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[PDF]

Overview:

Other Observations is a light roguelike game focusing on the fun of looting and exploring. The quest is simple: clear all 12 floors of a dangerous dungeon and kill The Betrayer, a nameless, majestic figure responsible for the deaths of millions.

Other Observations differs from other roguelikes in a number of aspects; the most important one being inventory management. The game does not let the player to pick an item to use; rather, every item the player acquires will be considered equipped at all times. This style lets the players to focus on surviving in the dungeons rather than worrying about the effectiveness of their weapons and armors.

Other than the inventory, the player can carry three miscellaneous items; some of these are consumables that can be used simply by pressing the key they are assigned to, while the others passively increase the player's abilities in some aspect.

Sneaking and throwing abilities are vital to the player's survival; the enemies will progressively get more deadly and ruthless as the player gets stronger and descends deeper into the dungeon, demanding the player to use his skills in order to survive.

The dungeon is located on a small island, and there are shops for the player to use and native camps to plunder scattered around the map. Occasionally, pirates will come to this island, and the player will have to face them. The island is, however, not the main aspect of the game; it is merely a setting.

Other Observations was made using Game Maker 7.

Controls:

Arrow/Numpad Keys: Movement/Attacking/Aiming
S: Sneak (vital to survival in the dungeon)
T: Throw or Shoot (when you have the proper equipment)
1,2,3,4,5: Managing the main inventory
7,8,9: Managing the misc. inventory
K: Hides the inventory

Download

Version 1.0

Mirror: Download

Version 1.1 (Only some really small changes)

Mirror: Download


Gamejolt Page

Screenshots:





Some Statistics:

The source has,
*39 sprite sets,
*39 scripts,
*3 fonts,
*4 backgrounds,
*56 objects,
*18 rooms right now.

As for gameplay elements, there are:
*49 different enemies,
*+2000 item permutations,
*31 "legendary" items,
*15 misc. items with different uses,
*5 different food types,
*(Theoretically) infinitely many different rooms,
*5 different tilesets for the dungeons,
*5 epic sound tracks.



Old Builds:

Mirror: Download Build Seven

Sixth Build

Fifth Build

Third Demo

Second Demo

Engine Demo

Other Observations RP Ruleset

Candlewatch: A Short Story

[PDF]

Day 1 Update:

I have added a scrolling message "box", which holds three strings. Also added enemy generation and movement. Player movement is also added, but only in 4 direction. It takes too much time to write all numpad keys. By the end of the day, I plan to finish adding basic combat, and the rest of the movement.
Screenshot (The text is nonsense):

[Derek]

Those graphics look good with that font!

[PDF]

Day 2 Update:

Other Observations Ruleset 0.1:

I have finished writing a good, detailed ruleset; it is designed mainly for RPG's and roguelikes, but with some difference in combat formulas, I could be used for real games.

It lacks some essential parts (such as a formula for HP, and the leveling system), but they are not included only because I was not able to test the system yet. Within the month, I will add content and fix some glaring flaws to perfect the ruleset.

Download:
http://paranoidprotocol.wordpress.com/files/2009/12/other-observations-ruleset.pdf

Writing: Short Story

I wrote a short story which gives some background information about the setting.

http://paranoidprotocol.wordpress.com/files/2009/12/candlewatch.pdf

Screenshot of the Day



Yes, most of the engine is complete now (I still need to add turn info to make the text easier to understand). Adding drops is trivial, but creating a good database may still take some time. I also began to work on the first game, which will use a really simplistic loot system.

[PDF]

Finally, I've got a small engine demo uploaded. It has nearly all the capabilities the finished engine will have.

Download



I need some feedback; how movement and field of view feels, how player movement works, how clunky the interface works etc., suggestions are welcome.

I would also like to know how many people around here can play games in high resolutions; I am thinking of making the game(s) have the fixed resolution of 1200*600.

[shrimp]

Runs fine for me. Movement feels fine, but the field of view seems buggy. I can post a screenshot if you need it.

Haven't read the rules yet... I'll get back to you... 

