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Posts
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
LockeZ
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CloseUh the fact that Mario's face was the number of lives you had was written in the instruction manual. So you knew that before you started the first level. If the manual hadn't told you, you'd have been very confused when you first played Super Mario Bros., since the concept of having a limited number of extra clones of yourself that wait invisibly at the beginning of each stage that the player's consciousness is transferred into in turn each time they get bumped by a turtle is a very unusual abstract idea, and not a conclusion that many people would instantly jump to if they'd never encountered it before.
Anyway, I don't actually have a problem with the bars not being labeled, I was just correcting the bad counterargument you gave.
I also like the grayer, slightly less vibrant colors you're using for the level graphics more than Magi's more saturated edit. Making just the HUD be vibrant like that might work though? On the other hand, if all the zones in the game are blue like that, then I think the HUD being red is probably enough contrast on its own.
Anyway, I don't actually have a problem with the bars not being labeled, I was just correcting the bad counterargument you gave.
I also like the grayer, slightly less vibrant colors you're using for the level graphics more than Magi's more saturated edit. Making just the HUD be vibrant like that might work though? On the other hand, if all the zones in the game are blue like that, then I think the HUD being red is probably enough contrast on its own.
author=LockeZ
I also like the grayer, slightly less vibrant colors you're using for the level graphics more than Magi's more saturated edit. Making just the HUD be vibrant like that might work though?
I think that's what he meant, Locke. The UI was to stand out from the tiles in the back, so the saturation is increased so that it will stand out.
author=LockeZ
Uh the fact that Mario's face was the number of lives you had was written in the instruction manual.
Mario started off as an arcade game, which means people wouldn't read the instruction manual, they'd just play without reading and figure it out themselves. Originating from Pinball machines, arcade machines and such have been coin-operated, so the concept of the number of tries a player has before they have a Game Over predates Mario, and thus the lives would have been at least somewhat intuitive.
Or you can have an in-game tutorial explaining with arrows pointing saying "this is your mana points". Because the way it is laid out, it may not be immediately apparent what they are. Is it a continuous scaled bar going from 0%-100%? Or are those 5 distinct points out of 5? Will I get more points if I level up? (On that note, I wonder if it is actually 5/5 mana points, or whether the bar will stay the same size no matter how much mana the character gets.)
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Well, the arcade game had a looping demonstration it showed of how to play, any time someone wasn't playing. But yeah you're basically right. I just have always heard, and have found it true, that if you always make the lowest possible assumptions about player intelligence and aptitude, you'll never be wrong.
author=LockeZ
Well, the arcade game had a looping demonstration it showed of how to play, any time someone wasn't playing. But yeah you're basically right. I just have always heard, and have found it true, that if you always make the lowest possible assumptions about player intelligence and aptitude, you'll never be wrong.
Yeah, true that. I especially like tutorials that adapt to how quickly someone learns something. Like Plants vs. Zombies. If you're good at it, it'll skip over certain stuff, apparently. But apparently not enough, because I found the game super easy for the first umpteen levels.
Edit: What I'd do is something probably totally rude by just displaying a fairly unintrusive yet crudely drawn diagram overlay of where things are, just for the beginning. It'd fade in for a little, then once a certain point is reached, fade out. Perhaps when health/mana depletes for the first time, or other learning event conditions.
author=kory_toombsAhaha, yeah that was a placeholder, I've fixed it now to be a small basement door.
@BizMonkey - There's a weird shadow thing that is against your house, near the tree. It doesn't look natural.
Alright, acts 1 and 2 complete! the game is a third done, yeee!
Gameplay of Stage 3 + end of Act 2 cinematic, if you did care about the plot, you might wanna not watch it as there are some massive spoilers.
LightningLord2
230
author=CashmereCatauthor=LockeZYeah, true that. I especially like tutorials that adapt to how quickly someone learns something. Like Plants vs. Zombies. If you're good at it, it'll skip over certain stuff, apparently. But apparently not enough, because I found the game super easy for the first umpteen levels.
Well, the arcade game had a looping demonstration it showed of how to play, any time someone wasn't playing. But yeah you're basically right. I just have always heard, and have found it true, that if you always make the lowest possible assumptions about player intelligence and aptitude, you'll never be wrong.
Edit: What I'd do is something probably totally rude by just displaying a fairly unintrusive yet crudely drawn diagram overlay of where things are, just for the beginning. It'd fade in for a little, then once a certain point is reached, fade out. Perhaps when health/mana depletes for the first time, or other learning event conditions.
No matter how intuitive and tutorial-heavy you make your game, someone out there will not be able to understand it. I played Warcraft 3 scenarios some time ago, where huge red letters are often used to convey information in some maps, frequently blocking the view for quite a while, with players sometimes still not getting the idea of how to play.
Yeah Lightning but that doesn't mean there isn't an art to teaching players how to play. I think people often make the mistake of assuming the player is dumb if they can't figure things out. If you'd designed it correctly, then they should be able to play.
