View Full Version : [new project] Scrolling Shooter
Manic shooter (Japanese : danmaku 弾幕, lit. "bullet curtain"; also commonly "bullet hell" or "curtain" shooters) is a school of design that has become increasingly popular in more recent years, as hardware is no longer a major constraint. While it is impossible to draw a line as to where the genre began, Batsugun is considered highly influential and helped to popularize the design.
These games have very high bullet counts, often filling the entire screen. In addition these bullets often travel in highly stylized patterns, following more complex paths than the straight patterns in traditional shooters. To help the player cope with this, they often feature a very small "hit box", the zone used for collision detection of the player's ship. Very often this is reduced to a single point, meaning only bullets that pass through the direct center of the ship will result in a hit.
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Example bullet hell games include Touhou Project, Mushihime-sama, Psyvariar 2, Batsugun, Giga Wing, and DoDonPachi
Source: Bullet Hells (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_hell?redirect=no) - falling under shoot em ups or"SHMUPs."
Name: no name yet
People that are working with me:
Karuji (confirmed)
The idea
The game will be a scrolling shooter essentially, moving through "time periods" so to speak.
By completing levels with sufficient score, you will be able to unlock a new level and a new time period. What the time periods essentially are is a jump in game play and graphics moving towards a "bullet hell" ending.
The change between levels will be an increase in firepower on the part of the player and his/her enemies, and also a change in graphical style, essentially going from retro black and white to heavy duty high colour graphics.
Part 1: Full black and white, pixely sprites, basic enemies
Image of what we want (http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/mgold/SpaceInvaders06292005005618AM/Images/SpaceInvaders.jpg)
Part 2: minimalistic sprites with red green and blue, basic enemies
Image of what we want (http://users.tkk.fi/~eye/videogames/zaxxon1.gif)
Part 3: smoothed sprites with different shading, enemies that are more dangerous and have powerups
Image of what we want (http://www.gamese****ch.com/raiden3ss.jpg)
Part 4: Higher quality sprites, enemies with minimalistic AI to use varied tactics.
Image of what we want (http://www.racketboy.com/retro/ikaruga-2.jpg)
(the images of what we want depict the graphics, not the style that we want, just to give better understanding.)
You will start in part one having just a small amount of firepower and number of bullets, and when you get to part 4 the game play will have escalated to a bullet hell.
Why this game idea
I am trying to approach this game as a decent place to start messing around with AI. Before AI that Ive used as been so simplistic I shudder when calling it AI, but hopefully, by building up some better skills at implementing AI during making this, it will become a fun game that anyone can enjoy, but that still holds challenge.
As soon as karuji has internet again, he will add his say aswell Im sure, but we're cooking up some awesome ideas for it :)
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Ideas are still being worked on and the game is still in its design phase, but hopefully it will evolve into a decent game.
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Alpha 1 - 16/02/09 (http://realdev.co.za/blog/SHMUPfiles/SHMUPa1.zip)
Controls: Q - left
W - Right
|-|1Pp13
10-01-2008, 05:22 PM
Why this game idea
I am trying to approach this game as a decent place to start messing around with AI. Before AI that Ive used as been so simplistic I shudder when calling it AI, but hopefully, by building up some better skills at implementing AI during making this, it will become a fun game that anyone can enjoy, but that still holds challenge.
goodluck. also need to work on my AI :(
sounds like an awsome game though!
Gazza_N
10-01-2008, 05:33 PM
if(Stylistic progression == (game progression && difficulty progression)){
state_game_to_be_win("Awesome!")
}
If I were you, I'd NAG (<--hehe, see what I did there? ;P) dislekcia for the notes he used for the AI devLAN. I still have hard copies, and they've come in very useful. ;)
If I were you, I'd NAG (<--hehe, see what I did there? ;P) dislekcia for the notes he used for the AI devLAN. I still have hard copies, and they've come in very useful.
/me nags dislekcia
Could I please get a copy of these?
Ive been reading up on AI concepts and such for a little over 2 months now, and I get an email every day with a new article, so im getting all the help I can get my hands on :)
dislekcia
10-01-2008, 09:12 PM
I am a huge fan of bullet hell shmups, therefor I approve! ;)
Ummm, Gazza, what notes are we talking about here? I wing all my devLan talks, didn't you know?
