SPACECADET
Member
yall worrying too much over what the people developing the game are saying inspired it. it's just small takes on mechanics. looks pretty good.
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Blood Alloy - GAFfer made Metroidvania inspired by Vanquish, Hotline Miami; on KS
- Thread starter More_Badass
- Start date
I was ready to criticize this game for being another metroidvania dark souls inspired and just after ghost song, but the Gameplay looks ace, so I will skip the rant. I hope they get the animation fixed, because as of now is the only glaring flaw I see in the game.
I will pledge if they support my indie game platform of choice, i.e., Vita. Good luck!
I will pledge if they support my indie game platform of choice, i.e., Vita. Good luck!
Which ones? A reasonable proportion of those I've backed have made it to release, and those that haven't generally have understandable delays and clear signs of progress.
w1gglyjones
Member
I don't get all these "metroid style" kickstarters.
Gunlord is made by a proven, established dev who shipped physical copies of their game. It won Classic Game Room GOTY for 2012. Yet their campaign to bring the game over to 3DS and Wii U is struggling, meanwhile, every tom dick and harry wants to jump into kickstarter and thinks their project is worthwhile.... it's sad really.
Gunlord is made by a proven, established dev who shipped physical copies of their game. It won Classic Game Room GOTY for 2012. Yet their campaign to bring the game over to 3DS and Wii U is struggling, meanwhile, every tom dick and harry wants to jump into kickstarter and thinks their project is worthwhile.... it's sad really.
One year is not a lot of time at all.
Ultra Magnus
Member
Man you guys are some haters who cares what the game is inspired by shouldn't the only thing that matter is the gameplay/ambiance
sixteen-bit
Member
Dat paying for potential
DarkSiegmeyer
Neo Member
Hi there! Dev here! Thanks for all of the comments and feedback guys!
A few sentences about the Dark Souls reference: I am a HUGE Demon's and Dark Souls fan, and spent dozens of hours PvP'ing in Demon's Souls 4-1. I actually got fairly decent with a Claymore+Faith build, but that's another discussion.
Anyway, the combat in the Souls games is defined by stamina regulation - attacking, blocking, and dodging all consume stamina, and the act of holding up your shield slows your stamina regen. Thus your stamina management becomes critical, and it makes every action or inaction you take. A secondary component to this is the visual tell of every enemy about to attack you with its melee weapon. Now, when you swap out melee weapons with guns, that pre-emptive "visual tell" of an incoming attack is gone - to say nothing of the range aspect involved. That's why we compensated by upping the speed and dynamic abilities of the player character. I know Dark Souls combat is slow, methodical, and thoughtful, but we're still tweaking the gameplay to get it to feel great with guns - using Dark Soul's stamina mechanics as a starting point. Hope this clears thing up!
A few sentences about the Dark Souls reference: I am a HUGE Demon's and Dark Souls fan, and spent dozens of hours PvP'ing in Demon's Souls 4-1. I actually got fairly decent with a Claymore+Faith build, but that's another discussion.
Anyway, the combat in the Souls games is defined by stamina regulation - attacking, blocking, and dodging all consume stamina, and the act of holding up your shield slows your stamina regen. Thus your stamina management becomes critical, and it makes every action or inaction you take. A secondary component to this is the visual tell of every enemy about to attack you with its melee weapon. Now, when you swap out melee weapons with guns, that pre-emptive "visual tell" of an incoming attack is gone - to say nothing of the range aspect involved. That's why we compensated by upping the speed and dynamic abilities of the player character. I know Dark Souls combat is slow, methodical, and thoughtful, but we're still tweaking the gameplay to get it to feel great with guns - using Dark Soul's stamina mechanics as a starting point. Hope this clears thing up!
Most of the stuff kickstarted will most likely take a year and a half to 3 at most. Its not like you'll back them in January and the thing will be done in May.
DarkSiegmeyer
Neo Member
I've backed 17 Kickstarters, and of those, 6 have come out, and literally every one of the others is showering me with development logs and updates. I totally get that there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding Kickstarter, and that some projects run amuck, but look at this way - I personally am trying to make it as a game developer as a life's calling. If I try to cash in with $50k, but don't deliver a product, then that ruins my name FOREVER. I am going to work my BUTT off to make sure that does not happen.
