I Wanna Be The Story [v1.0]

Going off of the above, I've updated the mod to v1.1! Just some miscellaneous polishing done, as well as adding the ability to deactivate the Cape. It's still automatically reactivated when removing the D-LUX Jump Boots, but having a separate option for no double jump at all will help in a certain waterlogged area.

 

Thank you for trying IWBTS, and double thank you for posting about it! Heck, triple thank you for recording yourself doing it, because all of this helps me analyze what I did right/wrong and all that. Plus, it's just fascinating seeing how people react to stuff I make.

I've learned that that is the most rewarding part of working on something so I'm happy to see it have a positive effect.

Spoiler

I rightfully didn't design anything around it, though, due to it being so finicky... so heck, if someone figures out some tech involving the cape, that'd be pretty fun.

About the best kind of mentality to have about those kinda things.

You're correct in that the second phase of the APE is a bit random, too; without a fade to black to hide changing its position and whatnot, the timing of my script so that it doesn't explode when being knocked down nor does it throw pickaxes before swapping to its second phase is kinda tight. I figured the slight randomness doesn't impact the fight too heavily, though

I don't know if it's worth worrying too much about it given the randomness of it in general but I did at least once die to it because it flew low enough to not be safe to stand beneath (which I do to shoot it).

I typically swap to the cape and dash sideways to swap to "swimming mode" quickly, or swap to the boots if all I care about is swimming vertically.

Yeah I was already using the cape because it gave better horizontal speed in the section where speed really mattered, and it was probably the safest option otherwise given that you could just hold up.
I see you changed it though, that'll certainly help.

That 2B-2 exit thing is... interesting, since I figured players would immediately see the save down below while doing the back-and-forth swimming parkour and beeline for it once the path was clear. If that happens to anyone else, I'll have to consider moving around some tiles so that you're forced down by the save before exiting to the right.

My guess is that I was a little bit too focused on the challenge itself to really think about the save point but to be very honest I should've also gotten back to the sparkle to get air first.
I probably also should've taken the hint that I was walking into a boss room.
Oh and looking back I guess because I was using the cape I was also holding Up all the time, which leaves it kinda off-camera.

I had a hard time justifying an "in character" reason why the water appears during the Ninja fight, but ultimately it's there to reward the player with a much more possible way to survive the Ninja's final shuriken barrages before he's open to attack...

I meant moreso wether the fight is even possible without the swimming item. Are you supposed just tap the Jump Boots if you don't have them?
Mostly curious because I imagine that it'd be frustrating for some people if they skip the item and run into needing it. (But that would mean ignoring an item or deciding that it looked optional and not worth your time which tbh the game shows you the chest so that'd be on them i guess.)

The Bunker as a whole is where I felt like getting a bit meaner with my traps since it's actually the final area of the game! Granted, it might not be the case if you haven't been completing all of the bonus areas (in which case you gotta eventually do those to reach the final boss), but still, I guess you could say I was feeling cheeky. :3

Oh that's closer than I thought.
I think I missed a 1-A if that exists while I also haven't spotted anything in the 3rd zone yet, most likely what I'll do is scout those out before I start recording and continue.
But yeah if it's the final area then that's a justified meanness lol.

Fun fact: it's tied to an achievement!

wait what do you mean achievement

Naturally, any IWBTG fangame's gotta have that level of unfairness to it, but with how quick it is to respawn and try again (like IWBTG), it's not as punishing as it could be, for sure.

I feel like I've only played like one, maybe two of those kinda games myself and I'm pretty sure I never beat them so I can't say I'm too familiar with them but still sorta get their angle yeah.
And agreed, it's very good that there's no checkpoint starvation with there being one after practically every nasty section.

I'll probably make an attempt to finish it this weekend unless something comes up.

 

I feel like I've only played like one, maybe two of those kinda games myself and I'm pretty sure I never beat them so I can't say I'm too familiar with them but still sorta get their angle yeah.

