Dead Content Shifter: The Beginning

[RadethDart]

v.2.3.4 (A little lighter screentones, and arrow over head now.)(UPLOADED)
The arrow over the head can be toggled with "Q".(UPLOADED)

Before introducing the game I would like to say a few words of my own here. This game was completed completely on my own, and I have been working on it for a really long time getting things to work, and I would ask of you for suggestions, comments, and even some help for the next game, Shifter: The Validation. This game is the intro to a series of games in which will have a lot more action, better story development, and a whole lot more features to come. I didn't really focus much on the speech until the end, not on purpose, but I just wasn't really in the 'dialogue' mood for the beginning, and it made the beginning very bad in some way. Even though it isn't that great of dialogue in the beginning, I would hope that you will take the time to play through until you get to the action, and somewhat good dialogue. I will definitely be improving the dialogue and gameplay for the second game, but I just wanted to set up a story for people to get interested in the game. Without further ado, I am going to introduce my game that I have spent 8 months on, and without beta testing, I present to you, Shifter: The Beginning!

(If you find any bugs, please contact me through, www.wotge.com/contactus.html)

Game Title: Shifter: The Beginning
Game Type: Action RPG
Gameplay: Action Battle System (Fight on-screen)

Gameplay Time: Approx - 1 Hour (This is more so introducing the series rather than being a full game in itself.)

Main Characters: Zack, Shair, Heath
Supporting Characters: Akira, Dave

Story (Simple version):
In the year 2052 a man named Heath designs a machine that is suppose to send people back into the past. What he doesn't know is that his machine actually works, and Genetics Corporation (GenCorp.) takes the time and the only technology left to design a nano-chip that allows people to shift to known locations that are stored in the memory of the chip. During the testing of the chip Heath's daughter, Shair, is the first to test the chip and she shifts into the past and meets up with the real shifters. Now, the shifters are to rise again in the Shifter-Assassin War, and continue the fighting.

Character Bios

Shair

Spoiler

Starting level: 1
Max level: 20
Weapon style: Shifting abilities mixed with light weapons
Class: Shifter
Pet: Black Bird

Background: Shair is the daughter of Heath, the engineer responsible for the Shifter's original designs. After they were sold to and improvised by the GC, Heath implanted that very same technology into Shair's brain so that she could pace with the technological advancements occurring. Throughout her childhood, Shair quickly adapted to the chip's capabilities and continually excelled in her Shifting abilities - even being able to warp to places she had only seen in magazines and posters. One day, while Shair was visiting the GenCorp's main building with her parents, she was taken to an interrogation room of some sort, strapped down and introduced to someone named "Dave" - the engineer in charge of harnessing the Shifter's mechanical design and implementing it in the form of a nano-chip. Unfortunately, Shair wasn't there for a simple questioning - as computers were connected and clamps applied to her skull, Dave was about to examine Shair against her will. At the climax of her anger, Shair somehow managed to Shift out of the containment room and into the Nether Dimension itself - which is the realm that people pass through in order to Shift to places. After a long solitude of darkness, which she seemed to enjoy, a fast object zoomed through the Nether Dimension, grabbing Shair along with it. Suddenly she was back in the real world, but not that room where she started. After observing the nearby rivers and forests, she finds a path to a small village not too far away. As she enters the village, she notices people standing in ranks for what could only be preparation for a battle. A young boy, Zack, tells Shair of the upcoming battle with an organization known solely as "The Assassins". Apparently, Zack recently shifted to his home village and pulled Shair with him - and now she is 1402 years in the past.

