Hello,

I am working on a game called Operation Smash, it was released once before on smaller places, but now I'm getting it ready for steam so I'm kinda remastering the game. I made all the art myself, my animation skills is lacking, I would for example want to add a nice subpixel animated idle animation, and maybe touch up the general character design a bit as well. Maybe the stance is still a bit to relaxed for example, maybe it needs to be a more combat ready stance. The current running loop is ~10 frames long and pretty smooth, but the rest of them are so-so, could use a bit more inertia when jumping/landing etc, such as a quick crouch when landing and so forth. TBH i would like to have a walk loop as well so that the run and walk are different, but i was so short on time so it never got done. I am willing to pay up front, or if you want to, do some sort of rev-share deal if you are interested in maybe joining and doing more work, like designing and animating additional enemies and a boss or two. If the main char could be polished up to the level of say Freedom planet or Iconoclast level, that would be kinda my goal with this.

Here's the trailer for the old version (2013):




Email me here:
[email protected]

Hello,

I am working on a game called Operation Smash, it was released once before on smaller places, but now I'm getting it ready for steam so I'm kinda remastering the game. I made all the art myself, my animation skills is lacking, I would for example want to add a nice subpixel animated idle animation, and maybe touch up the general character design a bit as well. Maybe the stance is still a bit to relaxed for example, maybe it needs to be a more combat ready stance. The current running loop is ~10 frames long and pretty smooth, but the rest of them are so-so, could use a bit more inertia when jumping/landing etc, such as a quick crouch when landing and so forth. TBH i would like to have a walk loop as well so that the run and walk are different, but i was so short on time so it never got done. I am willing to pay up front, or if you want to, do some sort of rev-share deal if you are interested in maybe joining and doing more work, like designing and animating additional enemies and a boss or two. If the main char could be polished up to the level of say Freedom planet or Iconoclast level, that would be kinda my goal with this.

Here's the trailer for the old version (2013):




Email me here:
[email protected]

I've taken up development again, copy of first post here:

Yo! The game is back in development after much consideration back and forth... about the viability of platformers/metroidvanias on steam, etc... But I figured I should release it after some fans kept bugging me about it. Anyhow, there was a couple of problems that poked out, I kinda rushed the release, now Im "remastering" the game before releaseing on steam... (It's greenlighted)

The old Release Trailer:

I've been polishing, moving around rooms and areas on the map and more, all to make the game more focused and "compact" (reducing fumbling around in pointless pathways and reducing repetition of enemies etc) I would really want to figure out a better name for the game..  I kinda just made the name up at the end.. I've been thinking abit about if I should start a video dev blog on youtube, or maybe just do a written dev blog like last time... dont really know how much work youtube would be, knowing me, I would probably put too much time into that part, trying to make that as good as possible instead of just getting it out there fast.

All in all, I think the biggest problem was that the game was god damn huge! But not enough stuff to fill out all that space.. I was kinda hellbent on making a huge game, and didn't see how it was destroying the game... Anyhow, I've reduced the game a bit, like cut 40% or so, and moved the remaining parts around, now I'm reworking powerup placements etc... Have done paper version of the new map on the wall and are working with postits etc to figure out how I should restructure it, feels a lot less daunting to pick back up after this shedding of excess rooms and areas..

(By the way, yeah the gravity was pretty floaty, I've increased it quite a bit as well now)

Yo! Here's a track I made for the space game Astro Flux recently, hope you like it! (I'm available for paid work btw )

https://soundcloud.com/gamebox/space-music-astro-flux-ost

Hello!

If anyone is interested in pixelart environments, I am available for work (Paid only), contact me at: [email protected]

I made the game Operation Smash including all the artwork. My stronger points are environments, while animation/characters is weaker. I've learned a lot about making games since I made the game, and if I would do it again, I would probably have moved away from tile-based and moved into free positioned sprites to make it much easier/faster to build levels.



Trailer:

(colors are a bit washed out in the video compared to the actual game)

Here's a small demo/test I made where i used free placed sprites instead of tilebased, and i think it looks promising:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1678187/PlatformerTest/PlatformerTest/PlatformerTest.html

Just wanted to say that this game is now done! Released on Desura yesterday: http://www.desura.com/games/operation-smash

  Cheers!

Trailer:

Hello fellow tig'ers!

My game Operation Smash is now done and awaiting release, very exciting times! The game is a Metroidvania type platformer. I present to you, the release trailer:

and I very much hope you like it!

If I would give one advice to you, I would say stay far away from C++ and aim for something like GameMaker, Unity, Flash, XNA or similar. That way you are keeping the technical barrier much lower, thus enabling a wider range of people to be able to help out. C++ is often more work for the same result when you compare to the alternatives, and it can cause more headaches as well. Judging from what ive seen, the game should work well in any of the technologies i mentioned above. If you want more in depth advice i would be happy to be of assistance.

