Due to a very low interest in the game, I decided to postpone the development and continue working on my other projects until gamers get more interested and engaged, leaving comments or contacting me.
Everyone who I personally know were interested, but the interest over the Internet is currently quite the opposite. There's still 4-5 months, maybe even more, of work left for me to do to finish the game fully, the way I intend it to be, and it's quite a lot of time and effort for something that only a few dozen people will play.
I thought, since it's a game more closer to classic shmups, with a several interesting original features and mechanics never seen before, the interest would surely be bigger than interest in Invader Attack 2, but the case is shockingly opposite. I still don't get it why, but since there's not much feedback coming from different gamers on the Internet, that part might remain a mystery to me.
The game doesn't have a main menu currently and there are only 3-4 levels, not fully finished though, but it is playable, so if anyone is interested in trying this prototype (still alpha version prone to larger changes), let me know. I'd also appreciate any feedback based on just teaser of the game, is it something you'd play or not and, if so, why not. These things do help and shape the development.
Thanks!
It does look good but I think the lack of interest is because the market is satiated with similar games. Good luck with your other projects!
I didn't see mechanics that, for example, provide player with movement controls over shields and whatnot, in other similar games. It was one of the reasons I decided to make such a game, after playing many shmups. Anyway, thanks for commenting and for the wishes!
You talking right from the beginning of the video, orange map colors and the mere yellow sprite projectile did it, which should be an amazing plasma glow particle effect.
I'm failing to follow what you're saying. I'm not talking in the game or on the video and the yellow sprite projectiles did what?
I understand that this still has some way to go, but I would agree with sph!nx that the market is full of shmups, and you have to be really supremely unique to grab people. I don't want you to take the following as an insult, I think the game has promise and that's why I've got so much to say about it:
In the video, I didn't really see a push towards the unique features you talked about. And that's not to say that it isn't there, because I'm sure it is. What you should do is really highlight what makes your game stand out and show that aspect as much as you can in released videos, make people see what it is that's different.
Visually, I can see the choices you have taken, and the models themselves work quite nicely. However, I'd really like to see you use more detail in the textures and environments, as currently it looks a little blank. The UI, similarly, could perhaps be a little less generic, and the colour scheme perhaps made a little less intense. The box that the main ship is dropped in at the beginning looks really fantastic, to me the rest of the game should have that aesthetic.
Maybe also speed up the background scrolling, as currently it has a certain sluggishness. It's my opinion that a shmup should be frantic and exciting (e.g Dangun Feveron) and that looks a little like it's plodding along in places. There's just not enough happening on screen for the slower pace.
One thing that I don't have much good to say about, however, is the music. I'm a composer myself and my opinion is that the music should be ripped out and redone - There's very little melody, it doesn't seem to fit the theme and overall brings the whole tone down. SFX, however, work nicely.
A final thing is that for somebody who's motto is "I just love making games", stopping production because its not getting publicity seems an odd choice. You should finish the game because you love it and to hell with who sees or doesn't see it. I hope that this reaches it's full potential. Best of luck! :)
Wow, you really took your time to write the comment and I really appreciate it a lot, thank you for that! All arguments you listed I actually share with you. I'm not fully satisfied with the graphics either and I reused the music I made for Invader Attack 2, since I didn't had any time to compose new ones.
There are speeding ups and rotations and moving between alien structures in the game, but I cannot show everything that is supposed to be a surprise for the players. If I show that in the video or I tell people about it, then they'd know what to expect and won't be surprised. And I don't think it's a good policy revealing everything. Eg. someone made an adventure game, made a walkthrough video, 99% chance players will just watch the video and not play the game. While I fully agree with you on all other points, this is one I disagree with, strongly.
The game will be finished one day that is for sure, or remain a playable prototype, like a bunch of my Flash games. Since it does require substantial amount of extra work, I won't be releasing it any time soon. The interest in this game is much lower than in any of my previous games. Basically, all I'm getting here is comments from other developers, designers and musicians and while we're all gamers, I was more interested in hearing opinions of core shmup gamers.
You referred to Dangun Feveron which really is frantic and exciting, but in such game, mechanic of moving shields left/right and up/down, loses the point, since the player has no time to think strategically and mostly moves left/right, up down the whole ship all the time. So, the pace of the game will remain current with exception of special places where it will become faster, during transitions, some bosses, etc. I don't think pace has any effect besides affecting the realism. I think slower pace is more realistic as there will be very large structures and larger bosses.
Thank you for commenting and for the wishes and I wish you all the same in your line of work / hobby!