Thanks! In one of those blogs that I planned to write, I'll go through the whole story behind how we got there. It definitely took a bunch of work to get it looking that way... and a few arguments.
Thank you, sir! I'm excited to share some more, particularly via a proper trailer. Going to be putting that together pretty soon here, just need to find the right angle.
Truth be told, I haven't done my due diligence yet on the PC marketplaces. Figured I'd start with Greenlight and move from there. The Windows store is definitely a good landing place though and I'll have to figure out how to get published there. Same goes for the Mac app store.
Once I wrap the Wii U version, I'll be getting the PC/Mac/Linux version all squared away for release. The bigger challenge there is setting up a server for the UGC. Not sure I can burden this poor PixlBit server with that much more traffic!
Don't worry, Peter - it's going to hit the PC too! Just need to get through stupid Steam Greenlight...
Thanks Matt! It's been a long road, but in the end, I think Chessa and I will both be happy we did it. Never in my life did I think I'd actually fulfill my dream of creating and releasing a video game, so this will be quite the accomplishment.
Hopefully from here we can continue with this process and release other games in the future, particularly ones that are more creative and original. This was a good starting game though and I'm glad we didn't bite off more than we could chew.
Absolutely, Cary! We are trying to release it on the Wii U, so once the game gets through Nintendo's lotcheck process and they provide me with review codes, I will be certain to send one your way.
We're also targeting a PC release via Steam, but we'll need to do the whole Greenlight thing to get there. I should be opening that campaign very soon, so I'll be sure to share details here and ask that everyone please vote for us!
I've written the game in Javascript, with the help of HTML 5 and CSS 3 for the UI. It's an... interesting... language. Having done plenty of web development, I have a bunch of experience with the language, but never really "used" it, so to speak. Now that I've gotten knee deep in it, I've really got a handle on how to do javascript right.
It's kind of a crazy language, because there are just closures absolutely freakin everywhere. Not to mention, it's all event-driven, so order of operations can be a serious challenge. Something as simple as getting a loading screen to pop-up took some mental acrobatics.
After years and years of programming primarily Java, it's hard NOT to think in object-oriented. Once the switch flipped to that mindset, it kind of got stuck there. Even with my game, I'd say that I fell into the hole early on of trying to make it very object-oriented instead of playing to the functional strengths of Javascript. It took a near full-rewrite to right my wrongs, and even then, I still have stuff that's a bit sloppy for my tastes.
I guess the thing to remember when doing OO is SOLID. It's a good set of guiding principles on how to do Object Orientation right. Hopefully your teachers have pointed you towards that before throwing you into the fire!
For what it's worth, I was able to get the OO stuff straight by building a little list management system, which ultimately became the Game Collection system you see here on PixlBit. Modeling and implementing that system really brought clarity to the concepts for me, hopefully your Battleship game does the same for you!
If you do have any pointed questions, shoot me a PM or an email, I'm glad to help!
Me and Chessa dropped more than 100 hours into Xenoblade (something like 120), so don't feel bad!
Yeah! I went back for them once and couldn't find them, started killing dudes and then after killing one in particular it said I had gotten them back. That was nuts.
Regardless, I do have a hell of a time seeing them. But I'm sure I'll get used to it. There's a lot going on in the environments, so that has taken some getting used to compared to the more sparsely populated worlds in Dark Souls.
It definitely seems like they trimmed the build types back significantly. Looking back on the DLC for Dark Souls 1 though, it seems pretty clear that Miyazaki was heading in this direction anyway. Tanking anything in Oolacile was pretty tough, and it forced you into a build that was lighter, more agile, and didn't rely much on a shield. That's basically what Bloodborne is from the get-go.
I guess it will all depend on what NG+ is like. If there's a significant difference between NG and NG+ like DS2, I could see secondary playthroughs still being enjoyable. Also, I know nothing of the Chalice Dungeons, but that might add some mileage too.
Played Bloodborne in earnest for the first time last night. Really digging it so far, I love the changes they made from the Souls games. Wandering enemies and the removal of a shield makes it feel tremendously different. Haven't really messed with the parrying yet, but I'm curious to give that a shot.
Only two complaints I've got so far are the long loading times and the very hard to see graphic they use where your blood echoes drop on death. I can barely see that stupid thing, whereas the bright green glowy thing was always pretty evident in Dark Souls. Pretty minor issues in the grand scheme of things though. Excited to jump back in later!
