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[DGH94]

Last Knight

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[DGH94]

Original Post:

Hey all!

Complete new guy here. I'm a junior in high school, who always had a great passion for playing video games. More along the lines of PC rather than console, but I digress. Last year I, on a whim, took my first computer course. It was a semester class, and we didn't even get to arrays or the difference between public and private. Yet that class changed my very viewpoint on video games. I became more and more interested in making them, and less and less interested in playing them. That class made me realize that I had the ability (though I later realized this was wayyy down the road) to create my own video game that, to me, was what I always wanted to play. I bought some books over the summer, learned a lot, started junior year, and here I am.

Well now that that's done, here's the actual good stuff:

I started prototyping with Oddball's and Oryx's graphics that I found here one day when I was looking for some graphics to try to tile across the screen. I was really impressed with them, and started to prototype with 2D tile projects; really simple.
Once junior year started (and still on-going), things started to go slower, but still going (slowly, though xD). I had an idea for a Canabalt meets a hack'n'slash type game, which eventually evolved into a full-blown Final Fantasy like RPG, which was obviously out of my league. Discouraged, and having a bad week, I decided to walk home to try to clear my mind. On that same walk home, I had the most brilliant idea my brain has had within recent memory.

Here's the basic premise: (obviously I don't have all the details sorted out, so bare with me please)
-your entire little town in the forest has been destroyed by some evil god's minions except for your house and a little shop
-knowing that the entire town wasn't destroyed, the god demands a second wave to invade your 'last stand'
-fight off the second wave, third wave, etc etc.
-the shop doesn't accept money, but will ask for X amount of Y mob killed for Z item, adding a small quest system
-there's a day night cycle like that of Minecraft: the god's minions can't live in sunlight, so they come by night. Day gives you a chance to organize supplies, trade with shop, etc.

Now for the more technical aspect:
-you'll be on one side of the opening in the forest, and the shop a little bit aways. the farther you get away from your house, the badder the monsters, the higher the amount of them, and the higher the amount of other threats.


Obviously still in its infancy, this is where I plan to keep my devlog as my first game rather than writing it down because my handwriting is down-right atrocious.

Thanks for listening to my endless rambling.  

EDIT: I forgot to mention this is all in Java and that the name is still being decided on, so ideas are welcome.

EDIT 2: Wow, my brain is not with me tonight. xD Here's an early demo that I had before I had the idea. Most of what is in there though applies. Download here.

[DGH94]

Entry 1: 10.23.11

Today was ugh. Didn't have much time to work on the game, but when I did, I somehow managed to add an awesome memory bug that basically crippled my game to an Ice Age-like freeze. -sigh- Wasn't able to get it sorted out as of this writing, but hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

For those of you who played the demo, I decided that it would be better for the game to be played horizontal rather than vertical, so I changed that; (as a matter of fact, that's where the bug cropped up. >_<) I refined the light system somewhat so I could add different types of light sources down the line (light-emitting armor that blinds baddies anyone?). So ya, once I bring the speed back up from a memory leak somewhere hidden deep within the surface of the code, I'll be back to adding features, primarily the house you'll live in and the shop.


Oh, and here's instructions for the demo:
WASD: move
Space: attack mob
Left Click: place torch
Right Click: pick up torch
Scroll Button: scroll through hot bar

[DGH94]

Entry 2; 10.24.11

Today was better. Managed to kick that bug outta the door, even if it meant I had to rewrite most of the game. >_< Anyway, obviously made some small progress. I decided (slightly) on a size for the map. I want to find a balance between small and large. Too large, and you'll be smashing WASD to just find an enemy; too small and you'll be swamped. What I currently have might be too small, and I'd love feedback on that. Imagine the playing field filled with all types of bad guys: archers, melee-attackers, ninjas, everything. Nothing else really changed from the last version. Obviously I added the placeholders for the shop and house, but they don't do anything yet.

I feel like I'm talking to myself. Comment please? Even if it's complete nonsense?  

