Hamstervania, for some reason.

Make games! Discuss those games here.

Moderators: Bob the Hamster, marionline, SDHawk

Is it a game yet? What kind of design archetype do you prefer?

Forget the hamster shtick. Classic, SERIOUS Metroidvania. Blood and demons.
2
14%
Quirky goofball hamster-themed explore-em up is OK. My republic 'tis of thee~
7
50%
Why not retro/arcade-style action? Timeless and simple fun.
0
No votes
This is an RPG engine what are you doing get out of there ITS GONNA BLOW
1
7%
Look, just learn Godot at this point...
1
7%
There is no point. I have seen. Only darkness awaits us.
0
No votes
Well, it's good practice at any rate. Keep on truckin'!
2
14%
Good for nothing. GET A JOB YOU BUM
0
No votes
You'll only break my heart again, you shameless cad. Stop promising visions of games you have no intent of following through with.
1
7%
 
Total votes: 14

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SwordPlay
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Hamstervania, for some reason.

Post by SwordPlay »

THE NAME OF THE GAME
This is my recent project, a platformer in the OHR.
Gaplan is helping with design/art and advice.

Behold! Well you probably already saw it.
Fewer people seem to have downloaded it, with a whopping 6 entire downloads since it was first put up.

Hamstervania Demo Link

Anyways, this is an update to the demo that includes some documentation and (marginally) more features, such as changing map, a new ability, some enemy varieties and strange-new platforms.

WAT
Hamstervania is just a working title, and I'm not even sure this will be representative of the end-product.
You can also find a version tweaked for 60 fps and a higher resolution. Note the placeholder graphics

A lot of features are implemented, almost enough to make a reasonable game, or at least a demo, and I intend to enter HOTOHR if possible.
However I have a lot of stuff going on in my life and don't know if it will be possible for me to accomplish all that in time.

STOP IT. GET HELP.

There is also a design document and several pages of ideas.
(I am considering making those docs public, or sharing them on request)

I am open to collaboration, feedback and aid. Not that I need it, or anything, haha, hahaha.... :sweat:

You can also see a poll, which I assure you, is not (purely) ornamentation.
I am not sure which direction to go in with this project, what would be popular among audiences, or even what would be easiest to collab on.
So far I have a vague idea (several pages) of what I want to do with this, but I lack the willpower to forge it into a cohesive vision (due to real-life events, I'm quite drained)

No matter what, I just wanted you all to know that I love you dearly, and just wanted to make something nice to share with everyone.
Not everyone will be pleased all of the time. That's okay. Let's just do our best.

(pls halp i dont know how i got here im a dog im not good with computers)
Last edited by SwordPlay on Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:48 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Spoonweaver »

weird post

So you've made a tech demo and you're thinking about making it into a full game
but you have no idea what you want to do with the full game or how you're going to get it done
And you're already thinking you need help.
Sounds like 99% of the projects on here.

Since you don't have much in the way of concept, or story you might be able to get someone on board by basically making their game for them. I'm sure there's plenty of people with an idea for a metrovania game, or a simpler platformer.

It doesn't actually sound like you have an actual game idea.
Using Bob the Hamster is likely fine as James is pretty cool about that sort of thing, but shouldn't you try to make your own character?
What's the plot like or world like? Just Castlevania? Where's the original ideas?
What gameplay elements are going to be new?
What makes your game new and different?
Last edited by Spoonweaver on Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SwordPlay »

Anything which people propose would help me narrow down what I can meaningfully create out of this project.

I either keep on what I'm doing, or try something else, perhaps based on feedback. But I'd like to hear feedback before I do anything else.

Never hurts to solicit feedback, and I've even heard this is a technique of some kind that artists employ :O


NAME OF THE BOB

"Bob the Hamster" is really a homage to the OHR.
He's vaguely related to Bob the Hamster (doesn't Bob have 144 siblings or something?)
I also looked at Bell of Chaos to understand how a platformer can be structured so this project really owes a lot to James, not just the engine itself.
My character probably has a nickname or somesuch to distinguish himself from original Bob the Hamster. Suggestions?

