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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperPlaytestingThe Last Pikeman
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FYNDR
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« on: February 16, 2009, 01:16:21 PM »


The Last Pikeman is a difficult platformer that chronicles the struggle of a man who refuses to recognize that melee weapons have been replaced by firearms as the weapon of choice in combat. You control the eponymous hero in a world dominated by guns that are infinitely more powerful and useful than your trusty pike. Regardless, it is up to you to avenge yourself against this new world, where the 2nd amendment has become the only rule of law.

Choose a path and traverse through perilous traps, enemies, and other environmental hardships!

Outsmart and outmaneuver insanely frustrating bosses!

Grind your teeth incessantly while trying to figure out how to get past these damn puzzles!

And more (presumably)!

Fancy Pic Time!


Current version: The Last Pikeman version 1,0
Downloadable at: http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/184980/download
« Last Edit: August 31, 2011, 02:16:57 PM by FYNDR » Logged
Inanimate
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« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2009, 03:11:12 PM »

FYNDR, you took all that criticism fantastically! I applaud you! Some people would flip out, but you just nodded. Your a better person than half the internet right now!

Also, I can't wait to see some more of the game, and some characters. That would be fantastic. If you need any help with storyline details and such, you can ask me. That's kind of what I do.  Wink
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FYNDR
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« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2009, 07:40:23 PM »

Thank you, Inanimate, for your accolades and your offering of your services. I've invested an awful lot of time into this game, and I am willing to invest more if it means drastically increasing the size of my target audience. This entails, by and large, the removal of the many unfair portions of the game (and, I freely admit, there are many). Once the game is relatively playable in this respect, I will work on threshing out the plot details. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but right now the plot is "kill the four bosses and then the final boss!" There is a bit of an explanation before the final battle, where it is revealed that Shadow Night, the last boss, is also The First Gunslinger, and thus a natural antithesis to The Last Pikeman, but this is mostly for final-battle-style dramatic effect.

To reiterate, I'll post here as regards the plot after fixing the difficulty, which hopefully won't take too long, since I am removing elements from the game rather than adding them.
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Inanimate
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« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2009, 07:47:01 PM »

Ah, okay. If you ever need help with ideas, humor, anything, just ask.  Wink

Also, that is an AMAZING twist. Is he also your dad? Maybe the killer of your 'fake' dad?
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professor dead
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« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2009, 08:30:55 PM »

i can't read the tiny text about the antithesis to the last pikeman.  what.

just remember that all of your time and sweat and blood invested will have a return...whether for the good or bad is up to you, little one  Wizard
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« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2009, 02:07:07 PM »

Ah, okay. If you ever need help with ideas, humor, anything, just ask.  Wink

Also, that is an AMAZING twist. Is he also your dad? Maybe the killer of your 'fake' dad?

Because we all need that cliche again.
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Inanimate
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« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2009, 03:42:29 PM »

Ah, okay. If you ever need help with ideas, humor, anything, just ask.  Wink

Also, that is an AMAZING twist. Is he also your dad? Maybe the killer of your 'fake' dad?

Because we all need that cliche again.

Yes, it is required of all decent plots.
(in all seriousness...)
It IS a parody...
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Hempuliā€½
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« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2009, 02:25:46 PM »

FYNDR, you took all that criticism fantastically! I applaud you! Some people would flip out, but you just nodded. Your a better person than half the internet right now!

I must agree with this. Kudos!

I must say that I enjoy this game in some very strange way. The animations are great, I love the main character animations and overall look.
If you want a piece of advice in how you could make this better, I suggest that you should decorate the game a bit. Currently the one-colour background and one-colour green ground things look very dull, I'm sure you could make something about that. Also; I'd suggest that you put there some decorative little things that make the screen look less empty; like some pillars that hold the floating pieces of wall and such.
I really enjoyed this, though! I have yet to see what kind of bosses you've got here, they we're the thing that made IWBTG.
Oh, and a bug: sometimes when I press Z, the piking animation doesn't play, yet the enemy still dies.
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PureQuestion
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« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2009, 04:55:45 PM »

Ah, okay. If you ever need help with ideas, humor, anything, just ask.  Wink

Also, that is an AMAZING twist. Is he also your dad? Maybe the killer of your 'fake' dad?

Because we all need that cliche again.

It crossed my mind that it would work better inverted. That you're HIS father.

After all, you're the last pikeman, he's the first gunslinger.
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FYNDR
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« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2009, 09:59:01 AM »

First off, NO ONE is ANYONE'S father. What's wrong with you people?! Mock Anger

Secondly, I agree with you, Hempuli, about the dullness of the outside areas. In the inside areas (which comprise most of the game), there is at least a bit of variation in the form of blocks and obstacles and whatever, but the outside is fairly lacking. In my defense, I was going for a minimalistic (read: lazy) look.

