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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperPlaytestingFlip
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ryanjuckett
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« on: November 22, 2014, 01:36:33 PM »

Update: New version 0.2.0 with seamless screen wrapping! Check out the new video and download link.

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I work on AAA games by day, but had this idea for a gamejam a while back and wanted to make a little free game from it. Flip is a local competitive game so you’ll need a friend to play with (no networking at the moment).  It’s only on Windows right now, but it should support X360, Xbone and PS4 controllers. It supports keyboard too, but it’s a lot harder to compete that way Smiley



You can player with up to four players, but I’m not that happy with the 3 and 4 player modes yet. Here’s a video of some two player gameplay.
YouTube:



Everything is coded from the ground up, so I’d love to hear back about any crashes or bugs (and send me the logs that dump out if there is a problem). I have heard that switching the video settings in Windows XP can cause a hang but haven’t gotten the logs yet. I might need to buy a copy :/

You can download version 0.2.0 of the game here
Download: http://www.ryanjuckett.com/projects/flip/

There are still lots of rough edges, but any and all feedback is welcome!
« Last Edit: December 18, 2014, 12:45:39 PM by ryanjuckett » Logged

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« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2014, 04:24:55 PM »

It looks pretty cool! I'm definitely going to try it as soon as I can manage to have some spare time :D
I am a big fan of local competitive games that unfortunately kinda disappeared in this last times...

Keep up the good work!! Smiley
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medieval
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« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2014, 05:27:57 AM »

very intriguing game mechanic, if I have the time I'll test this with a friend. Props for originality! And for putting it out there for free! Both of these traits have become a rarity in game development
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ryanjuckett
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« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2014, 10:40:53 AM »

@rikykid87 Thanks! Between games like Sports Friends, Samurai Gunn, Nidhogg, etc, I'm not sure I'd say that local competitive has disappeared just yet Smiley

@narasu I was a bit surprised no one has released anything with this mechanic (at least that I'm aware of). Finding a balance between twitch skill and strategy has been interesting, but I think it is getting there. Let me know how it plays when you find the time.
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« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2014, 08:45:54 PM »

Very, very cool. If I had to suggest features, here's what I would say:

Add screen wrap for parts of the arena which are both under one player's control- the player and their shots could wrap. This would be really cool. As an option, probably.

Add an option to disable the fast shots spawning- an alternative would be giving players fast shots in certain intervals but have the interval increase/decrease based on how much of the screen they own?

Rebindable keys for players one and two at least (I couldn't figure out which keys control player 2)

Replays

Charging and releasing while holding two keys could shot one shot between the two directions instead of three in one direction maybe? I feel like a little diagonal action would be cool.


Overall, it's already very interesting and unique. Nice.

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ryanjuckett
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« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2014, 02:16:46 PM »

Add screen wrap for parts of the arena which are both under one player's control- the player and their shots could wrap. This would be really cool. As an option, probably.

All the collision was handwritten (compared to using Box2d or something) to actually assist in doing this properly with the players. By properly, I mean having a player be able to exist 60% on one side and 40% on the other rather than just teleporting over as most games do. That said, I've never actually sat down and implemented it. I think it would need some sort of border drawn around the playable space such that you can differentiate between the wrapping tiles. This might actually help in communication when there are holes in the center of the levels anyways.

Add an option to disable the fast shots spawning- an alternative would be giving players fast shots in certain intervals but have the interval increase/decrease based on how much of the screen they own?

For the majority of development, there were actually no pickups. I just added those a few days before posting on here. I really liked the purity of it, but the lack of engagement while out of bullets was the most common criticism. On one hand, you want to punish the player for going all out in attack, but having nothing to aspire to other than the passage of time as bullets reload was an issue. I tried a few solutions (active reload type stuff, etc) but nothing stuck until the pickups.

I could certainly see disabling them in an alternate "pure" game mode. What exactly prompted your desire to play without them?

Rebindable keys for players one and two at least (I couldn't figure out which keys control player 2)

There are no keys to controller player 2. The keyboard controls are mostly just in there to assist with development. It lets me test the basics without a controller plugged in. The keyboard player is at such a disadvantage without analogue movement that adding more keyboard support hasn't been a priority. I could perhaps see keyboard vs keyboard being fair and I'm sure I could add some more acceleration to the keyboard inputs to allow for extra precision.

Did you get to play with controllers? Also, how many players? And did you end up having keyboard vs controller games?


Replays

That would definitely be cool. It's on my long term TODO list for the codebase.

Charging and releasing while holding two keys could shot one shot between the two directions instead of three in one direction maybe? I feel like a little diagonal action would be cool.

I agree that rewarding complex inputs (similar to a fighting game) is an interesting avenue. I'd be a little concerned that diagonals would be hard for a player to predict which cells will be flipped. Perhaps some sort of stair-step pattern could solve that...  I've never actually considered the split two directions. I suppose that it could help you in spatial control and blocking the opposition in.


