Exams are done and I've finished prototyping, I'm ready to actually start building my game.
I've got a couple of things I need to work out though. The general idea of the game is that you are trying to get a blob through a series of platformer game style levels. The twist is you can't directly control the blob; you have to pull and drag it around the levels by projecting tentacles out of it that can connect to the environment.
Originally I was going to use Love's Physics engine to simulate this (thinking it could work on similar lines to World of Goo) but having fiddled with it a bit I think there are a couple of reasons it's not going to work. The first is that it seems like a very complicated systen for what I want to do. The second is that (having been inspired by the original Meat Boy) I want to use a tile based system and, from looking around the forums, I get the impression that tiles don't play nice with the physics system.
Any ideas of how this could be achieved? If you don't understand how the game idea works I might try and draw up some diagrams to explain better.
Lord Uber Dowzen wrote:
Originally I was going to use Love's Physics engine to simulate this... but having fiddled with it a bit I think there are a couple of reasons it's not going to work. The first is that it seems like a very complicated systen for what I want to do. The second is ... that tiles don't play nice with the physics system.
Hi there!
Yo got the first reason allright. The second one, however, is that the physics module doesn't play nice with platformers. The reason for this is that box2d simulates "real world physics" accurately - and platformers aren't actually very realistic on their physics; there are lots of tiny exceptions. Forcing love's physics module to "accept" these exceptions is actually less coss-effective (and less fun) than rolling your own tiny physics set of rules.
Lord Uber Dowzen wrote:you have to pull and drag it around the levels by projecting tentacles out of it that can connect to the environment.
Originally I was going to use Love's Physics engine to simulate this (thinking it could work on similar lines to World of Goo) but having fiddled with it a bit I think there are a couple of reasons it's not going to work. The first is that it seems like a very complicated systen for what I want to do.
The gameplay you are describing sounds pretty complicated to me.
Lord Uber Dowzen wrote:The second is that (having been inspired by the original Meat Boy) I want to use a tile based system and, from looking around the forums, I get the impression that tiles don't play nice with the physics system.
I am building a run and gun platformer at the moment using box2D and have to say that box2D is an excellent library to wrap your game logic around. The latest version of box2D actually includes one-sided platforms which could be useful in your case although I don't know if that feature is included in the latest build of Love.
I think I know what you're talking about... But only because I played a game like it.
A blob that shoots tentacles, pulling itself along.
I really don't see how you'd use box2D to accomplish that... Well, I don't see how you really accomplish anything with that explodey library.
I think what you could do is use the ApplyForce function (or whatever it is), and write a function based on how long the tentacle has been grabbing and how long it is, and make said function return a force. Multiply the vector normal of the tentacle by said force, and apply it to blobby.
zac352 wrote:I really don't see how you'd use box2D to accomplish that
I think it might work using distance joints where anchor1 could be the origin and anchor2 could be the end of the tentacle.
You should be able to specify the equilibrium length between the two anchors upon creating the distance joint.
I don't know, I think more research is need and you might need the figure out precisely what the blob's behvaior is going to be.
zac352 wrote:I really don't see how you'd use box2D to accomplish that
I think it might work using distance joints where anchor1 could be the origin and anchor2 could be the end of the tentacle.
You should be able to specify the equilibrium length between the two anchors upon creating the distance joint.
I don't know, I think more research is need and you might need the figure out precisely what the blob's behvaior is going to be.
I think what you could do is use the ApplyForce function (or whatever it is), and write a function based on how long the tentacle has been grabbing and how long it is, and make said function return a force. Multiply the vector normal of the tentacle by said force, and apply it to blobby
