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Indie Game Development Thread 3: Indie Jones and the Template of Doom
- Thread starter Makai
- Start date
-COOLIO-
The Everyman
oh okay, gotchya, gotchya.
nillapuddin
Member
As a long time lurker, and frequent Kickstarter, I hope yall find a new home and I can lurk some more
Great work and good luck everyone
Also if Jobbs is still here best of luck with the transition, I'm behind you 100%
Great work and good luck everyone
Also if Jobbs is still here best of luck with the transition, I'm behind you 100%
Michael Armbrust
Member
I've been wasting way too much time trying to make AI for my game. I think it'll be worth it though since low skilled AI should work best for getting new players accustomed.
the-pi-guy
Member
Worth it because it also gives you experience and gives you a baseline.
LordRaptor
Member
And now it actually is. You are welcome.
Its really cool that they added this feature, the amount of key scamming - and I don't know if its just by kids desperate to get a free game or scumbags trying to flip promo copies on places like g2a, or to increase their ePeen by uploading to torrent sites - is crazy high for basically anyone who releases anything.
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
With the grind getting me down, I decided it'd be fun to get out a small mobile game this weekend. What better than the 50 millionth interpretation of flappy bird!?!? I had some decent art assets available from the unity asset store and I'd never done a similar game so I figured, why not?
It's available for free on android devices HERE if anyone's interested in giving it a try.
Here's some screens:
All my projects are generally 3d, so it was kind of nice getting to work in 2d again. I don't think if I've ever actually used parallax scrolling in a game I've released, so it was nice to check off that box. I largely just wanted to make a simple game that looks nice and I think I did OK there.
It's available for free on android devices HERE if anyone's interested in giving it a try.
Here's some screens:
All my projects are generally 3d, so it was kind of nice getting to work in 2d again. I don't think if I've ever actually used parallax scrolling in a game I've released, so it was nice to check off that box. I largely just wanted to make a simple game that looks nice and I think I did OK there.
LordRaptor
Member
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Sorry man, angle bracket text buttons on your UI screams developer art
*cry* you got me. I just didn't feel like spending more time in GIMP.
wondermega
Member
It looks nice! I've been sitting on a bunch of good-looking 2D assets for some years now (!) and anxious to properly build a game with them, but I refuse to start another project before finishing up the other stalled WIPs..
nixcm
Neo Member
Hi! Long time lurker coming out of the shadows; my account finally got approved!
I wanted to join mainly for this thread, to share with other indies (or wannabes) I don't know how many of you have or will stick around here after the recent drama...
So here is my first foray into game dev:
https://youtu.be/NoylfKiqSug
https://youtu.be/38Yx0GJ9dak
at this point though I'm thinking of going back to the drawing board and planning out better my ideas, as a main character this guy just wouldn't support combat so well.
Also finding time for it is not easy! how do you guys keep motivated when progress is slow?
I wanted to join mainly for this thread, to share with other indies (or wannabes) I don't know how many of you have or will stick around here after the recent drama...
So here is my first foray into game dev:
https://youtu.be/NoylfKiqSug
https://youtu.be/38Yx0GJ9dak
at this point though I'm thinking of going back to the drawing board and planning out better my ideas, as a main character this guy just wouldn't support combat so well.
Also finding time for it is not easy! how do you guys keep motivated when progress is slow?
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
That little guy is adorable, he seems like he'd be perfect for a platformer.
nixcm
Neo Member
haha, that's part of my problem, I was aiming more for a simple adventure with some hack and slash combat, and hes both too adorable and too squat to really lead the quest; I might maybe re-use him as an npc.
This is my first time trying to make a game so even the workflow is kinda new to me.
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Hrm, maybe he could be the hero's companion? Have him follow the hero around and autoloot bodies or something.
