That's the stuff where important things have to get objective, actually. For example if there is not much benefit in doing all the fancy parkour stuff etc. it's a waste of potential. Now whether it is the case or not has to be found out.

I think that things like bugginess, terrible graphics, piercing music, etc are things that very generally are considered bad things. They're fairly objective. Things like the parkour, mechs, AI usefulness, etc are all things that one person could love and another could hate. So it's really subjective. Parkour could feel like a waste of potential to one person but another could have a blast doing it and not care what potential there could have been because its fine as is for him. I call that subjective.

I'm fine with people having whatever opinions they like, but its the people that hide behind that word so frequently that should get used to backing up their convictions. Instead its those that attack them that get the short end of the stick, it seems all too easy to disregard all criticism otherwise.

I agree. I think a lot of times someone will say something as if its fact and call other people wrong, but then say that it's their opinion so you can't argue with them. In other words, they have no way of defending their standpoint. I think that opinions should still be something people back up with reasons.

The opposite really, unless we are going to go the route of everything being subjective i'd like to think that there are things that can be evaluated more objectively outside of preference.

So long as we acknowledge that there are flaws or facts about what it is that we like, thats all im asking.

For example, I like Team Fortress Classic but it's not a good game nor would I encourage others to try it. Knowing my tastes ill enjoy Titanfall for 1-2 weeks, in which time i'll have little to no competition and grow bored, but what im interested in is what could have been done to stem my boredom for longer and generally work out what elements are good.

Breaking things down and analysing them is worthwhile, to me the moment you put up the opinion/taste defence you stop being cognizant, but hey you like it... and thats ok.

However... thats just my opinion, right?

I agree with all of that, actually. I just think that saying Titanfall is shit quality is very extreme. I'm not saying I even like the game. I enjoyed beta, but not enough to buy the game unless a ton of my friends are playing. However, there was nothing specifically shit about the game. It felt polished, the graphics were really good, it wasn't buggy. Things like the guns, whether AI is necessary, how fun mechs were, etc are all things that come down to personal opinion so they can't really affect a game's factual amount of terrible. I know what you mean though. There are some games that are just absolute crap due to terrible design, bugginess or whatever. I don't think Titanfall really fits in that category.

[Devlog Update #35 - 02/24/14]

Devlog Update #35 - 02/24/14

Let's talk about the story! I don't go too much into detail in the main post, so I'll go more into detail now.

So at the beginning of the game, the player character (who is nameless as he doesn't need a name) is lying dead on the floor of a cabin engulfed in flames. His ghost floats above him. At this point the player gains control. Making their way to the right, the player finds a large room made up of clouds called Purgatory. In this room are 8 Gates of Memory. Each one leads to a different traumatic memory from the character's past. Each memory you gain a new ability that corresponds to the story somewhat. For instance, in the first world it'll say, "I felt like my whole world had been turned upside down." Thus, you gain the ability to reverse gravity for yourself alone.

It is extremely important to me that the story is subtle. I don't want enormous amounts of text explaining the story to the player. Instead, I want the story to be told mainly through the gameplay, world themes, etc. I think this will spark a lot more discussion between players as well. The beginning of each level will have one small room in which the background is a painting depicting the traumatic memory. In this same room is where you first get your new ability and test it out to solve a very simple puzzle.

Each world will contain 5 Mementos. These are objects that are always noticeable to the player, but hard to obtain. They're always behind a puzzle. The mementos will each be an object that reminds the character about something positive around the time the memory took place. If the player gets all 5 objects, at the end of the world, you will see a positive ending room where the player is realizing that things weren't all that bad and he needs to let go (said more subtly of course).

I feel that each world's memory should be a compelling enough story by itself to warrant it's existence. If one level was about death and another was about spilling milk it wouldn't make any sense. So, I'm taking this on from the viewpoint of the character. What in his life would make him sad or angry enough to have trouble letting it go. I don't want to reveal all of them, but stuff like: His parents tragic death when he was 5, being picked on at school all the time as a kid, his wife being told she couldn't have any kids.

This is also why I chose 8 worlds rather than 9+. I personally feel that after 8 memories the individual stories would start to become much less compelling or interesting. Also, because more than 7 abilities would be overkill. Side note: I have considered the possibility of adding a Level Editor and creating an online world like how Super Meat Boy did.

The eighth world will be a conclusion to the character's life story, basically and explain certain things through the mementos you find. I'll be leaving some things up to interpretation. After the last world, the player moves on to the final room of the game which contains no puzzles. It will simply tell the end of the story... what happens to the character's spirit? The answer will entirely depend on how well the player did throughout the game. There will be four endings: three bad, one good. Which you get depends on how many mementos you collected through all of the levels. If you collected all mementos in every level, you'll get the good ending. You can always go back to worlds you've already finished and get mementos you missed.

