Candescence
Member
Yeah, that game was on my mind as well, basically. I'm gonna focus on the gameplay types that aren't so, well, animation-focused.
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Indie Game Development Discussion Thread | Of Being Professionally Poor
- Thread starter chubigans
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Yeah, that game was on my mind as well, basically. I'm gonna focus on the gameplay types that aren't so, well, animation-focused.
Prat
Member
I found it very hard the get the link, you should type it like this: GOOGLE PLAY - JELLY RIDE
But, it's an awesome game! As I commented on the Play Store, it has a great "chilled" atmosphere. I'll be waiting for updates
TouchTiltGames
Neo Member
Yeah you can terraform just about anywhere, except around the houses, roads, sidewalks etc that you build. You can take a jackhammer to the sidewalk/roads to destroy those and we're not sure yet if we'll be doing wrecking ball-style house destruction yet.
It seems its not possible in Safari to guarantee a resource isn't downloaded.
Safari sends a 'beforeload' event that you can intercept but its async and it may have already started downloading a resource (image, script, whatever) before you receive it and its very aggressive. There's no way to cancel a download once it has started so the whole resource comes down the pipe even if you've modified the DOM so that it will never be used.
It seems like it is possible to do this in Chrome with WebRequest.OnBeforeSendHeaders. Not sure about Firefox.
Anyways, I'll probably post the NeoGFY extension up on GitHub or somewhere later on today once I write Chrome and Firefox versions. It takes GIFs from gfycat that have been directly embedded in IMG tags bypassing all the gfycat dynamic video stuff and basically just using gfycat like imgur or something and makes them proper gfycat embeds where it detects your browser and sends you video instead with GIFs as a fallback.
Michael Armbrust
Member
Thank you for the nice comments on the skins.
I got another one set up, this time using ambient lighting.
It gives the game such a completely different atmosphere hahaha.
I got another one set up, this time using ambient lighting.
It gives the game such a completely different atmosphere hahaha.
Thank you! Definitely, I remember all the things you have pointed out so far about my sprites (you and a lot of people here), and -this goes for all of you- I keep your comments as valuable advice, so valuable I wouldn't mind to pay for it, given the help provided. You may already know how much this kind of criticism helps when you're still learning. So, all I can say, its A) A million thanks; and B) I listen to every one of your comments, and I'm already fixing or planning to fix as you suggested.
Same as Matt. This comment it's incredibly accurate. I'm tweaking the idle animation frames right now and definitely, you hit the right spot with the synchronized movement.
Thanks!
PS.- There's a location in my game called Mystic River
Thank you! The flickering effect helps a lot. I'll have to be strong enough so I don't abuse of this kind of lighting, because I love it.
I'd also like to thank you for your tips on the kick animation. I didn't reply you back then, but believe me, those were really helpful! Thanks for sharing your experience as animator, I wish that someday I'll be as good as you are.
Game Maker is a really powerful tool if it's a 2d game you are making. Given it's easy to learn, the porting solutions for XBONE and PS4 that are being developed, and the improved efficiency that the Yoyo Compiler seems to provide (I haven't tried it yet), I'd say it's a great option.
Unless you're dying to publish your game on the WiiU, in which case the only solution seems to be though HTML5 and I'ver heard the performance it's really poor.
Thanks for your comment! If you need help with anything related to GM, feel free to ask me.
Easy deal! Just draw the character sprite/s three times like this:
-1st: the basic sprite, in normal blending mode (in game maker, bm_normal).
-2nd: a coloured version of the sprite in additive blending mode (bm_add).
-3rd: the character's sprite again, drawn in subtractive blending mode (bm_subtract).
The last sprite will "delete" its silhouette from the coloured additive layer. Just place this last sprite according to the light source (the closer you get to it, the further it gets from the source) and you're there.
Oh and if you're using GM you'll have to use surfaces to get a proper result. That means: draw the 2nd and 3rd layers to a separate surface, not the deafult one. Then draw the surface over the character!
Thanks for your comments guys.
If I understand this well, then I'm very excited for that plugin :-D Thanks a lot in advance :-D
Situational and directional lighting like this can really add to a scene. It reminds me of what the GBA hardware managed on Catwoman - not the greatest of references, I'll admit, but the effect was very cool and added quite a bit of visual flair! In fact, I'd go so far as to take a page from it and add another sort of lighter visible "line" to the outer edge of the sprite where the lighting hits, but I'm not sure how that would really work or if it's feasible. Something to consider, perhaps ?
