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Hello!
So, I'm in need of a sound designer to produce SFX for my game, and also mix and match some SFX I've got already in use. The sound designer would also need to implement the SFX in Game Maker Studio 2, if possible. This is my game (gif is in bad quality, I'm sorry):



There's a tumblr and twitter too, if you are interested and want to contact me directly by one of the game's social media.

THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER, OMG, OMG OMG

[Elektrobear]

Some news regarding the campaign:

The campaign has reached 59% of its goal right on two days!!! For anyone helping the project, thank you so much!! I'm extremely glad on how far we are only on these two first days of the campaign launch, and I hope we can keep it up! Around later today I'll post a Boss Reveal there, so please look forward to that!

Here follows the link for the Crowdfunding Campaign!

I like the non-human characters a lot (especially in the mushroom and tree images you posted). But for me, and maybe this is because I love pixel art, it felt a little clashing to have the fully rendered illustrations during dialogue on top of the pixel art. Everything else sounds very nice, though, and I'm always up for quirky cookie companions. 

Thank you! Glad you like the NPCs! They are everywhere around the realms, kind of like "childrens" of the Zodiacs. Some people said they didn't like that, yes, so thank you for your feedback, it's reasonable to think they don't fit! I won't change that, tho, since I think, inside the game, they do give a "scene/story" context to the story bits, which I like and helps a ton to set up the mood, but thank you for your feedback and I'm extremely glad you liked my game!

Girl, I LOVE the look of your game. The sprites are extremely pixelated but also really charming.

It also gives me Saint Seiya vibes because of the Zodiac theme.

Wishing you all the luck in the world with the project!

Thank you so much(!!!!) I love this exageration of pixels, really, zoomed games are my downfall HAHA
Oh, I've heard that sometimes (also some people comparing to Homestuck). It's kind of an honour since they are very praised as well, so thank you! I think, though, that VvtZ has a different approach to that, so it's worth taking a look out to see what you think! Again, many thanks!

The music is so goood

Thank you! These are the bandcamps from the two musicians working with me right now, if you want to check them out:

• Elektrobear (worked on the Momodora's series Soundtrack)
• Semiprocastinator

[42% on first day]

Hey everyone! After a long time without posting due to being incredibly focused on the Crowdfunding Campaign I'm here to show that it's finally up and already at 42% on first day!

Here follows the link for the Crowdfunding Campaign!

Here you can check the new trailer showing more of the combat too!





I hope to bring more updates along the week and thank you for following the development of my game!

[15th of August]

New video up and announcement of the day for the Crowdfunding Campaign: 15th of August, if any of you is interested!





This video shows a little on the great event for the second realm of the game, Taurus Realm. The food festival seemed appropriate, but you'll see a lot of other stuff going on, as the Alpaca Throwing contest.

Disclaimer: No Alpacas were harmed in the production of this game (and they actually like to participate in the festival).

I'm almost finished with mapping, it was a bit tricky in a forest environment, to think of maps where the player wouldn't get completely lost, but at the same time making it in a explorative way. I may show more of this along the week. I accept any feedbacks and possible ideas!

Hey there! I'm not usually into JRPGs but I dig your art style and I adore the fem protag! I'll be following.

Hello and thank you! The battle system is a bit different from usual JRPGs, so you may enjoy the combats! Each enemy/battle has their own feel and personality. Virgo can also protect herself from 90% of damage by shielding and there's a great variety of counters too, depending on the shield you're using! I hope you'll enjoy the demo!
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Hello everyone! I worked on some animations this week like the scepter one! I was looking for a more "magical girl" vibe in this one!



For animations, I feel it's always best to draw the full thing with the basic movements in two colors only, then apply details after it's all moving. Using outlines makes it harder to define edges later, but solid shapes let me get the the best feeling of the movement.
As with all animations, the most important aspect is to give impact and make the right frames shine. Many times the white star before an effect's "tail" gives the viewer a starting point to pay attention to what's to come. If I just make the movement itself and then draw the tail, it'll show up too quickly and since I have few frames to work with, it doesn't always gets perceived as the way I wanted. Anything fully white helps to draw attention to this specific part of the animation and since it disappears quickly it gives that "thunder" feeling, increasing impact.



