Greetings!

With the launch of VGM Beta 1 behind us, it's officially time to start talking about the future. I have a loose lineup of Beta releases planned, all leading up to an official release in (hopefully) mid-2024. This may seem like a long way off, but in the world of game development, time has a bad habit of compressing and evaporating.

Put simply: every week is precious.

While I work on my current task list for Beta 2, I'd like to open the floor to feedback! What are you liking about the current build? What are the next features you'd like to see added? Any bugs or obvious issues that have been overlooked?

Any and all feedback is appreciated, and as a 'Thank You', I'll be sending out some VGM sticker swag to anyone that leaves some comments, concerns, or creative suggestions in the comments!

Figure 1: Give feedback, get stickers!

Thanks for your support and feedback! It means the world to us solo devs! :)
-ScottT

So you want to make Video Games? It's the dream of many, but the time commitments (and coding requirements) are enough to scare off many potential creators….until now!

The Video Game Machine reduces the creation process down to three clicks:

1. What is your Genre?
   
2. Who is your Hero?
   
3. What is the name of your game?

VGM does the rest, using template levels to stitch together an adventure you can instantly enjoy.

And if you want to alter or improve what was generated, you have full access to an in-game editor, letting you get as creative as you want! In the vein of other 'Maker' style games, you can craft levels, place enemies, build dialog trees, and easily create an adventure truly your own.


While Beta 1 is still early, it has several exciting features for any game-making enthusiast.

VGM automatically generates a 3-level game from hand-designed 'Level Templates'. This lets players start playing with the minimal amount of clicks, or gives them a great starting point to start editing from.

Beta 1 has three genres to pick from: Platformer, Top-Down Adventure, and Runner. As more beta builds are released, more genres will be added.


At any time, press the TAB key to bring up a feature rich Editor. Tweak level layout, hide items and enemies, or place NPCs to tell your story.

Choose from many different Rules as you create your adventure. How the camera moves, how damage is dealt, level timers, special hero abilities. It can all be managed from the Rulebook.

What is it about an Overworld that gives a game a greater sense of Epicness? With the 'World Map' rule enabled, you'll be able to create a level map for players to explore!

Check out the sample game "Age of the Mage Rage" for ideas on how to use this new system.

The Video Game Machine has a long list of powerful Gizmos that can be placed to add excitement to any level.

• Hidden Areas
  
• Movement Groups
  
• Pushable Tiles
  
• Doorways
  
• Triggers
  
• Counters
  
• Enemy Spawning
  
• Letterbox Modes
  
• Camera Options

Play through the included Tutorial games to master these tools.

As with any early game release, there's a lot planned before the game reaches v1.0 status.

Improved Game Generation
More Genres
Story-Driven Campaign
More Heroes, Weapons, Enemies, Music, and Environments
Steam Workshop Support

And of course there's player feedback. Until we get Beta 1 in the hands of users, it's impossible to predict the amazing Ideas that will come through the Steam forums.

There's almost no end to the possibilities as we develop VGM! I can't wait to team up with players to create something amazing.


Changes since the last non-Steam Alpha build of VGM.

** Auto-generated Levels **

• Toggle on Game Design Screens "[] Auto-Generate Levels"
  
• Add UI that only shows up on the final step
  
• + Is toggled ON, then make levels
  
• + If toggled OFF, then leave levels mostly blank
  
• Run timing tests, make sure copying levels from existing game data is FAST (was taking 1 minute or more)
  
• Premade Level Set Class hooked up to Genre Presets
  
• Reading in from XML
  
• Used to pick levels
  
• Make Side Scrolling Level Template ( 3 Easy, 3 Mid, 3 Final )
  
• Make some Legendary Adventure level Templates
  
• + 2 Early
  
• Need a starting weapon hidden somewhere.
  
• Need to block some areas with Thorns that need to be destroyed
  
• + 2 Mid
  
• + 2 Final
  
• Game should store the level gates info and attach them together accordingly
  
• New Struct for the AwesomeGame generator: LevelGateGenData
  
• Rebuild the game's Gate list
  
• Game should re-assign GUIDs to the gate gizmos
  
• Gates should work with generated Legendary games
  
• Make a Red Thorns prop that ensures the player has a weapon before adventuring out.
  
