Homebrew GBA Idea for a new GBA game [DEVLOG?]

[JoeySyntax]

After releasing my previous GBA game, Speed Rally! more than a month ago. I've been thinking about what my next GBA homebrew game should be. The first idea I had was to remake the game, and add a bit more content I initially wanted to add. However, I truly do not believe the game is working on more, and the changes that I DO want to add to it would require an entire reworking of the entire game, and I'd rather put that energy into a whole new game.

At some point today, I thought about what I truly wanted to do, and I thought about toys that I had used from my childhood. One toy I particularly remembered was this:

This is a Rubix's Revolition cube that had a couple of games in it. Those games involved pressing a button on the cube in a certain amount of time, and defusing a button after it is on for a certain amount of time.

It's such a simple concept that I so much fun with as a kid. I immediately thought about how it would like in a video game form. One idea I had was using the GBA buttons in replacement for the buttons on the cube, but then it would be too easy.

The idea that I feel would work the most is having a small character you can use in the middle of the screen, and having 4 buttons or 4 barriers that can be pressed. By doing this, you would essentially be able to get some of the challenge of the original toy while keeping the way it played.

I hope I was able to explain what I wanted as clear as possible. Maybe people who played the game might be able to understand it a bit better.

The goal for this thread is ask if it would be a good idea worth pursuing. My ultimate endgame for the game is for a game that is extremely simple, with minimal graphics, but also fun to play and replay as many times as possible.

Any thoughts?

 

[hippy dave]

Oh I never saw one of these. I had various Rubik's puzzles when I was younger (my dad's old Cube, Clock, Magic, Snake maybe?) but that was long before this came out ()

If you get it running on GBA I'll check it out! Good luck on your coding journey, GBA is fun to work on.

 

[JoeySyntax]

Oh I never saw one of these. I had various Rubik's puzzles when I was younger (my dad's old Cube, Clock, Magic, Snake maybe?) but that was long before this came out ()

If you get it running on GBA I'll check it out! Good luck on your coding journey, GBA is fun to work on.

Thanks. GBA is fun platform to work on. Never thought as a kid that I would grow up to make Game Boy games

 

[JoeySyntax]

Devlog #2:

Small minor update, but I think I have the gist of what the game will be like:

- Simplistic wire frame-like graphics.
- The idea of pushing buttons in a certain amount of time will remain the same, but there will be cannons/bullets/whatever that will be shot all over the screen, which cause a one-hit kill. You will need to avoid them.
- There may be an extra component of the game where you will need to keep your stamina stable. The lower the stamina, the slower you move. During the game, you can get a small item that will allow you to increase your stamina.
- Due to the above, the game will be named "Stamina".

 

[JoeySyntax]

Also, does anyone have any good idea as to what voice synthesizer would give a similar effect to the voice used in the actual Rubik's Revolution game?

Here's a video of the game, just for reference:

 

[JoeySyntax]

Devlog #3

Over a couple of days, I've been continuing to work more on the game, and I have something to share. As of now, what is completed is basic character movement, and the main arena of the game. In order to make it similar to how the Rubik's Revolution game plays, instead of a menu, you will have a TTS like female voice telling you what buttons to press in order to advance to the actual game. During this, you will be able to free control your player. The TTS voice has not been added yet, but will probably be added for the next devlog.

Here's a preview of this:

I'll also include the rom of the prototype here on this thread, and I'll make an private itch link for those who want to try it out:

Itch.io page: https://project68k.itch.io/stamina
Password: run2play

 

[DolphinCube]

OH MY GOSH I REMEMBER THIS RUBIX CUBE. This was a small part of my childhood

And honestly. This does seem like a pretty sweet idea. I would have love to seen something like that in a game format

Also, does anyone have any good idea as to what voice synthesizer would give a similar effect to the voice used in the actual Rubik's Revolution game?

I have no idea. I think you could record one of the microsoft text-to-speech bots?

