Translating Cylinder's visuals from the original software renderer to Direct3D became part of my capstone project for the school program I was in. The majority of this project felt like finding a fitting visual style with more detail and interest all while keeping the gameplay easily visible. This actually proved to be one of the most difficult parts of creating the game in all subsequent versions as well.
As for the gameplay updates to this version of the game, the main trajectory was set. Primarily there was an arcade mode and a versus mode added. The arcade mode endlessly has pieces falling in, which start appearing at smaller and smaller intervals as the player makes more matches. Unlike the current version of the game, where an entire ring of pieces falls at once, these would fall in random columns which had a nice visual effect of looking like rain just before you lost.
This was the first time the game had a 2 player split screen mode as well. This mode functioned pretty differently from our new modern addition. Every time a player makes a match, those pieces would fall on the opposing player. This created a nice tug of war effect, but it also meant evenly matched players would allow for a very long battle with how large the cylinder was in this version.
Another key improvement in this version was input. It was now possible to play with controllers! I honestly do not recall how it works anymore but I do recall it feeling necessary as 2 people huddled at the same keyboard and mouse setup. Although I think that setup worked too...
Moving forward with a program at the local community college, which was a very new thing at the time, caused me to be featured in an article for a newspaper (which can be seen below).
The article does not mention Cylinder until the end, where it also includes several details I do not recall being true! However I know there was also a local news station segment about all this on TV as well, which did show myself and my game on camera along with others involved with the program.
The Digital Games Expo was essentially the precursor to ECGC (East Coast Games Conference). A lot of the same people were involved too from what I know. While ECGC may never have reached the lofty heights they wanted it to, DGX was a very exciting first step I was happy to be a part of, however small. I may have had tunnel vision (or tunnel memory?) back then but I can't recall if any other students at the time were showing off a game. All there was in my head was nerves about how people would receive Cylinder.
Up until now, I showed the prototype or even this newer version to very few people. But this event was a chance to see how others seeing it for the first time would react to it, and it was magic.
Cylinder - at a glance - looks like a typical block puzzler of course, and I'm sure being its creator has an effect on my perception. But people seemed almost hypnotized by it, even the then IGDA chapter head, Dana Cowley, who I recall playing for what seemed like hours. This feeling when I watch people play still exists, and with each new iteration, that has only become stronger. It is likely why I've kept making new versions even though it was always unclear where success with the game actually lay.
Until next time in part 3... When Apple changed everything.