Also, I plan on having secret trophy type objects throughout the world that are much harder to obtain than mementos. Once you collect all of them and all mementos you'll have gotten 100% completion of the game.

Thanks for reading guys!

It's fine, some people like scat... you can enjoy whatever you like. Just don't start pretending that what you like isn't shit.

In other words, "That's okay. You're wrong, but that's okay. Oh by the way, you're wrong."
I don't think you understand how opinions work.

Really love the new trailer. Showed a friend who's bonkers for Mega Man and he loved it.

I've always wondered what happened to The Archer.

Starbound. It's so much better than I thought it was going to be and I'm really enjoying it.

Digging the style a lot. Following.

Thank you!

Who wants me to add their games to my indie search engine? ( htt;//indieseeker.com ) this is for the lazy out there.

What's the best image size for the image used for links? You should list that underneath the upload part.

 

Not saying there isn't plenty of blatant racism to go around, but it seems pretty rigged considering for the white guy the car was in little tokyo and for the black guy it was right on fucking Hollywood Blvd. It's also the internet. They could have easily cut all footage of the cop that drove by pulling over, then talking to him as well just so they'd get more views. Like I said though, there's plenty of racism to go around so even if this is rigged, it's entirely possible the situation could be replicated with those results.

@Alec: Beat Link Between Worlds a while ago. It's my new favorite Zelda. I hesitate to call it that, but Link to the Past has always been my favorite before and honestly this is a lot of the same with a lot of it better.

I've been playing Battlefield 4 a bit. Yeah its a little buggy sometimes, but for the most part I've had an easy experience. Having a lot of fun.

Big FPS games have a big issue that's really hard to solve. Most people don't enjoy maps small enough to force the players close because it discourages sniping and the overall strategy ends up being shotguns. Yet if your map is big enough for a lot of strategies and playstyles, it ends up feeling empty sometimes. You can increase the player count, but sometimes games are emptier. It just depends. I think adding AI to the maps may be a bandaid, but it's a good bandaid. I never felt like they were in the way or ruining any aspect of the matches. In my opinion they made the game feel more alive and like a real warzone. Not saying this is the solution for everyone, but I personally wish more FPS had some AI running around.

That Angel gate...wow! 

Thanks!

My games on the frontpage of Newgrounds right now  

Link! EDIT: Oh nevermind, it's in your signature, huh...

EDIT 2: Hahaha, good call mods.

[Devlog Update #34 - 02/20/14]

Devlog Update #34 - 02/20/14

I'm currently working on getting the game's necessities in so I can have a prototype/alpha build. I'll mostly be using it for business purposes.

Version 0.0.5.0: Patch Notes
01. Added the "Gate of Memory" to the game which rises out of the ground as the player approaches it.
02. Added in the player's new animations for movement, idle and haunting.
03. Added saving and loading. The game autosaves at various points and you can load at any time.
04. Added a save/load menu to the title screen and a load screen to the pause menu.
05. Added the title art to the top of the title screen and all menus.
06. Heavily optimized the game, also making the code itself look cleaner and more organized.
07. Fixed an issue where the player would sometimes not collide with some spirits correctly.
08. Fixed an issue where the game would freeze when the player flipped.
09. Fixed an issue with v-sync not toggling back on.
10. Fixed an issue where pressing escape in certain menus didn't return to the correct menu.

Checklist:
Menu System (99%)
Player Basic Code (100%)
Player Abilities (50%)
Enemies/NPC Code (45%)
Pausing Functions (100%)
Saving/Loading (100%)
Collision and Movement (99%) - Small bug to work out.
Options (75%) - All the necessities are in, but I'm sure I'll add more later.
Atmosphere/Particles (0%) - I don't need this for a prototype really.
Interactive Environment (20%) - Hell Voids, Gates of Memory, etc.


I'm learning a LOT as I go, so I've been constantly going back and completely restructuring my code and assets. At this point they're damn near perfect, so things are sailing by much smoother. I should be done with the prototype build in 2-3 weeks.

I'll definitely be playing the alpha!

Personally, I love the AI in the matches. I always felt like multiplayer online games with big maps have felt really empty. I'll spend long periods of time just looking for someone to kill. It's nice to feel like there's less time in between confrontations even if they are really easy confrontations.

This is a sneak peak of the background used in the first area of my game. It's just a tree and moon, but it'll give you an idea what level of detail is put into each part of the game.

(Click for full resolution)

[Devlog Update #33 - 02/19/14]

Devlog Update #33 - 02/19/14

Today, I have a sneak peek for you of the background for the beginning of the game's area. It's just a tree and moon, but it'll give you an idea what level of detail is put into each part of the game.

(Click for full resolution)