19 replies to this topic

[ziggler1]

On request of MetaBlackYoshi, I am posting the finished Game Maker Community Game in the creations forums.

GMCG: The Arcade

A collection of games within a game.

So what's it about?
The Game Maker Community Game (GMCG) is a collaborative project. It is a hub world containing several games to play and unlock.

Controls
Move with the WASD or arrow keys. Run by double tapping and jump with space.
Leave a minigame at anytime with the home key.
Return to the arcade entrance by pressing enter.
Exit the game by pressing escape.

A number of game are locked in the start. Unlock games by getting high scores in the available mini-games.
Progress saves automatically.

Download now!

And have some screen shots!

Edited by ziggler1, 27 November 2011 - 05:24 AM.

[RekNepZ]

It was okay, but frankly, I was expecting a lot more.
The Arcade area was very confusing and the games, when I finally found them, where rather dull.
If you give it some more work though, you could make it a lot better.

[Supertoad25]

There was an error in Adv. of Jimmy Jones, in level 3 if you stand on the scale too long it, this error will occur:

___________________________________________
ERROR in
action number 3
of  Step Event
for object obj_bucket:

Setting instance to non-existing sprite: 586

Also these games aren't really that good, and some make no senses, of course I've only played 2 so far.

[Meta Black Yoshi]

Also these games aren't really that good, and some make no senses, of course I've only played 2 so far.

Well, the best were saved for last.
A couple of members have suggested to me that it might be too hard to unlock the first few mini-games, so I've been thinking I should re-upload, making it easier to unlock new mini-games, fixing bugs like the one just mentioned, and fixing an error in the credits.
Do you think that would help at all?

One of my very favorite mini-games in the whole thing is the second to last one that gets unlocked, Vector Rockets by ziggler1.
That game is awesome and I think that everyone needs to try it out.
The graphics are simple, but coded effects add quite a bit of flare,
and the game is challenging, a combination between asteroids and fruit ninja,
which quite a bit of variety between the levels.
In my opinion it is the most polished out of all of the games.

Thether-ball Extreme: ZE, also by ziggler1, is also quite polished.

My second favorite mini-game is Dean's Dark, though I may be a bit biased there since I worked on it. I had wanted to add more lighting based puzzles and tools to the game,
but even in its current state it is still very enjoyable and challenge (maybe too challenging).
Has anyone else been able to make it past the boss fight in that game?

Also, for those who played through some of the mini-games, what are your favorite games?
Thanks for the comments.

-Meta

[chance]

A couple of members have suggested to me that it might be too hard to unlock the first few mini-games...

I'm even worse off than that. Guess I'm just a klutz... but I couldn't find any of the mini-games. I like the look and feel of the arcade alright. Nice job on that. But the only area I could enter was the "haunted" area. Still didn't see any mini-games. What am I doing wrong?

I'm concerned that other first-time players won't know what's there. So they have no way of knowing whether they missed anything. Maybe you could list the various areas within the arcade, and list the mini-games in each one.

.

Edited by chance, 07 November 2011 - 02:34 PM.

[ziggler1]

I'm glad you like my games Meta.

It was okay, but frankly, I was expecting a lot more.
The Arcade area was very confusing and the games, when I finally found them, where rather dull.
If you give it some more work though, you could make it a lot better.

Thanks for the honesty! I understand that some of the games might be dull, but many of our contributors are not as experienced with Game Maker. Respect to them for spending the effort to write a game. The GMCG is about the community working together after all, regardless of skill level.

Ultimately, we succeeded in releasing a game, take it how you will, but I personally think that is an impressive feat in itself.

[Rusty]

I should be watching this thread shouldn't I?

Also, chance, the only games unlocked at the start of the Arcade are Ruby's Adventure and the Adventures of Jimmy Jones? I forget what the second one is called but they're in the Ancient Zone.

(You get to the Ancient Zone by either going all the way through the Haunted Zone or turning right as you enter the arcade.)

[chance]

Also, chance, the only games unlocked at the start of the Arcade are Ruby's Adventure and the Adventures of Jimmy Jones...

That's my concern. By organizing the collection this way, some games may never get played. If players don't score enough on those unlocked games, or don't like those first games, they'll never see the other games.

