Making a Video Game...
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- _niko0
mantrakid great job, you're a fucking inspiration, hopefully more of us get off our asses and start creating cool shit like this.
exactly what i've been looking for.
- prophetone0
mantrakid, massively inspiring and encouraging to read thru your experiences. so thank you. and a very cool game - luv the art style.
i myself am finally getting my ass off the couch, have begun shifting gears as fast as i can into a proper game dev workflow, learning as i go. been sponging as much as i can in recent months as far as cocos2d, sprite kit, best practices, etc.
i feel like all the design/tech skills i've developed over the years founded on a rich foundation of 80/90's arcade game knowledge and an extensive library of general pop culture nonsense, bad taste and terrible humour has finally me prepared for game making.
i hope to get a few simple pixel-based games out there as soon as possible so i can just start making some mistakes, learning from good/bad feedback, fine tuning, etc.
i get excited just thinking about it and almost want it to be a total train wreck right out of the gate to be honest. ha!
at some point i will share what i’ve done in this terrible, terrible place if only to get some real, honest feedback. qbn nerd feedback.
♥ prophetone
- mantrakid0
Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that there's a new demo build:
Windows: http://www.cosmochoria.com/build…
Mac: http://www.cosmochoria.com/build…
Linux 32bit: http://www.cosmochoria.com/build…
Linux 64bit: http://www.cosmochoria.com/build…The new build has some new features:
- Hold S while floating in space to slow your trajectory. Just like in real life space!
- Asteroids Explode when they hit the planets surface.
- Diamonds hidden in asteroids are a little more common, not much though. ;)
- Weapon powerups are a little more common (once you have that Level 1 Gun)
- Flying FAST through space will cause you to destroy anything you run into (not planets tho).
- Jetpack gets you off a planet easier without jumping first.
- Bosses don't get 'stuck'.
- New planets, including the 'FUCKING LOL' Cube (More non-round planets to come!)
- Updated cursor designs (may be a little buggy still though).
- Bug and performance fixes.This is probably the last or second last 'publicly available' build. Once the kickstarter ends, it'll be private builds for all new functionality for KS backers only. Once the functionality has all been implemented, it will move to a public early access program on Steam for the couple of months leading up to the official launch.
Respect.
Nate
- mantrakid0
Finally worked out a proper UI.
Wow, damn. So many updates on the go after receiving some really good professional advice. Fixed quite a few bugs that have come up from the awesome testers who have been checking the game out.
The core work has been to solve an overwhelmingly loud feedback regarding the confusion brought on in the first exposure to the game. Initially i really wanted the experience to have a deep sense of discovery, and though i feel its still there to a degree, i had to make some compromises and design issues that overcame some of the points of confusion to first-time players... Simply put, people aren't gonna play a game that doesnt at least seem to make sense right off the bat. Im actually surprised at how long this remains an issue as development continues. I always think i 'solved it' but feedback from new players shows that it can still be improved..
One of the biggest things ive been working on is that I've finally designed a proper HUD UI, which really adds to the experience and feel of the game. I was using the shitty little top corner graphics for too long, so to now have a proper HUD its looking really nice. I decided to place it along the bottom since most of the fighting in cosmochoria takes place above you. Because the camera pans to keep you 'always up' there's never really a situation where you are actually looking for things on the bottom of the screen, so it seemed like the perfect place to put everything in a neat and tidy little bar. This also opens up the space above you for better alien spotting, etc.
- mantrakid0
This is how i roll:
- mantrakid0
I was informed by dudes far more experienced than I that I was a damn fool for not putting Sprout on the official Greenlight page, as opposed to this 'concept'.
You can view the official Greenlight Page here:
http://steamcommunity.com/shared…If you've voted on or followed this page, it would mean the world to me if you switched over to the official Greenlight page, as any votes / feedback there actually do go towards making sure Sprout is available on Steam when it is released.
Thank you so much for the amazing feedback and response so far. I am honestly blown away at the positive response I've been getting - just watching those "Yes" buttons get tallied up hour by hour while i can count the "No" votes on one hand. Thank you so so much!
- cannonball19780
Make a "making of" trailer. People like to see the work that goes into it. It helps ensure that it is a quality product, especially in the indie game landscape where there is so much garbage.
