Ghost Song News

On occasion I will be posting Quick Updates, which are intended to be bite sized looks at particular aspects of the game.

Today we're going to look at water and fish. If you are able, please turn up your volume so you can listen to the ambient sound design and get a feel for the atmosphere I'm going for!

Video Link (Streamable)

When deciding how water would work in this game -- Both visually and gameplay-wise -- I decided to use retro games like Mega Man and Metroid as a starting point. I don't think that special swimming mechanics would be particularly fun in this game, so the player can still run and jump while underwater -- Just with significantly alterered physics and gravity. Since this can be challenging and limit your progress in certain sections, there exists items you can get that help you move more freely (or even jump super high!) while submerged.

The reason I felt like water was an important part of the game design is because of its oppressive nature and its mystery. Any time you're exploring something deep, dark, and murky you feel as though you're somewhere you't not meant to be, and it really -- at least in my mind -- Contributes to a sense of adventure. This is a game very much about openness, exploration, mystery, and overcoming the odds. Those are some of the most important pillars of the game.

With respect to how water works beyond movement, it's all very systems driven. My overall approach to the game is to make things work in (whenever it's possible or realistic) the way it seems most natural that they should work. So, in this case, that means that water cools off your gun barrel (gun barrel heat being a key and consequential mechanic in this game). As a bit of flavor, it also means that if you are dirty or bloody (both things that happen) water will wash you off. There are also fish that will move out of your way - Just like Call Of Duty: Ghosts! -- But if you're clever it may also be possible to sneak up on them and find means of capturing them!

What are some of your favorite and least favorite examples of water sections in sidescrollers? How do you feel about water generally? Let me know, I'm very curious!

Thank you very much for your time, and there will be more Quick Updates, as well as a playable demo, to come!

Matt

As I mentioned before, Ghost Song's development was completely rebooted in early 2018 using a new engine. The new engine I was alluding to is Unity. The reason for the change wasn't mere impulse -- Unity does have powerful features, but I wouldn't have restarted everything just because the grass was greener. I was facing serious technical issues and I realized the game would never be stable or bug free as it was.

With this reboot came the opportunity to re-evaluate everything, and incorporate some new design ideas that weren't possible before.

(Note: Here's a direct link to an imgur album containing all of the gifs from this post in a compressed web video format. If you are having trouble loading the animations, try this)

Generational change

From the new version of the game



New and Old

One thing I want to preface with is I understand that aesthetics and enjoyment of features are subjective, and I understand there may be people who enjoy particular aspects of one version or the other more. That's inevitable, and -- in my opinion -- It's also hard to appreciate just how much more smooth and responsive the new game feels compared to the old until you just play it for yourself. It's also noteworthy that the character is larger on screen compared to before, which I feel makes the experience a bit more immersive.

So -- regardless of your preferences, the versions do look different, so here's a few new vs. old comparisons.

Running:

NEW:

I'll briefly recap what has happened to those who are unaware -- The game, for a multitude of reasons, completely rebooted its development in early 2018. With this reboot I adopted modern tools and a slightly tweaked art style, but the core philosophy of the game remained intact.

It took me a while to get up to speed and figure out exactly what I was going to do -- What features from the old game to fix or remove, what to add -- But here we are, in summer 2019, with a functioning game that is really starting to come into its own and almost ready to be played and tested.

New Update

This is the most recent update to Kickstarter, which I posted this morning. Here I discuss some of the recent additions to interface and melee combat (yea, melee combat) and if you scroll back to previous updates you can see some other things. You can also see some stuff on my twitter.

I haven't posted an actual news item here in a while, and I feel that may have been a mistake since some people have been left with the impression that the game was not being worked on.



To those who have stuck around, thank you so much, and there's much more to come.

Matt

The other day I got the idea in my head that I should try adding gored ragdoll corpses into my game -- I've always been fascinated with this and loved it in games like Fallout 3. They could be a little silly looking at times, sure, but the satisfaction they added I always felt made it more than worth it (plus the silliness can be part of the charm and part of the fun). I'd never done anything like this, but since my game engine uses Box2D I knew it must be possible.

After a little research, a new stencyl extension, and some tinkering, I had a functioning ragdoll.



It was simpler than I thought to get a basic ragdoll working -- Box2D already has features that are well suited to it. Just took a bit of trial and error to figure out what type of joints to use and how to set them up.

Here's what I got when I just swapped the ragdoll in on enemy death and nothing else:



This is a promising starting point, but we really need to start adding forces and playing with joint destruction to make it more fun.



Shotgun blasts can send them flying!



Physics can also cause some interesting bugs. I reluctantly fixed this after discovering it. :)

The other day I got the idea in my head that I should try adding gored ragdoll corpses into my game -- I've always been fascinated with this and loved it in games like Fallout 3. They could be a little silly looking at times, sure, but the satisfaction they added I always felt made it more than worth it (plus the silliness can be part of the charm and part of the fun). I'd never done anything like this, but since my game engine uses Box2D I knew it must be possible.

After a little research, a new stencyl extension, and some tinkering, I had a functioning ragdoll.



It was simpler than I thought to get a basic ragdoll working -- Box2D already has features that are well suited to it. Just took a bit of trial and error to figure out what type of joints to use and how to set them up.

Here's what I got when I just swapped the ragdoll in on enemy death and nothing else:



This is a promising starting point, but we really need to start adding forces and playing with joint destruction to make it more fun.



Shotgun blasts can send them flying!



Physics can also cause some interesting bugs. I reluctantly fixed this after discovering it. :)