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Indie Game Development Discussion Thread | Of Being Professionally Poor
- Thread starter chubigans
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Disorientator
Member
Thanks man, appreciate it.
Really digging the art-style. Especially those "8-bit" FMVs.
Good luck!!
First, awesome extension thx! BUT.... doesn't fix the issue w this thread. Still brings chrome to it's knees loads forever and sucks 100% cpu on a single thread.
I did confirm that I'm the guilty one who broke the last page :/ I thought I had posted gifs that large before, but maybe something is different with them. I edited my post to just contain the gfycat links. Anyone know what a max size is for a gif before it causes browsers to act all funky? If not a size issue, any idea what else would cause it?
I've filled out the paperwork and awaiting their response.
Huh, it usually works. I actually wrote it just for this thread after a particularly GIF-heavy page some months ago.
I'd suggest that maybe we just include links to the really large stuff and everyone install YouTube Me Again! which will add thumbnails that can be expanded into embedded video. Works with Gfycat and YouTube among other sites. It's also available for other browsers.
EDIT: and I just went back earlier in this thread and checked and a page that worked fine before with NeoGFY now stalls for quite some time while loading. I think it might be the new 64-bit version of Chrome still doesn't have all the bugs ironed out.
(friken your post was fine for me on Safari btw)
Thanks! What's even cooler is that I did a bit of homebrew dev experimentation and found out that those 4-color FMVs are actually pretty plausible on a real NES. They might look a bit blockier, but with some optimization and clever program design it'd definitely be possible!
You can view Steel Assault's full intro FMV here BTW. It's a little bit outdated (one of the artists in the opening credits dropped out of the project and his work was replaced, and there's a typewriter sound effect for the text now which seems to add a lot) but it gets the point across.
Here's something I've been working on recently:
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That looks right out of NES. Very cool.
Mystic River
Member
I really don't know but my firefox crawls and crash more regularly everytime I see this thread
it eats all the resources after a day of having tabs, but this thread is so powerfull that kills my firefox, that's the indie power I think...I've looked into this more and I think there is an issue w gfycat. gifs that were fine before are now stalling out a webpage. If I were to guess, I think gfycat is throttling bandwidth of gif transfers and it's keeping the dl stream going either for a really long time or maybe never finishing. Numerous gifs that worked fine a few days ago are having this issue now.
When sentient computers come to be, their first directive should be to watch for programming typos like a HAWK.
Anyone here used Lazarus before? I'm thinking about using it to create a self-contained multi-platform patcher for my current game project. It seems to fit the bill pretty well.
Ahh ok, we were too until today! A manager from MS contacted me today saying we need to have a few things cleared up before we become official developers. This is pretty exciting! We need to go register a business name, but aren't sure 100% with how we should approach it now. Corporation vs partnership - etc. We're in Canada.
Has anyone done this that could spare some tips? Thx!
Michael Armbrust
Member
I set up my company as an LLC in America, but from a quick google those don't exist up there.
Corporations at least from my perspective are better than partnerships because they offer more flexibility. You don't have to split up ownership equally, and you can expand as needed.
It may be neat, but I sure don't want any of those burgers after you've fire extinguished them. D:
bad guy
as bad as Danny Zuko in gym knickers
For about a year I've been working (sometimes more, sometimes less) on my first game.
I had loads of fun making it, but now it is finished, and it shall be freeware.
Optical Ball is a retro brick-breaker.
Some of the rooms are mashed-up with other classic games.
The player has unlimited attempts to complete the room objective with one ball.
There are 9 unique rooms, which are all available from the start and have a challenging difficulty.
gameplay video (sound was not recorded)
I had loads of fun making it, but now it is finished, and it shall be freeware.
Optical Ball is a retro brick-breaker.
Some of the rooms are mashed-up with other classic games.
The player has unlimited attempts to complete the room objective with one ball.
There are 9 unique rooms, which are all available from the start and have a challenging difficulty.
gameplay video (sound was not recorded)
One of the design decisions I think a lot about is how the customers should reflect the terrible things you give them to eat. I'm not quite sure I really want to delve into the morality of killing npcs as a feedback mechanic, but I think if the npcs throw up and leave a mess that might be satisfactory.
The players really can do quite horrible things to the food, though...
Jacksinthe
Banned
What do you do, GAF? Fun and forget style out in a year or go for the gold star, follow your heart and take 2-3 for something out of the box?
