May 7, 2025: Opponent Boosts and Overheat Mechanics

Today, we tackled some of the most exciting and challenging aspects of Blob Race: opponent boosts and overheat mechanics. These features add a new layer of strategy and unpredictability to the game.

Opponents can now use boosts during the race, making them more competitive and dynamic. The boost logic was carefully designed to ensure it feels fair while keeping the player on their toes. Balancing this logic was a challenge, but it has made the gameplay more engaging and competitive.

We also added a new helper function, update_overheat, to manage both player and opponent overheat states. Overheating now temporarily disables boosts, introducing a risk-reward element to the gameplay. Implementing these mechanics in a way that adds depth without overcomplicating the game was a rewarding challenge.

To improve the development process, the codebase was reorganized into Pico-8 tabs. This change makes the code easier to navigate and maintain, ensuring a smoother workflow for future updates.

Blob Race is shaping up to be a thrilling and strategic experience. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on refining these mechanics and adding more polish!