in , , ,

Indie Insight: Bit.Saw

Bit.Saw Gameplay 1Bit.Saw is a rage puzzle platformer by @shubshub11 that involves flipping the gravity to collect the squares (which are called “Bits”). In doing so it builds the doorway to the next level, each level is of increasing difficulty and it is sure to make you want to rip your hair out! The full version of the game contains 24 Levels which can take anywhere from 20 Seconds to 20 Minutes to beat depending on your skill level and sanity.

I played the Android version which was really great fun and I’d have probably ripped my hair out (if I had any) on level 8 when I thought the game was getting easier, only to have to get past all those lasers again!!!

It’s a great little game and only costs a dollar so grab it now, it’s perfect for killing time. You can also find it on itch.io and GameJolt.

If you’d like to hear more about the inspiration behind the game and find out more about the developer then continue reading below.

Q: Are you a full-time developer? If not, what do you do?

I am not a full-time developer, I currently study Software Engineering at Media Design School in New Zealand where I am currently learning C++ and how to make games

using that in both 3D and 2D however 2D is definitely a favored point for me

Q: What is your earliest memory of playing video games? What was your favorite?

I think my earliest memory of playing a video games is on the PlayStation 2 when I first got a hold of Kingdom Hearts by Square Enix at the time it was the only game in the series I believe and It’s definitely one of my favorite games to date if not the best game I’ve ever played, Can’t wait for the PS4 Re-Release and Kingdom Hearts 3 when that one day comes out maybe

Bit.Saw Gameplay 2Q: How did you get into game development?

As a kid playing games was definitely a wonderful moment for me However I always felt like I could do something like that one day, So I eventually started using Game Maker 7 Pro (Which was at the time the latest tool) to make simple games that nobody liked, I then kinda left Game Development alone for a few years to focus on school and stuff and returned to game development some time in 2013 when I found GameJolt and it revitalized my flame from the YoYo Games sandbox days into the stuff I do now 馃檪

Q: Is this your first game? If not, tell us briefly about your best game to date.

I’ve released roughly 30 different titles most of them are Free to Play and they can all be found on my GameJolt page (聽http://gamejolt.com/@shubshub ). However, in 2014 I made my first commercial game (Bit.Saw) and made about $50 off of it (I’d say that’s pretty decent for a very first commercial title and an unknown developer). Maybe one day I’ll make a follow up to Bit.Saw I guess only time will tell. Hopefully next month I will be releasing my new game Crawl Space in Early Access to gauge interest for it to turn it into a fully fledged game, Crawl Space is to be a puzzle game.

Q: Tell us a little about Bit.Saw and where the inspiration for the game came from.

I’ve always wanted to make a game where someone basically gave up, It was too much for them and they let the developer win so I took the difficulty of Super Meat Boy and combined it with the main mechanic of VVVVVV and out popped Bit.Saw ready to destroy sanity, The art style came from the fact that I love retro games so I went super retro and basically went with singular colors

Bit.Saw Gameplay 3Q: How many were in the team developing Bit.Saw and who are they?

Just me and the sound guy (聽https://soundcloud.com/duanix聽) That’s about it really 馃檪

Q: Why did you choose to use GM:S for this project?

I used GameMaker: Studio because that’s all I knew how to use at the time and its definitely a fun tool. Also, with its ease of use and great portability to other platforms it was definitely the best tool for the job

Q: Have you tried out GMS2? If so, how does it compare with GM:S 1.4?

I have not really tried it out yet but I plan to get it once I can afford it :), I hear its an exquisite tool.

Q: Aside from GM:S, what other software are you using?

As part of my degree in Software Engineering we are being taught C++ for both 3D and 2D Game Development however I’ve always enjoyed 2D games so I don’t think I’ll be making any large scale 3D games any time soon however only time will tell I suppose, For my art (Which I usually do all of it myself) I use Paint.NET and occasionally Photoshop, I usually outsource my music to friends as being a student I don’t really have the ability to pay full-time musicians to create music and stuff

Bit.Saw Gameplay 4Q: What does your hardware setup look-like?

Recently got a new computer in December of 2015 sporting 8GB DDR4 RAM, Core i5 3.2GHz Skylake Processor, and GTX960 with 2GB of Video Memory, Hoping to upgrade to 16GB of RAM by the end of the year and eventually maybe get a 1070 or something however I don’t really see this happening any time soon 馃檪

Q What platforms is Bit.Saw available on? Do you plan on releasing elsewhere?

Windows and Android, And no I have no plans to release it on other platforms in the near future as I am currently focusing on the last year of my degree and also iTunes is really expensive to maintain for someone that doesn’t make a lot of money 馃檪

Q: What top tip do you have for aspiring game developers getting started with GameMaker?

Drag and Drop is your friend to begin with and your Mortal Enemy later on, You don’t have to try new things in every game you make but be sure to try new things every once and a while to improve your skills and to prevent yourself from getting burned out, Something that took you 300 lines of code in one game you might find a way to literally halve the amount of code required in a future project, Also reusing old code can always be a great resource if it works perfectly or you plan to tweak it, But if you don’t rewrite things once in a while you’ll never learn anything new!

Q: What’s your favorite indie game?

Risk of Rain is a pretty decent game that’s made in GM:S, but I’d probably say Shattered Throne – which I recently got to play, which is a nice indie game throwback to the Advance Wars series on Nintendo DS (Miss that series so much :c )

Q: Would you like to add anything else?

I love to talk about Game Dev stuff on twitter as long as I’m in a good mood (Usually I am) Come follow me there show me what cool new Indie Projects you guys are working on. Maybe if I get lucky Crawl Space could end up on Steam but I have to get Greenlight first for that 馃檪 So if you like what I do definitely support Bit.Saw and hopefully you’ll see great things from me in the future! Also, a few shout outs to people Sebastian Lawe who is currently working on Project NOR for the Wii U, and all the people who’ve been testing Crawl Space so far you guys are all great, also to Liam who made the music for Bit.Saw 馃檪
END
If you’d like to check out Bit.Saw then it’s on all of your favorite platforms, grab it using any of the links below.

itch.io

GameJolt

Android version

I’d like to say a bit thank you to Chris for taking the time to answer my questions. I look forward to hearing more about Crawl Space as development progresses.

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

GameDev Behind The Scenes #1 – Making A Small Sellable Game Fast by @nmeunier

vacuous gameplay 2

Indie Insight: Vacuous