SHOW BOBS
I have rough design for the following:
  • - The game would have several (at least 4 or 5) different areas, some with gimmicks,

    - It has like 10 main characters (at least) with dialogue, including villains, deuteragonist, helpers etc., of story or narrative significance.

    - I have a lot of ideas for varied attacks, and a lot of gimmick rooms, mini-bosses inspired by Treasure games and things like that. Kinda difficult to explain without sheets/drawing it out.

    - Exploring is intended to be a more gentle pace than most Metroidvanias, with more stillness, quiet, reflection, and slime like that.

    - There are various puzzles, some utilising systems/systemic design, although any systems would be relatively light and not the focus. Not quite as much depth as Tim-tim probably, but Tim-tim is an inspiration too.
None of that would change too much if the style changed.
I can imagine different versions pretty clearly in my head... but not all of them are equally feasible.

The main character and style of the game is somewhat arbitrary, in fact, compared to other genres.
I feel confident that I could pull off a strong joke game.
However the market for Metroidvanias is overwhelmingly gothic, gritty and grim. Still, a good joke might work.


IF I HAD A HAMMER

I was debating about creating this thread, but I want to take some burden off myself and Gaplan. There's rather a lot to be done for just a demo.
Also I needed to give myself some personal accountability
Whoapotato donated some enemy designs, and I'm eternally grateful for that.

If anyone wants to suggest, design etc., things for this game, I'd be extremely grateful and credit you however you like (... within reason)
I'd love to make it a community project in some way, and try to incorporate everyone's ideas into this. I think I could handle most of the scripting.
Other things, especially design, are time-consuming, and I fear it wouldn't be possible to be able to perform every job "PERFECTLY" with just me and Gaplan.

I also know there are many talented types out there, it doesn't hurt to put your heads together and come up with a thought between you, usually.
Also doesn't usually cost much, whereas sunk costs and intensive gamedev ARE costly. So I know which I prefer!

Once you start doing its much harder to stop, I find. An ounce of preparation is better than a pound of action. or something.

I'm probably going to make the design docs public.
And you're already thinking you need help.
Help. Feedback. Support. Criticism. Anything really!

(I was "thinking" about getting "help" before starting this project, even, I doubt I could have made it this far without Gaplan!)
Last edited by SwordPlay on Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:48 pm, edited 19 times in total.
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Post by TMC »

Spoonweaver wrote:Using Bob the Hamster is likely fine as James is pretty cool about that sort of thing, but shouldn't you try to make your own character?
What's the plot like or world like? Just Castlevania? Where's the original ideas?
That's not Bob though! OK, we may refer to him as "fat Bob", but it's definitely a different character. Even if it is Bob the Hamster, it's a completely different Bob the Hamster (but yeah, I think better you would use another name, maybe have "real name Bob, a forgotten brother of Bob the Hamster" as lore).
I'm almost surprised to hear you're thinking of changing the name Hamstervania. Which came first anyway, the name, or hamster protagonist, or Gaplan's spriting of fat Bob? I had the idea that Gaplan drew him based just on the name of the game, but that's presumption.

Sword: normally I'd tell people to aim small and manageable, but that seems folly here; your trademark is an explosion of ideas and experiments. You've done a lot of brainstorming. And there no such thing as having a plan for brainstorming. Now you need to chase the dream! Plans don't do much in the way of providing motivation, but following a thread of ideas does. Figure out what would be the most fun for you to make. Of course, if you want to collaborate with Gaplan and others, "what is fun" needs to be mutual. Honestly I'm tempted to jump in! But argh, projects. The fewer the better, unless it's in a minor capacity.

Maybe look for gamedev motivational reading?
Edmund McMillen wrote:When I was in middle school I would draw up designs for what I thought would be the ultimate video game: full of blood, huge bosses, epic worlds, and a story that would follow an immortal hero through hell, the end of the world, and beyond.

