Playing about with concepts. This isn't a project, honestly.

[hugh]

I've been 'experimenting'. I have some ideas. I have a character artist. He might be able to do the landscapes too. I'm sure I'll find a musician.

Consider this a first "teaser."

youtu.be/k3ukgjMynY8

I can't tell you much about this right now. I'm only using original graphics as placeholders. More later.

[hugh]

Ropes are a bit fiddly to implement...
youtu.be/T7JkYnJ-Gts

[hugh]

Froggies have pretty basic AI, but it's there... Obviously no graphics yet.

I have found a musician. I may still use some of this stuff from FreeMusicArchive.

youtu.be/buT8x-nPzxk

No killing yet. Slugs next, I think. Birds will be hardest in Malicia. Then on to killing. I think I'll have them throw out a random number of Almas (which will still be round, but will be smaller than the creature - and could roll away down a cavern or through a crack... hmmm...)

[hugh]

OMG more than 24 hours without an update! Nevermind, I'm not convinced anyone's reading.

So I did slugs. Easy peasy. Then I did Almas, as described. And added a rudimentary score.

youtu.be/1JdQrka0V6s

I have to do birds at some point. Still not happy with ropes. Thinking about using fewer points and drawing a textured cubic spline between them.

Really looking forward to getting some graphics on this - but my artist is busy making money to buy food. So I'll think about sound next.

[hugh]

SDL was getting me down (refused to load PNGs, and then I couldn't get it to build,) so I decided to try something else. I've replaced the graphics layer with SFML, and finished what I set out to do, which was to render Almas as some sort of magic pulsating orb. In code I have Almas worth 10, but they don't yet show up in game.

SFML is much nicer than SDL. Much easier to work with. Much more satisfying (except that vsync didn't work, and it started giving me thousands of FPS...)

So here's my new take on Almas. Undecided now whether they should be this big or a little smaller. It would also be nice to have an anim for when they get collected, but that can wait I think.

youtu.be/gxomD6MNL-Q

[hugh]

Added some more sounds. There are ten footstep sounds, not looped, and ten landing-after-a-jump sounds, not looped. The background ambient noise is two long cave ambience sounds. At some point I need to find a sliding sound. At one point in my testing, DG slid down a steep slope and his legs started going really fast. Maybe that's OK, and I need the sliding sound for steeper slopes...

youtu.be/3YTvkMIKNKI

I really have to get those birds done.
Also I want to make ropes better (and still swingy) and I need to get the level data into an asset (right now it's about 1.4Mb of C++ code) - then I'll be able to programmatically add the ropes, moving platforms, monsters, pickups, etc.

[hugh]

Fixed the ropes.
youtu.be/6CMfpfN1jVc

Moved the level data into a json file, the 'play' environment can also go into a 'build' environment of sorts - so eventually the level, monster positions, etc, will likely go into an in-proc (serverless) document store database.

[jspr]

Hey hugh,

Looks pretty rad - what are you making this in?

Kind regards,
Jesper.

[hugh]

Hey Jesper,

When I did this, it was SFML & Box2D, coded with C#, C++ and a bit of GLSL.

I've since switched to Linux and dumped these experiments, but I'd be keen to get going again. I'd be using the same tech, except probably only C++.

This project bit the dust because I need an artist. Thinking further on that, it might be cool to develop a new version of Zeliard based on the same story. It could feature the same NPCs, extra NPCs, extra enemies and so forth, but for me the main difference would be freshly designed towns and dungeons & freshly drawn graphics.

Any takers?

[Jashiin]

Wow, all this looks super cool!

I've been dreaming for years about making a sort of remake, but in the form of an ARPG.
I was thinking of originally emulating the existing material and then possibly expanding from there - hitting both familiarity/nostalgia and the possibility for growth.

The thing is, I'd like it to be really close to the source material, and I'm not sure how legal that would be. I know the game's been abandonware for ages, but the IP copyright is not. But that makes me think it might not be difficult to negotiate a license or something?

I'd probably get a patreon/kickstarter going, outsource whatever possible and as for myself, I'm still trying to learn to code (also gamedev without coding with things like Unity, but currently just learning to use it) but I'd be much more comfortable in something like creative direction, item/level design, balance, quests etc. It's a d**ned thing when you have passion and a vision but don't know how to make it sing yourself.

