Bingo The Multiva (Now with Public Beta!)

[Plom510]

That's weird. The mockup loaded just fine when I made the post, but it's still viewable if you click on it. I usually post game screenshots on the Facebook page, but since this is actually a planned stage for late game, I don't want to post it there. Is there anywhere else where I can host any future screenshots/mockups or would the attachments be just fine?

 

EDIT: It seems like editing the post brought the picture back, but I'm not quite sure for how long it'll stay fixed. I'd still appreciate suggestions for anywhere I can host the pics though.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Plom510

[GSF]

Pic looks fine now.

As for screenshots, imgur is pretty good.

[Plom510]

 

Finally got the level select menus done. As you can see, if you have collected a level's Red Coin or Bingo Emblem, there will be an icon overlapping each level's button. As soon as Verdant Valley's 2nd set of levels are done, there will be a button above that will allow you to switch between each world's sets of levels. I also plan to have the background change depending on which set you are viewing as Verdant Valley's 2nd set of levels will use the Sunset Valley background.

[Felik]

I see that you're quite passionate about your game and therefore I feel very sorry for you.

Art style, gameplay and character designs look so amateurish that it's hard to find your game interesting for an average person.

That's the reason why people are so indifferent about this thread (and your game too unfortunately).

 

The only way to make it more popular is to make art more professional looking and gameplay more fresh. And that would virtually mean restarting the game almost from scratch.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Felik

[Spykid]

I am going to say i disagree. I believe that a developers first game should be how the developer wants it... I always say this to myself... don't do it for the masses, do it for yourself. Sure, take advice and stuff, but don't completely change everything because some people don't like it. It doesn't need to be professional. Is plom a professional game developer... i don't think so... I say this about spark, Lake was making it the way he was making it, and sage came around and all of a sudden, he is questioning if he should make the game... People shouldnt make new developer feel like this. Give them pointers by all means, but not everyone is an artist, musician, level designer... so if its a 1 or 2 man project, dont expect everything to be covered. Im going to use my game as an example...

 

I am learning to code in CF2.5 so I hope to be a programmer. In order to teach myself (and have Mr.PotatoBadger spend hours on skype with me) I am making a sonic fangame.

 

Now I got lucky, I have a talented team on board, but that was because I was willing to let newer people to the SU forums, help me out. But if I did do this solo, there would be nothing original at all, crappy level design and poor gimmicks and stuff.

 

What I am trying to say is cut plom some slack, and realize how he is pouring his heart and soul into this game, as is Lake with Spark... trouble is, games like Freedom Planet set the bar extremely high for indie platformers nowadays

 

P.S I like the style, its different from most other platforms we see now... Keep up the good work, cant wait for the next demo

Edited September 15, 2014 by Spykid

[Light The Hedgehog]

Even without that said I think this game is actually pretty good. I personally like the simpler graphics. I will admit it needs some polish on the gameplay- That's the main thing that kept me from actually finishing the demo and posting a response. I was originally gonna do a short review of all the sage games but some of them gave me problems, in one way or another. But back on topic the thing that made me not come back to post an overview of this game was how I couldn't get into it. I should have infact came back to- but I didn't feel I played enough of the game to so here's this.

 

Jumping felt very sluggish, almost enough to even make platforming hard. Speaking of sluggish gaining speed was very hard also, making it very weird... per say. Especially with since he has Sonic's running animation. 

 

Having Sonic's animations is another thing, I think if you maybe just changed some of those the project not only would benefit from more originality but somethings would actually come off as less a problem like the running speed (even though either way I highly suggest you increase top speed AND acceleration) But overall it's okay, the graphics have less to do with the okay-ness over the gameplay which really takes it from something that could be good. Just need's more... um.. hm... Flow? Smoothness? Something.

 

Good job for the most part.

 

Edit: Hm, I'll go back and play it to see what all I think.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Light The Hedgehog

[Serephim]

I see that you're quite passionate about your game and therefore I feel very sorry for you.

Art style, gameplay and character designs look so amateurish that it's hard to find your game interesting for an average person.

That's the reason why people are so indifferent about this thread (and your game too unfortunately).

 

The only way to make it more popular is to make art more professional looking and gameplay more fresh. And that would virtually mean restarting the game almost from scratch.

 

 

I know alot of people here live and die by this philosophy, but trying to start straight from "professional" isn't always the best choice, and TBH i'm starting to doubt how often the mindset actually turns out beneficial. He's not going to magically go from amateur to not amateur just by restarting his game.

