keramago , please  get rid of that annoying signature. Other than that there's a lot of great stuff meing made.

I didn't want to be the one to speak up, but yeah... I'm getting seizures every time I check this thread 

[EDIT:]

I was writing an article up today, reviewing statistics for equipment and a few related game sub-systems for my pet project. Since it's kind of a dry subject, I decided to spice things up with some art, just so it's not a wall o' text.



In the article, it's two separate images; the sword in the section detailing weaponry and the three armor types for the armor section.

For those who are curious, the armors are (left to right) cloth, leather and metallic.

EDIT: Since I was scanning, I figured I'd throw a level design doodle up too. Colors were added after scanning, can upload the original scan upon request (not that anyone would).

Make transitions between regions permanent, uneditable structures, like a small hallway with pillars in the background. This makes the entry and exit point into each area 'safe', even if the area immediately outside them isn't.



The top example shows the transition from Red world to Yellow; however, someone has built a wall where red and yellow meet, which would be instant-death or some other complication...

The bottom example shows a 'hallway'; someone has still built a yellow wall up around the transition, but because the hallway provides a safe area, there's never any chance that walking into a new zone will lead to instant death.

The game itself would never show the transition in the image above, that's just for example purposes; you'd see a hallway object at the edge of one region and come out the other side in a hallway object at the edge of the next region.

Would benefit animation, but not gameplay, still a good idea! His dash will be at a set speed, so it's either getting the 16 frame one to work, or run with the 8 frame one!

Well, unless it jumps out as very disorienting (and I would try it out before I decided) you could still use the two animation states, even without any kind of increase in speed. Use the smooth one for a few seconds and then switch to the faster one. Even if both use the same speed, you're giving the illusion that you're moving faster. Player perception doesn't always have to equal reality. 

If memory isn't an issue... use both? Have the ultra-smooth version as your initial run animation, then after a few seconds of sprinting you break into a dash. Give a very minor speed increase to complete the illusion.

Lint (and variations, Lynt, Linnt, etc.)

Retrogames will strike at me with "Hey, how can you! This is something I came up with

Not in the slightest. You asked for input, I offered it. If that input, even in part, helped you out, then I'm actually quite flattered.

Besides, I was only recalling a tidbit I'd read concerning Tolkien's experiments with language; I've always remembered that particular anecdote because I actually agree that "lynt" sounds like something quick ("The lynt fox jumped over the dog...").

... plus the little guy looks like a fuzzy ball of dryer lint. 

Unfortunately, with the Internet being what it is, there's no way to control what information a player has access to. I can remember being a kid and having to rely on the small circle of gamers at school for advice, but nowadays it seems like the Player's Guide ships before the game does. Not to mention import copies, pirated copies and leaks...

I've complained about this in the past, especially for MMOs where players are berated for not knowing how to defeat a boss before they actually encounter it. I personally believe that this kind of thinking is simply a reactive side effect of the limited gameplay mechanics of MMOs and and not a distinct shift in player attitudes.

You have to trust your player not to spoil the game for themselves, in the same way a writer has to trust the reader not to flip ahead to the last page. Granted, games are a completely different medium due to their interactivity, and I'm sure we'll see some very interesting philosophical debates on this in the future.

I guess at the end of the day, the kind of people who play a game with the walkthru on their lap don't sound like the kind of 'gamers' you're targeting anyways. Let them go ahead and ruin the experience for themselves; If they have fun with it, then you've succeeded in entertaining them in an unintentional way. If they complain, the kind of people who do this are in a small minority anyways. If they unfairly tip the balance of your game world (for example, finding a way to play that gives them an unfair advantage) you may have to make some changes.

When you're testing your game, make sure your testers are talking with each other so this kind of behavior can make itself apparent quickly.

Otherwise, there's nothing you can do. There will always be some tool who thinks it's hilarious to post spoilers and there will always be gamers who just want to take the path of least resistance, even at the expense of sabotaging their own enjoyment. For some people, that's their definition of fun.

Sorry to say there's nothing you can do about it once it's in the player's hands. It's just one of those things that comes with the way games are played.

Lynt is another good name that rings very fine.

Your little fuzzy guy is running, and I was reminded of something Tolkien described, using words that had a specific a sound that suggested what the word meant. One such example was using 'lint' to describe something that is quick and clever.

Lint (and variations, Lynt, Linnt, etc.)

