Topics

1

Game Art / Game Graphics, UI, Tilesets, Animations....and some Free Stuff to get started!

« on: February 06, 2015, 03:37:41 pm »

Hello, Stencylers!  I've been working on something that is sure to help some of you who are less than comfortable creating your own art assets.

www.appdevgraphics.com

After years of working in the mobile app industry as a freelancer, I've built a site that will offer:

-Premade Template Sets
-User Interface assets
-Buttons
-Reuseable Animations (built with Flash)
-Tilesets for unique level design

The site is still fairly new and I'm working on new assets all the time.  If you want to try my stuff out at zero risk, visit the site and grab my FREEBIE PACK!  This free file contains dozens of .png files created by me, to use freely in your games.  If you ever decide to purchase the full packs that I create, you'll receive the raw working files from Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop so that you can really take control over the foundations I'm creating.

I love building games, and hopefully this will help clear some hurdles that have been bothering you.  Stay tuned for lots more graphics (and some free stuff for you guys) in the future!

A general working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop is recommended to get the full benefits of these template packs.

Other Notable Site Features:
-Email subscription that will allow me to update you when a new Pack or Freebie is available!  I hate spam as much as you do, so no worries about having your inbox blown up.
-Site blog containing Tips & Tricks for working with graphics, site news, etc.
-Community area where you can submit screenshots of games you are making that have used any of my graphics.  Other users can comment on your work and come play it in the Stencyl Arcade if you link to it!

2

Windows / Mac / Flash / HTML5 / Special Delivery! A delivery game in spaacccceeeeee

« on: March 01, 2014, 08:04:44 am »

***  http://www.stencyl.com/game/play/24803  ***

This is a project I sat on for a very long time as I was learning Stencyl.  I finally wrapped up this small game a few days ago.  There are definitely some things I would do differently now, but it was a great learning experience that really set me up to work on some more in-depth games that will be appearing later in 2014.

You are the newest recruit for the Outer Orbit Postal Service (O.O.P.S.).  They make deliveries across the galaxy, and they do take care to protect packages, but...accidents will happen!  Thankfully, you always have your laser cannon if things get too clustered, and you may just find some duct tape floating around that you can use to patch up any broken pieces of your delivery.  The client will never know.

Asteroids, BIG ASTEROIDS, drifting astronaut hitchhikers, and dive-bombing pterodactyls, OH MY 

Have a great weekend, Stencylers!

3

Shared Resources / Simple Lockbox Puzzle (Tech Demo)

« on: January 11, 2014, 10:58:32 pm »

http://acarnivorousocean.tumblr.com/post/26111455843/tech-demo-simple-lockbox-i-had-the-concept-for

This video is kind of old, but I didn't really show it off or ever finish the game that featured it.  Maybe one day I can return to this nifty little feature!  Check the blog post for the video and notes regarding its creation. 

Have anything similar to show off, or questions about how this was created? 

4

Chit-Chat / Why do so many indie devs do this?

« on: July 15, 2012, 12:35:28 am »

If your game has a plot or some control scheme that the user might want to know about, why isn't this info actually a part of the game experience?

Granted, lots of games in the Stencyl Arcade are short and (sometimes) sweet.  But when I have to scroll down from the active game area to read your description of who the main character is, or how to use the controls, it breaks what little immersion was there to begin with.

When I play a new game, whether it's here or on some other Flash portal, I never read the description until I'm done playing the game.  Anything pertaining to HOW and WHY you are playing the game should be, I think, in the game.  If it's already a part of the finished game, and you put a little reminder in the comments section, of course that's cool.  I guess some people don't want to make that extra click to read your Control Screen.

To close this with an analogy, because I love analogies, imagine going out for a nice dinner, and then being told that your silverware is in another room, and you must go get it yourself.

Happy Stencyling 

5

Paid Work / Tech Demo - Simple Lockbox

« on: June 28, 2012, 06:47:21 pm »

Greetings, Stencylers!  I'm here to show you something I put together last night.  In videogames, the puzzle lockbox is nothing new.  But I'm quite proud of myself for being able to conceptualize and code it properly.  I'm not going to take alot of time discussing it in this post; check the video link for an in-depth description of everything that I put into creating the puzzle.  Enjoy!