Then I grew up... and not much changed.
(From the Super Meat Boy postmortem)
So far I have a vague idea (several pages) of what I want to do with this, but I lack the willpower to forge it into a cohesive vision (due to real-life events, I'm quite drained)
Take it at your own pace. Every project has hard and unfun parts that you need to slog through. But if you're drained and losing motivation because of external reasons rather than internal to the project, then I think it's a lot more important that you have fun working on your project so you're recharged instead of drained by it, rather than forcing yourself to work on it.


Is the 60fps file actually an older version? Since it doesn't have the complete set of
BTW you can change the framerate using "override tick milliseconds" instead of having two files. But this command would cause animations like tile animations to speed up/down (which doesn't matter to you). In future there will be another better command for changing framerate.

So you recently uploaded a new version (since the download counter reset) but it still doesn't have the enemies you were showing off?
Last edited by TMC on Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:49 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by TMC »

I wrote that post without seeing the post you made immediately before it, which is why it seems off-base with what you wrote.

I voted for "Quirky goofball hamster-themed explore-em up is OK", I was imagining something light-hearted but still with serious (i.e. fun) combat and exploration. But where should the story fall between serious and Megaman Sprite Game?
- Exploring is intended to be a more gentle pace than most Metroidvanias, with more stillness, quiet, reflection, and slime like that.
I like the sound of that kind. And I think it helps hugely if these quiet scenes are coherent, telling/connected by a story, rather than just random interesting scenes. Showing instead of telling is a powerful storytelling technique. But what story?

Oh, debug keys! Forgot to look at those. Well now it's a game. But the problem with these enemies is that they aren't basic, they're too advanced. Many of the attacks can't even possibly hit these flying enemies. Need some simpler enemies to create some initial playable levels.

I had to compile a non-debugging build of the OHR in order to get the 60fps version to run at 60 instead of 20. (I think I'll take a look at how your collision checking might be sped up). So maybe it would pay to write a scripts in a frame-rate indepedent way, by measuring delays in milliseconds instead of ticks, instead of having a bunch of IF's to switch between low/high framerate logic.
Last edited by TMC on Sun Jun 28, 2020 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Spoonweaver »

You know Swordplay.
If you're looking to get people to help you're best off helping other people first.
I started holding those Random Collab contests a while ago because I kept seeing threads like this where people were sort of begging people to help them with their projects.
It makes perfect sense. Some people are great at scripting, some have great design, some are amazing artists, some write amazing songs.
Clearly if all those things came together it would make an amazing game.
But it doesn't come together.

Why?

We are a community of loners. We're not joining up with the most popular game engines. We're not working with the most popular game genre.
We step off the beaten path and do things our own way. This means we are all doing things for ourselves.
There are a few exceptions. TMC is clearly a beast and helps with multiple projects all over the place and there are a few that do similar things here and there. A few others like Soda piggy help with multiple games but these tend to involve private interpersonal connections and money.
But ultimately the community is lacking the kinda of people that would jump at the chance to form a team and work on a vision other than their own.

Swordplay, if you don't have a specific direction you want to take this game and are open to the ideas and input of others, why not just help someone with their game? You have some coding talent to have put this together that could really help other people with their games.
You could even become a full partner and make the game 50/50 sharing any sort of rewards that come from the finished project. I'm sure a lot of people would be up for that.
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Post by SwordPlay »

I regularly get requests and also make offers to help people with their games.
I think at least 20 or 30 people so far. But usually nothing happens, because the work-load is too prohibitive.
Also I can't help everyone at once. And some people... just don't want to be helped.

The main reason I'm undertaking Hamstervania is because you (or someone... tmc?) told me that a platformer is a good way to hone your scripting skills.
Or maybe I just overheard you talking about how fun the development of Tim-tim is/was (...?) and got excited? I'm pretty sure you recommended it, somehow...
Are you worried about competition with Tim-tim?
:kamina: :kamina: :kamina: :kamina:
don't worry I can take a hint, I''ll help you with Tim-tim
:kamina: :kamina: :kamina: :kamina:

As for how serious I am, it wouldn't be a bad idea to prove myself a little, put out something meaningful for myself and the community, improve my skills, and have something to show for it in future. Main reasons for me doing this.