I guess this qualifies as "Art", and it seems like the Hybrid Weapon thread is off everyone's radar... So.... yeah. The general idea was a sword that works like a hypodermic needle

Didn't draw the whole length, it's not actually meant to be that short, of course.

Uncolored / Larger version here: http://i.imgur.com/tUoyP.jpg

And so nobody can say I'm not posting new (well, new to you) stuff... more crap I dug up from the last 3-4 years;


These are exceptionally tiny... drawn on business card stock with regular old Bic pens. There were always a ton of these little blank cards floating around work, and I'd doodle on them when the system was down or laggy (which was often).

Just a doodle... 7 years old, maybe? No major theme or concept, just drawing a guy with swords.

Started as some errant pen-mark on a manilla folder and the shape just jumped out at me. The features are very odd, but it has mostly to do with the mark that was already there.

Pointless Photoshoppery, 4 years old maybe?

[Rapier + Poison:]

Rapier + Poison:



With all the speed and deadly accuracy of the traditional rapier, The Injector™ has a series of microscopic ducts carefully drilled down the length of the tempered Celesteel™ (patent-pending) blade. These ducts connect to a venom reservoir and complex pumping system designed to run off magnetic induction kinetic engines contained in the hilt; simple use of the blade maintains enough potential energy for consistent toxin delivery.

With the press of a button, the blade essentially becomes a large hypodermic needle, for those extra nasty big baddies who won't go down easily. It slices, it dices, it liquefies the ugly buggers from the inside-out!

Three removable venom reservoirs, constructed of neigh-unbreakable photonized glass, feed the central delivery system. These reservoirs can be filled with any number of poisonous liquids, and the entire system is treated to resist corrosion if the user so wishes to use acid or digestive venoms. Each reservoir can be switched on and off as desired, allowing up to three (3) distinct toxins to be used as the situation demands.

An easy-to-use poison extraction kit* is hidden within the scabbard (not shown) for refilling or sampling from the glands of various creatures.

The Injector ™ is available in 'slate gray' (shown), 'veiled copper' or 'jet black' finishes. Thank you for choosing Retrogames Armory for your monster-slaying needs.

Retrogames Armory is not responsible for unintentional self-injection or injuries sustained while fighting xenomorphic lifeforms due to exoskeletal fissures and vents. Taxes and fees may apply, not available in all regions, please check local planetary law before purchasing. Retrogames Armory is not responsible for confiscated equipment. Illegal on Ceres 4, Absolon Major, Absolon Minor, The moons of Jupiter and Nebraska.

* Kit may or may not be easy to use, please visit your local authorized dealer for a free demonstration**.
** Retrogames Armory is not responsible for unintentional self-injection or injuries sustained during free demonstration.

Anyways, regarding your question, here's an idea: How about before the roll starts, all the possible outcomes are shown first. Think of them like cards that you lay face-up on a table to show to the player. Afterwards, you gather them all up and shuffle them into a single icon. Shuffling can be as RCIX has suggested (Or how Mario Kart does the animation when randomizing the power-up). Finally, you show the result of the roll.

I instantly thought a Slot-machine style presentation would work as well.

I think it looks fine. You've picked a muted color palette for your background elements that blends them together and makes them distinctive from the foreground elements. If all of your backgrounds are handled in a similar way, I don't see it affecting gameplay at all.

That said, there's also a lot of things to look at back there, and while they're not distracting (and I wouldn't say crowded either), they're still interesting to look at. If the player gives themselves a second to pause and plan their next move, they may find themselves getting lost in it momentarily.

All good things, nice work.   

What kind of game is this? You're talking about blocks, cash, armor... but we have absolutely no idea how any of this works.

Dang, I got all nostalgic for System Shock 2 all of the sudden.

I hope this doesn't revoke my nerd credentials, but I've never played it.

Not sure if I'm on an insect kick or what but I thought making a butterfly thing would be fun.

The butterfly should move up as it flaps down.  Right now its moving incredibly oddly.

Also, the wings just flatten out on the down-flap, I feel like they should curve downwards slightly at their lowest point.

I was tinkering around with a new idea today and I was reminded of an old idea I had, and quickly dug up the accompanying art (or what's left of it). I figured I'd share it, even though it's ancient (at least 10 years old) because I just love the hell out of it.

