#gamedev talk

[concorp]

there’s not enough incentive for players to actually fight each other rather than just run and hide or make deals for kills.

this is a very difficult problem to solve though, as the stakes of dying in a fight are wayyy too high for people to want to risk it. it’s something that’s always extremely difficult to balance in any sort of survival pvp game.

the one thing that always works to get players to fight (whether players actually like it or not is a whole other thing) is forced death matches.

have the evil eye creature put them in an arena or something and force some people to actually fight etoiles he needs his enrichment 🥰

[tgskirtbearer]

Honestly for me when it comes to designing good schmoovement is to allow a lot of player freedom & expression with the given mechanics. Thankfully! grappling hooks are already really good at that. Im not sober enough to explain MY game in detail, but its a 3D platformer that revolves around a dash mechanic and maintaining momentum. (Think sonic Utopia meets Celeste)

IMO the best way to figure out how to make a mechanic feel good is to see how other people did it before you and adapt it to how you want it to work/feel. games I used as reference/inspiration were Cloudbuilt: a game about wall running in cloudscapes, kinda just yoinked how wall running works, Celeste: not gonna link it because Im lazy and you probably know what it is, kinda how we're doing a dash mechanic but only horizontal Sorry if this was rambly/ didnt make sense, I typed this on loading screens

How to design movement tech? I am thinking about a titanfall like grappling hook mechanic for a minecraft block game, where i want everyone to be able to express themselves the way they want, so having a good movement system and allow players to play on other maps kinda like mario maker is important, the camera is 3 person and with splatoon reticle, its just a project for now, how do i mix a grappling button, jump, crouch and run button

And how could be expanded by item usage or block placement, it could be so cool but i have no idea of what i am doing

never played Titanfall but I looked it up and the grappling mechanic looks sick

I've never made anything like what you're describing so my two cents might be more like once cent, but here's what I think

Minecraft is all about the environment you're in and your relationship to it. the ways you navigate it, break it down, build upon it, reshape it, etc. the way you move in Minecraft emphasizes that relationship. you're meant to feel small compared to a big world, so you can't jump that high or far. exploring forests, plains, oceans, rivers, ravines, jungles, mountains. they're all different experiences because of this

once you get an Elytra and some fireworks, the world suddenly feels a lot smaller. forests, plains, oceans, rivers, ravines, jungles, mountains, they all blur together and lose meaning when you just fly over them. it's a freeing feeling, but it comes at the cost of the level of intimacy you previously had with the world. even your own creations can start to feel small and insignificant when you fly over them

however, when you enter a cave, the environment forces you to respect it by increasing the risk of flying around with elytra. it's generally safer and more practical to go on foot... unless you're a thrillseeker, in which case caves are probably the most exciting and rewarding place to fly in

of course, the elytra are a really extreme example of a mechanic that cheapens one of the main appeals of a game, and I don't think the Titanfall grappler would be quite that extreme (to a certain degree it could actually bring out a cool dynamic with the environment, where you benefit from finding good spots to grapple off of) but I think it's still worth considering how you want to approach any potential conflict between these two appeals of freeing, expressive movement and an intimate connection with the environment

do you want to de-emphasize or even completely ignore one of these appeals in favor of strengthening the other, maybe by nerfing the grappler or just not going for the same kind of intimate connection that mc goes for? or do you want to find a way of making them work together, maybe by increasing the risk of using the grappler, or by giving the grappler some limitation that different environments helps you overcome in different ways--maybe grappling the floor doesn't really get you speed and height the way it does in Titanfall, but grappling onto stuff above you is where it's at? maybe then players start building grapple points as infrastructure to cross plains/deserts/oceans? that could be cool!

there's lots of ways to approach mashing these two things together and resolving (or avoiding!) the conflicts that arise from doing so, but hopefully I've helped give you stuff to think about!!

[evelili]

the only content of my ocs that exists online rn is this mess of a vid i cranked out during work hours a year or so ago and i think thats beautiful

[vaguely-concerned]

listen I just... this path of harding's loyalty mission with this specific party. the disrupted self squad. the trauma has made me a stranger to myself Have You Seen Me I can't find my way back union. team fractured reality and I'm piecing it and myself back together as best I can (will you keep me company in the meantime?). the echoes and the implications. as above so below, as in you so in me, large cosmic scale to painfully small personal psychological scale. pain from the distant past still alive and snarling to be known in the now, and pain right now and ongoing but forgotten and unseen, supressed by means natural and unnatural (what's a little blood magic to help denial and dissociation along between frenemies huh solas). the extra meaning 'spite' takes on as a phrasing here (because it's all IN THERE this is all in the big text of the game!!! the themes echo back on themselves everywhere you listen for them!!!!). rook who once more doesn't even know that they don't KNOW they're also speaking to themselves as well as harding in this scene, to their own broken self and mind partially mirrored in someone they love (broken by the same perpetrator, even, in this case!!!!!!!!! hello solas once more), harding who doesn't quite know she's also speaking to them as well as to herself, to the dwarves, the titans, the world; everything and everyone that has ever been hurt, but whose stubborn kindness still has room for it all. (even for solas. hello again. we cannot escape you it seems mr dread wolf it's almost like you and your plethora of fuckery are thematically central or something (grudgingly affectionate).) even without perfect understanding of the full picture, the simple intention to be kind matters.

