I was looking up easy to use website creation tools that I could use. I already downloaded kompozer but it seems to have deleted itself. I don't want to have to re-download it again, but I found an alternative.
I found a program called iWeb on my computer that seems to be a free resource from Apple to design a website. It isn't too advanced, but it seems good enough that I will be able to use it for the simple design I am going for. The only issue I haven't looked in to too much is how to add other html code in to the webpage. I expect this will be absolutely essential in order to get Fastspring working.
I will look more into it tonight and tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Edit: After some more research, it seems I can add HTML code. I also played around with adding in links and stuff, and so far iWeb appears to be perfect.
The design I am going for is similar to Braid's. I will probably have a background image of the game, with the games title at the top. This will stay in place for the length of the webpage. On the right side I will have links to youtube, facebook, twitter, etc. On the left side I will have an RSS feed for my blog. The trailer will be right in the center of the webpage, followed directly beneath by the Fastspring purchase link or window or whatever. Below that I will provide links for other portals to purchase.
Following all of this, I will have the pitch for the game. A list of screenshots with descriptions of the game next to them.
This simple design should save lots of time, and make it easy to purchase.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Pre-ordering
I am brainstorming ways customers can preorder my game, if at all.
Without preorder, the game will be released on whatever date it is, and people can purchase and download immediately, as normal.
But if people preorder the game, I need to add some kind of incentive. Maybe I will charge the game for $5 less than retail price. Maybe I will need to add some kind of extra content for people that preorder. Possibly they can receive the game a week early or something.
One issue I need to solve is how to actually do the preorder. Maybe, with Fastspring, the customer will just be able to purchase like normal but receive a code after they pay for it. Then on release day, or whenever the pre-release is or whatever, they can enter the code in to Fastspring and then be able to download the game.
That will probably be the best course of action. Have the customer pay for a coupon code and then redeem it whenever they want.
The preorder bonuses will probably just be $5 less than the retail price (either $10 or $15 depending on what I want to sell the game at), and early access to the game.
Thanks for reading.
The Use of Kickstarter
I recently got an idea, but I am not sure how it will work, so I will present it here.
I wonder if it is possible to use Kickstarter as a marketing tool.
I don't want to use Kickstarter to earn money for the game. A big thing I am aiming for is to make the game with all costs out of pocket. I want to be a example for indie developers that cannot afford expensive tools. However, Kickstarter may be able to help me reach a larger audience.
Like, what if I make a kickstarter with an absolutely outrageous price goal, so the game will not get funded, but this will help the game get noticed. I can point people to my website, youtube, etc.
Just an idea I found when brainstorming. Like I said before, the greatest threat to my game is people not knowing about it. Maybe this strategy will help spread the world.
Thanks for reading.
I wonder if it is possible to use Kickstarter as a marketing tool.
I don't want to use Kickstarter to earn money for the game. A big thing I am aiming for is to make the game with all costs out of pocket. I want to be a example for indie developers that cannot afford expensive tools. However, Kickstarter may be able to help me reach a larger audience.
Like, what if I make a kickstarter with an absolutely outrageous price goal, so the game will not get funded, but this will help the game get noticed. I can point people to my website, youtube, etc.
Just an idea I found when brainstorming. Like I said before, the greatest threat to my game is people not knowing about it. Maybe this strategy will help spread the world.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Start date is quickly approaching
My last finals are on next Monday, May 6th. Tuesday will be the official day I will start working on the game full-time over the months of May, June, and July.
Over the month of May, I intend to complete the base mechanics, and have most gameplay elements integrated. Not polished or perfected, but have most of the basic functionalities in the game code. I expect this to take anywhere from 2 weeks on the short side to 1 month on the long side.
After this is completed, hopefully around the beginning of June, I will switch gears and get all of my media synchronized. I will create a website, set up Fastspring, connect Twitter and Facebook together, and set up a game profile on gaming websites and Greenlight. Simultaneously, I will create a demo level in the Unity webplayer I can put on my website, in addition to a downloadable one in other sources.
Whenever this is finished, which I aim for the ABSOLUTE latest is July, I will again switch gears back to the game. I will polish and perfect the mechanics, add some nice effects to make the game look nicer, and incorporate audio effects. At the beginning of this phase, I will send out free review copies to bloggers, gaming press sites, youtubers etc. That way, I can continue to work on the game while hopefully several people will promote the game and gain knowledge about it.
By August, the website should be finished, marketing should be going strong (I intend to give away free preorders and beta keys to keep people interested and word of mouth to continue spreading), and the game should be nearing completion. In the early weeks of August, I will just be testing for bugs in the hosting services, coupon codes, etc. The game should be nearly ready for release, with just a few bug fixes remaining. Most of the testing will be to ensure that the website is working properly, and build a last burst of buzz before launch.
Right now, launch date is aimed at around August 20th. It may be sooner or later depending on however things flow, but this sounds realistic to me.
I hope I am not underestimating the code involved to get this working. I already have an algorithm developed for the base mechanics, and I know how to achieve most other mechanics, with exception of reversing vertical gravity. There are a few here and there that may prove troublesome, but I know what needs to get done in order to make them work.
Like I said before, coding should take about the first month of development, and some design. The rest of the time will be spent on promotion, creation of website and update of profiles everywhere, and designing the actual levels of the game.
Whatever the case, I have convinced myself to put in as many hours as I can in to making this game. I am planning to upload all of my work to youtube, so I will record everything I do. This may be an accurate way to determine how much I am working per day.
This next week will be spent on studying for finals as well as meditation before the oncoming storm that will be this summer. I plan to stay up well past midnight every night, and work every minute I can outside of my part time job (to at least earn some definite money) and some time to keep my girlfriend happy.
Thanks for reading.