I don't know if I mentioned but I have PAGES of design notes.
I have detailed protagonist, narrative, distinct areas, major bosses etc., in plans
I'm confident I could pull off a comedy, but, like usual, it's rather difficult to do alone, if not for time/energy constraints, then at least for motivation, encouragement, advice etc.,

I think that's all anyone needs, to know someone is there, and that someone cares. or maybe that's just me.
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Post by Spoonweaver »

ha
no I'm not worried about competition.
I don;t see the OHR/slimesalad community as who I'm competing against. I see us as a sort of guild or school where we are all on the same team, regardless of inner school/guild rivalries.
And no
I don't need or want help on tim-tim 2. I'm trying to make every thing by myself. Though I'm thinking I'm going to end up either getting music done or using free music. I suck at music....
Maybe on my next project


As far as a community collective game where everyone pitches in, you're off to a bad start. If you want a lot of people to help you should make a traditional RPG so more people CAN help.
However, THAT has been tried before. A few times. All ending or wackiness / disaster.

If you have pages and page of design notes and want something to show for all your OHR work in the future, then make the game!
Please please please don't in any way take a single word I've written as any possible sign that I don't want you to make your game.
I think you should make any and all games you have in your head. Or in this case on design documents.
Make as many or as few games as you can.
I'm simply trying to guide you through a phase that I have seen several people go through and ultimately got jaded, lost interest, and vanished from the community.
We are here to help in any way we can, but we can't and won't make your game for you.
Going into a project with the idea that you don't have the patience, energy, or time to commit to it is a terrible start.
If you dont have the drive to make this game, no matter how long it takes and how boring it might be at times, then no one else will either.


It would be great if we were all a game company and you were pitching your game to the board right.
But we're not.
I see you already have Gaplan helping you. How many more people do you need? And what do you need them for?
Last edited by Spoonweaver on Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Prifurin »

fat hamster go brrrrrrrrr
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Post by Gizmog »

Make it, have fun, and ignore Spoonweaver because the only thing of note he's ever done is hack the gamelist.
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Post by charbile »

However, THAT [community game] has been tried before. A few times. All ending or wackiness / disaster.
Examples? Has it really been tried in a serious manner? There are many examples of teams succeeding here.

Spoon makes good points and I agree with his sentiments, though. It's unrealistic to think people will come together to create a single game. The fantasy falls apart when you factor everyone's particular desires in game making. Sword must become jaded. There are other skills to hone besides scripting.
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Post by SwordPlay »

wow taking everything really serious is not my style haha.
I was (mostly) joking about helping with Tim-tim

I don't want to make a game where "everyone pitches in".
That sounds like a logistical nightmare!
I'd rather make a game where people have ideas, and I try to incorporate them.
I don't want someone to make the game for me, I am capable of doing it by myself, I think.
Perhaps people just lack imagination? There probably won't be any OHR House forum game either. I thought maybe coming up with game dev ideas would not be a long shot for a forum about game development XD

I'm not trying to recruit people to my mega-project where I will work them as slaves. It'd be nice to just have some community input, influence etc.,

As stated earlier, I'd love feedback, criticism, etc., as well as support or help

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll try my best.:angel:
Spoonweaver wrote:I see you already have Gaplan helping you. How many more people do you need? And what do you need them for?
Probably need someone to help with map design, enemy design, some writing work... and maybe an event planner. This is purely to speed things up.
Also, this job could be done by randoms throwing out ideas. Hmmm..
NOTE: All those jobs are somewhat interrelated

A single person could do it, or I could shamelessly crib from other games.
Although I rather thought it would be trivial for a forum of game designers to handle even as a joke.
Last edited by SwordPlay on Mon Jun 29, 2020 1:40 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Post by kylekrack »

I'm really exhausted from almost 12 hours on the road, so I only skimmed most of this.