Spoiler: idea for the game that totally wont ruin the voice

Miku Mode: Do a button combo or hold down a button while starting. And the voice synthesizer will get replaced with Hastune Miku's voice. And the pallet will swap to a teal/green pallet. Yes. I'm a Project Diva Fan

 

[hippy dave]

If you google old speech synthesis, I'm sure you'll find some good options. Here's the first one I found from a Reddit thread that's super old school, 8 bit style based on a C64 speech synth
https://discordier.github.io/sam/
But what I heard on your video reminded me more of 16 bit era, like the Amiga.

 

[JoeySyntax]

Devlog #4

Hello, again. I had returned after some time away working on the game, and a LOT about it has changed. I have also read some of the feedback and suggestions on this thread, and I appreciate them wholeheartedly. I intend to use them for my game if needed.

As far as the game is concerned, the game has gone through a MAJOR overhaul, and it no longer looks the same as it did previously, and I have changed it to be a game focused on a cube rather than an arena with a character running around it.

This is how the game looks as of right now:

The game is now called DX-Cube (Deluxe Cube), and the game is going to revolve around you moving around a cube for three different sizes, as of now, the only one size finished is the 96x96 cube size. There are going to be three separate modes in the game:

• Mode 1: Reaching another cubical position .
• Mode 2: A mode where you stop some sort of bomb before the time runs out.
• Mode 3: Returning an item back to your position.

In each of these modes, you will have limited time that gets smaller as you get complete more levels, and most importantly, there will be black tiles that are spawned on the cube, that will kill you if the player touches them.

It will still feature the text-to-voice speeches that are reminiscent of the ones in the Rubik's Revolution toy that I mentioned in earlier posts.

I have also had an idea to make a Game Boy/Game Boy Color version of the game in GB Studio alongside, or in the near future. Using GB Studio for that aspect would allow me to focus on the coding for the GBA version, and add the same features easily to the GB/GBC version if needed.

For users here to get a taste of the how the game feels like to control, I have included an itch.io link to a "look and feel" prototype of the game. It is essentially a small demo with what is essentially close to, or exact final game graphics. It has no music, or sounds other than the footsteps of the player when moving to different positions. I will also include a zip file of the game here in case anyone wants to download it to use on an emulator, or actual device.

Any feedback is appreciated, and well needed.

Itch.io link: https://project68k.itch.io/dx-cube-lf-test
Password: cubed

 

[JoeySyntax]

Devlog #4.5

A quick question, but would it be a better idea to have enemies that move across the cube that move faster and faster depending on how many levels you pass? They can even be the same black tiles I mentioned before, but they can move around the screen rather than respawning in different areas.

It also has the benefit of being much easier to code for myself

 

[Ooglesmurf]

I think that moving enemies would be more interesting than colour-changing death tiles. It will probably also feel more 'fair' to the player.
As well, the directional buttons need to be pressed for each movement. Maybe it would be better if you were able to hold them to move more? I suppose it depends on how fast/fluid you want the game to play.

 

[JoeySyntax]

Devlog #5:

Hello again to anyone who has read this, or anything seeing this thread for the first time. I've continued adding new things to my game. There is also one small change.

Though the game is still titled DX-Cube in the menu, it will no longer be called that, and will instead be called CUBED. I can imagine a logo that is a square with a small 3 on the top-right hand side.

I have added all three different cube sizes. The player movement for the last two cubes is a bit wonky, but that can be fixed easily.

I have also added the sliding mechanism for the black cube spots. In the game, you have to get through the tiles to a specific spot, and avoid these moving black cubes. Keep in mind, they also move randomly.

Here's a preview of what I'm talking about:

If there is anything that you think can be added or changed in the game, let me know in the thread. Any general feedback, negative or positive, would also be well-needed as well.

 

[Skv0ra]

Devlog #5:

Hello again to anyone who has read this, or anything seeing this thread for the first time. I've continued adding new things to my game. There is also one small change.

