Ninety-five percent of Floodgate’s planning stage is done. All that’s left is to smooth out a few gameplay ideas and one of the endings. After that’s done (tomorrow), I’ll devote myself to developing a playable alpha, and I probably won’t post until then.
After Floodgate, I plan to make games using the following concepts:
Naomi’s Story: a side-scrolling steampunk fantasy RPG with active combat, stealth, and a character-driven story about a young assassin. Includes a moral choice system based on the concept of gray vs. gray.
Lexus Program: a pseudo-superhero game influenced by Infamous and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Story-driven, more gray vs. gray moral choice.
Dubstep Hero (working title): a sci-fi bullet-hell shooter where enemy ships exploding, bullets flying, and quick movements all produce dubstep sounds. The soundtrack will be made by the player in-game. This is a very rough concept for now, and it may undergo major changes in design.
Floodgate 2 (working title): only a spiritual sequel, following the behind-the-scenes heroes of Floodgate. Play as rescue workers and save people. Of all the concepts listed here, this is the least likely to be made.
Bards and Killers (working title): direct sequel to Naomi’s Story. Contains singing and playing instruments as mechanics, though I’m still brainstorming ways to make them fun, unique, and sensible (for example, I won’t make the player plug in an electric piano or plastic guitar).
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And now, I will go work on Floodgate.
I spent the whole day today getting accustomed to GML, and when I ventured into sprite work, I realized that I was working way too small. A 50×30 sprite may work for a game that doesn’t need to pay any attention to subtlety, but for what I want to express using Ivy’s body language alone, I’ll have to double the sprite size. Yeah, any good developer could have told me that, and yes, this is my first time doing sprite work of this level. It’s a great learning experience, though.
While a 100×50 sprite will still be too small for accurate facial expressions, I can use gestures a bit better now. I may update with more sprites (and possibly animations) tomorrow depending on how much I can get done.
Admittedly, I didn’t do as much as I could have today. But I’m a little more familiar with the engine I’m working in and I’ve got a really basic sprite. It might be bigger in the final game, but I’ll see how this plays for now.
Original.
Larger, for clarity.
I need to put more thought into her design. Initially, I made her dress blue, symbolic of calm and of water, and she’s got white accessories–symbolic of purity. Yes, I want those, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something important (aside from her shoes).
I did independent studies in design for quite some time, but never approached it the correct way, and now that’s coming back to bite me. Now, as expected, I need help. Are there any pixel artists out there willing to give me some tips? I’d greatly appreciate all the help I can get.
Floodgate will start off easy and get harder, like most other games. Difficulty curves are a given in games. Initially, I was considering doing something like Cave Story, where you could get the best possible ending by beating an extremely difficult level. But then I looked back at Floodgate’s concept. Ivy isn’t a hero. She’s not entrusted with saving a race or ending a war. She doesn’t even fight in the course of her game.
I’m still conflicted about it, somehow. Should Ivy have an opportunity for absolute redemption? One of the things I’m trying to portray here is a child’s helplessness in an unstable marriage, but does that mean I should cut down any chance Ivy has of resolving her own insecurity and cowardice? No. Ideally, in the best ending, Ivy should face her fears head-on. With that comes a great challenge.
To best accomplish this challenge, Ivy will save a life. Not just hers. In a hurricane and flood, there are obviously going to be people and animals left behind. How heroic would it be for Ivy to free a man trapped in a crashed car, or let a dog out of a submerging house? When I think about it, it seems that things like this would do well scattered throughout the game–not isolated in a final, heroic sequence. Of course, saving someone or something else would require precious time and wouldn’t just be a no-brainer “save everyone” thing.
What reward would Ivy get from saving people? If the player chooses to sacrifice time, s/he should be rewarded reasonably. At this point, I’d like recommendations. I have a few ideas, but I need to playtest them before settling on anything, and I’m just getting comfortable with GML–so playtests won’t come for awhile.
If Ivy saves people throughout the game, however, it would seem that the “face your problems” theme is eliminated, as Ivy is solving others’ problems for them. Well, not all problems are solvable alone. Needing help ties in well with the helplessness I’m trying to portray.
