Comments on: Rewind In The Key Of R-Type: Retro/Grade

By: 24 Caret Games

24 Caret Games — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:57:11 +0000

Lorc,
There will definitely be an updated demo when we are closer to release. We will be showing off a cooler build at the IGF next week with a lot of new surprises. Unfortunately, we probably won’t make that build public because there is a lot of work that is required to make sure it’ll work on everyone’s computer. We will definitely make a public build again when the game is pretty much done. If you are really curious and won’t be at GDC, send me an e-mail, and I can give you a copy. The build isn’t finished yet. hahah

Skalpadda,
Thanks for the input. I’ll see what I can do!

By: Thiefsie

Thiefsie — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:08:54 +0000

Braid will make you realise how poor this is in reality.

By: skalpadda

skalpadda — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:17:18 +0000

Thanks for the answers, I’ll be sure to have a look at the game once it’s released. :)

To clarify a little perhaps, what I meant with adding music or “user created content” (I feel uncomfortable with that term) wasn’t so much a feature that would let you toss in an mp3 and have the game generate a level for you, but rather having a built-in level editor where you could make your own level properly with the game assets available and whatever music you wanted.

That is of course my personal wish, rather than something that’s necessarily what a majority of players would like. :)

By: Lorc

Lorc — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:30:58 +0000

That sounds promising – will there be an updated demo to show off these changes closer to release?

Best of luck. I’d really like to see such a great premise done justice.

By: 24 Caret Games

24 Caret Games — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:57:45 +0000

Skalpadda,
Some of the newer tracks are way cooler (in my opinion). We may revisit the first two before release and fix them up. As you said, it’s all a matter of taste, but hopefully you’ll share my enthusiasm for the newer tracks. Choosing the music for this game has been very difficult because everyone has different tastes, and music is so important to a rhythm game. It’s tough when you don’t have the ability to license popular music, but we think the game will have a compelling soundtrack when we release it.

As well, as you mentioned earlier, the rhythms don’t feel tied to the music. In more recent builds, we have the music separated into tracks similar to other popular rhythm games, so if you make a mistake, the part you are “playing” drops out. This has really improved the feel of the game (in my opinion) and probably addresses some of your concerns.

User created/generated content is definitely something we’ve thought about. It’s something we’d like to see happen, but being able to do it depends on a lot of factors. So, no promises, but we do realize how cool it’d be.

Undead Dolphin Hacker,
We set out to create a game that would first and foremost be fun – not something that would be artsy. However, we were also hoping to be a breath of fresh air in the stagnating video game marketplace. If you just plain don’t like rhythm games, then it may not be your thing, but we hope to create a fun experience for people who do like them. Have you actually played the game? You might actually enjoy it. If you don’t, I’d be happy to hear your suggestions as to how to improve it. As well, I’m very sorry if I ran over your dog. :-D

By: skalpadda

skalpadda — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:26:30 +0000

Thanks Matt, I personally think the greatest improvement would be some more dynamic and interesting music, but of course being an old build and only a demo of two levels that might already be in the game, and as with all things it’s a matter of taste as well (I didn’t dislike the music, it just didn’t feel dynamic and “driving”).

Don’t know if you’ll be reading this but I’ll take the chance and ask a question as well: Will there be some way to add other music to this or make your own levels with your own music perhaps?

By: Dominic White

Dominic White — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:13:08 +0000

Jesus christ, Dolphin Hacker. Did an indie game developer run over your dog or something? This looks to be a cute take on the rythm genre, and nothing else.

Methinks you’re projecting.

By: 24 Caret Games

24 Caret Games — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:20:56 +0000

Thank you everyone for your comments. Please keep in mind that the build you are playing was made in January (when the IGF builds were due) and the game was pretty early in development then. We have been working like crazy and adding a lot of new and exciting features that should hopefully address all of your concerns. If you don't like the demo, please give us another chance when we complete the game. If you like the demo, I think you'll be very pleased with all the neat stuff in the final game! If you have specific suggestions on how to improve the game, don't hesitate to contact us at info@retrogradegame.com -Matt Gilgenbach

By: Lorc

Lorc — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:13:33 +0000

Thinking back on it, I suspect I’d enjoy the game more if you didn’t have to press the fire button when you catch the bullets. It’s definitely the movement and the rewind ability that are the interesting bits to me.

Moving about to catch your bullets and dodge the enemies’ from behind was sort of fun. Pressing the fire button over and over was just… mechanical I suppose. You’re already navigating the ship to catch the bullets in time – having to press fire at the right moment too is just a distracting opportunity to screw up with no variation or interesting feedback like you get in a full bemani-type game.

But maybe that’s me. I guess it’s plausible that someone else really enjoyed the rhythmic button-pushing.

By: skalpadda

skalpadda — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:35:05 +0000

I wouldn’t call it artsy. Gimmicky, sure, but the gimmick is the core game play mechanic rather than something tacked on just to make it seem different.

I just can’t imagine this stretching to making a full game that doesn’t grow boring after an hour or so, unless they have more interesting concepts hidden up their sleeves, which I doubt.

By: El Stevo

El Stevo — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:14:15 +0000

It looks like it would make an interesting five-minute flash game.

By: VPeric

VPeric — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:12:31 +0000

It’s a fun little game, and I personally enjoyed the music in the few levels I played too (everything except the first one, rather). It’s not “artsy” at all – the going backwards in time is just a gimmick, you could have the same gameplay in many other ways too.