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My 7 day fps attempt

raithzaraithza
edited in Projects
As posted on the google group... Yes, it's almost a week late, and the 7 days were non-consecutive, but I did make a fps and had a lot of fun doing it, even though it didn't quite turn out perfectly..<div><br></div><div>Gameplay video:  (windows): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46850924/spacefps.zip</div><div><br></div><div>It's a jumpy swingy space based platformer... </div><div><br></div><div>ps As the first person to post a project on MGSA, what do I win??</div>

Comments

  • AequitasAequitas
    edited
    you win this commemorative smiley<br><br>: { ><br>
  • ElyaradineElyaradine
    edited
    <p>I really enjoyed the soundtrack there. :) Only glanced at the YouTube video, but I'll try remember to have a playthrough tonight.</p>
  • raithzaraithza
    Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, the soundtrack (the highlight of the game imo) was done by John Hattendorf, who is available for contract work and whom I highly recommend! 
    <a href="http://soundcloud.com/hattendo">http://soundcloud.com/hattendo</a>;
  • Gazza_NGazza_N
    This is rad. It's like playing Metroid Prime with nothing but Grapple Beam segments, and I mean that in the best possible way. The way you gradually introduce platform types and challenges is nice, and I like the fact that checkpoint platforms are sprinkled liberally through the level (when I can land on 'em, that is. :P). The music and aesthetic are cool too. I particularly love the way the stars whoosh past as I gain momentum (both visually with the increase in particles, and the literal "whoosh" of the ones I grapple with my graviton gun).<br><br>There's just one minor qualm I have - it's not clear whether you rely on "air friction" to give the player the momentum to reach the next star-node. I initially relied purely on my graviton gun for acceleration because I assumed that that the directional keys were for minor course corrections and platform movement, and that the beam was my primary means of propulsion. When I found I couldn't gain enough momentum, I tried holding the forward key and lo and behold, stars were swooshing past in no time. It's a minor thing, but an important thing to convey to the player if true.<br><br>That said, I just lost a rather pleasant hour to this game. Are you planning on expanding it at all?<br>
  • raithzaraithza
    @Gazza_N Thanks for playing! sorry for the delayed response, hectic week so far :) glad to hear you enjoyed it!<div style="font-style: normal; "><br></div><div>About the air acceleration: I think most people habitually hold down W anyway - but I agree that it probably is something that should be explicitly communicated <i>somehow</i>. I'm not sure how I'd do it - probably put a jump that is impassable early on without it - although that isn't the nicest way...</div><div><br></div><div>I did some more work on the game during the weekend's jam - although that was focused on refinement rather than expansion.  I still have one or two minor things that i want to do before uploading the (for now) final version. I have another project that I want to focus on first, but after that I might be tempted to add a bit to this game - either in the direction of making it a weird puzzle platformer, or a racing game...<br><div style="font-style: normal; "><br></div><div style="font-style: normal; "><br><div><br></div></div></div>
  • dislekciadislekcia
    If you had the equivalent of an "engine note" when holding down a key to move and that note kept playing in the air, I think players would intuit that the air acceleration existed. If you were going to go that route, I'd also suggest adding some sort of visual indicator - maybe a particle ghosting effect or just a simple HUD element with a thrust vector visible.<br>
  • raithzaraithza
    oh wow... look at what I just found!<div><br></div><div><a href="">
    </div><div><br></div><div>Disclaimer: I only came across this today but the vid has been up since May.</div><div><br></div><div>it's basically my game idea 'Done Right'...  which is a bummer but also cool at the same time: I get to see (and play) my game as it could have been polished and done right... but at the same time it removes all motivation to work on this any further :/</div>
  • creative630creative630
    <font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">That's a pretty cool trailer, the goop reminds me of portal 2... except you are the goop and not shooting it :)</font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">I don't think it should remove your motivation, sure it sucks that its so similar but now you can see whats been tried and you can take it in a different direction. You could play up the bouncing aspects of your game, maybe include those slow-down stasis field like things from UT3 or some other kind of innovation. Still lots of room for more unique mechanics :)</font></div>
  • dislekciadislekcia
    I dunno, that game focuses on the movement and third person-ness of the puzzles. Your game is about the process of swinging and aiming, I think there's room for your take on the space if you can properly communicate movement and the player's bearing in space.<br>
  • raithzaraithza
    <font face="Arial, Verdana">Yeah, I guess if anything it should serve as motivation, and despite the similarities the feel of the 2 games are quite different.</font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; ">By the way - I (rudely) never even responded to @dislekcia's  earlier feedback...</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; ">"<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; ">If you had the equivalent of an "engine note" when holding down a key to move and that note kept playing in the air, I think players would intuit that the air acceleration existed.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; "> "</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; "><br></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; ">That might work... I did experiment with a noise to indicate player speed but I found it to be annoying.  I would not want to implement any kind of hud though.  IF I were to revisit this game and give it a proper introduction, I would try indicate it with a jump that is undoable if you don't hold W but otherwise trivial, although that isn't the surest way. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; "><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><font face="lucida grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, tahoma, sans-serif"><span style="line-height: 18px;">"</span></font><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; font-size: 10pt; ">if you can properly communicate movement and the player's bearing in space."</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; font-size: 10pt; "><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; font-size: 10pt; ">I think one thing the other game demonstrates well is how much having lots of objects around contributes to this... I did experiment by adding in dust clouds and so on but the effect isn't strong enough IMO.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; "><br></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; font-size: 10pt; "><br></span></div>
