Polo
From RevolveWiki
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| CT Spots a coin | |
| Designers | Alec Smith Shawn McHenry |
|---|---|
| Version | Build 003 |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date(s) | TBA |
| Genre | Platformer, Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
| Media | Download DVD(TBA) |
| Input methods | Keyboard, Gamepad |
Contents |
Development
The game engine was designed and built by Alec Smith, using GML. All the content in the game (Graphics, Sound Effects and Level Design) were all made by Revolve, with the exception of the music, which is composed by Tyler Walker. Polo's engine at first was a scrapped, online multiplayer co op game by Alec. The game was put on hold due to complications with writing the Online engine aspect. The game was later picked up by Shawn McHenry who made it into a Single player game, using the same graphics. Alec agreed with the project. Polo was born (Early 2008). Currently, the game is still in production. A number of open beta downloads have been released.
Releases
Listed are the various releases.
Build 003
Polo 003 Build released, nothing too special, but you will notice Upgrades and Achievements are added. Also, The resolution will change in this build. Had to do this to fix lines on our graphics / tilesets. The following Achievements have been added for this build:
- Raining Crabs - Kill a spitcrab while it is spitting
- Falling Piano - Get killed by your own pushable box
- Maybe This Time - Drown 50 times
- Fast Start - Complete Level 1 under 23 seconds
- Get Back Here - Find the short cut on level 11
- Kangaroo - Bounce on a spring 30 times
Polo version 2
Polo was created using the BlueBerry Engine which is a standard, blank canvas platform game engine. It provides fluid collision, easy sprite replacement and one way platforms providing the starting point for adding your own personal code. However, the engine was created two years ago and has become dated. Although Polo is strong in development problems have become evident and requires features that the BlueBerry Engine cannot provide with it's current code. That is why BlueBerry v2 has been in development since June 2009. Alec Smith suggested to completely restart the Polo project from scratch building from the base up a new engine designed to solve the problems early on. The original Polo will continue with development unless the new engine proves more effective.
BBEv1 Issues
Polo has many issues that need fixing a lot of which are planned to be improved in BlueBerry v2
Frame Rate
Some computers have shown slow frame rate on certain levels. It's especially evident in Industry World levels due to the large room size and the movable platform calculations. Polo should run at a smooth 60fps but sometimes this can be as low as 10fps.
Custom Keys
Although not serious issue custom Key Mapping provides a comfortable user experience. The BlueBerry Engine cannot be edited to accomodate for custom keys because the coding is buried to deep into the core system.
Poor Level Design
Beta Testers have complained that some of the levels are too difficult or too frustrating. Some of the Industry World levels have large blank areas where tiles have not been placed. Specific monsters can be over used in some areas and tedious jumping provide an unsatisfactory game experience. This can be solved with the current version of Polo.
Achievements
This is another issue where the code is buried too deep in the system to change. Achievements, bonus rounds and secret rooms will be included in the new version of Polo.
View a list of Polo Achievements for BBEv1.
Worlds
Polo consists of multiple worlds to explore each with ten levels:
* Forest World aka. Night Forest * Industry World aka. The Factory
Future worlds are still in concept stages and may or may not include:
* Ice World featuring the typical slippery surfaces, avalanches, snow balls and large shifting ice bergs. * Spooky World featuring ghosts, trap doors, castles and gravestones. * Volcano World feaured within a giant volcano.
Reception
Despite being in development, unfinished playable demonstration versions of the game have been made available to try. The control system for this unfinished version has been complained about by a number of people. Consideration of adding a Key Mapping feature has been in the works.
