Social DGames Social | V/LA |

[Overswarm]

You monster!

Look man

I hadn't played the game before

didnt' read anything online


If a kid falls down a hole and some goat creature starts acting all nice and says you have to stay here forever

and you repeatedly find clues that other children previously stayed in this very house and are now gone

then it attacks you when you try to leave

Sorry, that isn't a good goat monster

you kill that goat monster

or maybe you can stay and work on puzzles forever

no



j/k

you kill that goat monster

 

[#HBC | Laundry]

How about I come in here and start talking about my new diet and trying to convince others to duplicate it because it was good for me? Or to take up meditation? Or to stop using gasoline?

I'm not saying you can't say something. I'm saying that what is posted in the global rules for advertisement does not give you the authority to act here. If you want to do something, have that rule changed or correctly justify it another way. That is twisting the rule to suit your needs and I don't like it at all.

Hey remember when Praxis did the first thing you mentioned a few years ago

 

[#HBC | Laundry]

you kill that goat monster

I killed it and felt like an absolute prick to the point of resetting only for a cursed flower to laugh at me for doing exactly that.

EDIT: Also, while this is incredibly nominal, the neutral ending does change based on which characters are alive at the end of it.

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

Undertale and Earthbound would both bore me to tears nowadays if not for their sense of humor.

 

[#HBC | Joker]

If you want more "not that great" games that have quirky humor, you should check out RPG Maker communities. Nerds who were inspired by games like Earthbound have been crapping out content on the internet for something like 20 years.

 

[#HBC | ѕoup]

Earthbound and Undertale are not even remotely comparable. I don't know why quirky humor has somehow become the only label (using Joker's example) for an earthbound clone. Earthbound focuses more about satire of american culture back then and Undertale focuses on making interpersonal decisions that affect the outcome of those you interact with. Earthbound plays more like a game that doesn't have a deep underlying message shoved into your face but makes it all the more human and emotive because the world feels so alive and believable, and while the characters don't undergo as much strife (besides the whole alien thing) and most of the adventure is very tongue-in-cheek, there is a deep and gratifying moment that puts it all in perspective and makes the whole journey worth it (people who have played it should know what I'm talking about.)

Undertale on the other hand is far more sinister, right from the get go. There might be moments of humor sprinkled into it but you are instantly introduced to a scenario where a flower tricks you into almost being killed. Earthbound did not start out with that kind of weight and it merely represented itself as a lighthearded kid's adventure, while Undertale makes it evident and presents flowey to you as something to fear. There may again be moments of humor but I feel that for Undertale, it was sprinkled in to keep it lighthearted, but not for the same reason of Earthbound.

The game presents every character as human and emotive, cracking jokes or having quips. Giving them relatable traits and characteristics makes it much harder for the player to want to kill them. The humor is intentionally put there to serve a purpose that you will come to be attached to the characters, therefore not want to kill them. This alone makes undertale completely and factually different in premise and approach, because Earthbound's humor was not a game mechanic, it was just something to make it feel alive. I am not saying Undertale doesn't feel alive, but it serves a greater purpose than Earthbound, one that is exemplified in it's gameplay and story. You're supposed to laugh at the skeleton taking you on a weird date, while Earthbound doesn't try and say "Hey, this is funny. You should laugh at this." This is but one key difference that I wanted to talk about because I really get tired of hearing people call games like Undertale earthbound clones because they probably haven't even played it or don't understand it.

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

But like I was saying, I enjoy the quirky humor in Earthbound and Undertale.

 

[Spak]

Undertale on the other hand is far more sinister

Mother 3 on the other hand is far more sinister than Undertale.

 

[#HBC | Joker]

Earthbound and Undertale are not even remotely comparable. I don't know why quirky humor has somehow become the only label (using Joker's example) for an earthbound clone. Earthbound focuses more about satire of american culture back then and Undertale focuses on making interpersonal decisions that affect the outcome of those you interact with. Earthbound plays more like a game that doesn't have a deep underlying message shoved into your face but makes it all the more human and emotive because the world feels so alive and believable, and while the characters don't undergo as much strife (besides the whole alien thing) and most of the adventure is very tongue-in-cheek, there is a deep and gratifying moment that puts it all in perspective and makes the whole journey worth it (people who have played it should know what I'm talking about.)

