Ghost Song
1.1.8c - Fix for controller recognition issue
Implemented fix designed to address issue where some players could not get their controllers to by recognized.
The game comes out tomorrow!
Just about there!
Just a little reminder, the game comes out tomorrow! Early reviews are looking good, and we're heading into launch with very few bugs or glitches (that I'm aware of!).
Personally, I've been having fun doing a casual playthrough on my Steam Deck, where it's working very well!
To those who have supported me through the years, thank you! For those who will be playing it, I hope you enjoy your time in the game.
More tomorrow. Much love!
Matt
We have a Next Fest demo live now!
Ghost Song announcement trailer
[previewyoutube="5X71-wlczQU;full"]
It's been a long and unlikely ride, but it's really happening. I'll have more to say on this as we move forward -- For now, to those of you who have stuck with me for all these years, thank you!
Matt
Ghost Song Update
Below is a video that shows about the first 15 minutes of the game. Please also check the description of the video for some individual thoughts from me about things that are in it. Long story short, this is still a fairly hardcore game that avoids holding your hand, it's still quite open, and it's still meant to be a challenge. None of that has changed from the very start.
[previewyoutube="BkWz9c2UneU;full"]
This video comes from a recent demo that was made available to supporters and members of the Discord community and other friends. It's about an hour long, and, so far, I'm pleased that it's been pretty well received!
So -- The game is still being made. It's just slow going because doing anything decent by yourself gamedev wise is just really time consuming. And while I *still* can't provide a concrete timeline about release, I do want to give you all my assurances that the game is still being made, and that it's getting pretty far along now.
I may be a poor communicator at times -- but I've never stopped working on the game.
Thank you all for your support, and if what you've seen here interests you, please add Ghost Song to your wishlist if you haven't already! That specific act helps developers a lot!
Matt
@mattwhitedev
Quick Update; Abilities Showcase Video
Here's a video I recorded a few months ago for internal purposes that I think would be fun to actually share publicly. The purpose of the video is to showcase some of the weapons and items in the game to get a feel for how all of that looks. Nothing is really spoiled location wise, but a few items are obviously spoiled.
[previewyoutube="otGUGJOlaII;full"]
WIth this game I've done my best to balance typical action shooting (as seen in games like Metroid and Mega Man) with legit melee combat (more in line with something like Castlevania) and allow the player to lean on one or the other more just depending on their tastes!
Hope everyone's been doing well! I can't announce a date yet, but once I'm able to announce stuff like that I will do it here obviously!
Matt
Quick Update: Water & Fish in Ghost Song
Today we're going to look at water and fish. If you are able, please turn up your volume so you can listen to the ambient sound design and get a feel for the atmosphere I'm going for!
Video Link (Streamable)
When deciding how water would work in this game -- Both visually and gameplay-wise -- I decided to use retro games like Mega Man and Metroid as a starting point. I don't think that special swimming mechanics would be particularly fun in this game, so the player can still run and jump while underwater -- Just with significantly alterered physics and gravity. Since this can be challenging and limit your progress in certain sections, there exists items you can get that help you move more freely (or even jump super high!) while submerged.
The reason I felt like water was an important part of the game design is because of its oppressive nature and its mystery. Any time you're exploring something deep, dark, and murky you feel as though you're somewhere you't not meant to be, and it really -- at least in my mind -- Contributes to a sense of adventure. This is a game very much about openness, exploration, mystery, and overcoming the odds. Those are some of the most important pillars of the game.
With respect to how water works beyond movement, it's all very systems driven. My overall approach to the game is to make things work in (whenever it's possible or realistic) the way it seems most natural that they should work. So, in this case, that means that water cools off your gun barrel (gun barrel heat being a key and consequential mechanic in this game). As a bit of flavor, it also means that if you are dirty or bloody (both things that happen) water will wash you off. There are also fish that will move out of your way - Just like Call Of Duty: Ghosts! -- But if you're clever it may also be possible to sneak up on them and find means of capturing them!
What are some of your favorite and least favorite examples of water sections in sidescrollers? How do you feel about water generally? Let me know, I'm very curious!
Thank you very much for your time, and there will be more Quick Updates, as well as a playable demo, to come!
Matt
Let's look at old and new (GIF heavy post)
With this reboot came the opportunity to re-evaluate everything, and incorporate some new design ideas that weren't possible before.
(Note: Here's a direct link to an imgur album containing all of the gifs from this post in a compressed web video format. If you are having trouble loading the animations, try this)
Generational change
From the new version of the game
New and Old
One thing I want to preface with is I understand that aesthetics and enjoyment of features are subjective, and I understand there may be people who enjoy particular aspects of one version or the other more. That's inevitable, and -- in my opinion -- It's also hard to appreciate just how much more smooth and responsive the new game feels compared to the old until you just play it for yourself. It's also noteworthy that the character is larger on screen compared to before, which I feel makes the experience a bit more immersive.
So -- regardless of your preferences, the versions do look different, so here's a few new vs. old comparisons.
Running:
NEW:
New KS update, recent progress, and new demo soon
It took me a while to get up to speed and figure out exactly what I was going to do -- What features from the old game to fix or remove, what to add -- But here we are, in summer 2019, with a functioning game that is really starting to come into its own and almost ready to be played and tested.
New Update
This is the most recent update to Kickstarter, which I posted this morning. Here I discuss some of the recent additions to interface and melee combat (yea, melee combat) and if you scroll back to previous updates you can see some other things. You can also see some stuff on my twitter.
I haven't posted an actual news item here in a while, and I feel that may have been a mistake since some people have been left with the impression that the game was not being worked on.
To those who have stuck around, thank you so much, and there's much more to come.
Matt
Fun with ragdolls (gif heavy post)
After a little research, a new stencyl extension, and some tinkering, I had a functioning ragdoll.
It was simpler than I thought to get a basic ragdoll working -- Box2D already has features that are well suited to it. Just took a bit of trial and error to figure out what type of joints to use and how to set them up.
Here's what I got when I just swapped the ragdoll in on enemy death and nothing else:
This is a promising starting point, but we really need to start adding forces and playing with joint destruction to make it more fun.
Shotgun blasts can send them flying!
Physics can also cause some interesting bugs. I reluctantly fixed this after discovering it. :)
