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[Thomas Finch]

Hey guys, everything is coming along really nicely.

- Added full controller support.
- Fleshed out the menus.
- Been adding animals. I'm really proud of how the snake slithers around.
- We've finalized all the demo's controls so Jeremy can create control scheme images. Eventually players will be able to set their own controls, but not in the demo.

Around 2/18 we'll have finished everything for the demo and vigorously test it with the help of other developers. We're on schedule to have the demo done before our goal of 2/24!

I am currently working on a video showing off the level editor, menus and gameplay. I'll post it tomorrow!

[blekdar]

Game Progress:

Thomas and I are in the process of converting the game from 320x240 to 640x360. Which means that the
menus all need to be reworked to fit larger aspect ratio.



I was a bit concerned that at 320x240 there wouldn't be enough room to see ahead. 640x320 seems to correct any issues with the gameplay feeling a bit claustrophobic.

I like this, the direction is great. My one crit? Never, never, never put New Game as the first option (only exception would be for your first time playing, in which case I would grey out continue and have new game highlighted). If there's anything I've learned from playing games, nothing annoys a player more than accidentally pressing new game when they meant to select continue.

That's it, I like the looks of the rest of this.

[Thomas Finch]

Our plan was to have save slots that you switch between in the options menu. If no save file exists for that slot, Continue is not selectable but New Game is. If you DO have a game in that slot, then New Game is not selectable, but Continue is. This isn't final though, of course.

[Canned Turkey]

If I ever assessed to a higher form, i'd pick you absenter.
This game looks really really good.
That's two reallys for the price of one, no extra charge.

[andy wolff]

If you are anywhere in the Boston area, I will be showing Dinosword at the Playcrafting Boston Winter Expo ( http://www.playcrafting.com/event-detail/?event_id=13496563585 ). Feel free to stop by and say "Hello".

Awesome. I'm definitely gonna try to make it out for that

[absenter]

Hello TigSource,

Here is another reason to come out to Playcrafting Boston Winter Expo.



So, at my previous job as a crate builder, one of the perks was that I could create whatever I wanted out of the scrap wood that was lying around during down time. I decided to build this arcade cabinet, but hadn't gotten around to finishing it up. Today, I borrowed a VGA cord from my brother and found all the cords I need to get it up and running (I keep a stash of weird computer cords in my basement. It's getting out of control. Someone stop me. Please.)

The arcade cabinet has a touchscreen monitor. I'm hoping that eventually I'll be able to have the level editor working with the touchscreen, so I can make changes to the level as I test it out. The monitors alignment is slightly skewed in the cabinet, so I'll have to make some tiny adjustments to get it aligned. The screens resolution is 1024x768. The art is a little off with the current settings, but that's to be expected. I'm sure in the future it'll scale right.

I plan on painting the cabinet, but I haven't figured out what imagery I'm going to put on it. I'll post process shots as I go along.

If I ever assessed to a higher form, i'd pick you absenter.
This game looks really really good.
That's two reallys for the price of one, no extra charge.

That's really far too kind. Thank you!

If you are anywhere in the Boston area, I will be showing Dinosword at the Playcrafting Boston Winter Expo ( http://www.playcrafting.com/event-detail/?event_id=13496563585 ). Feel free to stop by and say "Hello".

Awesome. I'm definitely gonna try to make it out for that

Hey Andy!

(Side Note: I made some artwork for Andy's game Bandit Party forever ago. I never had a chance to show it anywhere, so I figure I'll show it here. It holds up pretty well, I think, but I'd probably make some changes if I worked on it now.



I saw his game at the first Boston FIG and offered to make the box illustration. If you plan on revisiting that game Andy, let me know.  )

[siskavard]

Whoaaa! That cabinet!!! 

[JobLeonard]

YES! The world needs more arcade cabinets!

[James Edward Smith]

In my experience from going to and sneakily presenting my game at the indie showcase at MAGfest this year (Pike 'n Shot wasn't officially in the showcase but booths were frequently unattended during the later evening/morning hours and I could easily hook up my laptop and fight stick to a big tv and have tired and drunk revelers try it out) arcade cabinet presentations for games it makes sense for have a lot of benefits.

They seem to convert casual walkers by into willing game players a lot more than a big monitor with controllers sitting in front of it does. I think it's a combination of factors.

