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[stix]

Heyo TIGForums.


A-HA! IT IS FINISHED! 2018 was one hell of a year, but I managed to go from zero to needing sleep real bad, and it was worth it! Night of the Blood Moon is launched, and feedback has been absolutely awesome. If you dabble, make sure to post your game. Like many devs I don't plan on quit supporting Night of the Blood Moon. The game is my passion after all.

The rest of this post is from the original thread excluding youtube trailers and links.

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MOON





STEAM PAGE

https://notbm.com/

Night of the blood moon has a simple story: During Blood Moons/Lunar Eclipses your nightmares break into your dreams and begin to tear them apart.

^{Simple, easy, and a reason to beat up cute creatures.}

From here I'd like to introduce our nightmare. The Three Eyed Crow.
His wings act the main attack for the game, and it uses a plethora of weapons which are fueled by the destruction of the dreams.

A main mechanic of this game is your weapons ammo - which is harvested from killing dream creatures.
Dream creatures are often cute and fuzzy, but take many forms in many places. Such as Tuba's, and Octopus (they're my favorite).

Weapons currently included in the game are bombs, crossbows, and boomerangs. I pull a lot of reference from Zelda games, but add my own twists to make them more impact-ful, fun, and unique.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here are a few quick gifs of the game, much of the art is currently unfinished. I am sole programmer and artist on Night of the Blood Moon.
^{The numbers on the side are for testing purposes. Please ignore them}  


Quick in-development select screen, and first level. Each level is randomly generated with it's own name.


My favorite level so far, quiet, dark, and thunderous! You'll need lightning quick reflexes to survive here.


The symphony - lots of work to be done here still. Those beds are filler - and will be changed with a stage in time.


It wouldn't be a game with-out a water level. This one is a lot of fun, nimbleness is the name of the game.
Winning / Losing generates a random message. Feel free to add more to these! All of them so far are submissions from friends.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My goal is to create a fun - but challenging experience for an affordable price. The game will have 9 levels minimum, along with a variety of weapons. Unlocking more weapons is my goal. Bosses will be more than health pools, I want them to introduce unique mechanics into the genre - which is something I'd like to see more of in the games industry.

An example of this would be the Boss of the Symphony. In this level the dream creatures take on various forms of instruments. Harps, Drums, and a Tuba with a blow-dart/flute.
If you awaken the conductor he will use the instruments to play a symphony, but if you manage to destroy the instruments first then the symphony will be unplayable, and the conductor is useless - easy kill. The symphony adds a large challenge to the match in way of projectiles, but is beatable with strategy. Of course, every map is randomly generated - so the challenge will vary.

NotBM's biggest downfall currently is sound design and music. I have 0 experience beyond my self teachings for both of these things. Any feedback on good places to start or look would be amazing. Thank you TIG!


Ohya! There is also a leveling system. Currently ugly as all hell, but the idea is a skill-tree which randomly generates rows of different abilities. Health, Attack, Ranged, ect. You can buy an upgrade if you've obtained a connecting one. It isn't too deep, but it does add one extra sense of strategy to each run.

One of my favorite abilities is the 'Marty-bomb' where on death the nightmare, Marty, takes over; getting a kill will re-summon the Three Eyed Crow.

I'll leave it at that for now, any feedback would be appreciated. My heart is in this, and my goals are high. Hopefully I can share this experience with all of you!

_{-Tyler McDermott, Artist and Programmer for Night of the Blood Moon}

[Daywalker]

Cool concept

[stix]

Cool concept

Lol Thank you!
First reply being positive means a bunch more than you know - looking forward to constructive criticism !!

[Tusky]

I agree with Daywalker, this is a great concept! 

Are you intending there to be more than the 3 weapon types you have now (bombs, crossbows, and boomerangs)? You mentioned that you want there to be more unlockable weapons - is that variations on those 3 main flavours?

NotBM's biggest downfall currently is sound design and music. I have 0 experience beyond my self teachings for both of these things. Any feedback on good places to start or look would be amazing. Thank you TIG!

I recommed searching here https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?board=43.0 or posting an ad here https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?board=40.0

Look forward to seeing how you progress. 

[and]

I really love the art you've done for this. Looking forward to seeing it develop !

[stix]

I agree with Daywalker, this is a great concept! 

Are you intending there to be more than the 3 weapon types you have now (bombs, crossbows, and boomerangs)? You mentioned that you want there to be more unlockable weapons - is that variations on those 3 main flavours?

Yes definitely!! I am so open to adding weapons, and they're the easiest thing to add! Lots of my ideas are picked from Zelda - a hook shot would be really cool. I'd love to add a charged ability of  sorts. Maybe a shadow shift where you go into the ground and can't take damage. This stuff is all relatively easy to add, and if anyone has ideas I'm open!

Also I am not against tampering with alternate versions of weapons. Because they are the driving force of the game - making a harder but stronger version sounds cool to me. The bomb currently bounces, maybe instead it has a very quick timer, and bigger/stronger blast radius. Stuff like that would be an extra layer of fun maybe. (Thanks for giving me this idea, Tusky).

