hauo

[hauo]

SKULLS AND HEADS 1.0

[hauo]

Made some more tileable illustrations. Used the same method as the banner I am using now. Was fun to make so just kept making more later on!

[hauo]

Gave Blender a try to go from a quick concept to a quick 3D model. For a first try I’m rather happy with the result. I’m trying to keep to a philosophy that its never necessary to be perfect, as long as you can see what it suppose to describe in a interesting way it works.

[hauo]

Just finished Blender Guru Blender Beginner Tutorial, and can strongly recommend it. Was a very well thought out and well explained step-by-step series of how the handle Blender from start to the final rendering. Made a plate of donuts! Not that bad if I say so myself.

From here I hope to be able to use Blender to create simple game-models.

[hauo]

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Link: Ludum Dare 42 game Theme: Running out of space

[hauo]

Ludum Dare 42

Will be joining Ludum Dare 42 game jam this weekend! Really looking forward to it. The theme will sadly be release at midnight, so will have wait until tomorrow too see what it is.

Will be the last jam I join in a long time, as after this I will focus fully on my own long-term projects.

Game Making Dance Hype!

[hauo]

Souls and Coins - Update

A small update on my “Souls and Coins” game: almost done! Got stuff moving and everything.

Game Summery: You play as the boat-man at the river Styx, taking souls to the other side. Passage cost one Gold Coin, but there has been a lot of counterfeits lately, so you have to check what you are given before letting them on.

Thoughts: Its really nothing special in the end, its mostly now just something I want to finish then forget. I think its just good for the soul to try and finish your personal projects you have started, even if you don’t like it anymore.

The pixel art is alright, only used 4 colors.

I do however really enjoy small movements/animations of things! It can really make even the simplest thing feel more alive. The art I made for this is extremely simplistic, but with just a few frames and bobbing movements, it all feels a lot less stiff.

Will finish up the game next week!

[hauo]

[hauo]

My seamless banner image I created: a face-monster-thing. At first I wanted it over the entire background, but got a bit messy. Might change to another theme that works better with image backgrounds.

[hauo]

Souls and Coins

Souls and Coins is a small game I originally designed for the Mini Jam 7 - Greek Mythology, but never finished. I did however like the idea a lot, so am continuing working on it now.

Basically, its a very small Papers-Please inspired management game with a Greek Mythology theme. You play as The ferryman Charon who ferry dead souls across the river Styx for a fee. However, a lot of souls have started to try and cheat there way across using counterfeit coins or other tricks, something Charon cannot allow! Hes got a reputation to uphold after-all.

The game is very simple in its design: a que of souls can be seen on the top screen, moving towards Charon, giving him a coin. A closeup of the coin (or object) given is then shown on the bottom screen where the player can inspect it by click on it. If the coin is “real”, the player should take it, dragging it to the right, if its a counterfeit she/he should deny it and drag it to the left. For every correct soul taken, the player gets a point.

At the moment I am just making it a “endless” type game, where the player goal is just to take as many correct souls across as possible and should the player take more then three errors the game ends.

[hauo]

I think it might be angry.

A random character I created, I cant remember what it was for.

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TheDoot

This was the start of a small game I am making. The original name was “the door” but missed the ‘r’, and kind of liked The Doot better.

Its a 2D Adventure game, where you take the role of a unlucky character that’s been sucked-in a magical door that keeps shoving him around to different worlds. The World “Manager” is not happy about this and keeps blaming him for trying to break the barriers between worlds, trying to hunt him down between worlds.

Every “world” is represented on one screen, with a small platform like puzzle the player has to solve. Trying to get to the door on the level to progress. The puzzles are rather simple “do-things-in-the-right-order” using your environment as tools.

The images are just two unfinished places where the player starts (his room) and a platform above the clouds.

[hauo]

A failed project: Instant Adventure

So, I finished my Unity project on a idea I had. Basically, the player have to find a certain number of places in the world using a map. After finding a correct spott and tapping on it, the player gains a icon. After all places have been found the player must then has to combine the correct icons (shown on the last map) in the correct order to get to the next challenge. Here a small Screen shoot:

To use separate information to navigate the game world successfully, is an idea I like a lot, and I haven't seen any other puzzle game doing it exactly like this. However my game has many problems. It lacks variety, the random maps that are created are quite boring and makes the progression uninteresting, the visuals from the map and the corresponding tile it represents is unclear etc. However the most major flaw in this game is its completely Binary interaction mechanic: there is only ONE option to take at any given time and that option can only be Right or Wrong. There is no gray zone, and gives the player zero creativity on how to play the game. There isn't even any room for some trail-and-error experimentation, as the randomized levels make it so the player can never retry the same level twice. 

