Vapourware Codexian Game Development Thread

This is so rude, bro. Are you not familiar with programmers etiquette? You never tell the audience how magic is done. NEVER!

 

Dude, you're such a tard. Everyone knows that all serious programming projects are done in Malbolge.

 

One of the artists for the action RPG I'm working on made a video of a wizard he sprited. It's bonkers, I can't believe how good it is! This wizard guides you through an extremely long and complicated character creation process (we're hoping to make it the most detailed character creation ever - more than Megatraveller and Darklands). Even if the rest of the game sucks, at least it will have killer graphics.

I'm so excited. Things are going so well on this project, we're so far ahead of where I thought we'd be right now. We've got an extremely complicated gun system that combines the procedurally generated stats and affixes of roguelikes with the fusion mechanics of games like Shin Megami Tensei and Persona. It's really complicated and I honestly thought we'd have to hire another coder specifically just to work on this one thing, but the bulk of it is done after 2 weeks. I'm pulling an all-nighter to finish up menu layouts, character creation and if I get the time, some music. I'm pumped!!

 

Extremely complicated character creation process? I like the sound of that.

If there's a wizard you might want to aim for a bit more of a fantasy influence on the music. It would help your portfolio to have this broader demonstration of styles to show off

 

Prog rock is perfectly suitable music for wizards!

 

Approach asymptotically Malbolge.

 

brilliant - downloaded it. The end is somewhat abrupt. Is it going to loop seamlessly?

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Excommunicator - that's not actually the character creation song, it's for this weird 60s/70s psychedelia-inspired area. I think he just used it because it's a remake of a song I made last week for a contest we participated in. The game has a very weird setting, I'm not sure how to categorize it, but I think the closest thing would be cyberpunk. It's pretty inconsistent, but it's consistent enough in its inconsistency that it makes sense. Which probably doesn't make any sense at all.

SCO - Thanks man! It loops perfectly in the game. I remember seeing some of your posts in a music topic on HG101 about a year ago and we like pretty similar game music!

Zed - Yeah, Frankie is absolutely incredible. You don't really see much of it in the video, but he's probably the best pixel art animator I've ever seen. Check out some of his other videos if you want to see some of his other work. He consistently amazes me.

Man, I still haven't slept. I'm exhausted but I've still got a lot I want to do before take a nap. I sort of like it though. Maybe I'll stay on permanent crunch time for this whole project.

 

I have some questions about Kickstarter, I wasn't sure where to put them.

How important are physical rewards to you? Do you think a game looks cheap if it doesn't have them, or does it depend on the scale of the game and its goal?

Someone told me that the higher the goal is, the higher quality the game looks whether or not this is true. Do you agree with this? Do games with higher goals seem higher quality?

Do monthly development emails sound appealing or annoying?

What do you think of unique items and abilities for backers that do not significantly alter the balance of gameplay? Unique graphics for backers? At higher tiers, maybe even unique quests or scenarios?

Our goal is to have a demo and video for Kickstarter within the next two months and I am very nervous about it. Physical rewards are the thing I'm most worried about - I don't know what we could make that would encourage people to actually donate and I'm not sure how we'd even produce them on our limited budget. Cafepress shirts are cheap as hell and I would never in a million years wear a video game shirt. I don't really want any physical rewards at all but it seems like every game has them. I appreciate any feedback! Thank you!

 

Depends. Do they directly relate back to the playing of the game or the representation of that experience, i.e. maps, encyclopedia, ruleset book, in-setting novella, convenient item/ability charts? Those things are all good. Figurines, plastic swords, T-shirts? Fuck that. Posters of game art is borderline. I wouldn't want it, but I can understand when some people would.

There are always elements of truth when such things are said. I wouldn't say "higher goal = higher quality" game at all but I would say higher goal = higher expectations of the end product and of the developer's responsibility to deliver. Some people are common and they will believe this, hence why "someone told you" this. Just keep it in mind when you do your budgeting.

