After working on the martial arts themed game for a while, I eventually gave into what I'd now call "high resolution fatigue". When you work with a high resolution, you can end up working on a single sprite for nearly an entire day. Eventually it becomes somewhat tiring, and you begin to dread at the thought of adding anything because of how long it'll take.
So, a few days ago I ended up starting a new game at a much lower resolution, as I tend to do when I cave into high resolution fatigue.
This time around, the sprites are about twice the size of Eroico's vertically, but use much simpler colors and shading. In this style, what took me hours in a high resolution I can do in about 20 minutes. (All the player sprites are already done, as a result)
The game itself is going to be a lot closer to Symphony of the Night than the previous game was going to be, with simple attacks, but numerous weapons and spells and a more rpg-like inventory. Like with Symphony of the Night, all the weapons have different animations but use different frames of the same basic attacking animation, so new weapons can be created in under half an hour. All in all, I'd say this kind of game is going to be more content and exploration oriented, simply because there's more to find, and content is easier to add.
Other than that, we'll see. But development is going fast.
Oh, and as for the game I abandoned, I may pick it up again in the future if I can find a sprite artist capable of making enemies at that resolution. That may make development a bit more bearable.
edit: Also, about the forum, if I start one it will be after I make the h-game template, since a good amount of it will revolve around it and tutorials.
Well I do admit its a shame when it does come down to it, might as well stay with what works best regardless. Granted I admit this idea appeals more to me than the martial arts one. Whatever happened to the other artist you had lined up or so I recall hearing about?
ReplyDeleteHe seems to be up for pretty much anything, so it basically comes down to when I want to take a shot at working with someone. I don't know if he can do high res sprites, though.
DeleteWell no better time than the present to give him a shot. Who knows, may end up taking a lot the worries away that you have for nothing concerning spiriting and getting exhausted.
DeleteKyrieru can i ask you something??
DeleteIf yes then read this: I would like to Play a FULL Version of Crimson Brave AND the Pictures are nearly similar to Eroico SO it wouldn´t be so dificult for you. . . . It´s just so that I felt in love with this game and I would apreciate it very much if you finish this game. At least then short like Eroico. (in my opinion Eroico wasn´t soooo long) Ít´s just a request and i would be happy If you at least read this. thank you for the atention -^.^-
Well, I read literally everything, so.. -__-
DeleteAs for Crimson Brave, it was a bit higher res than Eroico, and had more shading, but the reason I stopped was because the proportions of the MC were giving me problems when making H animations. I may make a similar game at some point with the same main character and story I had planned, but I'd be redoing the sprites and all the code from scratch.
äähhh . . . -°.°- oohh yeah . . . (I think this significates he will make a different and better Crimson Brave) YAY >^.^< I didn´t understand computerspeach but It Sounds good . . . i think >[]<
Deleteah yes I vorgot to say your Games are a Little bit shoort but KUROVADIS was a Masterwork REALLY !!! I ! LOVE ! KUROVADIS! But I think all what your games still Need is Charakter. (in my opinion) I meen The Main-char not even have a Name. =( and a Little bit character would be good for example if your chars speak. An Example in Eroico: Eroico-Boy: What ?!? You was the full timer the Boss of the Monsters ?!? Sucubus (endboss): Of course I wanted to test you, and you are the PERFEKT mate for me >=]
DeleteOr perhaps in Kurovadis: Saya = Kuovadis Girl (in the first minutes when you start to play) Saya: Where . . . Where am I ?? I was in that capsule . . . . I have to find out what´s going on, and where I am.
so it was just an example. I meen that would make your Chars a Little bit more adorable ^^ (in my opinion) Thank you that you don´t ignore this writings ^^
Well, there will be dialogue in this game, so, there's that.
DeleteThe girl's name in Kurovadis is Kuro, by the way ;)
but were was it written?? °.°
Deleteoh and cuuute >///< Boy names for Girls can be really cute ^^
DeleteKyrieru promise me that you finish this game it is really bad for your Standing if you each time give up and it´s uncool >[]<
DeleteInB4 i predicted it. However I'm happy to know you can hook up onto making another game so easily. Just like with Eroico, I'm still looking forward for this one, all your games are great even if short.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not like I'm starting completely from scratch. I pretty much just picked up were I left off when it comes to programming.
DeleteTBH, I actually prefer more simplistic designs. It leaves more to the imagination ;)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm glad you're leaning towards going for a simplistic design that allows you to create more content for the game. As always, I'm looking forward to the first preview :D
Well, it's technically way more complicated in terms of programming, but once that programming is done it makes it a lot easier to expand the game. I've also improved at programming quite a bit since my first game, so everything just goes smoother in general.
DeleteIs it time to go the Konami way now?
DeleteIf it's a Metroidvania REUSE ALL THE ASSETS
Nah, if I made a sequel it would all be new.
DeletePlease "DEER GOD" do the martial arts game eventually, i haven't been this excited for a game in ages. Your awesome level design and platforming mixed with sweet kung-fu(Mind Completely Shattered)
ReplyDeleteLiking the idea though, please go back to it, wouldn't care what resolution it was at
i don't mean right away, im not a needy baby.
DeleteNot surprised. Nothing is concrete until it's out and ready to be bought.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm doing a game with character sprites of Guilty Gear / KOF XIII size, and it's very tiring and time consuming. Just doing the lines (no color, that takes a hell of a lot of time too) of a complete animation takes me at least a couple of days, and then there's always a lot of fine tuning to do since at higher resolutions mistakes stand out much more. doing the backgrounds at 720p will be hell.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, the low res sprites look great and I hope you go back to your other project soon as it looked really good. I hope you sometime do a more linear oldschool game instead of the usual Metroidvania.
I think I get what you go through Kyrieru. It's easy to start out making a game, because you've got all this energy and excitement to do it.
ReplyDeleteThen you realize it's a lot more work then you originally thought, and... yeaaah... kind of a shame. I was looking forward to the martial artist girl because the concept sounded neat, and I can't think of many H-games with a martial artist girl protag.
Otta do what you feel as right! Nice to see that the new game idea is giving you pleasure and is going in a nice pace.
ReplyDeleteI really believe that work has to give pleasure, even if it cuts in your profits a little.
Do what you think Is ok and feels right. Rest is bearable.
Your games come always from ideas that give you pleasure and it has worked ou so far.
Goo job and good luck!
Is it going to have standard Lvl up system?
ReplyDeleteWhy not try the System Shock 2/Deus Ex aproach to stat leveling- each time you level up you get ponts that can only be spent at a terminal that corresponds with a skill?
Like Iji did. If you have never heard of Iji, try it!
http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php
Looks like larger projects are just going to have to be team efforts after all. You want to up the sprite work to a higher resolution? You'll need an artist. You want to up the quality and quantity of sounds? You'll need a sound designer. The lead programmer can't do everything anymore when you start to move up to higher level projects.
ReplyDeleteHmm, have to disagree with you there. I think it would be a bit of an excuse to say "Well, I guess it just can't be done". That would be like saying I shouldn't exercise because it's too hard. There's another word for me not wanting to do high res sprites, and it's called laziness. I'm just not as dedicated as I should be when it comes to art.
DeleteThat's what division of labor's good for, though. Let's say there's a project that requires two tasks. One person can do both task 1 and task 2, but task 2's more high-effort/exhausting for them than it is for the other person who can't do task 1 well but can do task 2 more easily. In this case, both persons can just work on what's easier for them, and the project'll get done more efficiently. This is the basic principle behind delegation: just because you can do it all doesn't always mean you should. This is different from exercise which only benefits the person who does it.