Either way, I'm glad the comments helped you at all and I can't wait to see the future versions - and really, you'd be surprised at how limited my experience as an animator actually is, as Honey is basically my first project where I tackle 2D animation of that magnitude... so if that's any indication, I have every faith that anyone can do better given the time and dedication to their work :-D To me, what you're doing is already beyond what I know to do, since I consider segmented animation to be a lot more difficult to pull off!
There's a Chrome extension called WebM for NeoGAF that someone made a long time ago, which turns webm links into embedded videos. I've been using it for a long time and have never had any problems.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webm-for-neogaf/gcjkaaggachnbhepejjhfacpldjflffl
I finally have the new update released for my game Last Knight.
Now features different armor and in this case wrecked armor and randomly generated underpants:
Randomly generated magic hats that do more then just increasing your fashion sense:
Also new are villages in which the player can also hire a squire. When dead the game can be continued as the squire and the grave of your former self visited:
That image text is a bit dumb but the update post has more actual information:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/262210/announcements/detail/124170234748642079/
Now features different armor and in this case wrecked armor and randomly generated underpants:
Randomly generated magic hats that do more then just increasing your fashion sense:
Also new are villages in which the player can also hire a squire. When dead the game can be continued as the squire and the grave of your former self visited:
That image text is a bit dumb but the update post has more actual information:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/262210/announcements/detail/124170234748642079/
Yeah, I've seen that extension.
My extension is a little different. It's for when someone puts the GIF version of a gfycat directly into an IMG tag. Like ito did above.
Code:
[img]http://giant.gfycat.com/InfatuatedBoldImpala.gif [\img]Oh, I see what yours does now. That's neat!
I feel like we should stop and think about how I personally popularized gfycat. XD thank god for me.
I have figured out a routine.. what I do is use gifcam and capture a large full size gif, which ends up being too large as a gif to comfortably embed -- so I resize the gif into something about 800 or 900 pix wide, and then upload both as separate gfycats. and then I take the smaller one and embed it as a gif, and link to the larger one's gfycat webm, all while sparing my own site any bandwidth (I used to host gifs on it).
I love gfycat.
oh, btw, to anyone who just uses gfycat and doesn't have an account-- make the account. you get to save an entire library of every gfycat you've ever uploaded, right at your fingertips.
I have figured out a routine.. what I do is use gifcam and capture a large full size gif, which ends up being too large as a gif to comfortably embed -- so I resize the gif into something about 800 or 900 pix wide, and then upload both as separate gfycats. and then I take the smaller one and embed it as a gif, and link to the larger one's gfycat webm, all while sparing my own site any bandwidth (I used to host gifs on it).
I love gfycat.
oh, btw, to anyone who just uses gfycat and doesn't have an account-- make the account. you get to save an entire library of every gfycat you've ever uploaded, right at your fingertips.
electroflame
Member
This is when you announce that you're going to have an easter egg that revolves around a cat named "giffy" or "jiffy" (depending on your pronunciation preferences).
Jacksinthe
Banned
Android users: if anyone wants to help beta test my mobile SHMUP just send me a PM. Will be throwing up builds next week.
iPhone users: soony.
iPhone users: soony.
¡¡EXPLOSIONS!!
I became heavily distracted while doing homework and added raycast hit detection and health to my game. What better way to test them than with huge explosions?
http://webmup.com/0oOwV/vid.webm
(WebM)
This would be awesome! Please update or make a thread or something when you're ready.
I became heavily distracted while doing homework and added raycast hit detection and health to my game. What better way to test them than with huge explosions?
http://webmup.com/0oOwV/vid.webm
(WebM)
This would be awesome! Please update or make a thread or something when you're ready.
Bloodember
Member
Yes, I'm an idiot.
okay, but you don't ANNOUNCE easter eggs. kinda defeats the point.
electroflame
Member
By "announce" I meant talk about it here -- not draft a formal press release. Granted, the way I worded it was kind of confusing, so that was on me.
Uploaded the Safari version of NeoGFY extension.