My personal favorite is Unity where i have been spending almost a year making a 2d platformer. The good thing about Unity is that it makes it easy for the programmer and the artist/designer/etc to collaborate in the editor. The programmer can make values visible in the editor so that the designer can tweak and modify things without the need for programming knowledge. Here is my blog if you want to see how my project looks like: http://steveolofsson.tumblr.com/ In this project i used 2dToolkit and with it i got a full fledged tilemap editor inside unity where i built all my maps, very nice workflow.

Anyhow, get in touch if you want more specific advice.

Amazing looking cityscapes and graphics overall, very interesting!

To answer your question, I would say, Unity is probably unappealing to some people who like to keep stuff low level like C++ programmers who think rolling your own engine is the best option. Also, i think some may have a misunderstanding that Unity is a point and click kind of tool, or for people who cannot write code, its actually a very advanced tool and its not for people who cannot code. Im the kind of developer that loves to work on the actual game and hate to write low level code that often comes down to reinventing the wheel yet another time. So it probably depends a lot on who you ask, best choice is to form your own opinion by trying it out and learning the work flow.

About your question on engine choice, i would say Unity is the obvious choice for you. I'm currently working on a 2D game in Unity and i had no issues at all, rather i would say i only benefited from all the great stuff that unity provides, you can see my full devblog here: steveolofsson.tumblr.com, before this game i made 3D games professionaly in Unity. Before Unity i have been working with Flash, XNA and BlitzMax, i have never been more productive than now.

If your long term goal is 3D then i would suggest go with 3D from the start but start with something small, that way you will learn more about how the team work together and you can improve the asset pipeline etc based on what you learn.. 3D has a lot of specific stuff that can go wrong with stuff such as importing models, animations etc into your game.

I have been using Unity for the last 3 years. (2 years professionally and now almost a year indie) I think it appeals differently depending on what kind of developer you are. I am less of a programming nerd and more of an allround kind of developer, i like to focus on the product and not get snowed in to much on the technical. I love Java, C#, ActionScript 3 etc, never gotten down to C++ level because i dont see the point, i just want to focus on getting stuff done. I think some C++ people who like to roll their own lower level stuff might not like it as much. I think Unity is the best thing i ever used, before that i used XNA and FlashBuilder, before that BlitzMax. In Unity i just get quicker and easier results, less reinventing the wheel, more time spent on the actual game. Thats my 2 cents.

I might add that my game is 2D, more info here: steveolofsson.tumblr.com

Congrats to being part of the bundle! 

Hey again! (btw where is the workshop forum, been searching for it but didnt see it.)

I made some changes based on your feedback, changed the stance to something more heroic and less stale/casual. Also increased the contrast a bit from the last version i posted. Feedback ?


Update: Gathered some feedback from twitter and made another set of improvements. Letting the right arm relax a bit more, making the girls hair stand out, and slightly differentiating the face shape on the guy.

Hey!

Interesting thread, tons to read. I made a similar on reddit a while back: http://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/x2evj/fans_of_metroid_like_platformers_what_new/

I am developing one of my own and its pretty far along in production now:
Trailer here:


Devblog here: http://steveolofsson.tumblr.com/

I love Super Metroid and SotN. My favorite indie one is Lyle in cube Sector, well worth checking out. I was never really a fan of cave story even though its a well made game, just didnt click for me, i think there was a bit to much talking for my taste. I will be scanning this thread extensively for ideas

Hello,

Thanks so far for your feedback! I dont think i want to do radical changes like a completely different character, but rather try to improve this one as much as possible. One thing to keep in mind is that the story is that the two main characters are teenagers and not really prepared for the adventure they will experience, so in a way i guess a non heroic posture is not completely wrong.. But i guess if im understanding what you mean you would want the arms/shoulders to be more spread and also the legs more apart/bent ?

One good thing when drawing an environment is to look for what components it has. Like a factory environment might have a lot of pipes, fences, ladders, large tanks etc.. Look at some irl photos and try to find what those components are for the environment youre trying to make.

Most of all put in the time and you will get better.

Hey there!

I recently released a trailer of my game, and while doing so i started to see the game with new eyes. I was a bit disturbed at how flat and clunky my main character looked compared to some of the other art. Also the proportions are a little to exaggerated in terms of head size to body size ratio. Its kind of natural that it feels dated because its one of the first pieces i made for the game, and i got better and better as i kept working. So now i am working on improving the character.

The trailer is here:



And here is the main character before and after my improvement. I would love to hear your feedback. (By the way, the main character was the only thing in the game that has outlines, so i removed them while i was at it)


If anyone wants to doodle, here is the normal resolution image: