A Shooter is really born

I was calling the shooting game sorcerygames is currently working on as 5th Moon. This was an awesome name, and i was gonna theme the game around this.

Now things have changed.

Originally i was going to actually call the game 'A Shooter'. But we liked 5th moon better. However one of the reasons fro using 'a Shooter' was to see just how important it could be to name the games, not something creative, but something obvious... I mean, REALLY Obvious. A lot of the games that get good downloads have obvious names. anything with a Zombie in it is a sort of good example, though not the best. Take Jonny platformer biscuit romp for example. And more if you go LOOK!

So now i am back to the original name. We shall see if this appears to make a difference to downloads. I also believe it do for the iphone apps. iShooter for example. so without more delay, here is the new title page. With more letters in the name it actually looks better too.

the letters bounce just the same way as they did when it had it's other name.

gnight.

An article on Game difficulty

I just read a very interesting article on game difficulty. Is so highlights my own feeling about the fact that computer games should not cheat etc that i thought i would highlight it here.

The Difficulty with Difficulty

When i have new teams mates and we are writing games, i always make it a point to tell them not to cheat. now they can make the AI as good as can be, which would mean perfect... Or at least perfect in the control scheme that is present. That is why they must also make AI's use the same controller inputs that the player uses. This usually helps stop them cheating speed etc. This kind of thing really helps keep players from feeling cheated.

laters

Method Boss Design... Issue

Here I am, having just completed two more bosses for my shooter. I am going with the evolutionary design if you haven't read my Blog before. Which means to evolve the Boss from one level to the next.

Evolving the boss does not mean that you play in the same way with him, and just get faster etc. In fact i am finding to my delight that small changes in the boss can make significant changes in your play tactics.

So what's the Issue i face?
Well it seems i have created a monster, a monster of a boss. He is only slightly evolved from the previous level boss, but this one does a firing sequence that makes you have to dodge his bullets in a rather unique way.. or DIE!

Questions..
Is this bad ?
I do view this as bad, because a player will come to this bos at the end of the levl and have no idea how to survive, as most if not all players will die on his third firing sequence. Nasty huh! Yet i know the secret to defeating him, and it is fairly easy...
Is this Good ?
I do view this as a good thing. It means you will have to think a bit more creatively. It means you will have to even go to video if you fail to figure it out yourself. Old school shooters and arcade shooters had learning curves and boss method learning in them.

Conclusions...
I love this, i dislike this. ARGH! some people will enjoy this challenge, but some will throw their controllers. Which pill should i take ? The red or the blue one ?

I would LOVE some input from the people that read this blog, but as you are all anonymous and also so very quiet i guess i shall have to figure it out myself.

One thing is for sure. I personally love this boss. My partner is gonna hate it, lol

Laters

Smartbomb effect #1 complete

Yes it is true. I believe i have completed the first Smart Bomb effect. Here is a picture.

I left the Boss in this picture (he is the source of all the bullets). As you can see i went with the size i previously discussed. I also added in the cardinal directions as filler or dummie lines. The only real difference between them and the real lines, is the fact they do not end in an enemy bullet.

I went with all i had previously written, but here are some highlights of this particular smart bomb.
1. It is instantly there but take a second to fully fade away. Looks pretty.
2. The bullets it hits are instantly stopped from moving.
3. The bullets that get smarted are still dangerous till they are gone (faded away).
The gameplay that is in this Smart bomb i believ to be unique in that smart bombs usualy remove enemy bullets immediatley. Not this one. You will still have to be careful for a very short time once they have been stopped. Also new bullets being launched are still dangerous. (this is boss #5)

This picture above was too pretty to ignore. As you can see, under your score you will see your available Smart bombs. Very simple and very obvious I hope. This boss is level #6 boss. He has a special method to play him. Or you die... I may need to keep him till later in the game. As he is a method boss, and not one i feel easy to discover.

This finishes up this smart Bomb. Onto the next in a few days. till then i hope to get anotehr level laid out, and two more bosses done, though it looks like i have done that now :O haha

laters

Smart Bomb effect

Above is what i am currently coding. The effect or one of them for one of my smart bomb types. In the shooter for my next XBLIG game you will have a secondary weapon. This is going to be smart bombs. Each smart bomb type will have it's own, special way of helping you out. This smart bomb effect is for general smarty pants bomb. One that just clears the screen of enemy bullets. Of course it would be boring to just make them disappear. Soooo i came up with an idea.