Was going to wait until I had a Chrome version too but Chrome's extension documentation is shit so I'm going to leave it for awhile and work on Firefox next instead.
Repository is here: https://github.com/Ludophonic/NeoGFY
Was going to wait until I had a Chrome version too but Chrome's extension documentation is shit so I'm going to leave it for awhile and work on Firefox next instead.
Repository is here: https://github.com/Ludophonic/NeoGFY
Really had a blast at this year's TGS! Lots of people checked out the game on public days, and they all though that the game was a bit hard, but still fun and really interesting. Most importantly I saw that small children really got into the game, which put a smile on my face.
I even got visited by the Argentine ambassador for Japan in person, who was quite shocked when he heard someone from his country had finally come to the show. We had some time to talk about the game and how the game development business is going in Argentina and he told me to drop by the embassy sometime so we could talk, so I'll be looking into arranging a meeting soon.
Sony's indie party on Friday was also great, since I got to meet some indie debs who were at the indie game area and check out some of their projects and most importantly the guys who're making Assault Android Cactus, which I really like (I'm looking forward to trying that new character out!)
Finally, I'll be uploading some of the photographs I had a pal from another booth take for me, so I guess I'll be posting them once I'm done selecting the ones I like the most.
I even got visited by the Argentine ambassador for Japan in person, who was quite shocked when he heard someone from his country had finally come to the show. We had some time to talk about the game and how the game development business is going in Argentina and he told me to drop by the embassy sometime so we could talk, so I'll be looking into arranging a meeting soon.
Sony's indie party on Friday was also great, since I got to meet some indie debs who were at the indie game area and check out some of their projects and most importantly the guys who're making Assault Android Cactus, which I really like (I'm looking forward to trying that new character out!)
Finally, I'll be uploading some of the photographs I had a pal from another booth take for me, so I guess I'll be posting them once I'm done selecting the ones I like the most.
Mystic River
Member
Thank you! Definitely, I remember all the things you have pointed out so far about my sprites (you and a lot of people here), and -this goes for all of you- I keep your comments as valuable advice, so valuable I wouldn't mind to pay for it, given the help provided. You may already know how much this kind of criticism helps when you're still learning. So, all I can say, its A) A million thanks; and B) I listen to every one of your comments, and I'm already fixing or planning to fix as you suggested.
Same as Matt. This comment it's incredibly accurate. I'm tweaking the idle animation frames right now and definitely, you hit the right spot with the synchronized movement.
Thanks!
PS.- There's a location in my game called Mystic River
Oh I want to see that place
just wondering how mystic is that place By the way, about illumination, are you planning to use normal maps? , just reading how you achieved the blueish color seems to be a lot of work with having to draw your sprites twice plus other things...
Vigilant Gambit
Member
Stayed up until 3:30 in the morning working on my game because I was determined to hit that ideal stopping point, and I did.
I'll probably post pics within the next week or so. Might just hold off until Saturday, since I might have tried out dynamic material instancing by then.
I'll probably post pics within the next week or so. Might just hold off until Saturday, since I might have tried out dynamic material instancing by then.
I'm not really sure why, but the game that I haven't worked on in six months now has like ~4.6 million combined views on youtube. I sure wish any of that was intentional, or that I had any means to take advantage of it. >_>
Hopefully the attention doesn't pass by before the end of the year, because I do legitimately want to work on that game, it's just impossible to justify with my uni schedule at the moment. But on that same topic, I'm worried that Kickstarter has dried up too much to be of any use to justify spending a year making the game, since the success and failure of games seems more and more down to luck than anything I have the means of predicting.
I was gonna make a tangent about my goals for a KS, but I think I'm going to turn it into a question instead.
For those who have run a Kickstarter, or a crowd funding thing, or have thought / are thinking about doing one... what's been your plan for providing legitimate value to backers, other than access to the game? How do you plan the more expensive tiers - do you assume that the people paying >$500 are just angel investors who might not be as product driven to the more accessible payment options? Because after looking at various KSs, the split of a lot of them is that the < $50 tiers make 50% of the funding with 90% of the backers, and the remaining 50% funding is from the 10% of people who back the > $100 tiers. To me, that seems really daunting, to exist with that kind of model, but it also seems like a necessity. And that really makes me anxious.
