Christmas ’13 Update!

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Update 1-5: I thought it was about time the Spiders got some animation love. How’s that look?

Update 1-4: Fixes to the camera, that running animation is finally in (have to be going pretty fast now), half of a new kick animation, minor collision fixes. Fixed a problem with predicting the ground, which messes up only one background changing jumppad? Ugh… Oh well :pants:

Edit: So I was making a video for some of the new features and my hard drive and video card both decided to die at the same time. I’m back up and running now (with an old laptop drive instead of an SSD, boo), but the video’s going to take a bit longer now.

Another post, another apology for not posting in awhile! Things have been extra crazy over here lately, but I think it’s time to start talking about the next step for The Fancy Pants Adventures.

I’ve been rebuilding FPA from the ground up in ActionScript 3 (yep, finally made the jump), and focusing on the very core of the Fancy Pants games. I’ve been polishing and rethinking the movement and controls, along with adding a few new features that AS3 allows, and I finally have something to show off.

This is pretty quickly thrown together (no preloader or sound, sorry!) but I think you’ll be able to get a feel for the new handling on Fancy Pants Man there, as well as check out a few new features for the engine.

The focus for me now is refining older features and better utilizing those features without piling more on, as I tend to do with each new game. But, I’ll be talking more about the future after the holidays!

I threw level 1 of World 1 in there too for comparison, though there’s one new hidden level in there, also (was actually supposed to be something there in the first place, but I guess I forgot?).

Play the FPA AS3 preview!

And of course:

Merry Christmas!

97 Comments

  1. wingdemon

    All this AS3 stuff is so exciting!

    Unfortunately i’ve jumped off the AS3 bandwagon and am currently working with C# and Unity (its not as easy as Flash was to work with, but its alot more powerful and lets me do things i never could with Flash)

    really excited to see what you’re going to do know that you’ve made the move to AS3 Brad.

    • Brad

      Haha, yup, it seems like I’m always one step behind. Everyone who I know who works with Unity absolutely loves it. With the new 2d stuff they’re doing, I really need to check it out eventually.

      Really my catch is the drawing straight into Flash for the levels and animations. It’s just too simple, and I like to prototype and test as I go, which I can’t really do, even if I’m still animating in Flash. I’ve seen animations look completely different in game than they do by themselves, too.

      One day, though!

  2. Auad

    My God, that is so much fun.

    And I found the secret level. You can actually push the blue structure around. That’s genius! (though, I can’t belive none of us thought of something like that before)

    Great work as always, Brad!

    EDIT: Oh yeah, Merry Christmas to you all.

    • Brad

      I’m surprised you found it so quickly!

      Moving boxes were actually supposed to be in World 1 (or maybe 2?), but they never worked quite right. I’m doing the moving walls with code instead of hitTests, like the moving platforms, so it looks like they’re behaving now.

      Wait till you see the crazy things I have moving walls doing this time around, way better than transition 1 in World 1!

  3. Juliorob

    First of all, Merry Christmas!, and second, pretty cool stuff, that transition between layers of ground really makes the level feel huge, and it really helps that fancy pants man is a simple character, you have no problem distinguishing what´s happening even when is that zoomed out. And that secret level is very interesting (I just love that unfinished look, it gives you an inside look on the development process, which is cool), I found the most fun just trying to bump into the platform as fast as I could instead of just pushing it.

    • Brad

      Merry Christmas!

      The simple style definitely helps for the inherent lower resolution in Flash games (though you can full screen the game by clicking on the left of the screen (though it stays the same resolution for performance and bitmap sizes). I’d would like to figure out a simple style for the levels that feels less ‘Flash-y’ though.

      I do love showing off the in development bits, though, like in the Behind the Curtain levels for World 3, and of course all the Behind the Scenes videos. Looking forward to starting those again, actually.

  4. angryplant

    happy holidays!
    some bugs: pressing the “b” key spawns a snailshell.
    spawning player 2 while in the tiny squiggle room does not work
    overall: this is epic!!!
    hmm… why is this labelled under “world 4”?
    dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun!

    • Brad

      Haha because SOMEONE *cough* AJ32 */cough* was poking around in the levels folders, so I just threw them all into the World 4 folder.

      So yes, the first level is for World 4, but the second level is for a smaller release before W4 😉

  5. XenoTerra

    AAHH! your levels are screwing with my brain! DONT STOP! also, anyone who watches all your videos knows you purposed to have that secret area, and when you mentioned it up at the top, i knew exactly where it was…. keep doing it!

  6. DarkLeafGaming

    Nice work Brad, i found the blue moving platform randomly and it’s awesome (some puzzle levels would be really nice), also i have a question: if i want to get started to actionscript, it’s better AS2 or AS3?

    • Brad

      I might focus on a few things that mixes the gameplay up for bonus levels, like World 1 but taken further. I’m always caught between wanting to diversify the pacing of a play through and not frustrating players with slower gameplay. I really hate the ‘everything to 11 for the entire game’ pace of new video games, though, so some impatient players are just going to have to deal with it, heh.