(forgive me for my sentimental nature and everpresent rookanis bias for a moment but ALSO lucanis looking over at rook Like That in this context, while those words are being spoken!!! spite's role in urging him towards escaping, living, thriving, instead of merely numbly surviving, and how it ties in with harding's revelation and decision here. and rook who opens doors and stays to walk through them with you, at the end being found and helped through a door of their own, and lucanis himself being one of the people to do that. do you. do you get me. I feel strange and wild.)

most of all harding just. saying the whole thing. summing the whole game up. 'we're different, but we're not gone. we will thrive -- in spite of you'. I was RIGHT about it all the way back in november actually and I should say it!!!!! the game is saying this on purpose. 'and then... everyone was there. and that's when I knew we'd be okay. that I'd... that I'd be okay'. my friend lace harding might be the only person who really gets it huh. and what a legacy for varric to leave behind in the narrative (and what a common da2 W, the little team that couldn't does it again better than anyone's ever done it by doing it the worst anyone's ever done it, hawke can't stop winning by always losing). no salvation but each other but my god that is plenty. my god. that is enough. once more

my head is in my hands I love this game desperately, it rewards really sitting with and taking in the themes so much. i'm so sorry for dropping a bunch of my own metas in there like that but I'm finding it so hard to say what I need to say all in one go, it's just -- it's so big! it's so much! I have so many thoughts to express about my unified theory of veilguard and only my poor battered neurons to do it with, please look upon me with clemency and, perhaps, forbearance. and it's so interesting that you can bring another companion along with rook and harding in this scene and have it mean just as much with slightly different nuances, have it resonate just as much with the overall meaning the game is trying to get across, because they're truly all tied in with each other that way; they're all part of a larger truth. you think it's one theme after another but the damn things overlap etc.

[blackblooms]

Irredeamable is out!

Trailer Music: Destiny by Alexandr Zhelanov https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexandrZhelanovsMusic

Play Irredeamable on Gamejolt here! Or play it on Itch.io Here!

About Irredeamable

Irredeamable is my latest project, a semi-linear action-adventure game, where you control this little bundle of anger and angst in her quest to recover her lost powers and bring forth the end of the world.

Join Irredeamable Gamejolt community here! Follow me on twitter here!

The game has a heavy emphasis on combat, with a bit of platforming, and a whole lot of boss fights. There is also some mysterious lore to be uncovered by those willing to brave the world's deepest, darkest depths. My main goal with this account is to spread awareness of the game as i work on it. I'll post threads about the game content, characters, and world, with occasional distractions such as my unhinged game design thoughts and ideas. Don`t hesitate to share thoughts and engage, i love nothing more than to talk about writing and game design.

[northadawn]

Waking The Distant Sea

*UPDATED INTRODUCTION POST*

Hello everyone, I'm still NorthaDawn!

Here's the news I got for you: I along with a team of people are producing a game starring the humanised ship designs you've come to know from my art, called Waking The Distant Sea!

SYNOPSIS:

A depressed office worker longing for love passes out at their home after a wild high school reunion party, with most of their best mates finding partners, but not themselves. They soon wake up on board the world's most mysterious luxury liner out in the middle of the ocean, inhabited by several eccentric passengers. With the voyage concluding in a month's time, the only wish they want to fulfil is to find love. But would that love last once the ship drops anchor upon arrival?

Just remember, this isn't a game about ships.

FEATURES:

5 dateable characters and 1 quirky wingwoman

Various on-board activities

A nice cabin to sleep in

Several unique side plots to go through

A plethora of unique endings in the double digits

CAST:

RMS Titanic

RMS Olympic

HMHS Britannic

RMS Lusitania

RMS Mauretania

RMS Aquitania

...and more

I've always wanted to make this game ever since I first thought of the idea of making a humanisation of the RMS Titanic, and it's been a dream that I realised that I can make into reality now. It's also my love letter and confession of disdain towards everything I've come to know in the Titanic community, mostly the gijinka circle of it. I won't be alone in this journey! You will get to see @lil-meilian's art grace each character (along with her own Cunard trio being a part of the game!), and the brilliant writing of @toot-uncommons and @mary-queen-of-longbeach! We sincerely hope you'll enjoy it.

