Pixelation

Critique => Devlogs & Projects => Topic started by: PypeBros on May 10, 2016, 08:06:14 pm

Title: [DS] School Rush : DKC-like running in Rayman-esque world
Post by: PypeBros on May 10, 2016, 08:06:14 pm
I've got a game ready for release (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.be/2016/05/go-play-schoolrush.html).
You may remember the "C+C" threads (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=13151) when I was working on its graphics back in 2011-2013.

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxsxpnQRtyE/Vu7qbf2y4MI/AAAAAAAAGqI/pdvh1QuRURAOe6Fwcc6S32kFNjnScfYKA/s1600/usepunch.gif)(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KIvXCQXH3O4/Vu7qXvOIXuI/AAAAAAAAGpY/22JKbqfSTLoGXYGkByj44vAZlHVkToBAw/s1600/bopblador.gif)(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KTgSn8qwEuc/Vu7qY6FhMnI/AAAAAAAAGpo/5W01tMX_leMuqUIAsZ6krKzbLOToJJ7pA/s1600/dizzy2.gif)

I hope some of you will enjoy it.
download link to May 2016 homebrew release (https://sourceforge.net/projects/dsgametools/files/demo%20games/SchoolRush-cow.zip/download)
 link to June 6th release (https://sourceforge.net/projects/dsgametools/files/demo%20games/SchoolRush-sfx.zip/download), with improved sound effects.

 November 2018. Almost there (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.com/2018/11/school-rush-post-your-score.html) (1-UPs, final screens. Just missing name recording for high scores)

Well. Now to the core question: who else is done with a game (or has just been done lately) ?  Have you ever considered developing on (retro) consoles ?
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PixelPiledriver on May 11, 2016, 07:05:47 pm
Grats!  :)
Will check it out.
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on May 14, 2016, 12:26:58 pm
Quote from: PixelPiledriver on May 11, 2016, 07:05:47 pm
Grats!  :)
Will check it out.
Neat ^_^ I'm eager to know what you thought about it ...
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: Probo on May 15, 2016, 10:23:34 pm
Its a DS homebrew game, PypeBros? Looks cool! Does it run on an emulator because I don't have a ds flashcard!

I'm working on a pixel art game but nowhere near done. god knows when itll be finished. I imagine theres a lot of people here in my predicament XD
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: FelipeFS on May 15, 2016, 11:11:26 pm
Is this a C+C thread? ;D

I am working on a game called Ghouls in the Neighborhood. I would say it is not even 10% done yet. It is inspired mainly in Earthbound.

Here are two images:

(http://i.imgur.com/OlVYELM.gif) (http://i.imgur.com/XzkhNZW.gif)

I'm making it with my own game engine. I'm targeting Linux and Windos, but I don't know about making for a retro console. But, I think something like PS Vita or a future equivalent would be nice. :)
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: FelipeFS on May 15, 2016, 11:13:02 pm
Quote from: PypeBros on May 10, 2016, 08:06:14 pm
I've got a game ready for release (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.be/2016/05/go-play-schoolrush.html).
You may remember the "C+C" threads (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=13151) when I was working on its graphics back in 2011-2013.

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxsxpnQRtyE/Vu7qbf2y4MI/AAAAAAAAGqI/pdvh1QuRURAOe6Fwcc6S32kFNjnScfYKA/s1600/usepunch.gif)(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KIvXCQXH3O4/Vu7qXvOIXuI/AAAAAAAAGpY/22JKbqfSTLoGXYGkByj44vAZlHVkToBAw/s1600/bopblador.gif)(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KTgSn8qwEuc/Vu7qY6FhMnI/AAAAAAAAGpo/5W01tMX_leMuqUIAsZ6krKzbLOToJJ7pA/s1600/dizzy2.gif)

I hope some of you will enjoy it.

Well. Now to the core question: who else is done with a game (or has just been done lately) ?  Have you ever considered developing on (retro) consoles ?

Your game looks amazing!

... and I'm in love with your blog. So much nice content.
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on May 16, 2016, 08:34:47 am
Quote from: Probo on May 15, 2016, 10:23:34 pm
Its a DS homebrew game, PypeBros? Looks cool! Does it run on an emulator because I don't have a ds flashcard!
It is indeed a homebrew. I updated the first post with a download link to the NDS. It should work quite well in DeSmuME and my brother managed to have it play quite decently in DraStic emulator for Androïd.

Quote
I am working on a game called Ghouls in the Neighborhood ... I'm making it with my own game engine. I'm targeting Linux and Windos, but I don't know about making for a retro console
The engine seems to have many nice features already. Like the way you force your way around the tree. What I love in "retro" consoles is how they take care of screen layout for you with their separate hardware layers. If I wanted that for any screen-buffer-based platform, it would need tons of copies ...
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on May 16, 2016, 08:36:38 am
Quote from: Probo on May 15, 2016, 10:23:34 pm
I'm working on a pixel art game but nowhere near done. god knows when itll be finished. I imagine theres a lot of people here in my predicament XD
I admit I was more meaning "who is doing a game with pixel art" than "who is doing pixel art for a game". The latter is easies to spot from the C+C threads in the "pixel art" section. But good luck with your project anyway ;)
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: Probo on May 16, 2016, 11:33:06 am
well I hope my game turns out as well as yours has! I'm an awful programmer :D

