Yesterday we finally submitted our Indiecade 2011 demo of Ring Run Circus, our upcoming game.
This particular build is a selection of cutscenes and eight levels from world 3 (titled “Strength”) .The first 5 levels allow the player to discover the basic mechanics; the last 3 levels attempt to show the potential of the mechanic.
For the final version of the game we plan to complete five worlds, each one with its own gameplay variations (goals, playable character, aesthetics, etc.) based on the main non-stop ring-switching mechanic.
We don’t have a release date yet, but now that we have settled in the core mechanic, story and structure, we’ll do our best to have it ready before the end of the year.
Since we’ve submitted the game, we’ve been hard at work porting it to the iPhone/iPad platform.
One of the most interesting challenges we’re working right now is making it a network game. If you’ve played the game you’ll know that it’s very fast and network latency can be critical.
We’ve just been told that RingRun was not selected for Gamma 4.
Well.. back to work!
RingRun is our submission to Gamma 4 . It’s is a fast-paced multi-player arcade game that you can play with just one button.
Press the button to switch rings and collect stars. The runner with more stars when the time is over wins the game.
Simple right? Well… not quite!
Crash another player from behind to make him lose stars. Crash head-to-head and suffer. But wait, you can also defend yourself, or even attack. That’s up to you to discover!
And all this with just one button?
From 1 to 4 players allowed. The remaining players are controlled by “The A.I.”. Beware!
Challenge your friends and become the master of RingRun! ;)
Download the game (compatible with Mac Leopard and Snow Leopard) and tell us what you think either by twitter @kalio or email: info at kalio.net).
Click here to see snapshots and videos.
Idea, Design, Programming, Graphics and Sounds: Kalio
Music: Jacob H
Many thanks to:
Each of the 4 runners has two stable states: flat and sideways. Holding the button down maintains the runner sideways. When going flat it remains within a ring. When sideways it jumps to the tangent ring.
When runners crash, some of the stars they’ve collected are returned to the level. If they crash head to head, both lose some stars. If one crashes another from behind, only the chased one loses stars.
When all the stars have been collected, the countdown accelerates. In any case, the game finishes after 2 minutes. The runner with more stars wins.
Another layer of control is properly timing the button press when two runners cross or overlap. It’s possible to attack by “slapping” the opponent (that is, switching to the other’s state while the other remains put). This behaves differently if they come head to head or one is chasing the other.
