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[alexp]

What's up guys?!

I'm creating George: Scared Of The Dark. The game is now complete and will be out on iOS on 18th July 2016 I wanted to share the game progress here and get any feedback or suggestions!

Out now!

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1062307859

Screenshots











Trailer





Description

George: Scared Of The Dark is a classic platformer adventure that follows George the ghost as he sets out on his quest to battle his fear of the dark across an uncharted, and at times, eerie world.

A ghost who is afraid of the dark? Yikes! Help George conquer his fear in this charming platform game. Overcome 10 challenges, guided by a mysterious spirit and guide George to safety. Jump into the instantly fun game play and watch the story unravel. Discover the lighthouse and find out who lives in the small cottage.

Can you help George before his fear gets the best of him?

Features

• 10 procedurally generated levels to play through
• Each level is different every time!
• 3 power-up abilities to master
• 3 additional characters to unlock
• Intuitive touch and swipe controls
• Heartwarming story about conquering fears
  with a unique ending

Motivation and Concept

I wanted to create a game that is more than just a casual mobile game. I wanted it have more depth, mystery and story. In particular, I wanted the game to be feel atmospheric, for the player to be temporarily immersed into the magic of the game world. At it’s core, I wanted it to have a central theme of overcoming challenges and conquering fears.

Release

ON IOS - 18th JULY 2016

More Info

Game homepage: http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/apps/ghost-dash/
Presskit: http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/apps/ghost-dash/press/

[ashtonmorris]

Really like the art style 

[alexp]

Thank you - appreciate your feedback. I should have some more screenshots to put up soon.

[Caravaggio]

Looks neat, I like the color style.  Very clean and simple.

If you're looking for suggestions I would question the way the camera moves.  A lot of games will have a threshold box around the center so that while the character is still within that box the camera doesn't actually move.  Right now it seems to follow the avatar 1:1 and it's kind of jarring to follow with the eyes.

[alexp]

Looks neat, I like the color style.  Very clean and simple.

If you're looking for suggestions I would question the way the camera moves.  A lot of games will have a threshold box around the center so that while the character is still within that box the camera doesn't actually move.  Right now it seems to follow the avatar 1:1 and it's kind of jarring to follow with the eyes.

Great bit of advice! I will look into that... that's the kind of stuff I was hoping to get that allows me to improve the game.

[alexp]

I implemented a smoother jumping style using a lerp function - again great tip! Thanks!

I gave the website a bit overhaul and posted plenty of images, would love some feedback on the homepage, video, images, description, press kit etc.

http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/apps/ghost-dash/

[alexp]

Updated with the new trailer! Hope you guys like it!

[Caravaggio]

Looks good, much easier to follow everything.

Just to be sure - no plans to port it to anything else?

[alexp]

Looks good, much easier to follow everything.

Just to be sure - no plans to port it to anything else?

Thanks - appreciate the feedback! Keeps me going!

Not at the moment, one man studio and all that... sticking to iOS at the moment. If the game does reasonably well and there is demand there will be an Android port most probably.

[Bakuda]

Very beautiful looking game.  I look forward to playing it when it comes out!

[alexp]

Very beautiful looking game.  I look forward to playing it when it comes out!

Thanks - really appreciate your comments! I've tried hard to go for that polish and give the game a strong aesthetic.

I'll post some more screenshots asap.

[alexp]

Progress continues on Ghost Dash and here is a big screenshot update!

I always love to get feedback and discuss anything related to coding/production/sound/art etc! I like to improve the game based on feedback I get.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Also you can check out more goodies on the Ghost Dash homepage below!
http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/apps/ghost-dash/

Happy gaming,
Alex

[alexp]

#screenshotsaturday

[alexp]

Good progress on the game over the last few weeks! All 10 game levels are now complete and ready to go! I’m going to work on the bonus level next week.

Also I am running an open competition to design an exclusive character for the game. The winning design will feature as an unlockable character in the final game due to be released in Summer 2016.

ART COMPETITION!

Check out the details here:

http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/blog/2016/04/12/design-a-game-character-art-competition/

That's all for this update, here are a few tasty screenshots!


 

 

 

 

 


Would love any feedback!

Cheers,
Alex

[TheArtistJiii]

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/ItayKeren/20150511/243083/Scroll_Back_The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Cameras_in_SideScrollers.php

This could prove useful.

[alexp]

Thanks - I'll check that out.

Are you saying that the camera in my platformer is not very good?   I've done a fair bit of work using the lerp function which was suggested above to make it more smooth. I will revisit it of course after reading the article you linked and see if I can improve it more.

[matwek]

Also I am running an open competition to design an exclusive character for the game. The winning design will feature as an unlockable character in the final game due to be released in Summer 2016.

ART COMPETITION!

Check out the details here:

http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/blog/2016/04/12/design-a-game-character-art-competition/

Would love any feedback!

I posted this over in the competitions topic you posted, but didn't get a reply, so I thought I would post here as well.

I just took a look at the rules/small print section of this comp and am a little concerned about these two lines.

Entries must be in PNG format (square size) no smaller than 1024 by 1024px
Winning entry will be required to further submit 7 “walking” animation frames

If I won a competition and was then expected to work for my prize money, I wouldn't be particularly happy.
7 1024x1024 frames for a £50 Amazon voucher isn't exactly great. As a freelance artist, I would probably charge near to that much anyway.

[alexp]

Thanks for your message! I hear your concerns, and bear with me because it's the first time I tried to run a small contest for getting content into a game and also I am on on a small indie budget.

The animation frames do not have to be complex, I added a sample to the competition page at the bottom to clarify (see link below). So it could just be 4 frames and then repeat a few of them with an eye blink at the end. A lot of the animation, squeezing, stretching is done in code so should make it less time consuming for the artist!  I wanted to keep the effort required to enter as low as possible which is why I done it this way, that way only the winner has to do a little extra.

http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/blog/2016/04/12/design-a-game-character-art-competition/

I don't anticipate many entries so as you are a freelance artist, I hope you do enter as I would love to see what you can come up with!

Best regards,
Alex

[alexp]

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/ItayKeren/20150511/243083/Scroll_Back_The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Cameras_in_SideScrollers.php

This could prove useful.

Thanks I read the article and improved the camera movement, I am really pleased with the result, it's less jerky and more smooth.

I even did a short blog post on it:

http://www.learn-to-code-london.co.uk/blog/2016/04/20/smoother-camera-motion-in-spritekit-using-lerp/

Thanks again,
Alex

[TheArtistJiii]

Thanks - I'll check that out.

Are you saying that the camera in my platformer is not very good?   I've done a fair bit of work using the lerp function which was suggested above to make it more smooth. I will revisit it of course after reading the article you linked and see if I can improve it more.

Ha i didn't mean to come off like that. I just think its a bit jarring to have the camera move up everytime the players vertical position changes.  But i'm glad that you were able to make use of the article.


EDIT: The first time i came to this thread, i watched the trailer and posted the link without reading the rest of it. Now having gone through and seen the updated trailer I can say the camera looks alot better than in the previous one. Now you probably didn't need the article i posted, but i'm glad you were able to get something out of it!!