Game Preview

I just want to show you some artwork I did for my work in progress Flash game–

The image looks a bit blurred here, but that’s just because the image is actually 386 pixels tall, but for some reason WordPress made it 390. Whatever. Anyway, I wanted to show you this real quick. I’m going to try a different graphic style for this. Whereas games like Hindsight and Concrete (never released; only really showed screenshots of it) are/were really blurred and abstract, this new game is a different type of abstract. The image above isn’t actually a boss or creature–it’s the terrain. I won’t go into too much detail now, but hopefully you (literally) get the picture! The image above isn’t one of the actual levels (though the levels are quite similar; I’ll upload some screenshots of those in the future), but it will eventually be the logo. I’ll add the text later (I’m not going to release the name or anything until later).

Once I finish this, it should be available on Stencyl and on Kongregate, and I may try to get it to other websites as well.

-turboRamble

Updates

Once again, I’ve fallen way behind on my blogging. As soon as school started I was unable to find free time (and still am having trouble — I’m trying to write this in the few minutes before Spanish class that I have). I just want to let you guys know what’s going on, since you deserve it…and really, I just need to blog.

First off, today I was contacted by a friend who would like to port Hindsight to Flash. We would first make sure that it has major improvements; the main thing we need to change would be making it less trial and error. He said that he has a few good ideas, so I’m really looking forward to working on it with him, especially since he was such a help with the original.

Second, I think my next big game creating project will be an exploration/adventure platformer. I’m going to try to continue the project as long as I can, sketching graphics and writing down ideas as I go. One of the biggest influences for it would be An Untitled Story by Matt Thorson, my favorite platform adventure game of all time. It would either be an open world type 2D game, or I would try to make it feel as open world as I can. Not sure about the style of graphics at this time, though. Probably Paint or sketch style.

I’m also working with Stencyl in my free time, since I was accepted into the private beta (can’t remember if I already posted anything about it). I started a simple physics-based platform puzzle game with it, and I’ll probably publish it as a simple minigame/test eventually, in the same manner that I “published” the Sonar Beta. Speaking of which, I may also publish the last version of Sonar, just so that people can play the nicer looking version (though I’ll never finish it).

Hopefully I’ll be blogging more. Sorry guys!
-turboRamble

Hindsight Featured in Magazine

So I haven’t received a feature for Hindsight on YoYoGames. However, I came back from vacation to discover it did get featured (almost instantly) in Game Maker Digest Issue #7. They gave it a rating of 4.6/5; the highest rating of any of the showcased games.

However, I’m not done with it yet. I feel that after the feedback on both GameJolt and YoYoGames I need to make it less trial and error. This is a problem, though. I need to do this while still keeping the difficulty level it already has. So, if one of you guys can think of a cool feature that would fit the gameplay style but make it less trial and error, that would be awesome. Also, I would really love to add a level editor to the game. I feel that if I can achieve both of these goals and have them fit the game, then it would go from 4 to 5 stars.

Also, my mom finally gave me the green light on buying a computer. One thing: I need to be the one to pay for the whole thing. I’m looking for speed, space, and a great graphics card. Basically, a gamer’s laptop. I’ve already got good speakers in my room I can plug it into if I ever want to. However, I’m now trying to find ways to save up cash. One, I’m going to try to make a fun and addicting iPhone game that I could price around a dollar or so, and two I’m going to enter as many game creating competitions as possible.

Thoughts? Please comment on this post.

-turboRamble

New Game! – Hindsight

Yes, a new game! It’s a platform puzzle game that takes an old concept and makes it into something new and unique. There are 60 [SIXTY] overall levels; 40 of them that are unlockable. The graphics are simplistic yet I have heard from several testers that the game is addicting. I would also like to mention quickly that Matthew Davis contributed very nicely with tons of feedback, testing, ideas, and even the character graphic (the cute little green guy that you control).