Bleh, looks terrible compared to some of you guys, but then, I was probably 15 or 16 when I was drawing those and Pixel Art wasn't as defined or developed as it is today. Also, the tiles do blend together seamlessly, the editor itself is responsible for the black grid effect. Also, all of these tiles were drawn by hand in ResEdit's cicn editing window, which is far from the kind of art programs you can use now, and are limited to 256 colors...

And here's a link (since it's kinda large) to the only remaining copy of the tiles; http://i.imgur.com/Z3OuU.jpg

If you're an old school mac-user, you're probably having 'nam-like flashbacks to ResEdit . The tiles were put together in a program a friend of mine wrote for me that basically let you draw and save maps comprised of 32 x 32 pixel tiles.

There was never any actual gameplay, just me screwing around in the editor. Thus, it was more of an elaborate building toy than a game, though it did have its own list of 'rules' around how things could be built. I started off with orbiting stations, then added planetary surfaces, then edited the surfaces so I could make floating celestial bodies (asteroids), along the way adding more and more little gadgets, items and rules.

A quick glance at the link above will show some of the more elaborate ideas like subway tunnels (200-210) and all the various hallways, windows, display screens and surface features.

In my mind, I would load up the tile set and set myself a rough goal ("Build a mining colony on this asteroid", "Build a military outpost on this remote mountain", "Build a secret research facility in this deep canyon", etc.) and then set about building it, ensuring I followed the rules I established.

For example, item 232 is an entrainment console. Without entertainment, the morale of the inhabitants would start to dwindle and they'd start going insane. Every item in there has some kind of specific purpose; nothing is there for looks. Even things like windows (being able to see outside the confines of the station was essential to staving off claustrophobia) and blank hallway tiles (for temporary storage, as seen on the left side of the image above) had a purpose.

I think I had just as much fun coming up with new features as I did actually playing with the damn thing, which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I wish I had a working pre-OSX Mac to tinker with it again.

[Dry Erase board]

- A very large Dry Erase board. My old one was 23 x 16 (before it was permanently occupied by a penguin who changes based on the holiday, as per my Girlfriend's request). To replace it, I just got a new 24 x 36 one for Christmas. I'd like to get one of the big-honking ones that come mounted on wheeled frames, but that's pretty much pure fantasy at this point. I haven't even found a place that sells them . If you cannot immediately grasp the infinite usefulness of a quickly-erasable bare-essentials work surface, you're in the wroooooong business.

Google Documents. Sometimes it runs a little slow, but being able to quickly pop open a new document anywhere, anytime and share the work with anyone (instant feedback = good) is a very good thing. Being able to access it from anywhere is also handy when I'm out of town or away from my computer and want to jot something down. It may not be as useful for organization, but being able to jot down ideas quickly means organizing them quickly.

Scratch Paper. I have two clipboards I keep loaded with copy paper and a mechanical pencil attached to at all times. One by the couch, one at my desk. A quick doodle, a fast note, a level design diagram. I also find that sometimes, I work better away from my computer; that's when these puppies come in handy.

Notepads. Years ago, I bought some spiral ring notepads on clearance at Toys R Us (they do back-to-school supplies but hardly anybody buys them) for some insanely low price (pennies each). Actually, I bought closer to a whole box. One bedside, one on the couch, one in the sideboard in the dining room, one in the car, and one anywhere else I think I'll be occupied (now that I think on it though, none in the bathroom...  ) Any time an idea strikes or a particular refinement occurs to me, I have something to write it down on.

In general, that's more of a good habit to get into rather than an organizational tool, but it's important to slip in even if it doesn't count.

Well, that's true - you could randomize the character's appearance the same way, which could lead to some funny results (Geek granny, empathic strongman).

In theory, I would probably set certain appearance guidelines so that players don't end up as geezers or children. Probably just a basic template of adult males and females with varied cosmetic differences (hair style and color, skin color, clothing, etc.). I'd hate for a player to get to their third or fourth link and get stuck playing Grandma.

From a story perspective, you're playing as an anonymous link in a chain of people passing along the viral prototype so it is harder for its creators to track. The letter is configured to react to certain people, so perhaps whoever sent it was sure to pick healthy adults.

The negative attributes reminds me of the Potentials from Valkyria Chronicles in which each character had multiple, usually unique traits. The difference is that in this game, the traits aren't unique but the characters are.

