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[riverman_jacob]

Hi Everyone!
My name is Jacob Stevens. My brother and I run the small, independent, developer Riverman Media in Tucson. Most of our games, I will admit, are casual mobile games. However, recently we've started work on a new game I think the group here might be interested in. It's called Pizza Vs. Skeletons.



The basic idea, simple as it sounds, is that you're a huge pizza smashing through an army of skeletons. However, we are taking it much further than that with lots of gameplay variation, a goal of 100 levels, and lots of other features.

This game has been a major challenge so far because of the sheer size of the main character. We've had to play a lot with the camera, which is pretty unusual for a 2D game.

We've got more information here:

http://www.rivermanmedia.com/games/pizza-vs-skeletons

I know there's not much to go on yet, but I'm hoping to post updates every week or so.

Thanks!
Jacob

[riverman_jacob]

One more thing:

Today I posted an article about the animation process we're using for the game, which is a hybrid 2D / 3D approach that I've never seen used before.

http://www.rivermanmedia.com/art/157-from-2d-to-3d-and-back-rotoscoping-in-pizza-vs-skeletons

Here's a little sample of the results:



Thanks!
Jacob

[Player 3]

The title reminds me of Plants v. Zombies. And some games just need some abstractness like this one. Loving the skeleton's spear's reflection.

[riverman_jacob]

The title reminds me of Plants v. Zombies. And some games just need some abstractness like this one. Loving the skeleton's spear's reflection.

Thanks! The title is actually meant to parody all the ridiculous "vs." games that have come out lately. There will be a lot of game and industry references for those who are looking

Jacob

[fraxcell]

This sounds pretty cool, and the artwork is fantastic so far. I'll be interested in how the gameplay works out.

[Destral]

Sounds pretty awesome. The premise alone is worth a few brownie points. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more about this soon.

[Inanimate]

Woah, what a gorgoeus style! That is such a unique way of doing it; I can't wait to see what other masterpieces you pump out!

The skeletons remind me of

, which is always a good thing.

[riverman_jacob]

Thanks for the support and encouragement everyone. I'll do my best to post regular updates. And Inanimate, the silly symphony clip was great. Thanks for posting that!

Jacob

[___]

TUCSON EH?  You should take a road trip up to phoenix wednesday night for the IGDA meeting, YEAH!

[PowRTocH]

The title reminds me of Plants v. Zombies. And some games just need some abstractness like this one. Loving the skeleton's spear's reflection.

Thanks! The title is actually meant to parody all the ridiculous "vs." games that have come out lately. There will be a lot of game and industry references for those who are looking

They are all parodies too. And the circle continues.

[im9today]

kinda like a pizza pi

[riverman_jacob]

TUCSON EH?  You should take a road trip up to phoenix wednesday night for the IGDA meeting, YEAH!

@xerus I've been up to IGDAPHX awhile ago, but I don't think you were there. We're good friends with a guy named Tim who I'm pretty sure you know. Anyway, nice to finally "meet" you! Wednesdays are bad for me but I'll do my best to make it up to IGDAPHX again soon!

Jacob

[guille]

It's got pizza on it, it can't be bad!

Nice art and interesting article, I've used a similar method in the past but to make low res sprites. I've also used vectorial dolls with movable/rotating limbs to make sprites out of them. It's a good trick.

Looking forward to see some in-game screens, keep it up!

[Chris Z]

Today I posted an article about the animation process we're using for the game, which is a hybrid 2D / 3D approach that I've never seen used before.

http://www.rivermanmedia.com/art/157-from-2d-to-3d-and-back-rotoscoping-in-pizza-vs-skeletons

Nice blog post!  I do think I've read about a similar technique being used in some games, particularly the 2D fighter BlazBlue.

[Bones]

Nice blog post!  I do think I've read about a similar technique being used in some games, particularly the 2D fighter BlazBlue.

King of Fighters XII did the same thing.

I approve of this game, and your other game Deathfall.
Anything specifically starring skeletons are A+ in my books.



Though I'm not sure it was necessary to draw each frame from a 3d, because his ribs are like inflating and deflating.
They look rather jiggly, I would prefer if it was a solid framed ribcage moving around.
Kind of looks like his rib-cage is breathing while he walks in the 2d version.



You could have likely done this same animation in less time if you just had focused on the 2d aspect rather then making it 3d, then animating from 3d. It would probably just be easier to have drawn & animated it in 2d in the first place.
But other then the rib-cage I do like the skeletons design.

You could achieve this same kind of movement using joints or simple 2d rotation of limbs.
I also don't know if it's just the angle of the model or me but it looks like his front leg is stepping further then his back leg making it appear like he's doing half steps. (if that make sense...)

Anyways carry on, looking good otherwise.

[Maisnon!]

I like the idea a lot, it reminds me of the Silly Symphony skeletons as well.

Maybe you could somehow put together your own pizza and have the ingredients affect the pizza.

Like a tuna olive pizza would have different statistics somehow than a pepperoni and cheese one, just something that came to mind to make it even more diverse 

[riverman_jacob]

Hi Everyone!

First of all, thanks for the great feedback, comments, and suggestions. We really appreciate it.



All week I've been redoing all the animation that I wrote about last week! Why? Because I thought it could be better. In the process, I wrote an article that talks about redoing work on a game, and how it defines who you are as a game developer. I'm really curious to see what you all think.

http://www.rivermanmedia.com/home/3-game-design/160-good-vs-better

Have a great week, and thanks again!
Jacob

[ANtY]

It looks so much better and have some climax.

I have to read your article when I have some spare time.

edit: good piece of read. But that was only the buissnes approach tho.

[riverman_jacob]

edit: good piece of read. But that was only the buissnes approach tho.

That's true! But when you rely on games to put food on the table, for better or for worse you have to acknowledge the business aspects.

Jacob

[ANtY]

edit: good piece of read. But that was only the buissnes approach tho.

That's true! But when you rely on games to put food on the table, for better or for worse you have to acknowledge the business aspects.

Jacob

Yup that's true, but I think it's the reason that I won't be making games for mobile devices, couldn't work on a game that I don't think is fun enough, making games like they are no longer games but just products. I'll probably change my thinking about it when I start living on my own, but that's my opinion for now.