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lxFirebal69xl

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Blog Entries posted by lxFirebal69xl

  1. lxFirebal69xl
    After going radio silent for a week I return with some really, really good news.
     
    First and foremost, the last level of the first episode is finished, I'm currently testing it out and seeing if I can break it before I upload a beta build to steam. After a couple days of it being there, if there aren't any issues, I will be launching the game on february 10th. Yes, you can quote me on that.
     

    I have to tell you though, making this level was not easy at all, I had so many ideas that never saw the light of day, but I hope that the way I created things work out for the better and I hope to use those scrapped ideas in the future someway.
     
    So here's a bit of information for the last level for those of you who've been wanting to play it:
     
    There's a way to kill the demon.
    There's a way to escape without killing him.
    The last level has 5 different variations depending on what you do.
     
     
    It goes without saying that there are multiple endings for what happens when you finish the last level as well, but I'll leave that for you to find out.
     

     
     
    That's it for now! I've probably already said too much so I hope you'll like what's in store for you.
  2. lxFirebal69xl
    Hey gents!
     
    First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my lack of updates the last week, personal life took a big hit and I got extremely busy, but rest assured that updates for the game will follow as soon as possible since I now have time to focus on it.
     
    So what have I got planned?
     
    First piece of news is the upcoming 0.4.5 update, it will launch sometime after the next engine update. Most important features of that update are:
     
    -Performance boosts. (Thanks to the way lights and objects affect each other being rewritten)
    -Size of the game will drastically decrease. (Thanks to ogg support)
    -More bug fixes.
     
     
    I will keep you updated on when I'm thinking of releasing this patch, and yes it will arrive before the first episode's official launch, speaking of which...
     
    Release date for any game is a critical thing to nail down, and looks like I got extremely unlucky this year, as RE7, Outlast 2, Agony, Scorn and a few others are all big horror titles coming out this year, so I have to pick my fights where there aren't any, I was planning to release the game this january, BUT, RE7 comes out at the end of this month, and the month of february doesn't have any big horror releases, so that's going to be my month to shine. I don't have a specific day to release the game yet, but it will arrive in february.
     
    What have been working on lately is a weird mix of learning and developing, I recently got my hands on Substance Designer 2 and it's an incredible piece of software, as soon as I get more experience with it, I will use it for upcoming episodes.
    The development on the last level of the episode has been slow and methodical, since I need every branching path to find flawlessly, the past 2-3 days have been me exploring the ways the map can branch out while keeping things conclusive and fun.
     
    Here's a few WIP pictures, SPOILERS OF COURSE.
     
    NOTE THAT THESE ARE VERY EARLY REPRESENTATIONS OF THE FINAL PRODUCT.
     

     

     

     
    That's it for now, more updates coming soon!
     
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADemonsGame/
     
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/lxFirebal69xl
  3. lxFirebal69xl
    As most of you may know, I've been working on "A Demon's Game" for quite a while now, but I'm happy to announce that it's almost time for it to actually release, but before that happens, there are a lot of things happening that I would love to let you know about.
     
     



     
    Firstly, the game got accepted to be in Portugal's biggest gaming convention, Lisbon Games Week. I'll be there from the 17th to 20th November, I have my own booth where players can try the game, ask questions and I will also be giving presentations on how I managed to create an entire game by myself while having no experience or studies at all.
    Best part of this event? I will be live-streaming the entire event over at my twitch account (link below). I will also warn everyone an hour before the convention starts so people have time to tune in.
     
     



     
    Whilst the convention is going, I'll also be launching the game's greenlight page on the 16th November, just a day prior, this way I can not only promote the game but it's greenlight page as well during the convention's duration.
    To help promote the game I also made a few (400 in total) business cards to hand out to people at the convention.
     
    Here they are:
     
    Front:

     
    Back:

     
     
     
    Releasing the game:
    And now comes the most important thing of all, releasing the game, currently, I'm aiming for a January 3rd release. I have very little left to do and it gives me ample time to test everything out and fix/polish any mild inconveniences.
     