Yes they do sound annoying. Put all developer updates onto a blog and encourage people to check it regularly. Link back to a forum to keep conversations going and keep a watch on the traffic.

I hate additional in-game things. I believe there should be only one authoritative version of a game and that version should be complete. Don't do anything which suggests you've pulled content out and don't offer things which most people won't get in the main game unless you are planning to offer it later as part of some addon or expansion (free or paid, either one, so long as you state this right at the beginning)

Get clever. Look at the talent of your team. If you have good artists, then put those skills to work in promotion. If you have good musicians, then market that. If you have access to any other fields or professions that might be able to be related back to the kickstart, then use all of it. Just try to aim for something new and interesting.


With all of that said, I am not normal people, so you probably shouldn't listen to me. Most people want these stupid things and when you are doing a kickstarter and reaching the goal is not a certainty for you, then you have to make concessions for the commoners. Appease them if you have to, just don't compromise the game in the process.

 

I don't kickstart things that look like they have paid DLC attached. The loophole here is if you call them cheat codes. (Informing everyone they can be safely ignored.)

 

Hey, sorry for the late reply. I'm visiting my family in another state at the moment - also getting some serious work done.

As much as I dislike physical media for Kickstarters (and I would never actually want it), it also seems to be a major draw for a lot of people. Zed's idea for a pixel art poster is actually really good and something I hadn't thought of. The other BIG IDEA we've been tossing around is a comic set in the game world. I personally think it would be a waste of resources that could be used for actual game development, but I could also see it being a significant draw too. I think we could probably make something similar with far less effort. I also do know a guy who made his own figurines and sold them for $20 each. I'm thinking of asking him how he made them so we could do something similar. I would never buy a figurine, but clearly some people would.

The one big thing I'd like to have is constant engagement with backers. 9 times out of 10, when I get a Kickstarter update email, I don't read it so I'm hoping there are tools to filter out backers by those who do and don't want updates or blog posts or whatever. The reason I think monthly emails, rather than Kickstarter updates, are the way to go is that Kickstarter updates go to everyone whereas I can filter emails to just the people who want them. Maybe a forum would be the best way to do this.

I tend to agree with you all regarding unique content. I do think it would be cool that people who give a certain amount could have unique portraits or aesthetic changes to their game, but nothing significant and nothing that alters gameplay.

I feel like I've hijacked this topic. I'll stop posting unless I've got something really big to share. Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone.

 

OK, then it's my turn.

 

First few minutes of Monsterland. Still subject to constant change.

 

Looking awesome. I can't wait to play both of these games. What's the ETA on Monsterland (or a demo. . . . )? The way you integrate the tutorial text into the walls is very clever. The way you introduce weapons by putting them in environments where they're immediately of use is also pretty clever. My only concern, and this is probably because this is the introductory level, is that you're pretty liberal with the health kits.

Anyway, looking great both of you.

 

A-ha! My insidious placement got noticed!

Thanks for the kind words. I am still trying to finish this game as quickly as possible.

 

Good atmosphere. Looks fun to play.

I don't like the player character sprite, though. It looks awkward when shooting. Have you thought about adding different sprites for moving/shooting in specific direction?

 

shihonage the sound, graphics, and feel all look excellent in monsterland, looking great!

 

Taking notes in good handwriting is a good feeling. Walking with female student and teachers: priceless.

 

Tight gameplay and impressive atmosphere...
Congratulations shihonage.

 

Here's something more lowbrow:



Finally finished a playable demo version of my platformer with metroid 2 sprites.
Its basically like metroid 2, except a bit less linear and with particle effects. And machineguns.

You can download it here.

I tested it on XP and Win7. You'll also need the VC++ 2010 redistributable and the .NET framework to make it work.
Links to versions that should work are on the Download Page.

Gamepad is recommended.

 

A bomb!

Welcome to the FIFE family (yeah, a little late, but still ). Very nice & inspiring work - keep it coming