/agdg/ - Amateur Game Development General

>>28722

The pitch sucks and this doesn't qualify as a prototype.

Don't know what kind of feedback you expect for something this early in development.

>>28723

gameplay bugtesting mostly. Ideas too.

>doesn't qualify as a prototype

in what way?

>>28725

The point of prototyping isn't to show others that you are able to make a game, it's to prove to yourself that the fun that you imagined can exist outside your head. All I see is a generic sprite with generic attacks that can't move until it finishes whatever animation it started. Look at the early protoype videos of Bastion, the movement and attack mechanics that were core to the game were tested and tuned before they bothered to touch the character art.

and who would waste their time bug testing a prototype? You should already know about the stuff that prevents you from testing the idea and the rest is probably going to be scrapped anyways.

>>28725

Actually, I say that because your blog says prototype; if you're just going to copy another game's mechanics down to the pixel, you don't necessarily need one. If you're selling the game based on aesthetic and narrative them there are different methods that help lower the chances the game isn't received well, but that's a different process.

Also just realized this is a school project, which explains a lot.

>>28722

don't ever call your game a X or Y clone

its really bad

Also a list of features (both planned or implemented) or description of gameplay would be appreciated

>>28726

All I see is a generic sprite with generic attacks that can't move until it finishes whatever animation it started.

much as I hate to get defensive, it's a 3d model actually and making it stop until it's done and then actually restarting has proven a bitch and a half

but yeah, he is pretty fucking generic. Haven't fleshed him out beyond being a base model for building characters off of.

>>28727

actual points here

yes, it's a school project. A great deal of the last few weeks has been checking my game logic, with making sure that the player character cycles animations correctly, walks and idles on command, can't walk when doing something else, etc. Everyone starts learning this shit somewhere somewhere, I'm starting here

I suppose calling it a prototype is inaccurate if you're expecting a brand new mechanic (although the drone is a generally uncommon thing in vidya, even if I don't have anything built for it to interact with yet). It is, however, a learning experience for me and my team

>>28728

>don't ever call your game a X or Y clone

>its really bad

in what sense for a what is essentially a learning project? La-Mulana freely admitted to starting life as a Maze of Galious clone

>Also a list of features (both planned or implemented) or description of gameplay would be appreciated

fair enough:

it's a top-down action adventure game

gameplay features include: a melee attack with enemy knockback as well as player knockback when damaged (which proved difficult as you can't do that by just applying physics in Unity if the model is using a character controller instead of a rigidbody)

a drone thing that will probably be a fairy in the final implementation once plot occurs. Hold the special item button to summon and move it independent of the player, release to return.

a bomb that blows things up. Will eventually be used for minor physics puzzles like toppled a stone pillar to make a bridge. Currently just destroys crates

a gun that goes zap. Shots should damage enemies, apply knockback, and disappear

points of concern for others to form an opinion about:

how does the gameplay feel? Does the character walk too fast or too slow for your tastes? Are any animations too fast? Are the controls responsive? Did any button combinations yield strange results? Did you walk through a wall or fall through any floors? Does the text scroll go too fast or too slow? Any cool ideas for other special items? Any other thoughts that don't amount to "it sucks"?

>>28730

>Everyone starts learning this shit somewhere

That's no fun, falling back on "this isn't real" takes half of the actual learning out of the experience. Figure out how to deal with the flak without passing the buck. Isn't that why you're testing the waters on some obscure forum as the 'Social Media Director'?

>much as I hate to get defensive, it's a 3d model actually and making it stop until it's done and then actually restarting has proven a bitch and a half

get used to not making excuses, no one wants to hear them; just owning up to the problem leaves a much better impression. If you have to say something it should be how you plan to fix the problem or why I should be exited about the results or whatever. It's not like actual game companies don't fuck up all the time.

>if you're expecting a brand new mechanic

You don't need a new mechanic for prototypes to be useful, a unique implementation of existing ones are tricky enough. Most action games probably go through dozens of iterations before finding the right game feel.

>don't ever call your game a X or Y clone

The term clone isn't bad in itself, you're trying to create a memorable image in the potential customer's head, so unless you'll filling it with something else they'll just walk away thinking of that other game. Sometimes just saying you're going to revive a beloved, old franchise is enough to get people exited, but most of the time that's backed up by copying the art and theme of those games as well.

>how does the game play feel?

Shouldn't be asking this until the game works as intended, not limited to the sprite not moving during animations. Fix the obvious stuff first, before burning through fresh impressions.

>Does the character walk too fast or too slow for your tastes?

Too early to ask this question, and it's probably not going to give any useful answers anyways. Players are just going to want to move as fast as possible, how much to hold them back is the design decision your team is going to have to make.

>Are any animations too fast?

Since I can't do anything during, no.

>Are the controls responsive?

Fuck no.

>Did any button combinations yield strange results?

>Did you walk through a wall or fall through any floors?

>Does the text scroll go too fast or too slow?

Yeah, not putting this much effort into play testing something that could have been made in a day.

>Any cool ideas for other special items?

"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away"

>Any other thoughts that don't amount to "it sucks"?

Tons, ripping apart amateur projects is practically a hobby of mine now. But I'll wait for you to ask the right questions, otherwise I'd be sitting here for hours.

>>28731

Incidentally, what is your objection to stopping during weapon use? If I'm replicating the controls in top down zeldas, that's practically a requirement.

>>28732

I was mainly commenting on how unpolished it felt, if it actually played like a Zelda game I wouldn't have said anything about it.