Working on the win/lose screens today. I have basic layouts set up... now I just need to figure out what to put in the white space. I was thinking like a diagonal scrolling background. The middle area will display your stats for the level, and there will be the option to go back to the overworld, or in case of losing, to retry the level as well.

   

Also I've been working a lot on the level editor, adding in more objects. I've animated the water and also added a top surface water type, which is nice and wavy.

I've put together a list of things I need to finish before I release a simple beta/demo version.

✘ add face accessory
✘ add in the hat/accessory items into the chests
✘ fancy up the win/lose screen with all the info for the level
✘ add arrow and time to display where to go and how much time has passed
✘ get level saving and loading in the editor totally working. this includes all info for the level as well
✘ make sure everything loads properly in the level
✘ create a few dozen levels
✘ add in the mode select to the overworld, along with some other GUI stuff there

After that I'll post up something playable, so I can start getting some feedback on the gameplay and what direction I should really push the game.

I'm sensing just a hint of Minecraft inspiration.

[Slime Slam]

Hey TIGgers,

I've been working on this game for a couple months and I've decided to start posting some development logs and stuff here. Not sure if anyone will be interested but I figured, why not? So the game:

Slime Slam
"Use the slime slam ability to clear rocks, open chests, and defeat enemies, while dodging falling obstacles and collecting items"

Screenshots

Most of this stuff is early work in progress, so feel free to critique and offer advice.  


testing puzzle challenge mode


water and quicksand test


a few enemies


the level editor in it's early stage

So the game is a sidescrolling puzzle-platformer type game. I guess. That's the best way I can describe it.

All sorts of objects fall from the sky. Some good (hearts, coins, chests), some bad (rocks, enemies) The controls are pretty basic. Move around and jump, and you can also perform the signature ability "slime slam", which works much like a "ground pound". This lets you crush rocks and hit enemies and open chests, among other things.

Each level you play will have different challenges to complete. Some levels will be more action oriented where you fight enemies and dodge obstacles, while other levels will be more puzzle oriented.

Right now I'm targeting for a PC release first, and then I'll see where it goes from there. Hopefully it shouldn't be too big of a hassle to release a Mac version and a rather limited Flash version. But for now, it's just PC. I'm aiming for a late summer to early fall release... so we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll try to keep this devlog updated often.

Those are too jawesomeawesome.    Where do you get them made?

www.moo.com

edit: beat me to it 

Well it's a bit of squash and stretch and also I feel like it's just that each line is kind of redrawn in the outline, but just stiff shapes in the final animation. If the shapes actually morphed around a bit it would be more organic. Having the shapes just rotate/reposition for the most part just makes it feel very stiff and like everything is just cut out shapes that are pinned together.

But I guess this doesn't matter as he's doing the characters in 3D now. There's room to give them some organic movement in 3D though, so I hope it's not just bare bones rotations and such.

You can build a neat analogy for anything, it doesn't make it so. Particularly when it comes to digital media where the tendency is to inappropriately compare software and digital distribution with physical products and brick-and-mortar stores, let alone nonsensical things like fireproof safes.

I know people have strong opinions on piracy (and I believe that's because we're all victims of extensive and outdated propaganda) but it's ultimately a marketing question, and those are best answered with analysis, not opinions and rationalisation, because this new frontier internet shit is insanely unpredictable.

I don't think the internet is "insanely unpredictable". People behave much like you would expect them to behave when they have anonymity (or the belief of anonymity). Morals loosen up, fear of repercussions for your actions lessen. So your average decent citizen suddenly becomes a deviant law breaker. It's not every case, but it's a lot. People justify their internet crimes and make excuses for them. Most people seem to sleep easily at night, even though they have downloaded thousands of mp3s they didn't pay for, or pirated hundreds of movies and games. It's all justified in their mind because nobody "lost money" and because it was just a "digital copy" of a product, and it wasn't "physical".

But I'm just curious... how is it "inappropriate" to compare digital distribution to physical distribution?

But shouldn't you have SOMETHING protecting your game? I mean, even the most basic of protection.

What's to stop Average Joe from googling your game, and the first result that pops up doesn't happen to be your site, but a "free game downloads!" site which happens to have your full game up for grabs. Is he going to bother looking for the official site or is he just going to download the game there and play through it... never realizing that it costs money?

If the game itself has no indication of costing money, and there's no key to enter and nothing like that... I think you're just encouraging people to share the game.

It's like having a fireproof safe. Locking it would at least prevent most "honest" people from just opening it and taking what's inside. Locking it won't prevent a determined thief from breaking it open (or taking the entire safe), but it will keep honest people honest.

I gotta say... I prefer this:



to this:



By changing the outline to these solid objects, you took away a lot of the organic feeling of the character and now he's almost robotic. Because the arms and such don't actually bend or anything, it's just stiff.

My weak point like many others, is not being able to finish what I start. But I'm working on that by sticking to this one project until completion.

My reasons for not finishing something:

- I run into a problem that I simply cannot fix (semi-valid reason)
- I get bored (invalid reason)
- I start working on something else instead (invalid reason)
- I think the game is an "ugly baby" and can't be saved (semi-valid reason)

So really I don't have a single solid reason to be abandoning projects...

Oh wait, I did have a reason to quit one game... Back when I was younger I was making a fan game and I grew worried that it would get shut down for infringement, so I abandoned it. I think it was a wise decision.