     
     
     
    Convention Demo:
     



     

    I also made the convention build available for everyone to try out, so if you're interested in seeing how the game progressed trying this little demo out would be the perfect way!


     
     
     
     
    Links:
    Convention demo: http://www.indiedb.com/games/a-demons-game/downloads/adg-demo
    Twitch link: https://www.twitch.tv/firebal69
    Game's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/A-Demons-Game-1609762912575762/
     
     
    Thanks for reading!
    Ruben
  4. lxFirebal69xl
    "Once you hit rock bottom, that's where you perfectly stand; That's your chance of restarting, but restarting the right way."

    -Justin Kanayurak


     
     
    About two years ago, I had this idea to make a horror game, a horror game that would be different to most, "Myst and a bit of Amnesia" I thought back then, little did I know that the game would evolve so much, so quickly.
     
    Back then everyone thought I was crazy for making a game (game development where I live is a bit of a taboo thing, where no one trust it because it's "new"), and the ones who thought me making a game was cool, thought I was crazy for trying to make a game this huge by myself.
    Boy were they right. I scrapped the game twice, once on March 2015 and another on November 2015. I scrapped the game because I wasn't happy with it, I knew I could do better, more dynamic, more enjoyable, and you can still see the effects of me scrapping those two "versions" of the game today.
    I often like to watch videos people made about the game back then and compare to how the game is today.
     
     
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mh5b5S9XbvA
     
     
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/H6YN0IGqkUA
     
     
    This was the very first playable demo of the game, I had no clue where I was going with it, but I was trying to make something "cool", now looking back at it, it wasn't bad for a first attempt, but for me, "wasn't bad" isn't good enough.
    So I scrapped it.
    A few months later, I had something else entirely, still the same foundation but with different edges.
     
     
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/CtEOu05QRys
     
     
    You can tell I was going for something unique already, presenting the player with a lot more puzzling action and atmosphere than outright jumpscares, people liked it that way, and I decided for it to stay that way permanently.
    It was around this time where I started trying to do more than I could chew, implementing all these mechanics in the game and they didn't really fit.
     
     
    http://www.indiedb.com/games/a-demons-game/news/a-demons-game-is-back-in-action
     
     
    This article shows a lot of scrapped mechanics, most notably, the inventory system and leaning.
    Don't get me wrong, they were good ideas that could have worked, but they didn't make sense existing inside ADG.
    Ideas that didn't mix well together coupled with non-satisfactory level and story progression made me scrap everything, again.
    But thankfully that was the second and thus far, the last time I did that. Ever since the start of February 2016 I've been working on this game, and I can finally say that I'm proud how far it's come.
    I also needed a better work management for myself, so I made a trello page, which I kind of use as a diary wannabee thing.
     
    https://trello.com/b/boNQSExz/a-demon-s-game-development
     
    Ever since then, I just kept expanding my horizons, by the end of march, I had a full team of VA working alongside me to provide the most immersion possible for the game.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/kMUAhwzdwOE
     
    Not only that but I've also started sharing my dev progress through videos, which I love to do since it provides me a lot of interaction with people interested in the game.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/XpDWKL8f77M
     
     
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/xpHsQjgmGxc
     
    After all of this happening this past year, I was extremely happy with how the game was coming along, but knowing exactly what was coming later this year, and, with a bit of "DO IT, YOU'LL GET ACCEPTED" from a few people.
    I submitted my game for this year's Lisbon Games Week, and I got accepted.
    This was a shock to me, because only now do I realize what I actually have been making these past two years, I've been making something that's actually unique, and in the gaming world, that's almost unheard of.
    Ever since I got the email from them saying "Congrats, you've been selected for LGW" I've been ecstatic, it's one of the best feelings a game dev can have and I'm proud to say that, I'll be there.
    Here's the list of games confirmed for Lisbon Games Week.

    I'm going to be there, 17th-20th of November, showing everything and sharing with everyone my story, and that is what I'm looking forward to the most, the feeling of getting live reactions from players and their thoughts about games in general will be one of the biggest rewards I'll ever get while making this game, so I'm not going to let it go to waste.
     
