39 Days to Mars is a two player co-operative puzzle-adventure game. Step into the shoes of Sir Albert Wickes and The Right Honourable Clarence Baxter, two 19th century explorers who have chosen to pilot the HMS Fearful on its maiden voyage to Mars. When the steam engine runs out of coal, the ship's cat shreds the navigation chart, and the tea gets cold, it becomes clear that interstellar transportation isn't a walk in the park. It will take the talents of two players working together on the problems that arise to get to Mars in one piece.

Post news Report RSS A Playable Puzzle and Sounds

The last few weeks have been an exciting time in the world of 39 Days to Mars. Most of the big technical hurdles were solved during the last few updates, and so this fortnight saw more content coming into the game. This includes some of the final graphics, sound effects, and a fully playable puzzle.

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The last few weeks have been an exciting time in the world of 39 Days to Mars. Most of the big technical hurdles were solved during the last few updates, and so this fortnight saw more content coming into the game.

What's new this fortnight?

Some of the final graphics are now appearing in the game. The background graphics for the underground are implemented, along with parallax to give them some depth. The graphics for the first complete puzzle are almost final, and most of the usable objects in the level have been re-drawn in their final HD resolution.


Puzzles : 2 co-op / 0 stand-alone
Objects : 9 tutorial / 8 ship

Although the number of objects in the tutorial level has dropped from last week, this isn't a bad sign. One of the stand-alone clues has now been integrated into another puzzle, chaining the gameplay together and making everything feel more like a living world and less like an assortment of stand-alone items.

Sound

Sound and Music play a critical role in establishing an atmosphere and drawing you into the game. Unfortunately, they're too often overlooked by developers, and I'm trying not to fall into this trap like I have in the past. To avoid this, I'm trying to record, license or otherwise unearth sounds for puzzles as I design them.

Here's a recording from in-game, that showcases the sound design for the first puzzle:


Although there's a slight repetition for some of the stone/sliding effects, in general I'm happy with the range of sounds and how they fit together. The only thing worse than forgetting sound effects is having completely disparate effects with no thematic consistency.

Watch this Space

For the very first time, I actually met my programming goal and got the puzzle playable! For the coming fortnight I have two things to focus on. One is to re-implement the morse code puzzle using the new event system, and the other is to get the rest of the level graphics in, with perhaps the exception of the two characters. Remember, as well as reading updates here on IndieDB, you can follow 39 Days to Mars on Facebook, Twitter, or the Official Website. And as always, if you've got questions or comments just leave them below.

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thejamesanderson
thejamesanderson

I do agree with you on the sound, it's one of the most important parts of a game IMO.

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