Since we first started working on Fingeance, I have had two personal goals in mind. I wanted the game to be accessible enough that you can jump in and have fun without knowing anything about the game. I also wanted to really sell the comic book aesthetic of the game, since games are really popular, and there are even gambling games online, you can visit unitedfinances.com to find more about this area. Even the very first post that I made on this blog was about the art style and the feeling I wanted to invoke. So far, we have taken some HUGE strides to making the game a lot more approachable. For instance, updating the shop… then updating it again… and updating it again. But in terms of truly selling the comic book visuals, I don’t think I have done a good job of that.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that the art itself looks great! The comic book art style is really coming across quite well. But that’s just it, the art style is what is coming across – not the aesthetic. Only the art of Fingeance is telling you this is a comic book and not much else. One of the most telling things that really got me thinking about this was when someone was trying out our game recently:
“This looks like a Saturday morning cartoon!”
… Whelp.
With that in the back of my head, I am planning on beefing up Fingeance’s comic book aesthetic!
Comic Book Cover
As the saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but let’s not let that stop us. Fingeance’s cover could use some work. The splash screen has always been placeholder so it is not a surprise when I say that it isn’t really that comic book-y.
Well, let’s do what the page says. We’ll just hit A, and surely it’ll plunge us into an ocean of comic-inspired adventure…
Oh…
This menu stands out as an older philosophy of Fingeance. It also represents our head space when we first started. We didn’t know what we wanted in the game so I designed the menu to allow for any number of buttons rather than designing with a couple of buttons in mind. In hindsight, this approach actually seems pretty smart.
Don’t know what will be in the game? Make it flexible.
The issue? I was thinking that this should be the final menu design. This philosophy is flexible, but it leaves us with a menu devoid of personality. There’s no interesting panel layout, dynamic animations, cool interactions, or engaging art that could be explored here. It’s here that I can emphasize the comic book aesthetic by having those slick transitions and style the buttons in comic panels or even dialogue boxes.
A Different Perspective
Take this page from Marvel Knights: Spiderman:
It is dynamic, has a lot of character, and is engaging to read. It has a clear hierarchy of what is important on the page, where to start and where to go, all while maintaining its stylish panels that are integrated into the world.
This is the sort of stuff that I am looking for. This is the sort of style and interest that I want to achieve. This is the comic book aesthetic that is sorely missing in Fingeance right now.
So I am currently trying my hand designing some new menu layouts with these principles and examples in mind. Here are some fairly early designs I have come up with: some radically different, some more familiar.
Similar to my last post, this isn’t just about the main menu; this is about what this means for Fingeance. Future menus are going to be tackled with a new mindset. The pause menu, the results screen, and yes, even the shop menu all are going to be updated with this new philosophy.
Future Cutscenes
One other aspect we have been banking on in terms of selling the aesthetic is cutscenes. Not only will they help flesh out the story of the game, but they also be presented in comic book panels. Currently there are two different styles of comic book cutscenes that we are looking into: Full page comic and Pan and Zoom style.
Full page
This style brings up a panel on the screen and then brings up another panel on the screen. This will eventually fill up the screen with a bunch of panels and complete a comic book page. This is really great in terms of putting together the whole story because all of the previous panels are still on the screen so you can reference them if you want to. An example of this are the cutscenes in (the rather obscure) Monster Madness, which did something similar to what we would want:
What I would want in this approach is having the panels themselves become characters in telling the story. Shaking, interrupting, and bashing each other to help sell the action that is going on inside the story. This is a nice blend of both digital and physical comics. The downside is that the panels themselves don’t have as much detail in them because they are small portions of the screen.
Pan and Zoom
This style zooms in on one or two panels then pans over to the next panel. You may find games that zoom out to reveal the all the comic in the end. In fact, a lot of digital comics take this approach when you chose the Panel by Panel option, it zooms in on one part then moves to the next. An excellent example of this are some of the cutscenes in Gravity Rush (Remastered in this case):
It is slick, very stylish, and the attention is directed much like a movie. It uses the digital aspect of the medium very effectively. The downside is that you lose a bit of that character that make comic book panels important. It is more about the things on the panel rather than the “Comic book” itself.