Quotes are below:

• NightsOfLight: “Good job, really enjoyed that!”
• Matthew Davis: “That’s probably my favorite game by you yet.”
• Jono20201: “Shame this isn’t a flash game. [It] would be great to sell to a flash site.” (also) “Well, that was a fun 2 hours.”
• Ninjutsu63: “The game was surprisingly fun and addictive [and] the graphics were very crisp and elegant.”
• TimeBlog: “I can’t beat level 7! Five stars, anyway. Definitely quality.”
• iluvfuz: “You made this? This is incredible.”
• Zachary Bruno: “That is a REALLY cool game.”

Others:

• “One of Nathan’s best games I think.”
• “Don’t make it easier. This is fun!” (about level 8 )

Well, what are you waiting for?! Screenshots? Oh. Wait. Heh heh…

So, NOW what are you waiting for? Umm… enough with that. Here’s the download link:

Enjoy! I know I did (*ahem*…. until today. Spent 8 hours straight finishing it).

-turboRamble

Current News & a Quick Review

I’ve been programming a ton in Visual Basic Express ’08 lately. I had fun making a (secret program) that does awesome (secret) things while still being (secret). If that’s too secret for you and has made you extremely curious–just check out my Twitter. It’s not too (secret) there.

I want to quickly mention a project that is being developed for YoYoGames‘ competition06 (speaking of which–yes, it’s here already). The title at the moment is “Around the World in 33 Days” (from the website “iluvfuz“) and is expected to have 33 levels (hence the name). Since the competition theme is adventure, expect to see a lot in this game (or it has no chance of winning). Seriously, just by looking at the graphics this looks like it will be a huge contender. Credit goes to @Broxter for originally posting the link on Twitter about the game. Some of the images the creator posted are below:

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Please note that I *DID NOT* make this game.

The graphics seem to cater directly to my tastes, and the aliasing has been done here (almost) perfectly. I only have a few critiques: the ground (a friend brought this one up; otherwise I may or may not have noticed on my own) has not been aliased nearly as much as the background and player. By aliasing (basically, it means blending) the edges of the ground, it could look fit the graphic scheme better.

Also, the interface seems too cluttered. Yes, I know not is much on the screen. However, if you look closely at the second screenshot you’ll notice how large the player is in comparison to the interface (stats and all that) and the screen size. It leaves almost no room for the game itself. As the game is supposed to be (and should be) an adventure game, in my opinion, it’s kind of hard to explore when you can see next to nothing around you. However, an easy way to fix this problem would be to add the ability to zoom in and out on the player (if the controls could be played with a bit).

Lastly… hmm. Can’t remember what I was going to say after finishing up the previous paragraph. I had a third point to suggest improvement for, but now I can’t seem to remember it at all. I’ll either comment later or edit this post when I finally remember it. I hate when that happens; especially on a review.

Please also note that all these critiques were based off of screenshots posted on the creator’s website; not me actually getting the chance to play the game. I do look forward and plan to be one of the first to play it when it does come out, though, and if it’s as good as I hope and expect it to be, then I may write another quick review on it.

-turboRamble

P.S. Ah, now I remember. I also think that, if the game could be zoomed out a bit so the interface would be less hindering, the creator could add a small mini map in order to make exploration a bit less frustrating. However, that detail is only important if the game has multiple directions to explore and is not completely linear, which it looks as though it is.

Recent News

Okay, I have a few announcements to make in regards to games and the website.

First off, I no longer plan to finish Sonar. Although it is by far one of my best looking games up to now, I don’t like where the gameplay is going. It’s fun the first couple of waves, but then gets boring. I may publish it in the future as an unfinished game, but I don’t know right now. There’s also a chance I’ll take the graphics and use them in a different game.

I’m not sure if you guys had heard about this via my Twitter, but my laptop has been dead for quite a while now. Fortunately, my brother was able to recover it as well as all the information on it (which includes a 4.6 gig folder of mine). This means I have all my old game files once again, including Skilled and Concrete, so I can begin working on them once again. I hope to finish both of the previously said games, as well as some other really old games.

Lastly, I believe my website needs a major face lift. I would like to create just a few cool looking headers that can be used for all posts (ex. one would say games, another announcements, etc). That way I don’t need to spend time for each post making a unique header, because I still like the look of the blog with them. Also, the site desperately needs a new logo. I plan on having a much more colorful blog, so it won’t be grayscaled anymore. That’s about all I have on the subject right now, though.