DeleteThat isn't to say that there aren't benefits to one-person projects (only having to pay one person, not having to worry about other people pulling their own loads, etc.). In the end, scaling back one aspect of a project to bring it within a level you can do more efficiently and comfortably is a perfectly valid answer to this. Each answer has its own upsides and downsides, and it's up to you which ones you prefer.
But likewise, just because I can get someone else to do it, that doesn't mean I should. As an artist, self imposed diligence is necessary for growth, and getting more comfortable with high-res sprites is simply a step I need to take. You can't avoid doing something because it's difficult or frustrating, otherwise you can't ever reach a point where it becomes easy.
DeleteThat being said, I'm not saying that I should avoid hiring a team, just that I can't make excuses for my shortcomings and refuse to address them forever.
Have you been trained in animation (or at least had interest in) Kyrieru?
DeleteSeems like that if you want to tackle high res sprite work alone you'd have to either learn high specialization in multiple kinds of animation technique (like limited animation for example) or just finding different ways to cut down on the time it takes for draftsmanship. Rotoscoping would be one example among others.
No, I haven't been trained in animation. But I've been animating for a long time now.
DeleteHigh res sprite work isn't really difficult, it's just more time consuming. As for my speed, I'm actually quite fast since I don't need any tracing methods or stuff like that. Rotoscoping would take much longer.
Yeah I probably should have been specific: I was commenting less on the difficulty of the sprite work itself but the difficulty of retaining quality while cutting down on or equaling the time it takes to for lower res art. That's partially why I asked about your relative interest in animation itself.
DeleteWell add the fact that ideally you'd make the next game equal or greater than previous games in playability >_> Good luck and have fun with this new project!
In my opinion, I think you could definitely do the higher res art, you've shown a few examples...but, if you were going to, you may want to hire someone to do the other parts of the game.
DeleteDoing everything on your own can be a load.
It's kind of a weird way to connect it, but I've been involved with running Minecraft servers for a while, and they always fall apart when the owner puts too many responsibilities on themselves.
If you need help with high res maybe this guy can help
ReplyDeletehttp://st0ven.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/551.htm
Finaly a light comes from you,instead of some strange unimportant posts like about creating forum.Keep work,great developer and give us TRUE information like this more often.
ReplyDeleteWish we got a demo of the martial arts game before it was cancelled, I was really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe no one has made the most obvious comment...
ReplyDeleteSHE DOESN'T HAVE RED HAIR.
Kyrieru, I am disappoint.
Well, neither did the martial arts girl, it was brown.
DeleteAs long as the new game isn't like some of your previous ones regarding the 'you must be a platformer god in order to complete this game' type stuff. Platformers are fine, but not when they are difficult to the point of wanting to throw my computer out of the window.
ReplyDelete"High resolution fatigue" i like the name.I can relate with you with this one, it is time consuming with the risk you burn out more faster for your game, and it means more risk that you will cancelled the game.And we don`t want that don`t we.Good luck with your new project.
ReplyDeleteWell at the very least, with each released game my sprites and backgrounds have been a higher resolution, so it's probably better if I just build up in a linear fashion like I have been.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how good you are with 3D modeling, but have you considered making animation quality 3D characters and then rendering them to sprites? (like the guy that did nano crisis)
ReplyDeleteI realize from experience that just one character would take a lot of time to make and rig, however you would have the potential to make as many frames and poses as you want, for considerably less effort.
It may be a good alternative to producing high quality, high res sprites.
Just a thought.
I see what you mean, but it isn't really an alternative to high res sprites, it's an alternative to pixel art. I think if I was going to get more into 3d, I'd be making a completely 3d game anyway.
DeleteHopefully we'll stay with pixel art. I prefer it more to average 3d and really good 3d models and animations usually take longer and more work than equal-quality pixelart counterpart.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell. I can't say I'm not slightly disappointed, while I'm sure this new game's going to be great, especially if it has a lot of content, I was really waiting for the previous one. I do hope you can go back at it someday and finish it, I'd love a high-res sprite game from you. But I guess I understand what you're saying about lazyness when trying to do too much / great.
