So for the second genre, I was to use the progression structure of platformer game. Since platformers typically progress via having either more difficult enemies, or a goal that the player must reach at the end of the game or level.
Taking that into account, for the first build with this genre (build 5 overall) I added some platforms for the player to navigate through a tougher, tank-like enemy that the player would encounter towards the end. The tanks had 2 variations of health, 250 and 300, as opposed to the 100 HP of the standard enemies, which I hoped would be sufficiently high as to be a fair amount more difficult than the standard enemies. From playtesting, the 250 HP variant proved to be too low, and the 300 HP version was just alright, leading me to choose that one.
For the following build, I decided to add more platforms that led to a final area, which would transport the player to a location with the artifact that they were meant to retrieve. I made sure that there were some areas that the player could fight the enemies, as to keep the beat 'em up element still in the game. I also changed some of the sound effects, to better reflect the player actually hitting the enemies. I also added a cooldown for the dash, as some playtesters found ways to break the game without that cooldown. I intended to add the final location in this build, but I had some issues transporting the player to that level, and so I delayed it to the next iteration.
Player feedback for this level was good, and the primary suggestion I took from it was to make the level more narrow, as to incentivise players to fight the enemies more.
For the 3rd and final iteration for this genre (Build 7 overall) I implemented the level layout changes suggested from last build's playtesters, and I also added some sound effects when the player was hit by enemies (a much requested addition) and when the player collects a health pickup. One thing I also did was fix a bug that had been plaguing me since the first build, where the enemies would t-pose after losing sight of the player. It took a lot longer than expected, but I managed to fix it in the end.
Overall, implementing the platformer progression structure was trickier than I thought, as I had to constantly keep the 'progression' part of it in mind. Completely turning the game into a platformer was a direction that I tried to avoid as much as possible, but in the end some elements of it remained. I would say I'm relatively happy with the progress I've made with this genre, and I look forward to the challenges the next genre will bring.
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