Over the month of May, I intend to complete the base mechanics, and have most gameplay elements integrated. Not polished or perfected, but have most of the basic functionalities in the game code. I expect this to take anywhere from 2 weeks on the short side to 1 month on the long side.
After this is completed, hopefully around the beginning of June, I will switch gears and get all of my media synchronized. I will create a website, set up Fastspring, connect Twitter and Facebook together, and set up a game profile on gaming websites and Greenlight. Simultaneously, I will create a demo level in the Unity webplayer I can put on my website, in addition to a downloadable one in other sources.
Whenever this is finished, which I aim for the ABSOLUTE latest is July, I will again switch gears back to the game. I will polish and perfect the mechanics, add some nice effects to make the game look nicer, and incorporate audio effects. At the beginning of this phase, I will send out free review copies to bloggers, gaming press sites, youtubers etc. That way, I can continue to work on the game while hopefully several people will promote the game and gain knowledge about it.
By August, the website should be finished, marketing should be going strong (I intend to give away free preorders and beta keys to keep people interested and word of mouth to continue spreading), and the game should be nearing completion. In the early weeks of August, I will just be testing for bugs in the hosting services, coupon codes, etc. The game should be nearly ready for release, with just a few bug fixes remaining. Most of the testing will be to ensure that the website is working properly, and build a last burst of buzz before launch.
Right now, launch date is aimed at around August 20th. It may be sooner or later depending on however things flow, but this sounds realistic to me.
I hope I am not underestimating the code involved to get this working. I already have an algorithm developed for the base mechanics, and I know how to achieve most other mechanics, with exception of reversing vertical gravity. There are a few here and there that may prove troublesome, but I know what needs to get done in order to make them work.
Like I said before, coding should take about the first month of development, and some design. The rest of the time will be spent on promotion, creation of website and update of profiles everywhere, and designing the actual levels of the game.
Whatever the case, I have convinced myself to put in as many hours as I can in to making this game. I am planning to upload all of my work to youtube, so I will record everything I do. This may be an accurate way to determine how much I am working per day.
This next week will be spent on studying for finals as well as meditation before the oncoming storm that will be this summer. I plan to stay up well past midnight every night, and work every minute I can outside of my part time job (to at least earn some definite money) and some time to keep my girlfriend happy.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Success of "Thomas Was Alone" (*Spoilers*)
I recently stumbled on a Reddit AMA with the creator of Thomas Was Alone, Mike Bithell. It was very inspiring. Many comments praised him and his game for the relationships and characters he created. I honestly haven't had a chance to play the game, but I have watched Lets Plays of it. It looks pretty fun, and the dialogue was very entertaining.
I wonder if emotions can be met with the same praise. I really want my game to push emotional boundaries for the genre. I want the last level to make the player say "wow" when they learn the complete story. Not a wow as in "that was amazing", but a wow that you feel after watching, say, Donnie Darko.
I am still unsure of how to accomplish this. I think, after beating the final level, the player will be stuck on an empty plane while the credits float around the screen. Maybe then, the player will see the complete story, and I can give some kind of cue that the player is imprisoned in this coma. Maybe I can add in sound effects that resemble a hospital, and maybe some words or phrases that echo around the void.
I want the player to have a revelation that, all this time, the player has been putting back together the pieces of their soul, but they are still imprisoned.
Maybe, when the player is standing on the plane at the end of the game, his wife will be standing on an adjacent plane, but the player can't jump the distance. The model has to be recognizable as the wife from the slides, so it will have to be nearly the same model. The female will stand on the plane, and as the credits go on, the distance will increase until the female is no longer visible.
I should probably introduce the female character earlier in the game also. Maybe a hazy yellow figure at the end of each level. It can be a marker the player aims to move towards. After the player arrives at the last platform where the girl is standing, she disappears, the player gains a piece of their brain and a description of the piece of the brain, and then the slide. This continues until the after the last level. The female figure is perfectly visible, and while the slides play in order, the female moves further and further away.
I digress. The Reddit AMA was very inspiring. I just hope my game forms a community as well. I think my game has real potential to invoke emotion in the players.
I can see some people hating the game because the story is too abstract, and I can see some understanding it. The only problem is not knowing whether most people will understand it or be confused.
Another useful piece of information I found was that Thomas Was Alone sells for $10. This makes me think I may be able to charge no less than $15.
If I can invoke the emotion of distress and sadness in the player, than I can consider myself successful.
Thanks for reading.
I wonder if emotions can be met with the same praise. I really want my game to push emotional boundaries for the genre. I want the last level to make the player say "wow" when they learn the complete story. Not a wow as in "that was amazing", but a wow that you feel after watching, say, Donnie Darko.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
I am still unsure of how to accomplish this. I think, after beating the final level, the player will be stuck on an empty plane while the credits float around the screen. Maybe then, the player will see the complete story, and I can give some kind of cue that the player is imprisoned in this coma. Maybe I can add in sound effects that resemble a hospital, and maybe some words or phrases that echo around the void.
I want the player to have a revelation that, all this time, the player has been putting back together the pieces of their soul, but they are still imprisoned.
Maybe, when the player is standing on the plane at the end of the game, his wife will be standing on an adjacent plane, but the player can't jump the distance. The model has to be recognizable as the wife from the slides, so it will have to be nearly the same model. The female will stand on the plane, and as the credits go on, the distance will increase until the female is no longer visible.
I should probably introduce the female character earlier in the game also. Maybe a hazy yellow figure at the end of each level. It can be a marker the player aims to move towards. After the player arrives at the last platform where the girl is standing, she disappears, the player gains a piece of their brain and a description of the piece of the brain, and then the slide. This continues until the after the last level. The female figure is perfectly visible, and while the slides play in order, the female moves further and further away.
***SPOILERS END***
I digress. The Reddit AMA was very inspiring. I just hope my game forms a community as well. I think my game has real potential to invoke emotion in the players.
I can see some people hating the game because the story is too abstract, and I can see some understanding it. The only problem is not knowing whether most people will understand it or be confused.
Another useful piece of information I found was that Thomas Was Alone sells for $10. This makes me think I may be able to charge no less than $15.
If I can invoke the emotion of distress and sadness in the player, than I can consider myself successful.
Thanks for reading.
The story of Irritum (*Spoilers*)
***SPOILERS ARE IN THIS POST***
I have been thinking of the story for my game lately. More so than usual.
I don't know when to include many of the story elements. What I do know, is that they need to be frequent. Other than the gameplay, this will be my main tool to keep the player playing. If the player finds nothing of the story after some levels, then they may get frustrated or bored. There needs to be some sort of reward after each level.
From here on out, there will be MAJOR spoilers.
I have been thinking of the story for my game lately. More so than usual.
I don't know when to include many of the story elements. What I do know, is that they need to be frequent. Other than the gameplay, this will be my main tool to keep the player playing. If the player finds nothing of the story after some levels, then they may get frustrated or bored. There needs to be some sort of reward after each level.
From here on out, there will be MAJOR spoilers.
***SPOILERS FOLLOW***
The game will begin with the player just appearing in the void. No background or anything. I may add a cinematic beforehand, or for a trailer, to just lead in to that moment, but it will have no effect on the story.
Again, I suggest you read this ONLY AFTER you have already beaten the game. This may RUIN the game for you.
I want the story to be told out of order. After every level, you gain a memory.
The story will be about suicide. The player would have commit suicide in their lifetime because of some reason. The reason will most likely be because of a loved one leaving them, or cheating on them. So the player finds their lover cheating on them, and then commits suicide. The player is then left paralyzed in a coma. The setting of the game is the player stuck inside the void of their mind/body.
I have 24 levels planned for the game. Each level implements a new mechanic/obstacle. After each level, you gain a new memory. This means I will need to have a story spanning 24 "slides". The memories will only be pictures, with no text explaining them. I will brainstorm about the slides below.
Man looking at a gun in a box. Man and wife on a date. Ambulance speeding down the road. Man laying in medical bed. Man with a gun to his head. Man crying into his hands. Man walking in the rain. Man looking in a window and sees wife with another man on a date. Man's heart falls to darkness. Man meets the woman. Man and woman spend time together, woman pays attention to strangers. Wife holds mans body.
That is 12 right there, and most of them are highlights. I need 12 more. Maybe the other 12 can be transition slides, to bridge a gap between big story events.
The characters in the slides will probably be colored, just like the objects in the game. This is not only to cut back on need for great artistic talent, but also to help differentiate between the major characters.
Maybe when the player collects the cerebrum, he is able to move the memories in to order. When in order, he could unlock the cinematic?
After every level, the player will gain a new memory, a new body function related to the levels completed, and a piece of the brain related to that body function. The piece of the brain will be accompanied by a description that shows what the brain controls. The preceding mechanics will be based on that brain function. There will also be a small sound effect when the brain piece is found.
For example, the first piece will be the medula oblongata, which controls autonomous control for the body. After collected, the player will hear breathing and a heartbeat.
By tying all of this together, I hope people will see a connection between the whole game.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Next Few Weeks
I probably won't be updating this over the next couple weeks. Finals are swiftly approaching and I will be putting most of my attention towards those.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Textures, Part 2: With pictures!
In this thread I have contained pictures of the textures I created yesterday.
As I have said before, my game revolves around the player being able to switch between several planes of existence at a time. These planes are signified by different colors, and objects that exist in these planes have these colored textures.
As I have said before, my game revolves around the player being able to switch between several planes of existence at a time. These planes are signified by different colors, and objects that exist in these planes have these colored textures.
Blue:
With the blue design, I wanted the texture to look relatively like water refractions, which I believe I achieved. The black in this photo (and the others) will be transparent in game.
Green: I am not very satisfied with this texture, and I will most likely work on it more at a later date. But for now, It will do nicely as a placeholder. I was going for some kind of Ancient Chinese design, but I don't think I captured it very well. I may end up ditching that idea and incorporate some other kind of lines. If something comes to mind, I will let you guys know.
Orange: This is the orange texture. Initially, I had an idea where the orange texture was stitched, but I felt that this was kind of lazy on my part. I ended up throwing this together off the top of my head, and I am actually very pleased with it.
Purple: Another color I am not entirely pleased with. My initial ideas was just a simple galaxy twist, but this looks like a lazy attempt at a Tim Burton-esque cat tail. Will most likely end up being changed at the same time as the green.
Red: The first color I designed, I was aiming for a texture that was kind of wispy, but still very hazy. I think this feels nicely, and it helped me establish the wispy ether lines that I would later incorporate into my orange and yellow textures.
White: This color was the first I designed, and it's only purpose is to distinguish between a the planes you need to have active, while white is always active ( because white contains all colors). I am pretty pleased with this design, and I may just touch it up later around the edges.
Yellow: This is another texture I am happy with. I was aiming for a kind of texture that is wispy but still very elegant. I think I captured that with this texture.
All of these textures are subject to change, as I do not know how any of these "feel" in-game yet. Gameplay may cut out one design from the others, but only time will tell. If the textures need to be re-designed, I will do it before I take the actual promotional screenshots and videos, in addition to the demo.
First Day of Development plan
On the first real day of development, I plan to do several things. The first, is to upload videos I need to.
I have three listed right now, one for my old youtube game development channel letting them know the game on that channel, "Symbiosis" is cancelled, and they could follow me to my new channel. Hopefully most of my subscribers will choose to come with me to my new channel and support me there too.
The second video I have planned is an introduction video to my new youtube channel. I will explain my game a little bit, let people know where else they can follow me, and basic things like that. It will probably be similar to my first post on here.
The last video will be a video that is a timelapse of me creating the textures for the game. I will dub over the video and talk about the textures, what kind of aesthetic I am going for and stuff like that.
After the videos, I will start a forum thread on Unity about my development, and I will probably try and create one on Reddit also, however after reading some of Reddit's rules this may be impossible. I will have to do more research.
Later in development, I will go on to more design forums and start more threads.
After catching up with what I have now, I plan to start implementing the major mechanic algorithms to my game. I expect this coding will take about a week to implement, debug, and polish.
Thanks for reading.
I have three listed right now, one for my old youtube game development channel letting them know the game on that channel, "Symbiosis" is cancelled, and they could follow me to my new channel. Hopefully most of my subscribers will choose to come with me to my new channel and support me there too.
The second video I have planned is an introduction video to my new youtube channel. I will explain my game a little bit, let people know where else they can follow me, and basic things like that. It will probably be similar to my first post on here.
The last video will be a video that is a timelapse of me creating the textures for the game. I will dub over the video and talk about the textures, what kind of aesthetic I am going for and stuff like that.
After the videos, I will start a forum thread on Unity about my development, and I will probably try and create one on Reddit also, however after reading some of Reddit's rules this may be impossible. I will have to do more research.
Later in development, I will go on to more design forums and start more threads.
After catching up with what I have now, I plan to start implementing the major mechanic algorithms to my game. I expect this coding will take about a week to implement, debug, and polish.
Thanks for reading.
Greenlight
I haven't gotten any work on the game done today. Mostly because I have had a huge influx of schoolwork today. The semester has about two weeks left, after which development will be in full swing.
But to talk about something that concerns me greatly, Steam's Greenlight. I want to get my game on as many distributors as possible, in order to maximize sales. I will already sell the game through my own website using a service called FastSpring, but that can't be my only way of selling my game.
I also plan to put my game on Desura, Gamer's Gate, IndieDB, GOG (and others if suggested). This way, my game can get the most publicity possible. I already plan to stretch past only these audiences with at least Windows/Mac support, with another huge goal being Linux support.
But the real giant in the room is Steam. If I can't get on Steam, then I can expect sales to be at least halved. I have seem reports of where Sales from both Desura and Gamer's Gate combined only account for around .3% of total sales. That is abysmal, and while some money is better than no money, those kind of sales can't be something I can rely on.
Obviously, this leads me to want to be on Steam. Greater access to more customers, instant patching, etc. But with most major Greenlight games that seem to be accepted, the games seem to revolve around FpS's, zombies, or something else. This is disheartening.
I think I may have an advantage over some of the competition because of (hopefully) Linux support, but I will also have to make a HUGE push for Greenlight. I think I have decided that after I have a playable demo, go ahead and take all the screenshots, videos, and trailers I can. Then spend a week or so updating all of my profiles for the game, syncing them together, and getting the game out there. The sooner I can do this, the better.
This means putting it on Greenlight ASAP also. I need to accumulate votes as quickly as possible leading up to launch.
On a sidenote, Boogie2988 has recently uploaded a video where he has given out a P.O. box to send him promotional items. I already planned to send him a free copy of the game for himself, in order to help me promote the game, but also some copies to give out for his fans.
Anyways, I am just concerned my game will not get accepted to Steam. If it does, then that would be fantastic. In fact, in all truth, I really need it to be accepted.
P.S. I am making this game because I want to make this game. If I wanted money, I could go find another job that is much safer, and that will probably pay more. I am doing this because this is what I have chosen to do with my life. That being said, I need money to live off of. If this is successful enough, I will have faith in myself that this is my true calling, and I can continue to make games (albeit rarely because of school).
I really want this game to succeed because I need to prove to myself that I am able to succeed in life. This is what I want to spend my life doing, I need to know I am respected and talented in doing it.
Thanks for reading.
But to talk about something that concerns me greatly, Steam's Greenlight. I want to get my game on as many distributors as possible, in order to maximize sales. I will already sell the game through my own website using a service called FastSpring, but that can't be my only way of selling my game.
I also plan to put my game on Desura, Gamer's Gate, IndieDB, GOG (and others if suggested). This way, my game can get the most publicity possible. I already plan to stretch past only these audiences with at least Windows/Mac support, with another huge goal being Linux support.
But the real giant in the room is Steam. If I can't get on Steam, then I can expect sales to be at least halved. I have seem reports of where Sales from both Desura and Gamer's Gate combined only account for around .3% of total sales. That is abysmal, and while some money is better than no money, those kind of sales can't be something I can rely on.
Obviously, this leads me to want to be on Steam. Greater access to more customers, instant patching, etc. But with most major Greenlight games that seem to be accepted, the games seem to revolve around FpS's, zombies, or something else. This is disheartening.
I think I may have an advantage over some of the competition because of (hopefully) Linux support, but I will also have to make a HUGE push for Greenlight. I think I have decided that after I have a playable demo, go ahead and take all the screenshots, videos, and trailers I can. Then spend a week or so updating all of my profiles for the game, syncing them together, and getting the game out there. The sooner I can do this, the better.
This means putting it on Greenlight ASAP also. I need to accumulate votes as quickly as possible leading up to launch.
On a sidenote, Boogie2988 has recently uploaded a video where he has given out a P.O. box to send him promotional items. I already planned to send him a free copy of the game for himself, in order to help me promote the game, but also some copies to give out for his fans.
Anyways, I am just concerned my game will not get accepted to Steam. If it does, then that would be fantastic. In fact, in all truth, I really need it to be accepted.
P.S. I am making this game because I want to make this game. If I wanted money, I could go find another job that is much safer, and that will probably pay more. I am doing this because this is what I have chosen to do with my life. That being said, I need money to live off of. If this is successful enough, I will have faith in myself that this is my true calling, and I can continue to make games (albeit rarely because of school).
I really want this game to succeed because I need to prove to myself that I am able to succeed in life. This is what I want to spend my life doing, I need to know I am respected and talented in doing it.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Textures
Today I decided to get a head start on my game, specifically textures. I was waiting for assignments to be posted, so in my free time I went ahead and created the textures. I am not entirely pleased with the green and purple textures, so they will most likely be placeholders for now.
I also recorded me making the textures, so I will upload it all in to one video and probably dub over it and introduce people to my game. The only textures I didn't do were textures for activated-movement platforms, the player model, and other small, miscellaneous objects.
I am pleased that most of the texture work is already done, and when I find some free time again I will try and finish the rest of the textures. This would leave me to have the three months dedicated to a little modeling, animations and coding, and hopefully I will be able to dedicate most of my time to the actual level design and implementation.
My hopes would be that before the summer starts, I can have all the modeling, textures and animation done. This gives me about 3 weeks(during finals) to finish these. It will be tight, but it will afford me much more time to polish my game.
Stay tuned to my youtube channel, I may upload the first videos soon.
Edit: Ended up doing a model and some more textures today. Now the big thing in the way is the player model and animations. I also need to develop some kind of model or algorithm to make lasers have some kind of parabola or exponential curve to them, but this may be possible to do with modeling rather than some kind of physics coding.
Thanks for reading.
I also recorded me making the textures, so I will upload it all in to one video and probably dub over it and introduce people to my game. The only textures I didn't do were textures for activated-movement platforms, the player model, and other small, miscellaneous objects.
I am pleased that most of the texture work is already done, and when I find some free time again I will try and finish the rest of the textures. This would leave me to have the three months dedicated to a little modeling, animations and coding, and hopefully I will be able to dedicate most of my time to the actual level design and implementation.
My hopes would be that before the summer starts, I can have all the modeling, textures and animation done. This gives me about 3 weeks(during finals) to finish these. It will be tight, but it will afford me much more time to polish my game.
Stay tuned to my youtube channel, I may upload the first videos soon.
Edit: Ended up doing a model and some more textures today. Now the big thing in the way is the player model and animations. I also need to develop some kind of model or algorithm to make lasers have some kind of parabola or exponential curve to them, but this may be possible to do with modeling rather than some kind of physics coding.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Level Layouts
Today I designed the order of levels and the introduction of new mechanics. Right now, I am following a simple pattern of how to introduce players to new mechanics.
The process goes:
Introduction level - The player sees the mechanic in a nearly death-free environment. Relatively simple not to die, and the player has a degree of freedom to experiment with the new mechanic. The objective for this level will be simple, and the level will be pretty short.
The practice Level - After the player progresses through the initial level where the mechanic is introduced, the player then comes to this level. Here, the player is given the mechanic in a environment where the player must understand the mechanic well enough in order to proceed. The player mustn't know the full advantages and disadvantages of the mechanic, but they should know the general gist of what it is and how to work around it.
Mastery Level - This level is where the player is pushed to their limits of expertise with the mechanic. By this point they should know what the mechanic is and how to effectively deal with it. This level will build off of the assumptions the players have made on how to deal with the mechanic, and flip them on their heads. Almost as a re-imaging of the mechanic to try and trick the player.
This pattern continues for the entire game. Every segment of the game is broken in to three stages, and each stage has three levels.
From an easier perspective, the game will be set like this.
Segment:
Mechanic 1: Level 1, 2, 3.
Mechanic 2: Level 4, 5, 6.
Mechanic 3: Level 7, 8, 9.
Boss
So far, I have 6 planned segments. Doing the math, this is about 60 levels, including the boss levels. However, this also includes the extremely simple introduction levels for each mechanic.
Another option I am considering is just adding together the levels for each mechanic. This would mean each mechanic would have its own longer level, rather than three shorter ones. This way, the game will have 24 levels. I kind of like this idea more, but we will see how it goes.
Whichever option I decide, each "level" will essentially have three areas, and all three areas focus on the new mechanic introduced. The following boss level will be a level including all of the mechanics (don't get me wrong, all mechanics will be in every level after their introduction), which revolves around defeating one boss "entity" where you will acquire an object.
That is where the story comes in, which revolves around these objects, but I digress. That is for another time.
Long story short, today, I set up the pattern and order that the levels will need to occur in. I still need 3 mechanics for the last level, however. The last level has to do with memories or learning, so I will probably just make them extended levels that combine all mechanics and culminate with the final boss.
Thanks for reading.
The process goes:
Introduction level - The player sees the mechanic in a nearly death-free environment. Relatively simple not to die, and the player has a degree of freedom to experiment with the new mechanic. The objective for this level will be simple, and the level will be pretty short.
The practice Level - After the player progresses through the initial level where the mechanic is introduced, the player then comes to this level. Here, the player is given the mechanic in a environment where the player must understand the mechanic well enough in order to proceed. The player mustn't know the full advantages and disadvantages of the mechanic, but they should know the general gist of what it is and how to work around it.
Mastery Level - This level is where the player is pushed to their limits of expertise with the mechanic. By this point they should know what the mechanic is and how to effectively deal with it. This level will build off of the assumptions the players have made on how to deal with the mechanic, and flip them on their heads. Almost as a re-imaging of the mechanic to try and trick the player.
This pattern continues for the entire game. Every segment of the game is broken in to three stages, and each stage has three levels.
From an easier perspective, the game will be set like this.
Segment:
Mechanic 1: Level 1, 2, 3.
Mechanic 2: Level 4, 5, 6.
Mechanic 3: Level 7, 8, 9.
Boss
So far, I have 6 planned segments. Doing the math, this is about 60 levels, including the boss levels. However, this also includes the extremely simple introduction levels for each mechanic.