Though the game is still titled DX-Cube in the menu, it will no longer be called that, and will instead be called CUBED. I can imagine a logo that is a square with a small 3 on the top-right hand side.

I have added all three different cube sizes. The player movement for the last two cubes is a bit wonky, but that can be fixed easily.

I have also added the sliding mechanism for the black cube spots. In the game, you have to get through the tiles to a specific spot, and avoid these moving black cubes. Keep in mind, they also move randomly.

Here's a preview of what I'm talking about:

View attachment 494764


View attachment 494765

View attachment 494767

If there is anything that you think can be added or changed in the game, let me know in the thread. Any general feedback, negative or positive, would also be well-needed as well.

Ohhhh man, that somehow reminded me of Hexxagon! That would be one helluva port or remake for GBA!

 

[JoeySyntax]

#Devlog 5.1:

Thinking about it more, I might cut the third cube size entirely from the game. It looks ugly when implemented, and I think I am able to achieve what I want in the game with just two sizes.

 

[JoeySyntax]

Also, another question: Instead of having a background grid during the game, would it be a better idea to have a black and white photo of real-life locations. It would be similar to the Sega Genesis version of Tetris that I've seen before.

 

[Ooglesmurf]

Having images in the background would be pretty nifty. Like that Donkey Kong 3 port Hudson Soft did.

 

[JoeySyntax]

Having images in the background would be pretty nifty. Like that Donkey Kong 3 port Hudson Soft did.

That sounds great. I have one more question. A while back, I worked on a 3DS game I never released that was supposed to be a brick-breaker. One of the things I coded was for the menu to be black with half of it covered up with a list of photos that could be used during the game on both screens. It looked sort of like this:

Would it be a better idea to ditch the grid aesthetic (apart from the cubes of course), and go with the aesthetic presented above? I feel like it does look a lot better looking back at it now.

 

[Ooglesmurf]

Although I am quite fond of the grid myself, the choice of aesthetic is up to you in the end. Go with whatever you think looks better, regardless of how others feel.
It is better to build a project you can feel proud of in the end than it is to bend to the whims of the digital masses.

If you truly cannot decide what you desire, the best way to come to a conclusion is to try both and compare. However, it may not be worth the effort...

Man, this site really forced me to go and post in other threads before it let me post here again...

 

[JoeySyntax]

Although I am quite fond of the grid myself, the choice of aesthetic is up to you in the end. Go with whatever you think looks better, regardless of how others feel.
It is better to build a project you can feel proud of in the end than it is to bend to the whims of the digital masses.

If you truly cannot decide what you desire, the best way to come to a conclusion is to try both and compare. However, it may not be worth the effort...

Man, this site really forced me to go and post in other threads before it let me post here again...

You are absolutely correct on everything you said here.

 

[JoeySyntax]

Devlog #6:

Hello again. It's been quite a bit of time since I last updated this thread. This won't be the usual post where I show something off, but I'd like to propose a question instead.

After the last post, I added some more stuff to the game, and have the general game loop completed. However, during this period, I also started working on a couple of small projects using GBDK. The intention in that case was to make a couple of bite-sized games for the original Game Boy. Earlier this morning, an idea popped into my head, and caused me to return to this thread.

At it's core, this game that I have working on, and the other aforementioned GBDK projects are all bite sized games at it's core, with VERY limited palettes. Here is my solution:

A line of games that are called "Pixo" games, or "Pixoware" games. It would be a anthology of small, bite-sized experiences ranging from any genre chosen, with a limited palette, exclusively handheld, and highly replayable. I'm not exactly married to one particular platform, but for now, I'd say the Game Boy line is my target platform.

The plan is to release the GBA game this thread is about under the "Pixo" line along with the others, rather than make it it's own standalone game. My reasoning for this is that I have done way too many other standalone projects in the past that are high-score based that are also small. This would be a way to differentiate between the more bigger standalone projects, and more smaller experiences that are meant to be completed in a short amount of time, but are highly replayable.

Is this a good idea, or is it something that might not work out in the long run?