Posts by Evert

  • Going Abroad

    Quote from Pericolos0

    Be minimalist in your lifestyle, just don't own to much shit. When I moved to the US i pretty much condensed all my belongings to one suitcase. It felt awesome getting rid of all the stuff I don't really need . So basically be prepared to move without too much trouble.

    Yeah that made my DVD-collection way more awesome aswell

  • Pirates of New Horizons

    Tried it briefly (got the remote) through the browser, seems pretty cool

    I'm gonna try the download version later, the browser version was laggy at times, fucking up my mouse-control.

    After that Ill try and give you some feedback, solid work from what I've seen!!

  • Simon Aublet - 2D/3D artist

    Get rid of the sounds!!!!

    I think the menu can work, if there's less to choose from.

    And by that, I mean a lot less, 3-4 or something. Group stuff together.

    Sketches001, Sketches002, illustrations. Just add it all to one 2d category, same goes for 3D of course. The labels doesn't make sense for me as a viewer, (Neighbourhood life etc.). I have no idea what is behind that, which is not very good in a portfolio.

    Some solid stuff you've got there, but you have to click every link to find it which is super tedious

  • RAGE

    Quote from Psy

    Most people can't even tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps

    Bollocks! > It's like the difference between night and day.

    Agreed. Most people can't tell the difference between a 2k and a 1k texture tho, but the fps becomes obvious as soon as you press a button on the controller.

  • Resident Evil Afterlife trailer.

    haha. lirl

    I think all resident evil movies suck so bad. Not because they are mindless, but because they are so dull. Mindless and fun beats mindless and boring. And this one looked more mindless and fun then the previous ones, like they gave up...in a good way.

  • Designing for single player

    It is of course very individual which way you "plan" and build levels, but I'll try and write down how I usually try to work at home.

    I like writing down stuff for my non profesional stuff, but trying to keep it really basic.

    These small documents is very good when you get back to a level after a while, as simple reminders.

    I usually decide the "doors" first in a very basic document. These Doors are the end of events/puzzles, and will serve as points which the player must reach in order to progress, be it an actual door, a lift, an enemy which must be killed with a special weapon etc.

    When I have all my Doors decided to support progression from start to end of a level, then I start thinking of the puzzles/events which the player must solve to get them. This gives me a frame to work within, I will not change the doors, but it also gives me a lot of freedom inside the frame when iterating the actual gameplay/puzzle/combat which gets the player there.

    The door stays the same, but the way to get the key can be iterated a hundred times. This helps me to get the feeling of progression and pacing in early prototypes.

    I usually try not to draw a layout before this, I rather do some iterations in the game first, with the main events, and then if needed, for me myself or someone I'm working with, I try and do an overview map where I do some tweaks/big changes, before doing them in the editor.

    This is a part of the progression-tree me and Peris did for a puzzle-level set on some cool planet far away in space.

    Part 1

    Rocket’s tale

    Mission 3 – Search the perimeter

    a.Find energy source (Green Cube)

    i.Find a way to disable energy field to gain access to the cave.

    ii.Disable first energy emitter. (activate a platform that the player can jump onto, in order to reach the button)

    iii.Turn of second energy field.

    iv.Disable second and third energy emitters.

    v.Pick up Cube

    Mission 3 Completed

    Mission 4 – Activate the bridge

    a.Complete the bridge

    i.Initiate bridge system (1 button)

    ii.Insert Cube in socket

    b.Pick up Cube on the other side of the bridge

    Mission 4 Completed

    That helps a lot, we can place the objects where we want them, and always have the level playable from start to finish. Then we can tweak the actual gameplay when the player is aiming to collect said keys.

    Here in the level, it is important to show the player the bridge before giving telling him to find the energy source, or it will feel like a railshooter without shooting. But that is the iterative process, and up to how the level is built in geometry/lighting i.e. directing the player.

    On another note, the level hasn't been completed, so maybe this way isn't the correct one for me either

    Edit:

    For singleplayer another thing which is very helpful during the development. Watch people play your level, if possible. Ask people you know to come over and test it. This is very valuable together with e-friends writing down feedback after testing a beta or whatever. It is easier for you to see what works/doesn't work. And do not help them in anyway.

    If they get stuck for too long/frustrated it is always up to you as a designer to fix this, and never their fault because they didn't get it!