I think I might raise my Wii U eShop game after my next patch. I've added a good bit of content to the game. It launched at $2.99, and had a price cut to $1.99 while trying to make it better. Now that it's much better, esp with upcoming patch, would like to raise it to like $3.99 or so. Would make doing 50% sales more impressive. Esp if the game doesn't really do much right now when not on sale. (issue with game's name and marketing from never doing this before)
Has anyone here experienced raising there game price way after launch?
Wouldn't even be the 1st game to raise my price on eShop, Spin The Bottle: Bumpie's Party, raised there price by like 25% after launch, when they added bunch new things.
Has anyone here experienced raising there game price way after launch?
Wouldn't even be the 1st game to raise my price on eShop, Spin The Bottle: Bumpie's Party, raised there price by like 25% after launch, when they added bunch new things.
Nevadatan
Member
hi GAF
i've looking for doing something of a game for a while.
i have RPG Maker VX Ace on steam since a bit and it looks nice enough as im a complete ignorant of the wizardry of programming, so im currently writing the script and the characters, the storyboard and that kind of conceptual stuff.
also i have a pretty decent gaming pc (not a beast but serves me well, AMD FX 8320/16GBRAM/Radeon HD7770) but i prefer to work on my old laptop from 2006 on linux because is way more conzy that being sit infront of the desktop PC all day (not to mention the horrible power consumption), so maybe if i overseeing a opensourced engine noob-friendly you guys can point me to it..
(i would like to create a 2D plataforming game, but i believe that required coding knowledge so thats why i decided to do an adventure game instead)
thanks for reading that brick of probably malformed english text. (please excuse me as im not as fluent on english)
i've looking for doing something of a game for a while.
i have RPG Maker VX Ace on steam since a bit and it looks nice enough as im a complete ignorant of the wizardry of programming, so im currently writing the script and the characters, the storyboard and that kind of conceptual stuff.
also i have a pretty decent gaming pc (not a beast but serves me well, AMD FX 8320/16GBRAM/Radeon HD7770) but i prefer to work on my old laptop from 2006 on linux because is way more conzy that being sit infront of the desktop PC all day (not to mention the horrible power consumption), so maybe if i overseeing a opensourced engine noob-friendly you guys can point me to it..
(i would like to create a 2D plataforming game, but i believe that required coding knowledge so thats why i decided to do an adventure game instead)
thanks for reading that brick of probably malformed english text. (please excuse me as im not as fluent on english)
Recently, for Turnover, I've been trying to update some sprites so they look a little more detailed, and to also correct problems with perspective.
Here's an example of a cubicle desk:
I fixed perspective on the cabinet, added wires, and changed the way the PC looks.
Also, I'm going to launch the Steam Greenlight campaign for Turnover on December 9th. I'm both nervous and excited about it!
Here's an example of a cubicle desk:
I fixed perspective on the cabinet, added wires, and changed the way the PC looks.
Also, I'm going to launch the Steam Greenlight campaign for Turnover on December 9th. I'm both nervous and excited about it!
Michael Armbrust
Member
Well VizionEck started as just one of those quick games. Original plan was to just make it in a month.
But then I kept on coming up with cool ideas for the game so I went back to the drawing board and converted it to a 2 year long development.
I'm not sure if I regret doing that or not. VizionEck didn't start out as my gold star game, but overtime it has become one. I love what VizionEck is now, but I'm just spending so much time with it. Lots of days I'm tempted to take a break and work on new game projects but I can't.
My advice would be to do some smaller games first, and tackle a larger game further down the line.
Been a while I've posted in here since I was taking a bit of an (extended) breather! But I'm finally done with Carrion Wind's character animation, so that's a pretty good reason to celebrate.
Now I'm getting back to adding audience members in the background.
I'd love to cameo some guest characters from indie games from this thread - would any of you be interested? I'm not sure if I should ask specific creators (I'd feel pretty bad asking some and forgetting others), or leave this proposal here for all to see. Feel free to PM me, and I may send PMs as well if I muster the courage!
Maybe this is dependant on budget/resources? If you can afford to follow your heart for however long, I'd probably go that route as I feel it ends up having the better results, but then again, there's something to be said for time and creative constraints and experience gained through completing projects.
Now I'm getting back to adding audience members in the background.
