Well, let’s get right to it.
Not a Clone is released!!! You can grab it on AppStore (iPhone and iPads) and Google Play (Androids) right now:
That’s right! After developing this game for almost 2 years since the #OneGameAMonth prototype, we’ve finally finished this incredibly ambitious project. We want to thank you all for following our development and supporting us to the very end.
Without further ado, let’s celebrate!
Hey, guys! We’re back with a Ludum Dare game, this time for the Compo (solo development challenge)! After a lot of programming, grumbling, stress, and complaining the graphics is not pretty enough, we have Star Driller Ultra, a Star Fox-inspired space combat adventure where you play as a star drill! It’s up for voting right now! If you can, please rate the game, and let us know what you think!
Link to Itch.io: http://omiyagames.itch.io/star-driller-ultra
Link to GameJolt: http://gamejolt.com/games/shooter/star-driller-ultra/61422/
Link to Ludum Dare voting page: http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-31/?action=preview&uid=20557
Some screenshots!
And for those interested, we have a time lapse, too!
As we’re transitioning to making Not a Clone into a full remake on the mobile, it’s becoming clear that a substantial amount of time and focus is necessary to complete the game. Unfortunately, this means that we will have to put the regular #OneGameAMonth on hold until the project is done. So what does this mean?
First off, there will be no changes to the Patreon campaign, since it charges only when a game is posted. Since no experimental free games will be posted for a while, rest assured that those who signed up to donate will not be charged during development. In the rare case that a new game does get posted (and it will, see below), it’ll be posted and charged like any other #OneGameAMonth games.
Second, because #OneGameAMonth is on hold, doesn’t mean there won’t be more experimental free games coming up. It will simply happen less regularly. For example, Ludum Dare is coming up next month, and we do plan on participating on it.
Thanks for all the support you’ve all been giving to us. We’ll post our progress with the game soon, so stay tuned.
I’ve had a profound conversation while talking to a fledgling game developer this Game Developers Conference (GDC) that made me look back at my philosophy in game development. When Lindsay Grace was pointing out that one should have a long term objective such as Seemingly Pointless‘s goal in making a 100 games in one year, it made me reflect why I was developing one game every month. I’ve come to a conclusion that if one wants to make an impact to the gaming industry, one should strive to find and refine their own style that is both honest about oneself, and distinguishable from others.
Style, of course, comes in many forms. This can include mechanical styles, such as Vlambeer‘s simple-but-hyper-polished games, or Keita Takahashi‘s bizarre and chaotic experiences. Visual and narrative styles works great as well. As an example, Edmund McMillen has a distinct visual style that is often coupled with unnerving stories. Meanwhile, Molleindustria‘s political games helps them create experiences like no other. Even audio is a wonderful device to stylize. Who can possibly forget the first time they’ve successfully surpassed a series of obstacles in Bit.Trip Runner, creating a procedural generated music throughout the whole level? By having a clear style, each of these experiences become memorable and distinct from other common games.
So how does one go about developing their own style in games? Here’s a method I found that works: first figure out what your objectives are. For example, I wanted to contribute to the gaming community such that others would be motivated to make games that challenges common game genres like I was when I first played Katamari Damacy. Next, carefully analyze what you and your team are capable of. If your team hasn’t finished their game yet, this is a good time to attend game jams. In doing so, you’ll learn very quickly what you can and cannot do under a deadline. Once analyzed, find the overlap between your team’s objective and skill set. It’s worth noting that it is possible to have a non-overlapping goal and skill set. For example, making millions is an objective that is too broad to have overlap with any skill set. Similarly, making the next blockbuster is an objective so narrow, a large, expensive team is necessary to achieve it. In these cases, I recommend revising the objective so that it stands within your team’s skill set.
Finally, practice! I personally used #OneGameAMonth to polish my ability to create games with unique and solid game mechanics. Much of my time has been spent on understanding the mechanics I’ve created, and figure out how to enforce it with clever puzzles and situations. I also encourage others to make quick prototypes as regularly as possible. By developing your team’s skill set, and revising your own objectives to what works best with your team, you’ll slowly develop a successful style that feels like no other.
Touch Yoga Free is now approved for sale on the Apple AppStore, and should be appearing shortly. Do note that this version is iPad-only.
While Prototype: Murakami has been punted to a lower-priority project, I do want to share how much progress I’ve made with it. I’ve noticed that the webplayers themselves has been doing poorly (I suspect it’s the Unity deferred lighting setting) so I’ve compiled and zipped the more-stable native builds. Here they are for each platform:
[download id=”1723″][download id=”1726″][download id=”1731″][download id=”1733″][download id=”1735″][download id=”1737″]
Today’s progress report has some good news and some bad. First off, let’s go with the good: I’ve added a few more features. There is now an enemy spawning portal as seen in the screenshot below. They’re right now set to spawn up to ten enemies total, largely to prevent farming. Additionally, when aiming, the character will waver, adding more intensity to the game.
Unfortunately, the project is far behind the expected schedule. Due to the current (financial) circumstances, I’ll be switching focus to other projects that can be completed in a shorter amount of time first, before returning to this project. The hope is to have at least a day or two of progress each week. Sorry for the terrible delay.
For Global Game Jam 2015 at MAGFest, our team created a new social card game where everyone playing does not know the rules to the game. Enter Impossible Poker, a game about deciphering the rules of the game. It can be played with 4 or more players, a pack of playing cards, some tokens, and 2 makeshift cards/pieces of paper saying yes or no on one side, and blank on the other.
The full instructions can be read (along with a smart random rules generator to see some example rules) at the Impossible Poker game page, but here is the quick summary of the rules.
It’s very fun (and challenging!) to play, and can be setup both cheaply and quickly. Try it out with your friends!
Hey, guys. We’ll be at Washington, DC this weekend to make a game at MAGFest. Yup, we’ll actually make a game, courtesy of Global Game Jam happening at that very location. This will be the first #OneGameAMonth we’ll be developing in 2015, so it’s going to be incredibly exciting. See you there!