StickyBlocks

A first game without ambitions (especially from the point of view of aesthetics and graphics). First attempt to use Godot. StickyBlocks is now public in itch.io, see StickBlocks on itch.io)

Objectives

• Build and complete a little puzzle game.
• A pretext to learn some basics of Godot and C# (coming from C++/Python/Julia): how to structure a scalable game (multi-levels ect...), a saving-system, level/scene switching, how to export a godot-project and a lot more in the process.

Progress updates

14/12/2021

• Completed the basic mechanics: input-movement for the player-block and the blocks; interactions/collisions between the PlayerBlock and the RotationStickyBlock.
• Created the basic strucuture of a level (Level is the parent-scene of all levels)
• Created and connected a main-menu, level-selection menu, options-menu: inherit from a MenuTemplates (handle from code the signals of the buttons)
• Created a GameManager node to handle all the level-player stuff: load-level, player-data, saving-system. Receives all the signals from level-player
• Added and connected a pause menu
• Created a main scene Main to handle all the scene-switching and to load all the scenes. Receives all the signals from GameManager and all the menus. In _Ready loads all the scene, QueueFree the previous scene, instances and adds the next scene. (No performance issue because the scene are few and small).
• Added and connected same basic HUD elements (only the structure, not the final graphics)

21/12/2021

• Refactored some code and scenes
• Started thinking about some element of the possible final graphics/colors-palette
• Introduced some graphics elements: added RotationStickyBlock colors
• Added a reset button in Level (retry)
• Better (not much better!) camera movement
• Better rotation and movement of PlayerBlock and RotationStickyBlock (using Tween)
• Added to PlayerBlock a debug property: show _dashDirection line (usefull for designing levels)

04/01/2022

• New simpler Completed/Owned system for levels completion (based on moves counter)
• Added some WorldEnvironment effects/ animation in: owning a level, new level difficulty unlokced
• Improved/Changed zooming and camera movement: added LevelCamera as child of a Position2D (fixed center of the camera)
• Improved reset and back-to-last-position functions
• Created some basic-easy-tutorial levels
• Created some more complex levels
• Added initialZoom and MaxZoomConstraint as exported variables
• Added Undo/BackOneMove (only one) functionality

11/01/2022

• Created Easy-Medium-Hard levels classification
• Create some more levels
• Improved relation between MaxLevel dictionary (in GameManager: total number of a specific type of level) and LevelGrid (now LevelGrid is instanced more programatically)
• Added explanation/tutorial animation and texts in some easy-level (new classes child of Level)
• Added transition between Level and GameEndedMenu
• Changed from a CollisionShape2D to a CollisionPolygon2D for RotationStickyBlock's collisions
• Added name to the levels

18/01/2022

Code is getting messier and messier but... never mind... Bad/superficial/hurried choices in the basic structure and architecture of the code are showing up. Refactoring would take too much time, I want to move on!

• Resized screen
• New background, title screen, fonts
• New basic button scene ButtonOptions
• Fixed some problems: transitions between level, paused state...
• Refactored Level: created LevelWithTutorial child-class, refactored naming and text (exported variables)
• New OptionsMenu
• New pause, undo, return and reset buttons-graphics

25/01/2022

• Added mouse_entered/ mouse_exited for every buttons in buttonsHoverable group (changing the modulate) and for buttons in LevelGrid and LeveTypeIconMenu scene (grabbing focus)
• Fixed some bugs: star glow, some centering/scroll problem, star.png size
• Fixed warning for WorldEnviroment (star glow), now glowing-star animation is handled only by the GameManager
• Create some more levels
• Better TextureRect quality (rotation) (without allow hdpi on)
• Fixed a problem with GetViewport().Size(), Zoom and "allow hdpi on" relation → Allow hdpi on
• Testing export in HTML5
• Tested on itch.io

1/02/2022

• StickyBlocks is now public in itch.io, see StickBlocks on itch.io)
• Updated itch.io project draft
• Exported but with Allow hdpi off