Game Prototypes I've Made

[siegarettes]

So I'm trying to get back into making games after the disaster that was my top down ultra violent shoot shoot bang bang game (gorehounds, for short). Long story short, spent bout three years working on this only for it to become something with a lot of promising concepts, but lacking execution.

To offset it I'm pushing out some prototypes, seeing whats fun, and looking for some new directions. I'm also going to need some playtesters for these. So here they are! Most of these you can F1 for some extra info on controls or whatnot.

GAMES:
Sanctuary

I actually did this for a project when going to art school. Move with arrows, space to boost, hold shift near radios to explode them into awesome music. go to the lower right corner for another level.

Candlelight

Drop seeds to create different kinds of plants. then set them on fire. all to the sound of some chopin. bit of slowdown on this one.

PROTOTYPES:
Pongout

Pong/breakout multiplayer combination. 2 players only. Reach 10 points first, or hit the gem in the center to win.

WINTER

Multiplayer missile command game. Destroy enemy cities with offensive missiles, destroy incoming missiles with defensive missiles. Destroy all enemy cities to win.

Random Name Generator
Not really a game. Just hit a button to create different combinations of first and last names, with middle initials sometimes. Might be used in some kind of Cannon Fodder esque game.

[siegarettes]

That other game that ruined me is here, for the curious:
gorehounds!

a top down shooter with a story, arcade, and survival modes, multiple characters who play very differently, and zombie things. you can also cause out of control fires that burn down forests, always fun. a few levels also randomized different aspects such as enemy placement, for variety.

includes music by chiptune artists the videogame orchestra, rushjet1, atmosphere merchant robad pills (also featured in the above Sanctuary), and of course a hint of Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts.

[Bhazor]

Really interesting stuff.

What was so bad about gorehounds?

[siegarettes]

Really interesting stuff.

What was so bad about gorehounds?

gorehounds was just a clusterfuck of a game that tried too much and had some very basic problems. It was too ambitious and i ran out of motivation for all the cool things I had planned. If i could get enough playtesters i would gladly resume work on it.

[Xercies]

Hmm feature creep...maybe you should try and look at the core enjoyment of your game and work at that and try to make a perfect game with that core enjoyment. I can say loads of artists make the problem of wanting to put in many cool things and loosing the original idea for the game.

[Keep]

Pongout is bloody genius. A bit rough around the edges, but stellar concept! How has nobody done that before?

[siegarettes]

Hmm feature creep...maybe you should try and look at the core enjoyment of your game and work at that and try to make a perfect game with that core enjoyment. I can say loads of artists make the problem of wanting to put in many cool things and loosing the original idea for the game.

Aye. It has morphed into some weird twin-stick, tactics, survival horror game that is more like three different games in one. I'm thinking that if I do remake it, it will be all about arcade style shooting and dynamic environments. Ya know, stuff burns, electrocutes stuff, shocks enemies in water.

The problem is that I'd like the characters to still feel unique, and that its hard to muster up motivation to make YET ANOTHER twin-stick top down shooter. I get the feeling people are sick of that.

[siegarettes]

Pongout is bloody genius. A bit rough around the edges, but stellar concept! How has nobody done that before?

Thanks! That's quite encouraging to hear. I still need to allow more control over the ball with the paddle. I think the problem is that it's actually really hard to get simple arcade mechanics just right. That and its hard to design pong on PC and still have both players use analog inputs, which are preferable.

And yeah, I thought it was weird that no one had done that, although I'm sure someone has somewhere on the remote reaches of the internet.

Missile Command I thought was a great starting point for a 2-player game though (that's what I'm trying in WINTER). Still working out that one as well, I'm not much for programming logic.