Tuesday 18 December 2012

Testing ADOH

A tiny test level testing the mechanics of ADOH floated around a few weeks ago, and of the bugs found so far, the biggest seems to be the fact you die while enemies fade away.

I've been looking into this bug, and I'm unsure if it can really be classified as a bug due to the behavior of the game. When the frame that causes that effect to occur is removed, the enemies have zero chance of destroying the MC due to the massive hit-boxes surrounding  the main character. Due to that, then the game is not challenging at all, which proves to be zero fun.

I managed to get the level parameters working right though, and the functionality of most things is what I want them/imagined them to be. The game is touchy due to the way I code, meaning touching the wrong spot is very unforgiving. However I'm designing it so that if you do hit something you'll have obviously hit it, it won't be some 1-pixel type thing, it'd be more "You seriously just ran straight into that wall" sort of thing.

Once I decide/figure out how to either iron out this 'bug' or stick with it, I'll likely finally be moving on to designing the actual game.

As a teaser and/or gift to help give you the idea that this blog is not all a bunch of hype, here's a link to the TEST LEVEL (Click here). Controls being arrow keys to move. To replay if you die, right click and press play. Also note this is a version with the enemy 'bug' intact.
 

Friday 16 November 2012

Small things make brighter future for Ric-Olzow

As of today, I have finally figured out how to correctly export flash movies as .mov files, and have them correctly upload to youtube. This means that the potential to output content rises dramatically, as anything I make in flash now is no longer limited to websites with .swf capability.
This also means that ideas for trailers and teasers for project ADOH are now more than possible, as there's nothing technologically/skill-wise holding me back, it'd just be a matter of finding time and inspiration.

Also, I made a little something something for the last project, Jenny's Quiz. A long needed Answer Key should make it so that people can actually finish the game if they want, so that they don't see the first 2 minutes of the game and give up. That being said, the key is long, so they might see that and just give up anyway...but the point is, the key is there!

More project ADOH jabber coming soon!

Wednesday 7 November 2012

PTE Goes Purple To Promote Project ADOH

If that tongue twister of a title hasn't got you caught up, then you should read on to find out exactly what's "going on" with The Paper Train Express.

Basically what I usually refer to now as "ruining PTE" has taken place yet again. Another shenanigan which changes key parts of the blog temporarily (or in some cases permanently) has been done, though this one has been done for a more serious reason than those done in the past. (Which have been done out of boredom.)

Purple PTE, Postings by "Amy Raasolae" and subsequent other silliness is meant to a) note the occurrence of 'Amy Day' (November 22, which the relevance of that date is actually that it is the day Amy Raasolae was created (back in 2010). Though the data proving that is lost...)
and more importantly b) be a promotional stunt for Project ADOH, the "next JQ" which has gotten as far as a complete title screen (which some thought as unimpressive, hence this stunt), and is now undergoing level testing to get the major pieces of the game finalized so level creation/true game creation can begin.

Any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me here.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Redefining Redefining

I finally have a more clear view of what it is exactly that I'm doing.

As you may notice to the right, that is pretty much exactly what Ric-Olzow is. It's not some official company, or just some cartoon character, nor just a favourited username. It's a continuous (read: endless) project which serves the purpose of gaining fame rather than money. If this project ever actually manages to go monetary, that's amazing. But my intention (as of right now anyway) is to let this be a hobby that serves nothing more than entertainment.

As for actual Ric-Olzow projects, the plat-former mentioned last post has been the main focus, but it's certainly...evolved as an idea.
There is no longer gravity, as the game will likely play as more of a Gradius/R-type sidescrolling shooter. However, the MC will not fire any weapons, but rather rely on two spheres above and below it to defeat enemies.
The game has already been put into production, which is going slow due to the workload, project size, and staff level.
A ONE MAN PROJECT
AWWW YEAH

Expect a Demo/Preview/Teaser early 2013. 



Wednesday 19 September 2012

Remember Ric-Olzow? Me Neither.

It's certainly been a few months since I've posted here.

Basically, nothing has really happened since last post. Ideas have come and gone, I've toyed with different ideas and codes over and over and never had found anything I could actually turn into a project.

That is, until now. I have a potential idea in mind, for a platformer-style game, featuring levels, bosses and a driving storyline. It's hard to say if I'll be able to pull off the idea in mind, but I'm hoping to bring the game together with song use (see: ric-olzow music) and atmosphere. I'm also keeping in mind that this game needs to be a lot more forgiving than JQ, (which I still regard as my best designed game thus far, it just happens to also be university-level in terms of difficulty....) which will hopefully draw more people to play it farther than 2 levels.

I'm thinking as well to go all out if I do make this new game idea, and maybe try making trailers and other things for it. It'll definitely be a non-profit venture, and if it manages to pick up any sort of popular interest, will be more successful than planned. My expectations are lower than they were for JQ, which is due to a reality check that my stuff is not as new, fancy, or innovative as I once thought. (Read: my ego got a much needed clamp.)

We'll see what happens, because the new project is a mere idea for now, but at least I'm starting to formulate actual plans again!

Monday 2 July 2012

Random Frame Array to possibly be basis of next game!

First Post is Best Post!

So last game released has been the infamous Jenny's Quiz, known for its intense toughness and cute charm! Also coding issues, but hey, I'm learning!

I have plans to continue with the game making direction, and so I've been toying with ideas over another Jenny-based game. The next one will very likely be using a new code I've figured out how to use: Random Frame Array!

Basically with this code, I can randomly shoot to any frame in the timeline. It's a fairly simple code, but still took me a bit to figure out how it worked. Now that I totally get it though, it's fair game! Using it with all my previous coding knowledge, I'm hoping my next game will turn out even better than the last!


As to what the game's actually going to be, I've been toying with ideas like Visual Novel, Slot Machines and Mini-game Compilation. We'll see what happens!