Another option that I haven’t mentioned is a mix of the two, more of a motion graphic. This is seen well in Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker
Whichever option that we choose, Full Page or Pan and Zoom or a mix of both, cutscenes will be a step in the right direction for selling that feel we are searching for.
Wrap Up
That’s a lot of stuff, so a quick recap:
- The art style of Fingeance is clear but the “Comic Book” part isn’t.
- The menus could really help sell the aesthetic.
- Yep, the shop is going to be updated again.
- Cutscenes are also going to help sell the feel.
- There are a couple of cutscene options that we could explore to do so.
Hopefully this provided some insight as to what direction we want to head down and what we are currently thinking. If you have any suggestions or thoughts on the subject feel free to drop us a line on Twitter, Facebook, or IndieDB!
Phew! Releasing the demo took a lot out of us. This week, we are back at it again, making new content. Even as we go forward, though, we’re constantly looking back and improving old work. This past week I had the chance to update the Megaturret.
Out with the old
The old Megaturret design was… functional? It was actually an amalgamation of several bits and pieces from other art that I made. Our scrappy enemy designers have been cobbling together prototype versions of enemies using old art from me and occasional online clip art. These days, though, I finally have a chance to dig in and apply real art to their creations. Updating the Megaturret is a bigger deal than just making it look good: it is the beginning of making the enemies fit in the world better.
One of the key problems with the old Megaturret’s look is that it wasn’t all that threatening. There were a lot of round edges and curved surfaces, which classically evokes a friendlier, less aggressive attitude. The other problem is that — since it was lego’d together from a bunch of re-used sprites — it looked a lot like all the other turrets in the game. It was obviously a cheap stand-in, and it was time for it to go.
As I began sketching, I kept a few goals in mind. First, I wanted to make it look sleeker and more high-tech than the run-of-the-mill turrets littering the Reef. Second, it had to look aggressive, to signal its high threat level. Finally, it had to do a better job of signaling its attacks. The old design didn’t really adapt as the boss changed attacks. Sure, Lane put in some particles and sounds to signal its bigger shots, but nothing about the design hinted at the Megaturret’s arsenal. My top goal was to match the look of the Megaturret to its functions. As you’ll see, animations helped me win here in spades.
Rising through the ashes
With those design goals in mind, I started sketching out the new design trying to keep the same overall structure of the turret: three cannons on a fixed pivot. Everything else was fair game. I ended up with a design like this:
First thing to notice is that there are two designs. I wanted to have the Megaturret transform between its normal attacks and the freezing attack. When the freezing attack happens, the background becomes darker to raise the tension. I also wanted to emphasize this tension in the body itself. As the turret prepares its devastating blizzard, it physically transforms from three cannons to one, suggesting the massive attack to come. As you can see, the turret also adjusts the color of its lit panels, giving a clue to the nature of its next mode.
To tackle the “ bigger version of a standard turret” problem I made the Megaturret resemble the Biggest Baddest Turret more. The central cannon in particular looks like the cannons on the Biggest Baddest Turret. Lots of hard edges and angles and more intricate parts litter the design of the Megaturret. Here is the final inked design:
Moving the Megaturret
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I haven’t really done much animation work before we started working on Fingeance. Luckily, since then I have been making a ton of animations for all of the menus and UI, and for other projects that I have been working on (ah shameless plugs). Here, though, I was faced with something truly complex. With a large number of moving sprites and a futuristic transformational identity to sell, I dug in for some hard work.
Think that sounds hard? You haven’t heard the half of it. A giant turret needs a feeling of weight, and yet the Megaturret’s gameplay was balanced around quick, distinct transitions between attacks, offering players limited time to rest. During the animation process, I added a lot of forceful and deliberate movement, using acceleration and follow-through to sell the inertia of a big metal object moving quickly into place.
The Start of Something Bigger
Overall, I think that the updates to the boss have been wildly successful. In comparison to the older version of the turret, it is LEAGUES better; it has much more character and is far more memorable as a design (though I am biased, I guess). There is still a bit more work to be done on it, but as I said before: this isn’t just about making the Megaturret look cool, it is about updating the art throughout the game.
I hope you enjoyed this more in-depth look into the my design process. Let us know if you want more art-centered posts in the future by hitting us up this blog, or on Twitter, Facebook, or IndieDB. You can also ask me questions directly via my Twitter (@DarkaysTG). I may also be posting up some work in progress shots on future designs!
