Friday 25 August 2017
Tuesday 22 August 2017
Even more design changes
I'm aware this isn't one of my standard devlog videos, but it's easier if I just explain this now since it's still in progress, I haven't uploaded in 5 days and I need to make a video on something.
A few days ago, I came to the realization that for some reason, the game wasn't fun. It had what I consider to be a somewhat cool idea, but beyond that it was pretty vacuous.
After a bit of experimentation playing other games, I realized that it's because there is no actual gratification from the player defeating an enemy, and they're spending a lot of time doing that per wave.
So, I decided I'd have to create a smaller scale gameplay loop within the larger "shoot enemies->destroy core->upgrade->repeat" loop. I'll cut out the other intermediary ideas I had because they're not relevant and frankly not very good.
The player must now collect "special energy"(name pending) from defeated enemies. This energy powers the alternate fire for the gun, which shoots lasers which can damage the core directly through the shield.
There's no longer an "enemies defeated" prerequisite for the core to be exposed. The reason this existed in the first place was so that the player didn't run to the end of the level and immediately end it before the game could actually play out, but finally there's now something to actually play.
This is the best iteration of the design yet, but then again- so was the last iteration, and then the one before that. At least it's an upward trend.
Even so, it's getting increasingly difficult to actually determine whether my game's fun. It's got to the point where changes are fairly subtle and it really doesn't stimulate me after the 500th playthrough. It'll probably turn out fine in the end but Jesus Christ- it's a pain.
I won't even go into the hell that is filling out paperwork and tax info to start a limited company in the UK. In fact, that's the main reason I haven't put out a video in the past 5 days- I've been struggling with that.
Either way, thanks for watching and stay tuned for devlog videos maybe, or another video about a different topic. Who knows?
A few days ago, I came to the realization that for some reason, the game wasn't fun. It had what I consider to be a somewhat cool idea, but beyond that it was pretty vacuous.
After a bit of experimentation playing other games, I realized that it's because there is no actual gratification from the player defeating an enemy, and they're spending a lot of time doing that per wave.
So, I decided I'd have to create a smaller scale gameplay loop within the larger "shoot enemies->destroy core->upgrade->repeat" loop. I'll cut out the other intermediary ideas I had because they're not relevant and frankly not very good.
The player must now collect "special energy"(name pending) from defeated enemies. This energy powers the alternate fire for the gun, which shoots lasers which can damage the core directly through the shield.
There's no longer an "enemies defeated" prerequisite for the core to be exposed. The reason this existed in the first place was so that the player didn't run to the end of the level and immediately end it before the game could actually play out, but finally there's now something to actually play.
This is the best iteration of the design yet, but then again- so was the last iteration, and then the one before that. At least it's an upward trend.
Even so, it's getting increasingly difficult to actually determine whether my game's fun. It's got to the point where changes are fairly subtle and it really doesn't stimulate me after the 500th playthrough. It'll probably turn out fine in the end but Jesus Christ- it's a pain.
I won't even go into the hell that is filling out paperwork and tax info to start a limited company in the UK. In fact, that's the main reason I haven't put out a video in the past 5 days- I've been struggling with that.
Either way, thanks for watching and stay tuned for devlog videos maybe, or another video about a different topic. Who knows?
Thursday 17 August 2017
Sunday 13 August 2017
The case for a demo
I recently revealed to the world that yes, there is going to be a demo for Mass O' Kyzt.
I'll give a brief explanation of exactly what this will involve. The demo will, as a demo should, be free of charge. Its feature set will be severely limited, only allowing the player to play up to three consecutive waves and only unlocking about half of the upgrades in the final game. In addition, the player will not actually be given any choice over what upgrade they unlock.
I'll give a brief explanation of exactly what this will involve. The demo will, as a demo should, be free of charge. Its feature set will be severely limited, only allowing the player to play up to three consecutive waves and only unlocking about half of the upgrades in the final game. In addition, the player will not actually be given any choice over what upgrade they unlock.
Wednesday 9 August 2017
I let this place go to hell, didn't I?
It's been quite the adventure on this page. However, for the purposes of having a site I've decided to revitalize it. This will hopefully be a general all-purpose landing page for those unfamiliar with my work, or if nothing else something for me to link back to which isn't my Youtube channel. I'll have to do some light restructuring, but that's not a huge deal.
Also, you might not have noticed but it's on a real domain now: alexhoratio.co.uk! Exciting!
Also, you might not have noticed but it's on a real domain now: alexhoratio.co.uk! Exciting!
Friday 4 August 2017
Making something "for everyone"
When making a video game, you're not making something that's going to be fun for everyone. In fact, I'm confident in saying that no medium has ever produced something that literally everyone likes.
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