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GAF Indie Game Development Thread 2: High Res Work for Low Res Pay
- Thread starter Jacksinthe
- Start date
- Status
liliththepale
Banned
Yeah. There have been probably a dozen games in early access that piqued my interest, but I told myself to wait until it came out for real. Then I subsequently forgot about or lost interest in those games. So now I've stopped expressly paying attention to EA games.
redid the lighting in our tiki tram/hotel connector area. unity 5's direc light + realtime GI is pretty cool. all WIP
also messing around with tonemapping and day lighting. once that is done we'll try out a day/night cycle..
I love the colors here! I'll be interested to see if it holds up during a day/night cycle. Those are kind of notorious for lots of meh tweens.
wrestleman
Member
Lookin' good and chaotic. Will definitely keep an eye on this..
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Screenshot sunday is an alliteration, too, so you do not need to feel the pressure to post on saturday
.HellBlazer
Member
Well, I suppose it depends on what kind of simulator but... Unity is a solid all-purpose engine, it supports Android, and it uses C#, so that seems like a good fit. There are a bunch of tutorials on their site to get you started, and googling will give you a ton more.
Ah, cool! And good to hear you like the trailer.
That looks great! The lighting definitely looks better compared to the older screenshots and I would love to see a day/night cycle.redid the lighting in our tiki tram/hotel connector area. unity 5's direc light + realtime GI is pretty cool. all WIP
also messing around with tonemapping and day lighting. once that is done we'll try out a day/night cycle..
Thanks! And yeah, we had the same crashes even though we had tried to clean it properly on our own. In hindsight, we should have planned and left more time for iteration for our menu design as headrushing into it wasn't the best decision. Though it was mainly my fault for accepting way too low estimations and quick dev cycle for it, which lead to these decision.Haha, you've had problems with them, too? I built my whole level hub / main menu system with 3D UMG widgets and... that was not a good idea. Every 20th time or something the map just crashed after loading (as soon as a widget was rendered). Found somebody on the Answerhub with the same problem and the solution was to remove all 3D UMG widgets.... great. Took me about a week to remove everything related to those, but at least the crashes are gone. At one time I even wrote a script that just reloads the map in a loop until it crashes so I can check if the bug is still there.
I think putting the quotes on separate screens works really well and overall looks really good. I'd personally like for it be a little shorter since I got the idea really quickly (though knowing the game beforehand helps) and I usually prefer shorter videos. Though it's well cut already, it's a very small thing I that I personally noticed.I've reworked some parts of the trailer based on GAF feedback, including shortening some scenes and putting the quotes on separate screens. Would like to hear some feedback again.
Thanks for the feedback! I think it's always hard to find the right length for a trailer. Too short and somebody who didn't know anything about the game before watching the trailer may still be uncertain about how it plays. With this one, I want to show the different aspects of the game (rhythm/music, speed, puzzles, puns), while still being more of a teaser trailer with the scenes mixed together (instead of a full, structured trailer that goes through one aspect after the another).
I'm trying to get back into it after a few months focusing on other things. Thanks for remembering me
Jacksinthe
Banned
So here's a quick look at just the enemies I believe we have shown. I can't remember all of them we have shown in some form or another. This is a small fraction of the enemies we have. We have a lot more finished that we haven't shown which are more level-specific, lots more mini-bosses and of course, bosses.
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Good to see you back at it and loving the look here.
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Thanks, man. Streaming eventually - probably this week.Good to see you announce - I'm a bit sick at the moment so haven't had a chance to catch up with it all. You streaming again soon?
Done a couple of tweaks to the second level - moving on to the third next...
Good to see you back at it and loving the look here.
Thanks guys! I appreciate it!
redid the lighting in our tiki tram/hotel connector area. unity 5's direc light + realtime GI is pretty cool. all WIP
also messing around with tonemapping and day lighting. once that is done we'll try out a day/night cycle..
Hey, it looks amazing!
Quick question tho, I haven't done 3D. Are those basic shapes (such as rectangles, squares, etc) with textures applied to them?
I mean, I want to do some 3D models with a tone of pixelart. But I'm not sure how to do them.
something like this:
Heh yeah, getting a nice and consistent transition will probably take a bit of work. Thanks
Thanks mate
Thanks!
So most of our walls and ceilings and floors (which I will refer to as "level geo") is actually constructed in the editor using ProBuilder. It allows you to drop in highly editable cubes and other primitives and start building maps. This tool also allows you to apply textures in a number of ways, so we have a few different tileables (made in Photoshop) that get applied to the level geo. Here is a demo where I drop in a cube (CTRL + K), go into edit mode (G), and move some vertices around. In the end I drag on a tileable texture I already had made (a tiling wood panel texture).
