3 replies to this topic

[mgb519]

I'm brand new to game-maker, but I'm going for an ambitious start.
I'm currently working out this idea I had for a sidescrolling sci-fi shooter. The game takes place on a large space colony which orbits a uninhabitable mining planet, on which traces of an alien culture have been found. A bunch of elite spec-ops soldiers attack the colony and start killing everyone, and you have to escape, blah blah blah. Later it turns out that a terrorist cell opposed to the powers at be was hiding on the colony in plain sight, and they were looking on the planet for anything that the aforementioned alien culture left behind which might aid them in their war. The spec ops dudes are mercenaries apparently hired by the government and were supposed to be working under some colonel in coordination with the actual military, but some high-up politician pulled strings at the last minute for the mercenaries to go in first while the actual military waits around on their ship. The mercenaries manage to pressure the terrorists to use an alien artifact which they found, and as a result the members of the cell are infused with some sort of psychic alien energy, making them into a higher type of being. They then turn on everyone, mercenaries and surviving colonists alike in a fashion similar to when robots turn against humans, either mentally enslaving or killing everyone they come across. That's the general extent of the story as I've figured it out so far, and it could probably use a bit of work and feedback. As for where the title fits in, its what I was thinking about calling the terrorists.

Gameplay wise, it'd be a sidescrolling shooter with some platforming and RPG elements.
1.Mouse based aiming
--Camera can lock onto the character for platforming
--Camera otherwise follows the crosshair to give the player extended sight range
----I'm aiming for a player size of around 128 x 256 or something like that because I feel that it needs a high level of detail for the feel I'm aiming for. May change mind a little on that, though.
2. Inventory system
3. Squad commands
--I hope to allow the player to meet up with various survivors on the station who will then help the player)
--various commands might include "go here," "attack this," "manage inventory," and so on.
--Assume that they otherwise follow you and take cover as necessary if you don't tell them what to do or they complete their orders.
--Actions where context is important like targeting an enemy are based on the player's crosshair.
4. foreground/background system
--Interactive objects may appear in the background, as you might expect with a sidescroller (Control panels, ladders, ETC)
--they may also appear in the foreground
----they would be transparent in this case, so the player can still see.
----the goal is to give the player an illusion of depth without having to deal with 3d, since I am new at this and am using GM lite at the moment (Plan on paying the $40 once I'm comfortable with the software)
--by using this system, players could also take cover next to certain objects.
5. Destructible objects
--nothing complicated, just certain objects like crates or columns which are used for cover would have different sprites for different levels of damage, etc.
--does not apply to all objects. Applies to all objects which can be used as cover, though.
6. Open world environment
--Story progression leads you to point A, point B, etc, but it's your choice how you get there.
--World is divided into sections/rooms, instead of truly being open world.
--Game does not force the player to go in one direction, so if they leave stuff somewhere and want to come back later, they can.

And as for where I need help...yeah, I'm brand-new to game maker. I could talk about programming, but I wasn't clear on whether I could do that here or not. So that aside, I need help fleshing out the story and figuring in characters, and working out how to implement the mechanics (I mean from a design standpoint, like what style of inventory to use). I'd be happy to edit this post as necessary, whether I've figured out something or need to make some sort of change because of the forum rules, or for any other reason.
Thanks!

Edited by mgb519, 28 July 2012 - 05:03 PM.

[kburkhart84]

According to your post, you are admitting that this idea is overly ambitious. As you say you are new to Game Maker, I'd have to agree with you. But...

The idea itself is not completely original, but it is unique enough. Are you trying to make it similar to Metroid? As in not only in the backtracking, but in the obtaining items that allow you to get to new places, which are blocked off otherwise. If so, you will need to take those things into account when designing your levels/areas.

1. For the camera and mouse aiming, I'd say it depends on how you want it. If you really want mouse aiming, I'd recommend you have two modes. One is the "traditional" mode where you simply shoot forward, or up if holding up, or whatever direction you are holding you shoot that way, which is very similar to Metroid in 2D and the Contra games. Then the second mode would maybe stop your movement, but allow you to then shoot towards wherever the mouse cursor is. In the end, if you simply do the first method, you may not even really need the second method.

