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16 August 2015

Steampack Skydive

A while ago, I made a game outside my comfort zone. I aimed for a simple but perfectly polished product, rather than an amazing but never-past-beta feature. Enjoy!

It turns out cast-iron, coal-and-steam-powered jetpacks don't actually work. Fall down this cliff in ultimate, steampunk style, collecting coal and avoiding obstacles. Smash records, claim trophies, and buy prizes in the Exchange.

Break a leg!

Instructions:

- Click or touch (or spacebar or arrow keys) to jet away from the cliff.

- Release to drift toward it again.

- Collect the black coal, avoiding rocks and trees, (and the cliff).

- Crash and repeat, but better. ;-)

The gameplay was inspired by "Jetpack Joyride" a mobile game that topped the sales charts for a while. (My graphics might be as good or better, but the game falls understandably short of that masterpiece.) To get it to its final state I had to compose the music, create the sound effects, draw the art, and, of course, program. (It was all original code, no libraries!) I thought I'd even post the score I composed for it, called "All Things Bygone."

It turned out amazingly. Admittedly, gameplay leaves a bit to be desired; it wears thin fast. The graphics, on the other hand, are perfect. Every transition is smooth, the colors are consistent, and the game's "mood" is easy to feel.

It was even featured on the front page of HTML5 Games for a couple months: definitely a success.