Hey #indiedevhour, what do you think of the new Megaturret's design? #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity pic.twitter.com/D4DgdValg7
— Escape Industries (@EscIndustries) June 29, 2016
Music is a topic that is long overdue here on the blog. We have hinted at it in the past when we introduced the Kelp Forest and the Deep Sea Cave, but never actually talking about where the musical inspiration truly came from.
That changes today!
For all of the music in the game I am working in FL Studio. I have been using FL Studio for just over 7 years now. I find that it best suits my workflow: it is quick and easy for me to get an idea from my head to something audible for others to hear.
Inspiring Music
I took a lot of inspiration from 3 main games:
Star Fox 64
In coming up with references to the songs that we wanted Star Fox 64 was the very first one we all agreed upon. The “Ready for Action” tone of the soundtrack is what we fixated on when we were recalling soundtracks of our yesteryears. That tone really fit what we wanted out of Fingeance.
Bomberman 64
THIS SOUNDTRACK IS SO AWESOME!…
Ok… Fanboying aside, the entire soundtrack to this game is one that we have referenced more often than any other soundtrack. The range of tone the entire soundtrack has is what we strive to have for Fingeance. From intense showdowns to happy-go-lucky tunes this soundtrack is where I go to when I am talking to the others on the team that don’t know as much musical terms as I do.
Bomberman Hero
Here is the soundtrack that you will hear the most similarities to. The instrumentation of Bomberman Hero is found ALL OVER Fingeance. Most notably the breakbeats with the intense hi hats are on all of the biome songs.
Different Tones for Different Biomes
Each biome in the game has a distinct visual appeal, Kelp Forest is overgrown with vegetation while the Deep Sea Cave is a closed in, mysterious, and dark experience. I wanted to have each of those themes reflected into the music as well.
The Kelp Forest has lush chords that drive the song with lots of low end sounds.
While the Deep Sea Cave has reverb heavy melodies with a dark percussion backing
Hopefully I was able to give you a little more insight as to where the music inspiration came from and why things sound the way they do.
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Sharing content with you, the audience, is a tricky subject. We have already reached a point in development where we need to start thinking about what content we share and what we should keep secret. In fact, if you read last week’s blog post we had fun withholding some info about a new character.
Jokes aside, the team is split on how we should approach sharing more “sensitive” content like later levels, endgame bosses, secret unlocks, and more. We fall into two camps: one that says “share everything; test everything,” and one that says “hold back content; don’t ruin the surprise.”
Sharing for Gameplay’s Sake
If you have been following our Twitter, you would know that every week we attend GLITCH’s Play/Test event where you can present your game for testing and feedback. Play/Test has been invaluable in the development of Fingeance: we get to talk to players, see what they do, and how they react to changes in the game. So many changes and improvements have been made because of this event and the ability to play test the game with the public.
So why would we want to hinder this process?
We are a small team working on a small budget, but we have big dreams. We want to make sure that all of our content polished and balanced before we release the game. Limiting the amount of content that we are going to show means that we can’t test that content with the public. We don’t have the means of hiring out a company to test out the game and we certainly aren’t looking to have everyone that attends Play/Test sign NDAs before they can play the game. Sure, there are some things that we probably shouldn’t show, but if it affects gameplay we should think about showing it.
It makes sense put gameplay above all else.
Right?
Savoring the Experience
Spoilers suck. If you were really looking forward to experiencing a story, spoilers can suck the wind from your sails. That first time you find a surprise or discover a secret is electric and precious. When we show off new content — and see players’ faces light up with joy and wonder — we get a huge kick. It’s inspiring, and a big part of why we do this.
So why would we want to ruin this for them?
Discovering new content in a game is a driving force to continue playing. “What’s around the corner?” “What other discoveries lay ahead?” Stillalive Studios, and their game Son of Nor, had this same problem. Throughout their process of developing the game, they were documenting it through development vlogs and blog posts bringing their followers along for the three-year journey. But, towards the end of development, they made the conscious decision to not show some content. This was to not spoil the game for those that have been there since day one, those that actively seek out their updates, those that care the most about their game. Yeah, this approach meant that this content isn’t nearly as well-tested as the other content, but there are other ways to test without showing all the content to everyone. We should be more confident in our ability to craft our game and only show certain content to a select few.
