DE '22
Can you jump your way through the construction zone to reclaim all of DE's bananas?
| A C T I O N | GameBoy | Keyboard |
| Jump / Charge Jump / Confirm | A | Z |
| Helmet / Cancel | B | X |
| Move | D - Pad | Arrow Keys |
| Confirm | START | Enter (Return) |
Go through all 3 levels and collect all of the Bananas for a special reward!
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Download the rom file to play on real hardware or an emulator!
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Note: DE '22 is a GameBoy Color exclusive. It will not work on a DMG or MGB GameBoy.
Download
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lovely made!
Hey Eric. I have a question. Me and couple other people on reddit create QR Code games for Homebrewed 3DS and we'd like to ask if its ok if we make your DE 22 game into a QR code to post on our subreddit. We will for sure credit you in the post and also post a link to this page so people can donate to you! Let us know if its ok!
Is it possible for the file to work as an injected GBC VC game on the 3DS?
Yes! It is a bonafide GBC ROM and should run the exact same as any other GB/C ROM on the console.
Nice. Thanks for answering.
Charming! Nice work
Much appreciated! Thank you for playing.
A fun traditional platformer.
It bears a striking resemblance to the classic "Donkey Kong". Unlike its original adaptation to the Game boy, this game maintains the traditional formula, where all that is required is skill in the attempts.
Even so, the game remained creative, creating several mechanics that made the levels unique and challenging. Bananas for example, one of its collectibles, demonstrate the real challenge behind the level design. Chasing them is not easy at all, you need skill in precise jumps.
The other example is the "jackhammer" which completely changes mechanics and physics. It's easily my favorite thing, its physics are accurate, making it fun to control. The only thing I found bad was the jump time. I played a few times in places where I couldn't play sound, so nothing signaled the jump time. Maybe just making the animation slower would be good, so you could count the number of times he blinks before jumping, but I don't think it was possible in GB Studio at the time.
When I finally reached the last level, it was a surprise. I really liked how it was introduced, and the fact that the level changed during battle was visually impressive.
I only had a few bugs related to the game. I believe some of it is related to the GB Studio 2.0 version.
The least relevant was when I died after being hit by a can, right after respawning the character did a death animation, but no lives were taken.
What bothered me most was in the level where I got the 'jackhammer', I was finishing the level when the character didn't respond to the jump button or take damage. This caused me a soft reset.
All in all, I really enjoyed every second of the game (minus the soft reset part, I still want those lifes back), it's a game with great design and polish. I certainly would have become interested in GB Studio sooner if I had seen projects like this at the time. GB Studio has improved a lot, but even with its limits, games like this show how a good game concept can work in any circumstance.
Now I have to get the rest of the bananas, unfortunately I left one behind on the last level.
Thank you so much for your engagement with the game! It is NOT an easy game, especially when going for all of the bananas so I'm happy to hear that you were invested in it.
The glitches that occur are, as far as I know, related to the GBS 2 Beta 5 engine as opposed to a logic issue in the scripts. Many OnUpdate scripts are used simultaneously for enemies, camera, and other things. I believe that in running so many, some events are either skipped or even overloaded in the RAM. So while the logic is good, the design does not make the proper accommodations for this, though there was certainly attempts! Level 3 is actually a good bit different because the original layout triggered these glitches far more easily. However, it was still not enough to be totally glitch-free.
That being said, I had a blast getting all that I could out of the engine (even if I pushed a little too hard) and who knows? Now that GBS 3 is out and has all of its great features, it could be a good time to build out a game closer to the original plans.
Thank you again for playing and for your thoughtful post! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed :D
Here is my tribute to your game... :)
Reverse donkey Kong?
The game is inspired by Donkey Kong (with the first level layout acting as an homage) amongst other gorilla-based media (for example, King Kong, one of the inspirations of Donkey Kong
). Ultimately though, its inspirations are from a variety of long-term interests of mine (such as construction gear)! And believe it or not, the name "DE" is NOT actually derived from "DK" but rather a different past project of mine.Slower tank-like controls were something I thought were fun when done right so I tried my hand at building a game with it. The use of a gorilla as the player sprite is in hopes that the player inherently has an understanding of the character's weight and heft.
In the arcade Donkey Kong, DK is at the top and is very menacing. I didn't have the ability to make a big bad guy stationed at the top of the screen (though I wanted to have one to indicate where the enemies are coming from) so I opted for the construction crane since it required stationary imagery as opposed to a large animated sprite.
The slow controls and sprite limitations (including hit-box limitations) made perfect sense to have a gorilla be the playable character navigating a construction zone run by the tiny fellow. So it was from these (and a few other) design decisions that the "reverse Donkey Kong" feel formed!
oh I have to download and try this! I love the artwork!
Thank you for the kind words!
This is my biggest game dev effort to date. I tried to really push what I could do in GBS 2b5. I might've pushed it a bit unreasonably far because in some cases combined mechanics can cause low level glitches. I'm planning on phasing them out in an update soon!
A masterclass in how to develop games with GB Studio. Style, graphics, simple music, and an addictive gameplay formula equate to one of the best demos I've ever played. Check it out now and go get your 🍌🍌🍌 back!