Detail props like food, equipment, furniture, etc I still model in 3ds Max and then export to Unity.
Edit: Just saw your edit! The most important thing to get the pixelated textures on 3D is to use Point Filtering/Nearest Neighbor filtering on your textures. This renders them as 100% crisp and no interpolation is preformed to smooth them out. Use a texture resolution of like 128x128 with point filtering and you're on your way.
SeanNoonan
Member
It's a Pacman...
I keep getting distracted from my game it seems
I keep getting distracted from my game it seems
I'm trying to get back into it after a few months focusing on other things. Thanks for remembering me
Hey, I miss seeing your stuff too! I hope you're doing alright.
Screenshot sunday is an alliteration, too, so you do not need to feel the pressure to post on saturday
Good point! Sunday proper tends to be really busy for me, but I guess I could just post late Saturday and admit it's actually Sunday.
TheHollowNight
Member
Haha thanks! I do appreciate it every time you comment
So we've been deliberating for a while about switching the game over to perspective instead of an orthographic camera. The reason being is we gain a lot of depth and 'feel' to the game, in terms of scale and player perception when moving round the world. The reason we stuck to ortho was simply to hold on to it's 2D roots, but in retrospect, i think it was a silly thing to get attached to. I recorded a super quick video in the editor, so take a look at the new test!
https://youtu.be/PYT9z52ybUw
Haha thanks! I do appreciate it every time you comment
So we've been deliberating for a while about switching the game over to perspective instead of an orthographic camera. The reason being is we gain a lot of depth and 'feel' to the game, in terms of scale and player perception when moving round the world. The reason we stuck to ortho was simply to hold on to it's 2D roots, but in retrospect, i think it was a silly thing to get attached to. I recorded a super quick video in the editor, so take a look at the new test!
https://youtu.be/PYT9z52ybUw
I'm partial to the orthogonal projection, but I'm hard pressed to come up with a valid reason. It's probably because the standard perspective projection feels just sostandard. To be clear, I don't think the perspective projection looks in any way bad. Rather, I personally find it less interesting.
TheHollowNight
Member
Those definitely are valid points. They're reasons why we aren't 100% on switching quite yet. The game definitely looks more Diablo 3/Helldivers in this mode (not a bad thing, but more 'standard' as you said), but i just think the pros of what we can accomplish it might outweigh sticking to orthographic. I like both camera types so booooooo
The game just runs better as well, since we can use deferred properly.
Have you considered making it an option? I know that's kind of a cop out, deferring the game design to the player instead of having a unique vision. Or would it break the game since some designs might only work with perspective projection?
TheHollowNight
Member
That could be a solution. The game design hasn't changed in any way, nor the level design. It might be a huge hassle right now, but we could definitely explore it as a post-release option if we switch over to it!
While working on some somewhat bigger games. Been experimenting with some smaller games in-between. A small Arcade Asteroid like game.
Presented completely without graphics: http://beta.zenfaproductions.com/spaceattack/
I can see it going somewhere. Plan to keep working on it and release it eventually. (Will need graphics & sound obviously)
During my testing, accidentally gave the enemy ships gravity. Caused a funny effect to rockets. :lol
Presented completely without graphics: http://beta.zenfaproductions.com/spaceattack/
I can see it going somewhere. Plan to keep working on it and release it eventually. (Will need graphics & sound obviously)
During my testing, accidentally gave the enemy ships gravity. Caused a funny effect to rockets. :lol
Working on a game named Hex Phase; you rotate a giant hexagon and match things like a puzzle game of sorts. Some gameplay:
Trailer Sort of
Regular -http://i.imgur.com/G5i3zTQ.gifv
Super -http://i.imgur.com/QcYt0t9.gifv
Deluxe -http://i.imgur.com/hiiVmYY.gifv
Currently finishing up some bug testing, but hopefully it'll be out in a week or two. Gonna release to PC and Android and some other stuff that Unity does.
Trailer Sort of
Regular -http://i.imgur.com/G5i3zTQ.gifv
Super -http://i.imgur.com/QcYt0t9.gifv
Deluxe -http://i.imgur.com/hiiVmYY.gifv
Currently finishing up some bug testing, but hopefully it'll be out in a week or two. Gonna release to PC and Android and some other stuff that Unity does.