[oryx]

cool! don't forget to animate the torches on the walls(those are supposed to be 2 frame animations) - there is also 2 frame animated water, lava, teleporters, etc

[oryx]

Also those are undead dwarves - and I'm getting alpha issues for some reason on my pc, sprites have a black background and aren't alpha-ed out. I'll grab latest nvidia drivers and see if that helps

[PDF]

Also those are undead dwarves - and I'm getting alpha issues for some reason on my pc, sprites have a black background and aren't alpha-ed out. I'll grab latest nvidia drivers and see if that helps

Well, as far as I know, this alpha issue is the result of the graphics card not fully supporting surfaces in game maker. Choosing not to scale the screen when asked in the latest demo should fix this problem, and you will not be able to have a proper scaling (use F4 to turn the game to full-screen mode, but it will be blurred: game maker default).

Well, I have finished preparing a new build, which features;

*A fully functioning loot and inventory system, in which all items in your inventory are automatically used by your character

*Functioning field of view system using a combination of two different lighting systems

*A proper battle system

Second Demo

Download


Screenshot:



I need suggestions and feedback; what should I add? Does it feel polished enough? Do you like the inteface? Why, why not?

[oryx]

I'll put the interface and stuff through the paces later but definitely more themed floors, rooms and layouts! And underground rivers and caves and props and spells

[PDF]

Time for a huge update!


*Added overworld map,
*Added more drops,
*Added 3 different layouts,
*Added 4 sets of enemies,
*Added some balance.

There are still issues to fix, and lots of features to add, I have made a list:

*Cities with functioning shops,
*Randomly generated quests/storylines for dungeons,
*Functioning leveling system with perks/attributes,
*More layouts,
**Expedition mode which lets you discover randomly generated islands, explore, and find treasures,
*Two factions: Pirates and ninjas,
**Building your own city,
**Assembling an army and joining crusades.

Most of these features should be easy to add, the features I marked with two stars being the harder ones.

Other than that, I have another build uploaded:

Download

[Kyliroth]

Epic! Looks like a cracking game so far like!

Reminds me of IVAN hehe.

[feeblethemighty]

I really like the idea of short roguelikes like short stories.  Keep it up.

[PDF]

Thanks for the comments! The development is going on nicely, though there is still not enough content. Although I was able to create a spell system, I was not able to add many spells; there is only one right now. I added a pretty shallow deity system, which I'll be changing soon. However, random island generation is now complete (though you can't sail between islands). I've also added some more equipment classes, like whips and hammers. I've been working on a random poem generation thing for the beginning of the game (similar to Spelunky), but it doesn't quite work yet.

Note: There is no sound system implemented yet.



Download

Download "Islands" Demo

[oryx]

Looking cool - the alpha is messed up on the scaled version sprites for me though (works fine on the normal size)

[PDF]

Looking cool - the alpha is messed up on the scaled version sprites for me though (works fine on the normal size)

Well, as far as I know, this bug occurs because your graphics card does not support scaling in GM7, and as such, there is nothing I can do about it. However, you can use F4 to render the game full screen in non-scaling version, though I wouldn't really recommend it.

[oryx]

Well, as far as I know, this bug occurs because your graphics card does not support scaling in GM7, and as such, there is nothing I can do about it. However, you can use F4 to render the game full screen in non-scaling version, though I wouldn't really recommend it.

hrmph, that's unfortunate, I'm using a pretty high end card. F4 works great, thanks for the tip.

[Arucard]

Just an extra two cents for ya, I just D'led and needed to come back to say how amazing this plays, especially for a demo! I will be very excited to see the finished product with towns and all. Only small hiccups I saw were with line of sight, some tiles that should not be visible, were (on other side of walls for instance). Even had a random, single tile show up in the middle of dark area. The inventory is pretty unique, and I assume the random starting equipment will have some uses later on. Also wondering if you plan on adding sound effects or music, something simple would go a long way (even if it's not a traditional RL feature). Good luck with the competition!

[PDF]

Thanks for the comments! The music is not included right now as I don't want to upload large files.

I'm still working on some gameplay details like traps and misc. items. I have added a fire trap to burn large groups of enemies. There are still no complex combat maneuvers to learn, but I plan to finish adding them tomorrow.

I've been trying to make the game aesthetically pleasing; so far, I have changed the font, added combat effects and a small border to the HUD, polished the character generation screens.

Link:

Download



So, do you have any suggestions? Any ideas for misc. items? Any comments?

[oryx]

Darker floor tiles for the default dungeon?
Also think about using the vertical wall tile for vertical walls?
Item drops are really frequent, I'm getting +11 stuff in the first floor of the first dungeon.
And level variety, the towns should look more like castles or something maybe.