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[deustaurus]

You Cannot Die

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Updated 2/23!

Download Demo 0.3.0e
If you don't have the XNA framework installed, get it here

0.3.0e
-Decreased visual noise levels further
-Added map display item
-Added more feedback for game events, such as falling
-Added slightly more depth to the task

0.3.0d
-Keeps track of time played
-Health is much more difficult to recover
-Tweaked the amount of noise onscreen
-Tweaked start and gun pickup maps
-Fixed bug in dog placement that made it easy to run into them entering new screen

0.3.0c
-Changed Inventory code and display, Items blink instead of floating
-Dogs hesitate slightly before attacking now
-Trees are impassable, use bombs to get through if you need to
-Map is a more open, I'm saving the more claustrophobic mazelike stuff for later
-A little death bonus to help out
-Sound on / off option

...and a bunch of stuff in b that I forgot to write down

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You're a family man with a past, fallen on very, very hard times.
Mars is a rough place, it being the new frontier and all.
You'll have to do what it takes to survive, and save your family from a terrible fate.

Experience Brutality


Meet Interesting People


Find Yourself In Sticky Situations


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So, hello! You Cannot Die is my first real attempt at game programming.

I used to be an Illustrator, but I've always wanted to make games, so I figured it was about time to buck up and do what I love, and I'm really enjoying it. The game's programmed in XNA, which I'm basically teaching myself. I'm learning new things every day.

The idea behind the game is that it's an incredibly brutal, unforgiving "Roguelike" inspired a bit by Zelda. And Spelunky, of course All set in the Wild West on Mars. Despite the name, you definitely can die, and you will die often. You just really, really don't want to. Your whole family is counting on you to save them!

Most of the core gameplay I'm interested in is implemented. It's a bit clumsy behind the scenes, in places, but it works. The next step for me is to add sound (which is not my forte, unfortunately, haha).

My longterm plans for the game... are to try and make a few dollars selling it, if it's fun I've kinda left all other work behind, and gone back to school for Computer Science, in the pursuit of video game heaven.

Now that the demo's out, you can all give it a shot. If you feel like it's a little light on content... that's because it is. I've been focusing my efforts so far on the engine. It needs balance and a lot of work.

So, to do that, I'll need some honest feedback, please! Let me know what you think about the game, if it's too easy or hard, or anything else about it! I don't guarantee I'll make your change, but I need to know what people are thinking, and I'll definitely consider it.

Thanks very much! Enjoy!

Until next time, Be Careful Out There!

[Gagege]

Wow, cool idea. It's totally plausible that the process of colonizing Mars would have a kind of wild west phase too. I love the idea also because it's so simple; keep your family safe.
I must confess I haven't played Zelda much and I never heard the phrase rogue-like before a few months ago so the gameplay idea doesn't excite me too much, but we'll see!
Looking forward to watching your devlog.

[JMickle]

Hey your game looks great, but I was put off from reading the topic from the title. It spawned images of some kind of amateur puzzle platformer where... you cannot die. But this looks half decent, and a more interesting title would do wonders for it's coverage.

[Kepa]

LOOKin' GOOD

 

(watchin this thread)

 

[Nate Kling]

Screenshots look really great.  I really want to get my fingers on a demo!  Love the style we need more wild west themed games!

[nihilocrat]

It looks like Oregon Trail meets Zelda on Mars.

[deustaurus]

Op's been updated with the demo now! I'd love to hear what you all think. Let me know if you experience any bugs! Enjoy!

Hey your game looks great, but I was put off from reading the topic from the title. It spawned images of some kind of amateur puzzle platformer where... you cannot die. But this looks half decent, and a more interesting title would do wonders for it's coverage.

I would definitely be down for a name change, I'd happily take any suggestions anyone's got! Might be easier when there's a game to look at though, haha.

[X3N]

It looks like Oregon Trail meets Zelda on Mars.

Game looks cool. Checking out your demo.

[nihilocrat]

Great start on the game, my best Karma was 53. The most annoying thing was entering a new area and getting mauled by those dog-things, now I'll generally enter a new area spamming the attack button.

[deustaurus]

Great start on the game, my best Karma was 53. The most annoying thing was entering a new area and getting mauled by those dog-things, now I'll generally enter a new area spamming the attack button.

Thanks a lot! I'm thinking of a few solutions for that... I certainly agree that it's annoying. I'll work on some things.

In the mean time, I've got a slightly new version going up in a moment, along with a few different options, not needing the installer will be nice, if you've got XNA already

[Pishtaco]

The install process is unfriendly, with no choice about where to install it and no uninstall option.

The graphics work well for me, except that the noise could do with being turned down, and (maybe because of the noise, or because I'm new to the game) I found the characters actions hard to read. I felt it would have been good to have a line of text saying "Searching..." or something just to give some more feedback about what effect my keypresses are having.

Don't make it too unforgiving.

[deustaurus]

The install process is unfriendly, with no choice about where to install it and no uninstall option.

