How to improve

[Babar]

Canyon Runner
Just something I made. This is open source, so you can check any mistake I made. What I wanted to know: Is there any way to make this more enjoyable? Challenging? I mean, sure, I can smoothen things out, music etc., but I am talking about basic gameplay.

[Stefano]

Wow! It's open-source. Can I mess around with it (add art, I mean. I won't even try messing with the code)?

As for the gameplay:
I've played it and it's already fun, but I think the character speed is to low, if compared to the screen scrolling. What I would do: increase movement speed and decrease character health if the player misses an enemy (a coyote?) and it goes off the screen, to compensate.

Some moving targets would increase the chalange. Lizards, that would move horizontaly and snakes, moving in circles, for example...

Ah, yes. I almost forgot. The canyon walls look weird... it isn't clear what they are at first, as you can walk over them. I know making these canyon walls unwalkable can be a pain in the arse, so... it's just a sugestion. It's much easier to suggest than it is to do, heh? 

Other weapons, power ups, other obstacles (boulders, plants), etc. All that can make your game more interesting and enjoyable (and harder to code. hehe).

Nice game!

Cheers,
Stefano

[Babar]

Sure! "Mess" around with art as much as you like . This was basically more of a test of my scripting than art.
By the character speed, do you mean the speed while you don't press any buttons? Because that matches the screen speed exactly. If you mean the movement speed when you press the arrow key, ok, I'll speed it up.
There are some cases when the character loses life if he attempts shooting the enemy (It was meant to be a bull. You can see the greatness of my art skills), so I don't want to make them lose life automatically. I suppose I can have a score out of total possible score show at the end, so that not shooting would be pointless.
The canyon walls ARE unwalkable. They are the darker shades on the side of the screen. If you collide with them, you bounce back and lose life. There are boulders that appear randomly on screen, which I can't really make you bounce off, because you are constantly moving, but you lose life when you collide with them. Perhaps I can make the character blink to show that something is happening?
I'll add up other obstacles when the basic structure is secure and working. Enemies using circular movement would be slightly difficult, as the screen is constantly scrolling, but horizontal movement, ok, another thing to add.

I'll update the game in a while, as I'm not on my own computer right now

[Stefano]

Yeah! I had a blast changing the art of your game. 
Learned a little about Deluxe Paint, pallettes, animation... fun, fun, fun.
Here're the results: CLICK

Cheers,
Stefano