Another option I am considering is just adding together the levels for each mechanic. This would mean each mechanic would have its own longer level, rather than three shorter ones. This way, the game will have 24 levels. I kind of like this idea more, but we will see how it goes.
Whichever option I decide, each "level" will essentially have three areas, and all three areas focus on the new mechanic introduced. The following boss level will be a level including all of the mechanics (don't get me wrong, all mechanics will be in every level after their introduction), which revolves around defeating one boss "entity" where you will acquire an object.
That is where the story comes in, which revolves around these objects, but I digress. That is for another time.
Long story short, today, I set up the pattern and order that the levels will need to occur in. I still need 3 mechanics for the last level, however. The last level has to do with memories or learning, so I will probably just make them extended levels that combine all mechanics and culminate with the final boss.
Thanks for reading.
Being Open
One other thing I think whoever reads this should know, is that I am going to be open about everything I do. I want to be open about programming, design, art, and even sales.
I know when I was (and still am) preparing for this project, I could only find a few resources for actual sales numbers and design decisions. I want to be as open as possible with all of this.
Why? Because if I was an indie developer, or deciding whether I wanted to be an Indie Developer or not, this is the information I would want to know. The information that is hard for me to find on the internet is the information I want to show everyone. I want would-be designers to find this blog and my youtube and see exactly how many hours I put into the game, what hurdles I met, how I overcame them, how I marketed my game, and how my game sold.
In my best hopes, this will inspire future Indie Developers to get in to this market and start making some great games.
If I can't make great games, maybe I can inspire someone who can.
Thanks for reading.
I know when I was (and still am) preparing for this project, I could only find a few resources for actual sales numbers and design decisions. I want to be as open as possible with all of this.
Why? Because if I was an indie developer, or deciding whether I wanted to be an Indie Developer or not, this is the information I would want to know. The information that is hard for me to find on the internet is the information I want to show everyone. I want would-be designers to find this blog and my youtube and see exactly how many hours I put into the game, what hurdles I met, how I overcame them, how I marketed my game, and how my game sold.
In my best hopes, this will inspire future Indie Developers to get in to this market and start making some great games.
If I can't make great games, maybe I can inspire someone who can.
Thanks for reading.
Developing Alone
One thing I may have not mentioned in my first post is that I will be developing this game alone. I will be doing everything. I will go in to more depth below of how I plan to do this.
Art:
I consider myself artistically talented, and in fact, I was planning to go to school for art before I switched to computer science. I have a little 3d modeling experience, and some real-world painting experience.
I will be using Blender(Maybe Sculptris) to model and Blender to animate, in addition to GIMP for doing textures. I may actually use Unity to animate because apparently there is some kind of new "Mecanim" animation inside it now. I will have to look into it more to see if it is actually useful to me. Anyways, I digress.
The art for the game will be minimal. The only real model I will have to create and animate is the player, and then apply a UV map to him. Modeling him will not be too much of an issue, because the design I have in mind will be very basic, he only really needs to resemble a man somewhat. The game world will also be flat textures I can create in GIMP and then use a transparency shader to achieve the desired effect.
For anyone else interested in game design, and you want to try art for yourself, then I suggest you download GIMP, Blender, and Sculptris, all free software. GIMP is like a free version of Photoshop, Blender is like a free version of 3DSMax or Maya, and Sculptris is like a free version of ZBrush. All of these, if you are talented enough, can help you create AAA assets.
Programming:
I have been in school for a computer science degree for over two years now, so I have some programming experience. Most of it is in Java, and a little in C#, however C# and Java are already incredibly similar in syntax, so it should be an easy transition.
The engine I will use is Unity because it already has a 3D engine with a language(C#) I know how to use. I have no clue how I would make my own, in house engine, so Unity will have to do.
The basic programming for the game shouldn't be too difficult. I already have an algorithm developed that will enable the core mechanics to work. The script should honestly only take one day, at the very most, to implement and debug(hopefully).
If anyone else reading this is interested in learning how to program, I suggest you either take a college course at a local school for Java or C#, or otherwise pick up a book. One that I own, that is phenomenal, is How to Learn Java in 21 days. I learned stuff in there that even my college course didn't teach me. As for C#, I suggest picking up a pocket reference. The big thing to keep in mind is once you learn one Object Oriented Programming Language, the concepts in all the others are very similar. Once you become familiar with methods, objects, interfaces, and classes, you will be able to use the language efficiently to make a game (at least in Unity).
Sound:
I had experience with FruityLoops a long time ago, however that was a pirated version and the real software is expensive (I am trying to make this game with little to no direct costs). I plan to use Audacity for the sound because it is a free program, and another program called Ardour has caught my attention, but I know little about it. I will have to research it more.
I want the sound in my game to be simple, yet intriguing. I have ideas of using whistles, bells, and other such sounds for interactivity, but I am not sure yet. I will have to start experimenting with these programs later on.
This is the one area in the development I am entirely unsure of how to continue. This will probably be one of the later things I work on.
Marketing:
Hopefully, if all goes well, this will be where I can spend most of my attention. I know the biggest threat to my game is obscurity. I would rather have a bad game that everyone knows about, than a fantastic one that no one knows about.
At a later date, I will sync up youtube, blogger, facebook, twitter, google+, steam, indieDB and Desura to try to be everyone. The more places my game can be seen, the greater the chance for success.
I will also periodically send emails with free game codes to indie game news outlets in addition to Lets-Players. Hopefully this will inspire their audience to at least go to my webpage and try the demo.
My presence on youtube will also help gain attention for my game. I will try to give out free codes whenever I can to my viewers in contests, as well as on Reddit.
My best hopes are that the game catches on because of how interesting it looks, and then I keep the attention when everyone learns I am making this game alone.
