Friday, July 5, 2013

Status update



Well, I've mostly been working on the graphics lately. Creating all the necessary movements and such while I try and figure out exactly what the combat and gameplay is going to be like. As it stands, there will be less emphasis on platforming, and more of a focus on combat and exploration (the game is still an rpg  metroidvania platformer, though, not a beat'em up.).  

In terms of combat, I may go with something that focuses on directional parrying (up and down). Enemies would switch between the two attacks, and if the player parries at the right time, they use a counter attack that strings back into normal attacks. If the player doesn't have the timing, they can duck under a high attack or jump over a low one instead, the trade off being that each state only has a single hit move (a jump kick and a crouching kick). This would also make it viable for the player to fight with an enemy on either side.  

On the other hand, I'm still considering how to implement special attacks. One option would be to have a special gauge that builds up as you parry and avoid damage, maybe having tiers of attacks that can only be used at a certain "focus" level, meaning there would be risk/ reward between using weaker special attacks or waiting to try and use stronger ones at the risk of losing the whole gauge, or at least some of it when you get hit. Or the gauge could raise when you parry and such, but also just raise on it's own. The other option would be to essentially have weaker spell like attacks that are meant to be used in tandem with melee attacks, and it would work like any other game with magic. (spells would be things like shooting fireballs, or stomping the ground causing stone to thrust out of the ground. ) 

Anyhow, that's all for now. Pretty much just standard "I'm working on it" stuff.

As for art, I've been drawing every day, but nothing really worth posting. I've been practising a certain style as a part of the whole character study thing, but I don't think I have a good enough grasp of it yet to actually give you a run down.





47 comments:

  1. Looks like things are coming along well! I like the sound of the combat, especially being able to take on enemies on either side, which sounds like it will be very fast paced.

    As for the ideas of special attacks, I have to say I like the first option, with the risk/reward scenario. It would make combat that much more intense. And with combat being the focus this time around, that'd probably be preferable.

    A small graphical thing, but I like how you're having the ground the character runs on appear to show some distance, instead of being a flat floor like you did in Kurovadis. Not meant as a criticism of your previous game, but I prefer this look.

    Also, since I know someone will ask, I'll go ahead and head them off at the pass and ask how the h content and the gameplay will interact? Will there be certain attacks that if not parried knock the character to the ground?

    Things are continuing to look great. Keep up the great work and output!

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  2. You can always go the way street fighter 3 did, press toward the enemy to parry and diagonal down to parry low.you can have a 3 level super meter for parrying attacks and getting hit that builds it up for ex & supers, having sex should lower it since would make you lose focus. Just some ideas...

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  3. Sleepy Anon again here,

    If you want some idea on platformer rpg like gameplay mechanics (the combat atleast) take a look at a game called Hero Fighter, the graphics of the image you showed made me remember that game.

    The game is free, grab it and take a look, maybe it can give you some ideas:
    hxxp://www.herofighter.com/index_en.html
    (replace the "xx" with "tt")

    Good luck with the game Kyrieru, keep up the awesome work. (no advertising intended, I just want to help)

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  4. well first things first a back and front spinning kick would be best for newcomers
    easy to use but not as powerful since enemies can block it.

    also some special or normal moves would give some breathing room as a strategy
    and here's a motto I've found in some video
    ''sometimes in a good brawler, all you need is a moment to think''
    that risk and reward system is pretty smart as for the special gauge how about a 3 level gauge and generating on good parry's and combos ?

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  5. Any official word on the monster-training concept? Is that for Kuro2, or are you still hoping to implement that here as a core design, ontop of the martial arts?

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    1. That won't be this game, and it wasn't planned for Kuro 2. I'm saving that idea for something else.

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  6. If this game will have selectable difficulties like the last one, perhaps it should also influence the amount of reaction time you have to make a counter?

    Since you're a ninja at video games, I bet the initial reaction time will be 0.0001 seconds.