• Hook up props that can damage you
  
• Weapon gizmo should try to destroy Prop Tiles first
  
• Make a Black Thorn prop that can't be destroyed (by default - players can determine what attack type destroys them)
  
• Make a Green Vines prop that block the player, doesn't hurt them
  
• Make some Auto-runner levels
  
• + 3 Easy
  
• + 3 Mid
  
• +3 Final

** Improved Controller Support **

• Editor: Controller Mapping
  
• Back Button: Edit Level/Game Data (Save, Load, Etc)
  
• Right Trigger: Use Tool (Place Tile, Place Enemy, Etc)
  
• Left Trigger: Delete Object at cursor
  
• A Button: Select UI Buttons
  
• B Button: Set Target for Object at Cursor
  
• When in targeting mode, all other buttons should cancel Targeting mode.
  
• Y Button: Edit the Object at Cursor
  
• Click L Thumbsticks:
  
• Copy Tile at Cursor (eyedropper)
  
• Fix EYEDROPPER tool
  
• Eyedropper should grab gizmos too!
  
• Normal Gizmos
  
• Enemy Gizmos
  
• Item Gizmos
  
• All Selected Objects should also select their palette entry counterparts
  
• Click R Thumbstick:
  
• Zoom In / Out
  
• Editor Controls
  
• L and R Bumpers grow the nub size
  
• Nub should grow around the center, not up and to the left.
  
• Fix bug where single Nub no longer works.
  
• Slow down the camera movement, so pressing a little on the thumbstick will crawl the cursor (current movement seems to be boolean)
  
• Pressing the RIGHT TRIGGER should work with Enemies, Gizmos, etc. (need to ApplyNub, not place a tile)
  
• Gameplay
  
• + D-Pad hooked up & moving the player
  
• + Can move down on ladders with L-Thumbstick
  
• Bugs
  
• + Sometimes the "Controller cursor" disappears (especially in the Level Editor, if you go too far Up or Down on the toolbar
  
• + Disable the PAUSE toolbar when the level editor starts. Re-enable when the level editor is hidden.Test to make sure PAUSING still works and brings up that bar of buttons.
  
• + Disable the Eraser layers list when the game starts. Re-enable as necessary.
  
• + Add some SceneManager code that re-creates the Controller Cursor if the last input was from a Controller
  
• + Level Editor: If the tool entry list has too many entries (Props, in particular) the grid should scroll with the controller (right now the list never scrolls)
  
• + Editor: Using the LEFT THUMBSTICK should navigate the toolbox and Tool Category Buttons
  
• + Disable Automatic Navigation for most UI elements
  
• + Listbox Asset Entries should grow when they're the "Selected" UI element
  
• + Listbox Asset Entries should auto-select when the cursor moves onto them
  
• + Listbox Asset 'header' entries should not auto-click when rolled onto via mouse
  
• + Set the Event Handler to use the Right thumbstick for navigation
  
• + Editor: Direction Arrows moving the cursor in the 4 cardinal directions.
  
• + Editor: When you select a tool, it should auto-select the first entry in the updated list.
  
• + When in a subwindow, the main editor buttons shouldn't try to steal the controller input
  
• + Editor: Select Environment Subwindow
  
• + Get Selection Cursor sized correctly with the entries and DONE button
  
• + Place the cursor over the currently selected environment when the subwindow is unhidden
  
• + Fix the cursor navigating to objects below the screen if you keep pressing the DOWN button (was the HEADER objects in the tools palette)
  
• + Editor: Game Details Subwindow
  
• + Show the cursor OVER the screen, not under it
  
• + Fix the screen to size and position its object correctly (very sloppy implementation)
  
• + Entries should have a properly sized Cursor
  
• + Done and Reset button should have a properly sized cursor
  
• + Controller Cursor should grow and shrink based on the size of the selected game object
  
• + Controller Cursor Override Data class to store width and height if it needs to be specified.
  