Undertale on the other hand is far more sinister, right from the get go. There might be moments of humor sprinkled into it but you are instantly introduced to a scenario where a flower tricks you into almost being killed. Earthbound did not start out with that kind of weight and it merely represented itself as a lighthearded kid's adventure, while Undertale makes it evident and presents flowey to you as something to fear. There may again be moments of humor but I feel that for Undertale, it was sprinkled in to keep it lighthearted, but not for the same reason of Earthbound.

The game presents every character as human and emotive, cracking jokes or having quips. Giving them relatable traits and characteristics makes it much harder for the player to want to kill them. The humor is intentionally put there to serve a purpose that you will come to be attached to the characters, therefore not want to kill them. This alone makes undertale completely and factually different in premise and approach, because Earthbound's humor was not a game mechanic, it was just something to make it feel alive. I am not saying Undertale doesn't feel alive, but it serves a greater purpose than Earthbound, one that is exemplified in it's gameplay and story. You're supposed to laugh at the skeleton taking you on a weird date, while Earthbound doesn't try and say "Hey, this is funny. You should laugh at this." This is but one key difference that I wanted to talk about because I really get tired of hearing people call games like Undertale earthbound clones because they probably haven't even played it or don't understand it.

Oh I see.

You're one of those Undertale fans.

 

[#HBC | ѕoup]

Oh no. I don't like Undertale nearly as much as Earthbound. If anything, I was criticizing Undertale for being vapid in their approach and forcing humor for a game mechanic. I think that it has it's charm with the humor and the twists are good, but the whole experience did not leave any emotional impact, besides

Spoiler

The meta commentary on RPGs such as the whole Execution Points and and Level of Violence. The multiple endings and characters remembering your actions, such as sans. The flowey surprise when you open the game and it's completely gone and everything is ****ed up. The part when you go full genocide and kill the whole world, and the part where if you decide to redo the game again you get different endings there too. A lot of great things to love about the game in that aspect but I do not believe that characterization is completely one of them, and I very much enjoyed the depth in branching decisions instead of the characters. Music was good too. Solid 8/10.

Mother 3 on the other hand is far more sinister than Undertale.

Oh yeah. Undertale wishes it had the same breadth and detail along with storytelling that Mother 3 had, but so do a lot of games.

 

[ThatSmasherYouKnow]

Why did I stop getting alerts from this thread? This post is just so that I can get alerts from this thread.

 

[Orboknown]

Oh no. I don't like Undertale nearly as much as Earthbound. If anything, I was criticizing Undertale for being vapid in their approach and forcing humor for a game mechanic. I think that it has it's charm with the humor and the twists are good, but the whole experience did not leave any emotional impact, besides

Spoiler

The meta commentary on RPGs such as the whole Execution Points and and Level of Violence. The multiple endings and characters remembering your actions, such as sans. The flowey surprise when you open the game and it's completely gone and everything is ****ed up. The part when you go full genocide and kill the whole world, and the part where if you decide to redo the game again you get different endings there too. A lot of great things to love about the game in that aspect but I do not believe that characterization is completely one of them, and I very much enjoyed the depth in branching decisions instead of the characters. Music was good too. Solid 8/10.

Oh yeah. Undertale wishes it had the same breadth and detail along with storytelling that Mother 3 had, but so do a lot of games.

So...
The game doesnt have any emotional impact besides the whole game? Lol especially if you go true pacifist--->genecide

 

[Overswarm]

In addition to my other projects, I started working on a 2-player co-op platformer. It's got some puzzle elements to it, but is mostly pretty simple -- the demographic is for smaller children, like late elementary school - middle school.
I started working on this now and then on the weekends as a personal exercise to have a "functionally complete" project done solo and am basically there..

If you would like to try it, Here is a link to a Beta of the game

Mirror on filedropper: http://www.filedropper.com/colorgamebetav1

To begin, select "2 player" and "World 0". Controls are listed further down the post.