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  7. I know I'm a bit late, but congrats on finishing Eroico ^^

    I wasn't quite following the whole process,
    as I had lots of trouble with different stuff lately.
    And to be honest, I'm not a fan of hentai games where you control a male character.
    (this doesn't mean that this kind of game is bad, it's just not my taste, that's all, even in regular games I mostly play female characters, but that's a different story)

    Anyway, I'm really getting excited about this new game.
    What you mentioned about the fighting system sounds interesting, while not being too complicated.
    (well I'm not scared by complicated stuff, but other players could be)

    I'm looking forward to it, keep up the good work!

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  8. I'm a fan of the 'Energy' bar, which is essentially a resource that refills at a decent rate on its own, but is expended just as quickly depending on which moves you use. I like it because it allows a player to use all their powerful moves on demand whenever they enter a new engagement, but at the same time also forces them to have some form of efficiency during usage, and punishes players who rely on it too much, as they may find out they are out of energy for a critical move or evasion at the last moment.

    For a combat-focused game though, there's nothing wrong with having more than a single resource bar though, so feel free to experiment with what works well.

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    1. I like that idea; that way, you'd have to manage your energy/stamina like actual fighters, and if it gets too low, say in the red/last 10%, there's a chance of being knocked down. And of course the energy/stamina bar could be level led up as well.

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    2. Sounds like the Demon/Dark Souls stamina bar, which depletes whenever you attack or dodge, but quickly refills when you're not doing anything.

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  9. I have no suggestion for you, others will do that much better than I would, but I just want to say that this game looks really beautiful and from what you described, sounds really good as well.

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  10. I'm glad to see that the next game will be less of a 'you have to be a platformer god to finish this game', game. Even though, ironically enough I got literally everything on both eroico, and kurovadis, some of the parts of the game, were so utterly frustrating and hard, that it basically killed the replay value of the game for me. I would suggest, you add in alternate routes for things. For example... you add a shortcut to an area for platformer god type players, and a longer detour route for the beat em up fighter type. This would appeal to both types of gamers I think. As long as both people are treated equally as far as rewards or etc. (Like, you do not add in any super fantastic rewards in just one area and not the other)

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    1. I like this idea...and then people who really want to be completionists can take all the paths. Like Metroid.

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  11. One thing I'd like to point out is that it looks as if she's hovering a bit. Just wanna bring that to your attention. Other than that, the game looks great. A bit bright and lively for my tastes, but still wonderful, and I'm still going to get it, as I have no doubt that It'll be great.

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  12. You know, if you decide to go with a system like that, you could take a cue from the recent Batman games and make it so that the character can use a special attack after accumulating a combo of a certain level (in Arkham City it was x8). Those attacks you could unlock as the game goes on, and while none aren't objectively more powerful than the other, each is more useful in different situations.

    For example, in Arkham City, you started with an ability that allowed you to take a single enemy down instantly (provided they weren't a boss). The other attacks you gained access to were the ability to create a swarm of bats, stunning all nearby enemies, the ability to destroy whatever weapon an enemy is wielding, and the ability to instantly take down every enemy that was currently knocked down.

    It's something worth thinking about.

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  13. How many different controller_objects did you have for Kurovadis and Eroico? By controller_object I meant the ones assigned with no sprite, the ones used for storing and retrieving data, for menu/UI control, for save/load systems, basically everything does not see that goes under the hood and make the game run?

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    1. I dunno, 2 or 3 that were consistent throughout the game. Doesn't really make much of a difference though, since they could just as easily of been in one object or five.

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    2. Oh sorry. I was looking at the source code for Spelunky and the SisterEngine and saw like 30+ no-sprite objects and assumed they were all controllers. Turned out majority of them were just global database objects. How many global objects did your games have? They're just used to store information right? Are any of them referred to by name by your active objects, or just their contents?

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    3. global variables don't need to be stored in an object, any object can refer to them.

      Other "controller" objects objects can be parent objects, for instance I have an object for handling enemy collisions that every enemy object is a child of.

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  14. Ky, what kinds of enemies can we expect to see in this upcoming game?

    Like Kurovadis, with a mix of humans and non-human?
    Like Eroico, with humanoid-non-humans\monsters?
    Or something more like Final Fight, where it's a string of humans vs the protagonist?

