Idea For My First Long-Term Game

PuzzlePlatformerMan

Hey, guys. This is my first time using this program, and my first post on this forum. This is probably going to be a thread where I'd ask for help along the way, because this is a project I would love to do, especially if it goes big if I put it up. I'm thinking of making a puzzle-platformer game with an eerie atmosphere. I want to take as many influences as I can. From the description, you can probably tell that one of my influences is LIMBO. Now, I'm not saying this will be a LIMBO clone. This will just be another game in the bunch, most likely. I just want to take influences, so that if I ever intend to put out/sell the game on the App Store, or on the internet, people don't say 'you stole from LIMBO'. LOL. So, I have ideas for features I'd want to add. I'd like there to be some form of strategy needed. It wouldn't be a puzzle game, if it was straightforward and super easy. So, I'm thinking things like traps, moving platforms, pushing things around, and all that good stuff. So, for the first few things I'd like help with: Can anyone recommend some really good/highly acclaimed platformer games? I want to make my game as interesting, and good as possible. Revolutionizing, even, if possible. And, then, my final request would be some pointers in the right direction. Are there good tutorials on how to use the Windows version of this engine, and some specific tutorials on how to design a platformer game, just so that I can get a feel for what I'd be doing. Thank you, and all help is appreciated. I know I'll have a great time messing around with this engine!

Nmdogdude

I would recommend going to gshelper.com, there are many helpful tutorials & some free templates that will come in handy, but most were designed for the Mac creator.
I think there are some windows tutorials too.
Hope this helps you.

JustMe74

You know, there is nothing wrong with taking an existing idea and building on it and improving it. That happens in every industry in the world, and it's what drives progress and innovation. Outright copying is bad (obviously) but being inspired by a game or genre and trying to make it better or new is a good thing.

Here are some of my all time favorite platformers, in no particular order:

1). Dark Castle (old Mac game -- has a newer sequel Return to Dark Castle)
2). Trine
3). Castlevania (original)
4). the various Mario games
5). Ghosts n Goblins / Ghouls n Ghosts
6). the various Sonic games
7). Contra

There are tons of good ones.

PuzzlePlatformerMan

Thank you for the link, and the list of games. I would like to grab a bit more insight on how to use the windows version of the engine, though. I tried gshelper, and, yes, a lot was meant more for the mac version. I'm not going to buy a mac just to use this engine, though, for 2 reasons. 1: Just got a new comp, don't have the time or money to buy yet another one. and 2: rumor has it that they're trying to make the mac version be more like the windows version, so buying a mac just to use this program would be virtually pointless. Thanks, again!

Nmdogdude

http://gshelper.com/category/windowsgsvideos/
There's only one, but I think they're adding more soon

firemaplegames

LIMBO is a fantastic game for inspiration! I would love to play more games like it! Looking forward to your project!

Another member has a LIMBO inspired game as well:
http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/43467/project-lad-wip-beefy_clyro/p1

Joe

PuzzlePlatformerMan

KK. Ty. Hopefully it'll go by quick once I figure out how to use it better. I just have a question before I go crazy with this project: Where should I start? How should I go about this project? Should I do Menu(s)-Levels-Characters-Animation, or Menu(s)-Characters-Animation-Levels? Or should I take an even different approach? I'm incredibly new to this type of thing. I've tried making my own game before, and with all the coding and scripts, it was super-hard and didn't ever come out right. So I spent a long time searching for an engine that let me make games with no coding, and even though that takes a huge pressure off, it's still certainly hard to make a game, despite not needing to be scripted and coded. TY!

beefy_clyro

I'd recommend getting all your core concepts and mechanics working first. Ideally you will know what you want, so you want it to be that level 1 could include everything the game could offer, obviously you won't include it all on level 1 but its easier to have everything in and working as it should from the start before you rush off and realise you need to go back and change something. The menus can come whenever you want! Ultimately, everyone works in different ways, you need to find what works for you and go with that!