Heath

Spoiler

Starting level: 20
Max level: 20
Weapon style: ???
Class: Engineer

Background: Heath was raised with stories. As a child, his grandfather would always tell him these wondrous tales of people who lived hundreds of years ago. These fantasies were full of amazing creatures and people who could use the natural energy of the world around them. This always inspired Heath. He would always think back to the times when his Grandfather would call him over and show him large books full of drawings, words, symbols and all types of things. These stories were much more than just fictional folklore that should be passed off as ludicrous - he believed that people were capable of obtaining such magical feats. As he matured, Heath began to realize that the stories from his childhood were somewhat true. As an aspiring engineer, he was required to travel to the ruins where many ancient civilizations once thrived - in order to learn how they made the most of the resources around them. But Heath did much more than this. His never-ending curiosity led him to find ruins that hadn't been discovered yet, marked on no current map. These now decrepit cities, according to tomes found deep underground, was once a very prosperous town. Though small in size, its traditions were clearly written - and the ones emphasized the most seemed to be the exact same thing Heath had grown up loving: the tradition of Shifting. For a couple of years, Heath managed to rack up a decent amount of proof to show that there was such a thing as "people who could warp through space" - there was no doubt in his mind. The only thing he never was able to find was those books his Grandfather showed him as a little boy. After much searching and no luck, Heath decided to lock up his wondrous finds for now and work for the newly built Genetics Corporation to support both himself and a very special someone - his wife. Here, Heath was able to gain all the skills he needed to be a hard working Engineer. He held down his job at the GenCorp. for an amazing 7 years, gaining the trust of many of his co-workers and an appreciation for such a dedicated organization. The only problem that cut this relationship short was creative control - he was not allowed to choose what projects he could work. So, even though Heath loved his job (which many cannot say they do), with the support of his wife - Heath resigned from Genetics Corporation to help raise his family.

Zack

Spoiler

Starting level: 1
Max Level: 20
Weapon style: Anything in sight.
Class: Shifter
Pet: Dog named Legend

Background: Ever since Zack was a baby, he was raised by the elder Era. Zack's mother was murdered and his father strangely disappeared. The only thing he had left was his father's pet dog named Legend. When he was 4 years old, he was trained to fight against The Assassins as a Shifter. Shifter leaders and Era trained him to become the best soldier they ever had. By the age of 10 he became a talented fighter and joined the Shifter Army at an early age. At the age of 15, he became a leader in the army. Zack always wonders where his father went. Why did he leave?

Akira

Spoiler

Starting level: 5
Max level: 20
weapon: Two-handed weapons
Class: Assassin

Background: Akira is one of the newest members of The Assassins. Following in her
brother's footsteps, she has trained day and night for months just to show what she
is made of. Ever since she was a little girl, Akira has always been full of energy and spirit. She loved to tag along beside her older brother, carrying around a large-sword made out of cardboard - helping her brother "fight off monsters". As she became a teenager, Akira trained at the local gym with her older brother. He would teach her how to defend herself using an usually large weapon, such as a Great Sword or Double-bladed Sword. Using this style of combat, she could use the enemy's size against them while being able to deal a massive amount of damage. Her brother also taught her other things, such as why Shifters are a people who do not deserve to live. Just like everything else she learned, her hate for Shifters fueled her training - though her personality seemed to remain upbeat and full of energy. Joining the Assassins was just another challenge she managed to conquer, proving once again how hard she could work to accomplish anything. Now, as a new recruit, she continues to amaze those who would be so quick to underestimate her...

Dave

Spoiler

His bio is unknown...

Screenshots

Spoiler

The title screen

The beginning map (Now you can see where you are!)

The menu system

A fighting sequence...(Heh, squirrel died. You fight more than just squirrels...)

Part of the intro/trailer. (Also a scene from the game.)

The beach where Shair goes on her first mission as a Hell Knight

Showing you the abilities of my battle system. (10 people following you into battle.)

If you look closely you can see Shair shifting through the rock.

Credits: All credit needed is in-game.

Uploaded newest version: v2.3.4
Download Link - Shifter: The Beginning

 

[MukanshinBlack]

I remember when you first posted this game last year on the recruitment forum. Guess I'll try it out and edit in what I think of it.

 

[RadethDart]

Alright, thanks :P.

 

[mawk]

your screen tones are really really awful, bro. you can suggest a colour of light without destroying every other colour in the map. go back and tone those tints down by maybe half (and make a little more use of the "gray" slider too) and you should be good.

