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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsCloudforest (platformer)
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Ratchet
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« on: January 27, 2011, 04:44:43 AM »

Hey TIGsauce! Gentleman

I've been through that process i'm sure we all know well: You start a really awesome game, then x months later the excitement bleeds off and you don't want to work on it, so development stops. Then you start another awesome game, and the same thing happens, and so the circle of life continues.

So, I've decided to downsize. I've written the plot for a small game, only 6 levels long, and I'm going to damn well finish it. (And after three years of working on games, it will be the first one to be completed Embarrassed)

The game is a platformer called Cloudforest, it's set in the same world as TurnShip, and it will help expand on the mythos of the world we spent so long creating before we got fed up of isometric sprites at three zoom levels.
As well as standard platforming running and jumping, there are a few extras and irregularities:
Halfway through the game (spoiler!) you pick up a glider (lifeboats for TurnShips), meaning you can jump much further distances and control yourself better in the air.
If you pass and edge as you fall, and you move into it, the player will latch onto it and climb up.
The player can crawl through tight spaces.
Rather than health, when hit by an enemy, you will be stunned and unable to move for a short while. The duration depends on the power of the hit. If you're hit while stunned, you're dead. However, lives will probably be infinite, you just have to start the level again.
You can also stun enemies, but you have tot stand still to shoot a crossbowtazerthing at them.



; it's just me working on this (for now), so progress is slow but steady. The next step is an art pass, or coding projectiles/damage/etc.

One thing I'm looking for input on: I'm working with the tilesize as 16x16, and the player 16x32. Artwise, is this too small? I'm a bit worried about readability, when she's not a garishly-coloured test sprite on a dull background. I might end up doubling the screen and tile-size.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2011, 03:40:03 PM by Ratchet » Logged

Oddball
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« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2011, 04:51:43 AM »

I like the video. The movement seems smooth and it looks like it would be quite satisfying to control.
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Terrorbuns
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« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2011, 08:01:20 AM »

I must say, that video looks promising. (I am liking that you can grab ledges and the sort, it all looks very smooth and delicious~). And I think 16x16 tiles with a 16x32 player is perfectly fine. It really depends on your resolution but from the video it looks fine to me.

Good luck with this!  Gentleman
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I_smell
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« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2011, 09:42:06 AM »

Cool. I like this gliding jetpack-ish mechanic. It seems like there's loads of potential to make hidden paths n secrets n shit. I can really imagine working my way through a forest in this game, then climbing some mega-high tower or castle or something n gettin above the clouds.

I don't know what "cloudforest" means, but I hope you have clouds on the ground.
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Ratchet
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« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2011, 01:58:04 PM »

I don't know what "cloudforest" means, but I hope you have clouds on the ground.

Cloudforests in boring old real life are forests on the side of mountains, that regularly have clouds passing through them. That's where most orchids come from, because it's very wet and bright. However, in this game it's kind of reversed =D You'll see, soon!


I must say, that video looks promising. (I am liking that you can grab ledges and the sort, it all looks very smooth and delicious~). And I think 16x16 tiles with a 16x32 player is perfectly fine. It really depends on your resolution but from the video it looks fine to me.

Good luck with this!  Gentleman

Thanks very much! Yeah, I guess I'll just have to test the character on the background and see if it works or not, really. I think she'll be in warm palette while the background is cool, and I'll add contrast on her arms and legs.
EDIT: Also cool icon, Doc.


I like the video. The movement seems smooth and it looks like it would be quite satisfying to control.

That's what I'm going for, thanks =D
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Ratchet
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« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2011, 04:38:26 AM »

I'm currently designing the protagonist. I've had her character in my head for a long time, but drawing her (and getting the clothes right) was another matter.


I've made a more detailed blog post here, at P&R. Any design input would be appreciated! (Might post this in one of the design forums, too.)
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Ego_Shiner
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« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2011, 12:54:59 PM »

something along the lines of 3 seems best so far, but the design seems kind of unbalanced somehow
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« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2011, 02:22:19 PM »

Here's a quick sketch I came up with for your protagonist.



I used a combination of some of your colors along with modifying a few to make it more earth tone/warm. I changed the silhouette a bit as well... I'm not sure if you're willing to bend the style this much, but it's just an idea. Smiley I felt like her legs seemed a bit thick... Someone who runs a lot would actually have really skinny legs, so I thinned them out a bit.

I also modified the head slightly... Moving her eyes a bit apart to better handle the perspective. I changed the hair into a more defined ponytail so it stands out better in a silhouette. I also made the scarf a lot bigger/longer as I think it's always fun to have flowing details like long hair or a scarf moving about when the character jumps. Smiley

I also gave her some curves so she has a more feminine form, but nothing too dramatic.
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Renton
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« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2011, 02:44:24 PM »

Honestly, I like Konidias' costume the best, though that scarf might be hellish to animate.

Also, since she'll be floating/jumping/leaping/running a lot, I think she would benefit a lot from not wearing crazy uncomfortable and completely runner un-friendly footwear.

Seriously those boots would be crazy painful to run around in.
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Ratchet
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« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2011, 06:20:55 AM »

Here's what I've ended up using:


So, huge thanks to Konidas! Your design was way more warm-coloured than any of mine, haha.

There's a new video up

, and a new blogpost at P&R.

Next up is levels!
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Ratchet
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« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2011, 03:39:47 PM »

I guess I should update this thread! I've been having some technical troubles with the engine; basically, display is getting too slow. I thought I'd fixed it, then adding a background got me back to 12 FPS.




So, now I'm going to be porting to a mix of pygame and pyglet; pygame to process images, pyglet to display them.

Still, I've updated the completion to 20%, because I'm happy with the rest of the code and should be making some real progress soon.
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