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[Bishop]

Hey all, Lawrie here. http://twitter.com/LawrieARussell


I did it! I finished a game!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/343840/

Steam Greenlight
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=93760163


"In Trash TV, the lead character quite literally is a television. That is the first bit I liked. It’s a sentient telly trapped in a nightmarish recycling centre, fighting its way out through puzzle strewn 2D levels, doing battle with vending machines and toasters." - Hookshot Inc

"Trash TV appears to be a platform game at first but is really more of a puzzler, although a puzzler in which the solution to everything is GUNS. There’s loads of GUNS and they enable the television that you are inexplicably controlling to escape from the garbage-haunted recycling plant that is an abattoir for such trash and detritus." - Rock Paper Shotgun


Trash TV started life as a straight copy of Vlambeer's Super Crate Box



But that was in 2011, since then it's evolved into something very different!









It's been an odd experience to grow a game entirely out of another. I never had a vision for the game, after I'd remade Super Crate Box, I started adding to it's array of guns. Once I'd exhausted that I started slicing in and out other game mechanics. Eventually I added a few puzzles to teach how some of the weirder guns worked and then really when the game discovered it's own grain. Now the game has near a hundred puzzles and will probably ship with over that and has almost entirely lost it's combat emphasis of the original. Every now and then you'll still have to go toe to toe with a giant vending machine or a trio of toasters but it's a puzzle game at heart.


Thanks for reading,
Lawrie.

[Franklin's Ghost]

Great game idea and love the title screen image, awesome look.

My only suggestion is that maybe the characters are to small in game. You can't really see the great design from the title screens for them. Or might just be my eyes and might work in actual gameplay motion 

Also are you having the signal and static characteristics affecting puzzles or gameplay? Think there could be some awesome uses for it in differentiating the characters.

Looking forward to seeing more 

[Christian Knudsen]

Thought this was a Smash TV remake.

[Bishop]

Also are you having the signal and static characteristics affecting puzzles or gameplay? Think there could be some awesome uses for it in differentiating the characters.

Sorry to disappoint but I'm not having any differences in the two characters. There is a lot of complexity in the different weapons and how they're used to solve puzzles. I've updated my post explaining a bit more about the guns.

It's also not a Smash TV remake

[Inanimate]

This has a great style to it, and I can always love a goofy fun-loving game. You've got some clever and cute characters - with nice names, I might add - and these weapons are sound good.

[Bishop]

Trying to add some more personality into my characters. I'm toying with an emoticon system at the moment, but also wanting to keep buttons to a minimum I'm making the characters emote automatically to the events in game. My intend was just to keep the buttons low, but I feel it adds much more, it's like the character is communicating to the player, saying "thanks for not getting me killed! You did great!" or "Jesus! I nearly died!".

Appologies for the video quality, it's easier to see in game.





I don't want to go overboard with little heart icons every time you complete a puzzle or took a step, but I was thinking at the end of each level (every level is 4 rooms long and the end of a theme of puzzles). Exclimation marks scripted in places of danger. Thumbs down when a team mate dies.

Some audio ques to go with would be great but I have no idea what my TV's should sound like, I was thinking something like the characters in VVVVVV who communicate so much through just two tones.

Emotes that I have currently;




Any more I should add?

I also have one that displays the button to press to pick up boxes, I haven't tested this one out on anyone so I'm not sure if people will get it.

Please let me know what you think of the system and any other ideas about the game, I'd love to hear it all.

[Scut Fabulous]

I love your use of mixed resolutions in the graphics!
Add the emoticons :coolshades: and :smug:

[R.D.]

I think you should not ask us but yourself! Think about what you need and make the ones you really need

Anyway, looks really cool, wanna play :O

[Bishop]

I love your use of mixed resolutions in the graphics!
Add the emoticons :coolshades: and :smug:

Thanks! I'm impressed you spotted it. I wanted the game to have a retro vibe without being limited to retro technology. Full colour pallets and a sweet fluid physics system (for the smoke and fire...I should probably make a video of it).

Spent some time today attempting to put together a trailer. Unfortunately I broke the audio somehow, but I was wondering what you all thought of the rest of it?





I personally really like the bow and arrow puzzle with the vertical forcefields. I wanted there to be a little narrative and humour in the video and I think the death on the first, near death on the second and completion at the end help add a little story to an otherwise random mash of gameplay clips. Did that across as planned?

All the best,
Lawrie.

[Angelbait]

Bwa!  This looks awesome man!  Great work!

[Scut Fabulous]

I wanted there to be a little narrative and humour in the video and I think the death on the fire, near death on the second and completion at the end help add a little story to an otherwise random mash of gameplay clips. Did that across as planned?

I didn't follow that when I watched the trailer, but the action looks really solid so I think you're on the right track.  Love seeing this in motion!

[Bishop]

Oops, that should read 'death on the first'. I meant scenes; 0:07, 0:14 and 0:25. So far more people didn't spot that than did. Those that did really liked it though.

I think to get more people to spot it, I'll have it as the only room you flip back too when more levels are made.

I'm thinking I might zoom in for some scenes too and try and keep the character is roughly the same spot in between each hardcut.

[Bishop]

Feature creeping is something all indies are guilty of. Here's mine for this project.

[Zack Bell]

That's fucking awesome 

[eigenbom]

This loooks sweeeeet.

[Scut Fabulous]

I'm getting the same sensation I had as a kid seeing Amiga games for the first time!

[Bishop]

A few play testers complained the controls were too twitchy, so I spent today revising my control scheme. I've swithced from no inertia to somewhere between Super Meat Boy and N+. While I was at it I revised my animation to better communicate the new movement states.





I was wondering what you all thought? Particularly of the aerial movement, in the falling animation I fear it moves too much like hair.

The zoom is done in game and slightly blurs things, I was surprised at how much detail it kept. I'm going to work on a smooth zoom in and out, perhaps for level transitions.

[Scut Fabulous]

How about making the aerials spring and vibrate a little on landing, so that they seem more like metal than hair.

[Bishop]

Hey everyone,

Today I'm working on rolling out my lighting system to all my older levels. I added support for different coloured lights and ambient light.

I think it's working really well, but it changes all that hard work I put in the initial solid light colour pallettes.

This is 'Indian Red', more mute, mixed colours. I like this one for being more subtle, I feel your eye picks out objects easier with this lighting.


This is 'Firebrick', a touch darker, more moody.


And finally 'Red', very striking, but also narrows the band of colours.


I've gone through hundreds today and I'm torn between these three. While people have complimented me on my art, I really just see myself as a programmer and perhaps lack a little confidence/knowledge of art. I really appreciate any feedback! Thanks!

[andy wolff]

I say go with something between Indian Red and Firebrick, but closer to Indian Red. Firebrick feels just a little too dark and Indian Red just a little to light
Red is too saturated

they all look pretty good, though