But I look forward to earning your trust with a solid final product, and I hope that our work warrants you a purchase upon release
But I look forward to earning your trust with a solid final product, and I hope that our work warrants you a purchase upon release
OniBarubary
Banned
Do people realize why all these small developers, sometimes of 2 or 3 people and sometimes a single person, do so much comparison to games you love or famous games?
Maybe because with only a concept or some brief footage they need to give you something, some pull or tantalizing information, to make an investor spend any amount of their hard-earned money on funding a dream that they will painfully work on day and night. This guy doesn't have a full studio with a famous name that will give him funding, he's not a name in the industry that'll get him 3 million dollars, he's not reviving or working with a beloved franchise that people will nostalgia about and throw money at, he's just a guy who really wants to make a game.
He needs some way to get enough of your faith in this being a game you want to play to drop money on it. I think it makes sense to give all these names as a comparison point.
Maybe because with only a concept or some brief footage they need to give you something, some pull or tantalizing information, to make an investor spend any amount of their hard-earned money on funding a dream that they will painfully work on day and night. This guy doesn't have a full studio with a famous name that will give him funding, he's not a name in the industry that'll get him 3 million dollars, he's not reviving or working with a beloved franchise that people will nostalgia about and throw money at, he's just a guy who really wants to make a game.
He needs some way to get enough of your faith in this being a game you want to play to drop money on it. I think it makes sense to give all these names as a comparison point.
w1gglyjones
Member
It's easier to just explain the mechanics than to compare the game to "dark souls" or "metroid." The latter is annoying and we know what mechanics are and how they are implemented.
The Gunlord devs are also a tiny studio (2 man, brothers). They are proven devs with shipped games, and even they are having a hard time getting 40,000 euros for a game that's already highly acclaimed. Dropping names and comparing your game is really annoying when, in my estimation, people who fund projects like this are knowledgeable gamers who understand an explanation of technical gameplay design.
fart town usa
Gold Member
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
I see the Vanquish inspired stuff, what I don't see if the Vanquish level speed. It would probably have been wiser to say "inspired by Dark Void Zero" than Vanquish.
Also I hope by release the characters animations are less stiff. Make her lean into her run or hunch over or something to give her a look to go with how she moves.
Also I hope by release the characters animations are less stiff. Make her lean into her run or hunch over or something to give her a look to go with how she moves.
Would you rather that people have no confidence in their projects and just not bother?
Gunlord's made by a "proven, established dev" that made their name developing retro games for defunct hardware. They've moved physical copies of their games in part because they appeal to retro fans and collectors. And they're struggling to get an existing game ported to 3DS and WiiU, rather than developing something for the PC from scratch, where the backers get to have their feedback heard as part of the development cycle. So your comparison's really apples and oranges.
I enjoy games like this. I don't think there are enough of them. I have no problem with people trying to Kickstart these projects. Crowdfunded indie games are filling the gap now that the big companies have largely abandoned the middle tier to concentrate on throwaway f2p/cellphone stuff and monster budget triple-A titles. I consider that a good thing.
OniBarubary
Banned
All of their games are niche that most people perusing Kickstarter for games would not have played. Saying they can't meet funding sorta supports my point.
I said it makes sense. Not that I particularly care for it or whatever, but it does make sense. This is a big risk scenario. You can't just sit on your haunches with some of this kind of stuff.
sixteen-bit
Member
and chest-high walls, and replenishing health - FPS producer
AcceptableGhost
Member
ugh at the long list of inspirations on kickstarter
INSPIRATIONS:
ASSORTMENT OF TOP TIER GAMES MY GAME PROBABLY WON'T LIVE UP TO WHICH OF COURSE FEATURES DARK SOULS
you should check out this fast paced action game that relies heavily on nuanced stamina mechanics, its called vanquish
INSPIRATIONS:
ASSORTMENT OF TOP TIER GAMES MY GAME PROBABLY WON'T LIVE UP TO WHICH OF COURSE FEATURES DARK SOULS
you should check out this fast paced action game that relies heavily on nuanced stamina mechanics, its called vanquish
Necromanti
Member
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but it's on the list.