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  15. Looking good. Glad to see an update. I know your going for a Metroidvania again, but The way she stands on the screen makes it look like it could end up being a side scrolling beat'em up, like double dragon, or Scott Pilgrim.

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  16. I'm looking forward to when you post some of those pictures. I don't mind if they're not all good (or if you don't think they're good), but I enjoy seeing progress.

    This style is actually starting to make me thing of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, a rather unusual take on the typical metroidvania style game.

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    1. Congratulations on progress! I still think though, as per crowd which gave their opinion a bit after the news with main heorine's clothing style change, that you would achieve better results, also in medium between making sense and eye candy, if she had some shorts if skirt is too silly.

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    2. Muramasa and Dust: An Elysian Tail are just epic!

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  17. Heh, as long as the controls are changeable so it'll work with my keyboard, I'm looking forward to this one~

    Very glad to hear you're still doing something with the monster farming idea though! I'd really enjoy something like that.

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  18. I'd personally take a fighting game/beat'em up approach. Have normal moves, specials that require special inputs and can be used for several things (comboing, projectile zoning, invincibility, etc) and reserve the gauge for something like super moves (powerful stuff that can be useful for bosses but takes time to build up) or ex specials (powered up specials that alter the move in a certain way that makes it more useful, with the drawback of limited uses).

    But if you are only going with one of those two, I'd pick the second one, as it gives the player more freedom to use moves.

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  19. Nice bought both kurovadis and eroico, and this one looks even better, does this one have male protagonist or only female? hehe anyway great work on making games like this, keep this up and maybe someday, your future games makes it to the console. you get my thumbs up.

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  20. I'd go the way sort of mentioned above. A stamina bar which recharges fast when you're doing nothing, slowly in combat. All actions (attacks, specials, jump, block, etc) except walking consuming from it allows a player to blow all of their skills at combat initiation, but leaves them incredibly vulnerable in doing so.

    Adds to your risk/reward because if you risk too much and botch it you loose evasion long enough to take good hits.

    Bonus points, when you're revisiting early you can just blow away the enemies with power attacks to peruse the h-content at your leisure. Depending on the difficulty curve anyways. And whether or not your skills get stronger on progression.

    Iono. Good luck! You have this lurkers full support in any and all development choices you make. You've done it right twice in a row (or more? Twice that I'm aware of) so you've got this cased.

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    1. I have to again say this sounds like a cool way to go, especially with being able to level up and, as you said, revisit earlier areas and blow through early enemies.

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    2. Or just just blow enemies (sorry I had to) :P

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  21. where's the game??

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    1. Kyrieru is still developing it. He hasn't released a beta yet. Anons please don't ask dumb questions and don't give even dumber answers.

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    2. "Friday, June 14, 2013
      Plan change"

      Yes create a game in 1 month xD!

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    3. Haha, well I could, but it certainly wouldn't look like this.

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  22. I say take all the time you need. Your games are top notch, and I can wait for the next one. Though I don't know how long I can wait for another Kurovadis. My metroidvania fix is starting to get to me.

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  23. I'm getting hyped. I didn't get Eroico cause its really not my thing, but I am for sure buying this. I'll keep it right next to Kurovadis.

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  24. Hey just to let you know, someone (not me) made a TAS run-through of Eroico and posted it on nicovideo: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm21370691
    It's currently ranked 22nd place in nicovideo's daily rankings, 11th in the games category.

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  25. Curiously, how does one volunteer to playtest or assist in other small ways?

    This one sucks at drawing, and knows only a little about coding, but learns quickly and can problem-solve. Also he enjoys breaking games.

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    1. Thanks for the offer, however I'm not really looking for any help at the moment. If I ever need playtesters I'll let you know.

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  26. I love your art so much... x_x
    Would you draw me a 32x32 picture for my town flag in ACNL? :P
    Anyway, I am a huge fan of your work!

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  27. Kyrieru,i am glad that you are still with us in chat,but no updates of process for average time already.

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  28. What news from the front?

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