Topic: Veil of Shadows

[darkmanx_429]

It might be easier if you were to sit down and sketch out your level designs on paper. Many game designers used this method. Once you like what you see on paper then implement the designs to your computer. I have not used this technique, however this is something you might want to do if you are having trouble conceiving ideas.

This is true, however I would say ALL true game designers do this not many. It all starts with the High Concept document. It used to be called a "game design document." I think X is right. I think before you even start the photoshop phase, you should get all your ideas written down on paper. List exactly what stages that you want to be in your game, how they lead into one another, and every part of the stage flow. I am sure when you start making a High Concept for your game you'll start getting all sorts of ideas even though you haven't hit the photoshop yet. A book I suggest if you are serious in game art and design is called "The Skillful Huntsman." It's the video game design bible.

[Corpsecrank]

This is true, however I would say ALL true game designers do this not many. It all starts with the High Concept document. It used to be called a "game design document." I think X is right. I think before you even start the photoshop phase, you should get all your ideas written down on paper. List exactly what stages that you want to be in your game, how they lead into one another, and every part of the stage flow. I am sure when you start making a High Concept for your game you'll start getting all sorts of ideas even though you haven't hit the photoshop yet. A book I suggest if you are serious in game art and design is called "The Skillful Huntsman." It's the video game design bible.

That much was already done. Concept is simple and planning out a design takes almost nothing. I simply use photoshop as a way to visually design concepts. All the rest of the stuff is in a document. I can reference the doc any time I need to but for a game this simple it almost wastes time to be so thorough.

I just don't want to halfass my stages which is why I scrapped an otherwise great start on a stage. Not that the effort or material goes to any waste in this case since I can use that start later in an animation anyhow. Most of the graphics I create for games can easily be reused in animation projects later on. It works in reverse also actually as I am using graphics designed for animations to create games now.

[darkmanx_429]

That much was already done. Concept is simple and planning out a design takes almost nothing. I simply use photoshop as a way to visually design concepts. All the rest of the stuff is in a document. I can reference the doc any time I need to but for a game this simple it almost wastes time to be so thorough.

I just don't want to halfass my stages which is why I scrapped an otherwise great start on a stage. Not that the effort or material goes to any waste in this case since I can use that start later in an animation anyhow. Most of the graphics I create for games can easily be reused in animation projects later on. It works in reverse also actually as I am using graphics designed for animations to create games now.

I disagree. Concept and design is the hardest,biggest, and most important part of not just level but game design in general. Everything may look good on paper, it may even animate and look good but if you don't have good level design it will all fall apart. Hell, you may even find out after you are completely done that certain things about certain levels work or don't. Be it props, lighting, stage flow etc. I could go on about a billion other things that come up that you just won't see until you are done. It is said that the hardest part of making a video game is that final 5% because it takes not just your eyes but many eyes to constantly playtest and replay your game. Pretty much all the way up to the shipping phase. One good practice you seem to got down is reusing stuff. That'll help you out all sorts later on as I am sure you already know. Also, if you have some sort of stages already pre-planned on paper, photoshop, or otherwise it would help every one that supports your project to brainstorm with one another. You should post more of your ideas on your thread. I'd like to give you more feedback. Great Job on cranking out the stuff you are doing so far as it looks pretty impressive.

[Corpsecrank]

I will be updating again soon but probably with characters. I won't come back to stages again till I have enough done with characters. I want to be able to go in game with a character and move around in a stage so I can see exactly how it plays. Hence my decision to focus on characters first. Once I have that I can dedicate some serious time to stage design which is going to produce better results I think. Especially being able to play test stages as I design them. When I get the first stage playable there will be a demo for sure.

[Aridale]

you dont need a finished char tho. All you really need is a rectangle the size of your chars collision. You can make your entire game with literally just different color and size squares then put in the art as its done. Hell you could even use programmer art to start with if ya want

Ive never started on a game idea or anythin with graphics in place. Ive always used primitives and the like for everything. Once its workin how I want it I make all those invisible (for 2d) and map everythin out of tiles/sprites and keep the now invisible primitives for collision. In 3d you use shapes roughly the shape of your parts in your game then replace em with the finished game art as it comes. The important part is the collision mesh stay approx the same.