The most important piece I will need is a website. I know very little HTML, and I have used Dreamweaver before, but it was unfortunately a pirated version, and to purchase Dreamweaver is, again, out of my budget. I am looking at free alternatives to Dreamweaver, but so far very few look promising. The webpage doesn't even need to be that advanced. I like the look of Braid's website. (http://braid-game.com) Straight forward and to the point. Title. Video. Buy. All on one page. I may have my main page as that, then another page for more screenshots and videos. The links to my other websites like blogger and youtube will most likely end up being on a sidebar.
I will probably be using a service called FastSpring to sell my game on the website. From what I have gathered, they can take many forms of payments, and even though it will redirect you to another site, the site's design and background will match your own. That would be terrific. The next big milestone would be getting my game on Steam. I hope to be able to put my game on several other portals also, but we will see how that goes.
One big selling point of the game is that it will be on PC, Mac, and Linux. Hopefully this will lead to larger sales on both Mac and Linux, while I expect these sales will promote the game to PC users as well. The Unity engine allows me to publish to these 3 platforms with "the click of a button", so we will see. I hope there would be no problems with the ports :(.
Thanks for reading.
Art:
I consider myself artistically talented, and in fact, I was planning to go to school for art before I switched to computer science. I have a little 3d modeling experience, and some real-world painting experience.
I will be using Blender(Maybe Sculptris) to model and Blender to animate, in addition to GIMP for doing textures. I may actually use Unity to animate because apparently there is some kind of new "Mecanim" animation inside it now. I will have to look into it more to see if it is actually useful to me. Anyways, I digress.
The art for the game will be minimal. The only real model I will have to create and animate is the player, and then apply a UV map to him. Modeling him will not be too much of an issue, because the design I have in mind will be very basic, he only really needs to resemble a man somewhat. The game world will also be flat textures I can create in GIMP and then use a transparency shader to achieve the desired effect.
For anyone else interested in game design, and you want to try art for yourself, then I suggest you download GIMP, Blender, and Sculptris, all free software. GIMP is like a free version of Photoshop, Blender is like a free version of 3DSMax or Maya, and Sculptris is like a free version of ZBrush. All of these, if you are talented enough, can help you create AAA assets.
Programming:
I have been in school for a computer science degree for over two years now, so I have some programming experience. Most of it is in Java, and a little in C#, however C# and Java are already incredibly similar in syntax, so it should be an easy transition.
The engine I will use is Unity because it already has a 3D engine with a language(C#) I know how to use. I have no clue how I would make my own, in house engine, so Unity will have to do.
The basic programming for the game shouldn't be too difficult. I already have an algorithm developed that will enable the core mechanics to work. The script should honestly only take one day, at the very most, to implement and debug(hopefully).
If anyone else reading this is interested in learning how to program, I suggest you either take a college course at a local school for Java or C#, or otherwise pick up a book. One that I own, that is phenomenal, is How to Learn Java in 21 days. I learned stuff in there that even my college course didn't teach me. As for C#, I suggest picking up a pocket reference. The big thing to keep in mind is once you learn one Object Oriented Programming Language, the concepts in all the others are very similar. Once you become familiar with methods, objects, interfaces, and classes, you will be able to use the language efficiently to make a game (at least in Unity).
Sound:
I had experience with FruityLoops a long time ago, however that was a pirated version and the real software is expensive (I am trying to make this game with little to no direct costs). I plan to use Audacity for the sound because it is a free program, and another program called Ardour has caught my attention, but I know little about it. I will have to research it more.
I want the sound in my game to be simple, yet intriguing. I have ideas of using whistles, bells, and other such sounds for interactivity, but I am not sure yet. I will have to start experimenting with these programs later on.
This is the one area in the development I am entirely unsure of how to continue. This will probably be one of the later things I work on.
Marketing:
Hopefully, if all goes well, this will be where I can spend most of my attention. I know the biggest threat to my game is obscurity. I would rather have a bad game that everyone knows about, than a fantastic one that no one knows about.
At a later date, I will sync up youtube, blogger, facebook, twitter, google+, steam, indieDB and Desura to try to be everyone. The more places my game can be seen, the greater the chance for success.
I will also periodically send emails with free game codes to indie game news outlets in addition to Lets-Players. Hopefully this will inspire their audience to at least go to my webpage and try the demo.
My presence on youtube will also help gain attention for my game. I will try to give out free codes whenever I can to my viewers in contests, as well as on Reddit.
My best hopes are that the game catches on because of how interesting it looks, and then I keep the attention when everyone learns I am making this game alone.
The most important piece I will need is a website. I know very little HTML, and I have used Dreamweaver before, but it was unfortunately a pirated version, and to purchase Dreamweaver is, again, out of my budget. I am looking at free alternatives to Dreamweaver, but so far very few look promising. The webpage doesn't even need to be that advanced. I like the look of Braid's website. (http://braid-game.com) Straight forward and to the point. Title. Video. Buy. All on one page. I may have my main page as that, then another page for more screenshots and videos. The links to my other websites like blogger and youtube will most likely end up being on a sidebar.
I will probably be using a service called FastSpring to sell my game on the website. From what I have gathered, they can take many forms of payments, and even though it will redirect you to another site, the site's design and background will match your own. That would be terrific. The next big milestone would be getting my game on Steam. I hope to be able to put my game on several other portals also, but we will see how that goes.
One big selling point of the game is that it will be on PC, Mac, and Linux. Hopefully this will lead to larger sales on both Mac and Linux, while I expect these sales will promote the game to PC users as well. The Unity engine allows me to publish to these 3 platforms with "the click of a button", so we will see. I hope there would be no problems with the ports :(.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
About Irritum
Irritum will be the title of the game I will develop. The title is the latin word for "void", which is the setting of the game. The game is a 3D platformer where the player must reach the end of the level by changing "planes" on which the player collides with. Each plane has its' own color, and only one color can be activated at a time, and of course, there will be obstacles both in entity and design.