      Personally I think it’s a good idea to start with AS2, where you can immediately put something in the stage and get it moving. The math also transfers over perfectly, so there isn’t any learning wasted over there.

      Then, instead of learning classes in AS2, just make the jump over to AS3. The first stuff I coded in AS3 was almost completely structured like my AS2 code, but then it’s pretty simple to figure out what’s supposed to go where (though I’m sure I’m still doing everything wrong!).

  7. fpaftw

    There’s a random teleport box off the left side of the first level in the third layer.

    Anyway, love the new things you’ve created, and nice to get an update. ^^

    • Brad

      Heh no I don’t think there’s a spring that’ll shoot you into the background there.

      Need to delete all the backgrounds for the World 1 levels, I’m still trying to decide if I want to add some hidden levels in the backgrounds or be more strict about features.

  9. theginjaninja

    Ok, first, brad.
    You are amazing.
    This feels great, you have so much more speed and control. The animation is weighty and smooth. It feels fun to just run and jump around.

    You honestly don’t get the recognition you deserve as a game developer.

    Second, some constructive criticism.
    You may want to consider making the springs that boost you into another layer look different from regular springs. Just to avoid confusion.

    third, One of the things I think you should consider in world 4 is level design. I would like a level where you are running from something, like a angry horde of killer bees. would be sweet.

    And fourth, where is the secret room? :'(

      • Brad

        WOW *bows*. I don’t even remember saying that… I’m in awe of your encyclopedic knowledge of YouTube videos, haha.

        I hope that doesn’t sound sarcastic, I’m genuinely baffled that you remembered I said that and where that was.

        That’s just really really awesome to me.

    • Brad

      Awesome! If anything feels off, please let me know! I know there’s still a few problems with head bumping, but that should be a simple fix once I actually get to it…

      Aw, I really appreciate it! I got a game out on XBLA, PSN, and iOS, so I consider myself pretty dang lucky already, but I’d be lying if I said I really didn’t care if the next FPA games didn’t do even better than previous ones 😉

      I agree about the springs, I haven’t decided yet if they should just be a different color, or if I should attempt to angle them towards the background they’re launching too. If I do that , there might be some trouble with putting FPM behind one facing towards the back, but I’m already swapping everything around like crazy so oh well.

      Level design is definitely going to be a big focus for World 4! I have a few surprises in mind, and in general there will be more of a focus on what you’re doing, instead of characters and story and all that. I do think that having some ‘running from something’ is long overdue, though!

  13. jelani435

    While walking on the side of the LOL face that I was able to access through going into the box of source codes and kittens, it occured to me that with mechanics like this, you should make a SUPER FANCY PANTS GALAXY!!!… COMPLETE WITH POWER UPS AND EVERYTHING! *cough*http://alwaysnintendo.com *cough*

    • Brad

      I usually try to not just go ‘hey that’s a cool feature I think I’ll stick it into FPA!’, but I haven’t really seen the gravity thing done in 2d all that much yet so I’m sure I’ll have to play around with it eventually.

      Nice site! I was really excited to stream PC games to the Wii U pad, but man that’s a lot of lag there. Guess they’ll need to use those newer GPUs that encode video, like what Nvidia uses for Shield, or what Apple uses for AirPlay.

    • DaxterSpeed

      That’s the opposite of getting more control… When I’m already traveling, let’s say, left after a long fall then why can’t I also turn to the left? What you’re telling me to do to stop running, turn around and backflip before I know even know the tilt of the slope I’m gonna fall on…

      • theginjaninja

        nah, you misunderstood.
        run towards the ledge, then do a backflip. Don’t stop and turn around, the new engine makes doing backflips while going forward a lot easier.
        you have more aerial control while backflipping.

        when landing on the slope, just hold down and roll/slide.

        • DaxterSpeed

          I’m asking for the ability to turn around in air though, not more aerial control. Rolling after a fall makes you lose speed, sliding after a fall makes you gain (a lot) of speed. It’s not that hard to understand dude…

          • theginjaninja

            ohhhh. heheh.
            right.

            you mean physically turning around, not just moving about?

            You can’t do that in any of the FPA games, so I didn’t realize.

            anyway, I don’t think that should happen, because what if I wanted to jump of a platform, move backwards in the air, then slide boost forwards?
            it would be annoying, having FPM shift around in midair like that.

  15. JetVeam

    Hi Brad! I would like to start into game developing… but i don’t know what platform should i use to start…
    I would like to make 2D platformers/side-scroller games just like FPA.

    What do you see better for a beginner like me? Flash and AS3 or Unity3D with all the new 2D stuff… Should i start in Flash and then jump to Unity? Should i just learn C# and Unity? Should i start with another platform?

    Any tips or suggestions will be appreciated, thanks Brad!