Hopefully the attention doesn't pass by before the end of the year, because I do legitimately want to work on that game, it's just impossible to justify with my uni schedule at the moment. But on that same topic, I'm worried that Kickstarter has dried up too much to be of any use to justify spending a year making the game, since the success and failure of games seems more and more down to luck than anything I have the means of predicting.
I was gonna make a tangent about my goals for a KS, but I think I'm going to turn it into a question instead.
For those who have run a Kickstarter, or a crowd funding thing, or have thought / are thinking about doing one... what's been your plan for providing legitimate value to backers, other than access to the game? How do you plan the more expensive tiers - do you assume that the people paying >$500 are just angel investors who might not be as product driven to the more accessible payment options? Because after looking at various KSs, the split of a lot of them is that the < $50 tiers make 50% of the funding with 90% of the backers, and the remaining 50% funding is from the 10% of people who back the > $100 tiers. To me, that seems really daunting, to exist with that kind of model, but it also seems like a necessity. And that really makes me anxious.
I can only speak as someone who's backed at the 50+ tier a couple of times (50 for Ghost Song, and 100 for Shovel Knight; Chasm and Broken Age too, but not through KickStarter). Early access was a great selling point, as were getting to provide feedback and view more developer updates. James Petruzi (Discord Games, Chasm) regularly streams himself working on the game for early-access backers. Yacht Club Games held design meetings for Shovel Knight a couple times a month, and had their artist Nick Wozniak streaming art four or five times a week. That kind of thing is hugely fascinating to me, and will get me to provide extra backing for a project I'm already interested in.
At a certain level, yes, the higher-tier backers know they're paying extra and not necessarily getting a full return on their value. They're the ones who most want to see the game get made, and probably want to see it at every step of the way. That doesn't have to be a bad thing.
At a certain level, yes, the higher-tier backers know they're paying extra and not necessarily getting a full return on their value. They're the ones who most want to see the game get made, and probably want to see it at every step of the way. That doesn't have to be a bad thing.
MikeOfTheLivingDead
Grapetastic!
Holy crap i had tears streaming down my face watching this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq5rUUpr5D0
I think I'm in a weird position because my game is already accessible for free, and I don't really intend to cut the general public out from playing the newer versions, or have a direct cost of entry for the game.
Which, on one hand, means that I've already "proved" that I have the ability to make something, and people can play it now and ideally they'll want to see what the game would be like after some actual development time gets put in. But on the other hand, might not actually be very motivating for anyone to back it as a project, because what's already out there isn't amazing and more importantly is completely free.
I think the idea of development videos and streams are very attractive, both as a consumer and as the person making them. They're fun to make and can help you relax within an otherwise pretty demanding creative cycle.
Maybe it'd be fun to make small game-jam styled projects with some of the higher backer tiers. Where you're not making anything very impressive, but you're giving backers agency over a small scale game to give them an appreciation of the process that goes into scoping, designing and then implementing even very small games.
It's really amazing to me, that when I was working on getting a very early press alpha build running for GamersDissent, and all of a sudden I had the idea to have rats run around the restaurant and steal food. The rats as a system took about four hours to implement, and they're essentially unchanged in the current build. And the thing I find amazing is that the rats were a total afterthought, just a really small little extra mechanic that I could rapid prototype really easily, and that's the thing people stick with most when they play the game. They're just a very simple AI that spawn with a target Transform reference, they go to the transform, pick it up, and leg it out of the map. And I threw on a 'Food' class and a 'Cookable' class because if Spelunky taught me anything, it's that every object should interact with every other object, and that was it.
And that's the thing that made this game popular, as far as I can tell. An 11th hour system I made on a whim.
Which, on one hand, means that I've already "proved" that I have the ability to make something, and people can play it now and ideally they'll want to see what the game would be like after some actual development time gets put in. But on the other hand, might not actually be very motivating for anyone to back it as a project, because what's already out there isn't amazing and more importantly is completely free.
I think the idea of development videos and streams are very attractive, both as a consumer and as the person making them. They're fun to make and can help you relax within an otherwise pretty demanding creative cycle.
Maybe it'd be fun to make small game-jam styled projects with some of the higher backer tiers. Where you're not making anything very impressive, but you're giving backers agency over a small scale game to give them an appreciation of the process that goes into scoping, designing and then implementing even very small games.