-D
Squid
10-01-2008, 09:22 PM
I am a huge fan of bullet hell shmups, therefor I approve! ;)
Ummm, Gazza, what notes are we talking about here? I wing all my devLan talks, didn't you know?
-D
You had a slideshow.
Thaumaturge
10-01-2008, 09:22 PM
This sounds like a very good idea, edg3, and one that could turn out to be a lot of fun. ^_^
I really like the idea of progression in difficulty being mirrored by progression in graphics and AI. It also seems to me that you have a good idea in terms of working on your AI skills.
Very good luck with this! ^_^
Nandrew
12-01-2008, 02:51 PM
You had a slideshow.
Awww, dang, all you needed to really SUPERPWN him was a tactical "..." placed just before that comment.
Slideshow. Great interest.
FuzzYspo0N
12-01-2008, 03:12 PM
i was awesomely SUPERPWN post delete :>
A game with bullet hell is cool! I would like to see it progress :)
I really like the idea of progression in difficulty being mirrored by progression in graphics and AI.
While deciding on what to make there was a large emphasis on the actual originality not being so "original" and wanting to have a twist to it that made it stand out a bit. It isnt really the most inovative or original idea, but we'll have fun making it.
Karuji
22-01-2008, 08:11 PM
Finaly i have iNet ok i thought of sooo much stuff to say so ill keep it brief
Ok First Name : Quest for Colour (or something like that)
Ok now my weapons idea as you go along you unlock more abilities you get your normal bullets a secondary weapon a primary weapon and a passive and as you go along you unlock the weapons and things you can shoot with them
ok and the rest . . . (i forget my brain has gon mushy with the joy of internet)
dislekcia
23-01-2008, 01:10 AM
Ok now my weapons idea as you go along you unlock more abilities you get your normal bullets a secondary weapon a primary weapon and a passive and as you go along you unlock the weapons and things you can shoot with them
WB. I think you should try to elaborate on your ideas a little more ;) So far they don't sound amazingly different from most SHMUP systems I've played... Give us some background/info/examples?
-D
Finaly i have iNet ok i thought of sooo much stuff to say so ill keep it brief
Finally! Glad to see you're joining the world of internet again. lol
Ive started working on ideas for enemies, etc, and will post them soon.
http://realdev.co.za/edg3-images/shmup1.png
File: http://realdev.co.za/egfiles/shmup010.zip - 1217kb (~)
Movement - mouse controlled
Basic Enemies
Style Testing
Have Fun
(basic demo)
-----------------------------------
What to note: this is just the first part, with no transition, saving, etc.
Currently Doing:
- Game Over Sequence (has been failing on me for some reason)
- Enemies will differ soon
- Transition to the next part
- Scoring System
- Weapon Upgrades (we all love weapon upgrades)
- Enemies that take more damage (so far there is only one type ;) )
Thaumaturge
18-03-2008, 06:20 PM
Ooh - this looks as though it could be the beginnings of something good. ^_^
I really like the current greyscale graphics and retro style, especially in those rather pretty particle explosions. ^_^
My only suggestion, thus far, is that you add a little more background movement - the stars are nice, but a little sparse, I think, both in density and variety. That said, be careful to not overdo it.
Good work thus far, however!
I look forward to those new enemies and weapon upgrades. ^_^
Karuji
19-03-2008, 07:21 PM
yes im still mia (not interwebz i curse telkom once again) and dis sorry that i couldnt elaborate last time but i lost myself in ideas and i didnt know where to begin. so now ill just focus on being a code minion and talk less
Time for an epic necro, I sat down these last few days and got in maybe 30 mins a day and have the underlying code 80% done, so I have reached alpha 1, this is just a test to see how breakable it is, and so far is seems good.
The rather weird control scheme is due to the fact that you will be able to cram 4 players into a single play, just need to fix up the player dropping in and out.
My todo list is as follows:
- GUI
- Graphics
- Player dropping in/out
- Player skills
- Content
Content essentially is just more AI variations, bullet variations, player skills, and so on.
Q - left
W - right
Shift - Removes the player, you'll have to restart the game if you do this.
I would like to ask you to be lenient in how you review this release as it doesnt show much and is using a simple fast AI method (random movement) just to see how long the enemies last against the onslaught of bullets without them just being in one position or going in a straight line. (And yes, there is memory leak, but the "new" thats causing it has to stay for now)
Download (http://realdev.co.za/blog/SHMUPfiles/SHMUPa1.zip)
Kensei
16-02-2009, 05:07 PM
:: downloads ::
I'll give you my views later.
