Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Anything else
Post Reply

Which game should I work on?

Endaron
1
4%
"Cloudscape"
9
32%
The dark platformer
14
50%
The musical platformer
3
11%
The Mother-like RPG
1
4%
 
Total votes: 28

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:32 pm

You guys decide for me. Here is the list of projects I want to do. I want an opinion, what do you think sounds coolest? I don't care what sounds easier, I don't care what's more reasonable. Just choose what you think is the coolest and I'll start focusing a large amount of effort into it. I just can't choose something on my own.

1. Endaron

2. Cloudscape (wow, I desperately need to rename this before I get sued by Jagex :lol: ) - a game that is set in the sky and draws quite a bit of lore from steampunk influences (how do you think the islands float). Everyone can fly, and there are several species of aero-humans that are more or less like birds. The graphics style I'm imagining is something simple, with some complex effects creating dynamic, billowing, layered clouds. I imagine it as being just light, airy and surreal. There would be landmasses in both the sky and on in the surface below the clouds. You would be able to explore both. There would be seas on the surface, but you're a bird-man, you can't swim. The AI would be dynamic in a sense that they would have their own personalities and could join forces in different legions. I haven't decided if I'd make it online or offline. Obviously, it'd start as an offline idea and work its way online if I decided to make it that way. Did I mention I want to use real-world physics and wind patterns for flight? This is probably the least realistic but if I knew people would play it, I'd work for as long as it took to get it working.

3. A platformer that would be set in grayscale and feature a dark, mature story.

4. Another platformer set in a more friendly atmosphere, based on music (the main character plays either a guitar or a banjo...why not both? :lol: ) and featuring a lot of humor.

5. An RPG with the same quirky style and humor as the Mother series, but significantly different in story and setting, as well as the obvious, like the characters being significantly different.

User avatar
TheBigCheese
Posts: 856
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:01 am
Location: Lost in the Alps.

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by TheBigCheese » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:10 pm

I think it's obvious which one you want to do. :P

Practically (I know you said not to but I can't help it), I would go with the dark platformer. It would be easier to make, but most importantly, the graphics would be very simple to make, compared to something like "Cloudscape". Graphics are a real pain if you're the only one working on a project.

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:18 pm

TheBigCheese wrote:I think it's obvious which one you want to do. :P
Not really, I just went overboard cuz it was a new concept I came up with during class so it's a fresh idea in my head. I just was stating that I would work on it if people want me to.

EDIT: If I were dead set on it, would I have come to you guys asking? :lol: I really do plan on going with whatever gets the most votes

EDIT: Where was the consideration on all the info up for Endaron? It is a link. :lol:
Practically (I know you said not to but I can't help it), I would go with the dark platformer. It would be easier to make, but most importantly, the graphics would be very simple to make, compared to something like "Cloudscape". Graphics are a real pain if you're the only one working on a project.
Yeah, but that opens a host of new things. I should have elaborated on that one more. There isn't much to say about the Mother-influenced one or the humorous platformer, because I just did character sketches and haven't thought about it much, but the dark platformer would be different. I imagined it being layered, with some sort of "depth" to the field of vision from the front to the back, almost looking 2.5D rather than looking flat. The game would be grayscale, but I want a sort of depth to it. Maybe a shader could do that.

On top of that, it would have choices. Anyone (except you obviously) can die in that game. It will be based on love and loss, and will have branching paths, so essentially, the game's story would be something like:
===============================/- third choice
================/- second choice
====/- first choice ==============|- third choice
Intro ===========|- second choice
====\- first choice ==============|- third choice
================\- second choice
===============================\- third choice

and so on and so forth, and it would just keep going on. It'd always lead somewhere else, though and there could be 3 or more branches at certain points. Sometimes if you "lose," you don't so much lose as just branch off into another area of the story, such as failing to get to someone before some death machine kills them (i dunno, random example).

So yeah, think that over and if you stand strong, I'll take that opinion. =D
Last edited by Blorx on Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:43 pm, edited 3 times in total.

User avatar
Endorgan
Posts: 155
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:45 pm

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Endorgan » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:27 pm

Cloudscape sounds like something you could do with the Phoenix engine once Overgrowth is released. I bet it'd work well too!

I bet the Dark Platformer would excel in the 2.5D format you are trying to describe (as I believe I have something similar in my head) and would be great if it had Noir-ish tones. Completely gray scale and perhaps even pixlated. Mostly keep it simple, make a great story and good gameplay, and you're on the right track.

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:34 pm

Endorgan wrote:Cloudscape sounds like something you could do with the Phoenix engine once Overgrowth is released. I bet it'd work well too!
Heh, depends. Any way you put it, it'll take a massive amount of work. :lol:
I bet the Dark Platformer would excel in the 2.5D format you are trying to describe (as I believe I have something similar in my head) and would be great if it had Noir-ish tones. Completely gray scale and perhaps even pixlated. Mostly keep it simple, make a great story and good gameplay, and you're on the right track.
Yeah, the only thing I didn't want to keep simple is the fact that I don't want it to look flat. I don't want to put in grayscale graphics and have the only thing distinguishing the foreground and the background being the fact that the foreground is lighter and the background is darker. Combine it with pixelated graphics, do it just slightly wrong and it just looks cheap.