I will say that the first step is probably focusing down on what tasks you need help with. You're in a good place, in my opinion. A better place than where most people are when they come and say "Hey can somebody help me finish my game!" The perfect scenario is that you have a minimum viable product before you ever bring anybody on for help. Honestly, I think you're close to that.

I worked with MorpheusKitami on my One-Room contest submission last year, breakout.rpg. MK was officially the narrative designer, because I had no idea what to make the setting and characters. MK wrote dialogue, made concept art (and used assets), and generated snippets (like expository paragraphs) that we chose from and iterated upon. It was great! Some of the best collab experience I've ever had, and it saved the project.

With that anecdote in mind, it sounds like you're in a comparable rut. You need to make some high-level decisions (which this thread looks like it will help you make) before you can delegate specific tasks. You have boss ideas, you say. Determine how many levels Hamstervania will have and which boss will be at the end of each. Now you have a few tasks for each level:
1. Write setting, backstory
2. Graybox level design
3. Design enemy types
4. And finally, (for you, Sword) script enemy behavior and level features (puzzles, secrets, etc.)

Now those are concrete! It's hard, because finding ideas can feel like a really floaty, abstract task, but you can boil it down into something tangible. Then it's easier to ask someone for help, because everyone will have a better idea of how well-equipped they are to complete the task.
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Post by SwordPlay »

wonderful advice :angel: kk. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

edit:

his full name is something like
"Barbigan Bobert Bean Bobilly Hamster"
Last edited by SwordPlay on Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SwordPlay »

I thought I'd post the synopsis because some people are convinced that "there's no story" to the game.

Bob is a tragic and storied figure.
He grew up on a farm, got married, became a salesman, went off to war, lost his family, became a monk, and finally became a wanderer.

The war was kinda significant, and there are remnants of the Wiener Dog Liberation Front (and others etc.,) around the world that bear a lot of grudges. Also, most characters in the world reference it, even if just in passing.
The beginning of the game (tutorial/intro) deals with some stragglers, remnants and rebels of various military forces, who may want to hunt down Bob or something like that. I haven't decided the fine details.

Anyway, Bob treks across a few mountains and deserts and that's where our game starts.
Bob is very thirsty and needs a beer. However, there always seems to be trouble, and Bob can't catch a break.
All he wants is to sit in peace and not be harassed by monsters, or politics.

Bob finds a bar, at last! He talks to the bartender who also has his own storied history, and acts as a main character, giving advice and trading items etc.,
There's also a patron in the bar who is a veteran of the war.

It turns out there are a lot of nasty monsters in the area recently, so Bob investigates, at the barkeeps's behest.

Bob finds the shrine of fairies, and is able to see them, perhaps the result of his meditations.
The fairies act as main characters, accompany Bob, bestow powerups , tell him stuff, and things like that. (First he has to prove himself by fighting them, I guess)

As Bob explores, he meets a mysterious rival (boss fight), and comes upon an ancient door.
He also meets a sweet maiden/nun (main character), who aids Bob in his quest, and Bob eventually uncovers the secret of the door, which is a portal to another dimension where a dark lord is amassing powers.

First Bob has to accomplish a few tasks.
- Defeat the Pumking
The Pumking is an enormous Pumkin that wanders a labyrinth, and sets many traps for Bob. The Pumking plays dirty, harasses the player and makes their life hell, until they are killed.
- Ring the Bell
Bob has to climb a very tall and treacherous tower, to ring the Bell at the top, so that the Ancient Door can be opened. But just getting to the top is only part of the challenge.
- Kill the evil
And boy are there a lot of evils beyond the ancient door, including the personification of death, a drowned king, and some surprise appearances. Well, Bob has to put an end to them all, so he can go and sit in peace and enjoy a well deserved beer.

There's also a good ending and a bad ending, depending on choices you made, maybe there's a time-limit you have to obey, and things like that.
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