It's really amazing to me, that when I was working on getting a very early press alpha build running for GamersDissent, and all of a sudden I had the idea to have rats run around the restaurant and steal food. The rats as a system took about four hours to implement, and they're essentially unchanged in the current build. And the thing I find amazing is that the rats were a total afterthought, just a really small little extra mechanic that I could rapid prototype really easily, and that's the thing people stick with most when they play the game. They're just a very simple AI that spawn with a target Transform reference, they go to the transform, pick it up, and leg it out of the map. And I threw on a 'Food' class and a 'Cookable' class because if Spelunky taught me anything, it's that every object should interact with every other object, and that was it.
And that's the thing that made this game popular, as far as I can tell. An 11th hour system I made on a whim.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Been working on and off for a small RPG Maker Horror game project for a year, getting to a point I can show it off soon with a few more art assets completed to replace placeholders. I'm handling everything but the drawn art, which I just can't do no matter how much I practice. I am doing the spriting, but I'm not super good at it and the area I'm most concerned of how it'll be received, but trying my best. An area I'm proud of is audio, I only picked up music-making early this year and I think I've gotten pretty okay at it during the last few months.
The game is a small RPG Maker horror game, titled Complete Isolation. It stars a young man who has been abducted from his home, awakening into a world of nightmares. Finding himself in a twisted village, chained down in a basement wearing Classic Lolita attire, with a brutal maniac trying to force-feed him human flesh, can he escape with his humanity intact?
(A little bit of an ambiguous description, hopefully not confusing).
I don't have much to show for it at the moment as on mobile away from home but I wanted to mention it as I've been quietly reading this topic for a while now, and thought it might as well be time to post as I'm getting ready to show my game off. The only stuff I have of the project is some scraps of concept art and some music I made early on for a Ludum Dare game, though I have improved tremendously if I do say in the last 5 months, this was after 2-3 months and was a bit screechy and sample heavy: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zF9JAVUtcbg
I don't think it was bad for making all those tracks quickly in 5-7 hours for Ludum Dare, though.
And some old concept art from some helpful friends from a year ago, very grateful to them, and would have more if not on my phone, they ended up drawing a lot which helped a lot with the visual side, my weakest area. XD;
These are from Lelynnia, who has been wonderful enough to be willing to help with some more art for the project recently:
Here was art for a side character named Dean, the final design for his character who was designed by appendagechild:
And a lovely sketch by Crimson-Mantella for the final design of an atagonist, the Plague Doctor. I need to get back into contact with them, they're very talented.
I'll be talking about it probably fairly often here, also wanted to post this so I can comment more on some of your guy's projects, most have my interest.
The game is a small RPG Maker horror game, titled Complete Isolation. It stars a young man who has been abducted from his home, awakening into a world of nightmares. Finding himself in a twisted village, chained down in a basement wearing Classic Lolita attire, with a brutal maniac trying to force-feed him human flesh, can he escape with his humanity intact?
(A little bit of an ambiguous description, hopefully not confusing).
I don't have much to show for it at the moment as on mobile away from home but I wanted to mention it as I've been quietly reading this topic for a while now, and thought it might as well be time to post as I'm getting ready to show my game off. The only stuff I have of the project is some scraps of concept art and some music I made early on for a Ludum Dare game, though I have improved tremendously if I do say in the last 5 months, this was after 2-3 months and was a bit screechy and sample heavy: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zF9JAVUtcbg
I don't think it was bad for making all those tracks quickly in 5-7 hours for Ludum Dare, though.
And some old concept art from some helpful friends from a year ago, very grateful to them, and would have more if not on my phone, they ended up drawing a lot which helped a lot with the visual side, my weakest area. XD;
These are from Lelynnia, who has been wonderful enough to be willing to help with some more art for the project recently:
Here was art for a side character named Dean, the final design for his character who was designed by appendagechild:
And a lovely sketch by Crimson-Mantella for the final design of an atagonist, the Plague Doctor. I need to get back into contact with them, they're very talented.
I'll be talking about it probably fairly often here, also wanted to post this so I can comment more on some of your guy's projects, most have my interest.
Never posted in this sub but am always a keen lurker to see what you guys are up to.