I recommed searching here https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?board=43.0 or posting an ad here https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?board=40.0

Thanks for your support - this is amazing.
I have definitely been scanning these boards, but my budget currently doesn't have the funds to hire somebody. I just heard about FMOD so I'm checking that out now . Amazing people have offered to do music for free - exposure and what not - but I would be a hypocrite if I accepted, as I've always hated that practice and turned down a ton of people for my own work.
Udemy taught me to program, so I'm hoping it can teach me music as well lol. Thank you for the links though! TIG is a solid community.

I really love the art you've done for this. Looking forward to seeing it develop !

Thank you so much   

[stix]

Here are some character concepts for the Symphony. Still in the transition progress to making them look passable in pixel art .

[thefoolishbrave]

Here are some character concepts for the Symphony. Still in the transition progress to making them look passable in pixel art .

is it weird the first one kinda reminds me of a simpsons character? which ironically makes me think of lisa playing her sax and like this is some type of simpson multiverse? just sayin'. I like your main character, really original

[stix]

https://i.imgur.com/YLX9F4y.jpg?2

Here are some character concepts for the Symphony. Still in the transition progress to making them look passable in pixel art .

is it weird the first one kinda reminds me of a simpsons character? which ironically makes me think of lisa playing her sax and like this is some type of simpson multiverse? just sayin'. I like your main character, really original

Hey Thank you! I love the Simpsons, and I have a goal that all the dream creatures should have separate and unique faces. There are so many good faces in the world, and I plan on using them all LOL! (That one is 100% a Simpsons style right down to the outward facing pupils).

[Panurge]

Great concept and lovely artwork. I could see this becoming my new timekiller of choice in the way that Nuclear Throne once was. If it does, expect a law-suit from me for loss of productivity!

[stix]

Great concept and lovely artwork. I could see this becoming my new timekiller of choice in the way that Nuclear Throne once was. If it does, expect a law-suit from me for loss of productivity!

If that law-suit comes in I'll take it with a smile.
Until I'm broke and homeless. LOL

Thank you though. The positivity here has been very warming and motivational.

[stix]

Small update as I've been redo-ing some of my more basic animations before I move on.
I want the enemies to fee lively - they're in a dream!
So here I have this Tuba.

                  ^{before                                                      after}
For those of you who played Rare games on N64 you'll understand my goal (hopefully). Making inanimate objects alive is very charming. Shoutout to Conquer's Bad Fur Day.

Feel free to critique and help me fine tune it!!

[ShillyShills]

the transition you make from concept art to pixel art is dope 

[stix]

OOOoeee am I ever excited to share something cool with you all. First video of the game, and a first look at the new item: The Hookshot. It really adds a ton of dynamic movement to the combat.
I can't wait to share this fun with everyone!!




I'll chop it up into GIF's soon   !

[stix]

WEBSITE LAUNCHED: https://notbm.com/

I will take any tips on how to promote, or advertise. I'm setting up all my social media, but man if I don't feel overwhelmed with it all lol.

[stix]

Weapons Images:

www.notbm.com


Boomerang


Crossbow


Bombs


Hookshot


Poison

Next up: Spellbook!

[stix]

KICKSTARTER TRAILER

[LobsterSundew]

I saw the project preview link on the trailer. Here are some quick notes typed up.

It looks like the campaign is set to a duration of 45 days. Running for longer than 30 days actually raises the difficulty of getting funded. There is stuff like having to run a longer marathon of promoting, project updates, maintaining morale, maintaining backer interest, etc. but what can be an even bigger reason is longer campaigns often fail to maintain visibility within Kickstarter because of how the rankings are believed to work. Long campaigns are often buried by the end. They are effectively invisible in their final days. More time equals more difficulty in maintaining visiblilty within Kickstarter (this can feel counter-intuitive).

Try to avoid ending a Kickstarter campaign on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Avoid ending extremely early in the morning for North America (where most backers come from). Weekends perform the worst and ending like at 3:00am Eastern time really nerf pledge upgrading. If you need organic traffic from within Kickstarter, then avoid launching on a weekend when way fewer people are around. Sticking to 30 days is often the best, but sometimes running for 31 or 32 days can help fit a campaign into a better spot.

July and August are not bad months to run on Kickstarter, but it is like playing a game of Tetris to try and fit a campaign to avoid bad dates like huge conventions or the biggest AAA releases.

A $5,000 CAD and a $5 price for the game would be expected to need aim for about 340 to 480 backers total to reach 100% funded. It would need to aim for 51 to 72 backers in its first 48 hours. The general idea in this case is to do enough pre-launch marketing to support at least 50 backers appearing on the first day. That goal is low enough that a single large pledge like $1,000 could significantly knock down the total number of backers needed, but don't rely that kind of pledge appearing.

Test how the project image looks at 218 pixels wide by 122 pixels tall. A mixture of red, blues and purple can sometimes be problematic at that small size. It can kind of blend together when scrolling over the projects in the Discover area. The "of the" portion of the logo is a little tough to read, but the other words are fine. The text could potentially be made a few shades lighter.