Also, what's up with people saying "it reminds me more of X, they should say that inspired them". Do they know what inspiration means? You can't be inspired by something you don't know. It may be similar, but doesn't mean the devs even played said game, may be just a coincidence.
I do agree that the "inspired by" thing is silly and became the kickstarter buzzword though.
AcceptableGhost
Member
I was being sarcastic. I just found it funny that he listed Vanquish for its fast combat when it is also "Manage Stamina Under High Pressure: The Game". This game looks fine for an early build but namedropping numerous high tier games as direct inspiration is bound to raise suspicions. I guess I can understand dropping one or (maybe) two as your main inspiration but listing a grab bag of them seems bad.
Messofanego
Banned
To explain different parts of the game using a well-established game as a reference point doesn't seem so bad to me.
Yeah I'm not liking the look of the character animation on this. That's a big part of getting the gameplay right on a game like this, and it seems pretty stiff. You can't have fluid gameplay with a stiff character.
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
I like the idea of a 2D sidescroller with mouse aim (like Capsized) and a dodge button, but the "everything is Dark Souls" is definitely wearisome.
Cameron122
Member
See now, Abuse is a fuckin' sick game.
I asked about the possibility of a Vita port and got this answer from them:
Sounds good, uh? Hope they meet their goal and make the Vita port official.
Suppressive Fire Games said:I've been designing the game's control schemes from day ONE to be able to be played on Vita!
So, yes, and we're currently having conversations with various.. people to that effect.
Sounds good, uh? Hope they meet their goal and make the Vita port official.
You do know that games take quite a bit of time to be developed, right?
Axispowers
Member
Sounds good.
DarkSiegmeyer
Neo Member
Hey guys -
Dev here again. Again, I agree that just name-dropping franchises - Dark Souls in particular - can be scummy. Payday 2, by all accounts a great game in its own right, name-dropped Dark Souls with regards to its character creation - and it was a really, really tenuous link. This is not like that.
See me playing the game and explaining the direct correlation between the mechanics here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXTl9k-MeXA
Also, as for the list of inspired games... I mean, yeah, that's what happens when I play a game that I like, or when I think about a game that I like. I get inspired by certain mechanics that are done well, or certain elements of the game or story that are done well, and it gives me a desire to emulate that in my own game.
For example, had I said, "Narrative choice just like Deus Ex: Human Revolution" or "Narrative choice just like Mass Effect 3," that would have provoked an immediate reaction - "What, you want to lead us down this illusion of choice and then present the player with three buttons to press?"
No. I want the final act of the game to branch into completely different sectors of the level with entirely different objectives. Like the first Deus Ex.
Just making it abundantly clear where I draw my inspirations from. I've been a game player for all of my life, and a game dev for only the last six. My entire life has been composed of "Ugh this game doesn't do this well," and "This sequel doesn't have this great feature the first game had, why??" I'm trying to from all of those lessons.
Also, there is no regenerating health in this game. Not sure where people got that idea.
Dev here again. Again, I agree that just name-dropping franchises - Dark Souls in particular - can be scummy. Payday 2, by all accounts a great game in its own right, name-dropped Dark Souls with regards to its character creation - and it was a really, really tenuous link. This is not like that.
See me playing the game and explaining the direct correlation between the mechanics here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXTl9k-MeXA
Also, as for the list of inspired games... I mean, yeah, that's what happens when I play a game that I like, or when I think about a game that I like. I get inspired by certain mechanics that are done well, or certain elements of the game or story that are done well, and it gives me a desire to emulate that in my own game.
For example, had I said, "Narrative choice just like Deus Ex: Human Revolution" or "Narrative choice just like Mass Effect 3," that would have provoked an immediate reaction - "What, you want to lead us down this illusion of choice and then present the player with three buttons to press?"
No. I want the final act of the game to branch into completely different sectors of the level with entirely different objectives. Like the first Deus Ex.
Just making it abundantly clear where I draw my inspirations from. I've been a game player for all of my life, and a game dev for only the last six. My entire life has been composed of "Ugh this game doesn't do this well," and "This sequel doesn't have this great feature the first game had, why??" I'm trying to from all of those lessons.
Also, there is no regenerating health in this game. Not sure where people got that idea.
More_Badass
Member
Demo available:
http://bloodalloy.com/game.html
http://bloodalloy.com/game.html