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I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

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Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#21

Post by andrewb »

sspiff wrote: post #12

As someone who tried repeatedly to make a game but never finished (or came as far as you have), I can only congratulate you on doing better. I could only see the video on youtube as the site is down, but it looks a lot like a "2D Minecraft". Not that that's a bad thing, but a lot of people will dismiss it because of this. Do you have any plans of expanding the gameplay into a direction different from Minecraft?

If anything, it seems similar to Terraria. I'm not going to call it a clone because I personally find the term derogatory. I'd rather call it a 2D platform sandbox game that has similarities to Terraria but still unique.

A clone of Minecraft in my books is more FortressCraft / UberBlox / Manic_Digger.

Congratulations to the OP though. Overall looks pretty good.

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#23

Post by eigenbom »

Impossible wrote: post #20

I find it interesting that you took the classic advice of "just use Box2D" for a 2D platformer and it worked well for you. It doesn't seem like your game using anything much more complex than basic box vs. tile grid collision and doesn't use any of the advanced features of Box2D. No complex constraints, rigid body usage seems simple or non-existent, etc. I could be completely wrong about that though, this is all spec…

Intersection tests mainly, I'm sure the reason is buried somewhere in the devlog. At the same time it looked like complex dynamic machines (with pistons, pivots and other parts) were also going to be a priority. It was definitely worth the extra effort, and I still have plans for simpler machines, rope-style bridges with connected parts, and more complex monsters which will no doubt have constraints between their parts.

In addition Box2D has given me super quick spatial tests, which I use for melee, mouse-picking, and ray-casts for the particle system (which is a quick custom built thing).

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#24

Post by martian »

sspiff wrote: post #12

As someone who tried repeatedly to make a game but never finished (or came as far as you have), I can only congratulate you on doing better. I could only see the video on youtube as the site is down, but it looks a lot like a "2D Minecraft". Not that that's a bad thing, but a lot of people will dismiss it because of this. Do you have any plans of expanding the gameplay into a direction different from Minecraft?

I think it's awesome that people are creating more games like this -- Minecraft is a huge success, which suggests there is a big market.

Another one I like is http://deepworldgame.com/

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#25

Post by wingerlang »

willvarfar wrote: post #22

Wow, hadn't seen http://www.tigsource.com/ nor its forums before! Is it the place to unveil your indie hobby games once they become big and playable?

They have a section for devlogs also, so you don't have to have it playable to unveil it.

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#26

Post by eigenbom »

andrewb wrote: post #21
sspiff wrote: post #12

As someone who tried repeatedly to make a game but never finished (or came as far as you have), I can only congratulate you on doing better. I could only see the video on youtube as the site is down, but it looks a lot like a "2D Minecraft". Not that that's a bad thing, but a lot of people will dismiss it because of this. Do you have any plans of expanding the gameplay into a direction different from Minecraft?

If anything, it seems similar to Terraria. I'm not going to call it a clone because I personally find the term derogatory. I'd rather call it a 2D platform sandbox game that has similarities to Terraria but still unique. A clone of Minecraft in my books is more FortressCraft / UberBlox / Manic_Digger. Congratulations to the OP though. Overall looks pretty good.

Yep it's definitely influenced by Terraria and has similar mechanics. But I see these set of mechanics as forming the base primitives of the game, like running and shooting in Doom and Half Life, selecting and targeting in starcraft and c&c, or pointing-and-clicking in maniac mansion, etc. Hopefully I'll be able to colour this game enough so that people don't just write it off based on the core mechanics. :)

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#27

Post by dvt »

Been following Moonman for 2 years :) I am a relatively quiet lurker on TIGSource but I can't wait until Moonman is finally out (as in.. out out). The playable demos so far have been amazing.

Unfortunately, the start-up community is more cynical than the indie gaming one (blah blah Terraria clone). But, I for one, wish you good luck sir!

I love the indie community because it fosters creativity over success; the process over the end result. Unlike the start-up community (where the exit is what really matters). I dabble in both. The realism on HN keeps me grounded but the naivete on TIG keeps me dreaming.

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#28

Post by sspiff »

eigenbom wrote: post #17
sspiff wrote: post #12

As someone who tried repeatedly to make a game but never finished (or came as far as you have), I can only congratulate you on doing better. I could only see the video on youtube as the site is down, but it looks a lot like a "2D Minecraft". Not that that's a bad thing, but a lot of people will dismiss it because of this. Do you have any plans of expanding the gameplay into a direction different from Minecraft?

The mining and crafting is like the bread and butter of this genre, which I'm happy to call minecraft-like. I'm inspired by the traditional rogue-likes (like nethack) and modern ones (like brogue), so I hope to bring elements of those into the game. Procedural quests, ancient machines, and richer landscapes are also priorities.

Procedural quests and ancient machines sound promising. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Re: I'm 2 years into development of my sandbox game, Moonman

#30

Post by eigenbom »

dvt wrote: post #27

Been following Moonman for 2 years :) I am a relatively quiet lurker on TIGSource but I can't wait until Moonman is finally out (as in.. out out). The playable demos so far have been amazing. Unfortunately, the start-up community is more cynical than the indie gaming one (blah blah Terraria clone). But, I for one, wish you good luck sir! I love the indie community because it fosters creativity over success; the proce…

Thanks, glad you've liked it. Yeah I know this isn't really HN material and my game is fairly niche already. Nevertheless it seems there are some gamedev people on here, which is great to see. :)
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