Update #7 - Scramble RND is released!

Release!

Well the day is finally here. After starting this in 2020, and  having to take a break from development for a while, it's now done. The last three weeks I've added the final two areas, sound, new attract mode, and various improvements on difficulty and game play.

I want to thank all those people who helped me out with testing, and with the audio side of the project!

The game can be played on Windows and Linux, using keys or game pads. I am really happy with how things turned out. I really like the game and I hope you out there will also enjoy it. Please consider giving a small donation when downloading it: the funds go to gamedev tools and software.  Or coffee. Always coffee...

Here are some final notes on the push towards this release version of the game.

Area 4: The City

So , I have not talked about the final two areas in the game: the City and the Base areas.  I wanted The City to be this chaotic thing that seemed to be built in a hurry with one purpose: create as many rockets and saucers possible to defend the back area of the enemy territory, and the Base, safety be damned. Inspiration came from a Don Lawrence book called "Storm". In this comic, Storm has to fly to outer space and so a rocket is build from scrap parts and other rockets. This was all jumbled together with ropes, pipes and railings. So I started there, I thought it was a great look.

Adding layer upon layer in Aseprite was a very therapeutic process :)  It took a while for it all started to gel but yeah. Success.

But, adding it all together and laying the different shadows and parts over each other makes for a nice change from the landscape and it spices up the game play. Movement is restricted, and some of the tunnels and passageways are pretty tough to navigate. But hey, these are not the 80's, I think we need a new challenge.

I won't add a picture of the Base at the end of Area 5, but I hope you will like it when you make it out there. I made a little alternative ending to the game and hopefully you'll enjoy that!

Polish

Various improvements have been made to the polish of the UI, attract mode and input possibilities.  Fades are better and now take audio into account. Also, the Game Over screen now nicely overlays the game screen while having a nice black border behind it.  I like the way things look. A big plus was the use of the Pico8 palette. I think this spices things up beautifully. I made a pass over all the UI elements to make sure they all use the same palette.

The Game Over screen now has a Nintendo arcade-like name entry system which I personally always loved.  You can enter your name using the direction movements and fire. It's nostalgia for me. Speaking of direction movements:

As you can see, there are also lots of input options. I hope these work well over all the platforms and combinations. We tested on 5-6 systems and it all played nicely.

Final Thoughts

I did not make games for some time, but yes, the itch returned. As the Blitzmax and Money 1 and 2 days were -sadly- over I looked towards other ways of making games. After serveral tries with Python and Pygame, I decided to try Godot. What an excellent choice this was. An Asteroids clone was make (you can find it on my github page) to learn the engine and then I decided to makes something more interesting.

This new version of SCRAMBLE RND was made over a much too long period but that's the way things go sometimes. It was fun making it though.

All graphics are hand-drawn using Aseprite. Pixeling is relaxing and I like the results. I used the Pico8 palette and extended it slightly to allow for some additional definition. The colors really pop and are very arcade-like. I love it.

The soundFX was made with Chiptone, a great synth available on itch.io to make effects with. using the random generator and then tweaking sounds to perfection is fun.

I enjoyed making the game. I hope you will enjoy this game, and will consider giving a review on the itch.io page and maybe even a small donation. It's appreciated!

So now the game looks and plays as we all imagined it did! I have ideas for more remakes of the classic era, so who knows what comes next?

Thanks all, it's been fun making this! Now then: Scramble!

Wiebo