Minor nothing burger
Remember how last time I talked about the bounce physics not working as intended? And how I went through a whole process to adjust the scale of all the environment objects to make the game physics scale more accurate to the player controller's perspective? And how I got it done, but the bounce physics still weren't in?
Well I went on an entirely different tangent, and took the advice of our one and only commenter Pretty Ok Games and made it so that obstacles (currently only furniture) that you push off the world disappear into the abyss but respawn in their original places when you reset the level. I really liked this suggestion and think it came out great!
OH but I also got bouncy bunnies working! I found them to be QUITE the challenge, so I published this update with just those two new things, and will be adding more levels in future updates.
Files
Dust Bunny Sweeper
Fun, fuzzy, futility.
Status | In development |
Author | Unreality3D |
Genre | Simulation |
Tags | 3D, Casual, First-Person, Romance, silly, Singleplayer |
More posts
- MAJOR Drama Island14 days ago
- Instruction Junction16 days ago
- Quick Fix21 days ago
- All Over the Place21 days ago
- Slightly less smol update29 days ago
- Smol Update34 days ago
- Roadmap (floormap?)36 days ago
Comments
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I just played the newest version and that's actually where I wanted to start. I don't know how far you want to take this game, but displaying the version number in the settings, or just in the corner of the game, would make it easier to find out which version of the game the player is playing. As for my other feedback:
- Tables and chairs wouldn't respawn when I knocked them off of the platform. I would complete the level in a minute or less, but I never saw them come back.
- I think the respawn point should be anywhere but on the dustpan. When you respawn, you're probably gonna rotate around, so you might knock dust bunnies out of the dustpan. I know they're already accounted for, but it could be worrying for a new player.
- In Level 5, there was a dust bunny that kept respawning above the cracked tile. I was able to progress by crouching and then smacking the dust bunny by un-crouching to launch it away. This act of smacking falling dust bunnies could be an interesting mechanic tho
- I played level 6 with the bouncing/sensitive dust bunnies and it felt good, it almost feels like I'm playing golf and I have to be precise with my "stroke"
- I like the somber music in level 7. It fits the lonely space theme perfectly
Love the feedback as usual, thank you!
Your description of the obstacles not respawning made me realize I wasn't fully clear about the decision I made to give you the ability to bring them back, but only by resetting the level (which also resets the dust bunnies, which now that I'm describing it I realize might be objectionable).
That brings me to another question I've been meaning to ask, which is whether the random spawn points are nice or bothersome. You specifically mentioned wanting a level select menu so you could replay various levels in the future, but if the dust bunny spawn points are random and only the obstacles and physical effects are predictable (and other challenges I have planned but not yet implemented, which I don't want to give away entirely but include a moving dustpan and more missing/broken tiles), will being unable to play the exact same spawn kill the joy, or extend the game play in a nice way?
My thought was that re-randomizing the dust bunnies on level reset gives you the option to try a new pattern if the one you got is impossible. I'm glad you encountered the infinitely falling bunny, because that was an unexpected thing that I liked and decided to keep once I figured out I could get creative to "free" it, but I felt that letting the player re-randomize the spawn points would help anyone who felt stuck by it.
While we're on the subject of randomness, how do you feel about the fact that the ambient audio playlist is on shuffle? I love this set, as the songs are at times very lonely as you described the one you heard on level 7 (which I'm sad to say I can't identify because it's random) and at other times very upbeat, but they all remind me of a mix of my favorite video game of all time's music (Super Metroid), and the 70's-80's British Dr. Who TV show music, both of which are very appropriate to the bizarre outer space kitchen theme.
I am taking all your suggestions seriously! I will consider your preference about respawning anywhere but in the dustpan, but one of the challenges I have planned is at least one level where you are penalized if a dust bunny escapes it.
And yes, it is by design that dust bunnies escaping is a "thing" because while ridiculous, this game really is inspired by real life events from my life with indoor-only cats, including the futility of sweeping all the furballs that accumulate, and how they are so light and fluffy that it's near impossible to ever clean them all up. It is a daily occurrence where one of us sweeps our tile floors, puts the broom away, turns around, and DAMN there's still one loose.
I'm also currently working on a third Stoven Universe/Dust Bunnies product that is a tower defense-like which I won't spoil too much but involves more physics hilarity in the same vein of this game.
As for how far I want to take this game, I definitely intend to add in a few more levels and challenges, and do a great deal more polishing before calling it done. I'm also considering adding optional on-screen mobile controls, since the game runs ok on my old phone.
I have probably said to much and this message should self destruct, but since we're still a super tiny indie dev couple team, it's probably safe to be a little revealing with our first players! As always, thank you so much for all the great feedback. It makes this work worthwhile!
I think having random spawn points is fine. I don't think it extends the gameplay that much, but it does add variety, even if only a tiny bit. I like the music and have no problems with it being on shuffle. The level where you're penalized if a dust bunny escapes sounds quite interesting, I can't wait to play it! I don't play Itch.io games on my phone, however sometimes, I'll take a look at a game while I'm out and I wonder what the gameplay's like because the creator didn't upload screenshots and didn't create a mobile html version. I say this to encourage you to add those optional on-screen controls that you're talking about. I appreciate you 2 appreciating my feedback.