 

 

 

What I am trying to say is cut plom some slack, and realize how he is pouring his heart and soul into this game, as is Lake with Spark... trouble is, games like Freedom Planet set the bar extremely high for indie platformers nowadays

 

Not to mention, Strife put money into FP's kickstarter, and then used that money to spiff up the graphics. But I doubt he'd have gotten to that step if he scrapped the game everytime he realized he didn't sprite as well as someone he could contract for it.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Serephim

[Plom510]

Not sure how I can explain this without trying to be rude but...

 

Everything about my game is going to look amateurish since I'm really only 1 guy. You're asking for a lot from me, and yes you can argue I can make the game look/play better if I put a lot of effort into it. Also, I don't believe in wanting to be popular. As I said in the Spark thread, I'm fine if my game will never be popular as long as the few people who know about my game like it and enjoy it and help me improve. A lot of initial projects for up and coming devs are always going to be way below professional quality when it's a one-man team.

 

I'll be real here. A couple of OLDER versions of my game were much, MUCH more horrible than what I'm making right now. I won't go into specifics, but I will briefly summarize what older versions of Bingo The (Multiva/Chao) were going to be like. I apologize if this post becomes a history lesson.

 

*There will be links to older versions that I still have on my hard drive.

 

("Bingo The Chao" 2007)

This is when I first came up with Bingo, Salamon, and Darth. Salamon was originally a Kirby recolor, while the other two were Chao. Everything about the game looked like it was made by a 12-year old, and I was literally that age at the time. The soundtrack utilized copyrighted material and overall, the game is very boring and didn't even have a proper engine.

 

("Bingo HyperBlast" 2008 - 2009)

I attempted a different take, while still being a platformer. Bingo and Salamon were redesigned. Bingo still retained his yellow arms from since his creation, but wore shoes and gloves that were STRIKINGLY similar to Sonic, as all of his sprites were edited from Sonic Advance's Sonic sprites. Salamon appearance is similar to what he is now minus the hair and he had gloves as well. There was another character that I came up with named Octane, who would be the "Shadow" of the game. The game is very generic and it had problems as well, but at least it had somewhat of an engine.

 

("Bingo The Chao" 2010 - 2011)

The game I posted a while ago in this very thread as an April Fools joke. Bingo lost the gloves and shoes this time around. Graphics are not very pleasing to the eye and sprites were inconsistent. Gameplay was generic as well, and touching enemies meant instant death. Not very fun if you ask me, but the download is above if you feel like torturing yourself.

 

("Bingo The Multiva" 2012 - 2013)

The most playable out of the bunch. It's okay at the very least. This version is actually running on the same engine as the current version of Bingo The Multiva. Problem is that the screen size is VERY small and you can't tell if certain jumps will be safe. Especially with the unfinished hard mode. This one was close to completion, but I ultimately scrapped it. Normal mode does have a start to finish, but with no bosses at all. Play it for yourself and you can get an idea why I ditched it.

 

("Bingo The Multiva" 2014 - )

The version of the game that you all are seeing and that is in development. With this version, I became more serious on finishing it as you can tell. A lot more effort is going into this project and I really want this to be as good as it can be. I chose to go with a simplistic art style since, why not? It is visually pleasing if done right, and with the size of everything, I could put as much detail as I want if I choose to do so. The soundtrack is going to be very original now that I have someone else helping with the music. At least this game has 6 characters (only 1 playable obviously) and I'm going to get voice acting in this.

 

You may notice that there's a download link to a public beta of the game that I just compiled. I was meaning to make this post just on the beta build alone, but I got carried away with explaining my game's history. Decided to just make this build since I want to see if any opinions have changed on the gameplay, but changes and bug fixes aren't the only thing the public beta has to offer.

 

-You can play through the first set of Verdant Valley levels! (12)

-There are unlockable Bonus and Emblem Stages! (4 for each)

     -1 Red Coin/Emblem for the 1st Stage, 3 for the 2nd, 6 for 3rd, and 10 for 4th

-You can uncurl out of rolling by pressing the X key again.

-Bounce physics have been slightly changed so that Bingo will slowly gain some height if bounces are timed correctly.

-Bingo's Dash can now pull Coins towards him. I recommend trying this in Emblem Stage 01 to really see how powerful this addition is!

-Includes a boss fight with the Manager with voice dialogue from Darth during that level.

-Each level needs to be unlocked by completing the last one.

-The save file now writes in a new file, and this will be the file that'll be used in the final game.