It makes sense to value the experience of the player above all else.
Right?
What do you think?
These are two approaches to the problem of sharing content. The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. But what about you?
Do you want to see everything? Do you want to have surprises?
We are extremely interested in what you have to say so drop us a line here, on Twitter, or on Facebook.
We are back from GDC 2016!
This year marks the first year that my bro, Stephen, and I went to the Game Developer’s Conference. The Game Developer’s Conference (or GDC for short) is a professional conference where game developers from all over the world come together and share ideas, show off their games like the new crypto casino, and network with one another across a full week of talks. It has been my personal dream of mine to roam the floors of the expos and attend the talks from fellow game developers.
Before I go any further I want to give a huge shout out to Glitch Gaming for providing us with the opportunity to live the dream!
GDC Talks
A talk on Music and Game Design in the Last of Us
Throughout the week we each attended various talks held by game developers from around the world from small indie devs to large companies. Some standout sessions include a Game Design workshop where my bro created a paper version of Super Smash Bros.
I went to a talk about the indie game Super Hot where the speaker, Piotr Iwanicki, was extremely animated and you could see the passion that he has for has game and game development in general pouring out of him as he was giving the talk. Really inspiring.
I also went to a talk on the game Assault Android Cactus where you could find me fanboying out in the corner of the room (I really love this game). On top of that the talk they presented was completely relevant to Fingeance!
Awesome Game Devs
Aside from attend some really useful talks we also got to meet some cool game devs that were showing off their games at the conference as well as other attendees. It was great to hear from other developers who are going through the same things we are going through.
I want to give a quick shout out to:
@VeewoGames developing @SuperPhantomCat
@agens developing The Last Ninja Twins
@PrismaticGames developing HexHeroes
Ninja Egg developing @KyubTheGame
@BlindflugStudios developing @airheartgame
These are some really cool games and devs so go check them out!
So that is a brief summary of our time at GDC 2016. I learned a lot but one of the biggest things that I took away from the conference was that everyone is human and they are going through the same trials as you.
GDC was awesome, but now it’s time for some rest!
I also want to give a special shout out to Lane for holding down the fort last week! Glad you got my bro’s gift.
Woah! A new video! Wait, 2 of them!
That’s right! We have a new updated video available to watch. This video is showcasing all of the new environments that we have worked on since our last video. There’s a lot more action packed combat featured than before as well!
But wait… didn’t I say that there are 2 videos? Yeah there is!
This is the first ever uncut gameplay footage of Fingeance that we have shared. It highlights Spike, a new character that was introduced since the last video. Like I mentioned before, this is uncut and unedited footage of a full level of Fingeance! So you can follow Spike as he battles his way against a torrent of enemies.
Let us know what you think about these videos and please like and share the videos to help spread the news of Fingenace! We are seriously proud of what we have accomplished so far. And I would like to extend that gratitude to you all! We couldn’t have come this far without your feedback and comments. Thanks for your help!
So remember to drop us a line here or over on Twitter or Facebook and let us know what you think!
This weekend we each participated in the Global Game Jam, where we created a game in 48 hours based around a theme; this year’s theme was “Ritual”. Our Jam Site we were part of was GameCraft at the University of Minnesota with Glitch Gaming. It was pretty intense but a lot of fun. Instead of all of us working on one game we each were on separate projects! So this week, we are going to be talking about each game we worked on.
Save Jimmy | Stephen McGregor
In this virtual reality game, you are a guardian angel. You’ve been given the goal of protecting an 8 year old named Jimmy. Jimmy is a curious (and very unlucky) fellow. He tends to run into dangerous things while on his mundane walk to the school bus. It’s up to you to protect Jimmy from the hazards he encounters on his trip.
…Or at least, that was the goal of the game we had initially proposed when the game jam’s theme was given. Turns out being a guardian angel that can blow up buildings is way more fun, so we kinda focused more or that aspect of the game instead. There’s one harmful thing in the game right now.
If you’d like to play it, you’ll need a Gear VR headset and a Samsung Galaxy S6. Credit to Ghaith, Thong, Sara, Neil, Jeramie, and Mark for working with me to finish! Couldn’t have done it without them.
