Jump to content
NEurope
Ronnie

Indie Games

Recommended Posts

Seems like Moonlighter won't be out next week on Switch. Didn't know that, sorry...

Anyway, here's a trailer for another game I'm looking forward to:

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Found this on ResetEra, developers quizzed at the recent EGX Rezzed expo in London. Not exactly a surprise, but still interesting...

chart__4_.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

:D Love how during the "Real Time Hair Rendering" a bald dude shows up :laughing:

By the way, did I mention that I'm fucking excited for this?

Downloading right now, will unlock at midnight. I took tomorrow off for Moonlighter...that's how excited I am :bouncy:

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't realize the Switch version was so far off. I thought it was only delayed by a few weeks.

Love the visuals of the game but I don't think it's for me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Love the visuals of the game but I don't think it's for me.

Always wanted to ask: Why exactly don't you like rogue-likes?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I didn't realize the Switch version was so far off. I thought it was only delayed by a few weeks.

Love the visuals of the game but I don't think it's for me.

Tried it at EGX, it was ok but the combat was painful. Not satisfying at all

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, drahkon said:

Always wanted to ask: Why exactly don't you like rogue-likes?

I hate randomly generated stuff. I'm an older game who grew up with games that were hard but you could get past the difficult spots by learning level layouts and enemy patterns. Having randomly generated layouts means there's an element of luck or chance. 

Call me ignorant but I feel having this kind of setup seems a bit cheap and easier on the development of the game. Rather than coming up with tight, well thought out stages/levels, the game just generates a bunch of random ones. A lot of indie developers seem to use this approach and it's one I don't really care for.

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I hate randomly generated stuff. I'm an older game who grew up with games that were hard but you could get past the difficult spots by learning level layouts and enemy patterns. Having randomly generated layouts means there's an element of luck or chance. 

Call me ignorant but I feel having this kind of setup seems a bit cheap and easier on the development of the game. Rather than coming up with tight, well thought out stages/levels, the game just generates a bunch of random ones. A lot of indie developers seem to use this approach and it's one I don't really care for.

I agree with you 100% and the over-reliance on procedural generated content is getting a bit much these days. I hear those words in a game description and I cringe. That said I think it definitely has its place for some games like Enter the Gungeon or Darkest Dungeon where the entire gameplay loop is designed around repeating dungeon runs over and over and throwing the unknown at you each time. But in other games it's completely pointless. Steamworld Dig was procedurally generated, then they realised people are likely only going through the game once, so they made the sequel fully designed.

Edited by Ronnie
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
42 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I hate randomly generated stuff. I'm an older game who grew up with games that were hard but you could get past the difficult spots by learning level layouts and enemy patterns. Having randomly generated layouts means there's an element of luck or chance. 

Call me ignorant but I feel having this kind of setup seems a bit cheap and easier on the development of the game. Rather than coming up with tight, well thought out stages/levels, the game just generates a bunch of random ones. A lot of indie developers seem to use this approach and it's one I don't really care for.

Fair points.

Developing those games is not as easy as it sounds, though, as you have to account for possible fuck-ups in level/world generation, enemy interactions, item interactions, etc. Testing must be a right pain. There are games that use this mechanic as an easy way out, and those devs can fuck right off, but games like Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Enter the Gungeon and hopefully Moonlighter get it just right.

Quote

Having randomly generated layouts means there's an element of luck or chance. 

Indeed, but the good games of that genre always give you a way to succeed either way. And then skill and adaptability are important to overcome some bad luck.

I do enjoy thought out stages/levels, too. For the same reason as you: I grew up with them. You are probably older than me, though, and in turn have a longer history with those types of games) which means I'm not as closed-minded (:p) opposed to randomness in level generation as you :D

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

This looks fantastic

 

Yup, I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be pre-ordering a physical copy (which arrives a few weeks later) next week or so.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 29/05/2018 at 12:16 PM, Ronnie said:

This looks fantastic

 

I concur. Only played a couple of hours so far. Easy to get lost, occasionally frustrating to get out of certain areas but bursting with charm and can honestly say I’ve not played anything quite like it. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, Dog-amoto said:

I concur. Only played a couple of hours so far. Easy to get lost, occasionally frustrating to get out of certain areas but bursting with charm and can honestly say I’ve not played anything quite like it. 