The art style I have chosen to go with is minimalistic. The player and levels exist in black space, the void, with the colored objects floating in this space.
I plan to have around 30 levels, with a 9 level cycle culminating in a "boss" level. In addition to these levels, I would like to include a "Tower of Babel" level, where the player progresses vertically for an extended period of time.
As for the price, I am estimating I will sell it for ether $15 or $20. Whichever the price, I also plan to offer a pre-order discount of $5 in addition to the early beta copy of the game.
Once I get a playable prototype, which should be at most two weeks of development, I will update everything with new screenshots and videos and put together a small demo level. At this time I will also create the Steam Greenlight page and IndieDB page.
Thanks for reading.
The art style I have chosen to go with is minimalistic. The player and levels exist in black space, the void, with the colored objects floating in this space.
I plan to have around 30 levels, with a 9 level cycle culminating in a "boss" level. In addition to these levels, I would like to include a "Tower of Babel" level, where the player progresses vertically for an extended period of time.
As for the price, I am estimating I will sell it for ether $15 or $20. Whichever the price, I also plan to offer a pre-order discount of $5 in addition to the early beta copy of the game.
Once I get a playable prototype, which should be at most two weeks of development, I will update everything with new screenshots and videos and put together a small demo level. At this time I will also create the Steam Greenlight page and IndieDB page.
Thanks for reading.
Social Networking
Just added a link to my youtube page. I really want to change the name but apparently Google doesn't do that. Also wouldn't mind to make it my real name, like they pester me about every day, but now they won't give me that option. Oh well.
Also created a Twitter account and facebook page, neither are very active yet. Later in development I will add information, screenshots, etc. I will create a Steam Greenlight page once I get some work done.
If anyone has any other websites that they think I should be on, please let me know.
Thanks for reading.
Edit: Just made an account on IndieDB. When the game gets some more content I will sync all of the pages together and update pictures and videos and everything like that.
Also created a Twitter account and facebook page, neither are very active yet. Later in development I will add information, screenshots, etc. I will create a Steam Greenlight page once I get some work done.
If anyone has any other websites that they think I should be on, please let me know.
Thanks for reading.
Edit: Just made an account on IndieDB. When the game gets some more content I will sync all of the pages together and update pictures and videos and everything like that.
The Beginning
So today I decided to create this blog for an Indie Game I am about to develop. I will start in early May, and I am going to try my best to finish by early August. Art is minimal, and programming should be relatively straight forward, so I have faith in that goal.
Let me tell you more about my game before I continue on to other things. The game will be a 3d platformed (Ughh I know) however I have plans to exclude frustrating elements from the game (like a shitty camera system).The main theme of the game is that you need to leap from platform to platform while avoiding obstacles, which is pretty straightforward. However, the player has the ability to change which platforms they are able to stand on. All platforms are a specific color, ranging from red, blue, and yellow to green, orange and purple. The player can only collide with one of these colors at a time.
For example: If the player is standing on a red platform and wishes to jump to a blue platform in front of them, they must jump off of the red platform, activate the blue element in mid-air, and then successfully land on the blue platform. I have many ideas on how to expand this mechanic, but most will not be shared here, but instead on my youtube channel, which I will link in a later post.
I have a lengthy document I have been putting together for this game for over half a year now, so I have many features and ideas planned. Hopefully I will be able to get most, if not all, of them in the game.
Now about me; I am a college student at the age of 21 who is halfway through school obtaining a computer science degree. I have so far been able to afford school by paying out of pocket, but my resources have diminished. This has left my summer open from school, which is why I have chosen to develop this game during the summer. I have C# and Java experience, and have attempted making many games before (one of which is on my youtube channel), but the simplicity of this game should make it easier to finish before I get burnt out.
At this moment, the biggest danger of failure I can see is the lack of knowledge about my game. If no one knows about my game, no one will be able to buy it, and more importantly, be able to play it. For this reason, I have decided that further along in development, I will be giving out many free game codes for beta testers and lets-players to help build knowledge about my game.
That is it for now, I plan to write in this blog at least once a day (while developing) as well as upload a video to youtube about my progress at least once a day. Please stay tuned for more :)
Let me tell you more about my game before I continue on to other things. The game will be a 3d platformed (Ughh I know) however I have plans to exclude frustrating elements from the game (like a shitty camera system).The main theme of the game is that you need to leap from platform to platform while avoiding obstacles, which is pretty straightforward. However, the player has the ability to change which platforms they are able to stand on. All platforms are a specific color, ranging from red, blue, and yellow to green, orange and purple. The player can only collide with one of these colors at a time.
For example: If the player is standing on a red platform and wishes to jump to a blue platform in front of them, they must jump off of the red platform, activate the blue element in mid-air, and then successfully land on the blue platform. I have many ideas on how to expand this mechanic, but most will not be shared here, but instead on my youtube channel, which I will link in a later post.
I have a lengthy document I have been putting together for this game for over half a year now, so I have many features and ideas planned. Hopefully I will be able to get most, if not all, of them in the game.
Now about me; I am a college student at the age of 21 who is halfway through school obtaining a computer science degree. I have so far been able to afford school by paying out of pocket, but my resources have diminished. This has left my summer open from school, which is why I have chosen to develop this game during the summer. I have C# and Java experience, and have attempted making many games before (one of which is on my youtube channel), but the simplicity of this game should make it easier to finish before I get burnt out.
At this moment, the biggest danger of failure I can see is the lack of knowledge about my game. If no one knows about my game, no one will be able to buy it, and more importantly, be able to play it. For this reason, I have decided that further along in development, I will be giving out many free game codes for beta testers and lets-players to help build knowledge about my game.
That is it for now, I plan to write in this blog at least once a day (while developing) as well as upload a video to youtube about my progress at least once a day. Please stay tuned for more :)
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