that's a nice dagger!

I've been diving back into 3D Coat to make mundane props.. more apartment-related items to do. Currently trying to sort out why my UV seams are visible on normal maps in Unity, but not visible in 3D Coat.

Limbo has the most immersive music of all games I've played.  

we are the threadkillers.  :brofistL:

I don't think the point is that a short game is more likely to win over a long one.

Think of it like a big cake. You don't serve IGF the entire cake. They've got too much cake to eat. You cut them a delicious slice that gives a concise flavor of all the layers within the cake.

I was planning on entering a project into IGF this year, but because of the new rules going into effect for 2013 regarding no re-entry of prior submissions, I'm not going to enter this year.  
It saved me some stressful nights of crunch, it comes down to the decision of being truthful with your goals and where the project is at, not just throwing anything to IGF when knowing it could be made even better. I know that next year the project will be in a much better position, so I will wait until it is ready.  

If the rules for re-entry hadn't changed it is likely that I'd submit the project this year and not have found myself thinking so seriously about my goals for the project.

In some ways- yea that probably was nice for people being able to try again each year, but I support the stricter stance on re-entering submissions because it makes it a bit more of a serious decision for the creators.  I know that can make it tougher for creators when it comes down to time equaling money though.

*edit* looks like I misjudged the new rule as it seems to only apply to finalists

This thread is funny. Dragonmaw lets meet up and analyze each other over drinks and document it for the thread. 

Hear, Hear! I am very excited to see the beautiful artworks that the future Xbox 720 and Playstation 4 will usher in!

hmm, I guess the question comes down to performance, what is loaded and being drawn, and precision.. that is if you even ever approach the limit where physics and stuff go out of wack the further they are from the origin!

You might want to think about how to slice up areas of your level into prefabs and instantiate them when needed, just so that the whole level isn't sitting there being drawn when most of it is far off in the view??

Maybe the destroying/instantiating of level geometry could be a script in itself, it initially is a very low poly version that sits in place, then when you are near it, it pops in the high detail active version?  So you always have a 3x3 grid of active chunks around you, and  beyond that is the low detail inactive chunks. Same with activating/deactivating any NPC's and stuff.

Just throwing out ideas here and rambling...  The main thing I sometimes find dissatisfying with Unity FPS games that use a terrain is I tend to feel (as a player) just plopped into this big terrain and the suspension of disbelief is kinda ruined by it and how I'm interacting with it.  So perhaps breaking down the larger world into smaller manageable chunks would help with identifying important areas and smaller-scale stuff that keep the experience interesting for the player, it is all about the POP (points of opportunity). That is just one way of thinking about things though.

hmm you can boot up a "level manager" type scene first when the game launches that has an object set to static?? I think, and then it remains throughout scene-changes.. so you can track and store tons of stuff that way. 
Then if you could come up with some way to just hide or camouflage the jump between scenes you can have each scene hold a portion of the environment..

clearly this game is about the solitude of a farmer in the foothills and how his day to day life sowing seed for crops and tending to meager rations is affected by the mysterious onset of an early winter freeze...  

usually they are little bits of experience that you retell, almost a story that your own personal actions and choices created in the game simply by playing it.  It is stuff that sticks in your head after playing a game (likely involving the core mechanics) and makes you want to tell it to others.

Today a friend of mine at lunch actually retold one from Dark Souls, where he had a tiny amount of health left and managed to battle through a bunch of knights and then went into some church and was chased by a boss and got in an elevator right before he would have been hit (it was a lot more epic when he told it).

Honestly I think they are best when it is the Player creating them, a culmination of the games various systems and mechanics creating something exciting or unexpected, and not just a pre-scripted shocker or twist in the narrative. Cause then it is just a spoiler and uninteresting since everyone has the same experience...

whats this, a new trailer???




I've been crunching on this, still technically a WIP, it will be playable at ffeaturing today (7th) in Stockholm along with other very great games!

The video was recorded using a trackball for control, once I have mouse controls working excellent it will be online...

I've always been a fan of Undercover Cops, but it is just 3 players max

Couple new screenshots, plus a little thingy I whipped up. (partial credit to the Retro Avatar maker by that one person I forget about. It won't be in the final game, it's just a showpiece.)

I like the addition of the telephone poles!  Only thing is their silhouette kind of jumbles up depth or how they appear grounded in the scene for me.  The one that stands out most is in front of the moon, I think because the actual level tiles are a lot lighter than it.

I just did a quick gradient thing overlayed on only the level tiles, the effect is best when you can see the low contrast details without bright stuff (forum background) wiping it out, like if viewing image against black background or fullscreen.
Not saying you should do this, just was curious how it would look.
I feel like maybe the sky would change a little too since now the top part of the level gets lost a bit.  In my head I imagine the detailing on the tiles as glinting in the moonlight, with a panning diagonal highlight that slowly sweeps across the screen-  Basically exactly like what you're doing on the border/frame.

*edit* also the missiles would look a bit out of place too.. hm.   

I just saw your comment about a name.. maybe something with 'Drift' in it, or a similar word. Drifting...something city. You've got dudes fishin, floating dolphins, disembodied moon-heads, faces in buildings, floating structures, hanging corpses, it's like this world has been paused or set in very slow motion, and everything is just hanging there, even the telephone poles

Figured out an algorithm to generate better caves with distinct rooms and corridors:

That's great, and secondly that really illustrated proc-gen for my brain in a nice visual sort of way!

REEL THICK, G.

[DESHORI]

  I dub thee,

                                                                        DESHORI                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    DESTINY HORIZON INTERSECTAKA PROJECT CISOSURRB

some kind of FPS space/planet tank game for dos, flat shaded 3d graphics, really abstract shapes and things.  I remember it had weird music and overall seemed very creepy to play, brutally difficult, I never understood it, eventually gave up on it, constantly dying and trying to collect little triangle/diamond shaped things for energy. 

oh I mean the way-points/objective beacon stuff that games abuse now, instead of relying on good level design or composition to lead players, ETC, their eyes instead get glued to a tiny portion of the screen.

Another sad thing about it is while some games do have a use for way-points/beacons(beyond just an abstract hud feature, giving it more reason, like say an aircraft cockpit)... I don't think any game has actually screwed with Player expectation with objective beacons, like say a horror game, the objective beacon is actually fake and glitches out and leads you into a trap without you knowing etc... if some games have done so then that is awesome.

also, grape jelly = excessive on-screen blood splatter (mostly with regenerating health)