Free time has been ridiculously sparse lately, and I didn't even have my daily commutes to fall back on last week. I am getting closer and closer to finishing the *first* boss fight, but somehow the closer I get - more and more tiny new details become vital to address. As of right now - the whole battle is playeble from start to finish, although I'm not sure just how well, since I didn't have anyone other than myself play it yet. Things I still need to add are a more spectacular boss death effect, better boss announcement, ability to punch the boss into non-vital parts with "ineffective" message popping up, tweak the bosses punch range - it's a bit too short, a powerup drop after the boss is defeated, a finished power-up-get animation and effect, and more and better sound effects - but that's pretty true of the game on the whole. I need to start working on the event flag and save systems, so the boss battle and puzzles don't reset every time I leave a room, as it's becoming annoying.Also started working on a new "cave" tileset - hopefully this will turn out pretty.
My last post got a whopping 1 reply, and the one before that I think got none. Now that there is almost zero interest in the project - I might want to keep it that way for a while: )
Well my curiosity has been peaked after finding a video on youtube. I looked at the other two videos and Im impressed at the ability you have there. The game sprites look great... no beyond great. Its good to know that this game is still in production. I hate having finding a game that looks like a good one only to find out the person cancelled or just stopped working on it. I personally wouldnt mind getting my hands on a demo. But as all good things it takes patience I should know Im personally taking on monster sized quest to one-man a game much as you are. Its take a lot of time and a lot of love to craft a game as fine looking as that. Keep up the good work I would love to take a pick at your brain, and rummage though the games content.(inspiration purposes of course) Its a labor of love thats taken a ton to experimenting im sure. By chance are you still using GM? I havent read through all your post yet, but saw something about you using it. I too have bounced around several packages only to find that its too restricting on anything I did. I still use GM but I script everything. I would also like to read a post on any programs your using, personally I like keeping it simple with Idraw3 and gimp, for sprite work. Ah its great to know that a game with the level of caliber i have seen here so far is out there. These is a jem that has only begun to shine I will keep a close eye on these one thats for sure. Keep up the good work and i sir give you a pat on the back.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of interest in the game, for sure. With me, though, I feel as if posting and commenting too much would make you feel as if you're forcing yourself to finish this for the sake of others and not yourself. I actually view this blog daily to see if there are updates.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sounds like you got a lot of work ahead of you. Looking forward to future updates.
@gamecreation85: I'm still using Game Maker (6), but as you mentioned - script absolutely everything. For character design and rough background passes I use Photoshop (I pixel in photoshop - weird, right?: ), and for traditional full frame animation and final pixel pass of background art I use ProMotion. For modular animation, however - I had to write my own editor.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to overexpose my game by posting videos of every new thing I do, as tempting as that sometimes sounds, so the stuff you saw was years old, but by the standards of going-it-alone monster-projects - maybe not so long ago: )
You mentioned you too are involved in a monstrous solo undertaking? Have I heard about your stuff?
@The Guardian: Awesome, thank you: ) I do that to at least one other indie project - keep checking its blog daily without much updates, but it's awesome when there is an update.
I'm kinda torn on the whole dev journal thing - on one side - it is purely for myself - I don't really mind if no one even reads it, on another - instant gratification feels nice: )
Photoshop really isnt that strange many people I have talked to use it. I personally use Fireworks myself every now and then. Pro motion eh well it took some digging but found it at Cosmigo (kind of pricey but I will trial it at least)
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of writing own program tools I too have quite a few tools (Most written in GM of course) that I use to make the game. Heck of the game itself isnt even made inside of GM but with GM tools mostly. The game engine exe contains only important code, all resources are loading throughout the game using overly complex loading screens. I just find GM has a decent layout but not quite what I need so I built my own editors.
I can understand I feel you dont want to give away anything just yet until its release, unforunatetly doing so might mean a low release reception. A few of my games were released with not so much as a few posts on the forum consisting of "Great game good job".
You wouldnt have seen any of the earlier demos since unforunately my past work along with most of my website was lost (hosting shutdown)
As for this my current game, its seen rewrite after rewrite, throw in a couple of computer crashes, and give or take several years and im at where i am now. I plan on releasing a demo reel showing several clips. So until then I plan to keep it on the downlow at least til most of the stand in art is completed on a few chapters (What I can say its a RPG that will rival console games, and finally show everyone just what GM is capable of. Main drive was originally because I was tired of seeing halfass games pushed out of GM community)
I rewritten nearly all code and recreated my tools in GM8. Now major work begins on the mountain of art that has to be sprited. That being said its easier said than done. I might actually have to cap the game time to about 20-30 Hrs if im lucky, Since this beast of a game is a major undertaking. To think it started with RPGMAKER 2000.
Heh im dying to play a demo man :) Can't wait till this is finished. It's interesting watching your progress, sorry about wanting to keep the interest down but ill be watching this for a while ^^. Looking at your art makes me want to keep mine at a high quality as a spriter.
ReplyDeleteHey, I was surprised to see that you were still working on this too. I had viewed some videos of your projects ages ago when looking at vids related to good ol' Konjak's games. The care you took into your visuals and the time you obviously spent to boost the game's quality over the years really showed how dedicated you were to making something worth playing, and not just something to show off. Of course, I'm probably not the only one who worries that your quality standards for such a large game will eventually result in a big development slump, and so honestly, decides to just lurk here more than post. You're a person who has a set layout of goals and I think most of us just want to see how well you act on them before we start opening our mouths in haste. I will say though, that this game certainly LOOKS good so far, and using Photoshop to pixel is hardly strange at all.
ReplyDeleteJust keep up the work you're doing, and stay vigilant. As you draw closer to a demo, you should definitely tap some of the indie game community out there again, and let everyone know you're still working hard.
Good luck!
This game is looking really nice! The animation is top notch, and the character design is excellent. Can't wait to play it! Definitely bookmarking this page.
ReplyDeleteThat's not trueeeeeee! We're watching you carefully!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I still do believe posting about every single detail is a good idea. Anyway, if not every single detail, at least that custom editor you wrote for modular animations - that sounds so freaking interesting!
Would you please make a post/video about it? :-D
*is an interested lurker*
ReplyDeleteWe have many interests in this project. (fades into the shadows)
ReplyDeleteFinish it please ? ^_^;
ReplyDeleteGood to know you're still working on it, two other games I was really interested were dropped, one's creator canceled the project and the other fell off the face of the internet, so seeing you're still active is a huge relief.
ReplyDeleteI've only *just* begun to learn about this project of yours, like really only a day or two ago, and even with what little I've seen (haven't watched the videos yet erlol) it looks amazing.
I heard you didn't know if you were going to release the final project for free or as a purchasable game, my opinion is that depending how much content it has when you finish it you should probably sell it for $5 to $12, maybe even porting it consoles if you can.
Best of luck to you, how have things progressed since March?
The game looks great and gorgeous, and I'm really anxious to see it finished. I only hope you manage to finish, though... I have seen a lot of solo projects going the way of the dodo due to unrealistic projections.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind waiting even 3 years to play it, just don't give up! Hell, if it's as good as it's looking like it is, I might even buy it on steam (provided you release it there, of course - if it's donationware, that's cool as well, I might drop a few quids your way after playing).
I have followed this game basically since the first day it appeared on the gamemaker forums. It's come an incredibly long way since then, and I'm pretty sure you have a firm grasp on what you want to accomplish. I mean, any lesser man would have dropped it in half the time, but you keep on building, pixel by pixel. Godspeed man, godspeed.
ReplyDelete