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[Neeko]

Thank you

I never heard of Liero, looks like an awesome game. I definitely see some of the similarities too.

[Neeko]

If you're interested in participating in the upcoming alpha, please head on over to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15hoXA2DaYkFAEHgtzlyqO2xE0q6ZdBKYkwUyfzHiw3c/viewform and sign up. This alpha is focused on getting feedback on the Cemetery levels and current game modes, as well as hunting down bugs along the way. Of course, any and all feedback is welcomed and encouraged as well.

[Neeko]

Going through another iteration on the Hell levels. I've changed the background greatly, making better use of the dark red stone tiles. These tiles are used to give some sense on why these stone platforms are just floating in the air :p The pink is currently a placeholder as we work on the distant background silhouettes.



And just a reminder that we are accepting applications to join the upcoming public alpha for Demons with Shotguns. If you're interested, head on over to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15hoXA2DaYkFAEHgtzlyqO2xE0q6ZdBKYkwUyfzHiw3c/viewform to sign up!

[bounds]

Wow, gotta say that the graphics have developed very nicely, the first shots I saw with the repeated square-block look made it look very 'messy' to me, but the later shots does a great job of lowering the background 'noise' while still looking nice and detailed, it's a hard balance to strike methinks. Good job!

[Neeko]

Thanks! Yep, the artwork was very, very rough for the longest time, but thankfully I hooked up with a great artist that's really done an awesome job.

[Neeko]

A new Hell level is designed!

[eblomquist]

That character art progression is pretty awesome. I love how you were like, "This is the final! Wait no...this. trololol."

[Neeko]

Complete the background silhouettes. I'm just waiting on an animation layer, which will have things like demons in the background, watching the fight and cheering on.



And I completely redid Hell03. That 4 enclosed room design didn't play out well. Here's the new level.

[Neeko]

First wave of alpha invites went out this morning. If you're interested in participating, there's still time! Sign up on Google Forms and you'll be included in the next wave of invites.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15hoXA2DaYkFAEHgtzlyqO2xE0q6ZdBKYkwUyfzHiw3c/viewform

[Neeko]

Designed another Hell level.



If you've been following the past few posts, you'll know that we're taking the level design for Hell in a somewhat unique, bold direction for a 2D arena game, with very asymmetrical and abstract layout patterns. Thus, before we go much further, we'd like to know if we're on the right track or not. Only way to know that is to get player feedback!

I've posted a new demo build for everyone to try out in order to give feedback. If you're interested in playing, please be sure to visit the Playtesting forum for details on how to help us out.
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=42740.0

We've also started redoing the run animations for the characters. Here's the new run animation for Demon.

[Neeko]

After some recent playtesting sessions, it has been decided that the environmental hazards (both in the Cemetery and Hell levels) were overdone and too aggressive. There were far more players being killed and it was pretty unanimous they took away from the game's experience. Players felt they were too much to deal with while battling other players.

Thus, the hazards have either been turned off or removed completely. Instead, we'll be focusing on including more interactable environmental pieces that players can use to earn a frag, such as the hanging steel cages in the Cemetery levels that players can shoot to crush someone.



Or telefragging a player with the portals in Hell.



Players seem to love this type of interactivity. It gives them a sense of control and makes them feel clever when they learn how to use them.

We've also designed more Hell levels.







While originally we wanted Hell to be extremely asymmetrical in its design (and some of the levels are still like that), we decided to dial it back a bit to make some of the levels more symmetrical. For a 2D arena game, they just end up playing better that way.

There's only two more Hell levels left to design, and then we're switching gears. We want to get on Steam Greenlight by the end of January so we will be spending the month working on preparing for that campaign, getting a proper demo together, cutting a trailer video and polishing up the menu systems. So be on the lookout!

[Neeko]

It's been crazy to think about how much the game progressed the past few months, let alone the past year.



MindShaft Games would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Years! May 2015 bring you lots of progress and success

[Neeko]

There is now a public web demo available for everyone to play!

http://www.mindshaftgames.com/demo/

The demo is limited to one game mode (Deathmatch) and one Cemetery level.

[Neeko]

We're currently working on locking down the game's release features and one feature we're still trying to decide on is the singleplayer component. The two ideas we have are

• AI Bots
• A 1-4 player co-op enemy wave mode

To keep the planned release date, we can only realistically work on one of these. So we'd like to get a feel from potential players on what they'd prefer to see. Let us know!

[Neeko]

Finished the last Hell level.



I still need to more extensively playtest Hell before any of the levels are considered finished, but feeling good about them.

[Neeko]

We're gearing up to launch our Greenlight campaign next week! That means polishing up some features and scenes (especially the menus) to get the web demo in a more presentable state. We also made some changes to the character selection screen, which will now feature full character portraits, such as this one for the Preacher.



The three other characters are still a work in progress, but here a some rough sketches of what they may look like.

Angel


Demon


Death


On the design/final game features front, we've decided to scrap the idea of creating bots, which was originally planned in order to incorporate some form of singleplayer into the game. Instead, we're looking into a singleplayer/co-op enemy wave mode where you fend off wave after wave of demons and hellish creatures. The exact details aren't fleshed out yet (the idea is still very new and ultimately could be scraped as well) but we felt this would help expand the game's potential market much further while providing an additional game mode that has potential to be really fun and exciting. Fine, I'll make the comparison to TowerFall: Ascension myself! Like that. Very much like that

So what's left on the Trello board big features wise? Not much! There are two other environments that need to be developed in addition to current Cemetery and Hell arenas. Ignoring the singleplayer enemy wave mode right now, finishing those two environments would fully put Demons with Shotguns into beta phase. Then we enter a "playtest, polish, fix, adjust" loop to get the gameplay as solid as possible. Being a multiplayer game at its core, this is essential for development and why we've decided to hit Early Access once Greenlit. This will give us the best platform for continuous player feedback during active development.

Demons with Shotguns will also be at the Playcrafting NYC Winter Expo Thursday, January 29th. If you're in the NYC area, come check out some of the great indie games being developed!

[Neeko]

Demons with Shotguns is now live on Steam Greenlight!



Greenlight Trailer

[Neeko]

Been working on more interactive environmental pieces. Added a stone fire lamp for the Hell levels that players can shoot to knock over and create a dangerous wildfire.



And just a reminder that Demons with Shotguns will be the Playcrafting NYC Winter Expo tonight. If you're in the area, be sure to come by and check out the awesome indie games!

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/playcrafting-nyc-winter-expo-tickets-14558931155

[Goscalyon]

Hey I like your game, but I just couldn't get my eyes of those strange creatures on the background that seem to somehow annoy me XD. Really cool background though.

[Low_Chance]

Hey I like your game, but I just couldn't get my eyes of those strange creatures on the background that seem to somehow annoy me XD. Really cool background though.

I agree - I think the issue is that all the shadowy things in the background are moving in unison, which looks unnatural. I think it might help to add a few more "still" frames at random to some of the animations and stretch out the length of the cycle a little bit, so that some of them are standing still while others are moving, and vice-versa. Right now with their synchronized twitching, it draws the eye too much or something.

Nit-picking aside the game looks really awesome now and I wish you the best on Greenlight! Looking forward to playing this badboy.