Hop! 2D : a simple yet not-all-that-easy 2D platformer with 2 control keys !

JusTiCe8
You're right when you say some old arcade games were quite frustrating and not so much rewarding but don't forget their main goal was... to make money ! That's clearly no the point here and Hop! 2D did need a save option given the possible duration of a game (more than 2 hours for a medium player if he wants to explore every world), so I added one.

And you were right too about keeping focus on a single game, that is exactly how it turned out (and probably the most difficult thing over time when new ideas come to your mind !). Anyway, it was a very instructive lesson.

Thanks for your support, have a try and let me see your screenshots, you will be the first participant, no matter how far you go !

JusTiCe8
So I guess you beat the 1st boss, congratulations ! Any screenshot to show about this ?

You're absolutely right, saving the health state of a boss after losing a life is not very "arcade-game-standard" but I finally chose to do it (it was not the case in earlier versions of Hop! 2D) as I understood (and finally realized it myself, especially for harder bosses !) it was quite frustrating to restart a level from scratch after losing a life when the boss was about to die.

But you're definitely wrong when you say I'm too good to die ! That's mainly why I included a developer mode in the game to quickly test every aspect of it (totally unfair indeed : just a key to get extra lives, immortality, direct access to next level, all worlds unlocked and so on). But don't get me wrong, I did test the game in "real conditions" as well and sometimes lost lives when not careful enough !

JusTiCe8
Nice beginning

It seems you used EVERY second you had (0.6s later would have been too late) to pick up all 3 coins in level 12 and complete it (it seems you lost a life in a previous level but gained an extra one with the 20th coin collected). Hopefully you will get further soon !

If you want to replay a level, you can save your game at the end of the previous level (SAVE GAME choice in your screenshot, you may use different slots if you want to save several ones) and reload it from the CAMPAIGN menu (LOAD GAME choice).

About secret codes, only one word to say : explore, explore, explore ! If you manage to find the secrets #1 and #3, for example, it means that the code of secret #2 is somewhere to be found between the levels where you found the codes of the 2 other secrets.

To switch on a monitor, just touch it (maybe I should add this in the HELP menu), it often takes a bit of dexterity to reach it.

One last thing : if you use the F12 key in a downloaded version of the game (by the way, what's your OS ?), you will directly save a PNG screenshot in its root directory (I used it a lot during tests and to grow my game gallery). At the end of any game (when you lose your last life), an automatic screenshot is saved (also in the game root directory).

Hope that helps !

Now that the game is made, I play it a bit every day in order to seek possible remaining bugs and improving my best times without paying too much attention to coins. One of my best time improvements was this one in level 39 (sorry, it's in french).

As I said in a previous post, there will be future updates of Hop! 2D and the next one (probably in 2 months) will include my new best level times (I improved 9 of them since the release of version 1.0, in worlds 3 & 4). I was also thinking about a reward for beating my own times. What do think of it and what do you suggest ? (extra life, etc.).

I will soon make new videos about Hop! 2D. I thought about an updated walkthrough of the first 3 worlds and a collection of my best speedruns.

Fell free to post your own screenshots (F12 in the game), the contest is going on !

JusTiCe8
Prizes ? A new RECORDS sub-menu in the main menu of the game will sum up current records of the best players in future updates (top level reached, best level times, etc.), same thing in DETAILED CREDITS if you reach the end of the game and a big PDF game book I'm currently working on as a present.

By the way, I started a list of what next update could bring to the game (to be discussed) :

• more detailed look for some bosses (already started)
• new RECORDS button in main menu to sum up best players' current records
• new RESTART button at the end of each level (if the player feels he could have done it better)
• 2 extra lives if the player's level time is better than mine

fi-le
Yes, it took me a while ! Hope you like the game the way it has become today
The top level contest has started, so if you want to become the new leader, you will have to reach at least level 22 !

JusTiCe8
This result came recently from another forum.

I will now update this post each time (or I may start another topic).
Saving games is allowed, of course, if you want to go far in the game.

For speedrun amateurs, here's one video (in fact several videos stuck together) that sums up all my best level times in world 1 of Hop! 2D. During the recordings, I even managed to improve my times for level 5, 8 (by almost 1s !) and 10.

JusTiCe8
Well done, world 3 is close at hand and you are only 2 levels from the current record hold by Pulse !

If you want to control Hop accurately (for example to avoid touching a laser gate after a jump like on your screenshot), you have to practise your "braking" : one direction to build momentum before jump, then the opposite one to not go too far. It's a important key to success. Once you're safe next to the orange laser, the level is nearly over as the last task is to shoot the boss before joining your girlfriend. And don't forget you can save your game at the end of any level (the 19th one may be a good idea !).

Hold on, I'm sure you will enjoy trampolines in next world !