I have updated the build on the website. You now have a little title screen that doesn't actually have a title on it yet but there's a button to press to start the game. Doesn't sound very impressive but I think I only had one other game project with any sort of title screen before and none with any real buttons support.
Oh, and the current build has the vertical wrap around removed forcing a player to do more climbing through the maze. As I mention below, I think I'm going to have the vertical wrap around is going to be a difficulty option.
Latest build here (it's still a little rough around the edges).
Some general instructions can be found here.
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(from 2012-04-10 dev notes)
I Watched my 5 y/o nephew Thomas play a round of Egg Hunt for awhile on Easter Sunday and it was cool that he said he liked it. It was interesting to watch him play and clearly there's a few things that I need to look into making the game a little more playable for younger people even though he's in a bit younger of an audience than I was aiming for.
I definitely need to have some difficulty setting. He quickly got stuck at the bottom of the world and had a hard time getting out of an area. I think after awhile he would've gotten the hang of the controls more and eventually be able to have become unstuck on his own but I wonder about frustration level. At what point does someone loose interest and just give up? The other side of that though is what I asked before. Why would someone bother trying to learn to ascend through the maze if all he has to do is fall? But then again, I suppose ultimately they have to climb a little. It's unlikely that you can complete a game without jumping. (Is that another badge?)
I'm also thinking that I need a setting for the maze size. Looking at my nephew and knowing the size of the maze, it just felt way too big for him and I have a hard time imagining him finding 5 eggs in that big a maze. I also have a hard time seeing him using the tail pointer effectively. So I'm thinking options for a smaller maze is the way to go. One where you're not aimlessly wandering for hours like I was in the early days.
Other than that I think I still want to do something with the sleeping flowers. Thomas got a kick out of seeing the snark take a nap but I'm sure the novelty would wear off eventually. I do still think a map of some kind might be the way to go.
His positive reaction has revitalized me a bit and makes me want to get back to work on this thing. Logically the next step is the opening menu and settings screen. I can't help but wonder a bit about trying to get this thing to a smart phone. I think control wise simply pressing on the screen to the right or left might work for movement and upward flicks for jumps. Perhaps little icons on the side to eat or spit. I'd have to see what works but it seems plausible. Thomas' issue with playing Angry Birds later on was that he kept hitting the function buttons on the bottom of my phone. I may want to think about that.
