⏪ Rewind Demo: Update 1.1 (✍️ Devlog 23.02.2023)

We are a few weeks into the engine switch to Cocos Creator (Version 3.7.0), the question is this:

How is the porting of the ⏪ Rewind Demo to the Cocos Engine going so far ?

It is safe to say that so far, Cocos Creator has exceeded my expectations on every front.

From the intuitiveness of the editor to the amount of development time it has actually saved, it is impressive that a lot of tasks have now been made significantly easier as a result of the engine providing all that is required to develop a project from scratch. 

Irrespective of if you are:

-  A Programmer

- A Designer

- Both Programmer and Designer (like me)

You are likely to find that the Cocos Creator truly does work with you to positively impact your project. This is especially important if you are an independent 'solo' developer, or maybe even a member of a small development team comprising of a programmer, graphic designer, and game designer. 

Which ever way you decide to look at it, the Cocos Creator is a joy to work with (at least from my first hand experiences). 

If you've used game engines like Unity3D and Godot, I'm confident that you will have no problems at all knowing what to do with Cocos Creator if you do decide to use it.

With that being stated, below is an example of the impact the Cocos Creator has had on the porting of the ⏪ Rewind Demo:

User Interface

I decided that the most efficient way to begin the porting process was to start by building all the different UI's (User Interfaces) within the game, and then augment the UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience) by using tools that have already been provided with the Cocos Creator. By doing things with way I can then later on begin to add 'PERSONALITIES' or 'ATTRIBUTES' to elements of the UI like animations and particle effects, and make improvements where necessary. 

So far I haven't been disappointed. Below is an example of how the instructions section within the demo has changed in version 1.1:

Those of you who have downloaded and played the demo will notice that in version 1.0, the instructions section consists of a series of static screens waiting for user input. Once you go forward to the next screen, you cannot go back to the previous.

In version 1.1 (shown in the video), the 'PageView' format enables the creation of a swipe-able set of instructions that allows the gamer to easily move back and forth between different elements of the instructions without leaving the scene at all. 

You will also notice that each view has different animations running within it.

The last (3rd) PageView has a button embedded within it, and which any script of my choice can be appended to it to extend the functionality (e.g. calling another scene). 

This is only one example of how the user interface changes as a result of the engine switch will impact the overall user experience in version 1.1. 

As you can imagine, gamers can expect a refresh to the screening questions too 😏:

Yes, just as you've probably already guessed, the development time savings have led to the following decisions:

Gamers can expect:

- Different screening questions to what was seen in version 1.0.

- More screening questions than the initial number proposed (5 questions were proposed). 

Gamers get more as a result of the time savings.

In conclusion, things seem to be running very smoothly and beyond expectations at the moment. 

As with any productivity tool, the more you use it, the better you become. 

With that being stated, I look forward to thoroughly learning more about the Cocos Engine (I'm learning along as they say 😎). So far I'm very impressed with the progress that has been made with the port, and I look forward to sharing further development updates with you leading up until the release of version 1.1.

Touch Paradise XXX Developer
§hadow αrts Limited (2023)