Apparatus: A Cyberpunk Game

[Perihelion]

Yeah, the two-character thing is something I really want to see work. If I make it and it just doesn't, I'll figure something else out.

As for the graphics, I feel like I can push them harder and make something even better, but I'm not sure where to go from here. I dunno. I'm primarily a writer and pixel artist, so that's where most of my development effort has been so far, but I should probably stop fussing and work on the mechanics. I am gonna do one round of revisions, though.

 

[Sarkilas]

I have to say this is incredibly interesting. Not only does the graphics look incredible, but how reading about the gameplay example got me excited enough to start thinking "why can't I play this game right now?".

I don't have much more to say really, there's nothing to critique - unless saying that this looks great is criticism in any way, which I doubt anyone would reckon - so I'll leave it at that. I'll be checking this regularly for updates.

Good luck with this, I want to play it, definitely!

/Sark

 

[moxie]

in-game dictionary

This is really good. Codex type systems in RPGs are always helpful and a great source of background information, but they're also completely bland and dryly matter-of-fact. I don't think I've ever seen a game use an info database in an interesting way, with conflicting stories, misleading information, partial witnesses, and even outright lies. It's a meta story in and of itself.

 

[Perihelion]

Yeah, I always had that problem with them. They can be really fascinating, but they're almost never done well. I'm reminded of Morrowind and its in-game books. There were two conflicting biographies of the same woman, which was cool as hell even if one was obviously the censored version and one was the real version.

I guess the thing about conflicting entries is that it's a lot more work. I'll probably make them shorter to compensate.

@ Sarkilas: Thanks! Hope it doesn't disappoint when it comes out.

 

[Pokémaniac]

This game is beautiful! The gameplay sounds interesting, although controlling 2 characters at once might be a bit much for me, since I'm like completely uncoordinated. :P Please, more screens whenever you can!

 

[Perihelion]

I will when I can, but I've been working on other stuff the past couple days (which you will probably see elsewhere pretty soon, but I digress). I might need a break after all of this pixeling, phew! I think I'll do one more mockup or so for now when I get a chance and then start on the engine and churn out sprites and tiles for the first dungeon. I've got a few puzzles designed already and a good idea of the story progression.

 

[moog]

is that ingame or a mockup? I didnt read the whole topic all the way through because ive seen alot of your work already, but to reiterate what's been said, it looks pretty sweet. Ill be glad to make you some midi, just let me know.

 

[Perihelion]

That's just a mockup so far. I have some basic features working in GM but need to learn how to do lots more things before I have something that's actually working. Man, this game is gonna be so overhyped by the time I actually release something that everyone's going to be disappointed! But I'll do my best.

Also, that would be awesome about the MIDIs, but let's wait until I have most of a dungeon done. I am pretty flaky.

 

[Misery]

This sound brilliant! :D
good luck with it!

 

[Perihelion]

Thanks!

Okay, I have a better idea of how combat is going to work now. You'll have an option to turn on a synchronization mode that makes your characters move and turn together, which will let you put them close together and effectively use them as one character. If you're smart, you'll equip complementary abilities. For example, one character might be shooting a gun, while the other might have a melee ability that knocks back enemies. This won't be an effective strategy in ALL fights--I think a lot of battles, especially boss battles, are basically going to be highly dangerous puzzles--but it'll work for most run-of-the-mill enemies.

As far as progress goes, I have some basic engine features working now, but the going is slow since I'm learning GML at the same time. I'm working on constructing a testbed with some experimental puzzles and enemies. I may or may not release it publicly, as it's going to be butt ugly and pretty basic, but it'll let me determine whether the gameplay will work.

I'm hoping to have something playable done in like a month, but we'll see if that happens.

 

[Dr. Funk]

I can already tell this is going to be awesome.

It goes without saying that the graphics are going to be great, just that mockup made my jaw drop (literally).

From what I've heard, you've also got some cool things in store for gameplay and I'm really looking forward to seeing that. The concept of controlling two characters is very original, I haven't seen many other games do that successfully. I'm interested to see what kinds of puzzles and such you're going to have and how they will involve the two players.

Definitely looking forward to a release, and if you do sell this I would buy it for sure!

 

[Perihelion]

Haha, man, I kinda wish I'd waited till I had the first part done before I made a thread. The hype train is gonna crash pretty hard if this doesn't live up to expectations. I have faith in my ability to pixel but don't have a lot of experience with actual, you know, game design, so we'll have to see how that works out!

 

[benos]

I like the looks of this game, bookmarked.

 

[rexxzecutioner]

Looking good! I sent you a PM btw.

 

[Perihelion]

Thanks, Rexxz!

Okay, I'm thinking about using LÖVE instead of Game Maker. It's a Lua framework that's much simpler than, for example, XNA, and I've heard that Lua is really cool to work with. I'm going to be checking it out in the near future if I have time, probably, but has anyone used it? Switching will set me back, but I was basically going to code everything anyway, so idk that it'll be a huge work increase once I get the basic engine features done.

 

[moxie]

while i'm trying to get used to my new tablet i figured i'd try and doodle up some fanart since i'm loving these character designs

don't really have anything new to add, keep up the great work :toot:

 

[Astromech]

This game looks great. I really like the art style you're using. I think controlling two characters at once could be very interesting, but as others have said, you'll need to make sure things don't get too complicated or your game will have a steep learning curve. The synchronization mode you wrote about will be a good compromise I think! Maybe having the map stay visible while paused would help if you need a quick break to get your bearings.

I've never used LÖVE before but lua is fun and simple to program in. It was able to pick it up pretty quickly after using Ruby. I don't think it would be too hard to migrate at least the structure of your engine from ruby.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this one!

 

[Perihelion]

I think I'm probably just going to stick to Game Maker. I found an engine that proves me with some very significant shortcuts. The map editor is annoying, but I'll deal.

Also, Moe, that is absolutely bitchin'! :D!! I am totally putting that in the first post. You are awesome, and I really like what you did with the hair! I'm also really flattered. You're making me want to draw now. Also, you even got the red eyes. 8) Did I tell you she's an albino?

 

[Perihelion]

Moe's awesome fanart has inspired me to make my own art!

On an unrelated note, I just want to say that I think the plot is finally starting to come together really nicely, and I'm really excited.

 

[Perihelion]

Makasu has drawn me some awesome fanart! It is very cool! Check it out: