#9 - More Powerups

Games need powerups (mostly true). And a good powerup should make the player feel strong, powerful, excited.

Pickups, powerups, and loot are some of the most fun stuff for me to build and play around with in game dev. For Alienhead I have segmented out different categories of stuff that you can pickup as a player, they are :

Pickups (aka loot or perishables) These are objects that can be used up, like resources. Examples: coins, keys, bombs, HP, and a new one that refills your purple "charge" bar in the HUD. This bar is used to activate the Charge Items. (coming soon via its own post)

Pedestal Items (powerups) Theses ones give you permanent new powers and/or raise your stats. In Alienhead these items are always spawned on top of a glass-covered pedestal. They are the primary mechanism for new and powerful abilities.

Charge Items This type of item is rarer and the player can only hold one at a time. To use it, the player must have >0 in their charge bar. Each one does something different and fun.

So what do these things actually do?

• Player Sprite animation changed in the overworld

• pause screen version of the player has a new sprite overlayed

• pause screen an icon version of the item is displayed with some description text underneath if the item alters your stats (most do) those are displayed in pause screen

• finally some of the items change the appearance of your attack sprites. EG: the item Gaak makes your melee attack into a goopy poison slash

Examples:

Radioactive Isotope This one gives the player a mask and a cape, and creates an aura around that does a small amount of damage to any enemy that comes close. It also makes your projectiles irradiated (I have not yet figured out what this will mean mechanically- maybe a debuff called cancer, or tumor or something)

Digital Virtual Pet

More of a defensive item, the digital virtual pet lets you stack orbital armor each time you "feed it". Mechanically, it checks if player HP is full and if so -> when player collides with HP pickup -> create one of 3 pink pieces of armor that permanently orbit the player. This armor blocks projectiles.

Oh, and it also permanently reduces your MaxHP when you pick it up. The idea here is that it's easier for you push beyond your maxHP and get the orbitals (feed your pet) if you have a lower Max to start from. Plus I think it helps balance out the fact that the spawned armor has no cap- creating a potentially invincible situation.

Nanobots

This one does not occupy a slot on the head, body, or legs- but instead it's just passively added to you. Nanobots increase all of your stats by 1- a classic approach to a power up, akin to Meat Boy or Capricorn from Isaac. Right now the only way to get Nanobots is to help a specific NPC- looking to do more stuff like this to help push story and fill out the world.

Truffle

A bomb related item, the truffle adds more bombs to your current inventory. Plus holding the truffle gives you a new friend. This pig familiar follows you around everywhere and alerts when a secret door or box is near.

These were only a taste- there are many more powerups! Some already completed, some partially completed. Here's a preview of 9 that I have in the game currently.

Until next time.