• + Controller working for "Create a Game"

Letterbox Mode Gizmo

• Put Horizontal and Vertical letterbox objects in place
  
• Hook up to screen with code it unhide them
  
• Hook up a GIZMO type to activate / disable letterbox modes
  
• Disable Letterbox when entering editor mode / changing levels / etc
  
• Make an icon for the LETTERBOX Gizmo
  
• Hook up and test Vertical bars.

Camera Mode Gizmo

• Add Camera Mode Gizmo, Icons, and Options:
  
• + Horizontal Movement Only: Camera only moves horizontally in this room
  
• + Vertical Movement Only: Camera only moves Vertically in this room
  
• + Snap Camera to this Room: Did I stutter?
  
• + Out of Bounds: Camera doesn't update when the player is in this room.
  
• Get camera properly transitioning between rooms with different modes.

Eyeballs

• Make LWEEyeballs object that auto-attaches to the Head object of a puppet.
  
• Use different sprites based on direction
  
• Blinking hooked up
  
• 'Hurt' eyes used when an actor takes damage

Bug Fixes

• Fix the Arcade not being accessible (was issue where Tachyon was reporting it was 'AlreadyInitalized', but the local 'IsInitalized' value wasn't being set
  
• .Get all level templates into the base game, being utilized!
  
• Get Legendary Adventure level templates into the base game & Being used
  
• Generating a Legendary Adventure shouldn't also generate a metamap (takes too long)
  
• If the controller isn't being used, then make sure the 'Controller Cursor' object isn't visible.
  
• If you attack with a weapon, the damage hit box last a half second after the effect disappears.
  
• "Controller In Use" should default to FALSE and should set to TRUE if the player skips the into bumpers using a Controller button

• Weapons can have a "UseWeaponNub" tag
  
• If TRUE, when equipped the PlayerGizmoNub will be enabled
  
• If enabled, certain weapon logic will use it's position instead of the other position handling logic.
  
• Tab should animate to new location, not snap
  
• Can be set to activate an 'Editor Tool' - so an Weapon nub can place ladders, erase tiles, etc
  
• Weapon Nub Range - how far from the starting position can the blocks be placed once
  
• If the FIRE button is held, and the nub has a range, the arrows should stop moving the player and instead move the nub
  
• Only if the player is Idle (grounded and not moving)
  
• Only let the nub go as far as the range allows
  
• Only animate if the Editor Tool was successful
  
• Player should face the nub
  
• Weapon Nub can't be used where the player is standing
  
• Make sure it works with the controller!

• Location-Based Level Templates
  
• Per-Environment Gameplay Hooks
  
• Update Endless Enemies Gizmo
  
• If not targeted by anything, auto-enable when the level starts.
  
• Hook up a TRIGGER ZONE option to force a gizmo to DISABLED
  
• Hook up a TRIGGER ZONE option to force a gizmo to ENABLED
  
• Add dictionary to GameplayHandler.g_endlessEnemyGizmos
  
• Spawning can be turned on / off

Space Levels - Comets

• Shatter on hitting a tile & Destroy Tile
  
• Idea: if bounced on, comets should move DOWN to break tiles below it
  
• Should destroy a radius of tiles
  
• DeathAnimationType: How does this actor animate when they die?
  
• When killed, Particle effects shouldn't just disappear (code that detaches them, sets them to auto-destroy)
  
• New Class: DetatchParticleHandler
  
• Fix issue where these are getting snagged on diag tiles
  
• Final GFX
  
• Data-Drive the prefab to attached to it
  
• Icon made and hooked up

Bug Fixes

• Sidescroller Movement: First bounce off an enemy is too low (looks like the player is taking damage?)
  
• We now store the last enemy you jumped on. When calculating 'head bops' it'll check to see if we just jumped off this enemy and be more forgiving about taking damage from below.
  
• Improve 'Enemy Timer' Spawn Gizmos
  
• Enemy Timers should only spawn if the gizmo is 'on the screen'