I'd love to cameo some guest characters from indie games from this thread - would any of you be interested? I'm not sure if I should ask specific creators (I'd feel pretty bad asking some and forgetting others), or leave this proposal here for all to see. Feel free to PM me, and I may send PMs as well if I muster the courage!
Maybe this is dependant on budget/resources? If you can afford to follow your heart for however long, I'd probably go that route as I feel it ends up having the better results, but then again, there's something to be said for time and creative constraints and experience gained through completing projects.
I personally dislike price hikes and would recommend maybe making a sequel or a new game or something instead if price is an issue. I suspect you would make more that way and have less player irritation than making little bits of progress off a dollar change. I don't know for sure.
On another note, besides Kittens, there's another theme favorite in town. Ludum Dare round 4 voting, I definitely voted for ☃.
Oh, I'm already well on my way in making a sequel. I'm just trying to gauge if raising the price by a dollar or 2, due to new content (like the example I linked) is a good idea or not. Esp if it's been nearly a year since release and many sales for people to get chance to buy it already. But you might be right, might not go over with gamers. Probably won't do it, as might be confusing to raise the price around the time it's sequel is released. haha
Since I've had it on my mind for the past day, figure I'll ask here. Where do y'all go for finding people / resources for getting music on a budget (and I do mean budget)? Local grads / talent? Online music communities? Friends of friends of friends? Or just get some pre-made royalty free stuff?
It's a little horse before the carriage, but figure I might as well look into music as an element of my game early and see what makes sense in the long run.
It's a little horse before the carriage, but figure I might as well look into music as an element of my game early and see what makes sense in the long run.
superNESjoe
Member
Made the switch over to Unity today from Game Maker Studio. I consider myself on the medium-high to high end of skills with Game Maker, and I was hitting the ceiling of what I felt I could do there. I already did everything in GML, so I figured it was time to learn a real language and start coding in that.
I've started a tutorial series that is teaching me the UI elements and some basic Javascript to work with Unity 2D, but I am looking for suggestions. I love making side scrolling and platformer games, and am curious if anyone else has made the specific jump from GM:S to Unity like I am. I have zero coding experience other than what I learned over the past two years in Game Maker. Any resource or tutorials that would be good for me would be awesome.
I've started a tutorial series that is teaching me the UI elements and some basic Javascript to work with Unity 2D, but I am looking for suggestions. I love making side scrolling and platformer games, and am curious if anyone else has made the specific jump from GM:S to Unity like I am. I have zero coding experience other than what I learned over the past two years in Game Maker. Any resource or tutorials that would be good for me would be awesome.
I can't think of anything in my game that GameMaker can't handle, and also Handmade Hero has scared me off of learning a "real" language as much as it's fascinated me. But I'm not one to disparage, so good luck in your pursuit!
What exactly are you making that Studio could not do for you? If your game is 3D, I don't know why you bothered with Studio in the first place since it is almost primarily a 2D tool.
I'm not super familiar with Unity myself, but I get the general impression that C# is recommended over Javascript as a Unity scripting language. I could not give you very good general reasons for this however, other than C# being a general language that might be useful for other application things too.
electroflame
Member
Unity is also switching towards more C# (the new docs use C# as the default now).
Unity's Javascript support has always kind of been iffy, as well. C# is a safer bet, and -- in my opinion -- a better language to learn as it can easily lead to C++ or C much easier than Javascript or Boo.
In a tragic display of injustice, everyone hated "Kittens" and downvoted it as the bottom theme in Ludum Dare. This is despite how world peace could have been produced by the enormous stress-reducing properties of an entire game filled with little cats. Not to mention how, how many different varieties of game could be produced, all with kittens in common!
The only remaining hope is that the snowman wingding is abstract enough to infiltrate people's minds as a valid theme, but I fear a similar backlash and we'll end up with another normal theme. I kind of want the organizers to overrule everyone once every 3 jams or so and force a crazy theme.
The only remaining hope is that the snowman wingding is abstract enough to infiltrate people's minds as a valid theme, but I fear a similar backlash and we'll end up with another normal theme. I kind of want the organizers to overrule everyone once every 3 jams or so and force a crazy theme.
wondermega
Member
Some gifs of Blast Rover. If these are too big, let me know and I'll pull them (I was judging by what people posted on the other pages)
click for somewhat dated gameplay video
CALL FOR HELP!
Attention my fellow indie developers, and fans of such.
After a lonnnnnnnnng gestation period, my 2 cohorts and I are nearly ready to unleash Blast Rover on the world(s).
