3 Week Prototype - Story Mode

This gif shows a potential tutorial level that introduces the player to the majority of movement (I haven't put any instructions in the level yet because it's actually not that good yet).

I think it introduces too many things too quickly with too much risk.

I feel like the things introduced in this level might be better introduced over 2 or 3 levels.

The only other change is the scrolling camera for longer rooms.

This second gif shows a few enemy types I've been working on.
Some enemies only shoot and reflect red bullets so have to be beaten with your own, double reflected bullet.
You can also beat these enemies if they land on or jump into a bullet that they don't have time to reflect.

There's something about this version of the game that isn't as fun as the others.
It could be the high difficulty and long stages, but Super Meat Boy had that towards the end and it was still fun.

It's satisfying when you struggle against an enemy and then pull off a skillful move to beat them.
But it's less fun when you fluke your way through a fight. Like when the enemy lands on a bullet and it feels similar when they happen to jump over a red shot (maybe only because I know that it's random when they jump).

So I think the reason this version isn't as fun is because the enemy ai is mostly randomized (shooting and jumping) and it would feel better if it was more reactive and maybe a little less hectic.

I also think if I were to shorten the levels a bit or add checkpoints it would feel less punishing to die (by what is currently RNG).


Finally, the game has and has had an annoying quirk I've been unable to fix where when you land after a jump you lose all of you're horizontal momentum. It's subtle but it makes the game feel a lot stiffer as a result.