In the first picture you see i have set off my smart bomb and then moved out of frame. The effect is that i have  abunch of line go from my ship at time of activation and hit each bullet on the screen. Then after a second they all disappear. Oh, and for that second the bullets are stopped in their tracks. But are still dangerous !

Here in this second picture you see me just moved left from when i fired the shot. It is a picture of the 4th level bosses bullets, and i think ti loks quite cool. One downside is if this effect is fired off with not a lot of bullets it looks crap. However it looks it's best if you are surrounded as you may have noticed.

I just had to include this third picture. Generally i still thinkn that if all th ebullets are on one side it wdoes not look as good as when you are surrounded. But man, that looks cool, hitting all those streaming bullets from the boss.

So my next task is to make this effect look better in all situations, for that i am going to include some dummy lines in each of the cardinal positions, we shall see if that helps or not.

Finally i need to actually make the lines fade out, but for that i have to rewrite the list iterator code, so it can wait :D

laters

Lists in C# and RemoveAll

So there i am last night, working diligently on the Roundline class. A lovely thing, though i really need to rewrite it's simplified functionality. Well that was sort of what i was doing. Adding in more controls etc.

I am going to use variable width lines for one of my smart bombs for the new shooter. This should look great if i can possibly do it. Adding in the variable width functionality is also priceless as far as adding in Tech to my rather small tech that i use for writing my games. Gameplay shouldn't need tech, but eye candy does.

So all i wanted to do was attach a bunch of lines to each smart bomb explosion. simple enough, but then they need to all die at the correct time. so i added in an ID to the line class. I thought that removal from a list would be so easy. Just for Each loop thru the list and remove them as i go. This is not so easy, oooh no! So upon research on the web i found Removeall. This is exactly what i needed, then a single command would allow me to remove all the list itmes that were corresponding to my ID. Well what a pain. Yep, i have to say that it took me an hour of reading and trying to get the SINGLE line of code to compile. though once it did, it worked a treat.

So lists... hmm,. I usually use arrays for everything and control numbers of stuff etc with Defines. I never ever make stuff grow and shrink. I have seen the horrors this does to memory fragmentation etc. I also know that allocating and deallocating memory is soo freakin slow. So i don't do it. But it seems like i need to learn lists. Just so i know what i am talking about.

BTW: my problems with messing badly with memory come from 26 years of experience, most on machine that had a fraction of the memory of that handy usb pen drive you have on your key ring.

laters

3 ways to make a better Indie game

This is going to seem obvious, but there are a few ways to create a better Indie game. Now i am assuming that you can already make Indie games. In fact i am assuming that you have already made at the very least 1 Indie game. Now you want to up your game and make a better one. Probably better in every way. Especially as you have seen poor downloads and the self recriminations have started about how you should have spent more time or money on that Box art etc.

Well here is the skinny, it's no real surprise. I am about to present three ways to make your games better.
1. Spend more time on them
2. Spend more money on them
3. Get good help

So onto 1.
If you spend more time on your project you should see it be much tidier, as you do not ignore those creeping little bugs that you published with in your last game. This one mainly means not finishing till your finished. Less timetable and more dedication to the product etc. The real downside to this is that it can get too be a long dev cycle. Leading to burnout on the original idea etc. Well, if you burn out on it, maybe it just wasn't really up to the improved quality of game you were after anyway.

To 2.
Spending more more sounds silly ? Well try getting better music for your game for starters. Lose that programmer music behind. There are plenty of sites on the web to get great music from. Admittedly browsing for music takes many hours (it does for me!). The end results are great though. So spend some money on an important aspect of your new game, that you did not on the last one. Be it SFX or Graphics or Music or even.. Yes, i'll say it.. focus testing. the real downside to this is it costs money, and Indie developers don't have any.

To 3.
Good help is priceless. It is also really hard to get a hold of. In fact it seems to be in short supply. I know so many talented people myself. however trying to get them to commit to helping me is like pulling teeth. Believe me i have tried very hard. I have gone through about 8 friends and mostly to no avail. However if you find just one co-conspiritor, it makes all the searching worthwhile. They can produce stuff you cannot (usually), and they help with motivation as well. I was lucky enough to have an artist friend of mine pull my art out of the drain for my first two titles Aceball and Pellmell. Get help, cos if they spend time on the project, it is like having two of you, only this new one is more talented in areas you are not. THIS by far is the best way to make a better Indie game. Getting cohorts!

