Cool!  A few more instructions might be nice... What do improvements and docks do?  How do you get able men?  Is there a goal?

No, TBH release date is pending whether I get any interest from XBLA or PSN, which I haven't even started pitching yet.  Showing a trailer to you folks should help to to figure out what I need to change, if the game is buzz-worthy, etc. Dan Paladin has actually helped out quite a bit with getting it to be really fast-paced jump-in fun.  He loves it, so I think I'm on the right track

About 10 weeks ago I decided to take a break from Venture Dinosauria to work on a design I've been kicking around in my head for years now.  Here it is, the result of 10 weeks work:

MONACO: What's Yours is Mine

Trailer:




Monaco is a 4 player co-op stealth game with an overhead perspective.  Each player takes on a unique character with complementary skill sets (Locksmith, Prowler, Hacker, Cleaner) in order to get and in and get out with as much loot as possible.  Think Gauntlet crossed with Hitman.

The game currently has about 90% of the levels done, a full level editor, 4 players on a LAN (internet won't be hard to do but I haven't decided on the platform I want to target first).  You can even play your custom levels with players across a network.  It's written in XNA.

This was my IGF submission this year.  I can't wait for everyone to play it!

I like the idea of strong and weak, I also have been thinking about different kinds of reinforcement, such as "i like what you did but not why you did it" and the reverse.

I had a long weekend up in san francisco for a friend's wedding, but im back at it now, I have the brain building done and now I need a simple account creation process.

Ah, good to know.  SOrry for the roughness... I'm just implementing it all quickly, not cleanly!

As someone who doesn't know much about neural networks or what the bird considers a punishable / rewardable action, I'm a bit baffled by this game in its current state. What can I reward or punish?

You are rewarding/punishing teh decisions that the bird makes.  Currently, there are only four decisions he can make: up, down, left, right.  You are rewarding or punishing him for making decisions under different circumstances.

Incidentally, rev4 is up with several levels and a mate to work towards as a level goal.  Next step is the build a brain screen, probably get to it tomorrow.

Thanks guys!  A few things:

Great idea regarding the pause/slower stepping... I also find myself wanting it to be slower at times and (just a bit) faster at times.

Hidden is the general term for neural network nodes that don't have a specific definition, their "meaning" grows over time as the neural network is trained.

As for the diagram on the right, my next big step is to portray that as an actual brain, allowing the players to "buy" new nodes and connections, that way there's a combination of design+training that goes into it.  I'm not sure what the best way to portray it during gameplay though.  During the design portion, it will be more obvious.  Right now it just displays the nodes that are currently active and the strength line between them is the strength of the connection.  A red line means it's a negative connection.

I've been feeling a bit burnt out on Dinosauria, so I'm taking a break to work on a concept I've been thinking about for a little while.  Here is my two day effort:

http://bemybird.com/

The basics: you are a male bowerbird building a nest to attract a mate.  To do so, bring flowers back to your nest.  Problem is, you're not so smart.  You have to be trained how to do that.  Use the plus and minus buttons to punish and reward actions.  Eventually, your bird will be able to do the job entirely on his own.

Next step is to add a shop and allow players to build their own neural network, adding nodes and connections in exchange for flowers and beetle wings and the like.  It's like an RPG only with your BRAINS.

After that I'll be adding in the actual mate bird, a competitor, and a series of levels that will ramp you up to more complex levels that require strategy, all devised and trained by you.

After that, online competitions between different player's birds, tourney style.  (you enter your bird in the tourney, he dukes it out without your input, you see the replay).

If you are interested at all in what real bowerbirds are like, here's a

.

i shave my dog with a straight razor.  i go through about one a week.

It's just that the "throw ten things against the wall and see which one sticks" method is particularly suited to indie development.  OTOH, my directionless prototyping experiment was a disaster.  Back to the paper designs for me...

That's Dan Paladin, the Orange Knight, and the orange Princess from Castle Crashers signing autographs at comicon.  I'm engaged to the orange princess

Side note that doesn't deserve it's own topic -- not sure if this is a geek dream come true or a nightmare: Admiral Adama just hit on my fiancee at comicon, as she was dressed as the orange princess from Castle Crashers.  hahahaha

While the company that published world of goo (and Venture Arctic) did file for chapter 11 bankruptcy, they still exist.  The bankrupcy allowed them to get out of some debts and contracts, but so far as I know they are still honoring their contract with World of Goo (and Venture Arctic).

Anyways, here are mine:
http://www.venturearctic.com

http://www.wildlifetycoon.com

Fuzz, I don't know you, but here's a big squishy hug nonetheless.  I hope you are doing ok and spending lots of time with loved ones.

And I should note that I was thinking of posting in this thread myself but Fuzz' tragedy kind of helps put the little things in perspective, doesn't it?

I think that's bad news in the short run -- but in the long run it will force all the consoles to beef up their online marketplaces.

IS there a built-in audience for dante's inferno?  that game looks so F'ing awful </offtopic>

More than Mirrors Edge.

Just as a coda to my thoughts on this:

I think it appears likely that someone on that team saw my game and decided to take some stuff from it, though probably no more than I take from other games (I've got a few things from Black and White in my next game that are probably just as similar).  It's my job to innovate, that's why each Venture game is substantially different from the last.  It's a lot harder to clone a moving target.

The overall effect of this is actually probably good... they are helping to create a market that I've had trouble reaching, after all.  It did disturb me when I saw it... it's hard not to react that way when you feel ripped off by a company that I feel mistreated me in the past.

I understand why it's hard for someone who hasn't played Venture Africa to see anything more than a passing resemblance of "unimportant" aspects of the game, but if you know the game, there are just too many similarities in their video, esp given how few games there are in this genre.  I mean, when you are designing a game, who DOESN'T look at competitors to try to learn from them/improve upon them?  And there's really only a couple at this point.

But in any case, it really doesn't matter.  Good luck to them, and I'm glad they are making the game.

Is this the glorious future of AAA and indie studios merging into one delicious gestalt you envisaged at the IGF this year Andy?

HAHA you don't really think I *meant* that did you???

To be honest, actually, it's probably a good thing, helping to create a market for these types on games on the Wii.  I can continue to be innovative and EA can continue to fondle my ideas and we all win.  Seriously.

Haha, yes, well if it is in fact the case, you're right, it's a compliment.

It's also like saying omg i just looked in my mailbox and found my sense of humor.