LordRaptor
Member
Looks really nice - for combat actions, I could imagine him having a Yoshi style sticky tongue which you could use like a HL2 gravity gun to pick things up then shoot them at enemies (which would then give you a physics based action game, and an emphasis on resource management in combat by needing to find single use weapons in the environment)
If I had an answer fot that I could point you to a game I'd released and not a stack of unfinished prototypes on a hard drive, heh
nixcm
Neo Member
that's not a bad idea, at least for a certain area or quest, I have ideas for other characters for specific regions. So each region has it's own race and there should be quests within that area. Might be biting off more than I can chew tbh
It's certainly not easy. I'd love to work on it full time but that costs money that I don't have
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
I put together a gif for a tweet so I figured I'd share it here as well.
As for my game Quests Unlimited I ended up taking an unintentional hiatus but I should be working on it again this week. I've hit the point in development where I just want the dang thing to be done already so I can breath life into one of my other ideas. The more I stall the longer that'll be though, so just gotta grit and bear it.
I find being jobless affords me ample time to work on pet projects, as long as you don't need to do silly things like eat it's the way to go!
As for my game Quests Unlimited I ended up taking an unintentional hiatus but I should be working on it again this week. I've hit the point in development where I just want the dang thing to be done already so I can breath life into one of my other ideas. The more I stall the longer that'll be though, so just gotta grit and bear it.
It's certainly not easy. I'd love to work on it full time but that costs money that I don't have
I find being jobless affords me ample time to work on pet projects, as long as you don't need to do silly things like eat it's the way to go!
nixcm
Neo Member
If I didn't have to pay rent I'd choose jobless also!
Looks good, how much time did you invest in this? I think it makes sense to start with simple projects and finish them.
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Probably about 12-15 hours total. As a game dev starting out, I highly suggest tackling smaller projects first and then gradually building up as you gain experience.
nixcm
Neo Member
Whoa, I thought you'd say like a couple weeks or a month!
I agree with you, but everytime I try to do something simple it becomes overly ambitious. Back to the drawing board.
I know the feeling.
I have way too much on my plate right now and so I don't feel the urge to do any of it. Before, a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to focus and finish my ongoing Unity programming course, because I had so many exciting new projects and courses waiting afterwards.
Now that the course actually is finished, I couldn't decide on what direction to take for the rest of the year. I tried continuing working on my Skyrim mod but the tools are so annoying and bad tbh that I'm losing interest fast. I still have our Holy Sheep project to finish but we haven't worked on it in a couple of weeks now.
To have anything at all to do, I've decided to focus on finishing an Unreal course instead! I'm also part of a new newbie dev group making a horror rpg (the best of newbie ideas) :lol Not to mention untouched courses in Blender, 2D art and making an rpg in Unity. Toooo much, I don't know what to choose haha, I want to do it all now!
neko.works
Member
Hey guys!
I've been working on a new area in Light Fairytale: The warehouse, which will be the main dungeon in episode 1.
Also, I've started working on a minigame! Here's the shots:
I've been working on a new area in Light Fairytale: The warehouse, which will be the main dungeon in episode 1.
Also, I've started working on a minigame! Here's the shots:
neko.works
Member
ロキー;253026045 said:
Thanks guys!
On a side note, Super Night Riders is currently on sale (50% off) on Xbox One via Deals with Gold, and on The Humble Store.
Here's a few shots from the current build:
I'm working on a multiplayer weapons combat game called Nerepis.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/620180/Nerepis/
The combat is inspired by Bloodborne. I'm working on releasing next year but it will be done when it's done.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/620180/Nerepis/
The combat is inspired by Bloodborne. I'm working on releasing next year but it will be done when it's done.
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Looks cool, now how about adding something of substance instead of just plugging your game? What aspects have you been focusing on lately? What are you happy with? What needs more work? etc.
nixcm
Neo Member
Looks great, do you have any vids?
I'm going back to the drawing board over the Christmas holidays, I need to draw up a design doc, my current method is far too disorganized.
It's tough to keep ideas small...
I've been focusing on story telling. Guess what? It's incredibly difficult to tell a story, especially in a multiplayer game. I've been listening to Steven King's book, On Writing. There are some insights there, especially with his thoughts on dialogue. I've got something unique and interesting from a story-telling perspective but I need additional time and effort to flush it out.