 

[RadethDart]

Those are the colors used in the DNS...but I can definitely change them through the script Thanks for that, I thought they were too dark also ><

Also, it could be the fog causing some distortion...but i will change that

 

[Luminier]

those screentones are ugly as fuck and make it near impossible to see anything

also nobody's going to want to download a file just so they can see the character descriptions which should be in the thread. please fix this

 

[ImmuneEntity]

I can tell you've put a decent amount of work into this. The introduction is fairly solid but the gameplay itself has a few problems:

-As others mentioned, the color tones are took dark. When navigating through the maps, I often had a hard time finding where I was.
-There isn't good "connectivity" between maps. For example, you can walk onto the transfer events from the side to get to the next map, which doesn't make much sense. Basically, you have invisible walls surrounding your maps.
-The maps are just generally difficult to navigate because they're so small and cluttered.

The first one with the color tones should be simple to fix. The other two are a matter of opinion and would take much longer to fix depending on how far you are.

 

[RadethDart]

I can definitely lighten up the screentones, but they were to add effect...for the DNS. Anyways, I am sad to hear that you all think my maps suck. I made them like that because I was told that you are suppose to have it cluttered (For a more realistic effect). I will take these into consideration; I will change the tones for another upload, but I can't change the maps for it, so I will make them less tree cluttered in the next game of the series.

I can't thank you enough for the feedback, this is what helps people make better video games.

 

[ImmuneEntity]

It does make the maps look better when they are more cluttered, however in your game's case, you have trees all over the map and there really isn't much of a feel for any kind of path. Since the player needs to walk behind the trees to navigate through the map, it is easy to lose sight of where the player is since there are simply so many trees.

There should still be some pretty good mapping tutorials around with some good example maps. If you simply removed some of those trees and replaced it with long grass and plants and stuff, that would help a lot.

 

[RadethDart]

How about I add a script that makes an arrow over the players head when hidden eh? Would that make it better?

EDIT: New Version: v2.3.4 uploaded!
Changes:
Arrow over character toggled with "Q"
Screentones lighter for the night tones. (Easier to see now.)

 

[RadethDart]

Bump

 

[Anopob]

The concept seems sort of cool, but some parts don't make sense. For example, when I entered the GenCorp lab as Heath with his wife and daughter, it seems to skip some scenes and just shows Shair in the room with the lab person. Doesn't explain what happened to her parents or why she was trapped etc. Also, I'm stuck in the part where that guy offers to help lead Shair to some place. There doesn't seem to be any more path ways that I can find (it's just one big village in a circle). Any help?

 

[RadethDart]

Yeah, go into the basement of the house that you were in; that is where Zack is.

 

[dadevvtsvre]

Oh wow, you actually put effort and time into your character bios and actually put their history and more than just a sentence! It'd still be helpful to tell us more about their personalities though.

Okay, played (some of) it!

Alright, first thing I noticed was the font. You might want to think about changing the main font of the game instead of RMXP's default. It's not hard, it's as simple as inserting one line of code into Main. RMXP's default font comes across as cartoony to most which doesn't fit the mood of your game. Even just Verdana or something is better than RMXP's Arial.

The HUD shouldn't appear automatically at the beginning of the game and the player shouldn't have to turn it off to see the trailer. It doesn't sound like that big a deal but it makes the game seem amateurish.

The "trailer" at the beginning left me quite confused-the scenes didn't relate to each other at all and I was left wondering what the heck just happened. At least make some of the scenes relate to each other a little instead of random fight scenes. Or better yet, don't include the trailer in the game at all. (at least it was optional) Put it in the thread or something to advertise

I found the footstep sound to be a bit annoying, and it's not the footstep thing that bothers me, but the RTP sound shouldn't be used there. If you want better quality sound effects there are a ton of sites out there like this one with helpful sound effects. (you could also try this site for more sounds)

Try and use more gradual transitions between scenes. I basically went from a tutorial scene (music didn't fit at all there, btw, they're just tutorials after all, not high-intensity fight scenes) I like to tint the screen to black and leave it there for a few seconds, it slows the pace down a little and doesn't create those awkward music transitions where the music just stops instead of a slow fade.

The fighting felt awkward-many enemies I had to hit the F key several times to attack them. I'm not usually a big fan of ABS' in the first place though. I dunno how programming-savvy you are, but try and make it more responsive instead of the sluggish feel I get from the game right now. It is scripted, right?