In the interim: Did you create that in XNA? I see the characteristic Cornflower-Blue :p
Yes it is XNA :) all that will change over the next few sessions of work on it.
Evolution
16-02-2009, 06:41 PM
Can I see your code so I can make some improvements, I can also add extra features to it. I'm currently the lead programmer for a 3D rpg using xna, so I know allot about it.
Can I see your code so I can make some improvements, I can also add extra features to it. I'm currently the lead programmer for a 3D rpg using xna, so I know allot about it.
Sure, I just want to finish the things Im busy with code wise, and then I'll be glad to share. I just dont feel comfortable showing off half done code :P
Kensei
17-02-2009, 04:35 PM
I meant to ask you, edg3, and its kinda a silly question; how did you create an executable like that for your game?
I am using Visual Studio Express and it does not support the pretty .msi packaging thing :(
I meant to ask you, edg3, and its kinda a silly question; how did you create an executable like that for your game?
I am using Visual Studio Express and it does not support the pretty .msi packaging thing :(
You package it as a .ccgame and then unpack the .ccgame and zip the unpacked contents for yourself. Another option is just to zip up the contents of the bin's debug folder, but Im not entirely sure how safe that is or even if its recommended.
Anf on another note, my simple message system seems to be working perfectly (sorry if this breaks hscroll):
http://realdev.co.za/blog/SHMUPfiles/SimpleMessage.jpg
Chippit
17-02-2009, 05:48 PM
Another option is just to zip up the contents of the bin's debug folder, but Im not entirely sure how safe that is or even if its recommended.
That's what I've always done. AFAIK, those are the exact contents of the .ccgame file anyway.
Kensei
17-02-2009, 06:11 PM
Hmm, alright, I'll do a bit of research and stop hijacking your thread :)
01DT!m3r
17-02-2009, 06:32 PM
I had an interesting idea for your game , i just couldnt help myself :) , when you progress to the next level , it has "holes " in it that have the same art style to the previous levels and when a bullet passes through the hole it changes to the bullet style of the previous level . Maybe enemies could then have weaknesses to certain levels bullet types or become more powerful when they change to another time zones enemy "type" . Just an idea that could add quite a unique touch .
dislekcia
17-02-2009, 06:53 PM
I had an interesting idea for your game , i just couldnt help myself :) , when you progress to the next level , it has "holes " in it that have the same art style to the previous levels and when a bullet passes through the hole it changes to the bullet style of the previous level . Maybe enemies could then have weaknesses to certain levels bullet types or become more powerful when they change to another time zones enemy "type" . Just an idea that could add quite a unique touch .
This idea is really something... Play with it! See what comes from it :)
I had an interesting idea for your game , i just couldnt help myself :) , when you progress to the next level , it has "holes " in it that have the same art style to the previous levels and when a bullet passes through the hole it changes to the bullet style of the previous level . Maybe enemies could then have weaknesses to certain levels bullet types or become more powerful when they change to another time zones enemy "type" . Just an idea that could add quite a unique touch .
To be honest I wasnt entirely sure how to make the colour transition look good, and this actually gives me something to use, at first there can be one or two of these changers and then after a while of having a few small ones on screen, I can make one big one that slowly grows to fill the screen and then complete the transition from a colour to the next.
HolyMackerel
18-02-2009, 07:32 AM
It's not bad!
01DT!m3r
18-02-2009, 09:07 AM
To be honest I wasnt entirely sure how to make the colour transition look good, and this actually gives me something to use, at first there can be one or two of these changers and then after a while of having a few small ones on screen, I can make one big one that slowly grows to fill the screen and then complete the transition from a colour to the next.
Exactly my trail of thought , it would add some interesting level changes and designs(maybe even procedural ;) )
Like holes randomly popping up,growing to a certain size, then shrinking and popping up somewhere else:)
http://realdev.co.za/blog/SHMUPfiles/screen1.jpg
Now, I need some help, does anybody know some pretty 2D warping effects? Im thinking of how to put in a nice effects system for bloom, explosions, trails, etc. Any advice on this?
I read up about XML based particle systems for XNA but surely there is a simpler way to handle things like this?
Im still reading around and perhaps I could use HLSL? example (http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/tamir/archive/2008/06/17/hlsl-pixel-shader-effects-tutorial.aspx)
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