Nasty Game Progress Update 2
Probably the biggest reason there haven't been many updates to my blog lately is because of how much time I have been spending trying to finish up Nasty. I'd really like to release this month and it's appearing that, with a good amount of time spent on it, this may actually happen. I've made a huge amount of progress on the game, especially it seems in the past week.
A week or so ago I created a Windows port of the game in hopes of getting some initial play testing done but this endeavor seems to be for not. The install process can be long (on account of XNA games require the .Net framework) and even those that did get through the install fell to other technical problems (I suspect due to the game still running in a 720p resolution that I suspect cannot be displayed on non-widescreen monitors). This gives me serious doubts about a future PC release version as I can already see the headaches that accompany trying to support such a varied hardware base.
After that failed experiment, I created a version of the game and put it up for play testing on the official XNA website/forums. So far I have had a few people review the game... all of whom seemed to enjoy it and I got some feedback on jumping (too floaty) and had a few new bugs pointed out to me. I've made most of these changes already in my code and will release an updated version of the game for play test later this week.
The music to the game is mostly done as well. Several months ago, I came to the conclusion that I was not talented enough to create music as good as I wanted for my game so I started searching royalty free music websites and various musician portfolios. I found one particular piece by Liam Tarpey that really felt right for the game. I contacted Liam and we discussed what I was looking for in terms of music for the game. Liam was then able to craft six great songs in this styling that really go good with the game. I really couldn't be happier how the music turned out and think it does a lot to bring the game to life.
One of the neat new features I implemented (just last night) is a small reward/bonus system. At the conclusion of each level, you will now be awarded bonus points if you complete certain requirements (such as 100% shot accuracy or not being killed at all). While the rewards are relatively minor, I think it is a cool addition that can add a little more strategy to how you play each level.
While a lot of time has already been spent on artwork for the game, there is still a lot to do. In the coming month, enemy graphics will be updated and new tilesets will be created. I also need to include some sort of death animations for characters, as they simply disappear now when killed. I've been wrestling with whether or not to create some sort of cool particle effect for deaths or if I should create a custom animation. Ultimately I think I will need to implement both of these to really see which is better. Having not really worked with particle effects before, I have been avoiding this so far, but the time will come soon when it must be addressed. Already some of the play test comments point this out.
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