Chibi Ninja Devlog #1

Time for the first official Chibi Ninja Shino-kun devlog!

I wanted to really get started in September, but I couldn’t wait and already got a lot done. In this devlog I first wanted to tell you a little more about the game, and then I’ll show off some of the features I’ve implemented recently.

Shino-kun is a platformer where I want to put the focus on flow and movement. This means that the gameplay will be more on the fast-paced side, but only if you can pull it off.

By that I mean that you can either go through the levels at a normal pace, exploring, taking it slow; or you can use your slide, wall-jump and other techniques to blast through the stage at Ninja-speed. To that end, movement needs to be fast and dynamic, but easily controllable. That’s not easy to nail, but I’m getting there, I think.

The stages will be more on the short side, focusing on specific challenges and combinations of obstacles. This plays into the movement-focus of the game, and (to me at least) fits the theme of climbing a tower. However, there will be reasons to explore the levels a bit. You know I love secrets!

Finally, the various floors of the tower will have different themes. The first floors are the dungeons of the tower, dark, rough and probably kinda stinky. Other themes will fit the classic platformer mold, such as lava and ice. I’ve already started designing the lava floor, maybe I’ll have something to show off soon.

And that’s all I can say for now, I think. I’m not sure yet how many levels the game will have, that’s something I’ll have to figure out down the line. And now enough with the text, let’s look at some things!

First, we have timed spikes. Don’t think there’s much I need to explain there. They can come from any direction and they hurt.

Next up, we have a different kind of spike. These will drop from the ceiling when you step under them. They also hurt.

As you can see, Shino-kun looks a bit panicked here. He actually does that whenever he triggers something dropping from the ceiling. Once I had that idea, I just had to put it in. And yes, there are way more important things I could’ve done instead.

Anyway, spikes aren’t the only thing that can drop from the ceiling:

Big blocks will crush you on the way down, but will serve as platforms (or surfaces to wall-jump off) once they land. The basic functionality is done, but I’ll add some more dust to make their impact a bit more…impactful.

Speaking of impactful: Try not to get hit by one of these:

(this is only a portion of the screen btw, so don’t wonder about that weird scrolling).

And there you go, a bunch of obstacles for Shino-kun to avoid!

I had a lot of fun making these. As maddening as it can sometimes be, I love gamedev and I’m happy that I can do more of it now, at least for a while. I’ll try to use this September to push the game along as hard as I can. But don’t worry, I won’t rush it!

The next devlog will probably focus on Shino-kun’s movement, since that is the core of the gameplay. And there’s some cool stuff to show you, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, thank you for the support and be excellent to each other!