My second game, Plank Spin, is a unique casual game where you spin your plank as many times as possible while in the air to get points. This game is about precision and timing, spin too much or too little and you'll hit the barrier! Upgrade your plank to progress further!
Plank Spin can be played now in your browser! This version is not supported, and any minor bugs will not be fixed. Please still let me know (minibonzogames@gmail.com) and known bugs will be posted here.
Plank Spin was the second mobile game I made, immediately after finishing the main parts of Rolling Rush, but before testing and releasing Rolling Rush, so lessons were learned in the code development of Rolling Rush, but no lessons were learned in how to actually make the game fun to play. This was definitely the least popular game I made among my friends, and for good reason, it's a rage game, and rage games suit a very niche audience, which doesn't overlap with any of my friends. Only being able to spin the plank in one direction (so you can't correct your mistakes), and the drift/momentum system (so the plank spins further that the player wanted it to) contribute to a frustrating playing experience, with no reward. The graphics are very basic, and there are no real rewards or further experiences that other rage games have to reward dedicated players. I liked the consistent style of UI Menus that I had developed between Rolling Rush and Plank Spin, and I really enjoyed making diagrams and graphs to work out the correct range of ramp angles that would propel the plank in the desired way, while leaving room for randomisation, so the game isn't as stale as it would otherwise be. I'm disappointed that I didn't take these core game mechanics further, by adding more interesting graphics, obstacles and different platforms, which obviously would have to be accompanied by giving the player more control over the steering, which would in turn help it be less of an annoying rage game with no reward.
The playing area consists of a long white platform lined with two red walls. There are orange ramps along the platform. When the player presses play, their plank is propelled straight forwards along the platform towards the ramps, and is launched into the air upon contact with each ramp. The plank remains in the air for a period of time, during which the player can tap and hold the screen to spin the plank, scoring a point for each half rotation of the plank. The challenge is to score as many points as possible while keeping the plank in a mostly straight line, as when the plank reaches the ground, it will move in the direction it is pointing, so if the player is not careful, the plank will veer off into a wall, ending the game. To make things even harder, the plank “drifts” if the player stops spinning it before hitting the ground, so the player needs to manage this drift to keep the plank in a straight line. The player also can only spin the plank in one direction, clockwise, so they can't correct their mistakes and have to be even more careful to make sure they don't spin slightly too much.
To add a bit of variation into the game, the angles of the ramps that the player's plank is launched by is randomised each time. In hindsight, this was completely pointless and if anything just makes the game less skill-based, and hence even more rage inducing, but I did enjoy the process of working out the appropriate range of ramp angles.
The player can purchase upgrades, which make the game easier in different ways, allowing the player to reach higher scores. Orbs are the currency used to purchase upgrades, and they are awarded proportional to the number of points the player scores in their runs. There are 4 upgrades, “Spinning Speed” increases the speed that the plank spins, so you can get more spins in per launch into the air. Upgrading “Drift” decreases the amount that the plank “drifts” after the player has stopped spinning it, making it much easier to control and keep straight. Upgrading “Orb Collection” increases the number of orbs that the player is awarded per point scored in game, helping the player afford the other 3 upgrades more quickly, and finally upgrading “Gravity” reduces the gravity, giving the plank more air time per launch, allowing more spins to be possible per launch (very similar to “Spinning Speed”).