What happens in the end, then? What would Ivy’s redeeming moment be if she saves people throughout the course of the game? It would have to be something that will almost surely kill her, but that will save someone else. Then the player would get the chance to get the best ending by being totally awesome. Even if the players can’t achieve that ending, a heroic sacrifice isn’t too bad an ending. That said, taking the chance should be an option as well. The player could just ignore the situation and continue on, getting one of the better endings.
There’s a lot I need to playtest, but I need suggestions. I have yet to see a great game made by one person without some degree of feedback.
Is there any reason for there to be a graphic user interface or menu system in Floodgate? I could have a health bar and an energy bar, but ultimately, could they do anything that the gameplay couldn’t? In place of a health bar dropping, Ivy could limp or walk slower or hold her ribs or whatever else was injured. Red could eat away at the corners of the screen, or black, depending on the type of injury. Would that not be better than a couple of bars?
And now for menus. This, I may actually have to include, but even if I do, it wouldn’t be a traditional menu. I’ve seen a thing before where the “menu” was simply a cinematic and some music with the option to start the game, and I’m considering something like that in case I use a menu at all. Of course, there has to be a place you can turn on and off the content filter. A simple menu with story exposition in the background may be ideal, but I’ll try out a few things.
What would you recommend for a menu or GUI? I want Floodgate to be as immersive as a 2D game can be, so I’m looking for something subtle or, at least, something that won’t break the flow of the game.
I’ve been devoting most of my time on this project to perfecting the story, character, and themes, but a reader noted in my second post that I wasn’t considering gameplay much–and he was right. I need to fix that.
I’m always open to input, but especially so here. Please suggest gameplay features you think would fit the game. I’m looking for things that would retain the serious tone of the game while still making it fun enough to be considered a game.
My initial ideas are as follows:
– As a hurricane is in progress, things are going to be flying around. Therefore, dodging and blocking mechanics are imperative.
– The player is driven forward by a flood. It’s mild at first, but once the “tutorial section” is completed, the floodgate breaks and a time limit is set.
– Catching flying items. Ivy can potentially catch the lid of a trash can and use it to defend herself as long as the makeshift shield remains intact.
– Running. In the beginning of the game, Ivy injures her ankles and can’t run for very long. Therefore, timing and conserving Ivy’s energy and health is necessary.
I’m also tossing around the idea of Ivy needing something to shield her from the cold (and have different endings, both good and bad, considering how much cold and rain she was exposed to during the game). A hypothermia system? I’d need to playtest a few things.
So, suggestions? I’m open to anything at this point. In fact, forget about matching the game’s tone. The best stories include the whole gamut of emotions. Of course, you can only go so far, but my point still stands: open to everything.
I was hesitant to add even an optional filter at first, but I’ve decided to add one. It will be completely optional.
I was hesitant because filtering out potentially disturbing sequences would reduce the psychological impact of the scene. I want Floodgate to be taken seriously, and I don’t think it would be taken the same way if different people could see different versions of the game.
I decided to add a filter because no matter how invested I am in my game, it won’t mean anything if nobody wants to play it. Most people don’t want to see little girls die, and that was in part how I was going to make dying have real consequences. However, I figured if my writing was strong enough, I could give Ivy’s deaths impact without relying on “gritty realism.”
This filter is optional for obvious reasons. In the case that players don’t want to see Ivy die, I can make the screen cut to black the moment Ivy is killed. If the filter is not toggled, the player can see the full death. I think this will work, but I’ve yet to test it. I think the immediate cut to black will actually be fairly powerful if I pull it off right.
What do you think? Is there a better way to handle a content filter? Any objections to what I’ve said? Anything else? I’d love to hear more opinions than just my own.
Multiple Endings and Themes
This is a topic I’ve been pondering recently, and it wasn’t even Mass Effect 3’s ending that brought it on. In older art forms, there could only be a single story told. Not until interactivity was brought into art was it possible to provide a different outcome to the story based on the player’s actions (or lack of).
In my current work-in-progress, Floodgate, the heroine can die. She can also survive. Either way, the game ends, and if she dies, it’s not a traditional game over. Of course, I don’t intend to make Floodgate a shallow game, so I’ve written the story to incorporate a few themes. What I’ve been pondering is how to make both possibilities conform to the same ones. If Ivy, the heroine, drowns in the flood or falls to her death, how can I make that put the same message across as the good ending?