Good luck, adn i wish everyone a better subsequent title after this encouraging lecture 8D

How to make a Hit Indie Game (for XBLIG)

An opinion piece on Xblig success...

So we have seen a number of real hits on the XBLIG channel on the Xbox360. It has been a little surprising just how well a game can do. Ok, so very few are really breaking through at this point. But we do have a few. Obviously the lead at the moment on this is Zombie game, but there are others that have proved to be very profitable by the creators. We know that people have to download your game to see it. They are likely not to buy it unseen. However how do ya get awareness for your title out to those 35 million Xbox owners ?

Some have just been plain lucky, others have been given great awareness. Most however had had a great deal to do with several things, in my opinion.

Luck,
I will get this one over with first. If you are lucky enough to get some notoriety or mention on Major Nelsons Blog, or one of very many lucky things. The name of your game can get out there, whether it's in outrage or amusement or real interest. I will name for example one 'A Kitchen Sink War'. This game was the xna starter with a few different graphics and it is terrible (sorry authors). The horror and outrage was awesome to see, but i'll bet it downloaded so freaking many. Example number two will be, yes you guessed it. The Massage apps. The newest one allowing you to pleasure the other controllers. This makes me wanna puke tbh. Outrage is one of the words i would use for this. But they have been popular. They have had so many downloads and one that declared months ago that it had made over 60,000 dollars, freakin ell! My third example is Major nelson mentioning massage apps again. This boosted their notoriety immensely and it hit kotaqu and more. Many downloads were had at this lucky turn of events.

Design,
Some games have brilliant design, some not so much. But what effect does this truly have on sales ? Obviously noone really knows, but i suspect that if your game is badly designed, once they download it. It will not sell. Maybe we only really need to design the trial period. Then they can suffer the rest of the game. I do know that a lot of the most 'popular' games have had a nice design. they have tried to be succinct and honest about their play. Another thing seems to be to lose the idea of a unique design. Those games seem to be relegated to not being downloaded, or only being downloaded about 3000 times in their publishing month. Most of all, whatever you make, make it feel solid. Make it feel like a place people don't mind being.

Implementation,
This is similar to design, but it does not matter how well you design your game or your menu. If your implementation is crap. Noone will care. If it feels harsh and unforgiving, they won't want to stay around. So take a little bit more time on that joystick debounce and make it work for your game. The most popular games are generally well programmed. Even if they happen to be anotehr twin stick shooter for example.

Marketing ?
I do not have much to say for this right now. I have personally tried quite a variety of routes to get my stuff noticed. So far to no avail. I have read everything about this subject i can in the last few months. I am most assuredly having more success. But it doesn't really seem worth the effort. It appears that hoping luck will take me somewhere is a more likely scenario. Though i paint this in a dark light, have no fear. As i am an optimist, and i beleive that if we just keep trying, one thread that we started might just get lucky. So if we put more threads and lines out there in our marketing campaigns. We just might make ourselves lucky.

This was going to be a discussion on how to make a better Xblig game. But it appears i have waffled long and hard, and not got to that yet. So it can wait for another post.
Laters

Wanted to Peer Review, but didn't

I looked thru the list, so many bug fixed versions, or translated version. I don't want to do those ones again. I really wanted to test something not yet on the marketplace.

I managed to find a couple that interested me, but oh man. I click on the links, and then i see i cannot review them... Cos neither had a video. And i have blogged before about that issue. So with that frustration, i am done for the morning.

I may go back tonight and see if there are any other games i am interested in. I may go see if any are by people in my twitter list. That would be a good thing.

Now off to work on 5th Moon i go.

Music and Sound are important, but balance is supreme

Anyone who thinks that all it takes to put music and sfx in their game is to find the sounds. Is Sorely mistaken. I and friends spend so long on getting not only the right sounds, but also then balancing them properly together it is insane. It always takes ages, and can be frustrating if you haven't alloted the time, but it is also, soo well worth while. I can recommend spending more time on audio for every game you produce. That also includes me!