Virgo's ponytail helps so much with follow-ups. I've animated characters with short hair before or even long fluffy hair, but ponytails are the easiest and most efficient to make frames smoother as it can move a lot without looking weird. It also may easily be put in front of her face to hide weird shapes and create a small outline for her arms which I unfortunately made with no sleeves. This, while cute, doesn't help when she needs to raise her arms above her head, as with no shading or outlines I can't reliably show that her arm isn't just invisible and her eye closed, so I must depend on other sorts of movements and hair to play along.

I played the demo and I thought it was really good.
I liked the tone and setting of the game, and I think it's a very strong part of the game.
The main character's dialogue was pretty entertaining and fresh, and interacting with all of the things in the maps added a lot to the game.
From the extra tips, to the equipment, and enemy encounters, it was all really interesting to go through.
The tone was definitely backed up by the music which was really good and left me wanting to listen to it after I stopped playing the demo.
The combat mechanics were very good too. I felt like it was at a good difficulty and you actually needed to use your items at the right time which I feel like is a hard mechanic to implement as well as it had been.
I only got a light taste of the equipment and leveling system, but it seems really customizable which is a big plus in my book.

I don't really play a lot of these kinds of RPGs, but this is something I'll keep an eye on!

Thank you Fervir! I'm glad you enjoyed the dialogues, I'm not a native speaker and those dialogues had to go through a LOT of proofreading! I also spent a lot of time trying to make every bit of the game entertaining, instead of just "something you have to go through".

I plan on posting the songs on soundcloud, I can let you know, but since the game will have a crowdfunding campaign soon, you can also get the soundtrack there in early bird for less than the original price!

Aaaand, yeah, timing carefully was something I needed to make. I am a huge fan of intricate turn based combat such as Shin Megami Tensei IV and that level of difficulty is something I'm trying to have on Virgo (of course, inside my set of limitations). There are tons of equipments, literally tons, so it's very custom, you'll probably like that in the full game.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the experience even though this isn't your cup of tea! I hope you'll like the full game as well!


----------------

As for some updates!

I worked on database and creating new skills/equipments, so I don't have much too show other than these new maps. I hope I can be more through about the changes on my next devlog!


I present to you Taurus! Here goes some jumping Alpacas.


Working on a sort of labyrinth where you have to chase them Alpacas.

Hey guys! I'll try to post devlogs here anytime I have something new, I hope I won't bother much



I’ve been working on Taurus’ realm these last few days, finishing up tilesets and right now doing some NPCs and enemies!



The fisherman person with a new background and the newest first ranged weapon of the game! Also some more combo skills were added!



and here I’m testing camera effects when timed hits are about to take place on the Mr. Ent! If you get dizzy, you can disable those on the menu at any time!

Hope you guys like it, and I'll be back soon

[Crowdfunding Campaign is up!]

Crowdfunding Campaign is up!
Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Official Website

Description

Virgo Vs The Zodiac is a sci-fi/fantasy JRPG where you play as a single hateful character. The game features traditional turn based combat with a twist: Guarding, countering and timing your actions carefully as well as predicting your foes' moves is essential during Virgo’s twisted and unforgiving cosmic quest to bring back the Golden Age, a period of peace, symmetry and balance, or so she thinks. In this galaxy where every action means a reaction, you’ll play as Virgo, the Holy Queen, or so-called Dreadful Queen by heretics, bringing mayhem to the Zodiac Realms and leaving a trail of stardust on your way, all to fit her excessively righteous worldview.

The estimated release date is around late 2018 on Steam for PC, Linux and Mac, but this is due to change, depending on how well the crowdfunding campaign goes.

The game is still in development and everything shown here is prone to change!


Story

"The constellations aren't aligned anymore.
The end of the Golden Age marked the beginning of an era when the Zodiacs could reign over their realms without the interference of the strict system settled by the Rulers...
...but for my sister, that meant complete chaos.
She has vowed to do something about it.
And this is how she got in trouble, 9.14 Astronomical Units away from here, in a far far away realm, filled with goats..."