I downloaded the latest DeSmuME and played it, it seems really cool. looks nice, and its fun to play. catchy music too. Getting a real Rayman feel from it, from the looks to the handling to the soundtrack. Only problem is, I'm getting a lot of slowdown when theres a few objects on screen. Is that an emulation problem?
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on May 16, 2016, 04:18:44 pm
Quote from: Probo on May 16, 2016, 11:33:06 am
Only problem is, I'm getting a lot of slowdown when theres a few objects on screen. Is that an emulation problem?
I hope this is only an emulator issue. It should be. Unless your version of DeSmuME is different from mine, it should display the frame-per-second in the title bar. If you see it falling below 60fps, then it means the emulator cannot keep the pace. maybe you can disable scaling / anti-aliasing to get more FPS.
If it sticks at 60fps but you still have slow downs, then there's an issue with the game engine itself, and I'll have to look into it (and then, it would be helpful if you can snapshot a few places in the level where it happens).
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: Probo on May 16, 2016, 10:07:56 pm
I turned on the FPS counter and yeah it was dropping well below 60. 39 was the lowest I saw. I changed some settings and now it seems to run mostly at 60 fps! Its late now, so ill play it some more tomorrow :)

didn't realise DS emulation was so system-intensive !
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on May 17, 2016, 09:23:51 pm
Quote from: Probo on May 16, 2016, 10:07:56 pm
didn't realise DS emulation was so system-intensive !
Many newer console could only be emulated with code translation from their native binaries to the host processor. Just like Java's just-in-time technology. Afaik, desmume don't do that (at least not by default) and has to emulate 100MHz. Each and every little instruction. Plus GPU and sound mixing.
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on May 18, 2016, 04:36:26 pm
Quote from: FelipeFS on May 15, 2016, 11:13:02 pm
... and I'm in love with your blog. So much nice content.
Thank you ^_^
That goes to the heart.
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: Mathias on May 23, 2016, 03:56:52 pm
Way to go, Pype.
You've been working on this for a few years. Must feel great.
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on June 02, 2016, 09:33:15 pm
Quote from: Mathias on May 23, 2016, 03:56:52 pm
Way to go, Pype.
You've been working on this for a few years. Must feel great.
Indeed. I counted 1 year for the pixel art, 1 year to get the engine ready to animate all the characters, 1 year game design, and finally 1 year to tune the gameplay. Plus 6 months so far for UI, powerup feedback, difficulty selection and things like that. Of course, these are "hobby years", not "indie years"...

But yeah, I feel relieve that I fixed everything that was really needed to be able to show the progress. I can't wait to get the final things done so that I can proudly show the game to people who made the games I played when I was a teenager.
Title: Re: Who is doing a pixel art game ?
Post by: PypeBros on June 05, 2016, 01:33:15 pm
Oh, btw, for those who haven't played it yet, but wanted to, there's an updated version (https://sourceforge.net/projects/dsgametools/files/demo%20games/SchoolRush-sfx.zip/download) with better sound effects.
Title: Re: [DS] School Rush : DKC-like running in Rayman-esque world
Post by: PypeBros on July 29, 2016, 09:33:20 pm
updated again (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.be/2016/07/school-rush-ready.html). HUD and menu fixes, gameplay polish. I promise there will be a final level if there is ever a future update.
Title: Re: [DS] School Rush : DKC-like running in Rayman-esque world
Post by: PypeBros on December 31, 2017, 04:59:59 pm
At last, the final level is there (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.be/2017/12/schoolrush-ny2018.html). Gameplay has been refined to make the game more fair and enjoyable. At last, I've got the tiki-books background (http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=18449.0) integrated and my game engine can render animated tiles for better game feel
(https://i.imgur.com/SdPOUke.gif) (https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AN8Nse-Fafw/WiQECff4vrI/AAAAAAAAH5Q/E9pnlxVW9QcLzDGtocuUyGOlyQ7U6M93ACLcBGAs/s1600/FARG.png) (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IeQWLZv3BAI/WQeo-6lCpYI/AAAAAAAAHg0/woyciyWIad8vWuwx-6zz5kAM-PnFx3EAwCLcB/s1600/mapanim.gif)
Title: Re: [DS] School Rush : DKC-like running in Rayman-esque world
Post by: PypeBros on November 05, 2018, 10:36:24 pm
It took a while. But I'm almost done with this one. you can now see how well you performed (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.com/2018/11/school-rush-post-your-score.html) and there is at last a secret ending for those finding the secret final level.

If you happen to play it, I'm always eager to get first-hand feedback.
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D092F-TykMA/WS3E5fKoNOI/AAAAAAAAHh0/x21L7TyK0Dcp8MbsuDEF7103p3vCBivMACLcB/s1600/inklevel.gif)

Some of pixelation users will show up in the 'default high scores'. A way to thank them for their advice and guidance while the art was in development.
Title: Re: [DS] School Rush : DKC-like running in Rayman-esque world
Post by: PypeBros on December 01, 2018, 07:56:56 pm
final version (direct link) (https://sourceforge.net/projects/dsgametools/files/demo%20games/SchoolRush-aftermath.zip/download).

After 5 years of development, I'm finally done (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.com/2018/12/school-zone-aftermaths.html) with it.