[Basic Level Blocking] Simple Parkour DevLog

DevLog #3: Basic Level Blocking

Welcome to DevLog #3, where things are starting to feel a bit more like a real game. This week’s main focus was level blocking — or in simpler terms, actually building something for the player to move through besides an empty floor. I wanted to test how movement felt in a real environment, so I went ahead and made a small level.

The level currently plays out kind of like a maze, starting in the bottom left corner and ending in the top right. There’s no fancy art yet, but it’s already giving me a good feel for how the movement mechanics hold up when you have to actually use them.

Now then, lets dive into the juicy stuff.

This is the end section of the maze like parkour room.

This section demonstrates how all the current movement mechanics can be used together to pass certain obstacles.

It looks great... but not everything went smoothly.

So… I may have accidentally left out the cooldown on the dash. The result? Infinite midair dashing. I like to think of it as “experimental parkour flight,” but it’s definitely getting patched... Let's break down what happened.

Really it was a simple coding mistake, since this game is being developed with controller support, when adding a dash button I wrote this line of code: 

*not actual code* ( || = OR, && = and )

if ( keyboard dash is pressed || controller dash is pressed && can dash)

This line has a silly mistake in that the "can dash" only applies to the controller dash button, resulting in what you see above with infinite flight.

New Additions This Week:

First blocked-out level with start and end goal.

Designed to flow like a maze: start bottom-left, finish top-right.

Sections farcing you to use all movement mechanics.

New ability to dash!

“Oops” bug with dash having no cooldown — currently lets you fly. Definitely not intentional…

Feedback From Testing:

Positive:

Movement feels clean even in the larger world.

"It felt rewarding to finally finish the level after struggling." I am very pleased this was the case.

Possible Improvements:

"The lack of coyote time is definitely noticeable" and because the floor detection of the character doesn't reach the corners of its box ( ),  players find themselves having to jump a lot earlier than expecting.

Some people found it too hard, some found it too easy. [Author Note: I'm thinking of creating multiple paths so you can enjoy the game regardless of skill level.]

"Left shift for dash feels strange, maybe change/have another button for dash." being an ability you often need to use with precision it makes sense. [Author Note: Will add right shift as dash for next update.]

Wanted Additions:

"Ability to wall jump." [ Author Note: Don't worry, its on its way ; )]

"Ability to look down." Definitely something to think about!

What's Next?:

Some ideas to expand on next time:

Add the dash cooldown (seriously).

Start designing micro-challenges within the level.

Introduce the first checkpoint mechanic?

Maybe add early visual tests for spikes/saws?

References:

None.