Added the enemies and prepared the game for shipping

Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish all 5 games. But the second game is finished!!

It is when Wario gets puffed up like a balloon he has to float up and dodge the bees or he will get popped and fall to the ground.

I am yet to make readme but then I’ll ship!!!

Devlog Update Finished the environment for the 2nd Minigame

Took a really long time, the tower length is pretty big, lots of different decorations.

I am yet to add spikes, just started adding enemies moving left to right, to be continued!

Devlog Update: Wario Land Mechanics & Microgame #2!

Have you ever wondered what happens to Wario when he gets stung by a bee in the classic games? He inflates into a massive, round balloon! He gets so hilariously huge that he loses his regular platforming abilities and starts floating automatically.

That exact mechanic is the core inspiration behind my second minigame!

The Concept: Excretion Propulsion

Instead of your standard top-down or platforming setup, players have to navigate a panicked survival challenge while completely inflated:

• The Movement: Wario floats upward automatically. To move horizontally, you have to blast him sideways by burping out of one side or farting out of the other!
• The Objective: Pilot Wario’s massive balloon collision box through tight corridors and narrow vertical alleys before the clock hits zero.

What have I been upto so far?

• Custom Physics & Input: The funny burp/fart thrust logic is fully operational.
• Environmental Hazards: Industrial fans are officially placed and working as expected! They generate continuous wind forces that push Wario across the map.
• Visual Juice: The fan blades actually rotate dynamically, and I’ve added custom wind particles to show the direction of the draft.

Next Steps

The core engine code and character states are working beautifully. Now it’s all down to the physical level design. I need to finish constructing the full layout maps, adding hazards like spikes, and coding the closing walls for the higher difficulty tiers.

I’m aiming to have the full map layouts completed (or very close to it) by tomorrow!

Check out the screenshots below, seeing this vintage GBC puffed Wario rocket around the screen with gas clouds is absolutely hilarious!

Found the wario sprites and wind particles here https://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_advance/wl4/asset/1577/
https://nyknck.itch.io/wind

(I added the farts, burps, fans myself using this free sprite editor https://www.piskelapp.com)

Working on a new minigame (2)… TEASER: Wario won’t be collecting coins on the floor, nonono… hint: What happens to Wario when he gets stung by a bee? I’ll put a proper devlog of the 2nd minigame soon…

Guys just finished making the whole of level 1, it took a very long time very very early in the morning, not going to bother making my devlog pretty. I made smooth UI for win and death screens, its like a panel that slides UP/DOWN. Wario can now collect coins + I added a coin counter, + even an autoload high score save system so even if you close the game your score will be saved on disk, so the score will still be there. I added some camera juice, the screen shakes. S

Wario Cave Escape Devlog: Health, Damage, and Dramatic Falls!

The project is actually moving pretty fast and the main game is finally coming together. Wario isn’t just walking around an empty cave anymore, things can actually hurt him now lol. Losing has a pretty funny retro death animation too.

Garlic for Health & Enemy Attacks

The enemies actually attack now instead of just pacing back and forth. I got their hitboxes and attack animations working so they rush Wario on sight.
For health, I made a garlic system since that’s his favorite food. So instead of basic hearts, you have garlic bulbs at the top of the screen. Also added i-frames (invincibility frames) so if you get stuck against a wall you don’t just instantly die. Your sprite flashes and you get a second to run away.

Classic Mario ahh Death Animation

If you lose all your garlic or the timer hits zero, you get a dramatic death sequence like in classic Mario games:

1. Wario freezes and plays a shocked hurt frame.
2. The camera locks in place and stops following him.
3. His collision turns off, he flies up into the air, and then drops straight down off the screen.

Fixing the coins and next steps

I did have a problem with the collectibles. I originally put all the gold coins directly into the TileMapLayer, but that made it super annoying to do individual pickups, animations, and sound effects.
So the plan is to move them out of the TileMap and rewrite them as separate 2D sprites with an Area2D trigger. Once that’s done I’ll make a UI counter to track how many you grabbed.

When To Release?

The first game is lowkey almost ready to ship. Here is what I have left to do:
• Finish moving the coins to separate sprites
• Make the Win and Game Over screens
• Add SFX (jumping, getting hit, collecting coins)
Since I’m getting way better at the engine syntax, I might actually turn this cave escape into just one of many minigames for a bigger Wario series later on.

Wario Cave Escape Game: What I’ve Built So Far!

Title Screen & The “Squish” Entry

The game kicks off with a classic arcade-style main menu featuring a custom retro logo. But instead of just a boring fade-in, I added a super dynamic entry sequence. Wario actually drops into the screen and squishes the letters of the title logo, warping and flattening them like a cartoon accordion before they snap into place! Clicking Start Game instantly drops you right into the level, while Exit closes the game window smoothly.

Cave Environment & Visual Depth

The level itself is a retro-inspired underground cave filled with winding stone tunnels, platforms, a massive waterfall on the left, and a dangerous pit of boiling hot lava at the bottom.

• The Background Trick: Instead of wasting file size on separate dark artwork for the background, I used a clever color filter over the interior tunnel walls. By dropping the brightness filter down to a dark charcoal color, the light grey stone blocks transform into deep, moody shadows. This makes the foreground platforms, Wario, and hazards pop off the screen beautifully.

Smooth Ladder Mechanics

Scattered through the cave are vertical ladders that aren’t just decorative background pieces—they are fully interactive.

• Seamless Entry: The moment Wario walks into a ladder zone and you press move_up or move_down, the game’s gravity instantly turns off. He completely sticks to the ladder.
• The Animation Freeze: When climbing, his arms and legs scramble realistically up the rungs. If you let go of the controller, he doesn’t awkwardly drop into a standing stance or fall; his animation instantly pauses mid-frame, making it look like he’s firmly gripping the ladder while deciding his next move.
• Quick Escape: If you need to make a quick getaway, you can jump directly off the ladder at any point, instantly restoring normal gravity so you can slide or leap onto a nearby platform.

Dynamic “Panic Mode” Escape Clock

The absolute highlight of the gameplay is the high-intensity countdown timer sitting at the top of the screen, styled in a chunky, yellow, retro font.

• Normal Phase (30 down to 5 seconds): The clock ticks down calmly, second by second, showing a clean, steady countdown as you navigate the platforms.
• Panic Phase (Under 5 seconds): The exact microsecond the clock drops below 5 seconds, the entire game mood changes. The timer instantly turns bright red, starts tracking lightning-fast fractions of a second (just 1 decimal place!), and begins shaking violently on the screen to completely stress out the player.
• Game Over: If the clock hits zero before you escape, the level instantly resets, forcing you to try the frantic escape all over again.

Next Up On The To-Do List!

Now that the core movement and timer loop are locked down, I need to focus on adding the actual gameplay objectives and obstacles:

• Gold Nuggets / Collectibles: I need to scatter shiny gold nuggets throughout the branching cave paths for Wario to collect as he sprints for the exit.
• Enemies: I need to implement basic patrol enemies patrolling the platforms to block his paths and slow him down while the panic clock ticks away!
• Sound Effects (SFX): The game needs audio juice. I need to add crunching stomp sound effects for Wario’s entry squish, a tense ticking sound for the panic timer, and satisfying collecting noises for the gold.

Developer’s Note

Just getting the title slide together took 3 hours, (I really questioned the whole purpose of that, 3 hours never coming back again!) but seeing Wario smoothly scale the ladders and watching the clock aggressively shake makes the game loop feel incredibly rewarding. I can’t wait to see how it will turn out in the future1