Nice to have something genuinely new, from screenshots the visuals look lovely too. I'll give it a go soon

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm eager to play it but I'm waiting for the physical release later next month. Hate how some indie games physical releases are weeks after the eShop release. :( 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yessss... not that I'm a backer or anything... just its finally here.

Edited by DuD
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 28/05/2018 at 12:18 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

I hate randomly generated stuff. I'm an older game who grew up with games that were hard but you could get past the difficult spots by learning level layouts and enemy patterns. Having randomly generated layouts means there's an element of luck or chance. 

Call me ignorant but I feel having this kind of setup seems a bit cheap and easier on the development of the game. Rather than coming up with tight, well thought out stages/levels, the game just generates a bunch of random ones. A lot of indie developers seem to use this approach and it's one I don't really care for.

 

On 28/05/2018 at 12:24 PM, Ronnie said:

I agree with you 100% and the over-reliance on procedural generated content is getting a bit much these days. I hear those words in a game description and I cringe. That said I think it definitely has its place for some games like Enter the Gungeon or Darkest Dungeon where the entire gameplay loop is designed around repeating dungeon runs over and over and throwing the unknown at you each time. But in other games it's completely pointless. Steamworld Dig was procedurally generated, then they realised people are likely only going through the game once, so they made the sequel fully designed.

If you're willing to drop a few quid on the ebook, I recommend Derek Yu's book about Sperlunky. It's a great dev book in itself, but goes into detail about how the game was developed to not have these issues and it's a fascinating insight. Obviously it's just one game and others aren't as good at making meaningful procgen but a great book at the same.

 

Anyone played Saturday Morning RPG on another platform? Mildly curious.

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, I played it on the PS4 and loved it. I grew up in the 80's so I get all the references it throws at you. Don't you dislike that era? If so then it's probably not for you. :p 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
28 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, I played it on the PS4 and loved it. I grew up in the 80's so I get all the references it throws at you. Don't you dislike that era? If so then it's probably not for you. :p 

It was the worst decade...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Ashley said:

It was the worst decade...

I don't know man. To me the 40s seems to be a good contender.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, Ashley said:

 Anyone played Saturday Morning RPG on another platform? Mildly curious.

Yeah, played it on Switch for an hour, about a quarter of the game. I was bored, it seems that the game only exists to reference stuff in the 80s. The gameplay was boring.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, Sméagol said:

I don't know man. To me the 40s seems to be a good contender.

It is the decade with the most undeserving nostalgia then :heh: 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the 1980s either.  1970s and 1990s were so much better.  In fact, the '90s were so perfect, I hope to see another decade that even approaches their quality!

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After 34.5 hours I'm done with Battle Chasers: Nightwar, despite not being that into it. While I liked the combat and the characters, the world was boring, the enemies were a bit meh, and the story was generic and plain. But my biggest issue is simply that of speed. The game was exceptionally slow overall, not just loading and walking, but battles them selves dragged on forever, even against a single enemy. It was not until I got the final wepaons (that more than tripled my latest weapon!) that I could actually speed the battles up and kill enemies with just a few blows. It made me want to avoid battles even though I needed the XP - which is just based on the number of enemies and their level, not their difficulty which would be more relevant.

It's not a bad game but it could do with a lot more polish and as it stands, I wouldn't recommend it for the price they are asking on Switch. Perhaps half that price would be better.

 

Now I'll wait until Nintendo's E3 is over to see if there is an interesting shadow drop, otherwise I'll have to consider what to buy next. Thinking about Celeste, Mulaka, Old Man's Journey or The Banner Saga. Has The Sexu Brutale been updated yet?

Edited by MindFreak
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hollow Knight is now up on the eShop. It's only £10.99, which is what I believe I paid for it during the Steam summer sale last year so a bargain. Get on it peeps!!! Can't wait to see what everyone thinks of the game as it's superb.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×