Turtle Outbreak

TurtleRescueNES

Active member
Toby and Walton of "Turtle Rescue" team up to avenge the things the pandemic has taken from us. It's not Dr. Mario. It's more like Space Invaders. This game didn't exist before Saturday March 14th, so much like the virus itself, it has evolved quickly into what you see here.

I've uploaded a very un-polished alpha build of the game for people to try out and see what they think. This is my first puzzle/shooter genre game, so I am open to any comments you may have.

UPDATED: 3/22/20

NEW VERSION!
Thing's I've added:
- quick story background and game play explanations in-game
- polished graphics and background design
- enhanced scoring and virus counting

Some things that I have planned:
- fix the bug where sanitizer contacts two viruses at once, only destroying one
- fix the bug where the sanitizer inventory does not roll over into the next level
- variable winning benchmarks (so end screen will trigger at not only 100 points)
- better "computer player" point earnings in 1-player mode
- some viruses will begin to move around (tiles become monsters)
- work on gameplay slowdown when too many projectiles

game.png
 

Attachments

  • TurtleOutbreak_200322.zip
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Bucket Mouse

Active member
For something whipped up in a weekend, this feels pretty polished already. I definitely wasn't expecting a soundtrack.

Of course there are only three levels, and Level 3 doesn't seem winnable, but it still works.
 

dale_coop

Moderator
Staff member
Bucket Mouse said:
Of course there are only three levels, and Level 3 doesn't seem winnable, but it still works.

It is winnable :)

Turtle-Outbreak-200316-nesmaker-2020-03-17-09-53-29.png
 

TurtleRescueNES

Active member
Thanks all for the feedback! The intent as the levels go on is for the virus count to increase, making it more of a scramble to wipe them out. Of course, the time limit is always there that may keep you from accomplishing that. The sanitizer power up is meant to wipe out the impaired viruses so that they do not regenerate. In the next build, earning the sanitizer will be more random. The game is designed to "end" once someone reaches 100 points. In time, that will be more flexible.
 

dale_coop

Moderator
Staff member
A small suggestion, it would be better if by default it's the "1 player" the would be selected.
(for that, change the initial value of the user variable "player2Mode" to" 0")
 

TurtleRescueNES

Active member
dale_coop said:
A small suggestion, it would be better if by default it's the "1 player" the would be selected.
(for that, change the initial value of the user variable "player2Mode" to" 0")

* thumbs up * :)
 

NeoBenj

Member
jsherman said:
The game is designed to "end" once someone reaches 100 points. In time, that will be more flexible.

Why not... making the game end when you reaches 0 points? Starting from XXX. ;) Instead of ascending numbers.
Since you are curing the pandemic... can be good to have a global/general goal to achieve.
It can be done with each stage representing an area/hospital to cleanse, etc. Just a matter of "wording" actually.
 

TurtleRescueNES

Active member
NeoBenj said:
jsherman said:
The game is designed to "end" once someone reaches 100 points. In time, that will be more flexible.

Why not... making the game end when you reaches 0 points? Starting from XXX. ;) Instead of ascending numbers.
Since you are curing the pandemic... can be good to have a global/general goal to achieve.
It can be done with each stage representing an area/hospital to cleanse, etc. Just a matter of "wording" actually.

I really do like this idea. I tried to think how to make it work, but there are a few problems. Any countdown to zero approach might imply that they have all been wiped out, but the gameplay wouldn't line up with that. As of this time, I award a point for neutralizing the virus, and another if you eliminate it with sanitizer. So that's two points. And more if the virus respawns and neutralized again. So I want to reward the player for their actions and not use the points system to track what's remaining. Dr. Mario tracks both, but this is more like Space Invaders which does not track how many aliens remain. Thank you for the input. I may come back to this.
 

Dirk

Member
Oh, I didn't use the sanitizer, because I am an item hoarder ^^
Good to know I'd get extra points for using it.
 

TurtleRescueNES

Active member
Quick update: I did work on the Outbreak game this weekend, but there's not a lot to show for it to warrant a new ROM file. I implemented frankengraphics' slowdown fixes, but I stupidly overwrote some custom elements I had in place. I thought I had backed up the ASM files in question, when I did not. Oops. I also tried to implement some other enhancements, but with little success. Weekdays are tough to get game development time, so hopefully I have better momentum next weekend. In the meantime, please try out the ROM file in the first post and let me know your thoughts!
 
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