Soul Reaver 1: Nocturne Gospel
- Thread starter Keinaru
- Start date
YukoHana":1uluywtg said:
If you've got something against anime just because it's anime, thats your problem, because if you could use that nobody brain of yours for even a minuet, you'd think, "oh hey, maybe these people are making their games with anime because their targets ARE fans of anime!"
On another note, if you want to bad mouth my game, at least have the decency to not let people know you're a third rate red neck out of cousin raping america, because it just makes me look bad that I get views from dirt like you.
miss matcha
Member
Hello Keinaru,
I thought I'd leave you some feedback. I'm curious to know what your goals are with this game. Are you planning on releasing it commercially? Or is this game more of a side-project that you're doing for fun? Are you hoping to get a name for yourself as a game designer in the independent community? If this is merely a side-project that you're doing for fun, then I don't really have much to say. But if you're hoping to be recognized as a decent game designer, or you ever want to release your game commercially, or even if you want to be taken seriously, there are some major things that you should consider. Keep in mind, I'm only telling you these things to try to be helpful. I have been working in the video game industry for the past 3 years as a professional composer/sound designer with companies like EA, PopCap, and several Japanese companies; and I regularly work with folks who have published several successful titles, so all my feedback is purely from a professional perspective, so I hope you don't mistake it for an attack ^^
1.) Regardless of whether or not you're selling your game, using graphics that have been ripped from another game SERIOUSLY damages the integrity of your project. Unlike the RTP and other materials that were created for the community (like Namamura's material), the creators of the game whose artwork you stole, DID NOT create it for others' use. After looking over their site, it's pretty obvious that their artwork was explicitly created for their game. Although it's obviously not worth their time, legally speaking, they could issue a cease and desist statement against you to prohibit you from using their work in your project. Remember, no matter how many random internet fans your game might draw, in the end no real company or professional will ever take stolen work seriously. And you will never legally be able to sell it or promote it on a widespread basis. Just something to keep in mind.
2.) I would consider putting up more information about your story and possibly getting people to help you edit it. I'm a little confused by what you have up now:
Aside of fixing obvious grammatical errors, I'm not really sure what the story is about. So he's tired of his life, and suddenly he realizes it was all a dream? What does "after been saved by his suppose senior" mean? This is all very confusing. I might suggest adding some additional details and fleshing out your characters a bit more... tell us about their personalities, give us some information about their backgrounds, shed some light on their intentions, etc. Right now the characters and story seem very one dimensional, and thus there isn't anything for readers to feel drawn to.
Additionally, the background story is really confusing:
I have no idea what you're talking about here. I understand the "7 Arcs" part, but what do you mean by "the Heroine with the highest points"? You really have to be a lot clearer. If you need help summarizing these sorts of things I'm sure there are people out there who would be glad to help you. If you release a demo, I'd gladly play through it and offer suggestions about these sorts of things... but right now I can't really suggest anything because I have no idea what it's about.
3.) I spent a lot of time recently redoing my maps, and through the process I learned a lot about it, and I really feel that it was worth it. Good maps really add to the atmosphere of a game, and I think there are a lot of things you could do to improve your maps. It's strange to me that no one has commented on this... take this screenshot for example:
This map is very unattractive; it's too dark and the colors are oversaturated. Additionally, certain parts look awkward... for example, what is that blue circle on the couch?
And this one... why are there fish hanging above the beds? The room is really large for what's inside it, and it seems as though you just picked a bunch of random sprites to stick all over the walls. I mean, there are two beds, and above that we have hanging oysters, fish, random pictures, and dishes... what is this, a combination kitchen-bedroom? Even if these people were really poor and they had to keep all their random belongings in one room, this room doesn't convey that either. (Also, "like you in one bit" should be "like you one bit"... just letting you know...) The best way to design things like this is to consider a real room... how would it be arranged? What would you find in it? My advice to you concerning the maps is to find maps that you really like and figure out what they did to make them look good. Try breaking up floor and ground tiles with different patterns so they don't look so monotonous; in your city maps, use a different tile to wrap around buildings for example. The more you practice, the better you'll get at it
Well, that's basically it... just keep in mind that the argument that's been going on shouldn't be about "anime vs. non-anime"... it really has nothing to do with that. It's more the idea that you're using artwork that was in every way intended for someone else's game. This really delegitimizes your game and is quite frowned upon. RTP was actually intended for community use, and if you own rmxp you also own the license for the RTP. Namamura's work has terms of usage for projects. And concerning other rips, just because others do it doesn't in any way justify it. Remember, no company, professional, or decent game designer will EVER take stolen work seriously. And legally speaking, unless you are doing a parody, using others' artwork without their consent is technically illegal whether or not it's being commercially distributed, so you will NEVER be able to sell it or promote it on a widespread basis.