This is at its core, is what makes the game boring playing for more then just a few minutes and really failed a game. A game feels like it requires at least two or more options at any given time leading up to the win/victory/completion of the challenge. There needs to be a gray-zone in its outcome and following actions can be used to rectify any “bad” choice made. This is one part of what makes playing fun, as it gives the player creativity of HOW to play the game. Obviously, this is only a rule-of-thumb, so does not apply to all games. However, I cant think of ANY game that I have enjoyed that does not give the player at least some gray-zone in there choices.

While the game failed, at least I have learnt something! Better luck More effort next time!

[hauo]

2016 - Take two

I have not posted anything since 2014 2012, but I suddenly got very interested in trying to resurrect this thing again. Always been rather found of the idea keeping a blogg alive, even if I am writing more to myself then anyone else. This blog will as before, a documentation my creations and adventures in game design. 

I am looking forward to it!

[hauo]

Back again, this time only after two months! I may only be doing this at the moment as its rather fun, but I have to thank the 9 subscribers I actually have, great to see that some of you might find what I do or think is interesting. Again, a great thanks! Hope you all had a great weekend!

Today I made a few fast digital drawings of two rather odd ideas I have had, they are basically very small games, mini-games or flash-like games if you like. The point is more of a visual exploration rather then very advanced game design, where the player gets to experiment with a space that is not really game like, but more or being "inside" of a drawing (although you could argue that every 2D game is just that). The game-play is simple point and click for now, with the goal to experiment with what is visually available. The visuals will then change or react to what the player does. What I want them to become is almost like a short story i guess.

Great examples of this method can be seen (as i mentioned) in allot of shorter flash/online games. whats frustrating is that I know 4 very good examples from what I can only remember one, with all of them being rather deep without having very complex game mechanics at all. Two being about life, another of exploration and the last one a grim view of North Korea. If I do find them I will make a short update.

The one is do remember is One Chance (on Newgrounds), I love this game (slight spoiler here), as its extremely potent in what its trying to do. The game itself is a very simple "walk and pick a choice", however as the game is only playable ones (if you don't cheat i guess), it putts enormous pressure on its player to choose his action during the game, what you pick is what you get. yet, whatever choice you take the game goes on, no ending is a "wrong" ending. A very short game capable of making the player feel a great dilemma and regret, that many more high profile games really struggle with. All this with the simple use of a forced limiter that stops the otherwise very "must have/know it all" mentality. This way some things will always remain unknown and therefore always remains very fascinating even after finishing it. Playing this game more then ones, in my opinion, spoils the experience.

My games might not not reach that depth yet (and as mentioned, more of a visual exploration), but want to try and engage the player in choices that cant be changed. Placing a permanent mark of whatever action he/she chooses to do. The Tree (first image) is just what it looks like, its a tree. My idea is to have a constant timer that spans a year in time with the tree changing along the way. There is no way to turn back time, or possibility to pause. Would the player leave the game on the time will continue, in-till the tree has reached its end by itself.

The other game (the tree islands) I have a little more interactive plans for, with the player maybe taking control of a actual character trying to survive as long as he can on the islands using whatever small resources are available. Kind of a mini-survival game, CANABALT is a good example of this. Trying out alto more visualizations for this game tho, as I am not happy with the cartoony look.

Hope to update a bit more later on in the week of the Grove project, as well as other stuff! In till then, have a great week!

[hauo]

Hello!

Here is a small update on "Grove" (our tower defense game, you can read about the first post about it here)! Its been a very exiting week! We managed to get allot done, esspecially with the game mechanic design and how this game is going too work.

On the image here you see the a few concepts on the player character (more or less), made by Dhex. In short, you take the part of a new creature that has emerged rivaling the already existing creatures from Nordic folk-tales.

We got some new ideas are how the towers work, and we think we got something. As mentioned you can build towers and modify ground levels, however we where really not to fond of the idea of just having tons of tower types with several upgrades that just makes there "numbers" higher. Instead we want to player to focus on positioning and trying to outsmart (instead of outnumber) the enemy. Towers now all have different ability's (that has to be activated), that can for example  effect the trolls position or give them status effects. The tower types ability's then depend on, not on upgrades, but rather what status the very ground they are standing on has.

For now we have simple stuff: like throwing a enemy, stunning a enemy, building a temporary wall etc. but talking about more advance ability's as well. The point is with a system like this to make it able for the player to create his on combinations, that even we might not think of, but changing and chaining tower ability's for the greatest effect. We hope to avoid the tower spam fest that otherwise is very common in other Tower Defense games.

Look forward for more, and have a great weekend! I am myself going to a rather interesting art exhibition in Mariestad by Jesper Blåder, going to be fun! Cheers!