1. Obviousness - A game running on a big TV monitor isn't as obvious to someone who isn't thinking and is just walking by on their way from A to B that it's a thing they can play where as an arcade cabinet can not be mistaken for anything else other than a video game you can play

2. Perception of required investment - When some one sees a game set up in a console gaming manner (tv & controllers) they think of the game through that lens. They assume they are going to have to go through a menu, pick a mode or something, sit through some introductory cutscene, dialogue, etc. They anticipate a "sit down and play a game" experience and if they are in a travel mode (I want to go check out the chiptune space, find my friends, whatever) the level of investment a console game would require of them to play, is not inviting to them. They don't have time. Where as an arcade cabinet communicates a sense of lightness. It infers a game that they can immediately jump into and that might even be to trying and kill them quickly. This is very friendly, it expects very little time and attention of the player, they can just walk up, figure out which button starts the game, play it for a minute or less and if they get bored or don't like it, just walk away.

3. Stage Fright - A game being played on a big screen at a convention can immediately make any person playing it feel like a performer with an audience. This can be anxiety causing for people who are worried they won't be able to figure out the game quickly and will look foolish, playing it poorly in front of others. When a bunch of people walk up in a big group of friends and the group decides to play the game together, this can mitigate this feeling as they are amongst friends and can rib each other, but a lone person or small groups like pairs can be a bit sheepish. In comparison, an arcade machine is pretty hard for anyone to see other than the player and other people that they allow to peep in at the action. There's a level of privacy that makes trying a new game feel less intimidating.

None of these are HUGE things affecting everyone equally, but they contribute collectively to greatly increasing the approachability of arcade cabinets in these settings. I routinely saw an arcade cabinet that wasn't even working due to an error dialog that couldn't be dismissed without opening the cabinet, attracting potential player after potential player. All of them walked over, stood there pressing buttons until it donned on them that the machine was not working properly and then walked away, ignoring many tv and controller set ups in the process.

Big TVs definitely have their own advantages too though. Games look great on them, and for big local multiplayer games they are pretty much the only option unless you are making something like Killer Queen.

[autumnspark]

I'm imagining trade shows starting to look like a crazy fucked up mission control center, maybe like in Golden Eye or ALIEN, with everyone having their own super detailed arcade style booths. The future is bright indeed. 

[Quicksand-T]

This game looks really awesome, and I hope the setbacks are behind you and the demo can come out without a hitch.

[Thomas Finch]

The setbacks definitely seem to be behind us. We're both very excited about the demo. I don't have the video ready yet still. Sorry, guys! Every time I'm about to edit it, I think of something awesome I want to finish coding. I suppose it's a good thing that Jeremy and I are so passionate about the actual work going into Dinosword!

[Thomas Finch]

Things have been crazy the last week. We've gotten an insane amount of work done. We set a deadline for ourselves to have everything finished for the demo by the 20th so that we could do our rounds of testing and bug fixing before the 24th. So, I figured focus on programming for now. On the 20th, I'll have a lot of free time while waiting on bug reports. So that's when I'll edit the video and show you guys what the demo looks like!

[siskavard]

raises hand for testing

[Thomas Finch]

I have you on skype. I'll send you a build tomorrow.

[absenter]

[Thomas Finch]

We should be releasing the demo later today or in the morning! We're extremely excited to show you guys. It's amazing what we've accomplished in only a little over a month. Sorry about the preview video I keep delaying. I'll post it eventually. 

[Sam B]

WANT.

[absenter]

Yesterday was a big day. We finally got to show the first level of the game to the friendly folks at the Playcrafting Boston Winter Expo.



I'm the man behind the arcade cabinet and beard. The arcade cabinet brought a bit of attention to the game and ended up serving a dual purpose. I was able to watch people playing the game from my laptop instead of creepily watching them play the game over their shoulder! We got plenty of feedback about the gameplay that we plan on implementing soon. It would have been nice to have Thomas there for the event. Maybe next time.

I had some Dinosword prints for sale and some paintings. People seemed to dig them. I plan on getting them on my etsy shop. I'll post a link soon.

With all the running around and setting up for the show, I didn't get a chance to work with Thomas to put up the most recent build. We have noticed that the most recent build has a slight lag that happens at the start of the game. We are working on fixing it and having a new version up tomorrow. For those of you who don't want to wait any longer, you can download the game here.

http://www.DinoswordGame.com

Thanks to everyone I met last night. I had a blast!

Please send any comments or bugs to [email protected]

Jeremy

[dez]

Hey Jeremy it was so nice to meet you at Playcrafting

I didn't know you were a local Boston indie!!  :D

The cabinet was perfect for Dinosword!
The game looked GREAT on it  
It totally evoked nostalgia given the faithfully retro pixel art!