2. The inventory system could be done in different ways. If you are having different weapons(I'd think so) you need to track ammunition if you have limited amounts of some of them, and you need to track whether they have been picked up or not. If your game is mostly based on weapons like Metroid is, you won't really have inventory except for things like weapons, armor, and maybe enhancements like ways to jump higher, etc... If you want though, you can have the inventory include things to heal health, or maybe restore weapons' energy, assuming they were set to run out. But overall, the inventory can't be too far decided until you decide other gameplay details.


3. Having a squad could come in handy, but I think it would complicate things somewhat. I wouldn't want to play much on a sidescrolling shooter if I had to micromanage a squad. If they can act on their own for the most part, maybe, but if I have to constantly tell them what to do, I'm probably not going to play. Now if it is more simulation styled, not Metroid-like, then maybe it's another story.

4. Foreground/Background, I don't think it would work well to have the player hide behind things in the foreground. It makes plenty of sense to have things behind, in front, and on the same layer as the player, but I don't think they should be able to interact much with those things, because you are not around those things, rather some distance away.

5. Nothing wrong with destructible objects, but this is nothing like destructible terrain, unless some of the objects happen to be part of the wall/floor/ceiling. The catch to it is that it shouldn't be too easy to destroy, so it is still useful, but it should not be too hard to destroy, so that the player can't just "camp" either.

6. This goes back to the first thing I say, about whether you are going for something similar to Metroid, or something different.

[mgb519]

First off, the goal is not and never was to make a Metroid clone. I was just using that to illustrate the backtracking concept, not anything else. The atmosphere I'm going for is actually a lot closer to that of Half-Life, although I don't want to imply that I'm trying to make a clone of that either. Stuff being blocked off would be puzzle based more often than item based, although a keycard might be necessary here and there. Otherwise, the reason you backtrack is because there's something at point A that you have to do that wasn't an issue before, like restarting a generator that someone shut down or something like that.
1. I was hoping for something a little more modern, actually, where you move and aim with separate controls, so that you're not stuck aiming in the direction you're facing. I ant to impart some degree of realism, which is also the reason I'm using such large sprites. My concern with this was the animation aspect, of course. Would it be possible to make the arms and weapons their own sprites or something, so that they can rotate free of the player?
2. As for inventory, I want to limit the number of weapons that the player can carry in addition to ammo, so figuring out which weapons to take would be a part of gameplay. I'm wondering about either a list/weight based approach, like in any of the bethesda games that I can rattle off of the top of my head, or a space based approach, like in Deus Ex. Again, I'm using comparison as a descriptive tool and nothing else.
3. Squad stuff may not make it in, but I was considering it. Perhaps just team AI, where they follow you and take cover as necessary, and so on and so forth, or maybe they just help in cutscenes. The latter will be a fallback, but It'd rather do the former if possible.
4. I really do like the idea of cover. Sure, that column may be a few yards to the right, but that just means the character takes a few steps to the right when he takes cover. When making a sidescroller, you don't really consider depth the same way.
5. I did mentally picture destructible columns and whatnot, but In general I'll admit that using terrain was misleading because it would mostly apply to aesthetic stuff, and if it changed the environment it would probably be a door or something like that.
6. See the first paragraph of this post.

[kburkhart84]

1. If you can make the sprites, you can use different ones for arms, and gm can have a single object draw any number of sprites at any angles via the draw event. Look up the sprite drawing functions for the one with ext for the one you'd need.

2. Inventory just depends on what you want for your game. Any of your ideas probably fits fine, as long as the player doesn't feel limited. I mean to say that if the player loses, it should be his own fault. If the inventory is limiting(and they usually are) the player should fully understand and have the capacity to work around it.

3. That's up to you. It can greatly complicate gameplay, but if it fits your game, its good.

4. I understand about using cover, but it would look strange if the cover is at a different depth then the player.

5. Nothing to say, you seem to get the idea.

6. I understand you were just using metroid for comparison, but since I don't have the images in my head that you do, I used metroid to compare as well, since it is something we both know. The only issue I see with the back tracking is that it sometimes gets annoying, so maybe you would prefer to have a tranport system of sorts.