- jtb260
Damn it.
- mantrakid0
no-one? damnn.. :) (bump)
- i_monk0
I just played (the web build) for the first time. Two things immediately frustrated me: I can't seem to aim myself when using the jet pack, so I end up spiralling through space, totally adrift, until hitting a random planet. I couldn't get back to the start planet, so I feel like I completely missed whatever I was supposed to do there.
I read what you said upthread about a sense of discovery, but maybe the jet pack should be something you earn after achieving some basic sense of how the game works on that first planet. After that, discovery and adventure awaits.
Looks and sounds pretty sweet though :)
- mantrakid0
haha thanks man, ive been sitting on my ass about making a game since i was 15 years old or something. Maybe younger.. when did The Wizard come out.. :P Always wanted to do it but always felt lazy / just sat and played games instead.
Last year i turned 33 and was like FUCK THIS i gotta learn, and it has been the most satisfying creative endeavour ive ever had..
Caaalifooooornia..
- ukit20
Awesome work dude...this is such an inspiring thread!
- ukit20
Looks like you just passed your goal on Kickstarter
- cruddlebub0
would love to see this on a phone or tablet!
69p or 99c a pop and you'd make a fair bit...
great little game, really addictive too.
- cjfclarence0
Part 2 :) pew pew pew
- mantrakid0
all amazing feedback and i thank you guys so much for caring enough to post on here.
the most important feeling i want to get across is that feeling of being lost right from the very start. It was a very conscious / philosophical decision to leave the 'language' directions to a bare minimum.. actually 'click to play' i think is the only time a direction appears with actual words, and im thinking of changing that to a 'play' button by the final release haha.
the thing is, i really want to make sure im not alienating people, which it sounds like i might be, but at the same time i truly think that feeling of 'learining what it is you're doing' really hits home once it clicks.. like there's something to be said for the emotional connection you gain once you actually discover what it is you're actually trying to accomplish -- it's the whole reason i didnt just give it away verbally in my initial post.. I feel like a decent part of the game is intended to be like a puzzle game - where youre presented with these relatively familiar mechanics (ala donkey kong run + jump alongside an Asteroids space shooter type thing) but you are not told what you're supposed to actually do with them. You end up noticing you have 1 seed (and I think that's an important graphical problem i need to solve - making it more obvious what it is you have there) and were sort of 'told' what to do with it (also feel i need to make that more obvious right from the start -- like im thinking maybe have a faded instructional animation / arrow / sequence appear above your head while you're standing on a planet... telling you what to do next. from that point on, you're on your own..)..
I cant stress enough - your feedback and interest is fuel to my fire, and I'll have a new version posted here within a week with some updates that i think should help with that initial game understanding. The problem is by the time i show you guys, the concept and initial understanding has already sunk in, so i lose that fresh introduction value, but i couldnt have asked for more thoughtful feedback, so i appreciate it so so much. THANK YOU.
----
My most important note: this was never meant to be understood / able to be beaten on the first try. The game itself is like an exploration of the rules that ive put in place - learning how to exploit them, and by way of death, giving you a chance to strengthen yourself through the upgrades, which also require engagement to really understand what they do. I never intended any of the experience to be a passive one... which is a paradox with the art style, gameplay mechanics and music --- as pretentious as it sounds, deep down i want to connect with the player in the way of having them not be told what to do, but for them to slowly come to a realization and understanding of what my intentions actually were.
This is all coming after playing games like Candy Box / A Dark Room / Terraria / Proteus / Starseed Pilgrim / Castle Doctrine -- all games that start with zero direction, but have taken up a considerable portion of my consciousness because of that fact. I'd be delusional to list Sprout in with those amazing games, but it is certainly my intention to try to get others to feel that same feeling i got.
TL;DR
- Sandman_19820
Hey just seen this write up on Eurogamer. Great to see the game getting some love...
- mantrakid0
Bahah im so blown away that he never really committed to tracking down and killing that boss, but I think it was actually getting 'stuck' in the corner or something.. always good to have a major bug appear in a video to millions of viewers.. :P jeeeesuzzz...
- lodef0
So I see you're doing a live stream fridays on Twitch, I don't see a specific time anywhere and was wondering when. Just followed you.