That's it for now, I hope you'll look forward to what's next!

Heartslash Art 2025

[fioras-resolve]

okay, let's actually do this properly

Hey all, our game Daybreak Hearts is now in semi-open beta! You can access it here, although it's password protected to make sure it doesn't hit the front page yet. The password is "Ketanso".

Daybreak Hearts is a tactics RPG that uses gameplay as a vehicle for storytelling. It's broadly about connections, the challenge but necessity of forming them in a world that hates you. Each level features a different pair of characters, and explores their dynamic both mechanically and in writing. Here's the three duos at play:

-A magical teenager and her overbearing guardian -Two girlfriends with opposite emotional needs -The one who refuses to go to therapy and the one trying to fix that

The game's still in development, and a lot could change, including the story! But I'm proud of what I've made so far, and I hope that by showing it to you, I can make it even better!

That said, I am kind of terrified of doing this. It is a uniquely vulnerable position putting a game like this in the public eye, so below the cut is some boundary-setting you should read if you're going to give feedback.

Feedback and criticism are very welcome, I'll listen to as much of it as I can! However, I decide how to respond to it. What you want the game to be might not match my vision.

I put myself into my work, inevitably for a game like this, but don't assume you know me personally by playing this game, especially an early build.

Remember I am human (among other animals, but you get it). Please do not treat me like a corporation or a machine for producing content.

[qnives]

Indie Devs I BEG YOU

Please Please port your survival horror rpgmaker masterpieces to MacOS.

You do not understand how thirsty this slut is for some good fucking games that have a built-in engine that allows for MacOS porting.

I want to play your thing! I want to experience it fully and meaningfully and not just through the lens of a 38 year old Irishman on a video platform! I WANT TO PET THE BABY RAT MYSELF

Thank you!

[andy-jam-blog]

Andy Jam Devlog #2

Hello Jam Heads. Here is the second Devlog on the game side of things.

Here is the follow up Q&A video as well:

Thanks for reading the comics and watching the videos and all that great stuff. You can see early edits and join in the Q&A on my Patreon. OK I will aim to have another Devlog out next month. Bye.

[concorp]

i do question why the multiple islands / servers that everything seems to be pointing to. there’s not nearly enough players to warrant multiple servers. the island is massive, it’s not like they’re running out of space. allowing people to go between multiple servers will just result in the playerbase being fractured.

so what’s the point? it feels so early for something this huge imo.

[gertritude-art]

just found a song on the free music archive that is like. somehow the perfect "secret world-bending bossfight" music. and in classic fma fashion the person behind it has written zero other songs and had no other digital footprint

[kilometresrufflefuck]

who else up making some gay lawyer shit

[aenthroppe]

IT IS FINALLY HERE

my visual novel is now available for free to download at the link above! with just about 1k words it's a fairly short read, which I nonetheless poured a lot of work and love into over the last 6 months :3

I hope you enjoy the game 💖

[evelili]

24 :>

[bobacupcake]

Another shader on my mind if you're still doing them - A Short Hike! It has different pixel size options in-game that first glance look like just a filter thing, but things like powerlines and wind effects seem to display differently in each mode. Thoughts?

the wholee thing is rendered really small to a texture and increased in size without any filtering!!

apart from that, everything is toon shaded!! lots of common themes between all of these stylized games mapping their 0 to 1 lighting values to other values to achieve toon shading, here's a short hikes!!

just imagine it as the left gradient being the "actual light value" and comparing that to the right gradient. thats going to be your mapped value!! easy toon shading

each object also had its own custom values to mess with, just to make sure everything looked juuust right since there were so few pixels to work with

another thing that helped a lot with easy level building & prototyping, (something super important when youre a tiny team like adam. and also just in general) is that all the terrain used something called a triplanar shader

essentially that just means instead of needing to 3d unwrap all your terrain into uvs to put textures on them which takes forever and will leave you not really wanting to make any huge changes or youd have to unwrap things again, triplanar shaders just project the texture onto the material based on its world position, and what direction its facing

here you can see it in action - if the model is facing up, it uses the grass texture, if its facing to the sides, it uses the rock texture. and because this is terrain and it never moves, instead of using uvs you can just tell the texture to be mapped to where it is in the world

its sort of like the chowder effect, but instead of using screen position to drive the texture, it uses world position. but this let him build up the terrain incredibly quickly

and lastly the post processing!! just a bit of fog, edge detection, and some color adjusting

here's a little twitter thread on it, and heres a longer gdc talk!!