thanks for the pointers!
I´ll have a poke around and see how it goes, then post my findings in here.

thanks!

hi all

so I've seen these wonderful GIFs that people throw around the forums, and seeing as I'm now working with a graphics guy I'd also like to get some of that action too.

so I was wondering, once you've captured the game (using fraps or whatever), what tool do people here use to transform the avi movie into a GIF? I've searched around google but I'm not getting a good vibe from what I've seen.
for example, this http://www.gamani.com/

so yeah, thanks in advance!

great news!

I'm now working with Pablo of 8-bits studio and he's already contributed a lot to the project as well as producing a bunch of artwork.  the look of the game is going to be minimal, low-fi pixels, so he's been working on coming up with a unique art style for it.

so here it is, one of the animated backgrounds (click for flash version)

this one has some floating islands over an animated sea, pretty atmospheric huh? (click to see x4)

this one is inside the belly of the beast, so to speak.  pablo says he'll animate the cells somehow (click to see x4)

any suggestions from you guys?
have a nice weekend!

Again, it's not exactly what you're looking for but my game Things Jump contains a Ninja that has a grappling hook. It adds a different kind of game mechanic

I downloaded it and tried it. I didnt see the ninja (sorry I get bored really quickly) but I thought the level design was quite clever.  Congrats!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie_Wings ?

Not exactly the same as the idea you described, but it has a hook mechanic.

shit man, I've been waiting for this moment for 20 years!!!!
I remember playing that game as a youg man in some crappy arcade, never to be found again!
and yet here it is.
amazing.

it doesn't matter if I can't play it, just knowing that it's still around somehow makes me happy.

thanks!

that japanese game looks crazy, I´m gonna go try it now.

thanks for that!

hi all

so I'd love to play/make a game where you control a guy with a grappling hook but you're actually in a side-scrolling shoot-em-up game (like gradius for example) so you have to jump between enemy ships using your grappling hook.  the screen advances at a constant rate, so you're always pushed to make quick decisions.

you can destroy smaller ships by hitting them with your hook (you need to carefully plan your next jump though, otherwise you´ll just fall to your death).  and there are also smaller enemies which you can trap with your hook and use as shields, and eventually throw them around into other enemies/ships.

that's the gist of the game.  it's basically an on-rails platformer with a grappling hook, but instead of platforms there's enemy ships.

anyone know if there's something like this around?

I recall seeing something like a side-scrolling shmup where your ship had a grappling hook but I don't rememeber exactly and can't find in my bookmarks :/

thanks in advance!

lol yep that's the same guy!

Whatever, half my stuff's stolen anyway.

ok thanks!
I try not to nick stuff, but more often than not someone else has already come up with it first so...
at least I try to ask for permission whenever possible :/

hey man

I was working on my own thing when it suddenly hit me where I got that enemy idea from. it's actually the same as in your game! I'd say it's a pretty minor thing but I don't like being a dick so I thought I should ask if it's cool by you if I keep it as it is.

I made a quick video capture so you can see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJg2ZVHbd5M&feature=youtu.be

I'm not sure if you can tell from that single video but the game is actually completely different from yours, so I hope it's ok? let me know if it's not ok and I´ll do my best to change it into something different.

made some new weird enemy types, check em out in the video!!

these draw inspiration from enemies behaviours in many classic games (mario bros, zelda link to the past, ghost n goblins) but they feel totally different because the controls are nothing like in the original games.

I've got about 10 enemies done, I'd like the game to have 20 enemies and 4 minibosses.  oh and a bunch of special events I can't talk about just yet

in other news I think I found a pixel artist, so things are moving along!

looking good!

[updated post]

updated post

HOOKBALL was finally released today.  I think I turned out pretty well, you could say I’m a proud dad.

So, let’s celebrate with a trailer!

HOOKBALL is available now on the iPad appstore.  It’s going to be free for a little while, as a special launch promotion.  However the game doesn’t feature in-app purchases, push notifications, microtransactions or ads.

.:.

iTunes link http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hookball/id640326801

presskit() http://www.nachobeard.com/

.:.

tumblr http://blog.nachobeard.com/

twitter https://twitter.com/nachobeard

email [email protected]

.:.

(click to enlarge)

.:.

