Interfectum
Member
Yeah. It's kinda funny too because I was thinking about Xbone and PS4's ability to upload video and whatnot and thinking that was something that mobile games are missing. Then I stumbled upon this.
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Indie Game Development Discussion Thread | Of Being Professionally Poor
- Thread starter chubigans
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Yeah. It's kinda funny too because I was thinking about Xbone and PS4's ability to upload video and whatnot and thinking that was something that mobile games are missing. Then I stumbled upon this.
Polioliolio
Member
Can anyone reference me to a good sprite creation tutorial that perhaps you found to be particularly helpful?
.. Even better, your experiences with editing sprites and any tips, tricks, warnings for what I'm about to get into.
Also, there are so many awesome games in this thread. Great job guys! Hope I can join you soon!
.. Even better, your experiences with editing sprites and any tips, tricks, warnings for what I'm about to get into.
Also, there are so many awesome games in this thread. Great job guys! Hope I can join you soon!
Diablohead
Member
Goals for this weekend: Fix a few bugs which appear, add in more high end visual effects and particles, create a bigger world to run around, submit update to apple and finally get a bunch of testers playing my game 
Need to force myself to not add in more features at this point, but it's hard.
Need to force myself to not add in more features at this point, but it's hard.
Interfectum
Member
Hey if anyone is in need of a pretty sweet task management app/website, I just started using Trello and it's fantastic so far. Happened to see a coworker of mine using it for a huge project he's working on and had nothing but glowing reviews.
This is cool. I'm gonna start using it this weekend for my project.
Closer and closer, I just need art for the skills and character art, and I think it is pretty much done really.
Also have a main theme preview:
https://soundcloud.com/ashodin/apexicon-main-theme-preview
Also have a main theme preview:
https://soundcloud.com/ashodin/apexicon-main-theme-preview
Used this before. It works. Not sure what else you want!Hey if anyone is in need of a pretty sweet task management app/website, I just started using Trello and it's fantastic so far. Happened to see a coworker of mine using it for a huge project he's working on and had nothing but glowing reviews.
I didn't love the last track you posted, but this one is fantastic. A lot of my favorite instruments coming together here. = D
Yo dawg thanks. My soundtrack is becoming something magical.
Are you asking so the player knows when they are about to click on Erase/Attack?
I can create a sort of "flashing" animation for that sort of thing, yeah. I'll get to work on it soon - I'm going to be working on the map next.
I think Jobbs recommends Stencyl.
Spent two hours trying to fix weird graphical artifacts on my 3-D models, tried like seven different solutions, nothing worked.
In my searching, I randomly found out that Unity 4.2 had released, and for some reason, my program didn't inform me or auto-update. So I downloaded and installed it.
And it fixed the artifacts.
#notsurehowtofeel
In my searching, I randomly found out that Unity 4.2 had released, and for some reason, my program didn't inform me or auto-update. So I downloaded and installed it.
And it fixed the artifacts.
#notsurehowtofeel
sti4thewin
Member
Max zoomed-out view.
Love the looks of the buildings! clean and crisp
Hey if anyone is in need of a pretty sweet task management app/website, I just started using Trello and it's fantastic so far. Happened to see a coworker of mine using it for a huge project he's working on and had nothing but glowing reviews.
This looks pretty useful. Thanks.
It's been a while since I've posted here about my game. I released it back in April as an early alpha and started taking pre-orders from my own webpage. Since then I've been steadily improving it and am now almost done the Alpha phase.
Last week I made the game available on Desura via their Alphafund program. I'm not sure how Desura really stacks up to other online stores (not well I think), but it did get me more visibility than my personal webpage received and is making a little bit of money, so you might consider making your own game available there too.
I had an indiedb entry for my game for a long time, but it wasn't until I created a Desura release that I got anyone to actually pay attention. The number of views, watchers and overall ranking on indiedb really increased once it was available on Desura.
You can try out the web-playable version here: Heroes of a Broken Land
Last week I made the game available on Desura via their Alphafund program. I'm not sure how Desura really stacks up to other online stores (not well I think), but it did get me more visibility than my personal webpage received and is making a little bit of money, so you might consider making your own game available there too.
I had an indiedb entry for my game for a long time, but it wasn't until I created a Desura release that I got anyone to actually pay attention. The number of views, watchers and overall ranking on indiedb really increased once it was available on Desura.
You can try out the web-playable version here: Heroes of a Broken Land
Wait, 4.2 is out?
Yeah, thanks for not telling me, Unity...
Even a "check for updates" tells me 4.1.5f1 is "up to date".
Nice, they put in the shadows for Free. Still no MonoDevelop upgrade though.
Also, today I finally discovered why MonoDevelop was defaulting to LinkedList every time.
Apparently Windows 8 doesn't have the .net 3.5 framework installed, and it turns out the references for System.Collections.Generic.List are in 3.5...
It's the first version that's broken my game. It now fires OnTriggerExit on colliders when you set the timescale to zero, which I do. Easy to work around when you know, but annoying that the system changed underneath you!
It depends on your previous experience in modding other games, you skills at various disciplines related to game dev, your team mate's skills, etc.
I'd say if you either have a decent programmer on the team or you are a decent scripter / programmer yourself, use DarkPlaces engine or idTech 4 or Doom 3 BFG engine. Free, no royalties attached, powerful, and most importantly either of them have complete game logic framework that has been tested throughout the years (Unity doesn't have that). C, C++ is what you would want to know for those, code wise.
Yeah, I think it broke my hasTraction detection in OnCollisionStay...
Also, what the hell, I can't type ~ anymore in the new monodevelop? It just doesn't show up...
I started out with a limited scripting background before diving in myself. Learning how to code your own games is fun!
Anyhow, whatever route you take, before spending ANY money, be sure to take the time and try out the free/limited or demo versions of each program and see what works best for you. You might end up wanting to code things for yourself.
I use Unity 3D, though before going with that, I played with the following "no coding background necessary" game engines:
GameMaker 8.0, GameMaker: Studio, and Construct Classic. I evaluated other engines, but those were code-based. I also looked at Stencyl, but I'm not a fan of the yearly licensing fee for it.
Though you're ultimately going to want to use some amount of UnityScript/Javascript or C# in Unity 3D, Unity 3D has PlayMaker, uScript, and Antares Universe for visual scripting solutions.
Good luck!
Thank you. I used the menu option to check for update on thursday and it said I was up to date.
These days I have close to no programming experience. I took some classes in middle school and did it as a hobby up until freshman year of highschool, but then stopped. I wrote some Lua tutorials and wrote some basic programs for the PSP, but it's been so many years that I can't remember it. It's like french in my case. I can't speak any french, but if I listen to someone speak it I can pick up generally what he's saying. It's the same with programming. Can't write it, but if I read code I can get the gist of what's going on, what lines of code are doing what.
So yeah, I need a programming free environment.
Yeah I'll be giving both GM and Stencyl a shot before buying them. However Game Maker looks like you need to buy the $500 version if you want to publish on Android/iOS. While Stencyl is a membership thing, it is cheaper. However no android support which is a shame.
I just hit the one year launch anniversary of my first game, Dust: An Elysian Tail, and can finally share that at some point during the Steam Summer sale broke a quarter million units sold between Steam and XBLA.
Five years ago when I first booted up Visual Studio and decided to pick up programming I could have never predicted that anything I would create would take off like that. I hope it serves as inspiration to anyone else who is considering game development as a career.
I'm sad that XNA is dead, but I'm really excited to jump into Unity over the next few months. Exciting times to be an indie developer!
Five years ago when I first booted up Visual Studio and decided to pick up programming I could have never predicted that anything I would create would take off like that. I hope it serves as inspiration to anyone else who is considering game development as a career.
I'm sad that XNA is dead, but I'm really excited to jump into Unity over the next few months. Exciting times to be an indie developer!
Congrats! Your success is well deserved and your story (along with many others here in the indie thread) is super inspiring and a great motivator. Interested to hear your thoughts on Unity after you've had a chance to play with it for a while.
I still can't believe that when you started that game, you still had to learn programming. Bravo sir.
