Group Game Project

[H4k3r4r34l]

If there is any need for a translator from English to Spanish i would be glad to join your team also im good at art if you need it

 

[Dzz]

If there is any need for a translator from English to Spanish i would be glad to join your team also im good at art if you need it

Great, I'm glad to see a few artists speaking up. To all the people who could do some art, what sort of art are you best at doing? Any ideas how to apply that to a game we could work on together?

 

[ingrin]

Would not snake or tetris be too small for a group project ?

Well, I kinda like the idea of taking a fundamentally simple game and tarting it to the max. It would be comparatively quick to create, not require much in the way of localization, and allow the great artists within the community to show off their skills. It would also serve as a quick validation of the 'gold standard' plan.


Again, it was games like Lumines, Meteos, and Geometry Wars that were heralded with the arrival of the 3 most recent systems. There is no reason the GP2X can't have its own simple but addictive game that shows off the graphical capabilities of the system it was exclusively created for.

 

[morph80]

Hi Dzz & everyone else,

first off I have always been held back by my ability to code & since it sounds like there are some decent programmers floating around on this forum I will submit a proposal later this week. So far a lot of the ideas posted seem very basic - simple is good but lets think different we can break new ground.

I like to focus on design & gameplay but I have a good background in 3D & digital arts + can script to some degree...

DZZ do you think 2.5D is suitable for GP2X? am already aware that GP2X cannot handle 3D well due to the lack of a FPU but we could bits of 3D in software.

anyway lets see what I can come with

 

[Mr.Jabberwocky]

Ingrin : On reflection it may not be a bad idea to put something together quickly to test the resolve of those who volunteer and generally get the hang of managing a collaborative project. What do you mean by localisation and the 'gold standard' plan ?

 

[BenRoshi]

Start with something simple to build some teamwork before tackling a big project.

 

[Dzz]

DZZ do you think 2.5D is suitable for GP2X? am already aware that GP2X cannot handle 3D well due to the lack of a FPU but we could bits of 3D in software.

anyway lets see what I can come with

Sure, I think 2.5D is fine. I'd rather not tackle a pure 3D title right away because building a super-optimized 3D engine for this platform is a rather large task -- I could be talked into trying it though if we had the right mix of 3D artists and game concept.

I know I am repeating myself over and over but after "gameplay" the most important thing is the "content" which is largely artwork. Code is important but I don't think it will be our downfall.

Looking forward to your proposal morph80! And big thanks to others who have submitted ideas so far.

 

[ingrin]

Ingrin : On reflection it may not be a bad idea to put something together quickly to test the resolve of those who volunteer and generally get the hang of managing a collaborative project. What do you mean by localisation and the 'gold standard' plan ?

I was refering to this post by thebooboo
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=27732

 

[Julius]

I can contribute 3D models.

Concerning the game itself:
It should either be a game with a high replay value, like a racing game or a puzzler, or it should be only a extendable engine sort of game, with a demo game (that can but doesn't need to be as big as a real game, but should have enough art assets for others to use).

 

[ninjak]

I think a strategy type game would be probably a good mix for a 2.5D project, somewhere along the lines of FFTactics. Good replay value, easily extensible, good 'pick-up-and-play' appeal. I would definately like to work on a strategy combat game. I can offer coding as well as some art.

As for the concept, I'd really enjoy working on a mech-battle type scenario. As a turn-based strategy game, we can keep the performance high without sacrificing aesthetics. Large explosions always look good with a bit of slow-down anyway. All the 3d modellers here could contribute some great mech models I'm sure.

Anyway, I'm just letting it be known that I am interested in an pre-apocalyptic mech-battle turn based strategy game.

Yep.

 

[H4k3r4r34l]

Dzz im not a 3d artist but im a good at 2d and some anime if you need my assistance

 

[Muncher666]

I've got to say, is anyone completely against the idea of a good old traditional adventure game? They are a dying breed, it would be nice to see a quality adventure game on an obscure platform like the gp2x. And the groundwork for an adventure game would (hopefully) be able to allow others to make their own adventure games using the same engine.

Allan.

 

[donny662]

Since this will probably require the help of many community members, I think the gameplay should be designed to also have the option to be involved with the community. And, if you want to appeal to the largest audience, it should be really simple to play and still be really fun and have a little bit of challenge. So, the basic game idea I thought would be cool is something like Mario Party.

It could consist of a bunch of mini-games that could be downloaded separately and of characters which would also be downloabable. People could create their own mini-games and characters, but I thought it could still be more involving with the community. What makes a game like Mario Party fun is playing with other people, so I think this game should be multiplayer. Although this is yet to be done on the GP2X, I think there are a couple of ways this could be accomplished.

Since the GP2X is a little obscure, I think a community web server would be the best place to connect to live multiplayer games. The game could connect to the internet through a wifi adapter, or for people who do not want to buy an adapter and/or break-out-box, a USB network connection.

A chat function would be nice if the player wanted it. This could be accomplished through an http interface if the user is connecting through the USB connection, or a USB keyboard connected to a BoB.

The game should take care of most of the setup on the GP2X end so connecting will be easy to follow for some of the least technologicly inclined users. The new firmware with networking and USB support should make connecting the GP2X to the internet easier.

What if you're not around a computer or you're not in a USB hotspot? The GP2X is, after all, a portable console. Obviously, the mini-games will need a single-player mode, but this kind of defeats the whole community involvement thing.

So, what if you could play the mini-game by yourself and record what you did and post it on the internet. Then, anyone can download your recording and play against it. If you're going on a long trip, you could download, say, 50 recordings and play randomly (or choose particular recordings) against maybe 1-3 different people. The number of recordings and option for random opponents would keep it from just being a "best time" opponent and allow a novice to win sometimes. After you get back, you can post some of your own recordings.