Credits

Game by Nachobeard
http://www.twitter.com/nachobeard

Sound by Gavin Harrison:
http://www.gavinharrisonsounds.com

Graphics by Leonard Robel
http://www.budhigames.com

---
[original post follows]

hi all,

so I've finally settled down for a name and decided to start a thread here to post occasional updates.

so, hook love is an action game, a quirky mixture of super smash brothers and noitu love with touch controls.  graphics are totally crude at the moment but you can take a look here at a gameplay video I just recorded with commentary and a bunch of fun new enemy types:

the objective of the game isn't so much to defeat all enemies but to collect coins while avoiding falling off the botom edge of the screen.  The game draws inspiration from smash bros and controls a little like noitu love, but with touch controls.  sadly at this stage it's missing all the graphics, and only features a few enemies (incidentally, lifted from the mario paint coffee game, of all things)

the central character (green rectangle) will be substituted for a character of some kind who will have kick, punch and hook attacks.  each game is a single huge-ass combo, where you're punching, kicking and juggling enemies around to avoid falling off the bottom edge of the screen.

graphics and music will be lo-fi and chunky and pixelly.  which reminds me, I'm still looking for an artist so drop me a word if you might be interested

the game will probably be released for iPad only.

I'll happily admit I've no idea what I'm doing so any sort of criticism would be good.  ta-ra!

It's all one colour. When you sit down and open the software, it's just one big cloudy cloud. This is something I've really started to think about, and be cautious of.

yes of course, you are right in challenging all preconceptions.

Like-... When you say I should come up with more enemies and weapons... That IS a gimmick. There's a gap right now, and if I filled that with new enemies and more crazy weapons, that'd be filler. That'd be mush, numbers, cannon fodder that people will churn through and forget.

yes, it depends on how you design the enemies.
if the enemies/weapons are just there for variety, they're just filler.

what I'm saying is that in my opinion you should try to make enemies/weapon which create a game space for the player to explore.  for me, this is a general principle, but maybe your game doesn't need to do this, I don't know.  but it's probably worth considering?

Here's what you really mean when you say I should focus on the core gameplay: I should work on giving the enemies deeper AI. So that you can play around with the same guy a little more, and the enemies are a bit more unpredictable and alive. So that I can keep using these enemies and they won't get boring too quickly. It should be more like playing with a living, thinking dog than playing a game.

I'm sorry, but I disagree!
making deeper AI to make things interesting is one option which rarely lives up to expectations.  in my experience you keep tweaking the AI hoping that it'll eventually become fun, but it never does.  it's the kind of dangerous wishful thinking that undermines many game design decisions.

most gamers derive fun from figuring out the predictability of their enemies.  if there are no behavioural patterns in the enemies, it's not fun, generally speaking.  of course this doesn't apply to games with bot-like enemies, sports games, etc.

here are some quotes taken from my game design notes (sorry I can't credit the original authors)

The best solution doesn ’ t include unpredictability. For Crash Bandicoot 2,
Naughty Dog tried creating more behavioral AI with less simple patterns.
Focus groups found them inferior. The players liked the challenge of figuring
out the enemy ’ s patterns.

(I think this come from a book by Scott Rogers called "Level up!")

Enemies are designed around making battles exciting, slightly unpredictable, and fast. They all have very specific roles and are designed to work well together in any combination. Most enemies are weak but dangerous -- something we used to keep up the pace.

(I think I took this one from an interview of one of the vlambeer guys, not sure).

anyway, these are complex issues for sure, and while these quotes mostly align with my opinion, by all means try to challenge these ideas!

good luck

I quite like what you're doing here!
I think I could be a bit biased though, since my current project shares a few similarities with yours?

Anyway, I would say that adding gimmicks is generally a bad for your game.
in my opinion it's better to provide simple gameplay elements and explore the game space that derives from them.  if you need to tack on extra stuff to keep things interesting/varied then it might be better to revisit your core gameplay?

what I'm trying to do in my game is basically providing slightly quirky touch controls and then design different enemies which force you to "explore" using the controls in different ways.  that's the theory anyway, of course it's easier said than done.

I think in your project the same effect can be achieved by coming up with different enemy and weapon combinations to keep things fresh all the time without having to add stuff which doesn't really belong there.

of course this means programming quite a few enemies, but I see no other way around this.

just out of interest, are your enemy waves predetermined or is there any element of randomness when they pop up?

How about something with "Fling"? It can mean to toss and a brief/casual affair. (Maybe instead of attacking enemies, you're making out with them )

good call!
I'll make a note of that.
I mean the name, not the "making out with enemies" bit 

why would you make the oos and infinity sign? why exactly

because it's a survival game without a definite ending.

V_e (it means escape velocity)

how about:
-"hook" (where the two o's are joined to make the "infinity sign")
-"hook love" (nice wink to noitu love, which is one of my inspirations.  also fits the aesthetics of the game better I think since it's a lighthearted cheerful thing)

V_e (it means escape velocity)

thanks, it's actually a pretty cool name!
but I think it would be more suited for a game with techno-minimal graphics, say like rez or n+ whereas my game is probably going to have chunky lighthearted pixel art, say like "super t.i.m.e. force" or something like that.

still, it sounds pretty cool so I'm making a note of it.