[OFFER] GRAPHIC MAKER OPEN FOR EXPERIMENTS. *AHEM* EXPERIENCE.

author=Kevincalanor
The major problem is, not sure of what I was making to boot, started by seeing several GameMaker Studio platformer tutorials, attached a gun to it, 'cause guns, and when things started running, tried to poke a game out of it.

Went as far as passing the description to Marrend double-check, around that time I've noticed that not only it all was a bit too generic, but also the game-play was stuck with a tech-demo feeling. Because well, that's what "The Cleaner" were.
I don't believe I'm typing this but, I probably needed an idea guy for it. And no, I'm not looking for one

That's a very good approach! You start with a tutorial to build a game prototype. Then you experiment with the tutorial next examples and see if they turn into something useful for your project. You don't need an idea guy: he'll impose you to do things that are beyond your current skills and you will not like his ideas anyways; yours are better!

When you build an action game, you must make sure the game-play is fun. And tech-demo are perfect to polish the game-play before you build an entire game from it. I have a shooter project in a similar state. If you have some time you can try it and give your feedback. I'll be happy to do the same for your game.

author=BlackWolf1992
Option 01: "It is not bad at all."
Option 02: "This place sucks! I hate it."
Option 03: "..."
Option 04: "Depends do you come with the room?" *wink*

*pick option 04*

Block a punch to the face (doing so obstruct my field of vision)
Fail to see the upward kick
Roll on the floor in plain
Eliza leaves the room

"Definitely not worth it!"

author=BlackWolf1992

author=Irog
You don't need an idea guy: he'll impose you to do things that are beyond your current skills and you will not like his ideas anyways; yours are better!

Not necessarily, sometimes having a person to get feedback and ideas from is a good thing. Just because someone says to do something does not mean you have to do it. I recently got some up from Libby on a dungeon that was a bit crappy when I created it. After some feedback from her, it made it so much better. Redoing it was a bit of a pain because I thought this looks good but I redid it anyways and it turns out it is way better and fits the game story even more than it did before. No longer was it a simple dungeon it was now a dungeon with meaning.

This is applied constructive criticism which is good. And it is totally different from an idea guy imposing ideas to your project.

author=Kevincalanor
That's so accurate that I will probably use it in the game.

Be my guest!

author=Kevincalanor
Here's the current WIP of The Cleaner.

Your game demo is excellent. You've built a solid base for a game. The graphics look really cool and the music fits the action very well.

The controls are somewhat clumsy. Mouse aiming would replace the 4 aim keys. With "left click to fire", "right click to reload" and "wheel to switch weapon" you only need a key to jump, a key for the special attack and the arrows. Being able to configure the keys would also help a lot (same as you pointed out in Wizard Apprentice Lya).

The up and down arrows are not used. They could serve to raise and lower the camera relative to the player. When you jump from roof to roof you sometimes need to look what's below you. During the helicopter fight, the lower half of the screen shows an area where there is no action.

It is not obvious that you can triple-jump. A small tutorial message would help.

The difficulty is really high: HP decrease very quickly when in contact with an enemy or by helicopter bullets. Instant death in spikes creates a lot of frustration.


I reached this place.



Is it the end of your demo?


I think you should definitely submit a game page. You have enough level done to upload 4 solid screen shots. If you upload your demo, players can give you the feedback you need.

author=Kevincalanor
This keyboard vs. mouse is probably one of the sutff that most bugged me at the developing, the keyboard aim is indeed quite clumsy, specially after the addition of the flying drones, aiming them simply feels lousy overall.
Mouse aim cripples the platforming though, a simple ascent on the first plays of Bleed is quite troublesome, so I will have to severely tone down the obstacles on the lab.

When you build your game, the controls must give the players the best tool to face the challenge you present to them. I think the mouse is best to fight against enemies coming from all angles (like your drones). Keyboard is best for jumping from platform to platform.

"Tess" and "Rework The Dead: Evil" are two great platformer-shooter where the controls fit the player's challenges. For example, in Tess, enemies follow predefined paths so the player can shoot them with the very limited shooting angles available from keyboard aiming. In Rework The Dead: Evil, a lot of enemies move towards the player to deal melee damage. So they come from various angles and mouse aiming is the best to deal with them. On the other hand, Rework The Dead: Evil has no pit in which you fall and die. Bleed has some similarities with Rework The Dead: Evil but there is one feature I had trouble to control well: the multiple jumps!

Your are combining platformer and shooter genres where keyboard best serves jumping (platformer) and mouse best serves aiming (shooter). You should choose the controls depending on which action (jumping or shooting) represents the most challenge in your game. This implies that you should not make a game that's very challenging on both aspects but build more challenge in the action that's easier to perform the control you chose.

author=Kevincalanor
Speaking of the helicopter, did the fight went well? I feel like it's lacking some sort of alternate attack. (like it does have on bleed)

It killed me many times. Then I found two safe spots under the lower platforms. From there you can hit the helicopter with the spread fire gun. It's long but it eventually goes down. When I try to move outside the safe spots to hit the helicopter more, its rapid fire takes away so much HP that it's not worth the risk. Except for the special attack that turns you invincible while firing. But if you use it when your back is close to an obstacle, you end up blocked in the obstacle. In Bleed helicopter fight, there are no death pits on both side of the fight area and the screen is centered above the player.