PuzzlePlatformerMan

KK TY. I haven't started yet, but I'm already learning quite a bit. Soon, the planning should be done, then I'll just flippin' make the dang game! LOL. I may just have a few more questions. What is the best way to go about making my own backgrounds, characters, objects, menu buttons and logo and such? Should I just grab some templates, or grab a program, and design my own? I guess if I designed my own, the game would be more authentically mine. If I can, I might even make my own music scores and sounds for the game. I know a good audio program, and I have a MIDI keyboard. But, anyways, if anyone could help me with this idea of making every little detail in a graphics program, that'd be great! TY.

tatiang

@PuzzlePlatformerMan, it's awesome to see your enthusiasm! Whether you purchase someone else's artwork or make it yourself is really up to you. Asking for someone to help with how to make every little detail of your graphics is not really something the forums can you help you with. There are certainly resources (threads here, websites) that can help you learn to be a better graphic artist if you take the time to search for them and the time to follow them. Many people are fond of SpriteAttack's tutorials, for example (http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/33009/spriteattacks-art-tutorials and http://2dgameartforprogrammers.blogspot.com).

It sounds like you have big plans. Have you made a game with GameSalad yet? If not, I'd recommend doing a "starter" project that is small in scope so you can get a feel for the tool. As an example, my first game took about 50 hours to complete and I realized afterward I could have completed it in half the time because of what I learned along the way. Anyway, good luck!

PuzzlePlatformerMan

Thank you for your reply. To answer your question, no I have not made a GameSalad game, yet. In fact, I've only had the program for 2-3 days, and only looked at it once. What makes this even harder is, I don't have a Mac, so I need to incorporate what I learn in Mac-version tutorials into my Windows version. I think I will grab the program that SpriteAttack uses, and use that to make my stuff. I have a lot of enthusiasm, because I for one love to create. It's hard for me to accept the time-consuming challenge that comes with learning game creation engines, because I just want to download one, and start creating! LOL. But, since this one requires no coding knowledge, and some interesting games have already been made, I'm sure this will be easier than most game deveopment software out there.

tatiang

It is easier. It's a blast to use GameSalad, but it's also important to realize that it is also time-consuming. I'm working with a friend on a game (he's doing the artwork) and he was getting frustrated by how long it was taking me to fix small bugs in the game. I finally decided to send him a video of me scrolling through the rules for ONE actor in the game. It took one minute just to scroll through the rules. He was shocked. And then he understood why I couldn't just snap my fingers and fix everything. It takes time.

If you don't want to get frustrated too quickly too soon, I really recommend starting small or at least looking at some of the existing templates/demos to see how some of the more complex "coding" is done.

PuzzlePlatformerMan

Hey, guys. Well, I thought I'd document my first bit of progress with this game. I am using inkscape to design all of the assets. Just finished the floor section (a grey block. LOL) and now I'm working on the background image. Trying to make my background as eerie and unsettling as possible. I want this game to feel like you're in a scary situation. Haven't done anything yet, but Stuff will be in it soon enough. May upload pictures of some of the assets when they're done. Don't know how, though. LOL.

PuzzlePlatformerMan

Hey. I'm not sure how to go about this. I'd prefer if someone with experience in inkscape could tell me how to do this. I made the basic character. He is literally consisting of three shapes (head, body, 1 arm) He is designed so that you are looking at his right side. My trouble is animating. I know that I need to make frames, my problem is, my character has ONE visible arm, and ONE visible leg. So, how do I make my 2d character have two legs and two arms, when I'm only looking at his side? I made the entire character on only one layer, so far, if that's of any help. Thanks for all replies. Progress is going well. Right now, I'm probably going to design a sort of wooden box. Yes, this game is going in all sorts of directions. LOL. If someone could tell me how to upload pictures in my posts, too, that'd be great. TY

firemaplegames

To post images, you can either upload them to your own website and link to them, or you can sign up for a free image hosting service like Image Shack: http://imageshack.us/