Pouchie The Cat Alpha 0.4.25 BOSS FIX

Author Comments

NOTE: This was an emergency update, as there was a crucial bug with Boomer in past uploads of the game, that was never brought up in comments regarding the game, nor by any of my friends. If you spot an issue in the game that needs addressing, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! You might just think it's a you problem, but it could be an issue for everyone.

Welcome to Pouchie's game! He's excited to play the game and have fun. This game demo features one full level with coins to collect, enemies to squash, and a building to reach in order to end the game. All game assets are custom made as a call-back to classic platformer games, while also keeping a black and white aesthetic, which matches Pouchie's theme (pronounced P-oo-ch-ee), as he was originally inspired by the old Black and White cartoons, popularized by Fleischer Studios and that other one.

Hopefully you enjoy this small project of mine!

Find my social media here! Also feel free to donate to help support the project: https://linktr.ee/ThatElfNerd

What's new for Alpha 0.4.25:

CHECKPOINTS! You will now encounter checkpoints near the halfway point of levels. These checkpoints will allow you to respawn in their locations, instead of spawning back at the beginning of the level. The checkpoints will however reset if you either complete the level, or reach a checkpoint in another level.

OVERWORLD CHANGES! The mechanics of the overworld have been revamped. From now on, instead of having to press and hold a direction to go from one level to another, Pouchie will automatically slide from level to level whenever the appropriate button is pressed. As a bonus, Pouchie now remembers which level was selected last, so you don't have to start him all the way at the beginning anymore.

BOSS LEVEL! A few changes have been made to Boomer's room, including a door? I wonder if that door will open in the future... ;)

MUSIC! Music has been added for the Main Menus! Only a placeholder for now, but the song is the Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. Felt it was appropriate, as it's the same music I used in Pouchie's original Walk Cycle!

Bugfixes:

Fixed issue where Boomer's hitbox would disappear when Pouchie would take damage, making it impossible to defeat the boss unless it's a no-hit run

Fixed a tile that allowed mobs to enter a blocked off area in World 1-1

Changed the collision on buttons so that you don't bump into them after they're pressed.

Fixed volume issue when platform buttons get pressed

Fixed issue where touch screen buttons wouldn't allow players to select a level

Known issues:

There was feedback in the previous builds that gameplay was "too floaty" and "too robotic." I don't know if any of my changes have resolved this issue, but we'll see.

Mobile doesn't seem to work on Newgrounds. Use itchio instead: https://thatelfnerd.itch.io/pouchie-the-cat-public-demo

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WhiteBrainz

2023-02-07 22:06:45

It's been a bit! I've been off on my own game development adventures, so I figured I'd come back to check this out! A lot cool things have been implemented! Now, let me go in depth and start by talking about my old review:
PROS:
- I don't know if it was always here, but Pouchie can now run! This is very exciting, running has made the game a lot more fast paced and more careful with my movements.
- Enjoying the Jerries and more enemies! I also love the varying level designs, new challenges, platforms and gimmicks! The 1-UPs are very much appreciated too.
- Bootstrappers are now in the same style as the others, and Boomer looks good now! Last time I played, I remember he was scaled up, but now he's looking good to "boot", haha.
- Menu music is also very much appreciated, its making typing this review a lot more enjoyable!

CONS:
- I don't know if this was an issue that always happens, but I swear when I booted to Level 6, I had the health carry over from the previous stage, which confused me when I got killed in one hit.
- Speaking of Stage 6, I believe this was the one with the platforms that move fast. Pouchie had gotten stuck and unable to move on one of the platforms, it wasn't until I let go of every button that he could move again.
- The somewhat bouncy quality of enemies is still there. Sometimes it sends me flying in a direction that I do not want to go in.
- The collision on the switches had sent me hurtling into one of the abysses of the penultimate stage.

RECOMMENDATIONS?:
- I think it would be neat if Pouchie, after running long enough, is able to dash into enemies. Maybe some cartoony slapstick as he dashes into them, a cloud when the characters in those old shows would fight. Obviously not stopping movement, but a nice little callback.
- Speedrun timers! I think Pouchie has the potential to be a game that can be speedran, with the running, I found myself beating levels I've played quicker than before. Maybe a little timer up top to show how long you've taken so far!
- Cutscenes like Sonic Mania and Pizza Tower have! Between worlds in Sonic Mania's DLC, it shows how Sonic travels from world to world, setting up a story in between. Pizza Tower has an intro cutscene when Peppino is heading to the titular Pizza Tower, maybe a silent cartoon type cutscene can be done at the start to set up why Pouchie is going through these levels?

I stand by my sentiment, this is shaping up to be a really fun game! I had a lot more fun with this version than the last one I played. Looking forward to 0.5!

ThatElfNerd responds:

Hey thanks for the review! And yes, Pouchie could always run. I made sure to say what buttons do what in the controls menu! As for Pouchie's health carrying over to other levels, that is intentional. I basically treat it like Mario's power-ups, where he can return to full health if he finds Om Nom Cat Food, but if he gets hurt, he stays hurt until he finds health. I will look into level 6 however and try to re-create the issue you've faced, Pouchie getting stuck like that shouldn't be happening. I'm actually surprised by the issue with the button switches though. I thought for sure they'd disappear after you hit the switch. At least, until the timer runs out.

I probably won't add a speedrun timer to the game itself, as I find having a timer raises my anxiety, but players are free to use their own timer software when playing the game, if they feel like it adds to their gameplay fun.

I like the idea of a dash attack. I don't know if I'll add it to this game, or if it'll be in a sequel game. I do feel like it should be a powerup of some kind that Pouchie would find along the way, which would also allow players to return to older levels and see the difference in using the new attack.

Funny that you mentioned cutscenes! I just uploaded the new build of the game, the one year anniversary update, which you can check in my list of uploaded games! There are also some new features that you might want to discover for yourself!

Again, thanks for the input! It's always fun getting some inputs from people on what could be done different, and what's currently working well.

RongYuigh

2022-12-29 22:40:11

Success!

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ThatElfNerd

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Views: 392
Votes: 76
Score: 2.94 / 5.00

Uploaded: Dec 28, 2022; 8:47 PM EST

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