Thanks for the feedback!
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« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2014, 05:25:12 PM »

I was wrong about the fast shots, I played a bit more and now what I want are *more* unique weapons...  Facepalm
I originally thought they removed a bit of purity as you said but now I've found them quite an interesting thing.
I played with me on the keyboard and my friend on the controller... I only have one controller. But I won the majority of the time, so I guess I did okay.
Honestly after playing it for longer I would be willing to pay for what I just played. It's a great mixture of strategy and skill- you did really well. All I can really ask for now are more weapons or tools (bombs/shields/teleport shots/bounce shots/shots that can screenwrap), replays, maybe a level editor.
I was so interested I actually started making a clone of it just so that I could add screen wrapping... then I realized there's no good way to decide when to destroy the shots if it's not when they go off screen. So a screenwrap shot and/or the ability to screenwrap (maybe only when you control over half the playing arena?) make more sense than 100% screenwrapping. Keep it up, though.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2014, 05:53:14 PM by The Translocator » Logged

ryanjuckett
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« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2014, 11:58:33 PM »

Thanks for feed back (and compliments)! I updated the post above to point to a new version that is a bit more compatible with old machines. No new features yet, but it I think I might start in on "screen wrapping" soon. I'll keep you updated.
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« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2014, 01:50:29 AM »

Haha, I actually made a jam game once with the word 'flip' in the title that had a black and white grid (or other black and while setups) where a button would swap their values. Spooky. It really is a neat mechanic.
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« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2014, 07:22:29 PM »

We all played with controllers on Windows 7. I played two players for about 15 mins and three player for about 5 mins. I know you probably love the use of black and white and it really is good for two player, but maybe rethink that if you want it to be a 3 and 4 player game because the greys and stuff, while maybe not that confusing, was just kind of 'meh.

It was freaking awesome. I'll definitely keep a copy of this in my local multiplayer folder for when friends come over. It needs a little something I think but the core is definitely there and well done. I think more upgrades as others have said is a good idea. They force you to move around the map more and also help end the game faster. Maybe make them spawn faster later on for when the games drag out too long. They are also just plain fun to use, at least the sniper, no clue what other powerups there might even be. Maybe a few seconds of your body changing the colors of things around you instead of your shots? Maybe terrible, maybe good.

I really hated the holes in the maps because at one point it just devolved into my friend trying to snipe me from afar around the hole and then I just ran away from him for as long as I wanted. I think smaller holes might fix the problem, or maybe just moving them around the map so it seems like a semi different map. I wanted other maps too, I'm not really sure what you would do to make different maps as your own bullets kind of make the map you can move around in, maybe mirror objects where it reflects back at you? Maybe boost objects around the map? Something to change things up.

Overall, really great though, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this game.

If you want to help me out a ton, it's so hard to find controller testers for our game(Link to TIGForums post. Link at top.). If you want to play it until you get bored and leave some feedback it would greatly be appreciated. We just finished redoing all of the single player levels and are wondering what the difficulty progression is like but also you can leave general feedback about what you like / hate about it. It has local and online multiplayer but the link at the top of the post only has single player in order to make the build small. Thanks!

« Last Edit: December 03, 2014, 07:58:08 PM by quigibrough » Logged

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« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2014, 12:51:32 PM »

I was so interested I actually started making a clone of it just so that I could add screen wrapping... then I realized there's no good way to decide when to destroy the shots if it's not when they go off screen.
I just uploaded a new version with screen wrapping levels. I use obstacles to prevent infinite wrapping of bullets (it was crazy town without them).


We all played with controllers on Windows 7. I played two players for about 15 mins and three player for about 5 mins. I know you probably love the use of black and white and it really is good for two player, but maybe rethink that if you want it to be a 3 and 4 player game because the greys and stuff, while maybe not that confusing, was just kind of 'meh.
I completely agree about 3 and 4 player. I might go back to adding some color to those ones (had that initially). Also might just try 2v2 instead of 1v1v1v1.


I think more upgrades as others have said is a good idea. They force you to move around the map more and also help end the game faster.
Noted Smiley


I wanted other maps too, I'm not really sure what you would do to make different maps as your own bullets kind of make the map you can move around in, maybe mirror objects where it reflects back at you? Maybe boost objects around the map? Something to change things up.
The new build has a couple more maps. There's still a ton of unexplored design space there - both in layout and mechanics. The new screen wrapping adds a bit of variety. I'll probably play with testing some new map designs on twitch this weekend. I'm also thinking of letting the user create maps with a text file of something.


If you want to help me out a ton, it's so hard to find controller testers for our game(Link to TIGForums post. Link at top.). If you want to play it until you get bored and leave some feedback it would greatly be appreciated. We just finished redoing all of the single player levels and are wondering what the difficulty progression is like but also you can leave general feedback about what you like / hate about it. It has local and online multiplayer but the link at the top of the post only has single player in order to make the build small. Thanks!
I'll make an effort to take a look tonight. Thanks for all the feedback!
« Last Edit: December 18, 2014, 01:18:16 PM by ryanjuckett » Logged

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