After Virgo swiftly steals the Talaria, winged shoes of Mercury, her father, she marches on her crusade towards the Temples of Saturn in search of Capricorn, her first adversary. Along her journey to achieve Purity and Perfection, she will encounter many foes whom she deems heretics, but also those she finds friendship in, such as her trusty companion, Gingerbread Man, a delicious cookie who assists Virgo on her journey.


Gameplay Trailer






Features

• Counter-attack-based combat, Guard and counter enemy hits on demand, customize your tools with great variety of counter-attacks depending on the equipped Shield
• Unforgiving combat with no random encounters; battles fought are plot-relevant and many heretics might even be spared!
• SHMUP minigames!
• Electronic atmospheric soundtrack by Elektrobear & Semiprocastinator
• Meaningful skills, all buffs/debuffs and general actions in combat are highly significant and game-changing
• Choices matter in both Story and character growth, offering a lot of Replayability through the Zodiac Qualities System
• Interact with different Zodiacs outside the main quest depending on your own stat choices
• Non-self insert and hateful MC
• Fluid and full of impact pixel art animations
• Quirky characters such as Goats, Save Dinosaurs and a Cookie Companion
• Controller support
• Rewards through exploration: As you delve through the most heretical star clusters of the galaxy, you'll find a vast amount of explorable areas brimming with interactive objects. Many choices that will impact the game can be brought up through world interaction and exploration.
• Quality of Life unseen in most of the genre: a hefty amount of shortcuts for healing, saving, accessing and equipping items, etc. No more hours spent on sub menu dwelling!

Screenshots

Platforms

The game will be available on Steam for Windows. Mac and Linux will be available if the Crowdfunding Campaign is successful. I also plan to launch the game on Itch.io. GOG and Humble Store if possible.


Developer

Moonana - Creator, pixel artist, animator, programmer, writer and UI designer
[email protected]


Social Media

Twitter: Twitter
Facebook: Facebook
Tumblr: Tumblr
Instagram: Instagram
Website: Official Website
Email: [email protected]


Collaborators

Awesome people who are helping me with the project!

Anglerman - Eternal support and guidance with the animations

Elektrobear - Musician
https://elektrobear.bandcamp.com/

Semiprocastinator - Musician
https://semiprocastinator.bandcamp.com/

I couldn't make Virgo a thing without you guys!


Development Progress

• Capricorn Realm finished!
• Demo is OUT!
  
• Hub Town finished!
• WIP - Pisces Realm
• WIP - Taurus Realm
• Crowdfunding Campaign is now OUT!

Follow the progress of the game and related news on the blog!


Thank You

Thank you for reading this gigantic devlog! The game will have a Crowdfunding Campaign coming up soon, so please stay tuned and help me spreading the word about the game if you want to!

[this]

Yes, I just checked and they do marketing and PR for you, which would take the problem of people not knowing the platform away! I'm pretty confident this is the best choice, specially with the bad rep around Indiegogo. Marketing is always a plus, specially for someone like me, who don't know much on how to market a game. So, this is my game, they contacted me after I posted a gif on this group. You can also submit a pitch of your game through their website.

So, it is known that Indiegogo has a bad rep for being a place for scammers. The thing is Kickstarter doesn't allow my country in, so the options are reduced to Fig.co or Indiegogo. I'm actually considering Fig, but wary that my audience may not want to help because they don't know this platform, since it's somewhat "new" (I actually didn't know about them until they contacted me!)

But the bad reputation around Indiegogo is also scary for anyone wanting to have a successful campaign. What are you guys' thoughts on these two platforms? Where would you rather back a project on? I'm all up to testing new things, but I know a lot of people don't...

Sorry, my bad, thought you meant something else @Bad_Dude 2017

[sublety is key]

In fact, no, they aren't useless. Anime art is a whole new form on it's own. The style requires way more precision than just painting on photoshop, with fine lines and everything having to be absurdly subtle, to expressions, to the way you'll change the eyes. It's completely different from comics, for example. If you want to learn anime art, go into tutorials on anime art, if you already know how to draw. If not, learn how to properly draw the body with anatomic lessons, and then go to anime art. You'll need to know that sublety is key. A tip I can give to learn a little on colours is to just do the shadows on a separate layer with multiply on 40% (if using Photoshop, but SAI has this feature as well) and choose a very light lilac to paint on that layer, on top of your already painted in flat colours drawing. That'll give you good colours for the shadows, instead of you having to choose a shadow colour for each part of the drawing.