I realize most level-based games do this. But this may not appropriate for a community-based collection of mini-games. So I have two suggestions for future versions:

• Allow players to see ALL the games, before they start.
  -- Maybe have a "marque" at the entrance? Or maybe a mini-map of the arcade? That way, players can see the whole arcade at a glance. They won't miss things by wandering in the wrong direction.
  
• Let players play any game, in any order. Like a true arcade.
  
• Instead of unlocking games a few at a time, just give points for each game.
  -- Of course, not all games have to give the same points. Maybe the best games (Leader's choice?) could give more.

... just some thoughts and concerns. The Arcade is still good like it is.

[YellowAfterlife]

I support idea of having all games accessible from start - its simply too hard to get enough score in those two:
I don't find Ruby's Adventure playable at all - movement is bugged and lasers are quite... wtf - did anyone complete this game in less than 50 tries?
Adventure of Jimmy Jones is playable, however this is simply race against the clock, and that gives a cap on max score.

In "Asteroid Game", there are errors of un-existing sound each time you collide with something on second part.

Other games are at varying stages of completition - I feel a bit sad for not spending time to polish and finish Ghost Run.
I'll edit this after\in case of unlocking and completition of some more games.

[Andy]

I have to admit, I never thought anything was going to come from the GMCG, but this is a nice game. Good work guys, I tip my hat to all the participants!

[Meta Black Yoshi]

Thanks Andy.

I'm going to re-upload the game tomorrow in a couple of days adding in your-guys' suggestions and with fixes for the couple of bugs that have been mentioned, and a few other minor changes.

• Make Ghost Run unlocked at the start
• Lower the scores needed to unlock other mini-games
• Give the player points every time they play a game
• Add Dark Disguise to the credits
• Fix error in Jimmy Jones
• Fix error in Asteroids
• Display the total score in the hub-world.
• Add some sort of directory sign in the central area

Since I'm changing things anyway,
are there any more small suggestions for what I could add or fix before I re-upload?

-Meta

Edited by Meta Black Yoshi, 18 November 2011 - 12:03 AM.

[chance]

I'm going to re-upload the game tomorrow adding in your-guys' suggestions and with fixes for the couple of bugs that have been mentioned, and a few other minor changes.
<list>

Those changes look good to me.

Speaking as a GMCG contributor, I'm impressed at how much work you've put into the "arcade" structure that ties our mini-games together. Probably a lot more work than most of us put into our mini-games. +1

[orange08]

I can't find anything that lets me play the mini-games... :\

[TheUltimate]

I can't find anything that lets me play the mini-games... :\

Yeah, it took me a while too. It's mostly because you have to cover such vast distances to find anything, and the entrance to the Ancient Zone's pyramid (where the first games are) looks like a brick wall. That red arrow should be pointing up instead of to the right. If you've just opened the game, are unfamiliar with the map, and have no idea where you're going, it's gonna lead to some confusion.
It's a pretty cool idea, though. If I'd known about this earlier, I probably would have made something.

◊ TheUltimate ◊

Edited by TheUltimate, 13 November 2011 - 08:17 PM.

[Meta Black Yoshi]

OK, so I added everything from that list I posted,
as well as a few other surprises, and minor updates.
Controls are the same, I also added them to the F1 info,
Arrows or WASD to move, mouse to get into games, etc.
Have fun.

http://u.filepak.com...rcade_Delux.zip


Oh and sorry for the huge delay,
I forgot how much work I had to do getting ready for Thanksgiving with the fam,
BTW, Happy Thanksgiving! (uses chicken in place of turkey)

-Meta

[commodore swift]

LOL this is awful. It's like the world's worst designers decided to get together and make a game. Congratulations on finishing though

[Kapser]

That was really painfull. At some point, it looked polished with some great sprites, but it quickly felt so much like a messed up patchwork at the same time. There is some good sprites, that shouldn't repeated that much, mixed up with pretty bad one that doesn't fit as a whole.

