I Wanna B The Clock
I Wanna B The Clock!
This one was pretty interesting to say the least. What started out as Stepford and I chatting about Clock Day at 2AM spiralled into what basically amounted to a bit of a clone of StrawberryClock's very own "B: The Video Game"
When going in, we had no real concrete ideas other than it should be a clock day thing, and it should have StrawberryClock in it.
We threw ideas around about maybe doing an homage to "Dickey Mouse" or one of StrawberryClock's other early games, but ultimately decided that B: The Video Game was basic enough of a template that we could kind of do whatever with it, it'd turn out fun, and wouldn't require a lot of effort.
The Good:
I think the inclusion of the speedup mechanic (wherein after picking up a B, the game's speed increases) adds a lot to the gameplay, and encourages the player to keep collecting Bs. Progression systems like these are inherently addictive, and add a reason for players to keep collecting Bs.
Of course I couldn't talk about the game's progression system without mentioning that quick "pop" that happens whenever you collect a B: a quick white flash appears, and a clock will jump out in celebration from off-screen. This feature was inspired by Indie Pogo, an indie game crossover that I had previously worked on.
When paired with the RNG-based B placement, the random clocks can sometimes lead to a shotgun effect, with multiple clocks popping out from off-screen. In my opinion, this is what leads to a lot of the addictiveness people seem to ascribe to I Wanna B The Clock.
The Bad:
There's honestly very little I'd complain about with I Wanna B The Clock.
I think Stepford and I said it best when we finished the game up: it is the most polished turd ever created.
I think some sort of in-game B counter might have benefitted the game, but it's a double-edged sword to me...
The game is seen by a lot of people as highly addictive so leaving out a counter discourages some of the competitive aspects of it. At the same time the game does have quite a competitive scene with the Newgrounds leaderboard list. I could easily see compelling arguments for either option, but it's not something I'd mess with personally.
We threw ideas around about maybe doing an homage to "Dickey Mouse" or one of StrawberryClock's other early games, but ultimately decided that B: The Video Game was basic enough of a template that we could kind of do whatever with it, it'd turn out fun, and wouldn't require a lot of effort.
The Good:
I think the inclusion of the speedup mechanic (wherein after picking up a B, the game's speed increases) adds a lot to the gameplay, and encourages the player to keep collecting Bs. Progression systems like these are inherently addictive, and add a reason for players to keep collecting Bs.
Of course I couldn't talk about the game's progression system without mentioning that quick "pop" that happens whenever you collect a B: a quick white flash appears, and a clock will jump out in celebration from off-screen. This feature was inspired by Indie Pogo, an indie game crossover that I had previously worked on.
When paired with the RNG-based B placement, the random clocks can sometimes lead to a shotgun effect, with multiple clocks popping out from off-screen. In my opinion, this is what leads to a lot of the addictiveness people seem to ascribe to I Wanna B The Clock.
The Bad:
There's honestly very little I'd complain about with I Wanna B The Clock.
I think Stepford and I said it best when we finished the game up: it is the most polished turd ever created.
I think some sort of in-game B counter might have benefitted the game, but it's a double-edged sword to me...
The game is seen by a lot of people as highly addictive so leaving out a counter discourages some of the competitive aspects of it. At the same time the game does have quite a competitive scene with the Newgrounds leaderboard list. I could easily see compelling arguments for either option, but it's not something I'd mess with personally.
Unused Content:
There's not a whole lot here, but to start out, there's some sprites for StrawberryClock holding a gun, which he was going to use to shoot at Pube Muppet, a recurring antagonist in his animations. These pink tiles were considered before we decided to go with an abstract backdrop.
There's not a whole lot here, but to start out, there's some sprites for StrawberryClock holding a gun, which he was going to use to shoot at Pube Muppet, a recurring antagonist in his animations. These pink tiles were considered before we decided to go with an abstract backdrop.
Not entirely unused, but the StrawberryClock sprite used in the game is actually reused from some old Piconjo: Teh 6aym assets. TL;DR: with that game, I'd thought about having NES-era Final Fantasy sprites display above characters instead of using a more generic player indicator.
None of the other characters were ever implemented, neither here nor in Teh 6aym, but it's an interesting bit of trivia for those who care about that sort of thing.
None of the other characters were ever implemented, neither here nor in Teh 6aym, but it's an interesting bit of trivia for those who care about that sort of thing.
Conclusion:
I Wanna B The Clock was a fun, quick game made for shits and giggles that I think ended up being a little too addictive.
I Wanna B The Clock, while basically a glorified shitpost, does give me a lot of confidence: if I can get people to touch the letter B 3,500 times, I can't wait to see what I can do with my next project: Super SimLove Tactics (which should be my first Steam release)!
I Wanna B The Clock was a fun, quick game made for shits and giggles that I think ended up being a little too addictive.
I Wanna B The Clock, while basically a glorified shitpost, does give me a lot of confidence: if I can get people to touch the letter B 3,500 times, I can't wait to see what I can do with my next project: Super SimLove Tactics (which should be my first Steam release)!
posted by ProsciuttoMan @ August 16, 2021
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