Forgot; here's some pics:

[DGH94]

Entry 3; 10.25.11

Early entry today as I'm not sure I'll have the time to write this later. Made some small progress today. Added the simple passive, yet aggressive AI (basically the same as the rat and pig, but if you get within their personal bubble, they attack.) They don't drop anything yet. I plan for the scorpion to drop a poison barb, but not sure for the snake. Maybe a dagger tooth? Suggestions please!
I also fixed an annoying bug that had to do with the lighting; if you placed a torch one away from the edge of the map (next to the trees on the top/bottom), it wouldn't illuminate. That should be fixed. I wasn't able to get to adding the player's HP or start the house/shop insides, but I might be able to start them later.

Things to Do: (In order of personal importance)
-item bar sorting
-player's HP
-P/A mob drops
-House/Shop insides
-look how to add custom fonts in Java (Started this, haven't found anything, would love help here. :D)

And of course, your daily round of pics:


Showing off the new map size and torch bug fix; scorpion, and torch-covered snake (possible bug??)


Close-up of snake and scorpion. (Don't get to close or they'll attack!)


Close-up of torch bug fix.


PS: Didn't bother putting together a build, but if you guys want one, I could get one set up.

[DGH94]

Day 4; 10.26.11

Today was mostly just a tinkering day. Didn't (and won't have much time to work with LD, but I was able to add a working health bar. (no death yet though.)

Updated the demo, so go try it out!

Same to-do list as before, sin health bar.


Bugs:
-Snakes and scorpions can spawn on torches.

[eigenbom]

looks like you're making progress, well done.

i almost didn't visit this thread because 'last defense' made me think that its a tower defense game, although reading the story now it kind of makes sense. how about something a bit more daring 'the start of the forest' or something... anyways, good luck!

[DGH94]

looks like you're making progress, well done.

i almost didn't visit this thread because 'last defense' made me think that its a tower defense game, although reading the story now it kind of makes sense. how about something a bit more daring 'the start of the forest' or something... anyways, good luck!

Haha thanks. Names have always been a weak point of mine. I asked for suggestions in the "Name Rate" thread, but to no avail.

Glad to know I finally got a reply outside my own. 

[eigenbom]

Glad to know I finally got a reply outside my own.

Yeh, attention is good/motivating, but you've got 200 odd views on this thread, so don't feel that no one's interested. Also, if you show interest in other people's projects, they may return the favour. As Kevin Costner once said: Devlog and they will come.

[Franklin's Ghost]

Hey just wanted to say, game sounds great. Downloaded it and can't wait to get home from work so i can give it a go.

[DGH94]

Super secret, awesome update for today.

Updated the demo, and test stuff out. QQQQQQQQQQQ. (hint, hint)

I'll post the actual devlog later today after (hopefully) some people tried it out. 



BTW, I changed the name to Cash 'n' Slash, think it's more characteristic than Last Defense.

[eigenbom]

Had a quick play just then, I like the torches and lighting cycle. I think it needs to be more responsive when you move and the player should attack when you move towards an enemy. Other than that, looks like it could be an interesting little game. I've seen quite a few games use Oryxs's sprites now, so it would be nice to draw your own -- keep it simple (e.g., 4 or 8 colours, 8x8 sprites).

Oh, and the new name ... is worse. I think there's a game called Hack And Slash which uses Oryx's sprites too -- though I could be mistaken. But apart from that, the name "Cash and Slash" just doesn't suit the plot, whereas "Last Defense" did. I would suggest "The Last Guard" but it's too close to "The Last Guardian", a game I'm dying to play. But nm, keep the name for now and work on the game.

[DGH94]

Had a quick play just then, I like the torches and lighting cycle. I think it needs to be more responsive when you move and the player should attack when you move towards an enemy. Other than that, looks like it could be an interesting little game. I've seen quite a few games use Oryxs's sprites now, so it would be nice to draw your own -- keep it simple (e.g., 4 or 8 colours, 8x8 sprites).

Oh, and the new name ... is worse. I think there's a game called Hack And Slash which uses Oryx's sprites too -- though I could be mistaken. But apart from that, the name "Cash and Slash" just doesn't suit the plot, whereas "Last Defense" did. I would suggest "The Last Guard" but it's too close to "The Last Guardian", a game I'm dying to play. But nm, keep the name for now and work on the game.