Yep. I have a full time job (programming websites). So I usually code my stuff when I'm home after work and on weekends. Can get tough. Since I do this all day long for work, sometimes I'm less interested in continuing to code more. So Energy can be down a little. Even more so if I'm currently in the middle of a new game that just came out/etc. This was a huge issue for me when Dark Souls 2 came out and when Minecraft PS4 came out. lol
During my more active stages, I am constantly working, filled with energy. I find myself doing more if I switch been projects, which is what I spent last few weekends on, just experimenting with different concepts.
Weekends are usually my best time to get things done. I usually program while watching College Football on the weekends.
Not as soon as I get home, no. I try to unwind a little and eat dinner. Plus, I often have other plans for the evening. Saturdays are when I get the most work done.
Jacksinthe
Banned
I work 50-60 hours per week on my day job. I train 6 days per week when I get home (hour per day). I work on my game 4 days per week. Its rough but its what needs to be done.
I keep my energy levels up by eating right and maintaining my training. Staying physically healthy improves mental focus.
I set myself a schedule and stick to it, for the most part. Sometimes things come up and I need to alter but I make sure to reschedule to keep my weekly time in.
JeffG
Member
If I am on the bench at work, I will do game work. Otherwise I will put some hours on the weekend.
I don't rush it. I have no pending timetable to be done. I want to have a POC done by xmas and then start on the "real" thing.
Weekends only for me and its being hard to motivate myself. Luckily the game is mostly finished (its in Early Access) so I just need to work in patches.
I don't think there's a trick really, you just need to use some self-discipline.
Vigilant Gambit
Member
I'm a full time game developer at a pretty big company.
When I come home, I wind down for about an hour, then try to get in at least one or two good hours on my own game. I have to work every day, because otherwise, I'll never finish this project.
Lately, though, I haven't been making a ton of progress, simply because of the sheer complexity of what it is I'm trying to do. Specifically, I'm trying to rework my Unreal Engine 4 game to use GGPO netcode.
TheHollowNight
Member
Yup, I've been working fulltime as a cocktail bartender since I left AAA last year. My hours are very erratic so I only usually get 2 full days on the game a week aside from the random couple of hours I can find here and there.
I find I work best if I'm in a hangout call with the rest of the team as it makes that responsibility feel ever more present, giving me no excuse to slack. Though again, most of it is through self-discipline, as everyone lives in different timezones, so it's hard to align dev sessions.
I also need time to maintain my social life and gym commitments, so it's definitely hard work!
Candescence
Member
Well, I've got the pathfinding working in grid display form, but actually making an actor move accordingly is still something of a tricky process. And the links aren't really working as they should, either, which is very strange.
Wow, that is stunning. This game just keeps looking more and more incredible.
redid the lighting in our tiki tram/hotel connector area. unity 5's direc light + realtime GI is pretty cool. all WIP
also messing around with tonemapping and day lighting. once that is done we'll try out a day/night cycle..
Wow, that is stunning. This game just keeps looking more and more incredible.
Thanks! Yes, eventually I'd like to get on PS4/XBONE, but for the moment I'm focusing on getting it released on Steam (Windows/Linux/Mac). Not sure if XBONE will even be possible afterwards because of that parity clause stuff, but a parallel release would mean I'd have to push the Steam version back a few months and I don't want to do that.
Shockingly I've never played Monkey Ball haha. For the game, the main inspiration (and my favorite ball game) is Rollin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0bFDUZc81o Of the more "recent" and well-known games, it's Ballance and Switchball.
Currently, I'm sucking hard at playing Marble Blast Platinum.I did a flashbang effect. Just a mix of grain, chromatic aberration, and white overlay.
http://www.gfycat.com/PoorHeavyAegeancat
http://www.gfycat.com/PoorHeavyAegeancat
Jacksinthe
Banned
You fucker. Now I need to change my EMP effect for one of my bosses
Although I use more interlacing instead of grain. Still the same white flash.Looks good though XD Works really well although I'd like to see a bit more disorientation.
You fucker. Now I need to change my EMP effect for one of my bosses
Looks good though XD Works really well although I'd like to see a bit more disorientation.
If it's a good idea I probably thought of it first!
I've always liked "bosses" that are humanoids rather than some giant monstrosity (although giant monstrosities also have their place).
This one has a variety of moves, and I've been working on scripting them all night.
She also can run faster than the player (not to mention jump really high).
http://www.gfycat.com/CourageousEllipticalDuckbillplatypus
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
A slong as you don't release it after the PS4 version I cannot imagine Microsoft having a problem with that. Porting from PC happens all the time, doesn't it? Since you like ball rolling games I assume, you really should play Super Monkey Ball (the original on GameCube). It's not only my favourite ball rolling game, it also one of my all-time favourite games. Arcade perfection.Thanks! Yes, eventually I'd like to get on PS4/XBONE, but for the moment I'm focusing on getting it released on Steam (Windows/Linux/Mac). Not sure if XBONE will even be possible afterwards because of that parity clause stuff, but a parallel release would mean I'd have to push the Steam version back a few months and I don't want to do that.
