Game Development Pipeline Update

Greetings readers,

Between college finals and some personal family issues, I've had little to no time for game development and managing the blog. I'm getting better though, I plan to do weekly updates!

Now to share what I have been working on. I believe in working on several projects simultaneously to avoid stagnation.

First up is a fantasy top-down arcade shooter similar to Binding of Issac in regards to combat. This is the barest of the builds, with only the basic movement, basic attack and the screen transition when the player enters a new room.

The second project is a fantasy platformer. This game build is more developed, with a rain effect that has collision for the raindrops and the characters. It also has a basic inventory, health and armor system, a shield blocking and sword swing mechanic, and a basic patrolling enemy AI that attacks the player when in range.

Finally, an update on Tavern Trouble!
Changelog:

• Music
• Customers leave a random tip when they have been served.
• Customers display a checkmark when they are satisfied and ready to be taken to the exit.
• Customers ask for an apple or a beer when they are seated.
• Customers display a thumbs down icon when they have not been seated for a prolonged amount of time.

                                                     

 Game demos will be available soon for each of the games above. Stay tuned for updates on development and new blog posts!

Cheers,

Alexander Weidlein                                                                                                                                                                                  

Game Over: Assassin's Creed: Rogue

A devlog update to Tavern Trouble is coming soon, I'm fixing a few bugs. I haven't forgotten!

I've found time the last two weeks to play and complete Assassin's Creed: Rogue. I've played all of the AC games and I do enjoy playing in the beautiful locations the teams at Ubisoft create, but the same problems that have persisted throughout the series exist in Rogue as well: no challenge in combat, little to no stealth missions, audio/visual bugs, meaningless upgrades, and mechanics and game systems that the player is never encouraged to use.

The combat in Assassin's Creed games have always been a weak point. The simplicity of simply countering and "insta-killing" enemies presents no sense of danger to the player, and enemies become a nuisance rather than a threat. Rogue introduced a new element into the combat, smoke bombs used by enemies, which provided a refreshing change to combat that almost killed me a few times when I took on too many guards at once. As soon as I was getting comfortable with this new combat mechanic, however, the player receives an item that completely negates this power of the enemy: a bandanna that acts as a gas mask, allowing players to walk through the smoke and attack enemies within the radius of the smoke.

Rogue also introduced a new enemy type: the Assassins. These enemies hide in plain sight, waiting for the player to pass them before launching a surprise attack. Failing to counter in time reduces the player's health nearly completely, but the overpowered health regeneration keeps the player from ever truly feeling in danger.

Stealth has always been a controversial part of the AC series as well, and Rogue makes no attempt to hide it's roots as an action game. While Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag missions that forced players to use stealth, I can only recall Rogue have a few, all of which were incredibly easy to complete. Shay Cormac is the most openly aggressive protagonist of the AC series, and his missions suited his character well. Unfortunately, focusing solely on combat is not AC's strong suite.

The AC series has also always been plagued by pop-up textures and glitched audio ques. In my experience with the series, Rogue had the most immersion-breaking bugs. Lines of dialogue couldn't keep up with the pace of the cutscenes, some characters would fall silent when the subtitles would change to their following lines, and some character models would even become invisible during cutscenes!

I believe the best aspect of Rogue is the ship combat, which takes the successful formula from AC III and IV and adds small but interesting changes. The addition of icebergs and blizzards make combat even more intense by limiting maneuverability and visibility, and the new puckle gun allows for more direct targeting while the other weapons are on their cooldowns. The superb ship combat is what kept me coming back to Assassin's Creed: Rogue, and hopefully Ubisoft makes another AC game that focuses on naval warfare.

Tavern Trouble Devlog 1 (March 16)

First entry in the devlog for upcoming mobile, web, and PC game titled "Tavern Trouble" (name subject to change).

The game is comparable to the popular web-game Diner Dash. Players must manage a busy medieval fantasy tavern by seating customers and fulfilling their orders, replenishing supplies, managing the economics of their business, and resolving disputes rival races may have within the tavern.

The game will be score focused, with online leaderboards and achivements. I'm currently debating if I should also make pre-made levels or just an endless mode. The endless mode coincides with the arcade-like theme of the game.

Tavern Trouble Alpha (March 16)

Changelog:

1. Customers now automatically attach to chairs when overlapping and dropped.
2. Customers mirror animation to face the correct way when sitting.
3. Spawn rate of customers adjusted.
4. Dialogue bubble spawns and follows customer.
5. Customers become angry if they have not been seated in 40 seconds and will disappear.
6. Text object identifies what race the player is currently interacting with.

The Road Ahead:

1. Customer orders.
2. Resupply provisions.
3. Buy menu.
4. Upgrade menu.
5. Customer bar fights.
6. Music.
7. Sound effects.
8. Levels?

My favorite games of 2014

This is my first blog post ever and the fact that it is a month late does not bode well. Without further ado, I will list my favorite games of 2014, enjoy!

*I played many other games released in 2014, but didn't enjoy them enough to include them on my list.

Dungeon of the Endless

Dungeon of the Endless is not a typical roguelike. It incorporates many elements from the genre while adding features from other genres like tower defense and party management that makes this game one of a kind. Definitely the most surprising and unique game I played last year.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor is brutal in both its visual style and its challenges. I found myself outnumbered in every situation, and if I recall correctly there is not a single friendly NPC that can provide support. You are behind enemy lines, and the game creates a great sense of guerrilla warfare. I love the freeflow combat style of the Arkham games, but I found that the small number of enemies onscreen and the few different enemy types made the combat too easy. Shadow of Mordor fixes both of these problems by giving the player 20+ enemies to fight as a consequence for their failure at stealth, as well as many different enemy types that work in unison with each other.

Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight is the best retro platformer I have played. The games it takes inspiration from were made before my time, but I have done plenty of research on DuckTales, Mega Man, and the original Mario games. The wonderful pixel art, chiptune soundtrack, and challenging gameplay come together to create an atmosphere of adventure and wonder. 

The Walking Dead: Season 2

Season 2 was a powerful story about the coming of age for Clementine in her new harsh world. This season stood on its own, something I was worried wouldn't be able to happen. 

Watch Dogs

While I didn't like the driving and I felt the city was rather boring, I enjoyed my time avoiding the police on the streets of Chicago. The performance on PC leaves much to be desired.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

I haven't played nearly as much of Hearthstone as I should, but it is definitely my favorite (and really only) digital card game I've played.

The Elder Scrolls Online

The scope of this MMO is beyond most other MMOs. The voice acting is consistently some of the best in gaming, and every NPC is voiced! The art style allows for much variation throughout the different zones, and most of the gear and weapons look epic. The combat is fast and fluid for an MMO, and when combined with the excellent soundtrack, killing mobs in the world of Tamriel is a thrilling experience. The PvP leaves much to be desired, however, as the massive zerg battles doesn't create any sense of accomplishment. The lengthy travel time to battles in PvP is also annoying after quick deaths.