If you get stuck or the level menu doesn’t load when it should, press Q. All other instructions are in the game. Click “How to Play” on the title screen. All levels are possible. Thanks to a video by @Griffpatch for the anti-lag script! Project started 26 Sep 2019 First shared 11 April 2020 Update 17 June 2020: Added FPS Counter, game runs well now. Also nerfed turrets; added sound for when they attack. Description updated slightly 28 August 2020. DEVELOPER’S NOTES Wow, it’s been a long road. I began working on this game in late September 2019, when I managed to create a design for the orb that was close to the actual games' design. I was impressed, and decided to do a better job the second time of the game looking good. This mostly turned out well in the end product, but it helps that the bar was low. I played with various animations, sprites, and so on, creating a look to match the gameplay. Google Drawings is far more robust than mobile Keynote. I also decided to practice more professional practices with coding and development, releasing the game only with a finished product. Next came the level design. I created assets and layouts for various levels. This took around a month between layout plans, asset design, and incorporation into individual files. The level design in the first game at best offered glimpses of the best of the original game, and I wanted to fix this problem in the sequel. It worked, to an extent. The game certainly ramps up faster. It has more varied content and avoids the first game’s mistake of having overly simple designs. However, looking back, I think it missed something about the best designs in the original games. In the best levels in the series, the level initially has one set of paths, blocked-off areas, and so on. However, by the end, many objects are in different locations or even gone. The result of this was a real sense of causing change in the level, which is part of the series’ appeal. Without this, the levels end up being closer to Orb 1, which was more like a basic maze game. With this out of the way, I began importing the SVGs into the game, and then programming the game in earnest. I was at this for two to four weeks before I was burned out and left for months. When I work on a project because I want to, I typically start full of enthusiasm, totally invested in the project. If the project is long, I gradually slow down. Sometimes, I manage somehow to complete it. Regardless, I had left by the end of November. I started having second thoughts in March, and pondered giving this another chance. Finally, around the start of April, I returned to the programming work. That weekend, I worked on the game for about twelve hours, and then at a slower rate for the next six days. This work was a mix of programming levels and fixing/programming aspects that were not properly fixed/programmed. I spent plenty of hours finding ways to fix the lag, and it worked reasonably well. Most of the game now runs silky smooth. (EDIT: Is actually true now thanks to the improved vector graphics) I honestly don’t know whether or not I will make a game on Scratch again. I don’t know if I will find the passion required to make something like that. But I know that if I make a Scratch game again, it will be an original game. Thank you for playing. LINKS AND TAGS Music is from Newgrounds: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/34516 https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/51589 https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/56121 Play the originals: – All of the games can be found on Coolmath Games as of this writing. Will that last? Who knows? https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-orb https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-orb-2 https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-orb-2-tnl https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-orb-3 – Orb 1 and 2 can be found on Newgrounds. https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/341393 https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/345936 – All of the games have also been archived on BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint…I think.