Thoughts?

[hugh]

I can do code, and I'm quite experienced, but I'm interested in 2D more than 3D.
I can get music. I can get music made.
I can get sound. I can get sound made. I can "wrangle" the sound and music - demonstrably.

I can't do graphics, and ideally I'd find someone who could put together the level design and dialogue. I did think recently about whether the whole game should be one continuous "world" - no level/town transitions.

For me, it would be 2D with a very familiar feel to it, but would ideally have a load of puzzles, and more requirement for the player to go back and forth to solve puzzles or complete side missions that provide things that are required to continue the game.

[Jashiin]

I suppose 2D would be appropriate but the 3D or pseudo-3D would certainly add an element of spaciousness and depth to the world and I find that important in a game that would be about navigating endless mazes, grinding, doing quests and solving puzzles in them. But I know that's easier said than done. I'd focus on the levels - make them quite huge and each zone to last very, very long in terms of progression. Have plenty of quests to take away from the grind but ultimately I wouldn't make it a game that you'd spend a few hours or days on, rather make each zone relevant for weeks like in an mmo.

Would need to figure out a way to keep them relevant beyond their level so they give incentive to be revisited - maybe through something like professions or whatever.
I loved the different environments and the feeling that you really kept going somewhere, and I wouldn't like to be stuck in Absor upon hitting max level for the rest of the game. There needs to be an endgame. Of course, make an overarching quest to collect the Tears in order to obtain a legendary weapon, which requires beating the game essentially - but then add challenges or perks on NG+, something like a hard mode?

That's what I had in mind - a "normal" game that increases in difficulty and seals you off by levels and then another version that is max level and requires gear progression so you could technically be well geared but stuck farming in Peligro.


Unfortunately I can't do graphics, but I'd love to do level design, possibly creative direction, quest/item design? Don't have a knack for dialogue though.


EDIT: Also, welcome to the Dragon group

[hugh]

Apologies for the brevity of this reply, I'm using my phone.

I would definitely want Parallax. I don't think Isometric would suit it well. If you have other ideas, draw them! A picture paints a thousand words Doesn't matter if it's not great. I express some really complex concepts on a whiteboard with thick markers, and the lines are never straight.

I think making it MMO style is risky. Bite off no more than you can chew, and manage expectations. The main story should be achievable without needing to grind too much, like the original - the extras are extras. Thus could also mean the main story could be released first, and iterative updates could expand the game.

I can take appreciate that you've thought and dreamed a lot about how it could be. You need to set expectations for yourself as well as for the players, and there's going to be a lot of work in terms of design. You would need to draw outlines, both in terms of level design and dialog - just stubs would be enough for that, e.g. "In this conversation you learn x." And "You have 6 tears now, so I will unlock this door." We can find someone else to make it engaging. Level design we can do very easily and just sketch, again we can find someone to make it pretty. The Kickstarter would help with that if there's nobody else with a desire to do it.

Jun 19, 2019 22:01:25 GMT 1 Jashiin said:

I suppose 2D would be appropriate but the 3D or pseudo-3D would certainly add an element of spaciousness and depth to the world and I find that important in a game that would be about navigating endless mazes, grinding, doing quests and solving puzzles in them. But I know that's easier said than done. I'd focus on the levels - make them quite huge and each zone to last very, very long in terms of progression. Have plenty of quests to take away from the grind but ultimately I wouldn't make it a game that you'd spend a few hours or days on, rather make each zone relevant for weeks like in an mmo.

Would need to figure out a way to keep them relevant beyond their level so they give incentive to be revisited - maybe through something like professions or whatever.
I loved the different environments and the feeling that you really kept going somewhere, and I wouldn't like to be stuck in Absor upon hitting max level for the rest of the game. There needs to be an endgame. Of course, make an overarching quest to collect the Tears in order to obtain a legendary weapon, which requires beating the game essentially - but then add challenges or perks on NG+, something like a hard mode?

That's what I had in mind - a "normal" game that increases in difficulty and seals you off by levels and then another version that is max level and requires gear progression so you could technically be well geared but stuck farming in Peligro.


Unfortunately I can't do graphics, but I'd love to do level design, possibly creative direction, quest/item design? Don't have a knack for dialogue though.


EDIT: Also, welcome to the Dragon group