Bloodlust v1.2 Development Thread

Since I've decided I want to do an updated version of Bloodlust, I figured posting this thread would be a good idea to let me update it as I get things done here and there. TheCube's review got me motivated to go back and fix things that I've had problems with since releasing the completed version in 2009.

Here are things I have planned that I will definitely work on:

* Dialogue trimming - The original game's dialogue is far too excessive. I'm going to cut down on a ton of text and fix any errors I may have missed from the final proofread of v1.1.
* Storyline tweaks - I'm going to tweak the story a bit. Not going to say too much about this because it'd get into spoiler territory, but I do plan on improving character development, motivations, etc.
* Ending tweaks - I'm going to tweak the endings a bit as well. I might add an extra ending, maybe if you beat the game on Hard. However, I'm not sure if I want to since it seems unfair in my view to impose playing that difficulty level in order to get the 'true ending'.
* Color tweaks - The original color palettes were really hard to see as all the colors blended together. I've already started on this and it looks much better.
* Improved music - Not by me necessarily. A friend has been doing composing and she's already whipped up some sweet tracks. This is going to really boost the game atmosphere, in my opinion!

Things that I might work on:
* Extra game features - Three years have passed since I used the OHR, so there's bounds to be zounds of new features to take advantage of. If I can find any particularly fitting, I'll throw them in.
* Extra areas - This isn't really necessary at all, but maybe I'll add some bonus locations or something.
* Bug fixes - I don't think there are many bugs to fix, least none on my end, but if there are fixes to be made I'll work on that. It's been so long since I touched the HSpeak compiler so I'm not sure how this will go.
* Enemy changes - I want to change an enemy or two, maybe change some graphics (particularly a certain vagina monster). Add a few monsters?

If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, etc., go ahead and toss em into this thread as well!

To end this post, here's the improved Bloodlust Battle Theme: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22268473/Bloodlust%20Battle%20Theme.mp3

I would definitely play this a second time, especially if the ending is significantly changed/improved. Don't just tweak it, I say go for a full overhaul to give players the full satisfaction of having played your game. I won't ask for a happy ending - given the nature of the story, that seems impossible - but I definitely want to see a resolute ending that clears up loose ends in the plot, puts everything in order, and leaves me satisfied enough to say "that's that!" and put the story away as a fond memory.

I didn't get that feeling with the existing ending, mostly because it introduced a new twist at the absolute last second (after the interactive part of the game had stopped completely) and had to elaborate on it and resolve it within a few minutes in addition to resolving the rest of the plot. For a sound resolution, you're either going to need to make your ending much longer or introduce that final twist a little bit earlier to give the player some mental preparation. Maybe give subtle hints about it throughout the story. Or you could take a third option and wheel the ending in a completely different direction, that could work just as well.

My point is, and I think lots of folks who played Bloodlust can agree, the ending was one of the low points of the game that really needs your attention.

on the contrary, i think this is a rather good way to deal with endings. it makes a player willing to replay the entire game just to find out what really happens at the end of the story. when i play games on harder difficulty settings, i expect to earn something for my efforts that isn't easily obtained in other settings, if it is obtainable at all. when The Cube mentioned that he might play through the game on Hard to find a possible "real" ending, i almost did as well. then, i remembered talking to you about bloodlust awhile ago, so i knew there was no such thing.

anyway, all this talk about bloodlust is making me want to play it again! if i come up something that could be added as a feature, i'll post it here. i did have a few ideas, but here's one simple idea that i just thought of, which involves the defensive skills that reed uses. this will take some rebalancing, but hopefully players (like The Cube) won't ignore reed's skill in the update.

you could alter reed's stats to fit certain backgrounds. if i remember correctly, reed didn't really have much of a physical background, so this would fit in without much of a change. the idea is a bit like choosing a class, and alters his stats to fit the skills that he uses. for example, a "jock" reed might have increased strength and defense, but suffer from decreased evasion, and... well, you get the idea. choosing a background changes how the player might choose to progress through the game. certain monsters may be more difficult for certain backgrounds, while others may have an advantage, depending on how the player plays his background. in other words, you would avoid certain monsters, or choose to fight one over the other, if you have no other choice.

well... maybe this sounded better in my hand... but, i'll try to think of something.

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Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy... So here's some lunchmeat... Sandwich, maybe?

In a story driven game, I don't like the idea of endings being determined by difficulty level. All of these other changes sound really solid.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

I agree with Surlaw. While making a new ending available is a great idea, tying it to difficulty level isn't a good idea.

