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[EpicNerdRage]

Xenomorph is the name of the Aliens in Alien, it might have been an original word before that but it's been entrenched into the alien franchise of movies for some 30 years. It's like you could call an alien hunter "The Predator" since its' a generic term, but come on....

From wikipedia:
Xenomorph may refer to:

• Xenomorph (geology), a geological term
• Alien (creature in Alien franchise), the fictional extraterrestrial species in the Alien films
• Xenomorph (band), Dutch Death Metal band
• Xenomorph (video game), a 1990 role-playing game published by Pandora

I wouldn't be too concerned about the Alien reference or the 90's game, but I do think you can do better. "Xenomorph" is a low-hanging-fruit sort of name; a portmanteau of greek science-y sounding words, (possibly part of why it'd turn up in a movie about aliens called "Alien").

I submit that the reason you should change it (if you still can) isn't because it's been used before, but because the name is a bit bland. Besides, having a less generic name will make your game more memorable and findable. It's not uncommon to use a working title in pre-production and rename your project once you have a better sense of what makes the game unique!

I totally get where you are coming from and you make a solid point too about it being a bit generic. Gives me real food for thought, thanks very much (I hadn't looked at it from that angle)

[Shambrook]

Xenomorph is the name of the Aliens in Alien, it might have been an original word before that but it's been entrenched into the alien franchise of movies for some 30 years. It's like you could call an alien hunter "The Predator" since its' a generic term, but come on....

From wikipedia:
Xenomorph may refer to:

• Xenomorph (geology), a geological term
• Alien (creature in Alien franchise), the fictional extraterrestrial species in the Alien films
• Xenomorph (band), Dutch Death Metal band
• Xenomorph (video game), a 1990 role-playing game published by Pandora

Except wikipedia is teh fourth entry down after you google Xenomorph after the Alien fan wiki, the Alien vs Predator fan wiki, and the proper wikipedia page about the alien from Alien. So it's pretty clear what most people associate with the term Xenomorph.
Most people would look at a game named Xenomorph and assume it's a cheap alien rip off designed to cash in on people not knowing that it's unrelated to the franchise.

Besides, having a less generic name will make your game more memorable and findable.

This is actually a super solid point though, if you call your game simply Xenomoprh no one's ever gonna be able to find it on google. And you're most likely doomed to obscurity.

[EpicNerdRage]

Besides, having a less generic name will make your game more memorable and findable.
This is actually a super solid point though, if you call your game simply Xenomoprh no one's ever gonna be able to find it on google. And you're most likely doomed to obscurity.

Yup, its a really good point you both make, and one I hadn't considered too 

[InterGalactic]

This looks awesome indeed. Did you also make the art? And why China for pursuing indie dev, is that for cheaper living?

[EpicNerdRage]

This looks awesome indeed. Did you also make the art? And why China for pursuing indie dev, is that for cheaper living?

Thanks! I have done pretty much everything myself on the game, apart from some of the audio effects... I really wanted to do it all rather than use assets.

The only real reason I'm here in China is because my wife had a great job opportunity in her field of work that had the added benefit of being able to allow me to develop the game fulltime at home, plus we love to travel and spending a bit of time in China is an amazing opportunity. Its not much cheaper than the UK to be honest, but the standard of living feels better here. Plus, I am well placed to tap into China's raplidly growing indie market, as its not easy to even go to china, let alone make contacts here. 

[InterGalactic]

I see, sorry I must have missed that somewhere. This forum has such small default text   Yes I also like to make everything in the game, except for the music. I can make that as well, but I guess it's better if the musician helps to promote it due to his fame.

So have you thought about getting your game out there? Are you going to try and self publish?

That's awesome to hear as that's my home country. Are you fluent in chinese? I would imagine it to be a bit hard to make friends or do business without being street smart there.

[EpicNerdRage]

I see, sorry I must have missed that somewhere. This forum has such small default text   Yes I also like to make everything in the game, except for the music. I can make that as well, but I guess it's better if the musician helps to promote it due to his fame.

So have you thought about getting your game out there? Are you going to try and self publish?

That's awesome to hear as that's my home country. Are you fluent in chinese? I would imagine it to be a bit hard to make friends or do business without being street smart there.

Hey no worries, I am in a similar position but I am currently making the game with ambient audio, rather than music and the feel and atmosphere feels good so far

As for publishing... well, I'm not sure yet. I am trying to self publish right now, but with the amount of work required to do the marketing, PR, console branches etc... that may well change.

