A Shooter busy day

So i am finally getting into the HD revolution, though i think the revolution happend several years back. I am actually gonna setup a new tv and it is an LCD HD one. Awesome i hope.

Well anyway today apart from setting up my living room for the new TV, i have been working on A Shooter. Taking into account the latest playtest feedback. Mainly from Chris Hughes, who is a top lad and someone i respect for trying hard to do Indie with Honor. So today i added my last piece of music, the commisioned piece by Liam Tarpey that will be SorceryGames theme music. After adding that (you will hear it on the credits) i got to work on the Bosses.

The issue with the bosses is that they all look the same. So people will think they are the same. Even though they are all orignial and evolving. So what to do. Originally (this morning) i asked my artist id he could supply another definition at least. But then i realised i should take Chris's other comment and just see what happens when i tint them. And lo and behold it looks sweet. I have about 8 colors and then just reused a few and i am really surprised at the results. They look really good and i think this has added the missing element to my Bosses.

Then i gave the game a quick onve over and noticed a part of the instructions was erronous, so fixed that up and then added abit about multiplayer. Whammo i feel i am done...

I will let it rest now for a few days (ok, ill keep testing it of course). But what i am mainly waiting for is tuesday. The reason for releasing my game into Peer review on Tuesday is so i can try and make some effort (though it may be futile) to get into the new releases list for friday. Now games usually take longer to go through peer review than a week, but i have a lot of peers that i would call friends and i am hoping they will help me achieve the friday goal. And yes, of course i will publish the succes or not of this adventure. :)

G'night, i have to get up early in the morning to go off roading with my family up at Rowher again. I love off roading on my Honda 450x..

A Shooter enters Playtest

Should i Doom my latest playtest version by saying that this will be it's last time in there before Peer review.. Yeah i guess i just did.

There is a very large discussion going on about high score sharing on Xblig at the moment. I have several comments in there myself. There are a few groups of Developers or opinionators on every side at the moment, and no clear winners so far. Although i feel that some posters feel they have won or are winning something. Mostly i just think we are just headed for more rules, more restrictions and a lot more time in development and also review.

So remember, it's all for the children. ;)

I am done with this topic for now, though i expect to ruffle some feathers with A Shooter as it does indeed have High Score Sharing. and not in a way that some of these Peers feel is acceptable. I will take my chances and see what goes down. I will not break the rules for my game, however i will argue what those rules should be.

G'night

Working with my Peers

Xblig is an interesting place, full of stuff. I say stuff cos i am not sure what some of the things are. It is also full of developers of every type and persuasion.

Last night i deigned to do nothing on my own game and instead look through the Peer review list and also the Playtest list. I was primarily looking for games that some of my Tweeple are working on. Strangely enough i feel very connected to these other devs that i have not yet met in real life. Instead i have grown to know them a little better through 140 character limit posts in twitter. The one thing i like about these peers is their dedication and determination (dang, thats two thnigs already, argh!). They want to produce a nice product fit to be proud of and do it in the hopes that people will notice it and play it.

So browsing through the review list first nabbed me an odd game from Stegersaurus games. Some strange twist of a game with Massage in the name. Very funny i thought when i saw it and tested it. I couldn't find anything really wrong and so passed it. Not quite my cup of tea but my kids liked it.

Then with no other name being known to me on the Reiew list i headed off to the Playtest area. This is where i spend a lot more time, as playtesting and giving back worthwhile feedback is a longer process than Peer testing a review game.I found two games here Old School Adventure and Blazin Balls Xtreme Edition. I have to say i had a rather good time with both and ended up writing many words for the developers, but that isn't the point of this writup. In fact what is the point is the way they took the criticism. That not only read and commented and asked questions about what was said by myself and a few others (Bob Taco Ind and QuimbyRBG). They did it in such a professional way that it warms my heart to think that i am actualy working with these people. Yes, i feel that connected to their product in some small way.

I thank these devs for treating me and my other Peers with such respect, even when we say stuff that isn't very nice. And to all those devs that get so annoyed and aggravated with playtest reviewers, please learn some decorum!

I now look forward to my next delve into the wonderful world of Xblig playtest and Peer review.

Laters

Some Devs just Rock

Lately i have been chatting quite a lot with various other Xblig Developers. We hav been sending little messages across twitter and back. It has been fun, it has been revealing. It has been a litle bit of an eye opener.

I have gotten closer to some of these devs because they are like me. In various ways I see what they are up to and can most definitely feel their pains and as well as their hopes and dreams.

Here are a few points..
We all want more from Xblig
We want the channel to be more successful, not just our own titles.
We see that other titles being successful has the potential to be good for our business too.
We all put our hearts and souls into our games.
Disappointment when soemthing worked on so hard is not successful.
Some level of disappointment when an Avatar zombie game that is crap sells well.
Although we do not all have the same experience or talent, effort is measurable.
We want to do more from our games, but feel that current Xblig will not support our efforts.

Ok, i am gonna stop there. I have had a lot of conversations with other devs. It has ben fun and that is something i never expected from Twitter, which at one time i hated and thought was worthless. I no longer feel that way. It has given me a way to connect with my Peers and i love it for that.

So... To all you Indie devs that I chat with each month or week on and off. Keep doing what ya doing and I wish ya all the best of luck. (yes, i know some people i am refering too are not on Xblig, but Xna and iPhone etc).

Time to work on the Global high score again :o

A Shooter Going to Playtest

I would have put it into playtest tonight, but i am too tired to take screenshots and do a video.

Then again i do have two gameplay videos already.. Hmm, i guess i could just use one of those.

A shooter Gameplay video #1

A Shooter Gameplay video #2

There are the links for anyone who wants to watch them. so the Gameplay is mostly there, but i am in a conundrum. What am i going to do about trial mode. After all my game starts off pretty slow. Then ramps up.. Beefs up and generally gets waaay more exciting as you progress. so many choices i am not sure which to choose. Ok, i hate this part of the dev process, and i am really sure a lot of others do as well. here are my choices as I see them at the moment... Not in any particular order as they say on DWTS...

1. I can make several levels to show off my Aliens and their firepower, and the gameplay... This option seemed good for Pellmell, as that game was a lot more complex and bigger overall. For this game, it is not about the new aliens so much as improving and facing the greater odds/more intersting gameplay. Not sure i can show it any better than the levels i have already. Prolly a waste of time

2. I can let them play the first 4 levels. This is how i have it right now. It lasts about 5 minutes, so hopefully leaving time for them to try again if they died, or try again with the multiplayer. Seems like a good choice at the moment. My issue with it is the first 2 levels are a bit bland... Maybe it is because i have sen them so many times, i don't know.

3. Trial levels will be lvels 1,3,5,7.. Now that is a much stronger experience, and shows a lot more off. However those levels from 5 onwards are tough for anyone not used to shooters etc. So i am worried i will alienate prospective buyers.

I guess i need to get the game into Playtest and see what the Peers say. I can at least ask people what they think of the different options. This is also why i have not put it into Playtest tonight. cos i need to write up what is good and what is expected in the game etc..

Well something for me to sleep on i hope.
g'night and good luck in all your Quandries!