For example, creating areas where you cannot continue unless you learn a certain concept, and removing all other distractions so that the concept becomes obvious. This is a way you can let the player figure out for themselves how to play without telling them outright, and it's much better than a wall of text. I don't think it's a case of making things obvious by telling them everything, but providing them with a curve where they can teach themselves.
Obviously there's going to be people that simply don't understand, but they're the outlier. In fact, perhaps if huge red letters are blocking your view then that might not even be an effective way of teaching. If they learn by doing, then that's even better. I don't want to plug any of my games for examples, but I've relied solely on teaching by doing in at least one of my games. You're able to relay complex concepts one at a time if you play your cards effectively.
For example, creating areas where you cannot continue unless you learn a certain concept, and removing all other distractions so that the concept becomes obvious. This is a way you can let the player figure out for themselves how to play without telling them outright, and it's much better than a wall of text. I don't think it's a case of making things obvious by telling them everything, but providing them with a curve where they can teach themselves.
Obviously there's going to be people that simply don't understand, but they're the outlier. In fact, perhaps if huge red letters are blocking your view then that might not even be an effective way of teaching. If they learn by doing, then that's even better. I don't want to plug any of my games for examples, but I've relied solely on teaching by doing in at least one of my games. You're able to relay complex concepts one at a time if you play your cards effectively.
grindalf
3556
author=CashmereCat
You're able to relay complex concepts one at a time if you play your cards effectively.
I agree also the player feels more reward when figuring something out(even if its obvious and the only thing they can do) rather than being told exactly what to do.
grindalf
3556
I know it looks like minecraft but im hoping to change that by adding in different angles of slopes and rounding off the world a bit.
Well I can't possibly object that it looks like minecraft, but the question is...
Is it Java-based?
If not, congratulations, you've done what Notch should have from day one.
Also I gotta applaud you if you are going for generated terrain. Because that stuff is either costly, time consuming or both, at least if you're trying to make it generate anything interesting.
Oh, yeah a few screenshots... gonna put em in hide tags though beyond the first because that saves space.
Is it Java-based?
If not, congratulations, you've done what Notch should have from day one.
Also I gotta applaud you if you are going for generated terrain. Because that stuff is either costly, time consuming or both, at least if you're trying to make it generate anything interesting.
Oh, yeah a few screenshots... gonna put em in hide tags though beyond the first because that saves space.
grindalf
3556
author=BizarreMonkey
Well I can't possibly object that it looks like minecraft, but the question is...
Is it Java-based?
If not, congratulations, you've done what Notch should have from day one.
Also I gotta applaud you if you are going for generated terrain. Because that stuff is either costly, time consuming or both, at least if you're trying to make it generate anything interesting.
No its not java. its Blitz3D so probably not much better as its direct x dependent and windows only.
Yes procedurally generated terrain and all assets(these are procedural textures, that's why they look a little naff)
I intend on only supplying music with it. the rest of the game will be completely procedurally generated.
I will be putting more time into the procedural textures but for the time being Im focusing on terrain.
BTW nice, is that a game about cats? I can get behind that
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Use the first one of those but without doubling all the pixels. It would look like this, which is actually a much better size for your tiles:
@lockeZ I don't know what you did to my sprites because this is standard size for me in game.
Edit: All of the photos I used in that post are from from the tumblr blog so resizing might of happened here are orignal sized screenshots.
On you demonstrated on
In front of Library/Cafe
Edit: All of the photos I used in that post are from from the tumblr blog so resizing might of happened here are orignal sized screenshots.
On you demonstrated on
In front of Library/Cafe
author=grindalfJava's really badly optimized, so whatever you're going with is probably going to be leagues more adaptable.
No its not java. its Blitz3D so probably not much better as its direct x dependent and windows only.
Yes procedurally generated terrain and all assets(these are procedural textures, that's why they look a little naff)
I intend on only supplying music with it. the rest of the game will be completely procedurally generated.
I will be putting more time into the procedural textures but for the time being Im focusing on terrain.
author=grindalfNot just cats, cats with guns, pig cultists who are oppressing them, and a witch who really likes causing suffering and probably more.
BTW nice, is that a game about cats? I can get behind that
You can actually try out the demo in my profile. It's called Perseverance: Adherence.
Alright, it's been a long time coming, but here we are, the first sight of consistent art direction.
In due course, all portraits will be replaced with this style, courtesy of Bella, the newest addition to the CCC. She's now the lead portrait artist for P:A.
I'll update the floating triangle that is disturbingly symbolic in the back, too. Since it's still hella-mspaint worthy.
In due course, all portraits will be replaced with this style, courtesy of Bella, the newest addition to the CCC. She's now the lead portrait artist for P:A.
I'll update the floating triangle that is disturbingly symbolic in the back, too. Since it's still hella-mspaint worthy.