This is how I do it:



There isn't much mystery, tho, as I just normally draw it and then fix the pixels that are out of place. You could do something like this, just draw as you would normally draw anime art, and then fix it so the pixels won't be clungy and awkward.

Wow, these games here are absolutely fantastic! I'm a little overwhelmed now, but well... This is a very simple puzzle map I'm developing for my game:

Hm, I think I posted this in the wrong place, so I'm posting it here, sorry <_<
Some pixel art animations I'm working on for my game~

Love this, very curious how your game will turn out!

Thank you! I hope I'll have a demo up soon (maybe beginning of march~), then I'll post a devlog here. :3


Did some other pixel drawings for the scenes. This will be zoomed on the game, but I like how they look tiny like this.
This is still a work in progress, I need to fix the clouds, add some stars etc.



@Fervir really dig your art style! Very nice choice of colours~

Hm, I think I posted this in the wrong place, so I'm posting it here, sorry <_<
Some pixel art animations I'm working on for my game~

I really dig this style! Amazing colour pallete! The only problem I have is that if the bright colours are on the floor, it hurts my eyes a bit. I think it's best if the brighter colours remains on buildings and details (or in the characters itself), as the attention of the player will be focused on the floor. Some times the character has the same colour as the floor as well. Other than that, the game is amazing as it is, I'm really looking forward to playing it!

This is really interesting and is something I've wondered about before, because it also brings up the question of why the player should care. If you're demonstrating to the player that good salt-of-the-earth people are in need of a hero, that seems to be a natural kind of motivating factor for the player to want to take action. Other games seem to approach this problem from the angle of tapping into a primal sense of compassion or strong emotions by having a storyline that involves, for ex., finding your lost father or mother (Fallout 3) or son/daughter (Fallout 4). I think it can be challenging though to find storylines that leverage these kind of plot devices that don't feel recycled or cliche, since they are used so frequently.

I think this Fallout approach, apart from being overly used, is somewhat forceful to the player. It's that point from the video you posted, the player have to care about your story, but there's inumerous ways to do it than to make it directly relatable. You don't have to always go into the obvious path.

This leads us to the "why should the player care?" question you mentioned. I've wondered for too long now to form a kinda of philosofy around it~

I'll take my game into consideration to talk about it now. My MC is the villain. She's Virgo, the Zodiac Sign, and she wants to purge all the other Zodiac signs because she thinks she's cleaning Astrology by doing so, as their world is in chaos and no one excepts for her seems to carea bout it. She's very righteous, but violent, and thinks that purging everyone will be a good solution to her problems. The beginning of the game goes all straight to the point that she has her duty, she have to go after Capricorn to purge her. The sense of urgency I talked before persists, but why the player have to follow this crazy lady? She's a very unrelatable character, very despiteful, but the fact that her goal is clear and straight to the point can make the player feel engaged anyway. Sometimes, you can catch player's attention just by making they become curious about the character or how odd the setting and the personality is. You'll mostly see it in games like earthbound, very praised by the story, where you can't really relate directly to anyone, but you care about them anyway. Everything is so unsettling and misfit, that you care about the story itself, it makes you curious. It makes you wonder, "what would I do if I were a kid and a giant thing just had fallen from the sky?" and there's nothing more compelling to the reader than to make they wonder.

In a game you can make them wonder by worldbuilding, or by character-rich, and by those two, I don't mean heavy-text based stories with dialogues who will only bore the player who just wants to go into a battle soon. You have to be able to tell stories being very careful about the timing. Where will you put this information? And how? You can do amazing story-telling only by writing items descriptions. Narrative designer is about the details. You can easily state that a NPC lost his wife recently if you make a letter on top of a table saying "The words I've never said to you", and make that same NPC seems depressed by the saying "Hm... Do you need anything? I don't think I can help you...", showing how he don't really believe in himself or in his existence after losing someone. You can reduce all your storytelling to little bits like this and still make a story-rich material for a game. The key is to make the player be the detective in your story, imo.

Battle Zodiac signs because Virgo wants to purge them all.

58 characters, I'm proud.