Shockingly I've never played Monkey Ball haha. For the game, the main inspiration (and my favorite ball game) is Rollin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0bFDUZc81o Of the more "recent" and well-known games, it's Ballance and Switchball.
I play a lot of CSGO and I wish it had this option -- it would be awesome if developers would consider an optional setting that would make black screen flashes instead of white flashes. I feel like that's much less of a seizure risk for people who are affected by such things, and nicer than "just avoid games completely", though I guess maybe that's the proper approach.You fucker. Now I need to change my EMP effect for one of my bosses
Looks good though XD Works really well although I'd like to see a bit more disorientation.
Jacksinthe
Banned
No you DIDN'T!
And monstrosity? You talking shit about my game? HUH?! Your game fits for more humanoid stuff since I see a lot of humanoid like shapes. Makes sense.
This is another interesting approach. I could do some thing different like rewrite my old tile/color separation shader Unity 5 broke on me. Use that to some degree. Then it wouldn't look like I'm copying the only cool thing in Jobbs' game since he is a bad.
One other game that I really wish had an option is Guacamelee. I love the game except for one tiny detail. The power-up screen has this crazy solid color rapid flash effect that makes me shield my eyes or look away, it's so uncomfortable. I don't feel like it adds anything else to the game or mood other than making that one occasional GUI screen extra crazy, and I wish there were a way to turn it off for the few people it bothers.
Meet Minttu, close range executioner:
We will hopefully be done with some of the menu rework stuff and fixed some more of the critical crashes so progress is going steadily towards launch, though with launch trailer, hundreds of mails to be sent and tons of QA work left I can't say I've done my job well enough to avoid working at least a few weekends for the launch. On the other hand, we had an experienced producer visit us who had gone through proper death march and apparently we have done a decent enough job on managing our team.
We will hopefully be done with some of the menu rework stuff and fixed some more of the critical crashes so progress is going steadily towards launch, though with launch trailer, hundreds of mails to be sent and tons of QA work left I can't say I've done my job well enough to avoid working at least a few weekends for the launch. On the other hand, we had an experienced producer visit us who had gone through proper death march and apparently we have done a decent enough job on managing our team.
Unfortunately, work got the better of me and I've shelved my project for the time being. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it at this point. It's been 2 months since I've really worked on it, and now my code looks a bit foreign to me.
I'm also in the running for a great job in my current industry that would require 80 hours per week of my time... If I get it, I won't turn it down, so that'd pretty much be the end of my short little experiment as a game developer.
I feel a bit guilty for turning my back on the project that I loved working on so much :-( .... In the end, external pressures (e.g. family, finances, fatigue, and just overall lack of time) won out.
SpacePirate Ridley
Member
redid the lighting in our tiki tram/hotel connector area. unity 5's direc light + realtime GI is pretty cool. all WIP
also messing around with tonemapping and day lighting. once that is done we'll try out a day/night cycle..
Everytime I see your game it reminds me of Adventureland at Disneyland. And thats a marvelous thing to remind me of.
AlphaProspector
Member
Slow. It can be very slow and consuming but also an escape valve from the repetitive tasks of a day job. I do have one little advantage though (my own office, something not too common nowadays and why I cling to the job) so on those moments when nothing is going on, I usually pull my laptop and have a go at the project. It helps me clearing some stress as well.
On weekends I'm just so exhausted I end up either playing games or going out for walks and just trying to turn off my mind for a bit.
It's not easy...
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
For now progress is good, but not as fast as I would like. The thing is I'm at a point where the systems are all running and I'd need to do level design and pixel art, however, whenever I sit down to do it, I end up thinking "Hm, this part of the code / this feature could be improved in that way" and end up coding again. Thus, I have only made two levels so far (disregarding the demo level). I still am hopeful I can finish the game and get it released some time next year. I will see how this will go when I am really writing down my ph.d. thesis hopefully next year, too, though.
Looks awesome. Is the whole game gonna be in Japanese?
That's me. Progress is slow, but I'm trying to dedicate more time to working on the game. It's just hard since at the end of the day I'm extremely tired. However, if I'm going to meet my deadline of Q1 2016, then I have to speed up the process and not let my fatigue win out. Generally, I take about 30 to 40 minutes to unwind, then get started and work for 4 or 5 hours. These days I'm working longer since I have to meet my deadlines. Juggling everything is just hard, but bills have to be paid.
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