Ya, I plan to do some of my own spriting, especially on dropped items and some tiles. I'm just using Oryx's (and some of Oddball's) to lighten my load. For being more responsive, I can fix that quite easily. I've also had requests for auto-attack, but I'm not sure- I'll see where the entire combat system takes me.

For the name, what about Last Knight? Kinda a play on words of Last Night, and since the game revolves around fighting at night? Hack and Slash is Oddball's game with his own sprites, and in all honesty I forgot about it when I saw Cash 'n Slash.

By any chance did you try the latest build?

[eigenbom]

did u try last build

Yeh I did. But as I hadn't played the others I didn't know what the surprise was ..

"Last Knight" sounds good, go with that. Actually "The Last Knight" sounds better I think.

[DGH94]

did u try last build

Yeh I did. But as I hadn't played the others I didn't know what the surprise was ..

"Last Knight" sounds good, go with that. Actually "The Last Knight" sounds better I think.

Ah ok. Only thing I have against the "the" in the beginning is that it adds an extra syllable. TLK vs LK, idk. Ignore my rambling xD

[Franklin's Ghost]

Definitely prefer Last Knight then Cash n Slash. Can't wait to try the new build.

[DGH94]

Day 5; 10.27.11

Today was great. Only expecting to start on a secret feature, but ended up finishing it. This'll be one of the few times that I actually finish something ahead of schedule.  Anyway, pressing Q over certain objects (coff,coff, BUILDINGS) allows you to enter them. For now they're empty, but bare with me; I want to finish other things first. Mainly getting dropped items completely working, and being picked up by the hotbar (and inventory- to be added.) Once that's in place, I'll hopefully start on the whole quest/shop NPC, bartering, and then it's just different monsters & AIs, finishing touches and viola. (sounds kinda short, doesn't it? Don't worry, I'll somehow make it last 4-5 months. ._.) Anyway, with that in mind, I'm officially declaring this project 10% done. YAY, milestone!

If you guys find any bugs having to do with the buildings (or in general, but I'm more concerned with the buildings) post em here please. General feedback too. 

Till tomorrow!

       


@ Franklin: New build is up

[Linx]

I dunno why, but for some reason the tiny retro style appeals to me .  Keep up the progress man~

[DGH94]

Day 6; 10.28.11

Another great day. Added the scorpion and snake drops (scorpions drop a scorpion tail (to be bartered to make a dagger) and snakes drop poison fangs (to be bartered to make a potion)). Added hotbar pick ups, and counting! Was only expecting to get one of the two done today, but hey, why not kill two birds with one stone? Also tidied up the shop (so it's not eye-burning checkers) and squashed an annoying portal bug (if you pressed q anywhere after entering and leaving one of the buildings, it'll bring you back to the building tile). I also included a ReadMe with instructions and what changed from the previous version (basically what's written here, but in note form, for those tests ) as well as controls. I also even added a custom font (Major, MAJOR props to Cthulhu32 for helping me out and teaching me about the debugger and how to work it. Too bad it can't teach me to speel properly. xD), which you'll hopefully see more of later. So ya, my entire to-do list is finished and I can finally start with the fun stuff! (Not that this wasn't fun. )

You can test the inventory by spawning mobs with X, C, V, and B.

Anyway, there's some special things I'd like you guys to test as well as with some general feedback:
-map size: too small, large, or just right? (imagine it filled with a good amount of complex enemies)
-someone want to be my BFFL and spam mobs till you get to 100 of an item? Just to see what it looks like? :D
-should there be an inventory as well? or just the hotbar? (I'll give my personal insight to this at a later time; want to see your opinions first.)

Bug fixes:
-odd "screen-getting-cut-off" bug should be fixed

To-do list:
-Who knows! Give me ideas on what you want next.

And of course, pics:


New and improved hotbar!


New and improved shop!

[Ashkin]

This is cool so far, looking forward to seeing where you take it! Can you tell us more about what the finished product will be like?