Never played it, nor did I really develop what the negative traits were. I did plan on having 6 (one for each vowel plus Y), and included "Easily Winded" (depleting the sprint gauge prevents sprinting until the gauge completely refills again) and "Unlucky" (find less credits, more likely for a weapon to jam) and in my first rough pitch. Things that would make it more difficult to play the game, but not in obvious, numerical ways (enemies take more hits to subdue, for example... blech).

Taking out vehicles, upon consideration, seems like a good idea, since it adds an entire new dimension to gameplay. Plus, the character would have to own a car, and if they don't, stealing one might be uncharacteristic for an "innocent person" to do. Regardless, there would have to be a way to accomplish the objective with or without a car, which diminishes their importance.

Well, I'm also thinking from a design standpoint, you have an open world game. Plus shooting. Plus random character attributes. Plus stealth. Plus puzzles. Adding a driving simulator on top of that is going to make it that much harder to get everything else right.

I wasn't worried about people stealing cars (in the entry text, I mention that players can 'hack' parked cars with techkits), so much as I would be worried about what driving does to the overall game structure.

Great example; I loved running from rooftop to rooftop in Crackdown. I never drove. Why drive when you can run like a madman, leaping from building to building? Granted, the characters in Chain wouldn't be superheroes, but driving seems too... comfortable and safe for the kind of pacing I would want. I want players to feel like the enemy is closing in, trying hard not to stand out in a crowd or miss that frantic jump. Driving just doesn't fit that feel, honestly.

Plus, I'm not a coder by any stretch of the imagination. If I want anything playable done, I'm gonna have to do it myself. Trying to but together a first person shooter / stealth / driving / puzzle / randomly-generated content game is... well, it's a bit much.

Plus, worst case scenario, this would play out as a really cool platformer... except the driving parts.

Thanks for reading, really glad everyone likes it.

His skin seems a bit too youthful. He could do with more wrinkles, but also grayer skin. You may also want to add some liver spots or something as well.

Also, very little detail on his neck. Some wrinkly jowls might help.

[A]

What an interesting idea, Retrogames! Absolutely amazing. I can't believe it was just an honorable mention!

Thanks. The other winners in that particular challenge were (in my humble and, I will admit, clearly biased opinion) not up to snuff. The first place went to a game that is essentially the same art-game platformer we've all played a hundred different times under a hundred different names, but the stages are made of letters. But whatever .

I like the resemblance to Mirror's Edge, except with more of a "normal dude caught in an action movie" feeling. It would be interesting for the characters to be even more greatly varied in what they can and can't do, for example, a muscular military guy might be trained to use guns but be terrible at stealth, while a teenager would have to remain weaponless and sneak past using his athletic skills. I bet it could work with classic GTA-style graphics as well.

And a thank you to you too. When I submitted that challenge, I hadn't played Mirror's Edge, though I was aware of it and liked the free-running style of it. If only the combat hadn't been shoddy or forced upon you, Mirror's Edge might have come out a stronger game, Great instead of just good (though the Time Trials is where the REAL game begins and those are completely devoid of combat, making me wonder why there isn't a Parkour foot racing game yet).

My approach was definitely to put an 'everyman' (well, 5 every-men..er...every-persons) into an extreme situation. I didn't make a predetermined 'cast' of characters (e.g. the Military Man or Teenager you mention) because I fell in love with the idea of each character being randomly generated on each playthru. That's one reason all of the Descriptors are alphabetical; it makes it easier to describe your playthru if you can say "Oh man, I had a chase last night, my third Link was AGYZ", meaning of course that his character had the Awareness, Geek, Youthful and Zen-like Reflex descriptions.

Of course, that particular description sounds a lot like your teenager descriptor; Awareness implies the hearing and eyesight of youth, as does the adeptness with technology from Geek. Youthful is obviously fitting as well, and Zen-like Reflexes... well... maybe he's got that whole gamer's hand-eye coordination thing going on.

One thing I would like to mention; in my early notes, I had planned to ALSO introduce 'negative' descriptors for harder difficulty settings, but the Game Design challenges only allow 500 words (at least, they're supposed to, but people often ignore the rules, which is one of the reasons I stopped doing them). You could also change the game length from 2 links to 5, depending on playtime, and the game would keep records and all that craziness.

Thanks again for reading, guys. Glad you liked it. It's something I've been thinking about actually putting together, though not as a first person game and more of a platformer. I may have to take out the vehicular stuff, but that's fine; I wanted to focus more on frantic foot races anyways.