thoughts on the bitsy 8.0 beta

-Allow people to make conditions with blocks code like "on overlaps sprite 2 destroy" and much more of those things.          -you need MUCH MUCH more actions

-sounds and music

-not just 1 animation

-custom events

-camera follow

-custom key bindings

-gravity, jump, and cutscenes

I would LOVE more easily embedded accessibility features. Off the top of my head: 

• colorblind visualizations - you could show how different palettes could look different to different people and then design accordingly.
• to translate these games to blind games, you could have the ability to add sounds for walls, items and have text to speech.
• for dyslexia you can opt for the open-dyslexic font instead of the classic low bit fonts (I know, I love the standard font too but it'll be good to have the option!)

I love the work you're doing!

> what would you like to see in a module/extension system for bitsy?

I would absolutely love love love love love love love even something as simple as a textarea input where you can paste in Javascript and have the module/extension apply to the in-browser test. (This is how Twine approaches custom javascript: there's just a textarea where your code can be pasted in.) That's far and away my most desired feature for a new Bitsy version.

Beyond that, having checkboxes to include the mods collected at seleb/bitsy-hacks would be incredible. I want to try wild things with Bitsy, but the process of having to download a game, paste in the mod code, test it locally and then make edits in-browser is a killer when it comes to trying to experiment. 

Thank you so much! I'm super excited to hear you're working on a module/extension system!!

Nice to hear about updates!

I had a note to say about a small thing that happened with me and bitsy. I've been using for a long while and I got used to only using the coding screen for dialogue. This later made it so that I forgot how to use the regular dialogue menu and could not explain it to newcomers of bitsy. I wonder if there was some sort of way to merge the dialogue "coding" to a single system usable by both newcomers and coders that is easy to use and understand.

For example in the game making engine Stencyl they have a code block system that makes it easier for newbies to code by making it easier to visually see it in terms of these blocks that snap together. They also have a customizable blocks, so coders can write their own blocks. Those, I think, are also something easy that newcomers can import and understand how to use. They just copy in code into the customizable code block, then they insert that code block as they would any other code block piece.

It would be nice if bitsy could have a basic system, but also more advanced coding done in a way that was also accessible to newcomers. But maybe that is what your module system is aiming to do already?

I think this is a good step. Extensions are a feature that I would really look forward to, I know I've expressed this in the past. I also know Sean has does some work creating test coverage for the current version of the scripting language, and I wonder if that may be necessary to keep it in working order as it grows. Might be worth checking with him to see if that could be easily integrated into your existing workflow.

Modules would be amazing! I'm using borksy to bring some functions in there (3D, colors, music,..!), but it's never really easy to share games created with that method.

If you haven’t looked at GB Studio, it’s a great example of how to keep interactive stuff very simple and approachable for beginners. The interface is very visual and intuitive and things like variables are handled with drop-down menus rather than an open ended scripting text box like most engines. As someone who has struggled to learn complex systems like Unity, GB Studio was a perfect engine to graduate to from after reaching the limits of Bitsy.

The main reason I like Bitsy so much is because it is easy to pick up and learn. Someone can make a great game without learning anything about writing code, just using the visual tools. This is why I teach workshops on it - so many game workshops focus on code, and I want to instead focus on design. Having constraints can seem limiting, but designers deal with constraints all the time, and it often has the effect of encouraging creativity. Bitsy games are often small treasures where clever people figure out how to do stuff.

I would add the comment of adding in audio and even rudimentary speech support, but make sure it is done in a way that makes it easy to manage, and still works on anything that has a web browser. Instead of digital audio files, maybe have a simple midi playback engine that embeds the code into the HTML output. For novice users, managing external audio files with Bitsy can be a little confusing, so don't make that situation worse. Self-contained HTML output/input is one of Bitsy's killer features.

Modularity is tempting, but don't sacrifice simplicity. Bitsy strikes a nice balance now.

Mosi is really good with interactive and dynamic stuff. I used it to make a game because Bitsy was a little too limited for what I wanted to do at the time

I would really like to see music add-on where you can select the types of music files you have (.mp3, .ceol, .wav, etc.) so you could add tracks to rooms and perhaps even when you have an item?

I would also love to see a bit of module-ing of the painting module, due to if you have a lot of different areas in the game you have a lot to scroll through. So perhaps adding a little "file" button would be nice to where you could put some paintings in files that are right for you! (and possibly a "mother" file that still has everything there for you).

Also adding in a "shortcut" module that would allow you to do short cuts, like being able to right-click while painting in a room to select the block that you were painting over. There could easily be other shortcuts added too.

Sadly I don't know much other game making engines,the closest thing I know about and used a bit is "Minecraft World Painter" and "Valve Hammer Editor" (which hammer is really not known for user friendliness) so I sadly don't have something interesting for you to look at.

-however, if you really want stuff to do with the dialog boxes to make it easier. Making the areas between them greater, or add a small button under them, I say this due to me not realizing you could add more dialog in the shuffle forever.

I didn't get a chance to participate in the beta so I don't know if any of this is addressed or planned, but I have some thoughts.

Some way to visualize multiple rooms at once, so that I can more directly see where my exits and endings are leading the player would be really useful. Yeah, this is already shown in the endings and exits tab, but being able to see multiple rooms, even if it was just a few at a time, would be very useful to a person like me who sometimes has a hard time visually connecting things in rooms I'm no longer looking at. Kind of as an extension to this: the ability to "stack" bitsy windows might be useful in this regard. Instead of just placing colors next to paint, next to the room editor, etc, you could put paint underneath colors or have download tool resting over the game data window. This kind of organizational grid setup would allow users to further customize their bitsy workflow and, for me anyway, would limit the amount of time I spend opening and closing tools and manipulating a scroll bar.

Finally, dark mode please. I am a vampire. The cozy blue background is very nice, but sometimes causes me eye strain.

Maybe these things fall more in line with a module/extension that someone could make later on, but I figured it doesn't hurt to ask!

Keep up the incredible work. I legitimately don't think I'd have gotten as passionate about making things again if it weren't for bitsy. I'm very excited for whatever the future holds for this project.

• do you have any recommendations of small game engines that have a friendly or novel approach to adding interactive or dynamic stuff?

Not exactly a small engine, but I've always been a fan of the event pages in RPG Maker. I keep waiting for some other game engine to steal that concept.

I love this devlog thingy, keep going. I think a module system would be great as I do not get these hacks at all but I have no idea how one could be designed

Hey Adam,

Thanks for update,

I discovered Bitsy as I was looking for a game jam to do this week. I was instantly drawn to the look of the games.

I was looking for something to make Zx Spectrum, MSX, C64 style games. The simplicity is genius!

After a few days I came across the features in the dialogue panel - the lock button & branching lists are so clever.I submitted to the “Sea Folk” jam this week, and I have to say how much fun Bitsy is to use! So simple and creative 👍

It’s great to hear you are working on new features.

My suggestion for a module would be a very simple SFX for basic things like footsteps and incidental sounds.

I used the text gibberish (animal crossing style) hack on my final version of my “Lost Harbor” game, which added a bit extra to the experience.

Keep up the good work, Bitsy is really great 😉 My new fave way to make games!

Matt

excited to see how it goes! I think optional modules or extensions is a good way too allow complexity for people who want it without making it too overwhelming at first.

incredible work, sort rooms by name, room map, a drag tool to spread exits instead of one by one, sound feature, but overall its already incredible thanks for spreading that great tool, your yellow submarine game is really inspiring too!