I’m realizing I’ve learned quite a bit over the last year and a half. I had very little Objective-C experience (not to mention Cocoa) when I started and just yesterday I realized I could have made a much better architecture choice in my code. Going back to some of the original code is kinda painful sometimes, but it all works just fine.
One major feature I added is a visual one:
Cel-style outlines on the basic stage geometry.
The benefit is that it’s clearer tosee where ledges and overlapping is occurring — no line when a ledge is against the outer wall, for instance. For a game like this, I think any added clarity is going to be appreciated. The effect is actually done in my stage editor as a post process so it is just added to the geometry of the stage. The performance impact is minimal, thankfully.
You might also notice a new small indicator in the upper right corner.
I’ve also finished the initial tutorial on how to play and added a system for giving “tips” on certain stages. The tips are not “how to finish” but how to use the controls, essentially.
There are still a couple of decent sized chunks of work: More little animations, more stages, a bit more in-game art, credits — oh, and how about deciding on a NAME for the game!
As a side note, I just finished reading a fascinating thread over at Touch Arcade in reaction to an iPhone developer raising the $3 game price to $40 over the weekend as a protest. It’s up to 27 pages as of this post and I put my thoughts on that page. After all, it’s about the market I’m about to head into.
P.S. I’m busting at the seams with a new game idea… have to get this done first!
Tags: App Store, code, Games, iPhone, iPod Touch, Programming, Snowball Touch