Story is what I'd focus on in this one, though. If this one ends up being my main project, I want the story to actually make the player feel for the characters. There's no point in making a dark atmosphere for a game that really doesn't make the player feel some sort of pity or even sorrow at some point.

User avatar
TheBigCheese
Posts: 856
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:01 am
Location: Lost in the Alps.

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by TheBigCheese » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:51 pm

I would go with the dark platformer. If you can nail the story, and create a game with simple, enjoyable gameplay (see knytt stories) it could definitely be a winner.

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:52 pm

TheBigCheese wrote:I would go with the dark platformer. If you can nail the story, and create a game with simple, enjoyable gameplay (see knytt stories) it could definitely be a winner.
True, definitely something I need to remember.

One of my biggest issues with 2D animation, though, is that I haven't totally realized that you don't need to make a frame for every single movement. In fact, a lot of walking animations consist of only 4 frames, I've noticed. :lol:

EDIT: If anyone does know anything about shading and 2D games, I'd gladly ask for help there. I'm sure I could find documentation there, but firsthand knowledge is always good too. :D

User avatar
Jendraz
Posts: 640
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:55 pm
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Jendraz » Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:32 am

Blorx wrote: 3. A platformer that would be set in grayscale and feature a dark, mature story.
Is this idea inspired by Dont Look Back?

I'm just curious, since I just played it and had a blast.

User avatar
nerodx
confused couch potato
Posts: 987
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:20 am
Location: Cleveland (We're not Detroit!)
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by nerodx » Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:50 am

I'm gonna have to go with the dark platformer, sounds interesting. I wouldn't give up entirely on Endaron though. You said you might want to make it into a book? That could work well, I like the story concept.

User avatar
Freshbite
Posts: 3256
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:02 pm
Location: Stockholm, Sweden.

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Freshbite » Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:17 pm

Dark Platformer. Most deffinetly.
Btw, are you the person I know as ZramuliZ? :P

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:26 pm

Seems the dark platformer won, I'm gonna get started on that, then! =D

Actually, it wasn't inspired by Don't Look Back, so much as it was inspired by Heavy Rain (in the sense that everyone is an average person and there are no "chosen ones" or "superheroes," per say). As great as I thought Heavy Rain was, it left a lot to be desired in its story and in the whole "branching plot" thing, as well as obvious setbacks, like a lack of interactivity. In effect, I decided I wanted to create a platformer (which, in my opinion, be made gloomy, depressing, simple and stylish in a way that other games can't) that has a more hard-hitting story, that in one way or another is laden with choices that will actually weigh on not only the outcome, but of every little part of the game you play after the introduction.

The game isn't going to be based on a serial killer, though. In fact, as much as I do want to use abduction as a part of the storyline, I'm debating leaving it out entirely so that I can focus on more mature, less commonly used themes. I want it to be different, not only from Heavy Rain, but from everything. Having something inspire you to create something that could be better and copying that something in a different medium are completely two different things.
Freshbite wrote: Btw, are you the person I know as ZramuliZ? :P
No, I'm not, I'm afraid. :lol:

User avatar
Armored Wolf
Posts: 1267
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 7:35 am
Location: In Renegade_Turner's brain

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Armored Wolf » Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:26 pm

The best serial killer games are where you play as a serial killer. That reminds me...

-Grand Theft Auto-

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:53 pm

Well, I know what I'm going to do for the platformer.

It's either going to be pure brilliance or it's going to fall flat on its face.

I guess we'll have to see when I'm done. :D

User avatar
Armored Wolf
Posts: 1267
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 7:35 am
Location: In Renegade_Turner's brain

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Armored Wolf » Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:44 pm

Blorx wrote:Well, I know what I'm going to do for the platformer.

It's either going to be pure brilliance or it's going to fall flat on its face.

I guess we'll have to see when I'm done. :D
In true independent games style: Pure brilliance or flat failure. I suspect that that RTS game where you can goof with time is going to be a stale failure...

User avatar
Blorx
NOT A FRIGGIN PROGRAMMER
Posts: 3272
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: South Carolina, United States
Contact:

Re: Graaahhhhh can't make up my mind

Post by Blorx » Sat Mar 06, 2010 3:22 pm

Okay, here's the plan so far:

1. I'm going to use XNA. Sorry Mac and Linux guys (I know you want to play what will probably be a failure of a game, too :lol: ) but I have more experience with the XNA frameworks than I do with other frameworks. I've actually successfully made games with the XNA frameworks. Not to mention, I can just pay for a developer account, compile the game for 360 and just as easily, release it on Xbox Live for a very small fee and it'll probably be better than most of the crap that's come out on the Indie Channel so far.

2. I'm going to make another game first. It'll be to learn all the things I need to know about making a platformer, and will probably be brutally hard, simply for my own enjoyment and for the reason that if it turns out to be a good game, I might release it on Xbox Live first.

3. The "dark platformer" is going to be bizarre. I've already decided that a large part of the game will focus on doing one part of the story, having a dream about that part you just played, except being twisted in all sorts of ways, and then the next progression of the story be dealt with based on how you handled the dream (ie he'll let his dreams guide him to a degree). This game will also probably be brutally hard (depending on which ending you want), as I'm thinking about making some of the branches based on performance (how well you do), and not simply on what you choose to do during that segment.

Yeah, that's all I've got so far. Still trying to get everything sorted out in my head before getting started.

Post Reply