Well, sounds like how I am
However, you gotta do what you gotta do - I had to learn how to do some simple programming here and there. Just like with human language, you just need to practice, if you already able to understand the code Either way, if you aiming at 2D game, then those engines aren't going to help you. But for 3D, especially something like action / horror / puzzle / adventure in first-person perspective, all you would do is tweak some code. The rest is already in place.
Throughout the years, I found out that there is no such thing. No matter what Epic says, to make things work properly you end having to code using UnrealScript. As for Unity, you would still need to code there too. But again, that's for 3D games. I never looked into 2D tools market, so my thoughts on the subject are of no use if you want to make 2D game without touching any code.
Saw the video. Nice looking game! Did you also make art for the game?
Did you self-publish and did PR all by yourself or was Microsoft involved in the process ?
Yeah I pretty much did everything but the audio, and I had a cowriter help tighten up the script. You can read about it in my post-mortem: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180520/postmortem_humble_hearts_dust_.php
In fact I'm tempted to append the PC development to the end of the post-mortem.
Microsoft was my publisher, although I self-funded and handled most of the PR myself. Microsoft did however promote the game in Summer of Arcade and the Steam Summer Sale. They've been great to work with.
Sweet!
Hey guys. I tend to lurk around this thread, but I've never posted. Just want to say thanks to everyone here both for all the useful information available and for sharing your inspiring stories.
Over the past two years, I've done four night time Microsoft courses, which included basic application development, ASP.NET web development and .NET application development. All four courses I done used C#. I'd say I finished them with a basic understanding of OOP, but to be honest, I really should have practised more at home.
Anyway, for my birthday, my friends purchased me an XNA beginners guide. I downloaded Monogame, as I'd heard that's what you should do, if you're doing XNA development and I've been messing around with some basic stuff. I've also been checking out youtube tutorials. I've been having a lot of fun so far.
I know there's an absolutely fantastic OP, which covers the multitude of options available for developing games. But I just wanted to ask. I know XNA is pretty much dead now and wanted to know what exactly that entails? Would I be best just using XNA as a way to dip my toes in the water, then move to something like Unity if I wanted to make something seriously? Or how viable is it to still use XNA? For a little extra context, I think I'm interested in creating 2D games.
Sorry for the wall of text and thanks in advance for any answers.
Over the past two years, I've done four night time Microsoft courses, which included basic application development, ASP.NET web development and .NET application development. All four courses I done used C#. I'd say I finished them with a basic understanding of OOP, but to be honest, I really should have practised more at home.
Anyway, for my birthday, my friends purchased me an XNA beginners guide. I downloaded Monogame, as I'd heard that's what you should do, if you're doing XNA development and I've been messing around with some basic stuff. I've also been checking out youtube tutorials. I've been having a lot of fun so far.
I know there's an absolutely fantastic OP, which covers the multitude of options available for developing games. But I just wanted to ask. I know XNA is pretty much dead now and wanted to know what exactly that entails? Would I be best just using XNA as a way to dip my toes in the water, then move to something like Unity if I wanted to make something seriously? Or how viable is it to still use XNA? For a little extra context, I think I'm interested in creating 2D games.
Sorry for the wall of text and thanks in advance for any answers.
I really like XNA (although it's all I know), and am still tempted to stick with it since I spent so much time building custom tools. The main reason I'm moving away from XNA is because I want to do more with streaming video, and without support Windows seems to be breaking that more and more. Considering how much time I need to invest into my next title, it makes sense to use something that will have support a few years from now.
That said, you can still learn and make a lot with XNA, and I'd say for most things it's still completely applicable. Just know that if you want to future proof your game, XNA is a risky proposition.
Risky indeed.
Let me know if you need help with Unity, Noogy...interested to hear you're coming on board, even though I think I remember you saying your next game would also be 2-D. I'm getting more and more comfortable with it...I'm about four months in, at this point.
BlazeHedgehog
Member
Hey if anyone is in need of a pretty sweet task management app/website, I just started using Trello and it's fantastic so far. Happened to see a coworker of mine using it for a huge project he's working on and had nothing but glowing reviews.
I've always just used a text file.