RPS did an article on World of Goo's pay what you want sale's statistics... so you can see what the numbers look like for that game... Although, it's going to differ for every game, I'm sure.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/10/20/world-of-goo-sale-provides-fascinating-results/

edit: though it's important to note that you had to pay at least a penny to buy the game. they didn't just give it away for free.

I think William is being a little harsh with that review.

The whole "all you do is...?" line could be applied to most games.

Tetris - All you do is rotate blocks and drop them?

Breakout - All you do is bounce a ball off a paddle to hit blocks?

(Any space shooter game ever released) - All you do is move around and shoot stuff?

To belittle a game because it only has one or two major gameplay elements is kind of a low blow.

But congrats to you for handling the criticism so well. I think most people would have just said some not so nice words about his review.

Played it, beat it, enjoyed it a lot.

My only gripe is the camera is just a pain. I actually felt the most control during the credits when the camera was fixed. I felt myself fighting the camera a lot while I played... It would zoom up close and in front of the Octodad so I had trouble seeing anything I was doing. Pressing A/D to rotate the camera didn't always work... sometimes it would just not let me rotate around. (I'm guessing because the camera was getting stuck on stuff)

Overall, it was fun. The camera was just way too zoomed in for my taste.

[Diamonds]

Diamonds

Wikipedia has a blurb on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamonds_%28video_game%29



If we're talking about the same game, I once played a Windows 3.1 shareware version of this game. For the longest time I thought that the color-changing blocks had keys on them, but now I see them as paintbrushes.

I also remember there was this dude back at The Daily Click who put out like 4 clones of this game (which he called Diamond, sans "s") without admitting his inspiration. Good times.

I remember playing Diamonds back in middle school. It was like the only game on the computer that wasn't a learning game. (number munchers, oregon trail)

I actually have a copy of the exact game you posted the screenshot of. There are keys later on, you have to pick them up to unlock sections of the screen.

To me, this is boring and not very realistic.

I really don't think you want to start getting into what is unrealistic...

You're fighting giant rat monsters for starters.

You wanna know what is not boring and very realistic? As a big burly fighter guy, I'd be more likely to just smash the chest into pieces and grab whatever falls out. That's more realistic than trying to pick a lock for a couple seconds and then giving up and not being able to do anything about it.

How is it boring to pick up loot directly, versus having to roll dice and wait to pick up loot? That's like saying it's boring to walk around so instead you have to roll dice to determine which foot goes in front of the other. Adding extra steps to a simple action doesn't make it less boring. It does the opposite.

Thanks for your thoughts/input everyone - we do appreciate it but we also have a vision. However, we love input and ideas on how to make our game better so don't hesitate.

Well you posted in the "Feedback" section, so I think you can expect feedback.

The game looks great visually... The UI however looks very cumbersome. I can imagine it would get annoying having to move your mouse over to the left of the screen to click the correct button to loot every few seconds, or to attack or whatever... That kind of stuff needs to be more right in front of your eyes, or use buttons instead of a mouse interface.

Just watching the gameplay video made me tired... looking at the player walking up to loot, then having to move their mouse over to the loot button. Then clicking, then waiting, then collecting (or not) some loot. Then moving to the next loot and repeating.

I'm with the others on this one... unless clicking to loot and sitting there waiting for dice to roll is some big improvement on the "pick up loot when near it" mechanic.

Update: Coincidentally, my work was having an IT Tech day today and had the largest version of the Cintiq set up to try out. So I got to play with it and I'm really loving it. I don't think I'd need the biggest size (I think it runs $2k). I'd be happy with a notebook sized Cintiq. Definitely on my wish list though, if I have some spare cash floating around.

I don't think anything beats actually drawing directly on to the screen. But I guess if you're on a budget, a tablet would be okay. Just not for everyone.

Yeah I can kind of understand the whole idea of giving an easy achievement away so that players notice the achievements, but at the same time I just feel like it cheapens the achievements overall.

If it's possible to introduce achievements organically without resorting to giving one away, I think that would be the best road to take.

Also it's nice when achievements are "unlocks" which reveal more content or special features or whatever. If it's just earning an achievement to earn it, there is less incentive. But place an actual reward behind it, and now you're talking.

The best kind of achievements: the kind where you actually have to earn it

The worst kind of achievements: the kind that are just handed to you for normal gameplay

I mean, what's the point of a "played the first level!" achievement?

To me that's like giving yourself a pat on the back for tying your shoelaces. Might as well call it the "not a drooling baby who lacks fine motor skills" achievement.

I don't want to discourage you, if the price is decent and you've got the cash to spare then go ahead. But my own experience with tablets has been mixed.

I never fully acclimatized to the disconnect between my hand and the lines I drew on the screen. My drawings with the tablet were always clumsy as hell. I didn't have the control I was used to, it was almost like drawing with my off hand or after falling to the floor drunk (If I can still stand, I draw pretty good).

Eventually, I got a baby Cintiq, which has totally changed my life.

Story of my life. I bought a wacom tablet way back in the day and I just assumed I'd be able to sketch with it like I do using pencil and paper. The disconnect was just too much and I still don't use tablets to this day. I'd much rather draw directly on the screen. I'll have to consider getting a Cintiq one of these days... maybe if there is a price drop or a special or something... It's not something I *need* but it would be nice to have around.

Yes. Fez PC please. I won't be able to play it otherwise, and that makes me a sad panda.