Some of the tutorials were pretty obvious. I'm pretty sure everyone here knows how to equip items onto a character and open the menu, so it was pretty unnecessary. And on a related point, I wasn't a big fan of the way you presented the control scheme. It's not just you, a lot of people do it and I used to do it. You just sort of threw the controls at the player all at once. I suggest using what a lot of commercial games use-show it gradually. Try somthing like having the player start off in the forest, without any enemies or weapons. As they continue, they could find tips in the forest (travelers, signs, whatever floats yer boat) on how to fight, basic controls, etc. Be creative and find new ways to introduce the basics. I actually find this to be sort of entertaining to do. (you could probably do the tutorials the same way, ex. "oh geez there's a guard there, maybe I should press the S button to sneak past 'em")

The introduction neeeeeds to give the player at least some idea of what the heck is going on. I started the game and had absolutely no idea who I was, where I was, or what I was doing in a forest killing squirrels and pigeons, or where I was going. You have to give the player an idea of the game's history. (besides a trailer) I don't mean a ten minute long cutscene at the beginning, but at least explain why the player is where he is, and what he is supposed to be doing. It doesn't have to be all at once, it can be gradual, with subtle events like finding an object and the player responding with something that tells the player something about what they're doing.

Your screen tones still need lots of work. The starting forest is faaaar too purple. Lower the saturation and tone of the colours some more so the forest doesn't look so purple and the only other colours you can see that aren't affected by the purple are the blue of the water.

This might just be me but put edges on the maps. Don't let the player be able to walk on the edges of the maps. Put trees or bushes, whatever it takes. It breaks the player's immersion into the game (sort of a breaking of the fourth wall thing) and makes them have a "hey, why can't I leave the map if I touch the edge" sort of thing.

Your dialogue needs some work, and I'm glad that you notice this and have decided to improve on it. I've only played the beginning so far so this is pretty much what I thought of it, if I sound like a mindless jerk and the dialogue improves drastically by the end then woops! So basically, the dialogue doesn't sound very realistic. Things like "Alright, time to design a new machine, this time I will make it the best I have ever done!" don't sound good. It seems as if he didn't care he just casually spilled ink all over his old designs and is pretty happy about it. Another sentence: "What shall the name of the machine be? ...hmm, I do remember the story of the shifters my grandfather always talked about." Why does he all of a sudden thing of the story of the shifters in the middle of thinking up a name? Other than blatantly telling the player he is forced to call his machine Shifter? (which seems really pointless imo, just have the character call it Shifter, it seems like a waste of time getting the player to do it) I mean, at least give us an idea of what the heck this guy is making. Before I knew it he wanted to test it out on someone and I still didn't know what the hell it was. (it's in the thread but this really should be explained in the game since a lot of people won't read it in the thread, and shouldn't have to really) A lot of your dialogue doesn't sound natural, it sounds to me almost..."polite" in a way, for lack of a better term, as if you're trying to make it sound formal and family friendly. Read the dialogue out loud to yourself, try and say it how the characters would, and see if it sounds right. If it sounds awkward, rewrite it. Remember, what they say should reflect their personality.

I pretty much stopped right after he decided to go test the machine out (I couldn't tell if 3 months went by or not, it came so fast) because I think there's quite a bit here to keep you busy for a while. :3 The game has potential but there are many things about it right now that can be improved upon. I might play a bit more later to see where this goes and I kind of went overboard there but hey! there's no such thing as too much critique! Right??

(remember, introductions in games make a big impression, so make it worthwhile! G'luck~)

 

[RadethDart]

Wow, I am certainly impressed with the fact that you took the time to critique a small amount of my game, and I am in awe. I thank you for such critical feedback; most people will leave a line or two telling you if it sucked or if it was good. Thank you so much again.

I am working on another game right now, and the reason I put the game out so early was so I could get some feedback on this next game through Shifter...if that makes sense. My new game is taking a lot of the critique from people, and making the critique work as far as making an outstanding commercialized game. For the people that actually take the time to critique and play my game intently will get themselves a place in the credits in my new game. Maybe even a place in the credits for Shifter: The Validation.