It's still rough around the edges in many areas, but the main aspects of the game are functional. If you have any specific feedback I'm all ears. There are a few things I'm interested in doing (like respawning players rather than restarting the level maybe), but am curious as to what other people would think.

It's currently 2-player co-op only; 1-player mode hasn't been implemented yet. It's meant to be played with 2 xbox controllers, but can be played with keyboard input for either or both players as well. (Note: Depending on the key limit for your keyboard/PC, two players on the keyboard at once can result in lost inputs)

I also wanted to show this to anyone here who is just starting on their path towards learning how to code. I know a lot of you are interested in games / coding, so if you have any questions feel free to throw them at me. I started a few years ago and had a lot of trouble, but there are solutions available now that make everything way easier! This game is pretty simple, but consists of all the "basics" you'd need for a game.

If you're just now starting, there's nothing but time that's holding you back. All of the graphical assets were free to use (Kenny!), the music was free to use, and the main chunks of the game (movement, camera, etc.) can all be solved by watching a few tutorial series, reading Unity's documentation, searching the asset store for useful assets, and having a bit of dedication.

The game currently ends at level 20 (with the ufo), there's no ending screen at the moment.

Controls

Joystick (Xbox):
Left stick for movement
A for jumping
L and R buttons for switching colors

Keyboard (controller suggested!!!):

Player 1:
WASD for movement
spacebar for jump
J/K for color change

Player 2:
Arrow keys for movement
numpad2/numpad3 for color change
numpad0 for jumping


In addition to the megaman-esque project I'm currently working on, I'm thinking of tackling networking next. Maybe doing an FPS puzzle game...

 

[ranmaru]

Yeah, I think I'm going to try considering moving out. It's only getting more toxic here. Going to remind myself to read some of OS's and Cherilee's posts to fix ma life.

 

[Orboknown]

An fps puzzle game sounds like a hella interesting concept

 

[#HBC | Joker]

An fps puzzle game sounds like a hella interesting concept

Like Portal and The Talos Principle.

 

[Orboknown]

Havent played the later, portal was fun

 

[Overswarm]

Like Portal and The Talos Principle.

Close!

I'm tinkering with the idea at the moment, but the basic idea I have in my head right now for a prototype is:

• Single room
• Two players
• Networked
• Multiple synchronous puzzles going on simultaneously, with each player solving puzzles together, sharing information over text/voice communication
• Emphasis on simple puzzles, where the key is remembering the puzzles you've solved and using all the items together
• To encourage teamwork, many of the puzzles would be introduced by large visual cues (lighting, giant words) or audio played for both players
• Puzzles would fit into types -- music, shapes, light, space, etc., or themes -- sherlock holmes, space station, murder mystery, etc.

An example puzzle could be:
If you stand on red squares, red lights turn on. If you stand on blue squares, blue lights turn on. There would be a single "white light" switch in the room that turns on the room light, lighting the entire room. A puzzle would indicate that you need to stand on the purple squares.

Players would get the above information slowly over the course of the puzzle while accomplishing other tasks, eventually being able to piece together that the red light and blue lights both shine on the same squares in exactly two spaces -- when the players stand on those spaces, the puzzle would be complete and they would receive another clue that lets them move forward.

 

[KevinM]

Pretty sure they're gonna fire our other database guy during the busiest this place has ever been since it started as a center

#swag

 

[Overswarm]

Pretty sure they're gonna fire our other database guy during the busiest this place has ever been since it started as a center

#swag

If the world wasn't completely backwards, this is where you'd request a raise, your boss would say "ha HA! Thatta boy! Yeah, it goes without saying -- we need you here and want you to stay. I know it'll be hard, but hopefully we can make it worth your while."

In reality it'd be like

"I'm sorry, funds are not available right now. The economy, you know."

and then they hire someone for cheaper in the new position, wait for a stable time, fire you, then hire another guy after you've trained the new cheaper one

economyyyyyyy

 

[adumbrodeus]

Pretty sure they're gonna fire our other database guy during the busiest this place has ever been since it started as a center

#swag

Time to look for another position!

