Well, something similar happened the other day with the current game, and damn am I glad that I didn't go forward with the game the way it was.
Until now, it always felt like something was missing, nothing really stood out. The first area in particular was meant to be incredibly easy, and didn't have much to it. I kept telling myself that the game would be more fun once there were more elements to the levels, but to be honest, I don't know if it would have.
After adding the new mechanics, on the other hand, I actually found myself going through that first area multiple times and enjoying it, each time doing it a different way, and each time getting better at it, learning new ways to utilize the new moves. And each time I got better, it was satisfying to go back and see what I could pull off. I feel like the game finally has a mechanic that's fun without all the fluff to try and make it better.
I'm sure I'm making it sound more fun that it is, of course, but I suppose it's just because my mindset went from "This game is bland and I don't want to work on it" to "Hey, this is actually pretty fun". I'll have to change some other elements of the game to help compliment these mechanics, but, overall I think the game is going to be much better for it.
Edit: Er, just to clarify, it has nothing to do with that picture -__-
:D Awesome to hear! Keep having fun, Kyri!
ReplyDelete<3
ReplyDeleteFun?! Playing videogames? Truly a grand heresy!
ReplyDeleteThat aside, you made me more anxious to play the demo, though this means that it'll still take a while. Ah well, it's better if you don't rush it.
Loving your work is always a wonderful thing. I hope it continues to be enjoyable for you, and of course, enjoyable for us when we get a chance to play around with it ourselves!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to hear that it is more enjoyable to work on. It's always better to work on something you like then to force yourself. As stated by others before, I'm also even more curious about how the demo will turn out. Your games always have been very nice and entertaining. That's why I pull them out every once in a while, even after completing it the first time. I bet this project will be no exception. Thumbs up at your high spirit! ^^
ReplyDeleteHaving fun ahead of us? You monster.
ReplyDelete.
.
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I kid. I'm wondering what new mechanics you're experimenting with this time. The Eroico's directional boost was cool stuff.
If only I could use them...
Delete(still not past first fairy enemy.)
....is it wrong I read datonony's post in the voice of GlaDos from Portal 2 (right after you wake her up.)
DeleteThat aside, if it ain't fun to you, it probably won't be fun to the majority of people who play it, so re-doing stuff because you implemented something that makes the game fun is perfectly alright. Myself, I'm a patient kinda guy. Loved your first two games (And the demo for Crimson Brave should you ever go back to that one.), so it bothers me nothing to hear it'll take a little longer on the demo because you're changing a few things to work with the new direction.
Pshh, more excuses for not having the demo done yet.
ReplyDelete......I mean, I look forward to the demo! The ability to roll in Kurovadis was elating; it made the game feel so responsive once the player got the hang of rolling after a wall jump. I don't know if it was intended, but repeated rolling allowed the protagonist to move significantly quicker, too, which added to the fast-paced feeling.
Yeah, that was intentional. Or rather, intentionally left in. Whenever I was playtesting, I'd always roll, roll jump, and then kick, and repeat to move quickly. The new mechanic in this game is a similar sort of feeling, because I've deliberately left in ways to abuse it if your control is good enough.
Delete*eyes picture*
ReplyDeleteScarlet lightning rod ? (don't do this at home, kids)
Sword of sky high whipped cream ?
... possibilities.
these posts are so like... stressful? i'm overjoyed that you've found a creative lode within what was apparently a very bland stone, but i'm also :( that it will take longer. i suppose the good outweighs the bad, but like i said -- these posts are very stressful, haha.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably actually going to take less time. The mechanics are already in the game, and now I won't be stressing over what I could do to make it more fun.
DeleteBONUS!
DeleteIs that a lightning cannon? SWEET!
ReplyDeleteI actually thought that the character summoned lightning from the sky to supercharge umbrella strikes. Your idea makes much more sense.
Deleteit is always better to program with fun ^^
ReplyDeleteBu- but, what's the mechanic?!
ReplyDeleteBy the power of GREYSKULL!
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing I really like about Kurovadis. Most H games have pretty awful gameplay, they just focus on the porn aspect. Some try to make better gameplay, like Iris Action or LAB Still Alive, but still feel a bit stiff. But Kurovadis really feels fun to play, if the game was longer and didn't have the H content, I could see the game doing very well on Steam, same with Erioco. I don't know if Kurovadis was your first game, but it's the first one released on here, and it's a great first release. I know you see yourself as more of an artist than a programmer/designer, but you've got something here.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Kyrieru: Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night?
ReplyDeleteAs in, which do I prefer? Because the two of them are completely different types of games, really.
DeleteI prefer metroid's gameplay and environments, but SOTN has better content.
No offense, but really? Completely different? Completely different are, like, Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid. This is more like Street Fighter and Tekken.
DeleteYes, completely different. In terms of game design, it'd be like saying Mario and the original Castlevania are similar because both are platformers. They both focus on completely different things.
Delete...Don't they both focus on exploration and finding powerups to reach new areas? Theres a reason everyone calls the new castlevanias "metroidvanias." The games are very similar, imo. This is the programming anon, btw (just this post, not the other two). Just letting you know I didn't forget about that shader, haha. Just working out a few other things first. I'll still let you know when it's done. :3
DeleteYes, but neither the controls, your means of fighting, nor the room to room level design are similar. The only thing that's similar is that there's non-linear exploration and powerups that let you get to new areas. But that can be in any game, and doesn't really represent how a game plays.
DeleteFor example, Kurovadis doesn't "play" like Metroid or castelvania SOTN at all. It actually plays more like megaman than either of them. However it has leveling up and a connected map, so some consider it a metroidvania. But you wouldn't call Megaman X a metroidvania. It doesn't have those design elements.
Likewise, Metroid and SOTN don't share most active gameplay elements, just a large map and powerups.
The question was 'Metroid or Castlevania', and the answer was 'yes'. Phrase a question with an or does not necessarily make it a binary answer. One is allowed to like both cake and muffins without ranking them nor comparing them. Having similarities such as both being baked goods does not mean that one -must- quantify a favorite between them. Your forceful question amounts to about as much sense as 'which do you prefer as a weapon: a lobster, or a tv remote'. Sure, having a definite answer may be amusing, and it might even make for an entertaining debate, but having a concrete preference should not necessarily be /expected/.
DeleteNo offense, but getting agitated over someone not sharing the same view of relativity when it comes to two given games is mildly absurd-- To take the fighting game example, not everyone would consider Tekken comparable with Street Fighter, just as not everyone would consider them comparable with Super Smash Bros., yet, even as indirect a link as Monster Hunter (it has combo lists) might be comparable by others. To take it to an extreme, I've seen plenty of people who consider Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl completely incomparable, and, in fact, even metagames within a single game of a franchise (Starcraft comes to mind) to be incomparable...
For the record, 'no offense' is very difficult to read as anything other than 'I feel entitled to act like a self-righteous dick now-- heads up.' I sincerely doubt that was your intention, of course, just felt the need to try and explain rather than watch further attempts to force a 'correct' answer to your original question.
^ just won infinite + 1 Internets.
DeleteHuh, idea about simillar differences between Street Fighter/Tekken and Castlevania/Metroid is absolutely true for me. If you don't know the details, SF/T is just standart fighting and C/M is exploration game with abilities. But if you really know this games, they have absolutely different mechanics: agressive close hand-to-hand combo-based combat in Tekken versus distance-control and counter-attacks in Street Fighter, RPG elements and lots of items in Castlevania versus purely skill-based exploration in Metroid. And yes, there is much more "similar but different" examples, like Guilty Gear and Shash Bros in SF/T category and Aquaria in C/M.
DeleteP.S.: And now, we have a Street Fighter X Tekken game, where is my god now?
OP here.
DeleteJesus, I didn't know a simple x or y question was such a big deal. Look, if Super Metroid and SOTN were so completely different, people wouldn't have created a super-specific genre called Metroidvania :)
Metroid is not a metroidvania. It's "Metroid" -__-
DeleteThe genre is generally regarded as action rpgs(SOTN) with the map/power-up elements common in Metroid. Metroid is not an action rpg.