ReplyDelete(I deleted the other comment to edit it... Eh.)
Don't worry too much about it. Go at your own pace. Burnout's never fun, so don't jump headstrong into the HD sprite thing. Take your time and make games working your way up.
ReplyDeletei'm sad the old game is now gone but i'm happy for this new one, just one thing dood, DON'T QUIT THIS ONE :3 (unnecessary caps lol) but i just hope we can see sometime soon dood^^
ReplyDeleteGood. I'd rather see lower resolution and more content, than the other way around!
ReplyDeleteYou could not have said anything to make me more excited about this new project (and to numb the sting of abandonment of the old) than to compare it to Symphony of the Night. That is one of my absolute favorite games in existence. Extremely excited to see where this goes.
ReplyDeleteAt least you're able to do all of this stuff yourself! I have trouble finishing games I make. Becomes too much to deal with myself.
ReplyDeleteso you have a own site ?? °.°
DeleteDoes you have a own site?? >_<
DeleteI just use blogger because it's easier. But I own domain names for if I ever make a site.
Deleteoh well cool ^^ but i ment the other guy ^^ XPISigma ^^
DeleteYES main character of the new game is Ranka from macross frontier!
ReplyDeletebtw if this is gonna be like SoTN can u add in interesting status affects that actually have connections to sex like being possessed by a ghost preventing u from attacking until uve had sex or becoming pregnant which causes ur character to vomit occasionally? i always wanted the hentai features to actually have a connection to the real gameplay other than "health damage."
also can u make it so u can willingly submit to rape w/o being knocked down? :D
He's had that in both Kurovadis and Eroico. When you hit the H key, it immediately knocks you down.
Deleteno i mean w/o being knocked down. like sexually taunting an enemy and provoking it to rape u
DeleteActually, I thank you for the change, Kyrieru. The fighting game could be something possibly nice but I like slightly lower-res sprites and the current one nicely mixes simplicity with aesthetics. Just a thing though - please make sure to concentrate on the level design. I am not talking graphics, but non-mandatory items, areas etc. for many, lot of Castlevania's charm was in the exploration - and in some installments doing things to affect the story a tiny bit, a thing that kind of we're lacking in Kurovadis (some room and a corridor with power up at the end I can hardly consider a decent 'area').
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am all for the char design and possible possession status of 'character gets very horny'. Will there be, aside from weapons, armors affecting char's looks? Just asking out of curiosity, not demanding. Do tell us more about this game of yours!
I suggested you stick with lower Res for this very reason! Still, though. Sounds fine to me, I'll buy this new product. Fast turn-around is always appreciated.
ReplyDeletePerhaps with this project you could revisit the monster-training concept?
Also: Wasn't expecting a simple school-girl-esq design from you. :O
Oh, yes, that sandboxy adventure-rpg sim thing with taming monsters was quite interesting. I wouldn't mind if generally Kyrieru would go a bit more into sandboxy games, maybe make something in mood of Rune Factory.
DeleteAre we going to see costume changes or potentially transformations on the PC this time around? Possibly the option to offensively rape some of the enemies?
ReplyDeletei am deeply sorry if you have answered this question before but do u have any plans for a kurovadis 2 or something, there's just something about kuro that i enjoy ^^
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling bro, rendering a color with pixels takes time, to make this possible you need a group of graphic designers, its hard to make it if your all alone, its much easier to create an 8 bit sprite and much faster, I was surprised when you announce that your gonna create a game with that resolution.
ReplyDeleteyou are all talk
ReplyDeletesrsly dude, wtf?
DeleteGive him a break. Hes the only one working on the game (as far as I know).
DeleteI've started learning about game developing about a year ago and I'm still learning.
Putting together a game, even a simple one is a lot of work.
He's probably going to finish the martial arts game eventually.
Too bad for the old game
ReplyDeleteLame.
ReplyDeleteSuper Lame.
Oh well, good luck with the new game.