My friend and I spent a long time tonight just accumulating some basic sfx and a few scores of music. It went well, and after a mere 3 hours i have 5 sfx and 3 music tracks to use for the moment. Some may last the course, some may not. We shall see.

I am however having more issues with that crappy Xact 3.0. We made a completely new xact project and put in our sound. But as soon as i turn on compression, the xactblder just malfunctions. This is very frustrating, and will mean that i have less music. ARGH! i want more music darn it! so i guess i will waste some hours trying hard to fix this for this project.

Only down side to tonight is that i have not got anything done on the press contacts for Pellmell the rebirth, bah! However i now have 3 EOL bosses working :)

G'night

Boss Evolution

Start simple is what i think, especially when ya have so many of something to give. You can incrementally add more each time. This is a great system unless ya get people bored on the way to the exciting conclusion. So many movies and also games suffer from this.

But i am here to talk about the fact i have 'finished' my first and second level bosses. This is a proof of concept for me, to know that i can keep expanding on what this boss does, but keep it exciting and challenging enough as it develops. Yes, that is right. I aim to use the same boss for every level. This means that he needs to evolve.

Here is the boss from my first level...

When he comes on he basically just sits there shooting bullets at you. He fires a simple sequence of a trajectory fire, and then a dual-split trajectory fire. The second one causing two bullets to go either side of you. You must dodge through them to shoot him, as he will not be moving into your bullets, obviously.

Here is the second level boss...

This is the same boss i hear you cry! Well duh! But this boss once he comes on does NOT stand still. Nope siree, he starts moving in a very simple up and down pattern. while he does this he fire a nice trajectory bullet as he passes over the vertical center. Then when he changes direction at each end he fire that dual-split trajectory bullets. This means now bullets are coming from different directions at you. They are also a slight amount more up tempo (fires faster, as you can see from the pictures). This means even more dodging than the lazy dodging of the first boss. This boss is actually quite exciting, and he actually does move into you firepower (not that i am showing that!).

This bosses test graphics are probably frightening most of you readers away i am sure. Well Gameplay is king in my house. And though i love Mommys best games, and what they are achieving. Shoot1up (which i own), is not truly my kind of skillfull shooter. It is a bit messy, and relies on getting enough new ships to combat the ones you WILL lose. However this shooter should be able to be completed with no loss of life, and in fact i will be testing the difficulty to make sure that i do not even take a hit while playing properly. The extra hits your ship can take are there as a catch, or safety net. But now i am waffling about general game design philosophy. so time for bed.

G'night.

Pellmell at 80% thru Peer Review

Getting so close now. It will be nice to have this new version of the game out. Not that it is a rocket science update or anything. But a nicer product is a nicer product.

When Pellmell was released last year, we did not have these wonderful codes to get the games promoted. Now i have 50 of them, and it's time to get the promotion machine going again. So i can give lotsa codes away.

Not that it will make much difference at all. Hopefully though it might help some the sites that support the XNA and XBLIG effort. Which of course in turn will benefit me when i do something that the world actually wants to download.

Laters,

ok so 12 powerup levels, lol

Alrighty, so it wasn't 10. I couldn;t do a 24 to 10 fixup too easily. So now there are 12 powerup levels. haha

They work quite well, every time you collect a firepower upgrade token, you really see the upgrades. Which is awesome.

I am so tired tonight. I cannot do much. It was so hard to do the little work i have done. I am still glad i have done it. Maybe more wine will help, i dunno. either way, apart from a new blog post, i am done for tonight. Must be all this work i get paid for wearing me out.

So Ten firepower upgrades it is.

Yes, i have finally formalized my firepower designs, Here are the highlights...

1. 10 actual upgrades to collect
2. Those 10 upgrades actually upgrade your firepower in 24 ways
3. Extra fire coming out of the back and the sides eventually
4. Shoot a whole group of special enemies and the powerup will be released for collection
5. You will get one chance to collect the firepower upgrade per level.
6. If ya miss it, there will be an opportunity on all levels.

With this all in mind, i am going to design and balance 20 levels of actual gameplay. This will give approximately 30-35 minutes of straight play through time. Though there will be both an endless mode and an ended mode (ended mode??).

should be good , and although these levels will vary in length, they should show quite a lot of different gameplay opportunites for aliens to attack you.

laters