I'm happy with everything at the moment. My game looks and plays great. What needs more work is tying everything up as a package and providing as much possible value I can to the customer.
There's an old video from my Greenlight this spring. It gives a rough idea what it looked like six months ago. Please keep in mind it was a rush job to get the game Greenlit before Valve made changes. At the time, they were floating an idea of a $5k fee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XItvZixu9m8
You are correct. It is tough to keep ideas small. This project has taken me 2.5 years so far. I put in a couple of hours a day on it. An hour in the early morning and an hour in the evening. I chip away at it whenever I can. The good thing is that I see the end but I am not going to release until I'm 100% happy with it.
My best advice for you is to focus on the "core" of the game. Get that part right and the rest of it will work for whatever you feel like dreaming up. I can help you flush out the core if you need help.
Looking good, how much longer until you release?
Thanks, that's what I'm trying to do now, before I was making everything up as I worked, kinda like 'what should I add next'. I'm going to write a decent plan out before switching on my computer again!
Thanks. I don't actually know when it will be completed. But it should be sometime next year. Production moves quick when you aren't writing code.
LordRaptor
Member
I have no experience with them outside of purchasing Pathologic HD, but they seem 'legit' enough if that's what you were wondering, not some fly by night scammer.
I am interested in hearing about how their relationship with the developers actually work, and also if the devs are well paid or not. Ofc I want to know about the investors profits (or lack of) as well lol, but I wouldnt really invest in it if they are not good with the devs as well.
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Hello everyone, I'm back with my first update about Quests Unlimited in quite a while. Today you'll see the debut of the 3 zone bosses! These enemies are much stronger and obviously much larger than the normal enemies. They're actually always 5 levels higher than our group with considerable stats. On the bonus side of that, being 5 levels higher means they drop gear 5 levels higher than what our party normally has access to. Currently they have a 100% chance to drop a random item as opposed to the more meager drop rate of other enemies. They also drop gold unlike anything else in the game. Currently they have roughly a 5% chance to spawn although this number may be tweaked later on for gameplay balancing. So let's take a look at these behemoths!
This demonic monstrosity is the overseer of the graveyard zone.
This towering troll is the king of the forest.
This mighty orc is the chieftain of the caves.
Feels good to actually be making progress on this project again. Hopefully I can keep up a good pace and get this completed before Christmas.
This demonic monstrosity is the overseer of the graveyard zone.
This towering troll is the king of the forest.
This mighty orc is the chieftain of the caves.
Feels good to actually be making progress on this project again. Hopefully I can keep up a good pace and get this completed before Christmas.
nixcm
Neo Member
LordRaptor
Member
oxrock, are you using unity terrain textures as placeholder, or were you planning on keeping them like that?
I ask as its kinda clashing with the voxelly aesthetic you use with your props and gameobjects.
Have you considered using a heightmap filter to 'terrace' height differences rather than 'gradient blend' changes, so you get 'hard edge' differences not slopes and continue that voxel look?
I ask as its kinda clashing with the voxelly aesthetic you use with your props and gameobjects.
Have you considered using a heightmap filter to 'terrace' height differences rather than 'gradient blend' changes, so you get 'hard edge' differences not slopes and continue that voxel look?
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Hopefully really big ;p
The actual dimensions of the game world are currently 500x600x500 according to terrainData.size
Using unity's terrain largely because I generally dislike the aesthetic of voxel terrain despite loving voxel art otherwise. I know it's a bit weird and doesn't mesh quite right so I might relent before launch. If only I could have them fight an evil boss who's turning the world smooth! ;p
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Ludum Dare 40 is going to be starting in roughly 46 hours. Does anyone else plan on participating? This will be my 3rd consecutive compo entry. I've been able to complete the projects in time so far, hopefully that trend continues. Part of me wants skip this one in an effort to get my game out sooner, but forcing myself to scramble and make something decent for LD has been great experience and a powerful motivation in the past so I can't just not do it.
