Silence is Golden

If you have been following us from the start then you will have noticed we have been silent for the last month or so, sorry guys.  But don’t worry we have been so busy getting the game up to speed, the way it looks and plays now; we are so proud of Perplex Beats.  From the changes of the symbols, the new look of the game, the trance system and everything else that has changed and I have forgotten about.

A few changes listed here.

• The new trance system – The user builds up the trance meter at the top of the screen and this can be activated to double the score multiplier.  Once in a trance state the user can fill this bar up again to double that multiplier from x2 to x4 etc…  As the user increases the multiplier the length of time in trance mode is reduced.  We thought this was really good since we noticed once the player became really good at the game the score were pretty much the same.  Then an idea was triggered and we started to think of ways in which the user can control the multipliers.  With this implemented the scores became spaced out a lot more and also the control makes the game feel a lot more arcade which is always a plus in our books.

• The rotate note has been changed so the user can clearly tell which cube needs to be rotated and for how long.  This was such a simple thing to work into the game which was really needed.  I got stuck into playing this game a certain way that I forgot this was even a problem.  This is why play-testing is so important.

• The feedback sounds you get when the user makes a match has been lowered so it enough so you know you made a match but not enough to effect the gameplay.  This was something that bothered me a lot after watching someone else play it.  It is really funny having something put in place at the start of the development process and just becoming use to it.  Then when day finally taking a step back and noticing how annoying something so small can be after.

• But the largest change of is the amount of symbols running along the bars.  This has been reduced because EVERYTIME the game was shown to people they never got how to play it, they always asked “how do you play this?”  So reducing the amount of extra noise given to the user has solved this problem.  A classic example of design choices made at the start of a project which you later become attached.

After all the changes implemented from the feedback given to us we then begun to show the game to some local people we know such as friends, family, pets, babies you know the normal crowd.  The response has been really positive and has given us the belief that we are in the right direction.  With that short speech out of the way here is a HIGH-RES video which is long overdue; this is our first high res video so rate, comment and all the other stuff please.

Thanks for your support guys, it has taking us a while but we will get there in the end.

 

Fonts Fonts Fonts

On our search for a new and interesting font for Perplex Beats, we came across this awesome one.   It is based on video game consoles and accessories.  I have already been told that we CAN NOT use it, but we if keep bugging Jeremy he might give in and put it in the game.

This font was created by Varun Vachhar

The Old To The New (Symbols)

Ok Preanimals (You see what I did there) we have finished the symbols and would like to show everybody what they look like now.  We played around with the order of the symbols, so the user can identify which symbol is which right away, since the order of the symbols never changes.

Enough talking more showing.

Perplex Beats – Playtest Feedback

We had a huge play test a couple of weeks ago which proved very useful.  We got loads of feedback from people who play lots of music games and some from people who don’t play them.  It is very interesting to see the different types of feedback given from the two groups of gamers.  One of the main things which were given from both groups where the symbols, which have already been re-designed and will be posted soon.

Thanks to everybody giving us support.  We will keep you posted

I’m in a trance (the combo system)

Jeremy was not totally happy with the way the combo system worked, so it got changed for the greater good.  It was a simple change which rewards better players for hitting more perfect notes.   This new system has a name and it’s called “Trance Mode”.

For some reason he seems to think he is the best player in the team.  Little does he know I had a perfect run on “Swing Me” on easy?  Don’t judge me because it is the first song and I played it on easy, as we all know we all got to start somewhere right?

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