  • dislekciadislekcia
    Don't underestimate the power of the third person view - I think that's what's giving the feeling of movement in the other game, more than anything else. First person cameras always have problems putting the character in the context of the environment - you never see the two together, so while the immersion is high, the information of how the environment affects the player is low.<br><br>Have you thought of putting motion indicators onto a gun model, maybe?<br>
  • FengolFengol
    "<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Don't underestimate the power of the third person view - I think that's what's giving the feeling of movement in the other game, more than anything else. First person cameras always have problems putting the character in the context of the environment - you never see the two together, so while the immersion is high, the information of how the environment affects the player is low."</span><div><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Sorry to hi-jack; @Gazza_N this is why I want a 3rd person camera in the nameless mech game.  Environment also includes enemy projectiles; I want the player to see them hit their hull so they can decide how to react to it.</span></div>
  • raithzaraithza
    @dislekcia - maybe that is a good idea to copy that blatantly from the other game - I already have the shooting star/ghosts in my game so something similar as the player avatar with particle streams to indicate acceleration should do the job perfectly.  Unfortunately I'm unlikely to revisit this game any time soon...<div><br></div><div>By the way, the final version is up at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46850924/7dFPS.zip , it's basically the version I demo'd at the last meetup plus one or two small fixes.</div><div><br></div><div>@aodendaal - I agree... for a mech game 3rd person camera is almost a prerequisite.</div>
  • KarujiKaruji
    <font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">@aodendaal bad Andre, you shouldn't hijack threads :P but I have to disagree with you and @raithaza</font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">A first person mech game can work very well, as it can create a very high sense of immersion if the interface is kept completely diegetic interface.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">That said, another thing that @raithaza could do is change the colour of the 'stars' the player passes depending on the player velocity. This would give a good indicator of when to jump, since you mostly need to jump at the optimal velocity.</font></div>
  • FengolFengol
    <font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">The first problem I have with first person view in a mech game is that players have first person expectations (jumping & croutching, strafing and freedom of movement, and freedom of looking) where I want my players to have an experience of driving a vehicle which has constraints as, if you've driven a car, you know doesn't manoeuvre like a person does and your personal space is a lot bigger than just what you can see.</font>
  • KarujiKaruji
    edited
    <div>Firstly: Admins can we have a topic split please :)</div><div><br></div>Secondly: I have to disagree with you. If you are piloting a mech, or plane. With an appropriate interface then I do not believe that the player would have the expectation of strafing and such<div><br></div><div>For example if you had a HUD element displaying the mech than than the idea of the type of mech, and its limitations, would be reinforced on the player.</div><div><br></div><div>Example HUD for mech idea (stolen from Medabots)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
    RobotHud.png
    460 x 426 - 298K
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    I personally prefer @Raithza 's first person view to the third person view of that blob game, precisely because it IS somewhat disorientating (thus creating those adrenalin moments).<div><br></div><div>The time I feel upset with the first person view is when I struggle with a platform, and I don't think the platforms are the fun part of the game anyway, so while the blob game has better indicators for accurate platforming... so what?</div><div><br></div><div>I said it already on the Google Group, if successfully standing on a platform was a trivial task in @Raithza 's game, i.e. very AI assisted, then that'd leave room to shift more challenge onto the grappling. Making the platforming more accurate and accessible is going to result in a more platformy game.</div><div><br></div><div>It might be just my opinion, but jumping on platforms just doesn't seem cool when compared to grappling around like Space Spiderman. </div>
  • dislekciadislekcia
    edited
    I agree with @BlackShipFilltheSky here - I think the first person perspective is the last thing that should be taken out of @Raithza's game!<br><br>Why not emphasise the difference between the two games even more? Screw platforms. Have different sorts of stars - some that reel you in, some that don't. Maybe some that push you away when you're grappled to them. The important point here is that the aiming and grappling is the main thing you do, plus air control movements. Platforms would be things to be avoided and would block grappling to stars. What about stars *attached* to platforms so you can only grapple them from one side or only remain attached to them for a specific arc? That's interesting. It's also very different to the other game - which does the grappling for you automatically.<br><br>Sure, you'd still have to communicate air control impact to the player better, but that's what most of my feedback has been about up until this point anyway ;)<br>
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    I wonder if the air control could be a little more complicated. I mean for example: In the space theme the air control is probably thrusters of some kind. So propelling left should have a burner sound coming from the right, and propelling right have a sound on the left (for some feedback). And thrusters could have a limit, or energy consumption and recharge or something. And because they're consumable the thrusters could be made more effective and obvious.<div><br></div><div>Not suggesting that that is a good idea, but making thrusters a resource <i>would</i> make the player more aware of the thrusters and strengthen the space theme.</div>
  • raithzaraithza
    I think if I were to take this further I would really want to try get rid of platforms altogether.. and the constant gravity... and rather have the stars in the game act as sources of gravity. Then I could have an introductory area with no gravitational star nearby which will allow the player to learn about aircontrol in a safe environment... it would be a weird game and might not work but maybe worth a jam to try it out.