LordRaptor
Member
Yeah, I entered - wasn't feeling the theme, but have an unbroken 7 (now 8!) participation streak, so....¯\_(ツ
_/¯
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
In the interest of reviving this wonderful thread (and totally not shameless self promotion. Nope, not at all.) I decided it's time to update everyone on my game Quests Unlimited!
Lately I've been hard at work getting the game save/load system up and running. I finally finished that yesterday which left me with today to create the new "smart cam" feature. I honestly hadn't planned on creating such a thing but my extensive beta tester base ( girlfriend and friend) all complained about the camera system that was in place. So I had to add that to the seemingly never ending list.
Other than that, I've been working on bug fixes as well as wrestling with unity to properly handle asset bundles for different platforms. OSX universal asset bundles aren't being recognized by an OSX universal build. Makes total sense!
Anyhow.... been working on this game a long while and now I'm slowing inching closer to finishing. It'll feel so dang good to see this through to the end! Btw, here's a video I made today showing some of that new stuff in action: Loading system + smart cam reveal
That about sums it all up I guess. If anyone's interested in more details or previously released footage it's all available on the DevLog.
Lately I've been hard at work getting the game save/load system up and running. I finally finished that yesterday which left me with today to create the new "smart cam" feature. I honestly hadn't planned on creating such a thing but my extensive beta tester base ( girlfriend and friend) all complained about the camera system that was in place. So I had to add that to the seemingly never ending list.
Other than that, I've been working on bug fixes as well as wrestling with unity to properly handle asset bundles for different platforms. OSX universal asset bundles aren't being recognized by an OSX universal build. Makes total sense!
Anyhow.... been working on this game a long while and now I'm slowing inching closer to finishing. It'll feel so dang good to see this through to the end! Btw, here's a video I made today showing some of that new stuff in action: Loading system + smart cam reveal
That about sums it all up I guess. If anyone's interested in more details or previously released footage it's all available on the DevLog.
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Hello everyone (anyone?), I normally post updates on my game on the weekends so here I am again.
The biggest change this week would have to be the activity log window. At the top of the screen there's now a UI window that prints out everything that happens on our adventures. These messages are also saved (up to a certain threshold) and loaded along with game saves to refresh your memory as to what the party has been up to.
The next few I believe go a long way towards giving the game a much more authentic RPG feel. First off, our party members now have randomly generated names on load. At first I gave them normal names like Heather, John, Jaime, etc, but it just didn't have the same feel as the hard to pronounce names that are generated properly.
Equipment items also have a bit more RPG flavor happening as well. Now each item has some original randomly generated description text telling us about the item or it's crafter or perhaps a hero who once wielded it.The item names have also been modified to be more original.
Also new, your party members are no longer set in stone. Which classes are contained in your party is now randomly determined at the start of a new game. These classes are of course saved properly and will load the same classes that you saved with. This new feature allows you the chance to try different party formations and find what makes the most sense to you. Because of this new feature I decided to add class emblems to the party management window. You will now be able to tell at a glance what class each member of your party is.
I've also reworked the aesthetics of healthbars a bit. The player party's health bars are now a different color than those of enemies. This is to help differentiate between the two in the thick of battle. They are also no longer translucent. This is another measure taken to increase readability. The sizes have also been slightly altered. Each has been slightly shrunk down to help reduce screen clutter.
This last update is a bit minor but it's something that's been bothering me for a while so I thought I'd bring it up. Do you all recall the cave model that the orcs and bomber goblins have been spawning inside? It looks like a super low poly upside down bowl, it's just sooooo ugly. Well, it's gone. I finally took the time (a lot more time than I'd like to admit) to sculpt a more proper cave in blender. So that's now taking the place of the previous hideous asset and the world is so much better for it.
Here's a GIF showcasing some of the improvements made this week:
Well that about wraps it up for this week's updates. Next week you can look forward to reading about the introduction of some silly junk loot drops and perhaps some info on a release date. Depends mostly on how much I can cram into this week.
The biggest change this week would have to be the activity log window. At the top of the screen there's now a UI window that prints out everything that happens on our adventures. These messages are also saved (up to a certain threshold) and loaded along with game saves to refresh your memory as to what the party has been up to.
