Checkpoint 3 - Enemies, Interaction, Puzzles

Enemies, Interaction, Puzzles

There is one type of enemy in Overdrive, and that is simply red terrain (hazards) that instantly resets the player on collision.

For this checkpoint, I revamped and completed the first level and fitted it with static hazards that begin to appear after the basics are taught to the player. In future versions of the game there will be moving hazards for added difficulty but I'm not quite there yet.

A new interaction that goes hand in hand with hazards is checkpoints. They function as you would expect where a player earns a new respawn position so they are not sent back to the beginning of the level for dying later in the level. I've spaced out the checkpoints in a way that I think doesn't create overly punishing falls but doesn't completely kill the threat of the hazards themselves.

Puzzles are not a major aspect of Overdrive's design but I have incorporated some segments where the player can take fast but risky/difficult routes, or slower but safer routes. I'd like to emphasize this design more in upcoming levels.

Feedback

A bug was discovered where alternating the jump and grapple buttons in a situation where the grapple doesn't land would return your double jump and let you fly. This can be removed but it's also become clear that a player can do this when the grapple does land (because you always get your double jump back after a grapple). I'm going to leave this alone for now because I don't think it can really be used to your advantage with how slow it is.

Grapple will be bound to left shift as well as 'K' so that the game can be played with one hand on WASD, space and shift.

Overall feedback was positive this checkpoint where some players died a lot but still enjoyed it, and others were able to master the gameplay and beat the level faster and faster.

I plan to slightly ease the difficulty towards the end of the level and perhaps add a couple of extra jumps to the very beginning of the level.