Genres, as they pertain to games, are an extremely imprecise method of summarizing a game's mechanics and thematic elements, at best. Unlike movies, where mechanics are irrelevant, this means that advances in technology and design philosophies leaves the present genres as a very dated system. The current 'genres' are completely outmoded as a means of describing games regardless. How many game fall under the umbrella of FPS? Of RPG? The present genres are, more often than not, completely useless as descriptors.
DeleteTo be at all useful, a genre must explain mechanics -and- theme. Survival horror is an excellent example (mechanics: survival; theme: horror), but stands as a notable exception. To solve the issue, one must clarify other elements. As a simple example, kurovadis' 'genre' might to some be considered hentai. Now, we can all agree that such, while not incorrect, is far from a complete picture. Action-platformer with hentai as a subgenre, perhaps, but that still entirely excludes thematic elements...
We need new vocabulary to describe games, in short. 'Genre' should pinned to theme (as with movies), with mechanics removed from genre-descriptors. We need another term to have the definition of 'mechanics overview' that is easily spoken along with a game's genre-- again, the example 'survival-horror' as a mechanics+genre is a good example. We already use some of these (modern-FPS versus historical-FPS versus sci-fi-FPS), but another core issue is that our descriptors for mechanics (i.e. platformer, action, FPS, RPG...) are also becoming very nondescriptive, and the vocabulary to keep up with them is simply not being created. Again, there are exceptions (MoBAs are not considered the same 'genre' as RTS, and as a result they both remain useful descriptors... unlike some prime offenders like RPG/FPS that become associated with so many games that play so differently that they no longer actually communicate anything useful), but the issue is one of language failing to keep pace with evolving ideas, which in turn stunts the development of new ideas by creating situations like this, where people get caught up in categorizing, because human nature is obnoxious about things like that.
Stupid humans... see, this is why I'm only interested in eldritch abominations.
...it has nothing to do with the multitudinous appendages.
Yeah... this comment has degenerated into nonsense now... POST.
Plus, asserting that something is correct because "people agree on it" is performing a logical fallacy. Charlotte's description of what's wrong with Genres is pretty accurate: "Metroidvania" is a really weird term, and although it does describe the map design of the game, it says little about the overall "feel" that said game provides.
DeleteAH I WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME!! Hopefully, the beginning of next month!! :D
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for this to come out!! Also, I know this wouldn't be high on your priority list because you're busy with this game, but will you ever be releasing a gallery mode for Kurovadis?
ReplyDeleteI don't really plan on it, but you never know.
DeleteAlso, the umbrella reminds me of a lance in that picture. And somehow that mutated into thinking "your umbrella is the drill that will pierce the heavens"-- probably because of the lightning... Either way, some nice distracting thoughts to keep me from head-'sploding over trying to guess at the mechanic(s).
ReplyDelete...wait...
DAMN!
Charlotte Zane? Wait, do I know you?
Deletei'm a big fan of your games, can't wait for this one!
ReplyDeleteAlso:your tutorials of gmstudio really helped me with some things,when you plan on making some more? *-*
Just curious...Does your game have a name/title yet?
ReplyDeleteYep
DeleteCan you share it or are you keeping that a surprise.
DeleteI suppose there's no real reason to, but I like it to be a surprise, at least until the demo is released.
DeleteAh, OK then. Hope it's out soon~
DeleteI'm really excited to get the chance to play another one of your games.
ReplyDeletehope the game turns out fine =D
ReplyDeleteCan't wait. Been playing some Eroico and I'm getting HYYPE
ReplyDeleteJust curious again...Is the resolution of the game going to be similar to Eroico?
ReplyDelete*sits quietly and patiently waits for the demo.... every day....*
ReplyDeleteSuddenly, silence. -_-;
ReplyDeleteIt's a sign... demo incoming!
DeleteConfirmed!
Delete