You can check out the game here: http://globalgamejam.org/2016/games/save-jimmy-vr
Rocket to God | Lane Davis
In Rocket to God, you fill the role of a disgruntled worshipper, tired of being shunned by the big man upstairs. Your prayers have been unanswered, so it’s time to take things directly to the highest authority: God himself.
Rocket to God is a two-to-eight-player rocket-launching physics game. In each round, you start out by placing an interactive object (be it a boost, a balloon, a UFO, or a brick wall) somewhere in the sky. Then, players launch their rockets, attempting to steer, bounce, and blast their way into the Heavenly Kingdom above. If you’ve ever seen Ultimate Chicken Horse, you’ll feel right at home.
Our team — the Spicy Food Squad — took almost three hours to decide on an idea for our game. In the end, we finally hit on a name and concept that kept us laughing all weekend long. Huge thanks to David and Ashlee for keeping things light during the long weekend and for all the wonderful art. Thanks to longtime Fingeance QA-tester Michael for adding so much humor to the game. And thanks to Cody for steering the ship and giving us the idea that started it all.
You can check out the game here: http://globalgamejam.org/2016/games/rocket-god
Neon Ritual | Charles McGregor
Neon Ritual is 2D sidescrolling multiplayer platformer. The goal is to race around the map to various altars and perform a ritual to obtain an orb. But be careful, other players can shoot you down and steal your orb. First to 3 orbs wins!
Unlike Lane and Stephen, this one I made on my own. It was really intense making all of the assets, doing all of the programming, coming up with the design… but I feel like it was worth it! I am really proud of what I was able to accomplish within 48 hours and I think that it turned out great. It is definitely better with more people playing as it can get hectic really quick with everyone battling to gain the remaining orbs.
I plan on polishing this game up a lot in my free time and hopefully publish this someday. I think it has a lot of potential and I really like the concept. I will be periodically posting up my progress on Neon Ritual over at the Tribe Games Blog.
You can check out the game here: http://globalgamejam.org/2016/games/neon-ritual
Play/Test – Game Jam Edition
This Friday we will be head to Glitch Gaming Play/Test, but this week it is focused on the games made at the Global Game Jam. So if you are in the area you can come and play all of our games as well as others made at GameCraft. If you can’t make it be sure to check out the website and play all of the games available: http://globalgamejam.org/2016/jam-sites/gamecraft-2016/games
Let us know what you think of all of our games by leaving a comment below or drop us a message on Twitter or Facebook!
Phew!
As we said last week, we’ve finished up a HUGE push. It was pretty intense; we spent a lot of time working on new content for the game. We worked on new enemies, bosses, and environments (like the Kelp Forest). I wanted to take this time to reflect on the experience, talk about what we are doing now, and what is to come.
Push for More Content
The main reason why we were doing this push was to add a ton of content to the game. For the last year, we have really only been polishing up gameplay mechanics and 3 levels (really 2, but I digress). We have reached a point where we needed to figure out what an entire playthrough of our game would look like, how that would feel, and how players actually progress as you play through the game.
So we geared up for a huge push for content in a month’s time; working 14 hour days, almost every day. It was grueling, challenging work, but it was still a blast to work on. Seeing all of the new environments come together, the new bosses taking shape, and the new enemies introduced during this huge push was a humongous morale booster.
I am extremely proud to say that we succeeded reaching our goal. It is now possible to play a full campaign from start to finish (That is SO great to say). It isn’t by any means balanced or final, but it is playable.
But where do we go from here?
Loading…
The most immediate area that I have been working on personally is adding in a loading screen. It really is starting to show that we need some sort of indicator saying, “Hey, the game didn’t freeze, it is just loading right now!” as many times while we play test the game people wonder if the game crashed.
It is still in its early stages of development but this new loading screen should do a few things:
- Tell the player the game didn’t crash.
- Make going from one part of the game to another part a lot more seamless.
- Give you a status update on your progress in the campaign.
I am pretty excited about adding this in because what I have so far already make the game feel more cohesive and smooth rather than a jarring transition between one part to another (and you know how much I love transitions!).
Here are some designs to the loading screen that we are trying out, which do you think is the best so far? Leave a comment below or message us on Twitter or Facebook!