I remember that the world of Bloodlust was big enough, and the story was driven in such a way that I really felt like I was running for my life. Most RPGs encourage in me a desire to explore everything, collect every item, beat every enemy, and memorize every map. Bloodlust drove this urge out of me with a vengeance, and I just wanted to survive. I am especially remembering a scene where I was walking in a city, and a huge shambling giant approached, and chased me through narrow alleys. I felt like I could have gone half a dozen different ways, (I have no idea if I really could have) but the direction that i did, go, the thing followed me, and so I ended up feeling as if a bunch of paths were cut off to me forever, but I didn't care, I was just thrilled to have survived. I don't know if something different would have happened if I had run another way, but even if not, the illusion was created effectively.

...ah... where was I going with that? Oh! Yes! Bloodlust did a great job of making me feel like I was making choices. I don't know how often I really was making choices, I don't know how much branching of the plot was actually possible, but my point is that Bloodlust made me feel as if I was frequently making choices that mattered. I think that is a big part of what made Bloodlust fun. I actually never made it all the way to the endings, but I know I would have wanted an ending that made me feel as if choices I had made affected the outcome.

Baconlabs, I'll see what I can do. I think completely redoing the story would be unlikely, but I definitely want to make a better ending(s). This will take some planning, but hopefully I can come up with something satisfying, even if it isn't happy.

mjohnson, I'm going to have to agree with Surlaw and James as well. I've considered difficulty based endings, but this is very story driven so other than maybe a little extra, I want the endings to be obtainable regardless of difficulty. I also don't like the idea of 'classes', but you did give me an idea to tweak the battle system a bit. Avoiding enemies simply by chair puzzles and such is a bit boring, so I'm thinking maybe other puzzles where you can eliminate the enemy from encounter without having to fight them as one of the additions.

James, thanks for the input! I'm going to keep that in mind when remaking the game. Maybe minor ending tweaks based on gameplay..?

Original palette:


New palette:

Hey, I'm really glad you're doing this! Bloodlust is one of my favourite OHR games.

I'm not sure I like that palette more than the old one though...

Indeed, the new palette screams rust. Maybe that's what you were going for, but I see no logical reason for sidewalks and streets and concrete to be rust-colored. The light poles have it worse, where it looks as though there are light rust-colored paint flecks all over the top and bottom.

Now, mind you, that's actually a pretty cool effect, I just don't think it works for a lightpole. I would rather see that texture on, say, a dilapidated road sign or the ruins of a white vehicle.

Oh, and I was referring to the light poles on the corners of the screenshots, not the street lights in the bottom-center. Those look okay.

Really? Rust? Is there a reddish tint to the sidewalk on your end, because it looks fine to me. I like that the sidewalk finally stands out, but I have no problem reworking the palette again if rust is the thing that comes to mind foremost. I concede that the street lamps don't look too good, though.

I will say that I really like the new higher-contrast palette.

I agree with Baconlabs. The reddish hint does distract a little, but it indeed a great improvement on the original palette - in some fashion. As an artistic choice, I prefer the darker palette. Atmospherically it is more effective to strain to see your surroundings. At least, I think so.

Do you have any plans to make a sequel, or at least another horror themed game?

I should have considered this sooner, but you've actually got a point here. I'm observing these from a large television monitor that is decidedly fickle about the color red. I've tweaked its settings a lot to make it normalized, but the rust color could well be an oddity only I am noticing. On the flipside, I've worked with colored art on this computer and found it to be bafflingly off-color when I observed the same image from a different computer.

The higher contrast is great, but the dark world of Bloodlust has preemptively provoked my imagination into trying to figure out what color everything might or ought to be. I'm probably assuming too much. As the designer of your game's world, you're the only one who really knows what everything is supposed to look like. If the streets are lined with Minecraftian Mycelium, then that's just a fact of the in-game world I ought to accept.
EDIT: No sarcasm implied, I would be okay with this.

I can see a slight reddish tint, but it makes the world feel hellish and old, so I like it.

PS I am very excited about this! Woot woot.

I have plans to make another horror themed game, possibly call it Bloodlust 2, but it wouldn't be a direct sequel. It might also be a visual novel, or possibly an AGS game. I'm unsure at this point.

I'll work on the palette a bit more. I made it brighter because of the complaints that the game is simply too dark (and the inability to full-screen without the colors getting warped can exacerbate that). I'll have different palette choices, but I think having things be more visible will be a good thing. There is still the 'darkness' effect when you walk around certain areas, so I'll see how that works with the new palette.

Just a quick update to say I'm trying to devote about half an hour a night to working on improving the dialogue for the time being.

edit: Thought of an idea for Reed's skills. What if I added battles where you are supposed to use those skills in order to win/survive? Would that get people to have more incentive to use them, I wonder?