Thoughts and Thankyous :)

I have to say a big thanks to all the peeps who enjoyed playing Alien Splatter! Pretty shocked to find out it got a Daily Feature considering there are many more greater submissions out there. >.< It's nice to find people are enjoying and re-living those good ol' days of Nintendo however and that makes me happy.

So anyway with that, I'm thinking of the possibility of perhaps making a "full" game to sell on sites like Desura or if I'm lucky, Steam Greenlight. Of course I wouldn't sell it for lots, 59p/$1 and I would of course still make free games to upload here as well. With flash you're limited to things that you want to do but with stand-alone exe. files you can go mental. So that's just a thought. My main worry would be that no one would buy it and it'd be a big waste of time but I guess sometimes you need to dive off head first.

Anyway with that, I was looking through old projects that I started and never got anywhere. I've got so many so I thought I would list them and see if people would be interested in playing them if I ever finished them. The games are:

1) A "Banjo-Kazooie/Super Mario 64" type game with collectables and three different characters.

2) A Mega Man styled game.

3) A real time RPG much like Secret of Mana.

4) Also yesterday I spent a day just re-creating a 8-bit styled SHMUP that actually works pretty well. So there's that one too.

So yeah that's basically the ramblings of me. Again thanks for the nice comments and criticisms. They be the reason why I still enjoy making these little games and uploading them to Newgrounds! :)

Thoughts and Thankyous :)

Comments

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WilkinGames 2013-11-11 09:37:23

Just checked out Alien Splatter. Keep up the good work!

SinclairStrange 2013-11-11 09:37:23

Thanks! :). I'm glad you liked the game.

NeonSpider 2013-11-11 10:35:58

I would say just go for it! You can't know how well or even if something will sell unless you put it out there and try to sell it. It could end up costing you money if people aren't buying OR you could make a lot of money with it but there's only one way to find out.

I would advise to make games firstly because of a love of games and only think about the money secondly because that's staying true to the artform. Which, contrary to certain ignorant critics, video games are an art form!

If you just want to make money then don't even bother making good games. If you look at what makes money these days you'll find uninspired crappy games like Angry Birds. So the key to making money is making a crappy unoriginal game and somehow getting it popular.

SinclairStrange 2013-11-11 10:35:58

I always make games I love, I've never been out for just reaping in cash, that's why I don't make "shovelware" games. I wouldn't lose out on any money if I attempted just time really but I guess if it's something enjoy doing then there isn't a real loss in the end.

I agree, some people just love churning out the same old, same old for a quick profit but I'm not like that. Games are an art form and I agree with that too!

Thanks for the post, good advice indeed!

TomFulp 2013-11-11 12:20:15

A pay game is worth a shot, it could expose you to a new audience (there's a big indie downloadable fan scene that is disconnected from the web game scene), make you some money and bring those people to check out your previous work too!

As for the other games you're working on - is the Mario 64 style game 3D? Have you been tinkering with Unity?

For the Mega Man style game, it would be awesome if you made a demake adventure based on the characters in Cathode Raybots, NES style and not based on single screen user levels.. Just tossing that out there :)

SinclairStrange 2013-11-11 12:20:15

I think I might just give it a shot, if it never goes anywhere I can always jig it around and uploaded here! I've never attempted making a pay for game so it'll be an interesting journey.

I've had a little go with Unity as one of my friends made a 3D Crash Bandicoot styled game and it was awesome. It's not too bad to learn, I'm just waiting for Unity to pick up a little bit because people are still worried about downloading the plug-in for it. (But no, my SM64 game was a 2D game that I worked on last year.)

I was going to make a "de-make" of Castle Crashers for Pico Day next year but the idea of Cathode Raybots sounds far more awesome. I could see how that'd work out, with different levels having different gimmicks based on the Raybot's weapons. I might just take you up on that offer! :)

dreamsfan 2013-11-12 22:47:27

I would pay for a game. You might want to allow a curve of difficulty when appealing to pay-to-play masses though. I swear Alien Splatters stage 4-D insta-deaths and the mega-man vanishing blocks of stage X were swear-inducing. Ninja Virus seemed even harder, I could only get to stage 2.

For the money, I'd like to see a real-time RPG. There's just not enough good ones.

SinclairStrange 2013-11-12 22:47:27

The reason I make games a little more tricky on flash is that they're free. It can make people come back to try and finish them. With paid games, I'd dumb down the difficult a little bit, or add awards for beating the level well.

As for the RPG, it could be on the table, I have a feeling a lot more people would play it than platformers.

squidly 2013-11-13 19:56:01

Though Tom suggested it, the Mario 64 game does not have to be 3D. You've already proven yourself as a more then adequate spriter, a good 16 bit collect-o-thon of about the quality of Super Mario 63 (one of my favorite flash games) and I'd happily shell out 10 - 20 bucks.

Just remember, the heart of a good collect-o-thon is an adorable, original, mascot character.

Okay, well, actually it's the level design, but Banjo Kazooie (Tooie) just wouldn't be the same without... Banjo and Kazooie.

The core is a connected design, Collectothons at their heart are only a few steps from Metroidvania's in the idea of collect one thing here and it helps you over there. Banjo Tooie was the game that really, truly, blurred the line as opposed to the self contained (and worse) level design of Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie.

Have you played Vertex? Though it's an incomplete game, it had an interesting character switch mechanic that I was planning on borrowing/stealing for something completely different. Personally I'd prefer a single character/duo but Donkey Kong 64 has its own fans.

SinclairStrange 2013-11-13 19:56:01

I wouldn't really dabble with 3D anyway, I prefer 2D games as you can get more character and life into them more easier when working alone. I grew up on 2D and I intend to stay there haha :). I actually have a working "BanjoKazooie" engine for flash ready to be worked on, it's just a huge challenge and I sort of lost track of it last year. I wouldn't sell a "collect-a-thon" game due to the sheer amount of work that would need to go into it.

And aye, the characters are always the main key, that and the atmosphere. I totally agree.

The thing with Banjo Tooie is I think Rareware wanted to make just one huge world, really expand the idea. I think MetroidVania's are just the same as collect-a-thons just done in a different way. There isn't just single items you need to find and collect but instead you find things to power you up to adventure in new places. It's really hard to just put your finger on it.

Ah Vertex, I've never played it but I've seen a ton of gameplay videos, it looked real neat. I quite like multiple characters myself, actually my collect-a-thon had that.

ChandlerThompson 2013-11-15 22:22:43

Keep up the good work, buddy!

SinclairStrange 2013-11-15 22:22:43

Thanks! :)