After looking at the screenshots, I only tried because an interactive arcade is an idea I always loved and wanted to look at it. Afte trying, I felt so frustrated that I wanted to find at least one game before closing the game. I finally found one after searching way too long, where my hero got killed by a random lazer. I was ready to ragequit but it was so weird design that it got me curious and tried the other way around, to end up in a weird level design of moving block of what seemed like an impossible to complete gameplay. I pressed enter and got reset to the beggining and happily quit the game, no offence.

-When going back to the lobby, it would be nice to be sent at the arcade we were so we can keep that feeling of exploring the place for new game.
-I suggest you compress the game in a more dense package, smaller lobby rooms.
-Make the path more clear, there is way more locked or under construction area than valid ways to go.
-Every characters in the lobbys should be unique so we feel rewarded for exploring it.
-Add some interactivity or gameplay like an action button and use of jump.
-Make the first game way easier to find, don't keep all the best it for the end.
-Every game should have a room related to the game itself, and no game-free areas.

This concept can work, and I'd love to ask for a spot in the arcade to fit one of my game, but it needs less confusion and more polishing. The idea is great but needs more work.

[Meta Black Yoshi]

...After looking at the screenshots, I only tried because an interactive arcade is an idea I always loved and wanted to look at it. Afte trying, I felt so frustrated that I wanted to find at least one game before closing the game. I finally found one after searching way too long, where my hero got killed by a random lazer. I was ready to ragequit but it was so weird design that it got me curious and tried the other way around, to end up in a weird level design of moving block of what seemed like an impossible to complete gameplay. I pressed enter and got reset to the beggining and happily quit the game, no offence.

Wait,...so you only tried one game before quitting?
It's true what you said, the best games were saved till latter, but in the new version I uploaded a few posts up,
which hasn't been added to the first post yet, more games are unlocked at the start,
and it is much easier to unlock the locked ones.

Sorry about that random laser BTW (my fault),
it was actually a lot easier to see before I switched everything to full-screen.
You can still see it now though, if you use the mouse to look up,
then you have to dodge it using the arrow keys (or whatever you set to movement).

-When going back to the lobby, it would be nice to be sent at the arcade we were so we can keep that feeling of exploring the place for new game.

That's actually already in the game, you just have to hit the home key or the tab, and not the enter key.
The controls can also be viewed in the new version by hitting F1.

And again, a new version has been uploaded that hasn't been added to the first post yet,
I'll re-post the link here to make it easy until it gets added, http://u.filepak.com...rcade_Delux.zip
Fewer game's are locked at the start, and it takes fewer points to unlock more,
also you can see exactly how many points you need to unlock any particular game,
and getting points is pretty easy in the new version,
you can even get points by simply finding the credits.

Also, if the hub world seems a little big, remember you can run by double tapping to get around faster.

Thanks for the comments.

-Meta

Edited by Meta Black Yoshi, 28 November 2011 - 03:50 AM.

[Kapser]

Sorry I tried double tap but incorrectly and tought running was some kind of stamina system or bug and was a bit confused. It's my bad not looking at F1, although some pannel would be nice to infom me about pressing F1.

The lazer, well it was extremely cruel but saw it the second time, altho I couldn't figure out how to dodge it (sorry for not trying more than twice but it looked like a no pass)

I tried only one game because it was so hard to find I lost courage. Although I'm happy to hear that the locked areas are actually unlockable but the point system wasn't explained to me in th game. I'm glad you keep updating it even thou it's a finished version. The HUD is a working concept because to be honnest I wouldn't download these games but looking for them, although a bit too hard to find, felt rewarding.

Edited by Kapser, 27 November 2011 - 09:10 AM.

[~Dannyboy~]

I'd like to extend my congratulations to the GMCG team leaders and all the members of the community who got involved with this project and made it happen! I haven't been around for quite some time but I was pleasantly surprised by the announcement on Game Maker Blog and thought I should take a look. (For those who don't know, I was the lead programmer of the GMCG quite a while back now ) I haven't downloaded it yet (internet shaped at the moment...) but I look forward to playing it soon

EDIT: Almost forgot, HUGE thank you to the forum staff for allowing this project to live long enough to see the result! I'm sure it was a great learning experience for ALL of us.

Edited by ~Dannyboy~, 28 November 2011 - 11:20 AM.