As for Chinese? Well, I know a few words that get me by, I find the language very hard to learn, but then i've never been great learning foreign languages. I find that WeChat's translate function is really helpful though, and to be honest, here is Suzhou everyone is so friendly and eager to help out, its been so easy to be honest

[InterGalactic]

Haha wow, my home city is just 2 hours 40 mins by train from that place. I'll let you know if I'm going back there. Meanwhile add my skype ( wemadefoxies ) if you ever want to share ideas about game dev etc. As for your initial question, you can get testers easily by asking somewhere, like on Reddit. I once made a post with 240+ upvotes, did not even ask for testers and yet I got over 10 comments saying they wanted to playtest  

[EpicNerdRage]

Haha wow, my home city is just 2 hours 40 mins by train from that place. I'll let you know if I'm going back there. Meanwhile add my skype ( wemadefoxies ) if you ever want to share ideas about game dev etc. As for your initial question, you can get testers easily by asking somewhere, like on Reddit. I once made a post with 240+ upvotes, did not even ask for testers and yet I got over 10 comments saying they wanted to playtest  

Awesome, I'll hook you up on skype, and yes if you are ever back home, let me know!

[Smerik]

This game has a strong "The Swapper" vibe to it with audio and the setting, something that i totally dig. keep up the great work.

[codekitchen]

Oh that video looks so lovely. This is really exciting, with the crafting and resource management it gives me a bit of a Teleglitch vibe, but I could never get very far in that game because the art style made it really difficult for me to see what was going on.

This is a bit of a long shot, but any plans for co-op multiplayer?

[EpicNerdRage]

This game has a strong "The Swapper" vibe to it with audio and the setting, something that i totally dig. keep up the great work.

Thanks man, thats a real compliment as the swapper was an amazing game! 

Oh that video looks so lovely. This is really exciting, with the crafting and resource management it gives me a bit of a Teleglitch vibe, but I could never get very far in that game because the art style made it really difficult for me to see what was going on.

This is a bit of a long shot, but any plans for co-op multiplayer?

teleglitch is a great game, one I still play now actually, its tough but really rewarding when you hit a great run As for multiplayer, no sorry, its a sinlge player experience really. I would one day love to make a multiplayer game though 

[subliminalman]

The game looks very nice so far, I'm excited to see more of it. You say there are RPG elements, is this mostly in weapons that level up or is there also a level progression system?

[EpicNerdRage]

The game looks very nice so far, I'm excited to see more of it. You say there are RPG elements, is this mostly in weapons that level up or is there also a level progression system?

Hi, and thanks very much  

In terms of RPG elements, your weapons, modifications and suit upgrades largely define this. You do have stats, such as health, stamina, oxygen and power. These stats (currently) are not directly "levelled up" but rather effected by items you craft and upgrades to your suit. That may change later down the line, but at the moment there is no traditional XP based levelling system.

I hope that helps

EDIT: I had toyed with the idea of cybernetic implants to create some kind of "perk" system, similar to fallout, but ditched the idea as being too overcomplicated...

[robgacu]

Watched the video, the atmosphere looks amazing is the kind of game I like to play.
 

[sidbarnhoorn]

This looks awesome! Looking forward to playing this. :D

[EpicNerdRage]

Thanks for the kind comments

I just thought I would post up some of the new concept art for the ship and one of the enemies. Let me know what you think 

[JamesDraws]

This game looks great! especially considering you've been doing it all by yourself so far. It looks like the kind of game I've wanted  to play for a long time. There are a lot of really good 2d sci-fi games, but none that really capture that dark horror, Alien vibe. Voted on greenlight, and hope to play it in the future!

-James

[robgacu]

I like the design of the monster with the glowing tentacle, just wondering is the protagonist going to keep something like a diary where we can read known info about the monsters and whats been hapening? maybe is just me but I always read this stuff.

[EpicNerdRage]

This game looks great! especially considering you've been doing it all by yourself so far. It looks like the kind of game I've wanted  to play for a long time. There are a lot of really good 2d sci-fi games, but none that really capture that dark horror, Alien vibe. Voted on greenlight, and hope to play it in the future!

-James

Hey man, thanks! Thats really kind of you to say, and thanks for your support

I like the design of the monster with the glowing tentacle, just wondering is the protagonist going to keep something like a diary where we can read known info about the monsters and whats been hapening? maybe is just me but I always read this stuff.

Thanks! Yes, the character has a journal that auto updates as you discover relevant information. I am also considering a codex of sorts too, as the story is very deep and could be a useful feature for those interested in lore.