We are at the 98% mark and need to get a little feedback from some testers now. I have a PC build and an Android build to submit. If you are interested, please PM me or give a shoutout to twitter @headcaseGames. All I request is that you give the game at least 10 minutes of your attention, and fill out a brief survey following your experience. Be harsh, but fair!
Please only participate if you are interested in providing useful feedback. Thank you
(and now for the markety"about" stuff)
Blast Rover can be described as a cross-breed of Super Meat Boy and Moon Patrol.
You must pilot an Armored Planetary Rover across the 8 planets of our Solar System, recapturing 20 levels in each World from a menacing Alien Empire.
Each level is filled will countless alien monsters to destroy, mind-bending puzzles to navigate, and dubiously-placed treasures to capture! A true test of reflexes, skill, and wits, Blast Rover is perfectly suited for pick-up-and-play or long sessions of exploration.
- 4 challenge modes per level
- Simple controls for both keyboard or touchscreen
- Unique Mechanics that evolve as you play
Staff (all gaffers):
- Pat Derosby/MTMBStudios (Design/Coding) - (Null Divide, Mute Crimson)
- Ron Alpert/Headcase Games (Art/Concept/Production) - (Lords of Magic, Caesar III, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Alpha Protocol, 180)
- SadSic (Music)
Hey everybody, been in hibernation mode for the last few months. After releasing my first game I really chilled on the development. Also been actually playing alot of games which is a nice change of pace. But I've been tinkering around with a simple app over the summer but nothing too serious. It's a simple tap game, kinda a mix of Ikaruga, Flappy Bird and Killer Instinct.. or something like that...Now that winter is here (last week it was like -40C with the wind chill) I'll be getting a lot more work done on my new game. So I should have something to show soon.
But the reason I'm posting is if you dug Instantion, give it a vote over at SlideDB!
Keep up all the cool work everyone!
But the reason I'm posting is if you dug Instantion, give it a vote over at SlideDB!
Keep up all the cool work everyone!
superNESjoe
Member
RE: Multiple people above.
I've been enjoying Game Maker: Studio a lot, and realistically I could continue working in it but I want to start learning a traditional language to give myself more versatility. I intend to learn C# but the first Unity tutorials I was going through were using Javascript.
There are elements of the Unity UI I already prefer over GM:S, the Scene Builder is easier to navigate and actually allows you to build your level with depth and layers unlike GM. There are more collision box options, like polygonal ones over simple shapes, and I'm led to believe it is a more efficient and powerful tool. It also has better support for a wider range of platforms, including nearly every console.
Maybe I chose the wrong words, I could make my next game in GM:S but I'm just not sure I want to.
I've been enjoying Game Maker: Studio a lot, and realistically I could continue working in it but I want to start learning a traditional language to give myself more versatility. I intend to learn C# but the first Unity tutorials I was going through were using Javascript.
There are elements of the Unity UI I already prefer over GM:S, the Scene Builder is easier to navigate and actually allows you to build your level with depth and layers unlike GM. There are more collision box options, like polygonal ones over simple shapes, and I'm led to believe it is a more efficient and powerful tool. It also has better support for a wider range of platforms, including nearly every console.
Maybe I chose the wrong words, I could make my next game in GM:S but I'm just not sure I want to.
I hadn't realized that a normal trend with Ludum Dare theme voting is for day 1 to do well with multiple themes, day 2 to be average, and day 3-4 to be super negative. Presumably that's just the nature of multiple days and human psychology.
However, the internet actually came through on day 4. "Entire Game on One Screen" and "☃" were actually both positive. Someone was afraid the snowman would produce a bunch of similarly-themed games with snow particles, but I don't think that's a bad fate. Plus I think some people may make creative interpretations, such as games about Unicode characters, or games about outlines, or games with symbols only.
Only the final round remains!
However, the internet actually came through on day 4. "Entire Game on One Screen" and "☃" were actually both positive. Someone was afraid the snowman would produce a bunch of similarly-themed games with snow particles, but I don't think that's a bad fate. Plus I think some people may make creative interpretations, such as games about Unicode characters, or games about outlines, or games with symbols only.
Only the final round remains!
ok this is just ridiculous
The australian rating board won't accept my submission because I put the video and the game on the same SD card, while apparently you have to submit the video on a separate disc/memory stick.
the fact that they won't accept online submissions is ridiculous to begin with but this is just crazy. There is no reality in which copying the video to disc would have taken longer or more effort than writing the email telling me to resubmit.