Coming from a skilled GBS developer, that means a lot! Thank you for the good review, I'm glad you enjoyed :)
The whole game, even if it is based on Donkey Kong, is very good and enjoyable. The graphics are exactly what a GBC game should be. Really demanding and nice work.
That is much appreciated, thank you :)
I see you really know your stuff when it comes to making elements of an older game come alive on a new(er) system! It's very impressive to see what you're doing with the Commodore 64 ports.
While I personally haven't experienced C64 outside of emulation, I do have an original C64 monitor that I've used extensively for any and all retro hardware (mainly NES, SNES, and N64).
Thank you again for your interest!
this game is fun! there could be some improvements, like the music. i feel likes its too simple.
Thank you!
The music was purposely made to be a single part repeating phrase as a sort of carrying the torch of arcade games before it.
The music at the end and in some additional post-game unlockables includes more modern multi-track compositions which I will likely discuss in a behind-the-scenes video about this game.
You'll do a behind-the-scenes?? sheesh I'll love watching it!
Cool! I'll make an announce if I end up putting one out.
Well, I have to say it kinda pisses me when I'm stuck at the "scene moving up" and the barrels still hit you. Otherwise from that, the game is great, and gave me wreck it ralph vibes.
Sorry to hear that - what level in specific did this happen? There is a known glitch on level 2 that prevents the camera from moving unless you go down the ladder and back up again, but I'm not sure which part you're talking about. There should be no point where the player is unable to see/react to an enemy.
Thank you for the kind words. Wreck-It-Ralph was also created as an homage to arcade platformers (mainly the original Donkey Kong arcade game) so, while I haven't thought about that myself, it's fitting to see a similarity.
Actually I was talking about level 2's last "corridor", since the path the barrels take there is so short and they respawn very fast, I was dying by basically going up the ladder when the screen was going up.
I played the game today and reached level 3 yay, but it is so much harder I have to say.
Now that I've played the game more I guess I can give a better feedback.
The game itself nails the arcade thematic, it's too bad that gbc doesn't have vibrant colors, that would make the game even better.
The art is amazing, loved how you did the cutscenes, and the player character is so cute.
Obviously since it is arcade the game is made to be unforgiving, but I kinda felt like "loosing progress" at level 3, since I died a lot at the start until I nailed the mechanics, at level 3 we are introduced to a new mechanic, on which I died to the same barrel 4 times (like I got to there 4 times, only to get the new mechanic and keep dying to the same barrel).
And the songs are nice, but the sound effects are amazing, if I thing about every other gbs game, I think you're the best at it.
Ps - I got to the middle of level 3
Thank you, I'm glad to hear that you picked it up again and made more progress.
I see what you are talking about with level 2. It is tricky and requires some fast reactions, but if the game is running correctly with no bugs/glitches, then the barrels at the top should always be visible before going on the ladder to the last camera position. It'll take quick jumping, but following the patterns/timing of the barrels will help.
The combination of the barrels and the jackhammer on level 3 seem to be overloading the GBC and cause scripts to stop running (I don't know the technical side behind it, all I know is that asking the system to do all of that causes glitches later on that are unrelated to scripted events). So I'm considering removing it in the next version update and perhaps making some of that a bit easier as well. Congratulations though on making it that far, level 3 is certainly the hardest!
Also, GBC colors are (in my experience) wildly varied depending on how it's emulated/what the display is. For example, a factory-original GBC screen is much less vivid in color compared to my IPS-backlit modded GBC which seems to display a greater saturation. Additionally, an emulator like bgb on Windows has a lighter color display than OpenEmu on Mac OS.
Yeah I agree completely, indeed quick jumping is necessary at that part.
About the jackhammer, maybe the scene overloads bc the scene itself is filled with scripts. Ofc I don't know what causes it, but maybe you should consider testing this in a "blank" scene w only the jackhammer and the barrels to see if it's really this mix that causes bugs.
And yo I didn't knew that different gbc models displayed different color shades, guess from now on, I'll only play these games at the emulator. If there is one thing I love in a game, is very saturated colors.
And yeah I guess that's basically it, thanks for the talk, keep making games, and at the meantime I'm awaiting your video
To be honest, it's one of the best GB homebrew games I've played in my entire life. I love the cutscenes, the artwork, the font...
The only thing that I think could be improved is the intro song, it only uses one channel, maybe you could add a little bassline or a very soft White Noise H in the fourth channel to make a quiet drumline, for example:![]()
C-4 28 - - C15
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I would love to see another version with more levels in the future.
Thank you, that's a big compliment :)
Thank you for the suggestion; I thought about doing a two part arrangement for the title screen, but I ultimately I thought it'd be best to keep it simple.
How far have you gotten in the game? Have you found all the bananas? Any secrets (if so, please refrain from identifying which in order to keep the secret for those reading)?
I'm not too good at playing videogames, I'm in the second level. I think I haven't found any secrets...
Out of appreciation for the grueling challenge of platformers before it, I designed this game to be very challenging, so it's understandable to have some trouble with it.
The heavy controls are meant to encourage strategy over dexterity, and the secrets are a natural evolution of that sort of gameplay mindset.