    from the google group...
    h) Maybe eventually there could be proper exploration, even survival elements where you have to salvage things, perhaps Fez-like cryptic puzzles on ancient asteroids, perhaps a guiding companion or voices stored on datacubes... I'm just mentioning this because I think this mechanic has the potential to be the core of quite a large and very interesting game, if you chose to take it that far.
    I'd love to do take it in an exploration/puzzle direction. Though I wouldn't want the player to play the game as a human explorer... something more arbitrary, as in you are a working space ghost that has to restore imbalances in solar systems and ensure black holes don't form? I would also love to make some weird space creatures... i bet there are space-jellyfish somewhere in the universe. I think hopping from solar system to solar system maintaining order is probably a narrative that can be communicated simply and that can serve the game well.

    damnit... now i'm tempted to work on this again... must remain focused... :D
  • charlycharly
    How long did it take you to make it?
  • raithzaraithza
    How long did it take you to make it?
    it's hard to guess but i'd say between 20-40 hours worth of work, with some work thrown away during that time.

    note that the game has no GUI, no models except for primitive shapes, no texture work, no weapons, no AI, no characters, no terrain, one level, minimal lighting, and only about 4 sound effects. It's just about as minimal as you can make a game.

    Getting the physics to feel right and building the level took the most time (not much more going on in the game besides that!) as those are very reliant on experimentation.
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