I had this idea last night and was wondering if you guys could criticise it for me?
I used to write a lot, about video games and music. I wasn't too bad at it but I eventually got sick of providing the same content that a million other people did. As I wasn't a professional, I didn't have the money to constantly buy game releases or have the time to review them. Additionally, I always wanted to provide content that was a little different to other places.
So, I was thinking what if every couple of weeks one of you guys let me interview/profile you? I could write up an article/profile of you/your upcoming game/how things are going/inspirations etc. It could provide a concise and honest look into your time with developing the games and it could be shared with other Indie developers/fans/anyone? The only problem is, I wouldn't really be able to provide much exposure as I'd start things from scratch.
What do you guys think?
I had this idea last night and was wondering if you guys could criticise it for me?
I used to write a lot, about video games and music. I wasn't too bad at it but I eventually got sick of providing the same content that a million other people did. As I wasn't a professional, I didn't have the money to constantly buy game releases or have the time to review them. Additionally, I always wanted to provide content that was a little different to other places.
So, I was thinking what if every couple of weeks one of you guys let me interview/profile you? I could write up an article/profile of you/your upcoming game/how things are going/inspirations etc. It could provide a concise and honest look into your time with developing the games and it could be shared with other Indie developers/fans/anyone? The only problem is, I wouldn't really be able to provide much exposure as I'd start things from scratch.
What do you guys think?
Feel free to chase me out of town.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
I'm just commenting here for the first time really right above your post so I don't think I deserve much of a say, but will toss my opinion into the ring.
One of the hardest parts for any indie developer is exposure, and most so these games out of passion, so I imagine many have their own thoughts on games and many would love to talk about it. Setting it up with people would be up to the individual if they were interested, so there's nothing wrong with it.
However, I also would maybe suggest for yourself to do it as you're interested in the premise rather than the one trick to make it different. I know you're interested, but what I mean is that it runs as a nice feature that hopefully audiences would be interested to read, but many here have smaller projects most people outside don't know about, and probably won't have any immediate rewards in readership as it'd be a small site interviewing small projects. If things go well, it could develop into something interesting, but I think if your biggest desire is to do some things different, this is more like a feature than a main attraction. But it doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, and if the projects you interview for are successful I can see some then finding the articles and reading more of them.
This is a fun glitch. Woulda been nicer on the 4th of july.
http://gfycat.com/ComfortableWelldocumentedBoaconstrictor
http://gfycat.com/ComfortableWelldocumentedBoaconstrictor
That's not a glitch, that's your latest feature :-D
"Nutted but she still suckin"
Yeah, I'm still tweaking to get a final result, I'll be adding a few extra layer to smooth the transition between the light-bathed parts and the rest of the sprites
Oh I want to see that place
By the way, about illumination, are you planning to use normal maps? , just reading how you achieved the blueish color seems to be a lot of work with having to draw your sprites twice plus other things...
By "draw my sprites" I mean calling the draw_sprite function, not actually drawing them again on photoshop
We have a meme guys
Raonak
Banned
Hi, yeah I am darkdoom3000 from pokecommunity, which is where i started the project.
Been working on it for ages though. Took a haitius from 2011-mid2013. So progress has been slow, but it's getting there.
Probably worth a shot, it's very unconventional, basically a final fantasy x pokemon hybrid in terms of mechanics. Might be worth waiting for the next version which is on track to coming out before november.
Mystic River
Member
looks pretty! and gloomy and depressing I like it , will the main character get a new ship or is just a platformer survival?
cute
thanks -- you don't fly any ships in the game, it's a platformer/action/adventure. and that ship doesn't look too space worthy to me anyway.
been trying to touch up some older areas, like these areas long time people paying attention have probably seen a number of times.
http://gfycat.com/DaringUglyDegus
I'm focussing on thinking of easy ways to add some nuance and interesting things for the eye to look at, like arbitrary splashes of color. I'm getting pretty arbitrary here, which I've decided is okay because so much about a 2d game in this style is arbitrary/stylized.
---just noticed I made two replies in a row, total brain fart. normally try not to do that
http://gfycat.com/DaringUglyDegus
I'm focussing on thinking of easy ways to add some nuance and interesting things for the eye to look at, like arbitrary splashes of color. I'm getting pretty arbitrary here, which I've decided is okay because so much about a 2d game in this style is arbitrary/stylized.