Good luck with it though, I hope that you'll stick with it and develop a style of your own.
I thought I'd leave you some feedback. I'm curious to know what your goals are with this game. Are you planning on releasing it commercially? Or is this game more of a side-project that you're doing for fun? Are you hoping to get a name for yourself as a game designer in the independent community? If this is merely a side-project that you're doing for fun, then I don't really have much to say. But if you're hoping to be recognized as a decent game designer, or you ever want to release your game commercially, or even if you want to be taken seriously, there are some major things that you should consider. Keep in mind, I'm only telling you these things to try to be helpful. I have been working in the video game industry for the past 3 years as a professional composer/sound designer with companies like EA, PopCap, and several Japanese companies; and I regularly work with folks who have published several successful titles, so all my feedback is purely from a professional perspective, so I hope you don't mistake it for an attack ^^
1.) Regardless of whether or not you're selling your game, using graphics that have been ripped from another game SERIOUSLY damages the integrity of your project. Unlike the RTP and other materials that were created for the community (like Namamura's material), the creators of the game whose artwork you stole, DID NOT create it for others' use. After looking over their site, it's pretty obvious that their artwork was explicitly created for their game. Although it's obviously not worth their time, legally speaking, they could issue a cease and desist statement against you to prohibit you from using their work in your project. Remember, no matter how many random internet fans your game might draw, in the end no real company or professional will ever take stolen work seriously. And you will never legally be able to sell it or promote it on a widespread basis. Just something to keep in mind.
2.) I would consider putting up more information about your story and possibly getting people to help you edit it. I'm a little confused by what you have up now:
Aside of fixing obvious grammatical errors, I'm not really sure what the story is about. So he's tired of his life, and suddenly he realizes it was all a dream? What does "after been saved by his suppose senior" mean? This is all very confusing. I might suggest adding some additional details and fleshing out your characters a bit more... tell us about their personalities, give us some information about their backgrounds, shed some light on their intentions, etc. Right now the characters and story seem very one dimensional, and thus there isn't anything for readers to feel drawn to.
Additionally, the background story is really confusing:
I have no idea what you're talking about here. I understand the "7 Arcs" part, but what do you mean by "the Heroine with the highest points"? You really have to be a lot clearer. If you need help summarizing these sorts of things I'm sure there are people out there who would be glad to help you. If you release a demo, I'd gladly play through it and offer suggestions about these sorts of things... but right now I can't really suggest anything because I have no idea what it's about.
3.) I spent a lot of time recently redoing my maps, and through the process I learned a lot about it, and I really feel that it was worth it. Good maps really add to the atmosphere of a game, and I think there are a lot of things you could do to improve your maps. It's strange to me that no one has commented on this... take this screenshot for example:
This map is very unattractive; it's too dark and the colors are oversaturated. Additionally, certain parts look awkward... for example, what is that blue circle on the couch?
And this one... why are there fish hanging above the beds? The room is really large for what's inside it, and it seems as though you just picked a bunch of random sprites to stick all over the walls. I mean, there are two beds, and above that we have hanging oysters, fish, random pictures, and dishes... what is this, a combination kitchen-bedroom? Even if these people were really poor and they had to keep all their random belongings in one room, this room doesn't convey that either. (Also, "like you in one bit" should be "like you one bit"... just letting you know...) The best way to design things like this is to consider a real room... how would it be arranged? What would you find in it? My advice to you concerning the maps is to find maps that you really like and figure out what they did to make them look good. Try breaking up floor and ground tiles with different patterns so they don't look so monotonous; in your city maps, use a different tile to wrap around buildings for example. The more you practice, the better you'll get at it
Well, that's basically it... just keep in mind that the argument that's been going on shouldn't be about "anime vs. non-anime"... it really has nothing to do with that. It's more the idea that you're using artwork that was in every way intended for someone else's game. This really delegitimizes your game and is quite frowned upon. RTP was actually intended for community use, and if you own rmxp you also own the license for the RTP. Namamura's work has terms of usage for projects. And concerning other rips, just because others do it doesn't in any way justify it. Remember, no company, professional, or decent game designer will EVER take stolen work seriously. And legally speaking, unless you are doing a parody, using others' artwork without their consent is technically illegal whether or not it's being commercially distributed, so you will NEVER be able to sell it or promote it on a widespread basis.
Good luck with it though, I hope that you'll stick with it and develop a style of your own.