First Homebrew Project - "Bob" - Early Development

Hey all. I've posted some questions for you guys on the newbie help forum, but now I want to share what I've come up with so far. Screenshots are attached.

Still pretty early on, there aren't even enemies in the game yet. But I have a basic platformer engine where you can move and jump, the screen scrolls through the level, and there are collectibles (supposed to be corn). The purple thing in the second screenshot is the magic portal that takes you to the next level.

Graphics aren't quite as fancy as some other projects on this forum, I suppose, but I'm more of a technical guy than an artist.

Let me know what you think!

Have you thought about submitting for the nesdev Competition? 6 months should be enough time to make a game.

It would be easier to evaluate the game if you posted a .nes ROM. Maybe in the future, you could do that.

So far so good. Keep working. My only criticism would be, try to have some floors that are just a repeating gray block.

Take care not to put stuff too close to the edges, or a TV might cut it off.

• Keep text and important indicators in the title safe area (center 224x192).
• Keep platforms and the like in the PocketNES safe area (240x212, centered 2 pixels down).

I'd definitely be interested in submitting a game for the competition. I'd like to think this will be done in 6 months, but I'm really only working on it on the weekends right now and I'm still learning a lot of the programming as I go, this is the first project I've done in any kind of assembly and I'm not a professional programmer. We'll give it a couple of months and see where I'm at.

I'm still deciding if I should go ahead and post the ROM. There isn't much to it yet, the title screen you see in the screenshots and two levels (the second of which doesn't have an exit because there's no level after that). I'd be a bit nervous about having it "evaluated" at this stage by folks who are considerably more experienced than I am. On the flip side of that, if I can get useful feedback...hmm...

And yes, I do intend to have floors that aren't repeating gray blocks eventually. I've been more focused on the programming side than the graphics so far, so I was happy enough when I could get Bob to stand on the gray blocks instead of just falling though the floor. What I'd really like to do is have different level types with different palettes and looks to them. What you see in the screenshots could be an "underground" type level, and you'd also have an outdoor type and maybe a couple of other types.

Good feedback Tepples on the safe areas, I'll see if I can work on those things.

Sacrificing to the god of no gods. Huh.

Yep. Sacrificing some guy's pet turtle. In order to gain supernatural power for their plot of world takeover. Those Lizard People make pretty airtight plans.

When you must save your pet turtle from sacrifice but also have time for collecting sun ripe corn

That's because they only have humans' best interests in mind. Once the lizards ousted the ponies from key advisory positions in the late 19th century, modern humans finally got some sanitation, as Malok explained to Cracked's Chris Bucholz in an interview. Do you plan to put in an alternate path where the player helps the lizards help humans to unlock the secret of turtles' negligible senescence, even if a pet tortoise has to die for science?

My lizard is the lizard of world domination

Huh. When I started this project I hadn't read the Cracked interview and was assuming that the Lizard People's aims were sinister in nature. If they truly have our best interests at heart, then perhaps, regretfully, poor Sergio must lose his life for the greater good.

No plans on an alternate path yet.

Nice work, mate! I'm only starting out too and you're MIIILES ahead of me