So, after releasing my F4D entry, I was met with an unexpected response, with most people telling me to "Polish it". After a bit of initial frustration I realized you were correct, it could be fun but it had so many tiny things wrong with it they piled up and made it crappy. I didn't know what you meant by polish, so I did a bit of research(A quick google search lol) and it basically means: Fix every little problem in the game(Graphical, gameplay, sounds ect) as best as possible so it all fits together neatly. I realized that throughout my several years of game development, not once have I properly polished a game, there's always a bad texture here and there, or one of the sounds won't play properly, and things like that really break immersion when the rest of it could be fun.
Now that I've been told this(Thankyou 64Digits!!!!!!!! Seriously, without this my games would continue to be of this quality where it could be fun but sucks badly), I decided to put a hold on my current project and focus on something a bit simpler, but where polish is one of the most important elements, a 2d puzzle game. Polish is important in any game, but a puzzle game requires attention to details by its very nature and is therefore the perfect testing ground for different polishing techniques. Onto the project :D:One of the main game mechanics in this game is respawning. The idea is that by dying by certain environmental elements will place different gravestones that can be used when restarting the puzzle. They can be pushed around to inflict their affect on other objects, such as a gravestone on fire can melt ice, or a broken one can injure enemies.When you die, you also have the option to choose a spawn point from several different options. These will change as you go through the level, but too allow planning you can see future ones, they are just greyed out. The changes to these spawn points will be very obvious as well, with a distinct barrier showing when they will happen.Other mechanics are going to be secret until release but I have a ton planned, each will be very different and can be used together to make the game more cohesive.The art style for the game will be a sort of 3d pixel art, utilising normal maps and shadows to make the game look similar to a diorama. I hope to keep the art style consistent this time, with every object having a proper texture that reflects what the item actually does. I'm hoping to make them join together properly as well, unlike a previous game I made :D
These tiles definitely match up :/
One of the levels, I think the diorama affect is most prominent in this one.
Inside a cave. The stone texture is a work in progress, and I think the lava can be made prettier. I have died in the lava once and it placed a grave stone their which I can use to get across, a simple example of a puzzle(One of the introductory ones).In other news, I have also been working on a book based on a combination of 5 tiny books I wrote in grade 4. The quality of the writing back then was not particularly good so I'm hoping the new version is an improvement. It is based around boy named Dean who finds himself in the middle of a plan created by supernatural creatures, led by a werewolf. The book itself is currently 40 pages long at font size 14, but It will be about 80 once its done :D(20,000 words). At its current length the book takes an hour to read at the average reading speed(270 words per minute, can any one else verify this number, got it from a quick search :D), but it should be double the length when its done so yay! :D. I'm also planning on turning it into a film after I finish my current one(The attachments to an unknown, it will be done soon in valve time :D. In all honesty I've been focusing on so many thing other than it, I've kinda lost motivation. I may just skip working on it and focus on fullmoon, it has a better story anyway :D).In really early preparation I have started doing CG tests for it. Here's a quick test I threw together, focusing mostly on the composting so the animation is a bit rigid.There are several hard to notice things in the night version, so I uploaded day time as well. In this there are shadows, reflections, and interactivity with the werewolf which looks pretty nice :D. The next test I'll be doing will involve the werewolf interacting with me :)tl;dr: I learn't a new word, died alot in a game and made a werewolf book accompanied by alot of pretty pictures(well, video, but I guess thats lots of pictures anyway so meh :/).Anyway, thanks for reading!
you're pretty good with 3d work.
I get frustrated when using the d3d functions on game maker when trying to make a simple damn cubeeach time i see your 3d stuff, i am tempted more and more to add some 3d work into my current game, as i do have plans to use it in a few scenes here and thereThanks :D.
Edit: Just noticed you have already started the project in GM lol :D. I think the idea of using 3d in any sort of game is great, as it can provide parallax movement and other advanced effects that are harder in 2d. Good luck using it :)My old Post:Thanks JID :D. One of the main reasons the 3d in my games isn't too bad is because I don't use GM lol :D. Gamemaker is ok for simple 3d with its basic shapes, and can achieve pretty nice quality(As shown by one of the ScaryFourDigits entries, can't remember its name :( ), but as you said it is really really awkward :D. I use the blender game engine, which is really great for 3d as blender itself is a 3d modelling program. On top of that you can do texturing, animations(For cutscenes and such), and even basic sound editing. It's a really amazing program, if your looking into more advanced 3d stuff I suggest checking it out. Even for more simple looking games it is great as the lighting system works, you can have anti-aliasing and it runs like 15x faster :D. It also has python as its main language which is like a slightly more wordy GML :D.There are also a couple of amazing DLLs(That can be used in GM) floating around such as Xtreme3D and one that starts with a U(its been a while since I've used GM lol). I remember Xtreme3D was pretty capable, still nothing compared to blender but it will still let you stay in a familiar environment(And can do bone animation and other cool stuff :D).Sorry for the long post lol, I just find it interesting when people do 3d in gamemaker, as although its possible, it really isn't the best way to do it.i wasnt going to do anything complex, just have some 3d models shown in-game and such.
like - i was going to do something where you can examine items and they'd be completely in 3d. I am absolutely done with full-out 3d games in gm; i've attempted it once, and while i was happy with what i've gotten, i never finished it.Yeah sorry, I only realized that's what you meant after I had done posting lol, but doing that sort of stuff is ok for GM to handle, and can really make a games graphical style interesting :D. I remember looking at one of the pokemons on my sisters DS and it has a similar idea, all the buildings are 3d while the characters aren't, it looks really cool :D.
Sorry for double posting, I'm just very happy with how much better the cave scene looks now :D.