Hey guys,
I realize that it has been a while since my last update - I have been really hard at work (both with my day job and with O-R-B).
However - I am very excited to announce that O-R-B will be available for Android! But before you rush off to download the Android demo, stay a while and read up on some of the core demo features and some of the exciting changes we can expect to see in the next few months.
Feedback Required for the Demo!
When checking out the demo, please keep in mind that the demo is a only a concepts demo - which means that the levels you play will most probably not be included in the final game. Also, and most importantly, bare in mind that the sole purpose of this demo is to try and elicit as much feedback on the game mechanics as possible before all the polish and final set of elements are decided upon.
The existing tutorials are presented to you at a fast rate. Not all elements have a corresponding tutorial, and furthermore, not every puzzle element is included in the demo (refer to my previous article to see the list of elements included / excluded).
With that in mind, there are a few guideline questions which I would like to gather some feedback on:
- What was your first impression of the game? What style of game play were you expecting before picking up the game?
- On a scale from 1 - 5 (1 being super easy, 5 being damn near impossible) how would you rate each of the 6 levels?
- Which puzzle elements appeal to you the most?
- Which level appealed to you the most?
- In terms of level size - which level did you feel provided the best "size"?
- If you were given the chance - which area of the game would you focus on the most? (Please try and keep this limited to the core mechanics of the game - not the story line (or lack thereof ;-) or art (or lack thereof ;-) as this will come).
- On a scale from 1 - 5 (1 being super slowly, 5 being super quickly) how quickly did you grasp the movement mechanics of Orb?
- Any further comments and suggestions? Overall impressions?
- Bonus: Given the chance - would you be interested in trying out the in game level editor? (the editor is far from pretty or perfect and will require some getting used to) but it is fully functional and in some respects (if I dedicate some love to the GUI) may turn out to be a major appeal factor for the game.
If you are interested, leave a comment or PM me and we can take it from there.
Known issues on the Android build:
Other than a few minor bugs, I guess there are only two issues I would like to point out:
- The lighting layer is not properly refreshed should the game / device go to sleep - thus keep the game alive!
- Level "The Chase" appears to have a few lighting layer glitches
So, what's news? And what is lined up for O-R-B in the future?
Theme
Well, for starters, the theme of the game has finally been settled on!! And the backing story is starting to gain some momentum:
Follow the death and the birth of a star trapped in an alternate universe - help Orb escape the clutches of a black hole and regain his rightful place as the ruler of all the stars in the universe.
Emerging from this, you can expect to see more polished content aligned with the games theme and story line. You will also start to see more "non standard" interactive puzzle elements (based on the current game rules of course) as the journey of Orb unfolds and is brought to life.
Re-worked menus
To allow for better touch support on mobile, a few things about the GUI had to change. Firstly, the menus have now been centered, the "selection orb" has been removed, and the font has been made much lager. This also benefits the windows version as the game is now more playable from a distance.
Intro sequence under construction!
As you may have noticed the beautiful explosion two images above, this forms part of the intro sequence in O-R-B which is currently under development. (Sorry guys, this is not included in the demo)
This promises to be a real treat so keep watching for more sneak peeks!
O-R-B travel challenges
Alignment of the game to the theme exposed a neat little gap for me to be creative. Orb makes use of worm holes and jump gates to travel around the universe - you will now have to move Orb through the worm hole itself. The below image is a very early development shot of how Orb will travel:
O-R-B enemies are alive!
Over the past few weeks I have also been rounding off the enemies in Orb.
Bullet Turrets!
Providing awesome timing and dodge challenges as well as making the game look amazing:
Red Enemies
Orb has 4 different enemies: Red, Green, Blue and Purple. In the clip below we take on the deadly Red Enemy. It has an immense detection range, fast rate of fire, and can shoot at Orb from any side. They can be tough, really really tough:
Refined rotation, and a sneak at "Zone A"
One last reminder, please check out the demo if you have the time and focus on the questions above if you feel like giving some feedback!
Till next time,
Psyinx