[TheouAegis]

I'd personally delete those little placeholder boxes, but that's me.

That method would help a lot of beginners learn to stop using a single sprite for enemies with weapons. They never seen to grasp the difference between, "The enemy will attack by pulling out a sword and swinging it," from, "The enemy will attack by widening its collision mask to accommodate the wider sprite."  The only time I ever needed to change a bounding box in-game was for the Crusher Spikes from CV3, which have a small glitch where the invisible object moves 16 pixels farther (8 pixels either direction) than the Crusher's tile itself. And that wasn't really necessary, it was just something I added in (and tweaked because GM has a serious typo in it relating to collision masks) because I wanted my engine to simulate CV3 as closely as possible.

[Corpsecrank]

First post updated with the current progress and a video. Keep an eye out for the attack getting stuck lol I had to throw the cross to unstick it.

[darkmanx_429]

First post updated with the current progress and a video. Keep an eye out for the attack getting stuck lol I had to throw the cross to unstick it.

Looking good, I like the little training aspect you should keep that in for the full game. You could even add obstacles and challenges i.e. destroy this stack of blocks within this time limit. The way the cross/boomerang attacks is sweet. What program did you decide to use anyway for the game was it Construct 2? I have some new stuff on coming soon for my game as well...keep me posted on your progress! Nice to see it coming along!

[Corpsecrank]

Looking good, I like the little training aspect you should keep that in for the full game. You could even add obstacles and challenges i.e. destroy this stack of blocks within this time limit. The way the cross/boomerang attacks is sweet. What program did you decide to use anyway for the game was it Construct 2? I have some new stuff on coming soon for my game as well...keep me posted on your progress! Nice to see it coming along!

Well I am actually kinda bummed that I can't use construct 2 I need my game to be standalone and not tied to a browser or I would definitely be using construct 2. I am using construct classic since it is free has no real limitations on use and exports directly as an exe.

If they added the ability to export as standalone dx10 or dx11 in construct 2 I would actually buy a copy on the spot. But since it is limited to ONLY html5 I just can't justify buying it. Even if it would allow people to play the game offline. I would still have to distribute the game through the browser and then support is tied into a browser because of how the games are updated with it. It would allow an auto update as the game changes but that is the only perk and it just isn't enough reason to change.

I keep trying to talk them into adding standalone to construct 2. Just because html5 is easy to use and capable doesn't mean all games are going to use it from this point on. Lots of games are still going to rely on directX.

But yeah things are progressing nicely. I have been pretty busy so what you see right there is actually only about 10 or 12 hours of work in construct at most. I probably won't be working in construct again for a while though since I need new frames to polish the current animations so I am going to be spending lots of time in photoshop getting that stuff ready.

The next time I update I want to provide an actual demo. You can't tell how the game is actually going to play based on a video alone. With a demo you guys could actually try out the controls and see how smooth this plays. So next time around I should have polished animations for what is in and collisions masks so there will be a dummy monster to beat up for testing the combo system.

[darkmanx_429]

Well I am actually kinda bummed that I can't use construct 2 I need my game to be standalone and not tied to a browser or I would definitely be using construct 2. I am using construct classic since it is free has no real limitations on use and exports directly as an exe.

If they added the ability to export as standalone dx10 or dx11 in construct 2 I would actually buy a copy on the spot. But since it is limited to ONLY html5 I just can't justify buying it. Even if it would allow people to play the game offline. I would still have to distribute the game through the browser and then support is tied into a browser because of how the games are updated with it. It would allow an auto update as the game changes but that is the only perk and it just isn't enough reason to change.

I keep trying to talk them into adding standalone to construct 2. Just because html5 is easy to use and capable doesn't mean all games are going to use it from this point on. Lots of games are still going to rely on directX.

But yeah things are progressing nicely. I have been pretty busy so what you see right there is actually only about 10 or 12 hours of work in construct at most. I probably won't be working in construct again for a while though since I need new frames to polish the current animations so I am going to be spending lots of time in photoshop getting that stuff ready.