I've always just used a text file.
Yeah, if there's just you, then a todo list will do. I had a million post-it notes around the office. They're handy as you can sketch out a design for a feature on the note. If it doesn't fit on a post-it, and you're not a big team... red alert!!
thomasmahler
Member
Just made a little Zelda Engine Test over the last weekend in order to play around with top down sprite based games in Unity.
http://www.warsoup.com/zelda.html
Works best if played with an Xbox Controller
Still has quite a lot of bugs (don't jump down platforms, it screws up the collider) and tons of features are missing, but I had fun making it
Web Performance is pretty bad - runs at 50fps here, whereas the standalone runs at over 900fps, but hopefully it'll be playable on your machines.
Edit: http://www.warsoup.com/zeldaUnity.zip
Added standalone in case performance in the webBuild sucks.
http://www.warsoup.com/zelda.html
Works best if played with an Xbox Controller
Still has quite a lot of bugs (don't jump down platforms, it screws up the collider) and tons of features are missing, but I had fun making it
Web Performance is pretty bad - runs at 50fps here, whereas the standalone runs at over 900fps, but hopefully it'll be playable on your machines.
Edit: http://www.warsoup.com/zeldaUnity.zip
Added standalone in case performance in the webBuild sucks.
thomasmahler
Member
I used 2dToolkit for setting up sprites and animations - it's pretty straight forward and you'll get results immediately without having to write your own frameworks.
Dynamite Shikoku
Congratulations, you really deserve it!
I'm using 2d toolkit as well
Dynamite Shikoku
Congratulations, you really deserve it!
Just made a little Zelda Engine Test over the last weekend in order to play around with top down sprite based games in Unity.
http://www.warsoup.com/zelda.html
Works best if played with an Xbox Controller
Still has quite a lot of bugs (don't jump down platforms, it screws up the collider) and tons of features are missing, but I had fun making it
Web Performance is pretty bad - runs at 50fps here, whereas the standalone runs at over 900fps, but hopefully it'll be playable on your machines.
Edit: http://www.warsoup.com/zeldaUnity.zip
Added standalone in case performance in the webBuild sucks.
That's cool. I got about 60fps for the web version.
Will do, I'm pretty excited. It took me about 4 months starting from scratch to have a solid build in XNA, very curious to see how it goes with Unity. I literally know nothing about it, is it more of an actual engine with built-in editors? I'm often amazed at how fast people seem to prototype with it.
My next game will be 2D but I'm not against doing it polygonal, or parts of it. Would be nice to stretch my modeling skills since they have gotten pretty rusty.
Just made a little Zelda Engine Test over the last weekend in order to play around with top down sprite based games in Unity.
http://www.warsoup.com/zelda.html
Works best if played with an Xbox Controller
Still has quite a lot of bugs (don't jump down platforms, it screws up the collider) and tons of features are missing, but I had fun making it
Web Performance is pretty bad - runs at 50fps here, whereas the standalone runs at over 900fps, but hopefully it'll be playable on your machines.
Edit: http://www.warsoup.com/zeldaUnity.zip
Added standalone in case performance in the webBuild sucks.
I've been looking into writing my own 2d framework. Can't be hard since I see so many on the asset store. I got Link stuck at the edge of the map.
Unity is an engine. Like UE and CryEngine. You can extend Unity with your own editor. Hell, you could create your own game engine and then package and sell it through Unity's store.
For The Ball of Cthulhu, I used a simple animation sheet script that I had learned doing the Walker Boys tutorials. Not the most easy or efficient solution when starting out, but a great learning experience.
After the project was done, I picked up 2D Toolkit and NGUI, both of which I'll be leaning on heavily in the future. Being able to create a sprite atlas just by dragging your sprites into a collection instead of doing it in Photoshop is a great time saver.
I've also been interested in Smooth Moves and Spriter (folks in the Spriter forum are working on a Unity API solution), but haven't had a need for them just yet.
2D Toolkit added some gui components a couple revisions ago. While it isn't as thorough as NGUI, it's probably good enough for a lot of interfaces, with the bonus of tying together with the base sprites cleanly.
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