There were a ton of updates to Rooftop Rampage! Last week, Kass gave me the artwork for a new boss, and artwork of the main character in a crouched position. No problem, I thought. I can just code all of this with ease. Like a teenager before a big project is due, I occupied my time with more leisurely pursuits.

“Maybe I could deep fry myself for dinner tonight...” Couch Potato NickelNDime, taking lazy to a whole new level

When Tuesday rolled around, I began to look at the code and the artwork and started to ease into it. Here's the thing... everything took longer than expected. Every solution created another problem I would have never thought of. For instance, when I coded Chester crouching I thought it went smoothly when I tested it out. However when he stood up, the arms and gun were still low to the ground. They were just floating there. Also when Chester stood back up after crouching, he would be stuck in the ground. What I thought would take 20 minutes, ended up taking me 3 days!

I don't wan't to bore you with a ton of pics of coding (although I totally could) but I'd rather just give you everything that was implemented.

Crouching Chester, Hidden AN5000...

Chester is now able to crouch! That was the number one suggestion we got, so that was the first thing we wanted to work on. Now the enemy's bullets only have a 95 percent chance to hit you rather than a 98 percent chance so... you're welcome.

We Got Tunes!

I created the main theme for the game using a program called, “Bosca Ceoil.” It's an 8 bit music composition software.

I had no idea where to start. Then I started to think about the game and the essence of the game itself. It's like an 80's throwback to the post apocalyptic genre. For some reason I heard music like music I used to hear from John Carpenter movies. The soundtracks from, “Big Trouble in Little China,” “Escape From New York,” and, “They Live,” started to play in mind.

I pray that they never reboot this classic.

Once I had an idea of what sound I was going for, I started scrolling through the vast number of instruments to choose from. I then came across this instrument, and I knew I had found what I was looking for...

After I composed the magical bass line, I added drums and synth. As Much as I liked the software, I do have one critique, there's no “undo” button! There's no control 'Z'ing if you make a mistake. I discovered this after I accidentally deleted a measure in the middle of my composition. The only way to fix this mistake was to start over.

I know I said I wouldn't bore you with coding, but I couldn't help myself. When I implemented the music in the game, I coded it so when the player pushed the, 'M' button the music would start playing. Here's the problem that I didn't see coming. If the player pushed 'M' a second time, the music would start again over the original song that was already playing!

This drove me close to insanity trying to code a work-around. I'm not joking when I say I coded close to a page worth of code trying to figure this problem out. Alas, it was always the same result, anytime I pressed, 'M' a new track would start playing over the old track.

I took a break and from coding, and went outside. It was while I was outside a friend called up and we started catching up. Now, this friend knows everything about computers. In high school we took the same computer coding class so we could goof off together. He finished the entire semester of work in a day. He's now a network architect for a pretty big bank.

Anyway, I was venting about my problem and he mentioned a term, “Idempotence.” That's a computer or mathematics term that means

that certain operations can be applied multiple times without changing the result of the initial application.

Then he said, “You're over thinking it, dude. You only need two lines of code. You need to turn the music off, before you turn it on.”

So now when a player pushes, “M” the code states:

...by the way, the green type is all the code I had entered before I talked to my friend. It goes on, and on, and on.

Enter the Kass5000!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you the Kass5000!

The Origin of the Kass5000

This metal monstrosity was created by an artist who tried to stop the AN5000 by creating an even bigger robot. When questioned on why it had to be so big, the creator responded, “BECAUSE SIZE MEANS EVERYTHING!”

Sadly, after the creator turned the Kass5000 on, it turned on its creator because the creator forgot to check what its moral alignment was set to. The Kass5000's moral alignment was set to, “EVIL MURDER DEATH” and not, “STICKERS PUPPIES CUPCAKES”

Classic rookie mistake.

We added a new boss. Kass designed it and I coded it in. I didn't want the Kass5000 to have the same qualities as the AN5000, so I coded a buffer within the firing system. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll say this, “When the Kass5000 fires, take cover!”

Give it a Try!

Give the game a try and see what you think!

https://nickelndime.net/games/

*Works only on PC, Laptop, and Mac.

If you like it or don't, let me know at NickelDime06. I don't mind criticism as long as it's constructive, and not malicious or venomous.

Take it easy, but take it,

NickelNDime out!

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