The next time I update I want to provide an actual demo. You can't tell how the game is actually going to play based on a video alone. With a demo you guys could actually try out the controls and see how smooth this plays. So next time around I should have polished animations for what is in and collisions masks so there will be a dummy monster to beat up for testing the combo system.

Cool man, be sure to keep us posted on your video progress...

[Corpsecrank]

I have been away for a few days now but came back just to update on what has happened. Life just kicked my ass this week. I don't know what is going to happen next. I still want to continue with my game but I can't at the moment in light of what has happened.

If or when I get back to normal I will be here but right now I have to handle some changes.

[Las]

I just seen that video on page 1 of your startup engine. Did you make extra frames for richter's jump? I swear i seen an extra frame or too in their? I thought your added sprites you showed in you video of your sprite sheet on richter was cool. Yeah you defeintly had some good ideas their. Especially liked the sprites of him hanging with his whip to pull him across a ledge and the one's where when he dies, instead of massive blood gushing like in sotn his sould ascends to heaven. Yeah those are definetly some kick ass concepts man for sure. BTW when the hell did they come out with windows 8? I've never heard of that. Last is know is windows 7? Then again i have'nt even been to a best buy or pc place in a while.

[Corpsecrank]

Windows 8 was released like a couple weeks ago but it's still super buggy since this is a consumer preview version. The RC version will be out pretty soon which should be a lot more stable and compatible. The full release is due in october this year. Learn more here if you are interested http://www.eightforums.com/

It looks as if there are new frames in his jump animation because those frames do not follow the original sotn setup. I used the normal sotn frames but mixed them up a little bit and it looks pretty good I think. I still want to fill out my richter sheet a lot and polish it some. I would like to release the entire sheet at some point. I even considered gathering stuff other people have done and adding it to the sheet I have before I release it and release it as a "master" sheet.

I am really disappointed that things have gone how they have. I am really really itching to continue on my game but things are so crazy right now I just don't know what will happen. My head is kinda spinning these days

[darkmanx_429]

Windows 8 was released like a couple weeks ago but it's still super buggy since this is a consumer preview version. The RC version will be out pretty soon which should be a lot more stable and compatible. The full release is due in october this year. Learn more here if you are interested http://www.eightforums.com/

It looks as if there are new frames in his jump animation because those frames do not follow the original sotn setup. I used the normal sotn frames but mixed them up a little bit and it looks pretty good I think. I still want to fill out my richter sheet a lot and polish it some. I would like to release the entire sheet at some point. I even considered gathering stuff other people have done and adding it to the sheet I have before I release it and release it as a "master" sheet.

I am really disappointed that things have gone how they have. I am really really itching to continue on my game but things are so crazy right now I just don't know what will happen. My head is kinda spinning these days

Well man don't fret. I would suggest whatever medium you decide to continue working your game on (even if its not perfect) just stick with it and work with what you can and get something finished. By working around the limitations of each program and coming up with new niches and ideas things will come together. Just don't quit man. I am assuming (because your creative juices are flowing) you are thinking about the whole game at once (I know that I do), to just scale your work flow down to completing your Richter and just the first stage (with enemies and such) to beta. That way at least you will have something fully done that you can judge off of even if it doesn't have every element you want to work in your game. That should help you get motivated some...I know that i'll still be here to support your project! Cheers!

[Corpsecrank]

Well man don't fret. I would suggest whatever medium you decide to continue working your game on (even if its not perfect) just stick with it and work with what you can and get something finished. By working around the limitations of each program and coming up with new niches and ideas things will come together. Just don't quit man. I am assuming (because your creative juices are flowing) you are thinking about the whole game at once (I know that I do), to just scale your work flow down to completing your Richter and just the first stage (with enemies and such) to beta. That way at least you will have something fully done that you can judge off of even if it doesn't have every element you want to work in your game. That should help you get motivated some...I know that i'll still be here to support your project! Cheers!

No I think you misunderstand. The game is or was going perfectly fine. My life is what is going horribly wrong. I haven't been able to work on anything because of that.