Anyways, I have not put the best work into Shifter: The Beginning, and now I am kind of regretting, yet kind of glad that I did release it so I could use all the comments that I get back to help improve my new game, which will hopefully be released within the year. So, thank you again for the feedback, and please feel free to reply back with more feedback when you play through the game! I am really glad you took the time to write that much on the game, thank you. I can't wait to read more of the critique!

 

[Anopob]

After following your advice in going to the basement of the home building, the game turned to more weird from just weird (imo). It seems like there are too many details missing. For example, the guy that escorts you suddenly disappears before saying anything, and the "quest system" is too plain. Zack gives you the briefest description ever, asks if you're ready, then teleports you to the area. You fight (or sneak) a few guys, and then you return home. I don't know but that's just really lame for me. There should be more descriptive info on why he needs the tasks complete, and why Shair wants to help him so bad (and why can she take on assassins when she's just a little kid with a stick?). Currently, I'm stuck on the boss that for some reason asks you if you're ready to fight and teleports you to a rock puzzle.

It seems to me that the dialogue needs a lot more work, even if it needs to be extended a little. Fighting system also seems too plain by spamming F (if I read the controls correctly anyway).

 

[RadethDart]

Yeah, I am really sorry for it being so plain and really bad, but I promise that the next game I release will be wayyy more intense, and a lot better than this one. When I am close to finishing my new game, then I will go back and remake Shifter: The Beginning before I release Shifter: The Validation to fit the story better...

Thank you for playing though. I am glad that you at least tried playing for me. I know it isn't the best game, but it is technically my first release, and I think I was too impatient with the release because of the pressure from people at my school for me to release it...the next game I make will blow minds as it is an original idea.

Thank you for feedback.

 

[Anasoze]

I like the game's concept and back story, but in my opinion everything is happening way to fast with little or no hint of what to do. As others have said the dialogue needs improvement also the trees make it almost impossible to navigate the maps as is the dark tone of it. I do like the WoWish concept of skills, that is an awesome addition to any games in my opinion. But in general the controls are a bit awkward and combat controls are a bit sticky.

Also the characters seem way to trusting to someone they just met. Exa: A leader of a faction would be really desperate to enlist the aid of an 11 year old girl when he has skilled assassins under his command.
If you expand this part and make it where for a few weeks/ months she tried to get back to her parents, but she couldn't so the leader promised to help her out, but in the meanwhile he offered her training. Fast forward a few years (and a couple of developemental missions; good place to add a training tutorial) and she is a highly skilled assassin would make more sense.

I noticed that there are a lot of ideas borrowed from WoW. The mission system needs improvement, just appearing in front of your target kinda kills the mood a bit. Personally I enjoy having to find my target through the woods and whatnot, otherwise it just is an ABS version of FF tactics. I see where you are going and I do see that this game has a lot of potential, and if done right; it can really be amazing. Don't beat yourself consider it a draft and improve upon it.

I am looking forward to future releases and drafts :biggrin:

 

[RadethDart]

Wow, thank you for the critique!

Also, what do you mean by the WoWish sort of style? I don't understand that. >< I mean, I understand what WoW is and all, but how is it like WoW?

Anyways, I can't wait until I am done with the game I am working on so that everyone can see my improvements on the cutscenes, descriptions, development, mapping, screentones, and everything else everyone has helped me with! It makes me want to finish it tonight, but that would never happen since it is a longer game, and I expect way more than at least 6 hours of intense gameplay; this gameplay does not include all of the cutscenes and character development... I hope to get more criticism, and critique so I can see the pattern of mistakes in my game so that I can improve them.

 

[RadethDart]

I have finally realized something! It isn't the screentones that are making the maps look bad! It was when I was editing the tilesets when I desaturated and darkened them a little that makes them so dark from the others! YAY! I realized something...I will lighten the screentones for it, and I am going to take the time to edit Shifter for another release...a better one at that. I will enhance the speech, edit the screentones so that the night isn't so harsh with the alread-darkened tiles, and I will try my best at introducing the characters...if not, I will just work on Shifter: The Validation, and release that one as the Beginning...in a way; then just discard Shifter: The Beginning until I remake it.