some interactions occur between Daisuke and his enemies.

Gameplay Trailer.

Ok, so I made a little gameplay trailer using footage of me playing the current build. It shows off the first map and the various enemies that inhabit it. Enjoy!



YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKhEZQ8BXl4

Bomb Bandit details.

"Bomb Bandit" isn't a very strong guy, which is why he doesn't attack you directly like the other bandits. Instead, Bomb Bandit will hide behind something, or someone and chuck his powerful bombs at you.

Bomb Bandit hiding behind Hammer Bandit:


Together they make one tough barricade!

Bomb Bandit, Naginata (MiniBoss) Bandit

I made another bandit character! I think he will be the last of the regular bandit baddies.

He throws bombs! So watch out!


I've also made this character who is currently called "Naginata Bandit", but I'll give him a real name later. He is going to be the first MiniBoss fight.

Adding baddies.

So, I've been adding bad guys to the level, and it has been a bit of a pain in the ass.

It isn't so much the adding of guys, it's the fact that I'm making more complex bad guys than before. When it was just the bandit swinging his sword around and chasing Daisuke like a madman it was no problem, but with the new bad guys I'm putting in, it has become a bit more difficult.

"Bow Bandit" is a character I had in one of the early builds of Daisuke, he was very simply a bow and arrow guy that just repeated the animation of shooting over and over again and didn't give a crap where Daisuke was in relation to himself.

For this new and improved Bow Bandit, I will be making him shoot arrows at Daisuke. The secret to beating this character will be to keep moving and not to stand still, otherwise he'll hit you. Also, this guy is in a tree, so it should make it a bit more interesting.

Here is a pic of the first "new and improved" Bow Bandit:


The "Spear Bandit" is pretty new. I first made him about a week ago. Originally he was just going to stand around and stab at you with a spear, serving as a type of barricade, but I figured that that was kinda lame and that this character had a lot more potential.

So the Spear Bandit has become my most complex bad guy so far. His main function is that he runs at you holding his spear, which not only hurts you, but pushes you backwards and will continue to do damage. You can jump over his spear and get in his face to slash him, but if you don't act quickly, he will use his close range attack to knock you back into spear-range. I'm also thinking about possible adding a way to deflect his spear with an attack.

Here is a pic of the Spear Bandit, complete with hit boxes:


Neither of these baddies are done yet, but both should be finished pretty soon.

HUD Expressions.

So I've been doing a lot of work to the HUD lately. I think I'm pretty much done with it for now, and am going to go back to finishing other aspects of the game. The last thing I added to it was expressions to Daisuke's face depending on how much of your various stats you have left.

For example ...

Daisuke at 5/5 health, 100% energy (genki) and 100% defence:


Daisuke with 3/5 health:


Daisuke with 2/5 health and less than 50% defence:


Daisuke with 1/5 health and 100% defence:


I might add in a few more faces later, and I might put sweat or something in for low energy. So far, I like the way it turned out.

HUD again.

So, I learned how to make a real functional draining bar by looking at the coding of a preloader, and I applied it to my HUD. I also turned the Genki meter into a 3rd bar so that I can change the values without distracting people with random flashing numbers and decimals.

So here is what it looks like now:



Only thing I'm not 100% sure about is the colors. I might make the defense bare more of a grayish blue, and I don't know what to make the Genki bar at all. It's yellow right now because it seemed appropriate, but I'm starting to think it may just be a bit too obnoxious. Maybe orange? Health will stay bright green. And he health bar still drains in chunks, because you only actually have 5 HP.

Also, a cool feature I'm going to add in, is that Daisuke's face in the HUD will show different expressions based on how much health/genki/defense you have. It will be cool, I promise.

Another HUD upgrade !!

So, I have been feeling very creative lately, and have put into motion several ideas that were stirring around in my head. I feel pretty accomplished.

I threw some animations into the mix and have a couple more little tidbits I want to throw in there.

I also upgraded the HUD yet again !!



The defence % meter had been pissing me off. I thought it was really ugly. Even though it was accurate and technically got the job done, I just felt like it was an eyesore. SO, I turned it into a smaller 2ndary lifebar!

So when your blue defence bar drains, you lose 1 chunk of your green life bar.

The blue def bar only shows every 10% defense, so you won't be able to see down to the single % how much def you have, but that isn't really all too relevant since you can refill your defense by using Rin.

I also put the points or "Yen" on top of the lifebar, and moved the Genki meter underneath .. although, I might change the way the genki meter looks as well .. maybe, maybe not. Impressions?

New baddies, obstacles.

So, I've been putting quite a bit of work into Daisuke over the last few days. I've found new motivation since I leaped over some major programming hurtles I had in my way. I'm pretty proud of myself, not just for getting it done, but for doing it totally on my own! With no help whatsoever! I feel like I'm really getting better not just at using AS, but at problem solving and figuring out creative ways to deal with issues.

So !! I made a few cool additions to my Daisuke level, which will SOON become the official Daisuke Demo. It's really starting to look like a real game now! I'm excited.

Here are some new baddies I've added into the mix ..

Spear Bandit:

Hammer Bandit:

They will be joining the Sword and Bow bandits in the "Bandit's Lair" level, that will be the playable level in the Daisuke Demo. I'm also working on a couple of boss "bandit" characters to make the level a bit more exciting, possible a few more regular bandits just to spice up the level a bit more. I am planning on making a naginata bandit, who may be a boss, and I also will be making a "Bandit King", who may become a reoccurring character in the series, so he'll need a real name ..

I think I'm gonna throw in some other different kinds of baddies in there just for fun too.

ALSO .. !! The game can't just be ALL bad guys and Daisuke .. I made some obstacles for Daisuke to overcome as well.

Wooden Gates:

Spike Logs:


Daisuke will have to avoid dangerous obstacles, and figure out how to overcome those that stand in his way. I'm going to make at least one more variation of the gate, and I'll try and think up some more interesting obstacles for Daisuke to deal with.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

Tougher baddies and keeping a tab.

So, it finally came to me today. Sitting down and squeezing ideas out of your brain doesn't always work, most of my really good ideas come to me via epiphany. They can't be forced, rather they just pop into my head, usually when I'm really relaxed or something.

So, the problem I had been having was how I was going to make enemies in Daisuke take multiple hits. It was something that I just had no idea what I was going to do about, so I kept avoiding it for as long as I could.

Suddenly this afternoon, the answer to my problem seemed not only obvious, but downright simple. So after about 20 minutes of coding and testing, the game now acts almost EXACTLY how I wanted in terms of enemy damage.

I can now input how much total life I want an enemy to have, as well as how much damage Daisuke's various attacks will deliver. This works both ways, so different enemies will be able to do different amounts of damage on Daisuke as well.

TOO GOOD !! I can finally make really tough guys and bosses and all the good stuff I've wanted to make for a while !! I just need a new mouse so I can get to drawing again.

The only problem I'm having with this new system is that I'm having a LITTLE bit of trouble making hit-sparks. Not a huge issue right now, I'm pretty sure I can figure it out in no time.

The second thing I've added is a points system. This system goes hand in hand with the enemy health system, as well as the story.

We need to remember that Daisuke is a ninja for HIRE, and he'll present his clients with an invoice after he's done with a mission. Daisuke keeps a tab on EVERYTHING .. not just what he collects, but who he fights, and even how he fights them. The tougher the enemy, the more points your attacks will be worth. The fancier the move you use to hurt an enemy, the more points you will get. You'll get different amounts of points for just about everything you do, and those points translate to a dollar amount for Daisuke .. or rather .. a Yen amount?