Following on from the last update, I’ve now successfully modified merlot to use relative positioning. This means that the game is now playable on the iPhone 5 (and future devices should involve less effort).
With that change complete, my focus shifted to the implementation of my first test level. The objectives for this level were to focus on basic tile placement, making sure that the code I had in place from before was solid. The following has been completed as a result.
+ The core tile placement mechanic working nicely
+ The village tileset tweaked
+ The main GUI in a reasonable state with the timer and inventory icon implemented in their basic forms
This now completes level 1 which focusses purely on laying a path to an exit. There’s not much to expand on here since the majority of the functionality was in place. I’ve just implemented a little more of the GUI and fixed some of the tileset niggles (new trees and removal of the grass gradient).
My goal for level 2 is to introduce the inventory by giving you some basic items at the start of the level and allowing to select them to help you solve the level. This is fairly hefty because it means an overhaul of the inventory system – we’ll cover this in a bit more detail next time.