    So, now you might be asking, "so what comes after the convention?"
    The answer is simple, releasing the game.
     
    And finally I just want to say to all of you reading this, and to all past and future people who had or will have an interest in the game, a big, big...

     
    This wouldn't be possible without you,
    Ruben.
     
     
    P.S. It's my 19th birthday today, so I thought I'd write something meaningful for once
  5. lxFirebal69xl
    For the past few months I've been having trouble getting in to the "developing mode". But, ever since the tournament started and I saw all these new fellas doing something productive, and not to mention that the Game Launcher seems to be getting stale, with the most popular games lacking updates. I decided to pick my sorry *** off the floor and work on my game.
     
    After a week of this mindset, I can proudly say, I did something great, most of you probably already played the Alpha demo for "A Demon's Game", but it was broken, filled with glitches and not enjoyable, this update changes that and polishes it up to be a solid title in the Game Launcher library.
    If any of you are thinking of giving it a shot one more time, I thank you as it means the world to me.(Just don't forget to point out what's wrong and what's right.)
     
    I also started using Trello a lot more often. It helps me maintain a good workflow.
    https://trello.com/b/boNQSExz/a-demon-s-game-development
     
    Here's what the update contains:
    http://www.indiedb.com/games/a-demons-game/downloads/a-demons-game-alpha-21
     
    Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the game.
     
    P.S: Does this count as an entry to the Tournament? I never actually participated in one
  6. lxFirebal69xl
    It's been 4 long months, I had time to think about what I wanted to do with the game and this is the result.
     
     
     
    Before I talk about the game I would like to apologize for the huge hiatus that the game went on. Since April that you guys haven't had any news whatsoever, but know that this "Hiatus time" didn't go to waste at all. I had time to think about the game and how I want to improve it. So here's what happened.
     
    First, all the levels have been scrapped. Yup, all of them, I wasn't happy with how the game was turning out and I wanted it to be better, creepier, more interactive and the levels before weren't doing that for me.
    I also wanted to make the graphics a LOT better, and from these pictures you can tell I'm almost at the point I want to be.
    The was a picture in the first level of the sewers 5 months ago.
     

     
    Here is how the sewers look now.
     

     
    They look a LOT better in my opinion and I'm sure that I'll eventually do the same thing for the other areas in the game.
    Now that we talked about the level design and how it changed, how about gameplay elements? Well, I decided to take a different approach to the inventory in a horror game and I scrapped it. Yea, I scrap a lot of things apparently, instead of having a magical pocket where you store all your stuff, you actually grab items and bring them to their place. For example, you find a key to a locked door, you physically have to hold the key and bring it to the door.
     
    So this kiss this inventory screen goodbye.
     

     
    What else have I added? Well, 2 key elements in gameplay.
    Leaning: You can now lean my pressing either Q or E.
     

     
    Crouching: This was kind of missing in the demos, the crouching could be a little smoother, but one thing at a time.
     

     
    Pause screen: Probably the most requested feature, is now in the game.
     

     
    Restart Screen: It's a simple variation on the pause menu that only shows up when you die in game. It has a restart button that will make you restart the level you're currently in.
     

     
    That's basically it for new gameplay elements, but what about actual gameplay time? Well, I'll have you know that the game will have over 20+ endings! It all depends on how you act in the game, how many demons you actually kill and your choices overall. One small detail can change everything in your playthrough, this will give a lot of dynamic gameplay to the player. The replay value is strong with this one!
     
    That is basically it for what happened in the game thus far, but now since I have more time to work on it, expect a lot of pictures and news to come out soon! Thank you for reading and I hope you look forward to the game!
     
    Thanks to Hankinator and Xtom for the help with the scripting! You guys are awesome!
    -Ruben
  7. lxFirebal69xl
    Let me start start off my apologizing for this being a few days late. Personal issues and stuff got in the way. Anyways, you're wandering what's been going on for this past week right? Let me start off with the BIG stuff. I hope you're not arachnophobic.
     