The next few I believe go a long way towards giving the game a much more authentic RPG feel. First off, our party members now have randomly generated names on load. At first I gave them normal names like Heather, John, Jaime, etc, but it just didn't have the same feel as the hard to pronounce names that are generated properly.
Equipment items also have a bit more RPG flavor happening as well. Now each item has some original randomly generated description text telling us about the item or it's crafter or perhaps a hero who once wielded it.The item names have also been modified to be more original.
Also new, your party members are no longer set in stone. Which classes are contained in your party is now randomly determined at the start of a new game. These classes are of course saved properly and will load the same classes that you saved with. This new feature allows you the chance to try different party formations and find what makes the most sense to you. Because of this new feature I decided to add class emblems to the party management window. You will now be able to tell at a glance what class each member of your party is.
I've also reworked the aesthetics of healthbars a bit. The player party's health bars are now a different color than those of enemies. This is to help differentiate between the two in the thick of battle. They are also no longer translucent. This is another measure taken to increase readability. The sizes have also been slightly altered. Each has been slightly shrunk down to help reduce screen clutter.
This last update is a bit minor but it's something that's been bothering me for a while so I thought I'd bring it up. Do you all recall the cave model that the orcs and bomber goblins have been spawning inside? It looks like a super low poly upside down bowl, it's just sooooo ugly. Well, it's gone. I finally took the time (a lot more time than I'd like to admit) to sculpt a more proper cave in blender. So that's now taking the place of the previous hideous asset and the world is so much better for it.
Here's a GIF showcasing some of the improvements made this week:
Well that about wraps it up for this week's updates. Next week you can look forward to reading about the introduction of some silly junk loot drops and perhaps some info on a release date. Depends mostly on how much I can cram into this week.
ThatStupidLion
Member
Hello everyone (anyone?), I normally post updates on my game on the weekends so here I am again.
The biggest change this week would have to be the activity log window. At the top of the screen there's now a UI window that prints out everything that happens on our adventures. These messages are also saved (up to a certain threshold) and loaded along with game saves to refresh your memory as to what the party has been up to.
The next few I believe go a long way towards giving the game a much more authentic RPG feel. First off, our party members now have randomly generated names on load. At first I gave them normal names like Heather, John, Jaime, etc, but it just didn't have the same feel as the hard to pronounce names that are generated properly.
Equipment items also have a bit more RPG flavor happening as well. Now each item has some original randomly generated description text telling us about the item or it's crafter or perhaps a hero who once wielded it.The item names have also been modified to be more original.
Also new, your party members are no longer set in stone. Which classes are contained in your party is now randomly determined at the start of a new game. These classes are of course saved properly and will load the same classes that you saved with. This new feature allows you the chance to try different party formations and find what makes the most sense to you. Because of this new feature I decided to add class emblems to the party management window. You will now be able to tell at a glance what class each member of your party is.
I've also reworked the aesthetics of healthbars a bit. The player party's health bars are now a different color than those of enemies. This is to help differentiate between the two in the thick of battle. They are also no longer translucent. This is another measure taken to increase readability. The sizes have also been slightly altered. Each has been slightly shrunk down to help reduce screen clutter.
This last update is a bit minor but it's something that's been bothering me for a while so I thought I'd bring it up. Do you all recall the cave model that the orcs and bomber goblins have been spawning inside? It looks like a super low poly upside down bowl, it's just sooooo ugly. Well, it's gone. I finally took the time (a lot more time than I'd like to admit) to sculpt a more proper cave in blender. So that's now taking the place of the previous hideous asset and the world is so much better for it.
Here's a GIF showcasing some of the improvements made this week:
Well that about wraps it up for this week's updates. Next week you can look forward to reading about the introduction of some silly junk loot drops and perhaps some info on a release date. Depends mostly on how much I can cram into this week.
Nice man! Keep it up. I remember your first post of this game here, love your progress
Great work! I'd recommend looking closer at your UI. I think I liked it before better. As a rule of thumb, only display the HUD elements which are required. Just my two cents. Keeping working away at it. Iteration over time leads to a great game!