Shopping in Progress
The longer term area that we have been working on is the shopping experience. We previously mentioned how much of a pain it was before we revamped the design before, but it still is a place that players are the most confused and least engaged. Don’t get us wrong; this redesign is WAY better than the last design, but it still isn’t fulfilling what we want the experience to be. We are figuring out what the best way to present the shop and we are even looking at the three different categories of Cannons, Gadgets, and Augments that are being presented. So there is a lot of work in front of us on that end of the spectrum that we are going to be tackling for the next couple of weeks.
Catching Our Breath
We have been easing up on the pedal bit this past week after this push to look at where we need to go next and also to catch our breath. We worked hard these past weeks and we do need a bit of a rest. One way that we are doing that is we are going to be participating in the Global Game Jam 2016 this weekend! Global Game Jam is an event where you make a game within 48 hours based around a theme (or not, you don’t have to follow it). We are going to be at the GameCraft Jam site here in Minnesota so if you are going we hope to see you there! Working on other projects helps reinvigorate our drive to making Fingeance. If you want more information about what the Global Game Jam is check out their website!
This is actually only our second time participating in the event. You can check out our last game we made What Do Oujia Do Now?
We will be demoing Fingeance at Gamer’s Rhapsody 2015!
Gamer’s Rhapsody is a video game convention that aims to highlight the artistic side of video games. There will be special performances by Nerd Enhanced Sound, Benjamin Briggs, and Do a Barrel Roll! as well as many other acts. Also there will be guest appearances by Emily Reese of Joon Media and Tim Turi from Game Informer as judges critiquing games from the Gamer’s Rhapsody Game Jam.
You can check us at the convention on November 14 from 10am – 7pm. Tickets are available at the Gamer’s Rhapsody website. We hope to see you there!
One of the most commonly asked questions after we demo the game at conventions and the like is, “Why is it only 3 levels! We want to play more!” That is a really humbling question to hear: it means that we are doing something right. The honest answer is that we just don’t have the content to support more levels yet. We have been polishing up and adding new features to the existing content and slowly expanding the game, but we haven’t pushed the scope of the game for a while.
But that isn’t the case anymore.
These last couple of weeks have been more focused on getting ready for the new push for content after those initial levels. We are starting to magnify the scope of the game to get a better feel of how the game is at later levels. What better way to signify this than the creating on new areas, parts, and characters!
Yes, you read right, characters!
Introducing Spike
Unlocks in Fingeance is a topic that we here at Escape Industries take seriously and we want you, the player, to feel rewarded for all of your feats in-game. One of the ways that we hope to achieve this is through characters, and Spike is our first foray into this sphere.
Spike is brute that can take a beating but can dish it right back at you. He puts his body on the line to help defend his comrades from danger. This extends to his initial loadout which emphasizes taking damage head on.
The idea behind new characters that you unlock is that they are more specialized roles and standout personalities within the game, expanding the starting loadout possibilities. We are still testing the waters with adding in new characters and how they will interact with the rest of the team. But we don’t want to spoil too many characters as we want to save some surprises when you guys finally get your hands on the game. So don’t expect a huge expose on the latest characters adding in the game anytime soon.
Expanding Parts
In the spirit of expanding the later content of the game, we’ve been creating new higher tier parts. Some of these will be completely new, but many will be direct upgrades to parts you’ve seen in the past. For example, we’ve recently added the Phantom Gear as a Tier 3 part. This gadget is the upgraded version of a past part called Ghost Gear, and while it is active it will give you’re ship ghostly properties. The ship becomes intangible to all contact (except scrap, for you greedy guppies out there) and emits a haunting trail that damages and chills enemies. 
Preliminary Biome
The other main area that we are focusing on is a new place our heroes will traverse. The next area will be a Kelp Forest. Overgrown with vegetation and algae, this area is an organic locale that our fish friends must navigate through in order to proceed.
Or at least that is the plan anyway.
Right now it is in some very preliminary stages and not really that fleshed out yet, but I wanted to leave you with a very small preview of what we have so far.
So there you have it, as you can see we are starting to slowly make our way towards the “end” of the game rather than just staying in the beginning. We hope you like what you see, and if you want, you can leave a comment below or on our Facebook page as well as tweet at us. Until next time.
Wait, is that… No… It can’t be… can it?