---just noticed I made two replies in a row, total brain fart. normally try not to do that
been trying to touch up some older areas, like these areas long time people paying attention have probably seen a number of times.
http://gfycat.com/DaringUglyDegus
I'm focussing on thinking of easy ways to add some nuance and interesting things for the eye to look at, like arbitrary splashes of color. I'm getting pretty arbitrary here, which I've decided is okay because so much about a 2d game in this style is arbitrary/stylized.
---just noticed I made two replies in a row, total brain fart. normally try not to do that
Well, I find these random arbitrary color splotches really liven the whole thing in a good way. Monochromy works, of course, but I'm more partial to something a tad more diverse like this! :-D
Wyndstryker
Member
I've lost quite a bit of dev time this week end to Wasteland 2 (damn these distracting videogames) but still, in the end, the audience is done. That's the "low density" version, since the other matches in the game will have even more audience, but I'll get to that when I do the other matches :-D Also, the fan banners change depending on Honey's reputation when entering the match.
Those crazy fans have three states, "Idle, "Excite" and "Boo" based on your performance during the match, and react (usually) appropriately to the ongoing action, just like the referee. For now they even overzealously keep going after the match has ended, so that's one thing to fix, but I'm waiting until I have all the elements to finalize the end match sequence to do it all at once.
I tried adding some onomatopeia to the audience's reactions too, but it didn't add much and worse, even confused things at times, so that's one thing that's not going to be tested further. I fixed some of the issues from last time, such as the speech bubble from the referee that lagged behind, though, so that's something.
I think the next step is going to animate the referee!
Those crazy fans have three states, "Idle, "Excite" and "Boo" based on your performance during the match, and react (usually) appropriately to the ongoing action, just like the referee. For now they even overzealously keep going after the match has ended, so that's one thing to fix, but I'm waiting until I have all the elements to finalize the end match sequence to do it all at once.
I tried adding some onomatopeia to the audience's reactions too, but it didn't add much and worse, even confused things at times, so that's one thing that's not going to be tested further. I fixed some of the issues from last time, such as the speech bubble from the referee that lagged behind, though, so that's something.
I think the next step is going to animate the referee!
Candescence
Member
Jobbs, your game looks better and better by the day. So freaking jealous
And Phesse, yours looks awesome, too. Didn't you say you were working in C2?
Anyhow, I decided to fiddle with free-range flying movement next. Once again, fairly basic, but I have functional keyboard-based flight controls and mouse-based controls (ala Star Conflict or Strike Suit Zero), and it works pretty well, though the latter is so far more intuitive. I've been trying to implement the 'full camera' setup as well, but it seems the free look camera I poached from the sample beta assets doesn't want to rotate with the ship. Phooey. It doesn't seem nearly as intuitive, anyway, so I'm gonna put that one on the backburner, likely.
Edit: Actually, I just thought of another idea to compensate - a reverse camera view that basically allows the player to aim behind them. That might be interesting.
And Phesse, yours looks awesome, too. Didn't you say you were working in C2?
Anyhow, I decided to fiddle with free-range flying movement next. Once again, fairly basic, but I have functional keyboard-based flight controls and mouse-based controls (ala Star Conflict or Strike Suit Zero), and it works pretty well, though the latter is so far more intuitive. I've been trying to implement the 'full camera' setup as well, but it seems the free look camera I poached from the sample beta assets doesn't want to rotate with the ship. Phooey. It doesn't seem nearly as intuitive, anyway, so I'm gonna put that one on the backburner, likely.
Edit: Actually, I just thought of another idea to compensate - a reverse camera view that basically allows the player to aim behind them. That might be interesting.
I've lost quite a bit of dev time this week end to Wasteland 2 (damn these distracting videogames) but still, in the end, the audience is done. That's the "low density" version, since the other matches in the game will have even more audience, but I'll get to that when I do the other matches :-D Also, the fan banners change depending on Honey's reputation when entering the match.
Those crazy fans have three states, "Idle, "Excite" and "Boo" based on your performance during the match, and react (usually) appropriately to the ongoing action, just like the referee. For now they even overzealously keep going after the match has ended, so that's one thing to fix, but I'm waiting until I have all the elements to finalize the end match sequence to do it all at once.
