Axe Cop

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RMZ
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Post by RMZ »

Just like Spiderman said in early Family Guy episodes, everybody gets one!
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Willy Elektrix
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

So, what pro tips did you learn from this whole 3.5 year process that you can educate us with?
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RMZ
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Post by RMZ »

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not, but like... since I realized I could make money with OHR games I've been trying to elevate my game design, trying new things, and being more ambitious. I knew I had strong ideas, but without a fortune in marketing or the backing of an intellectual property it's next to impossible to stand out, even with Soda Piggy level graphics and music. I've tried to obtain Axe Cop twice, and I just didn't give up I guess. Once I got it, I just constantly challenged all of my ideas and kept twisting them to be stronger and more thought out.

Managing a game this big with a deadline and multiple people was very hard. Life hit us all at certain times, and when Soda Piggy got his job, we had to start farming out some of his responsibilities, like sounds and attack graphics. So checking in with everybody proved to be exhausting a lot of the time.

The only real advice I can give people is to be patient and never stop trying to elevate your ideas. When you get a great one, just push it as far as it can possibly go. If you want to make a game with an IP, probably best to find something small and indie like I did with Axe Cop. There's a lot of good stuff out there that they'd be willing to partner up with us. I mean, Surlaw got Kaiju, I got Axe Cop. Those are both pretty big. We both made very personal stories within those worlds.
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Willy Elektrix
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

RedMaverickZero wrote:Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not, but like...
I'm being sincere.

If I may ask, how does your license for Axe Cop work? Do you pay the IP holder royalties per sale? If so, what amount? Also, has the IP holder promised to do any promotion for your game?
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RMZ
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Post by RMZ »

Willy Elektrix wrote:
RedMaverickZero wrote:Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not, but like...
I'm being sincere.

If I may ask, how does your license for Axe Cop work? Do you pay the IP holder royalties per sale? If so, what amount? Also, has the IP holder promised to do any promotion for your game?
It's kind of a handshake deal. We have emailed agreements between each other, everything has been very nontraditional in probably what you are thinking. I had originally typed up contracts to be signed but they never got signed, but that was to protect Soda Piggy and myself more than anything. Over time my confidence grew in the relationship between us and the IP holder. We proposed a royalties amount and he actually cut it back to our favor which was also pretty cool. We've invested all of the capital in the game and the promotion, he's done a good job at retweeting and helping us when we ask, but moreorless it's Soda and mine's promotion with his support. I think since the Axe Cop brand helps get our game further out there that's okay.

From the beginning of production he told us that we can make the game so long as nothing is really relying on him, and he was available for the emergency story beats to make sure there were no conflicts with us and the TV show. Our end of game twist needed him to put his two cents in so we could make it work. He said two words and that sparked a whole flurry of thoughts that got me there.

It's probably an unconventional answer to what you're asking but this is what the relationship has been like regarding story, promotion, marketing, etc.
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Willy Elektrix
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Post by Willy Elektrix »

That makes sense. In any case, how has the first week been? Have sales met your expectations?
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Post by RMZ »

People ask me that and I don't really care. I know Soda Piggy does, and that's fine. I just want people to play and enjoy it, which they are. The game has sold 160 copies, which is great for a $9.99 indie game in my opinion, but we have an impossible journey to go to break even, even remotely. The fact that people are playing it and posting about it is what makes it all worthwhile to me. I've only viewed the "games for sale" model as encouragement to up the quality to something that's worth selling and worth someone's time.
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Post by RMZ »

<img src="https://www.redtrianglegames.com/img/mi ... sshirt.jpg">

Just figured this was worth a share. My co-worker made me a Christmas shirt designed after the Bad Santa fight in Axe Cop. I was totally surprised by this! Apparently she was working on it for weeks!
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Post by kylekrack »

That's super cute and an amazing Christmas gift on so many levels. Your coworker is cool.
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Post by SwordPlay »

that looks absolutely incredible wtf why did my mom give me a scarf with holes in it
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Post by ArtimusBena »

She's hired, right? Get some merch going!
Do you make love with the same urgency you make games?
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Post by Spoonweaver »

That's an amazing shirt!
Does she normally get people really involved presents or is she into you?
Last edited by Spoonweaver on Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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RMZ
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Post by RMZ »

Spoonweaver wrote:That's an amazing shirt!
Does she normally get people really involved presents or is she into you?
She's heard me talk about this game for 3.5 years. And she does like a craft business where she does stuff like this for people all the time, but it's usually not processing game art.
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Post by RMZ »

<img src="https://www.redtrianglegames.com/img/de ... onsole.gif">

This is an overdue update, and everyone on Discord immediately loved it. A full layout of all floors is available from the beginning of the mission. However, it doesn't share what rooms are blocked by what color doors (it's carrying over the green aesthetic of the computers in the level and that same computer). It does say where the elevators are, and where the generators are. The floors are small in the scheme of things so it should be considerably easier for people to find their way around and figure out where they have and haven't been.

I'll likely be posting this by EOD today with another couple adjustments requested and if time, some details I thought of today for the town.

As a reminder, anybody from our community that wants a free key to the game, just private message me here or on Discord.
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Post by RMZ »

<img src="https://www.redtrianglegames.com/img/de ... gblast.gif">

I'm pretty close to having the balance for Liborg the way I want it. He's a lot of fun and I think players will enjoy him. He has no moves, but every default move he does powers up his attack. After X amount of shots, he'll do a super blast, seen in the gif. After that his attack reverts back down. I haven't sorted out exactly how it'll happen, but there will be some secret computer consoles in the game that will allow him to push past his limits and get a higher attack boost. On the final boost, it'll stop the attack revert too. He should be a good use for the two super bosses coming.

I also pitched a Boss Rush cup for the Fighting Zoo to Soda Piggy, which he liked the idea of. Basically Axe Cop would let the bad guys in his jail participate in a zoo challenge just for his own amusement. Not sure all of the bosses will participate, as some are the new super bosses, but it will be fun to make new formations with the bosses in different arrangements than the player fought them in the first time.
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