The website could have a small forum where you could generally talk shit about each other's ability's. All in good fun, of course .

The "offline" multiplayer scheme would, obviously, work best with time based puzzle or racing mini-games and not multiplayer shooters or Pong like games.

A project like this would involve more than just game programmers for the engine and mini-game coding and artists for levels, characters, etc. but also web designers and developers, people who can provide hosting like EvilDragon, and, most importantly, many GP2X users to contibute by playing the game.

 

[Julius]

For adventure games you can use SCUMMVM, and to be honest... there are plenty available for the GP2X with scummvm, and we wouldn't be able to match the quality of those anyways.

And I think it should absolutly not be a multiplayer game, as that would require extra hardware, which only few people have.
Recorded demos in a racing game would of course work though.

I kind of like the 3D tactical turn based strategy idea, but on the other hand there are quite a few really good games already available (Crimson fields, that panzer general clone, several emulated ones; but most with really unpolished ports) or could be ported relativly easily (Battle for wesnoth, Advanced strategic command). They are not 3D but that shouldn't really matter for those games.
In other words, not a bad idea, but it would be a lot quicker to polish/port existing games.

 

[Muncher666]

For adventure games you can use SCUMMVM, and to be honest... there are plenty available for the GP2X with scummvm, and we wouldn't be able to match the quality of those anyways.

I feel you're being a little naive, there have been many excellent homebrew adventure games about the place. Sure, they're a lot of work, but well worth the effort. I'm not talking about playing existing games, I'm talking about making new ones - what you're saying is sort of like telling Sepnroth not to bother with TTX because he'll never match the quality of commercial RPG's.

Plus, an adventure game would be much more accessible to the community in the scope of creation - because there is plenty of varied art, scripting, sfx and even perhaps voice work to be done.

Allan.

 

[yaustar]

I would be more in favour of a scriptable adventure engine similar to SCUMM so that non-programmers can use it to write their own games.

 

[donny662]

And I think it should absolutly not be a multiplayer game, as that would require extra hardware, which only few people have.

USB network connection!!! Everyone with a GP2X has a USB cable that came with their unit, and most people have access to a computer with internet access as that is one of the only ways to get content for the GP2X.

 

[Julius]

@Muncher666: Adventure games are a hell of a lot of work, for very little actual game content (play though once). Sure I like them too, but it is just not feasable. Besides, not everyone is a great storyteller, and who do you suggests writes the story for it (has to be done by a single person more or less, otherwise it will be highly inconsistant).
I was under the impression though that you could use SCUMMVM for custom games, which they do not advise on their homepage though So maybe yaustar is right, but I still think there are better possible game type to create.

@donny662, sure I use the USB cable to upload content to my GP2X, but then I leave my PC to play on the go, because that is the reason I got a GP2X. If I wanted to play infront of my PC, I would use my PC for that :rolleyes:

 

[Muncher666]

@Muncher666: Adventure games are a hell of a lot of work, for very little actual game content (play though once). Sure I like them too, but it is just not feasable. Besides, not everyone is a great storyteller, and who do you suggests writes the story for it (has to be done by a single person more or less, otherwise it will be highly inconsistant).
I was under the impression though that you could use SCUMMVM for custom games, which they do not advise on their homepage though So maybe yaustar is right, but I still think there are better possible game type to create.

@donny662, sure I use the USB cable to upload content to my GP2X, but then I leave my PC to play on the go, because that is the reason I got a GP2X. If I wanted to play infront of my PC, I would use my PC for that :rolleyes:

Julius, I think your concept of feasability is flawed. Not being mean, but AGS has a huge community of people who make games for it, and they even have competitions that involve people creating games in a limited amount of time (usually a week) that usually have a few decent entries, not to mention the ones that took ages to make. A simple scripted engine would be great for making 'lunchbreak' sized adventure games that wouldn't take too long to make, and maybe have a couple of hours of gameplay, made by a dedicated userbase who collectively could release enough to make it worthwhile, and keep you coming back for more. The Reality on the Norm group in the AGS community do a similar thing where they make small games based around a base town, and they now have 50+ small games based around this concept.

Seriously, an adventure game engine (perhaps with a nice game that we could all make collectively) would really be something special. As far as writing a plot - inconsistencies are something that are always a problem with any community based effort, adventure games only being one of them. You could have a small group of people (perhaps chosen by the group based on small submissions of plot ideas) who write the plot, a large contingent of people writing dialogue, making art, doing voice work, etc - and have a quality assurance team (gee, beta testers are hard to get around here ) who critique things so that people have a good idea of what isn't working that needs to be worked on, plot wise, graphics wise, etc.

So in short, a group effort is always going to be inconsistent if planning is also inconsistent, so that argument I feel doesn't hold water. Perhaps we should have a poll.

Allan.

Edit: By the way, the idea of a multiplayer game seems ludicrous for a 'killer app' (as it were) because it can only be played this way, and the GP2x wasn't really intended for this. Even though the possibility is there, I very much doubt I would ever use it's multiplayer applications. If the group game ends up being something that could use multiplayer, could we please have a single player option too?

 

[Julius]

AGS is a perfect example for my 'concept of feasability'
AGS is a pretty much perfect tool for adventure creation, including a massive amount of tools and such, which all of it we don't have and would have to create (which is a big project in itself) and they have a huge community (which we don't have... this place might seem big, but there are maybe 100-300 people in total doing stuff for the GP2X, after all there are only about 10k GP2X in total sold so far). And even though they have all this... really good games for AGS are few and hard to find.

Besides that you can't really recycle a lot of content for adventure games, which out them becoming boring, while for other games you can more easily.