New homebrew game

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Warmtoe
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New homebrew game

Post by Warmtoe »

I've been working on several projects over the last few months
and one is coming close to being something worthwhile - so I'm putting
a version up for you all to try and tell me what you think:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ian_edward ... e1409b.zip

It's a puzzler - Boggle meets Tetris meets Tron Light Cycles (well kind of!)

If anyone would like to help out with graphics, or sounds, then let me know,
I see themed rounds, cutesy characters (and sprites) lots of star explosions - you know the sort of thing, and a bippy-boppy soundtrack.

Other projects I have on the go don't need assistance - they're already being amply graphicised and soundified - but I do need some assistance on this one.

Anyway - I would also like to hear what you think...
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Post by The Kron »

Nice to hear from you Warmtoe!
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Post by WRAGGSTER »

very nice

any chance of a screenshot or two anyone

need to promote this game
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Post by Warmtoe »

The Kron wrote:Nice to hear from you Warmtoe!
Likewise - Whilst I am not as active as I would like - I'm still plugin away at a few things...
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Post by Warmtoe »

Screenshot:

Image

Here we see a 2 player game...

The idea of the game is to complete the stated task in order to go on to the next round, the stated task will all be based around making words (in a boggle style) with adjoining letters... when you successfully make a word, all of the tiles above fall down (the tetris link) - this is particularly frustrating in multi-player mode, because one player completing a word can destroy another players word...

And light cycles? well, you can block your opponents off, by selecting a letter that they need to complete their word...

The tasks are things like 'get more than 500 points' or 'get 5 three letter words' - that kind of thing. There will be hidden bonuses under some squares (not done yet) and multiplayer type things, like freeze the oposition, or destroy their chains etc

Buttons:-

Movement = UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT or ANALOG
A = Select a letter (must be adjacent to the last selected letter) / Deselect letter.
B = Enter the current word - if it's a valid word, you get the points, if not, chain is lost
X = Clear whole chain (start over)

START = Pause game - when paused, X exits game (at the moment).

Where I need assistance:

The backdrop is a bit bland, just the word 'Joggle' in the middle of the game board and a line separating the game board from the status area (I don't like the line that much). I would like to see a more elaborate game board.

The tiles themselves could use some magic too - all of the graphics in the game are based around 32x32 tiles (familiar to some I've worked with!) - the pointers, player markers, tiles etc all use this system. In addition to static tiles, I would like CPU based players (not yet implemented) as characters with associated sprites etc... I wouild also like some nice animations and 'sparkle' when you get a word.

Also I need sound... there's a lot of scope for sound, a tune obviously, but also clock ticking, letter selection sounds, sounds for different words (for example, a dictionary of 'rude' sounds can be implemented and an associated 'rude' sound can be played when a word in that dictionary is found)...
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Post by Storminator16 »

:o
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Post by Warmtoe »

Is that a good :o or a bad :o ??

I've found out that my multi-threaded loader (!) doesn't actually work on a DC - it works well in Chankast! How annoying is that ? I have fixed it, now everything works on a DC too...

will make another release...
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Post by Rev. Layle »

wow, this game looks fun... how big is the dictionary?

also i hear you are looking for music.. what kind? and what is the preffered format for such music?

unless you got someone else doing it already ;)
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Post by Rev. Layle »

do the different colored tiles mean anything, or is it just for looks?

also, i think the tiles look fine IMNSHO

as for a backdrop - i think a dim colored abstract-shapes background would be nice, maybe with a couple layers scrolling over each other, or something like that. could have mutiple that were picked by random each level i guess
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Post by Warmtoe »

Rev. Layle wrote:wow, this game looks fun... how big is the dictionary?

also i hear you are looking for music.. what kind? and what is the preffered format for such music?

unless you got someone else doing it already ;)
The dictionary is actually a little too big at the moment - it can be any size, I have a program that builds a list of words into the right format. It's actually set up to allow for the changing of dictionaries (for example for other languages) fairly easily.

Music - sounds like a plan - I want to have a kind-of bubble-bobble feel to the game so music of that sort I think. I would actually prefer soundtracker mod format - but I can work with MP3.

No-one else is doing it, so you can!
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Post by Warmtoe »

Rev. Layle wrote:do the different colored tiles mean anything, or is it just for looks?

also, i think the tiles look fine IMNSHO

as for a backdrop - i think a dim colored abstract-shapes background would be nice, maybe with a couple layers scrolling over each other, or something like that. could have mutiple that were picked by random each level i guess
The different coloured tiles are just for looks - but there will be hidden (or even visible) bonuses too - like freezing your opponents etc.

I guess I agree on the tiles - really it's the backdrop that needs something.. just not totally sure what.
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Post by Krut »

IAN, im ready to resume development, get your behind on Msn.
I love this type of game, there?s a similar one on GBA called "Bookworm" , i play that a lot.

Contact me , we?ll see what we can do.
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Post by Rev. Layle »

i can work with soundtracker... been several years now, i would have to find goo instrument samples again, since i work with softsynths when i make music
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Post by ghostparty »

Not really my type of game but I applaud you for emulating stuff that others can enjoy.
Certaintly more than I can do!
I don't have any programming or flash knowledge whatever.
Wish I did though. *Rants incoherently about Sportacus' parties*
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Post by curt_grymala »

Boy. This looks like one of the best, most creative homebrew games I've seen in quite a while. I'm a big fan of word games and puzzle games, and this seems to meld the two together perfectly. You've got so many great features built in to this game already (the competition angle, the change-able dictionaries, etc.) and you've got so many other ideas. This looks fantastic.

If I get some time, I'll see what I can do with the tiles and the backdrop.

With the tiles - are you just looking for three or four different color tiles, and you'll add the letters later, or are you looking for someone to make all 26 letters? If there is some way that you add the letters to the tiles in-game, that would be really cool, and would allow for language customization much more easily (someone just selects a new language, and a different font-package is used for the tiles). Don't know if that's how things are done right now, or if that's how you are planning on doing things, but it's a thought.

Also - are there different point rewards depending on what letters you use? It would be kind of cool if you get extra points for using a Q or a Z or something (ala Scrabble).
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Post by toastman »

Looking sweet Warmtoe.
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Post by Quzar »

Since the colors of the tiles do not correlate to the letters, it would be cool to have bonuses for all one color or all different colors or something.
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Post by Rev. Layle »

quzar wrote:Since the colors of the tiles do not correlate to the letters, it would be cool to have bonuses for all one color or all different colors or something.
that's a great idea actually.... to bad i'm not the one developing the game ;)
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Post by Warmtoe »

Rev. Layle wrote:
quzar wrote:Since the colors of the tiles do not correlate to the letters, it would be cool to have bonuses for all one color or all different colors or something.
that's a great idea actually.... to bad i'm not the one developing the game ;)
Thankfully I am the one developing it - and I like the idea too, bonuses are configurable but the available ones at the moment are:-

WORD LENGTH - increasing multipliers for longer words
SAME COLOUR - Single bonus (can be either a score multiplier or collectible)
FIRST COMPLETER - Single bonus for the first player in a round to complete the task.
RANDOM - configurable number of random collectibles on squares around the board.

You can configure which of these bonuses are available on each level
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Post by Warmtoe »

Just to whet your appetite some more:-

Thoughts I have about gameplay:

There will be collaborative rounds as well as competetive rounds, where the 'team' has to reach some goal - thus making people think about how they screw up others.

There will be all kinds of hidden bonuses, for example, for getting certain categories of words.

There will be a 'hint' for younger players, showing them whether the word they currently have highlighted is a valid word-stem...

Lots of ideas - it's just a matter of implementation now...
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