If there is a demo, that is important enough information to display in the project title, project description or (more commonly) in the main project image. Also, it takes time for Let's Players to record, edit and have videos ready to upload. This creates an incentive for sending out the demo to Let's Players before launching so videos can be ready for the launch day.

Centering animated GIFs by adding whitespace on either side of the character is something to consider, but not necessary.

Platform information is one of the first things many potential backers are searching for. That information often appears somewhere near the top of the page and appears again in the FAQ section. I did not see a mention about Linux. Expect to be asked about Linux support unless you specify it somewhere. "steam" could be capitalized as "Steam" in the reward tier text. Expect to be asked about DRM-free options like GOG. Linux and DRM questions are extremely common on Kickstarter.

The stretch goals chart is potentially less confusing by having what that amount actually is instead of doing "+$2000". "I loved the dance we preform while weaving between monsters" is using "preform" instead of "perform". I assume "a greater discounted on launch" should have "discounted" changed to "discount". Instead of having lazy backers do mental math, it could be more effective to have something simple like "save $5".

A price jump of greater than 100% from one tier to another can sometimes do terribly on Kickstarter. That $20 to $50 tier jump stands out as a potential problem. Stickers and posters introduced so early in the rewards is a little scary from my perspective because Canadians can be at a severe disadvantage compared to American project creators for shipping costs.

There is the option to split earlier access for the game like "early beta" and "late beta". The $20 tier simply adds being listed in the credits. Listing backers in the credits is good, but rarely at that high of a price. Some projects create pools in the credits for backers like bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc. to stretch out that type of reward. A $1 tier for being listed in the credits is an option to consider. Every backer counts when fighting in the project rankings for visibility.

The lines already seen on game overs like "I bet you'll never win" and "overachieve and expect to fail" could be a reward tier content opportunity. You could have backers at a tier submit game over lines. You would need to clarify somewhere that you would have the right to reject inappropriate entries.

40% to 80% of backers are expected to pick the reward tier for the cheapest copy of the game. Below $100 is where most of your project's funding progress should be coming from (unless you get a lucky $10,000 pledge). The early reward tiers are the most important to get right. Pledge upgrading can be significant amounts, so pacing reward tiers like a gentle fish ladder (those migrating fish structures on hydroelectric dams) is the general aim. Not getting the early reward tiers flowing gently into the higher tiers results in needing more backers total to reach the same funding goal.

[stix]

I saw the project preview link on the trailer. Here are some quick notes typed up.
...

LobsterSundew, Thank you
From the bottom of my heart this is incredible. You've given me so many notes ranging the grammar to scheduling. Amazing.

I've made notes, and some of them are going to get immediate changes.
There is a real blood moon on July 27th, and I was planning to launch it then. If I launch for 27 days days on the 26th (Thursday) that lets me end on a Wednesday.

A price jump of greater than 100% from one tier to another can sometimes do terribly on Kickstarter. That $20 to $50 tier jump stands out as a potential problem. Stickers and posters introduced so early in the rewards is a little scary from my perspective because Canadians can be at a severe disadvantage compared to American project creators for shipping costs.

There is the option to split earlier access for the game like "early beta" and "late beta". The $20 tier simply adds being listed in the credits. Listing backers in the credits is good, but rarely at that high of a price. Some projects create pools in the credits for backers like bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc. to stretch out that type of reward. A $1 tier for being listed in the credits is an option to consider. Every backer counts when fighting in the project rankings for visibility.

The lines already seen on game overs like "I bet you'll never win" and "overachieve and expect to fail" could be a reward tier content opportunity. You could have backers at a tier submit game over lines. You would need to clarify somewhere that you would have the right to reject inappropriate entries.

Changes have been promptly made to the rewards, and I'll definitely make sure to show the launch options with Linux, and GoG. The 100% gap makes a ton of sense. I already am feeling far more secure with the new rewards, but I'd like to add one or two more in the lower brackets to fill it in like you said. More options = more opportunities. With this being my first game I highly doubt I'll be getting a high tier reward buyer.
I'll definitely be considering my wording on the %5 reward, as I plan on launching the game for not much more.

The stretch goals chart is potentially less confusing by having what that amount actually is instead of doing "+$2000"

Adding a stretch goals chart is something I see a lot of other Kickstarters do, and is definitely do-able. Along side this, and the main image I plan to redo a bunch of the art ASAP. Thank you for this input.

If there is a demo, that is important enough information to display in the project title, project description or (more commonly) in the main project image.

Lets Players are something I had not considered. Though I had thought about linking a demo I like this broadcasting idea much more. Hopefully during this month I can work towards a following, and aim for that 40-50% in the first 48 hours.

Small things to, such as centering the .gifs does make sense. Thank you.

Your large comment has given me a ton of comfort and feeling that this is a game for others to care about too. Genuinely thank you. Reading this feels like a reward to me. None of this will be forgotten.

[TacoBell_Lord]

Incredible sprite work! Imma sucker for beautiful Link to the Past style camera. Really like the chaotic style of it.