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Author Topic: Earthling Shook is making a game  (Read 1081 times)

Shook

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Earthling Shook is making a game
« on: December 10, 2011, 09:48:08 am »

Oh yes, and it's being made with Game Maker. It wouldn't be the first game i've made (which would be this one), but it will be much more ambitious and innovative than the previous one. For one, i actually have a name for it! I call it... Sketchwobl. It's a reference to the sketchy style of "art" i will be employing, in a Toady-esque moment of realization. I do enjoy making sprites, but it takes a lot of time. If i just doodle down stuff instead, it will both look unique and take 40 times less time. Plus, the name rings well in my ears.

So anyways, on to the more documentative stuff. Sketchwobl will be a side-scrolling platformer type game, but with a focus on combat rather than jumping around. Fighting will be done by means of a mouse-controlled hand, with which you swing your weapon into the face of your foes. Damage and such will be calculated with pseudo-physics (i'm studying geology not physics), meaning that faster strikes with heavier weapons pack more punch.

If i get around to it, i will also try to differentiate between types of strikes. For instance, a sword can both stab and slash, which is two different kinds of wounds. A spear can also do both, but it probably stabs a whole lot better than it slashes/bashes. A mace would swing with a lot of force, but thrust with comparatively little. I might just pull the faster = stronger stunt though, because trying to get Game Maker to know the difference between a slash and a stab is likely to be hard.

If i fail to get the mousehand to work properly, i'll probably fall back to click-to-attack and such. I don't think it would be bad, i just like the other idea better, since it relies more on the player than arbitrary stats. Also, blocking will be done with a shield, which you raise by holding a button of sorts. You can then move the shield around with the mouse, and even bash people in the face with it (if it's not too easymode).

The protagonist will be a circular caveman called Oogba. He somehow gets into the randomly generated situation that starts the game, and then pursues that story till you either die or succeed. There will be NO saving your game, but fortunately, a playthrough won't take all that long. A bit like The Binding of Isaac, if you ever played that, except that i can't guarantee any unlocks. There will be plenty of random events to find though, so a single playthrough won't even show half the possible content. I intend to keep much of this content secret myself, since i'd otherwise ruin the joy of exploration. :U

The levels will have randomly generated terrain, as dictated by a seed. This seed allows players to share awesome levels they've found with each other, and to replay these levels if they so desire. Each level will also have some event-spots, where a roll of a die decides what will happen next. What does happen can vary between a minor gimmick and a change to an entirely different level, so there will be much to find.

Each playthrough will have you start with a certain number of lives, here dictated by pairs of golden pants. Since there is so many random things, i'm going to try and make it so that the first time you die from something specific, it doesn't detract a life. This will also allow me to do some really dirty tricks, but without actually hurting the player significantly with them.

And now, what i've actually made so far.



Random terrain generation, and a controllable circle. It obviously has a long way to go, but i think this will be a fun project. Although there's not much to do now, here's a pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha for you to play around with.

http://min.us/mbieqLZDZz

Move with arrow keys, R to reset and generate new terrain. I intend to make the terrain generator more variable, and include things such as hills and floating islands. Everything seen is no sure indicator of the final version.

Thoughts?
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Reudh

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2011, 06:05:07 am »

Damn! I tried once making a game in game maker but once I'd made the sprites for a player character I couldn't get the gravity to work properly and deleted it in a fit of rage.

As for your game, Sketchwobl sounds very promising. Vaguely like LoZ:Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks where the stylus / mouse controls the style of attack. Perhaps for stab a horizontal line with a bit of tolerance beginning behind your character and going toward the enemy, where a slash would be a vertical line.
I look forward to seeing more from you!

Huh, that reminds me... Perhaps I should display one of my old games that was never finished. :P

[EDIT:] Just tried Sketchwobl's 0.01 and it's very nicely made. Nice smooth animations, and the terrain works. :P
« Last Edit: December 11, 2011, 06:07:29 am by Reudh »
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Sunkwell

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2011, 06:48:42 am »

AWESOME TERRAIN!!!
I think the mouse controlling thingy you want is a lot like mouse gestures(think black&white miracles)
maybe specialized to know if you want to stab the face or the foot, but still similar.
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Ultimuh

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2011, 06:52:06 am »

Would it have those simple but surprisingly famed faces you tend to draw?
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Shook

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2011, 10:30:42 am »

Famed? Not sure about that, but it won't be srs faces i draw on things. :U (except maybe some events, hee hee)

@Sunkwell: Thanks! Also, that's a quite nice idea you have there. Game Maker is being pretty dumbshit regarding pythagoras (OF ALL THINGS, THIS IS THE SIMPLEST TRIGS EVER), so my idea of having a freely movable hand within a circle of the player isn't working out too well.

@Reudh: Heh, gravity is one of the easiest things, especially since there is this neat function called "Set Gravity". :P
Also, you totally should. Maybe you'll regain inspiration and make something awesome!!!

Also, made the terrain prettier.



Next demo when i have the hand up and running, and possibly a foe for you to bash in the face.
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It may be worthwhile to have the babies fall into ring of fortifications or windows, to prevent anyone from catching and saving them.
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[01:27] <Octomobile> MMM THATS GOOD FIST BUTTER

Yoink

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2011, 10:32:34 am »

The little ball needs a loface. :D
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Shook

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2011, 11:30:38 am »

A worthy suggestion, but can it top the...



CAEVFAEC? Also fist and crosshair. Now to make the fist not shake all the time, even though it looks pretty funny.

Edit: ohey look a Dumba



Yeah you can punch them, that's about it right now. Version 0.1 coming tomorrow.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2011, 05:17:52 pm by Shook »
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Twitter i guess
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Quote from: Girlinhat
It may be worthwhile to have the babies fall into ring of fortifications or windows, to prevent anyone from catching and saving them.
Quote
[01:27] <Octomobile> MMM THATS GOOD FIST BUTTER

Shook

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Re: Earthling Shook is making a game
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2011, 10:58:37 am »

Right guys, time to GET my download link on.

http://min.us/m7ylmyhvg

New things:
- Terrain is prettier (slightly)
- Player now controls Oogba rather than a circle (Oogba is bigger than Circle and has caevfaec, looks in the direction of mouse)
- FIST (left click to punch)
- First enemy! (which is a Dumba [it is a clever portmanteau of dumb and Goomba])
- Randomly spawned Dumbas in the one level that exists (so y'all can punch their faces)

Known issues:
- Player can STILL go past level borders
- Hand has a bit of trouble keeping up if you go backwards and punch
- Punches are not equally long when moving
- Player does not have health yet, so Dumbas are harmless
- Dumbas have no death animation, and thus disappear when they run out of health

The current hand system is just so i have something to fall back on. I found a function that mimics good ol' Pythagoras without using square roots and shit, so maybe there's still hope for a free-floating hand!!!
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Twitter i guess
also deviantART page
Quote from: Girlinhat
It may be worthwhile to have the babies fall into ring of fortifications or windows, to prevent anyone from catching and saving them.
Quote
[01:27] <Octomobile> MMM THATS GOOD FIST BUTTER