Design choices and Bitsy thoughts

Sometimes two jams themes combine well.

I try my best to do a bitsy game a month, this time theme was "frog".

I also noticed "I can't write but want to tell a story" jam, with the optional theme "lost".

One rule was also non-text story.

Doing some researches i stumbled upon the frogs massive extinction, especially this one.

It was so sad to know that as soon as this toad was discovered, it disappeared.

So i took a chance on it: lost frog. 

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Bitsy possibilities are restraining but people keep adding wonders to it, either by hacks or just pure graphics.

A few options are left when you consider there is no action key. Your character can't jump or attack.

It is still possible to makeshift some platformers anyhow.

Here is my bigger attempt in doing so : since you can't jump, you can still ascend, but falling will be instant game over.

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Mazes are my preference. My first bitsy attempt was of this kind, and i made a few others since.

What baffles me about mazes is that you don't necessarily need a rich story.

You wake up in a strange place, or you're lost, and need to find a way out of here. Period.

Being the map designer i can extend the "being lost" feeling to whatever size. 

My favorite take upon it is when there are two levels or more.

When you enter a second level (or plan), you go from "feeling lost" to "feeling lost-er".

Also in this whole "Krapodorey" game the first level is basically made on the same canvas. It saves a lot of time.

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Bitsy engine is grid-based but you can experiment perspective in it.

The main goal in creating an isometric map is to stay focused and keep your tiles section tidy. 

Also walls and non-walls requires special attention. When you deal with diagonal and angles paper drawings won't necessary fit into the engine.

I made a little mistake in one room, more on that later.

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When i work on my games i mainly focus either on the story or on the idea.

Bitsy is delight for telling stories. I believe it to be its first purpose.

But sometimes the feeling will be more like "is this idea possible to render in Bitsy?"

When this kind of option comes to my mind i tend to push the story part aside. Like "i'll think of it later" or "this will eventually appear when my prototype is done".

This time i made no NPCs on purpose. Maybe it was to concentrate solely on the map. Maybe because sometimes i look back older games and i feel like some stories i tell are very poor or dull and i don't want gamers to feel bored.

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Last thought on this game's design: tutorial was very important.

It was both a way to teach the basics to the gamer (as usual) but also to test this isometric grid possibilities.

Here is an awfully long text tutorial i made (character on the right). It was really hard for me to write as english isn't my mother tongue.

In "Krapodorey" the "show don't tell" basic rule applies. You see a door, you enter the second "level"; you see a hole, you fall in it. Hope it works!

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A small regret is the second waterfall passage in room 1 (upper left).

This was (at the beginning) intended for gamer to explore possibilities.

Looking back it seems i welcome the gamer to a isometric world only to break it instantly. Like "here's an interesting perspective-oh nevermind". Also this passage never shows again throughout the game. It's basic anti-tutorial and ruins the whole perspective effect.

I'm not proud of the title of this game also. Krapodorey means "golden toad" ("crapeau doré") in stylistic-ish french. The main goal of this title was to gain access for english and french gamers as well since the main game is mute. I struggle to find time to translate my english games into french.

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Thank you for reading this first devlog. Hope you enjoyed the game!