    • A Wizard

      It depends on what experience you already have with programming, really. If you’re an experienced programmer, you would probably be fine using C# and Unity. If you have no experience programming, I’d say Flash would be easier to start with and learn the fundamentals of programming at least, and switching to Unity shouldn’t be difficult for you.

      • JetVeam

        I know the most basic things: Variables, Operators, If, Import, How classes work, and Loops…

        But yeah, i think i’ll start with Flash, and then make the jump to Unity! Hope that Brad gives me his opinion about this too!

        Something that i don’t like about Unity is that you need to pay quite a bit to be able to export to iOS and Android, while Adobe Air is free.

    • Brad

      I haven’t tried the new Unity 2d stuff, but I everything I’ve ever heard about Unity has been ridiculously positive.

      I would just start with AS3, or AS2 if you want to get a handle on how coding itself works first, but if you’re looking for a challenge, Unity definitely has a better future and more portability than Flash (though I’d love to try ScaleForm one day to get some Flash on another platform).

      • JetVeam

        Thanks for the reply Brad and Wizard!

        Yep, i’ll first start with AS3 and Flash, and maybe then try Unity, if i fell that it is better then i’ll use it as my main platform!

        I have some pretty crazy ideas for the platform game that i want to make: Procedural art and world, so everything feels unique every time you play it. 😀 (In a different way than Terraria)

    • Brad

      Hm, I didn’t think it would look right, but I really like that. I put it in as the faster ‘run off a ledge’ animation. Apparently I had two in there already, heh (3 if you count the drop). Makes me think that the feet should peddle faster at the very beginning, though.

      Check it out, let me know what you think.

  19. DarknessMetalhead

    it’s great to have you back Brad! The new stuff is amazing, you did a very good job! I miss the wall run, can we at least have the wall-backflip thing back? Keep up the awesome work man! :pants:

    • Brad

      I’ll have to see. I’m focusing on mostly the World 1 moveset right now (okay it’s an excuse not to have to rebuild swimming yet), but I’ll most likely have something back in for World 4 (with different physics to make it less sticky) :fpm:

  20. squiggleinator3000

    Brad that is awsum.Keep up the good work :woot: :cat:. (I keep playing it over and over again for no reason, dunno why I just can’t stop :3)

  21. squiggleinator3000

    Another thing… You know those blue circles that squiggles come out of… You can make them look like little hotair baloons filled with squiggles or sumthin’ like that… that would be cool!

  22. angryplant

    the spider k-o animation and waking up animations are pretty awesome. but the new spider facial expressions (when they are walking) dosent look to well.

  23. angryplant

    though maybe it would suit them better, if we got more spider character development. if their was a spider king boss, then maybe they would seem eviler.

  26. squiggleinator3000

    Hey, can you add a door at the end of the last level (the one with the spinning ground and moving platforms)?
    *edit* 100th comment! Yaaaaay! 😀

    • Brad

      Haha I haven’t even looked up how to do sound in AS3 yet! I had some crazy stuff with AS2 where it would be packed in a swf and shoved in the game file, so the founds wouldn’t have to be exported every time, but I don’t know if any of those tricks work with AS3…

      Exporting shouldn’t be as bad with AS3 though because of caching maybe?

      In layman’s terms, I dunno I haven’t tried putting it in yet!

  30. Juliorob

    Man that bouncing of the spider it´s actually meditative, you have to get into this zen state of mind to get a good score. I thought I was getting the hang of it, reached a solid 34 (in my mind), and then realized that AJ32 had 85, maybe it´s time to go to bed. I still have a lot to learn 🙂 .

  31. XenoTerra

    i went past the blow jo brians out goin to da background level, and started juggling a spider, and i got hit by another spider, while the one i was juggling hit me, not damaged, but since i wasnt “attacking” i applied 0 force to the juggling spider, and it hhit me about 20 times nj, it boosted my score, better fix that, not my score, the, “spam smash the dead spider” thing

  33. DaxterSpeed

    I can’t see any leaderboard for the race level, but I got 772 using a simple skip 😀

    [EDIT]
    Found a better skip, got 706

  34. DaxterSpeed

    Uhm… I found a bug and now my time is literally unbeatable… You should probably make “I” times invalid (636 is still my best, I’ll try to make a video of the skip I’m using though).

  35. squiggleinator3000

    Hey Brad, are you gonna be adding a water level soon ❓ And when’s a video coming out, is everybody in your house ok now ❓

    • Brad

      Haha, no time soon! I haven’t moved any of that code to AS3, and it’s a movie clip nightmare. It was still kinda buggy, I’m going to just have to rewrite it and attempt to clean it up, but that’ll have to be for World 4, not the remix.

  36. squiggleinator3000

    When you click the left mouse button for scores, and then you click “times” it doesn’t show you the scores unless you’re in the race level. Is it supposed to be like that? :pants:

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