I plan to make a behind-the-scenes video in the future that shows off how I designed it so if it's too much a challenge now, the full game will be shown in that video!
Great work, I love the art and cut scenes. I enjoyed playing it and watching the cut scenes. Nicely paced. Level 2 seems a bit buggy. I got to the ladders on the second level and the camera didn’t scroll up. Perhaps the player sprite from side view could have thinner arms and more expression (Just a small thing).
Thank you!
Unfortunately, I don't know of a solution to the level 2 camera glitch (other than going down the ladder briefly and back up). For some reason, it seems to not carry through on the move-camera event. You'll notice that when this happens, the bottom half of the construction sign on the left disappears. This is a part of the script meant to hide it from covering up the HUD once the camera is in place.
Since the move-camera event doesn't always register, I added an additional copy of the event in the script AFTER the construction-sign-hide event and that won't be registered either when the glitch happens.
I don't believe any other actors are interacting with the camera controller actor so I don't know why this happens sometimes.
For the player sprite, I wanted to emphasize the size of his frame to give the impression of him being larger and (most importantly to the control) more heavy. I've tried different styles but this size of arm in combination with the smile fit the best in terms of representing the character visually and conveying a sense of a large heavy character to be fitting to the feel of the controls.
Thanks for the reply Eric, it’s really interesting to hear your experiances and thoughts on your creative choices. It’s strange about the bug isn’t it? I did resolve it exactly as you described. I included this game in my “Platformers” collection.
Happy to write back, thank you for playing and sharing your thoughts!
And thank you, that's appreciated :)
Amazing cut scenes! And a really fun game!
Thank you!!
I followed you for a while on Instagram but I'm still surprised how much detail has been put into this.
The cutscenes are beautiful. The gameplay is like a "Donkey Kong Deluxe" with that nice twist of being able to use the helmet. The sprites and levels are very well made too.
I haven't played through the whole game yet since I want to wait for my Analogue Pocket to arrive to play it there but I couldn't resist trying out a few levels and I'm in love with this game already. Even the intro and title screen... amazing!
Just one tip for a potential update: Would be cool if you could pause the game with START.
Also two questions:
Greetings from Germany
Tarik
This was made in GB Studio 2beta5 but there is a build of that now available that allows you to export .pocket files.
Here it is Mack: https://github.com/BestPig/gb-studio#analogue-pocket-export
I will say from experience, that while it is hard to migrate a project to GBS3.0, the recent update has made it somewhat more efficient. The hitboxes in this game could benefit from the GBS3.0 treatment as you can adjust them rather than having a fixed 16x16 pixel hitbox. Its extra work but I feel this game is worth the effort, it's such a good example of what GB Studio can achieve!
On GBC exclusive content, you can change the file extension to .gbc but also it's a good idea to have an IF COLOR MODE ENABLED == flase, send the player to a scene that tells them this game is intended for GBC only. That's what I did on Cupid to make sure.
Thank you for the link! I will look into doing that since I know a lot of people are eager to try it on the AP. Though, I do have a lot of custom engine mods so it might be a bit tricky.
I looked into migration into 3.0 and for the same reason of custom engine mods, I'm pretty weary of it. The custom hitbox size would be a gamechanger (literally), but since I've designed this with the 16 pixel in mind, I honestly don't think I'd them.
In regards to the GBC exclusive content, you can see in my reply to N8Master that I've got a custom screen setup for that! It was a lot of fun making that one :)
Thank you for the kind words Tarik!
I'll have to dive into that 2b5 engine that GumpyFunction mentioned. If all goes well, I'm looking to a sort of second-launch on Friday the 25th for the Analogue Pocket version! I'll notify you as soon as it's ready :)
As far as adding a pause feature, I thought about that, especially for a certain unlockable game mode, but I'm afraid it could cause some serious bugs. It uses scene stacking and restoration which proved to be an issue in earlier builds (speaking of which, the most current build is v1.0.3 so I suggest downloading that if you want the latest GBC rom!)
Lastly, the file is .gb because is technically can be loaded on a DMG or MGB GameBoy. The CPU of the GBC is twice as fast however, so it's really too slow on the ole' DMG brick to actually be any fun (there's also palette issues that would require a visual redesign for a DMG version). Anyway, like GumpyFunction mentioned, you can implement a "Requires GameBoy Color" screen that shows when loading on an original GameBoy so that's what I did.
Thanks for the fast reply.
Sounds good. I'll be sure to keep an eye on what's going on here. :)
Again: Really nice game!
Much appreciated, thank you :
Absolutely lovely artwork and palette choices in the cutscenes. And the care and attention to the minor moments inbetween game play, camera movements, quirky animation and such, makes this very much feel like a true homage to Donkey Kong '94 and Japanese Game Boy games in general. It's great to see this level of thought, consideration and polish go into not only the gameplay but all the bells and whistles that make gaming on the GB exciting. Really fantastic work.
Thank you so much :)
Coming from the creator of Cupid and In the Dark, that means a lot! GB Studio has been a fantastic resource for me to tackle development from all angles so it's nice to hear that it connects.