Thanks to all you loyal readers and gamers for staying with me all this time!

-turboRamble

Sonar Graphics Update

Alright, here’s the deal. I had to pick up the phone, and I was watching my little brother test out Sonar in fullscreen from a distance, and realized how awesome the background looks in fullscreen. So, I decided to see if I could make graphics for the game that weren’t retro. Here’s the result:

Updating the graphics took most of yesterday, because I wanted to make sure everything looked good. Plus, the tutorial no longer runs on a timer–instead you press to continue.

Just tell me what you think of the graphic change; I’ll be uploading the final of the game sometime this week.

-turboRamble

(NEW) Game Beta: Sonar

I released a beta of my newest game today, titled “Sonar”. I want to stress several things before giving you a beta link (this information can also be found in the download). Oh, and I started this game on Saturday (3 days ago). Should be released tomorrow.

First thing to do after the download is complete is to unzip the folder, otherwise you will not be able to play the game.

There are several things that are either to be changed or added; all are listed below.

1. A scoring system
2. Updated menu with easier to read text, background, and graphic/sound options
3. Escape will lead you to the menu
4. Enemies won’t jump around quite as much
5. Loading screen will be updated with a logo
6. Support for mouse control will be added (suggested by TheBerryster) making aiming easier

Also, there are two controls that are not explained in-game, as they are temporary:

1. F1 will toggle the stars in the background (may help with lag).
2. F2 will toggle off the gameplay music (not the menu music, though).

I hope you enjoy playing!

Please send me feedback about how you liked/disliked the game, and PLEASE if there was a bug or something you did not like, explain it in detail so I can improve the game. I’m thinking of entering this into Experimental Gameplay: Velocity.

-turboRamble

t-tur-turboRamble (is BACK)

Err, yes. It’s me. Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately (well, really at all). I really need to keep it up… anyway I can make it up for you guys?

I haven’t been able to program, since my mom blocked a ton of applications/programs right now (Game Maker, GIMP, Paint, etc) until I finish up this school year. I feel so desperate, but at least I’ve been able to work with a friend on some projects (he is making a large isometric RPG with tons of character classes; I was helping out a bit by making some ground tiles). I have some great new game ideas, I just need to get around to trying them out. I promise you all that I will have a new game released this summer, though I’m not sure which game of mine it’ll be (whether an old project, a current one, or a new one).

I was looking at Skilled (a WIP game of mine; not available on the internet anymore) and since I know everything there is about arrays now, I’m considering finishing it. I did a quick play through, and since I last worked on it in December I wasn’t too good anymore. It turned out being pretty fun, just needed the things I couldn’t do previously — medals. If I ever do finish it, I want to have bronze, silver, and gold medals available for each level, depending on what difficulty you happen to beat it on. Also, each level would have the red gem and gnome guy (possibly no longer a gnome).

Also, I would really like to finish up Concrete. It had some great core gameplay, again, I just need to add more levels, stats, and achievements. I really want to finish it, since it has some of my greatest graphics to this point.

Lastly, I have a cool idea for a unique arcade shooter. I don’t want to give away any details, especially if this idea hasn’t been done yet (which there may be a chance it has been).

Anyway, I hope to be posting more soon.

-turboRamble (Nathan Wood)

P.S. Just one more thing: don’t forget to check out my Twitter, which I update much more!

Torn

WordPress is finally viewing correctly for me again, but now I’m torn between Blogspot and WordPress, since I made a temporary blog over there (http://turboRamble.Blogspot.com). I’m thinking I’ll keep this one, since it has all my games and records, but I’m not sure any more. Also, I want to let you guys know about a new blog I’ve also started with Matthew Davis for reviewing online games. The website’s name is Continue Review. We’ll see if I can stay on top of both websites; I sure hope I can.

While you’re waiting for me to start blogging again, check out the new in-dev pixel artist community by Drazzke (Noel Berry)!

64Seconds

-turboRamble