The graphics work well for me, except that the noise could do with being turned down, and (maybe because of the noise, or because I'm new to the game) I found the characters actions hard to read. I felt it would have been good to have a line of text saying "Searching..." or something just to give some more feedback about what effect my keypresses are having.

Don't make it too unforgiving.

You'll find you can uninstall it through Uninstall Programs / Add Remove Programs in control panel, no problem. I definitely agree that the install is annoying though, the nice thing is that it finds the dependencies for the software and installs them if you haven't got them.

Anyway, you'll be happy to see that there's a new version, not requiring installation!

I definitely like the idea about the "Searching" text. A little more feedback could never hurt, I want the game to be a bit... "undocumented" in that you'll have to figure out a lot of different things about the game, like a Roguelike, or like the original Zelda. I don't want it to hold your hand through discovering the different elements of gameplay, exploration - of the environment and the game - is key to me.

Would you say it's unforgiving now? Why do you say that?

[Renton]

Won once, with a karma of 99.

[Pishtaco]

Would you say it's unforgiving now? Why do you say that?

Actually I misread your original post  . I thought you said it was "brutally unforgiving," which worried me. Then I kept getting killed by something I couldn't see. I thought it must probably be a trap or something like that concealed in the rocks in the game, but I couldn't work out what to look for and the noise put me off.

[Renton]

As I gather, if you don't have boots, you can injure yourself when you sprint on rocky or rough terrain.

[deustaurus]

Updated the OP again with a new version! A lot of the complaints I've received, I've attempted to address. But keep them coming! I wanna know how people are liking it! I've gotten a lot of positive feedback so far.

A few people are starting to think it's too easy so... I've ramped up the difficulty a little It's just basically harder to get your health back. Then again, some people haven't managed to complete it at all yet... so I'll have to keep balancing.

Next on the list of things to do is going to be adding a "map" item, that will show you at least a basic rendition of the area you've already explored, and more level / quest content.

Enjoy it everyone!

Actually I misread your original post  . I thought you said it was "brutally unforgiving," which worried me. Then I kept getting killed by something I couldn't see. I thought it must probably be a trap or something like that concealed in the rocks in the game, but I couldn't work out what to look for and the noise put me off.

As I gather, if you don't have boots, you can injure yourself when you sprint on rocky or rough terrain.

That is correct. I didn't want the character to be able to run at full speed through the entire map, so the rubble and debris is designed to force you to think a little bit, and slow down while you explore.

[shrimp]

I had a quick go on this and it seems very promising, especially the desolate and desperate atmosphere.
I really think you need more transparency though, for example this:

As I gather, if you don't have boots, you can injure yourself when you sprint on rocky or rough terrain.

That is correct. I didn't want the character to be able to run at full speed through the entire map, so the rubble and debris is designed to force you to think a little bit, and slow down while you explore.

I like the idea, now that I've read about it, but as a player I had no idea what was going on. Could you add an "event log" section to the UI like in traditional roguelikes? So you'd see something like "You stub your toe on a rock and fall." This would also be useful in combat, although the difference between this sort of thing and combat is it would be much harder to represent this in sprites compared to "hit/miss/kill" in melee. And at least you can guess the spider/dog/things are dangerous.

Also, another vote for turning down the "dust storm" screen effect, or perhaps making it more of an occasional hazard than a constant thing. It hurts my eyes too much at the moment.

Anyway, keep it up, looking forward to seeing where this goes! 

[nihilocrat]

The "tripping" effect is a good idea, but like everyone says, it would be nice if you pointed it out to the player 

I also agree that restricting the dust-storm to certain tiles / times would probably add more dimension to the game, and give a rest to our eyes.

[deustaurus]

Thanks for the criticisms guys, I'm definitely taking them into account. I do not plan on getting rid of the noise completely on any screens - in my mind it is more of an indication of the players mental health, you'll notice it gets worse the less health you have - but I have toned it down quite a bit more.

There is some feedback when you fall over now too, a little more transparency for the player. Incidentally this has allowed me to add a bit more flavor text throughout the game.

The map function is in, too. I'm pretty excited about that. You'll be able to check out where you've been, and a bit of information about the terrain, if you have the proper item.

I've also embellished the take given to the player, a little bit.

Next on the list is to give the rest of the maps a little facelift, embellish the first region's tasks a bit further... add a bit more randomness to the tiles.

Enjoy!

[Gagege]

Beat it.



It was pretty easy but; if it's just supposed to be the first level I'd say the difficulty is right on.

I never had to use the pistol. When I fought the one guy with a gun I ran up to him and knifed him. He shot and "killed" me but I hit 'X' like I was trying to win at Mario Party , got back up and finished him off!

Also, the map is great. It saved me from having to circle around for hours trying to find the exit since a lot of the areas look very similar.

Over all, I had a lot of fun. I want more!

Edit: Oh yeah. I didn't actually play for 28 minutes. More like 10 minutes maybe. I had to eat dinner you know.