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/acarnivorousocean
http://acarnivorousocean.tumblr.com/post/26111455843/tech-demo-simple-lockbox-i-had-the-concept-for

6

Chit-Chat / Recording Gameplay on Video

« on: June 28, 2012, 08:00:38 am »

Can you guys recommend some *free* solutions to record gameplay from the desktop?
Back in the day I tried having Quicktime record my desktop...about 10 seconds of test footage ended up being a huge file.  Quality loss was also sometimes an issue.

It would be nice to put together a little promo video to keep myself motivated and to show people on my blog and other social networks that this game is going to be a reality.

Thoughts?

7

Chit-Chat / Interviews with Indie Developers

« on: June 27, 2012, 05:39:05 pm »

This is one of the most inspiring blogs I've ever found, and I'd like to share it with you.

The blog mentioned is still very active, and there's something new to read just about every week.  I suggest following the blog or at least reading some of it:

Quote Unquote
Interviews and quotes - One indie videogame developer at a time.

http://quote-un-quote.tumblr.com/

What strikes me the most about these interviews is that it's not uncommon at all for them to become unmotivated, or just run dry in the ideas department.  They are unsure and run into problems.

They aren't enlightened people, just some dudes who thought differently, and made some right choices along the way.

Feel free to post anything you've been reading regarding indie game development/inspiration.

8

Resolved Questions / Mapping out Booleans (Pre-game Preparation)[RESOLVED]

« on: June 22, 2012, 10:17:51 pm »

Hi guys!  The forum here has been very helpful so far, and my prototype is finally running nicely.  The engine that my adventure runs on is in place, and I'm very happy.  I do have a question unrelated to coding, though.

How do my fellow Stencylers map out Booleans?  In a small project, a developer could get away with keeping that information in their head.
However, in a larger game, I want to find the most reliable method to trace the road map of my game before I really jump into coding it.

I considered using a spreadsheet layout.  I'd have a row for Characters, and a column for Booleans.  I could go through and write out how each character would react if a certain Boolean is true or false.  I foresee that method getting a little messy though.

Any better ideas that you guys have found?

Thanks for reading....here's a screenshot of my WIP.  I'm super excited about the custom art/animation and the story.

9

Resolved Questions / Why are my Quests resetting? [SOLVED]

« on: June 17, 2012, 11:33:17 am »

I'm working on getting quest-specific dialog blocks in my game.  I am making nice progress!  In my test scene, I have an NPC and a Quest Item.  The NPC says something different depending on if you have interacted with the Quest Item. 

The issue now is, my booleans are resetting every time I leave the scene and come back!  I looked at Game Attributes, and how they are global values that are remembered across multiple scenes.

If you could, take a look at my NPC and Quest Item code blocks.  What am I doing wrong?  Game Attributes are purple, and the Booleans needed for this dialog to work are definitely purple.  Is there something I missed?

This is still an early version of my dialog code.  I'll go back and fix it up more after I take care of this resetting problem.

10

Ask a Question / NPC - Alternate Dialog upon Quest Completion

« on: June 15, 2012, 12:25:10 pm »

Greetings, everyone.  This is an interesting topic that I've had trouble finding good documentation for.

I am working on an adventure game in which you have the typical instance of an NPC sending you to accomplish a task, and saying something completely different when you return later.  I currently trying to get a prototype working with proper code blocks and behaviors before I do any original graphics.
All of my previous code blocks are in great working order...I just can't wrap my head around this custom dialog issue.

I am building my prototype using the 'RPG Town & Dialog' test game.  I am just having trouble figuring out how to:

1) Make an alternate block of text (for the completed quest)

2) Make a code block that can call for that piece of text specifically.
I think I can do it with Booleans, but I'm not entirely sure how to get it all together.

I was poking around inside the NPC Dialog Behavior, but I'm still trying to get my bearings with these code blocks.  It was much easier doing custom dialog with RPG Maker....but now, it's time to learn something new.

If anybody has some tips, or a new way of accomplishing this task that I haven't considered, please fill me in.  Maybe this thread can assist some other poor soul who is trying to make a solid RPG/Adventure.