Funny thing is, the only IWBTG fangame I've tried out personally is I Wanna Be The Boshy, and even then I didn't beat it! Damn Ryu and the part where you have to out-spam Dhalsim, hah. Instead, I've gotten a lot of my exposure to IWBTG fangames through YouTubers like Pyure and fatalbrain1000. That's where inspiration for features like the invisible blocks and the dreaded Penalty Room came from!

[spoiler stuff]

Spoiler

I meant moreso wether the fight is even possible without the swimming item. Are you supposed just tap the Jump Boots if you don't have them?
Mostly curious because I imagine that it'd be frustrating for some people if they skip the item and run into needing it. (But that would mean ignoring an item or deciding that it looked optional and not worth your time which tbh the game shows you the chest so that'd be on them i guess.)

Given how difficult/nigh-improbable the final phases of the Ninja are, he kind of serves as a wall to encourage the player to backtrack now that they have so much more mobility... and coincidentally, the first backtrack-able Bonus Area is the one that has the Kero Webbing! How thoughtful. :3

Oh that's closer than I thought.
I think I missed a 1-A if that exists while I also haven't spotted anything in the 3rd zone yet, most likely what I'll do is scout those out before I start recording and continue.
But yeah if it's the final area then that's a justified meanness lol.

You did miss 1-A while backtracking to Grotto, yeah. Granted, it's easy to miss if you're not observant! You'll eventually find it once you progress further into Bunker, though; you'll see what I mean.

wait what do you mean achievement

Just a fun idea I had while wrapping up the mod, of course, to add a little replayability for those who wanna flex!

I'll probably make an attempt to finish it this weekend unless something comes up.

Alright then! I noticed that you passed by the last Bonus Area, so I'll give you (and those reading the thread) a hint as to where it's located, since it's less obvious than the others:

Spoiler

I gave it almost the same treatment as Cave Story's Clock Room on the Outer Wall, albeit with an IWBTS twist.

 

I'll probably make an attempt to finish it this weekend unless something comes up.

I know it's thursday but it's weekend for me now ssssh shush shush.

Looks like I was indeed closer to the end than I thought.

Spoiler

I found the entrance to 3-B while briefly scouting yesterday, didn't take me very long with that hint since that arrow block did stand out to me when I first saw it.
Interesting that I didn't run into the "m9" blocks near the upper end of 3-4 the first time... unless you changed something about them...! (I downloaded V1.1 yesterday, something that I messed up at when I was playing modfest mods)

3-B was neat. One of the jumps (the one with a lava drop above you and a magma tunnel right next to you) felt a bit awkward (and I kept going into it by accident) and I hate how I got the quiz wrong when I was super confident on my first answer somehow but... felt like it took less time out of me than 3-2 or 2-B.... I'm gonna say thats maybe a good thing? lol

Bone (Lord) has a phase 1 that feels really easy to beat if you just stand in a corner but phase 2 feels very overwhelming.
I guess it's kinda like the fruit? Difference with that is the smaller room and way more aggressive boss.
Gonna be honest I felt very lucky when I beat it, maybe I found a winning strategy? Seemed like more than that later on.

Falling into the punishment room for a 3rd time made me extremely distrustful for further falls (As you'll see when I got to 1-A), not wanting a 4th visit I immediately started resetting in all my subsequent attempts of that room the moment I started falling again.

Jukebox room is cool but oops spoilers, not that it's a huge deal when all that's left was two bosses.

Somehow the Thief felt easier than most bosses....? I'm not very sure, felt like a number of my deaths were just dumb oopsies.
I'm also a little surprised the final boss didn't have a second phase? Felt like a very good nice and tight fight though so I can't complain.

Also remember what I said about how I felt lucky with my manner of beating the Bone (Lord)? I guess it got me an achievement?
I don't see myself going for the other achievements (((especially not impossible mode lmao))) but perhaps someone even greater than me could.
....or perhaps someday I'll try to go through it in less than two and a half hour.
...don't count on it.

I think I've also found everything? Didn't feel like there were any super duper ultra hidden secrets.

I've had fun, if there was an additional final final some with even meaner traps that might've been a bit much for me but now? Feels about right (as I've probably already said in my first post).