I tried adding some onomatopeia to the audience's reactions too, but it didn't add much and worse, even confused things at times, so that's one thing that's not going to be tested further. I fixed some of the issues from last time, such as the speech bubble from the referee that lagged behind, though, so that's something.
I think the next step is going to animate the referee!
Wow. Dat KO screen is wonderful!
thanks guys. In addition to the splashes of blue, I put in little splashes of red and other colors. Why? Who honestly knows. This is a case of "it looks cool to me" winning out.
http://gfycat.com/BossyIllCranefly
thanks and what kind of game is this? I don't think I've seen it before. I like the striped leggings, always a sucker for those.
looking good -- I am curious what posessed you to take on such a task as this? you couldn't pay me enoguh money to make a fighting game on my own. so many frames per character to draw and layers of programming that when imagined make my head spin (though it's not hard to make my head spin since i'm not much of a programmer).
http://gfycat.com/BossyIllCranefly
Jobbs, your game looks better and better by the day. So freaking jealous
thanks
and what kind of game is this? I don't think I've seen it before. I like the striped leggings, always a sucker for those.looking good -- I am curious what posessed you to take on such a task as this? you couldn't pay me enoguh money to make a fighting game on my own. so many frames per character to draw and layers of programming that when imagined make my head spin (though it's not hard to make my head spin since i'm not much of a programmer).
I just have to quote this and say, this was one of the most important lessons I've learned in good game design. Do NOT design your levels and then "add in enemies later". This makes terrible level design, but its a common mistake both in indie and industry games and is often the reason behind a game that seems to have cool mechanics being either boring or frustrating to actually play through.
Design your enemies, and then design your levels specifically to make use of them. When you go to design your levels, think about each enemy and what kinds of terrain could make facing that enemy harder or easier. Introduce the enemy the first time with terrain that makes it fairly easy to defeat so the player can figure out how the enemy works. Then, place that enemy in a different terrain set-up that makes it much more difficult to deal with. Finally, combine multiple enemies together that complement each other, and then combine those with unique terrain, and suddenly you have levels that are interesting and fun to play through.
If you design levels first and put enemies in them later, you'll invariably end up with levels that were fun to jump around in but just became frustrating to play in the final game. For example you will often leave a big area in your level thinking "I'll put some enemies into this area later" and end up that either the area is too small to properly fight the enemies, or that that part of the level is boring because its just fighting enemies without any interesting terrain to make the fight unique, so it just becomes a slog to get through.
My previous studio had more than one game ruined by doing this - fun mechanics, fun levels to run around in, but the game overall flopped because the enemies were either pointless mindless obstacles you felt you had to "grind" through or were frustrating and ruined the fun of the platforming.
This was one of the main concepts going through my head at all times in Volgarr the Viking's level designs once I had seen first-hand what a difference it makes. I designed the levels based on my enemies, and had ALL the enemies a level would make use of 100% functional before doing the actual level layout. Also while designing the enemies, I tried to use designs that would make dealing with the enemy change depending on what terrain was around them to give myself plenty of options to mix things up later. If you play Volgarr I'm sure you'll see what I mean. Some sections were designed purely for platforming fun without consideration of enemies, but of course for those sections I left out enemies entirely so as to not risk ruining that section with enemy interference.
Michael Armbrust
Member
Have you looked in to youtube's content ID program?
You could get some ad money that way. Or if that's not your style, you could just use content ID to gain access to all the video stats without potentially annoying the uploader.
That sounds cool!
Regardless of how much exposure your articles get, I think a lot of us would be more than happy to talk with you about our games.
Totally agree with this. I make feature pieces, then make the levels around them. The enemies/obstacle types are your building blocks. Makes sense to have them before you start making final levels!
Candescence
Member
thanks
That's just a placeholder model from the Unity asset store, along with pretty much everything else. The idea is basically a hybrid of Kid Icarus Uprising, Star Fox and Sin and Punishment with some Strike Suit Zero mixed in a bit, I posted screens of the on-rails test a couple pages back.
Though, the on-rails and on-foot gameplay is probably gonna be the easiest to actually implement, mainly because the free-flying part requires AI for enemies. To navigate 3D space. Oi.
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