Earlier today, I found my answer: the themes don’t have to be the same. In fact, they can’t. If Ivy dies, the theme that comes across is a message to parents: watch over your children. If she survives, that theme is still there, but nowhere near as strong.
Before I go any further, I may need to explain the story. In Floodgate, Ivy’s parents are fighting. Over what doesn’t matter. Ivy is neglected either way. She’d be constantly brought up during arguments, but never treated like a human being (ask the child of divorced parents how that feels)–always asked to take sides and condemn one or the other. Of course, she can’t stand it, and eventually runs out to a field of flowers a mile or so from her house. That’s when the hurricane arrives.
I’ve run into another problem, though: the happy ending doesn’t work. Ivy is reunited with her parents and that’s that. They may resolve themselves to get along better with each other in order to make sure Ivy doesn’t walk out while they’re fighting (as she does in the beginning of Floodgate), but if the conflict is solved for them, what do they learn? Ultimately, Ivy’s death would hold much more impact.
Happy endings are my favorite, but I’ve noticed that “pure” happy endings in which everything is resolved and everyone is happy rarely sanction a powerful theme. Tragedy, I’ve noticed, is much easier to write.
Now, I may be completely misleading myself here, but I think it may be best to erase Floodgate’s current good end and replace it with something that leaves some things open. For example, Ivy could find her way to the wrong village. That way, her parents could still feel terrible about their negligence and she could still be alive. Ivy learns that running away from her problems won’t solve them and her parents learn that they’re not the ones who suffer most from their conflicts. In this sort of ending, the messages are clear and the ending is hopeful. Having Ivy end up in another village is a bad example, but bear with me for now–this game isn’t even in alpha yet.
Admittedly, that’s all fairly shallow, and I’m working on increasing the depth of the story and characters. As this is a man vs. nature story, it’s harder to write well than man vs. man or man vs. self.
Content Warning
Another thing I’ve been considering is the issue of censorship. It’s generally taboo for a child to die in a game, as publishers can’t take the risk of bad public relations in the wake of mindless child-killing. Even when said killing isn’t mindless, developers and publishers alike acknowledge that video games are still seen in a fun, immature light. That’s why The Hunger Games didn’t get a video game adaptation, even though the concept is perfect for it. People don’t want to make light of children’s deaths, and the people making the games don’t want anyone to think they’re making light of children’s deaths.
Indie developers don’t have to worry about this quite as much, but in games where killing is the central mechanic, designed to feel fun, it’s still difficult to justify the use of said mechanic to end a child’s life.
In Floodgate, killing isn’t the main mechanic, but Ivy can still be killed directly by the player. My reason for keeping her age between 10-12 (even I haven’t decided for sure) is mainly to draw more sympathy from the players, but it also helps to keep a child in danger where an adult or teenager could easily avert said danger. For example, dodging a tree trunk rolling down a hill at you would be a lot easier for an 18-year-old than a 10-year-old.
Currently, I don’t think I’ll censor any of Ivy’s deaths. I feel that I can handle the story well enough to justify the lack of a censor when a girl is crushed by a falling tree. No, I won’t do something stupid like have blood spurt out anime-style. All I’m aiming for is realism (as much as possible in a 2D game). If realism means having some of Ivy’s death scenes being added to a guro or ryona compilation on Youtube, then so be it. I won’t sacrifice artistic integrity for the sake of avoiding such things.
That said, I need to consider what kinds of people will be playing Floodgate. An optional content filter wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea either. I’ll post more on that topic later.
Anyway, if there’s anyone following this blog, what do you think? Do I have the right idea? Do you have any advice?
Currently in the works is a side-scrolling, story-driven indie game about a young girl fleeing from a flood, through a hurricane, trying to find her parents. It will have meaning. It will be thought-provoking. It will be enjoyable.
I want players to leave the game remembering something other than a cool headshot. I want to explore what games can do as an artistic medium. I want to demonstrate, as many indie developers have before me, that games can be so much more than what they are now.
Console Out: Indie Games 