Matt Glanville

Switch ‘N’ Shoot - changes to Alien hazards

Here’s a little change I made last night which affects the way aliens will create hazards when they reach the bottom of the screen. Thanks to my friend Jameson for the suggestion! :)

In the previous version they continued off the bottom edge of the screen, then exploded and sent a burst of deadly red goop upwards. This would destroy your ship if you touched it.

The problem with this was that there was a delay after aliens passed you before they actually became dangerous again, and this was very difficult to keep track of. It was also a new type of hazard to learn, and while it’s not a complicated thing, it’s always good to simplify what new players have to learn wherever possible.

The new method has aliens sitting in your path for about a second before self-detonating. The hazard is much clearer (especially as you already know you shouldn’t touch the aliens), and it prevents a lot of nasty situations where you felt like you were being caught out or tricked by the game. Failing this way feels like your fault now, not the game’s.

I’ll be rolling this change out in the next build, which should be this weekend.

• Switch ‘N’ Shoot is free to download on itch.io while it’s in development.
  
• Please give it a vote on Steam Greenlight if you like the look of it!
  
• You can also follow development from me, @crowbarska on Twitter.