 

I also plan on featuring the public beta at NCFC 2014 rather than SAGE 2015, as that'll come sooner and maybe there can be more content for SAGE. Another reason why I decided to release a public beta is that I can't seem to find people who would want to test my game, so why not release a build to the public? The game is going to be free at the end either way.

 

Apologies for the giant wall of text, but I hope you guys at least enjoy the beta as well as checking out some of the older versions of Bingo The Multiva/Chao!

Edited September 16, 2014 by Plom510

[GSF]

Only thing I can say here is that you should keep working on your stuff, Plom.

It doesn't matter how professional things look - this is not a contest. I can see the 'creator's spririt' that is being put on, and that speaks volumes. Most of us did our fangames in the past thinking they were professional as fuck, and looking back we can only cringe. It's a part of learning and getting used to things.

 

I'm fine if my game will never be popular as long as the few people who know about my game like it and enjoy it and help me improve.

That says it all. This is a free game, after all. It's not for the professionalism or profit. It's to fullfill a desire of creating and having at least someone enjoy it.

Remember how Pixel described Cave Story? It basically went down something like this: CS is a platform game. There is a save feature that allows you to resume from where you left.

On the other side you have all these 'indie' developers that only know how to toot their horns and just want the attention *cough*Phil*cough*Fish

There are good indie devs, but a sizeable bunch thinks they're celebrities instead. It's really ugly.

Plom, you have the potential. Bingo might not be a hit, but the most important thing is that you are learning from it, and there's no reason for this to be your first and final project. Expand your horizons, and keep rockin'.

That being said, time to check out your new beta, and how your project evolved through the years. I'll talk about the game itself when I'm done with it.

[Felik]

I was not criticizing anyone for being indifferent. No one owes him popularity.

I was just stating the bitter truth. This game will never be any popular, this thread very graphically confirms this. Plom seems to care about public reception of the game so he should understand why is it so and how is it possible to change that fact.

[Pulse0]

I know alot of people hee live and die by this philosophy, but trying to start straight from "professional" isn't always the best choice, and TBH i'm starting to doubt how often the mindset actually turns out beneficial. He's not going to magically go from amateur to not amateur just by restarting his game.

----------------------------------------

Not to mention, Strife put money into FP's kickstarter, and then used that money to spiff up the graphics. But I doubt he'd have gotten to that step if he scrapped the game everytime he realized he didn't sprite as well as someone he could contract for it.

I think im goona side with Felik on this one.

Yes, professionalism isn't easy to come by and Yes, starting over doesn't guarantee any thing. HOWEVER whats majorly missed is that people act like Freedom Planet was made on a whim with something that instantly popped his head with no effort.when in reality the project took from 2011 to be made and tons of fleshing out revisions and changes were made to be successful, even before the kickstarter for more help.

Bingo the Multiva IMO is the idea that should be seriously evaluated and/or rethought.

Right now It seems unfleshed out, with common place ideas, that anyone can think of. Nothing stands out, it feels like not enough effort went into the concept alone and very much like a sonic clone, despite the reality that you do care about your project. Professionally speaking it's taught as rule of thumb your first major child hood idea is the most difficult to flesh out and l normally the worst ideas you'll come up with, and the one most taught to throw out.

Most armature makers jump with the first idea that sounds good to them, which isnt the way.

It takes thought, patience and determination, games of this nature cant be professionally done overnight.

so in short what im saying great games don't come easy - Bingo the Mutiva isnt very appealing currently imo but you can get there - My advice Dig deeper inside yourself and come out with something fresh and remarkable and something that works for you, but take advices of improvement that aid your vision; sometimes it may not be what you want the hear; Ive been there befor - Don't fall in love with first ideas.

PS: image tip - you dont have to be super pro artist, find a interesting yet simple style is all you need, and Grow with that. (limbo for example simple and interesting) but do learn the basics asap when you can. Remember image get people interested game play keeps them, and strive for greatness always, take small step to ge there but always strive to be better

Edited September 16, 2014 by Pulse0

[Faseeh]

I think Plom should go on. It's all a learning experience dude. Just try your best and if ya can't satisfy some people now, I'm sure you can later on. It takes time to improve. 

[Serephim]

Most armature makers jump with the first idea that sounds good to them, which isnt the way.

It takes thought, patience and determination, games of this nature cant be professionally done overnight.

 

Felik is still coming from the angle that he should stop making the game because it isn't professional and is never going to be popular...and if that's what he's really implying, then i find it completely self-defeating. Just because it isn't a sonic fangame doesn't mean it has to be an indie game on the level of Cavestory or Super Meat Boy. 