Third, thanks for the information on that bug. The pike isn't actually used a whole lot in the game (something I hope to change), and so I don't recall ever running into that, or I just ignored it for some reason.

And finally, I've finished "dedifficultizing" the first half of the right path, including the boss, who still uses rather stilted dialogue ("I AM JETPACK MACFUTURE! NOW WE FIGHT!") reminiscent of old games that have little to no plot. I'll undoubtedly fix this after the "dedifficultizing" process is complete. Probably I will release another version of the game after the right path is completely reformatted so that you guys can try your hand at different areas of the game.

A side note: I am planning on releasing this game as both the new "normal" difficulty mode and the old "ridiculously hard trial-and-error" mode, if only to appeal to those suicidal gamers out there.
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FYNDR
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« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2009, 08:38:12 PM »

Okay, I've finished a version of the game where the "RATT" path is much easier than before. I've fixed the download link in the first post to redirect to this newer version. While I work on making the "LAMNA" path more navigable, please feel free to download this new version and check out the changes made. Please note that I kept the slightly more devious traps that are just after save points to even out the difficulty, but with a little effort you should be able to make it to the first boss (!!).

While I was going back and extensively testing the various areas of this path, I gained a sudden appreciation for just how difficult the game must have been for everyone. The only reason I could navigate it so well was because I had learned by rote the location of every available trap. After having abandoned the game for two months, this knowledge was pretty well lost and I was able to play without as much bias as before. Needless to say, it was an 'experience' Grin

For those of you too lazy to scroll up, you can download it at http://www.yoyogames.com/games/launch/71944.
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professor dead
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« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2009, 08:40:27 PM »

For those of you too lazy to scroll up, you can download it at http://www.yoyogames.com/games/launch/71944.

thanks.

feel free to download this new version and check out the changes made.

doing so now Smiley Hand Thumbs Up Right
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Hattorifaith
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« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2009, 11:25:21 PM »

At first I read the title as the Last Pikmin.  :D
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FYNDR
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« Reply #13 on: February 24, 2009, 06:26:58 PM »


This is a completely retooled version of the entire game, made easier for playability purposes. I've gotten rid of most of the unreasonable portions of the game (the final boss may, by some standards, be considered unreasonable Grin), and it should be much less impossible than before. All those that are interested can download the game and try it out for themselves. I would very much appreciate any feedback as regards either the new reduced level of difficulty or other gameplay elements. Until then, I'll try to set up a better save feature (multiple saves, etc.) and an overall more user-friendly interface.
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FYNDR
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« Reply #14 on: March 03, 2009, 09:28:17 AM »

Okay, it's been about a week, but I've just released the newest version of the game: The Last Pikeman, v.0.8b.

You can download it at: http://www.yoyogames.com/games/launch/72772

What's new:
-three slots available for saving (current saves take up the first save slot)
-your current death count is visible under each save slot (handy for slot identification and for destroying player morale Grin)
-more easily navigable menu setup (between the title screen, saving and loading)

To my knowledge, the saves should work fine and there should not be any sort of file writing problems under this new system. To verify this, I had to go through EVERY LINE OF CODE to make sure the file-write statements were properly updated. Now I am tired.

Anyway, please take the opportunity to play through one of the newer, easier versions of the game so that I know how the difficulty is working out. Voice any difficulty concerns here (like if one part of any particular section is too devious, feel free to mention it), or otherwise you can bring up anything in the game that you feel needs improvement. Or you can shower me with accolades or insults, as the situation warrants Grin.
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FYNDR
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« Reply #15 on: March 07, 2009, 09:00:34 AM »

Not to sound like I'm desperate or anything, but: feedback, please! Beg
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vdgmprgrmr
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« Reply #16 on: March 07, 2009, 09:51:17 AM »

Spikes fall WAY too fast.
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PaleFox
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« Reply #17 on: March 08, 2009, 09:12:43 PM »

I agree, the spikes fall too fast for how finicky they are to trigger. Sometimes that's fine, when you just have to run beneath them, but when you have to make them fall one at a time it's nearly impossible.

Of course, that's the point Shrug so...

Really that's the only annoyance I have, the rest is hard but I like it so far.
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FYNDR
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« Reply #18 on: March 09, 2009, 07:50:38 AM »

I agree that I probably made the spikes a touch too berserk for someone not intimately familiar with the game's physics (i.e. everybody but me Grin), so I'll make a note of that and try to make the spikes more reasonable in the next update. I'm assuming this is also the case with the spike walls...?
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FYNDR
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« Reply #19 on: August 31, 2011, 02:15:53 PM »

The Last Pikeman version 1,0 is now available at http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/184980/download which has also been set up on the first post accordingly. Of particular note regarding this release is that the source code has been included along with the executable. It is extremely kludgey, and in retrospect could have been designed a lot more simply, but it is what it is. Consider it my legacy, and my official bowing-out from my involvement with The Last Pikeman.

Thank you.
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