    So this was a little thing I had in mind, you may not know this but, I'm arachnophobic. I know, hard to believe considering this thing is in the game, it does tie in to the story but it doesn't have a clear name yet(open for suggestions!)
     

     
    It's kinda funny, since a lot of people told me that it would be good for my phobia if I challenged myself and put a spider enemy in the game. I accepted that challenge, and guess what? I'm now terrified of my own game. Go me. Here's a picture of it ingame!
     

    Other than the sickening and absolutely adorable spider that's in the game, I got a bit more work on the dungeons and started making some new with some interactable thingies!
     

     

     
    Another thing I started working on is the inventory system, which right now is very barebones, but it already archieves quite a lot.
     

     
    It has 6 slots in total, and you will able to store, use, combine items however you want, giving you absolute freedom to completely ruin your chances of escape or making them better!
     
     
    As a special feature, I recently partened up with the guys working on PAC(Pump Action Captain) and the Watcher is getting featured on their game! Check it out here!
    http://www.indiedb.com/games/pump-action-captain/images/new-enemy-demon-revealed
     
    Now last week I published a demo that was special to donators, since I spoke to the donators if I could put this out pubicly to get feedback and they all said yes, be on the lookout for a new demo this week!
     
    Here's a playthrough of the new demo (shoutout to AaronThePaladin!):

     
    And here's killoscott's playthrough of it!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoG0xSDLYCc&spfreload=10
     
    I should mention that they missed a lot of stuff, so if you want to have a go at it. Check the demo coming in a few days!
     
     
    There's a good new way to keep up with what I'm doing by seeing this page here:
    https://trello.com/b/boNQSExz/game-development-roadmap
     
    Plans for next week!
    Publish a new demo
    Polish the already made levels
    Complete Dungeon 2

  8. lxFirebal69xl
    Now, I don't want to make this too long, but bear with me as this is a great way to keep up to date with the game and will serve as a backbone for when I want to re-use things in future projects.
     
    So let's start with probably the biggest piece of news, last week an unique picture was uploaded and it showed "The Eater" in all his former glory.

    Honestly, I think he looks fantastic and will most likely scare the hell out of the player when he first meets him. The thing with "The Eater" is that he is blind (you can tell by the picture that he has no eyes), this means that he works via sounds, echolocation if you will, you can completely sneak by him if you don't make any noise what-so-ever. Ever seen the "Daredevil" movie? It kind of works like that.
     
    This will of course be advantageous to the player as he can throw things to distract the monster and sneak away or open a new path in order to progress through the level.
     
    I should mention though that he doesn't patrol if he doesn't hear anything, he just stands there. (In the picture I was running so of course he heard me.)
     

    I think this one turned out great as it demonstrates the awesome lighting of the sewers while mantaining a bit of the "what is down there?" feeling. A lot of people are wondering why are the barrels there, you obviously never been to a sewer.
     

    This picture was taken in the dungeon, and it highlights the shadows, that, with a bit of shader work can look truly magnificent! I should mention that the shadows serve another purpose than to look good and make the game atmospheric....but more about that next week...
     
     
    Last bit of news is the indiegogo, as you may know, the game has a campaign on indiegogo with the minimum amount of 500$ as it's goal. It pains be to say that as I write this, only 93/500$ were raised.
    I will still get a bit of the funds received by people, and honestly, I dind't even think I would get a single dollar, let alone 93$. And with only 4 days left in it, I highly doubt that I will get the remaining funds for it, and that huge sale of almost every perk isn't helping as much as I thought....BUT HEY! This doesn't mean that I'm quitting in anyway shape or form. Honestly, it just motivates me to do better.
    Thanks for reading the first WIP. I shall look forward to your participation in next week's WIP coming 30th of march. But before we leave, here's what I have planned to do for next week.
    Inventory System (Start working on this)
    Various 3D models
    New monster
    Work on the Hell sections of the game (this is going to be a bit tricky )
    Program an optimized patrol script for the monsters.

    Thanks for reading, once again.
    -Ruben
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