It also doesn't help that in the spirit of my game the postal service presumably decided to deliver the submission by steamboat and stagecoach
The australian rating board won't accept my submission because I put the video and the game on the same SD card, while apparently you have to submit the video on a separate disc/memory stick.
the fact that they won't accept online submissions is ridiculous to begin with but this is just crazy. There is no reality in which copying the video to disc would have taken longer or more effort than writing the email telling me to resubmit.
It also doesn't help that in the spirit of my game the postal service presumably decided to deliver the submission by steamboat and stagecoach
Argh, is NGUI really the best there is for UI in Unity? (That's not 4.6+) I think I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to drop mouse support for the UI. That should make things easier.
I think I also want to give GameMaker a shot, just to see if that's less frustrating. =)
I think I also want to give GameMaker a shot, just to see if that's less frustrating. =)
AusRoachman
Member
Loving all the work in here. Awesome stuff.
I have been having a gamedev break the last few months (too many games to play). But i thought now would be a good time to jump back in.
So having trying lots of different genres, i thought i would revive an old concept ive been sitting on for about a year.
- Turn based gameplay (hopefully multi and singleplayer)
- Unique "Units" each with different attack abilities
- Small maps but each with there own tactics
- Big fan of the lowpoly look so trying to stick with that as much as possible
I have been having a gamedev break the last few months (too many games to play). But i thought now would be a good time to jump back in.
So having trying lots of different genres, i thought i would revive an old concept ive been sitting on for about a year.
- Turn based gameplay (hopefully multi and singleplayer)
- Unique "Units" each with different attack abilities
- Small maps but each with there own tactics
- Big fan of the lowpoly look so trying to stick with that as much as possible
OldmanAndroid
Member
Hey fellow gaff devs.
Been away for a while working on some other projects and only ocasionally dropping by.
Among other things we have been trying out different art styles and techniques to use with Spine and Game Maker.
Here is a dog that we are using to test out bones, IKs, meshes and weights.
I did a quick skinning but it's easy to see it works really well. We are also checking compatibility and stress testing with multiple instances and such.
Will post more as we try out other things.
Been away for a while working on some other projects and only ocasionally dropping by.
Among other things we have been trying out different art styles and techniques to use with Spine and Game Maker.
Here is a dog that we are using to test out bones, IKs, meshes and weights.
I did a quick skinning but it's easy to see it works really well. We are also checking compatibility and stress testing with multiple instances and such.
Will post more as we try out other things.
So having trying lots of different genres, i thought i would revive an old concept ive been sitting on for about a year.
I really like the gem look of the dino. Have you considered making everything a gem color / gem world w that rendering style?
--
I worked on a new collision system for energy weapons yesterday and created a few interesting bugs. This one was at least pretty:
Hi I postet here once before a few months ago but prefer reading over posting someone might still remember me though.
Today I finished work on a character for a game a small team and I are developing.
Its going to be a third person adventure using unreal 4 still so much work to do but some levels are greyboxed and a few of the gameplay elements are in.
For now we are certain we can achieve what we want and will focus on getting a nice target trailer and prototype running.
Im more of a art guy and less of a programmer so the only thing I can do atm is create visuals and play with blueprint
Some wips on my artstation page if youre interessted.
Today I finished work on a character for a game a small team and I are developing.
Its going to be a third person adventure using unreal 4 still so much work to do but some levels are greyboxed and a few of the gameplay elements are in.
For now we are certain we can achieve what we want and will focus on getting a nice target trailer and prototype running.
Im more of a art guy and less of a programmer so the only thing I can do atm is create visuals and play with blueprint
Some wips on my artstation page if youre interessted.
Hi I postet here once before a few months ago but prefer reading over posting someone might still remember me though.
Today I finished work on a character for a game a small team and I are developing.
Its going to be a third person adventure using unreal 4 still so much work to do but some levels are greyboxed and a few of the gameplay elements are in.
For now we are certain we can achieve what we want and will focus on getting a nice target trailer and prototype running.
Im more of a art guy and less of a programmer so the only thing I can do atm is create visuals and play with blueprint
Some wips on my artstation page if youre interessted.
amazing. wish I knew how to do this.
RelentlessRolento
Member
Thank you.
Actually there is so much crazy good 2D art in this thread that I want to try that someday too.
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