 

The whole point of this is supposed to be self expression through your creations. He himself said that he doesn't care if it never becomes popular, and chances are great that it won't, but there is still very valuable experience to gain from going through the motion. And you guys may have a hard time believing this, but good game theory and thorough research of games you like is not the same thing as game development. It's just not.

 

it's okay to realize that you need improvement, but does that mean you should go hide in the mountains and only emerge when you're godlike at whatever you're doing? Knowledge isn't the same thing as wisdom, and if he really wants to keep making games until they're popular, he's going to get the blunt truth one way or the other.

 

 

I see absolutely no harm in this whatsoever unless he quit his day job.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Serephim

[Felik]

Easy, pal. Don't put words into my mouth please. I stand by the statement that this game is not gonna become popular, but at no point did I say he should stop making it. Who am I, his mom?

[Plom510]

 

I made a sprite for Salamon. Since I know I'm not that good with making characters, I used Bingo's idle sprite as a base for the head, torso, and arms. The ears, hair, and feet are new. Salamon legs are 3 pixels shorter than Bingo's as he isn't supposed to be as tall as him. I know if I'm going to be making the rest of his sprites, it'll be a real challenge. I'm also thinking about making him a playable character as well but his playstyle will be a bit of a challenge.

 

So far, I know Salamon's jumping will be the same as Bingo, but he will be able to fly for a short time with his ears. He won't be able to roll at will so the tricky part will be thinking of a method of attacking as well as giving him a special move. As for attributes, Salamon will have a slower speed cap and a greater jump height. Even though Salamon's max speed will be lower when walking normally, it will still be possible for him to go as fast as Bingo via boosters, springs, etc.

[Rawr]

Just a suggestion but for your sprites you really should think about adding a lot more contrast. Heavier shadows etc, Salamon kind of looks like a big white blob with no depth just because all of his features are the same colour. Even his eyes kind of blend in with the rest of his face so it looks awkward. Bingo only slightly gets away with it just because he is made up of different colours but it still could be a lot better! In the end this is all up to you though but those are my suggestions.

Here is some good tips if you want : http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299&PID=139392#139392

 

Best of luck!

[Highwire4]

Speaking of the sprites I just noticed something you could change. Bingo's shoes are way wider than the rest of his body, which gives the illusion that his hit box is wider than it actually is. I would suggest shortening them a little bit.

[Plom510]

 

Now there will be a character select before you go choose a level. As you can see, Salamon will be a playable character. In terms of gameplay, he is complete. His animations and voice clips are still missing at the moment. As soon as I consider Salamon complete, I will be making a video showcasing how Salamon plays.

[Riseodvi]

They removed the Like button? They removed the goddamn LIKE BUTTON?

 

I've always been a bit on-the-fence about what I think of your art, but that character select screen looks freakin' awesome.

 

I'm looking forward to that next demo!

[Light The Hedgehog]

That looks freaking amazing! As Riseodivi said. I'm a definite shoo in to get the next demo.

[Plom510]

Unfortunately, while Salamon is complete at this point, I won't be able to share his gameplay yet as I will not have any internet for a week.

Aside from that, I am able to give a technical update. I am currently reworking the programming for sounds as I will be utilizing GameMaker Studio's New Audio Engine. I've been using the legacy audio engine for quite some time, but only now I understand how the new audio engine works. Prepare to see a LARGE decrease in file size for future versions as the new audio engine uses the .ogg format. That is something I wanted to use for the music as I was kind of forced to use the .wav format so I can have the seamless loops as .mp3s always leave a slight pause when the music is looping.

[Plom510]

 

Here's some gameplay of what to expect for NCFC 2014! Not much is different from the public beta I released a while ago except for the inclusion of Salamon. You can also see his gameplay in the video. He still doesn't have any voice clips yet for his gameplay, but hopefully there will be by the time NCFC rolls around.

 

The above video was recorded by KiddoCabbusses

[WreckingPrograms]

Can't wait to play as the new character, his moves look fun! How many levels will there be in the NCFC demo?

[Plom510]

The NCFC demo will be the same as the public beta with updates and fixes. So there will be 12 levels to play (20 if you include the bonus/emblem levels).

[ZigZaX]

Dont mean ti bring out the "ripoff!!" Bandwagon, but a lot of the changes in this game feel eerily similar to freedom planet. Could be pure coincidence, but thought it was worth pointing out.