If the world wasn't completely backwards, this is where you'd request a raise, your boss would say "ha HA! Thatta boy! Yeah, it goes without saying -- we need you here and want you to stay. I know it'll be hard, but hopefully we can make it worth your while."

In reality it'd be like

"I'm sorry, funds are not available right now. The economy, you know."

and then they hire someone for cheaper in the new position, wait for a stable time, fire you, then hire another guy after you've trained the new cheaper one

economyyyyyyy

Business major approach to company management, if the guy's good enough they'll manage, if not major company failure!

But we decreased overhead costs!

 

[Cheerilee]

Pretty sure they're gonna fire our other database guy during the busiest this place has ever been since it started as a center #swag

Time to look for another position! Business major approach to company management, if the guy's good enough they'll manage, if not major company failure! But we decreased overhead costs!

 

[Dooms]

Close!

I'm tinkering with the idea at the moment, but the basic idea I have in my head right now for a prototype is...

This sounds really cool! Interested to see what you do with music-based puzzles (:

 

[#HBC | Dancer]

If all goes well today I'll be enrolling for dorm life at college. Thinking I'm gonna major in computer sciences. If any college people or those have experienced college have any advice for me that'd be swell.

Overswarm ? #HBC | Dancer ? #HBC | Laundry ?

Well, considering that I was, and still am, a recluse who doesn't participate in any extracurricular activities with zero connections, uhh . . . Just don't do what I did I guess?

Curious about your choice of major tho. Why comp science? It's a great major to get into, but it's also somewhat math intensive. Def some killer classes in that major. Just be prepared as to what you're getting into (could be worse).

But yeah again a great major; you'll learn a lot and it looks good on a resume.

 

[#HBC | Dancer]

Also how are you funding college? If your economic situation isn't great then this is important have figured out. Time is money, which is why I ask about the choice in a computer science major. Changing your major could be costly.

(Although as OS pointed it will be to your benefit in the long term).

 

[#HBC | Joker]

Two words.

Financial. Aid.

Seek it.

 

[#HBC | ѕoup]

No worries, I have financial aid. I thought you were taking CS too dancer?

 

[#HBC | ѕoup]

So...
The game doesnt have any emotional impact besides the whole game? Lol especially if you go true pacifist--->genecide

Nah. I worded that spoiler a bit weirdly. I was more-so intrigued/appreciating the technical aspects.

 

[Cheerilee]

@ #HBC | soup Stanford has a six week programming course that you could finish within two weeks: https://lagunita.stanford.edu/dashboard

Free to register, free to complete, and completely self paced.. Intended for people with no prior experience to programming.

 

[Cheerilee]

I don't think people DO appreciate Undertale's "technical" aspect. Most RPGs are designed are very basic principles. You perform "x" event to trigger "y" event, "y" event triggers "z" event. So on and so forth. In terms of how these games play out this often manifests itself like taking an item such as a key and using it to open a door in order to defeat a boss. Defeating the boss then becomes the new sequence event that unlocks additional options. Most people simply recognize this as a linear progression, however linear progressions are created that way because it is a hassle to program for multiple options to be built in such as what happens if you offer the user multiple instances of "x" events that lead to different instances of "y" and so on and so forth.

A big part of this is because creating multiple instances is largely a time sink that may not have end value. It's why games like the Stanley Principle were designed solely around this concept and only restricted to a closed environment room for the entirety of the game. Undertale broached this concept not only building a similar premise to meta gameplay but also incorporating a "story" with multiple outcomes thereby going above and beyond simply being a multiple outcome game. It's precisely because people don't understand the fact tht a spin off game or DLC could have been created off a different pathway for Undertale that they under-appreciate the game for being revolutionary by modern gaming standards.

 

[#HBC | Joker]

That's not revolutionary by modern gaming standards. That's maybe revolutionary to indie games, at best.

 

[Spak]

Multiple endings has been a thing for a LONG time. Star Fox 64 had multiple endings (and multiple paths), Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal had a huge number of endings, Cave Story had multiple endings in 2004, Neverwinter Nights 2 had character loyalty checks at the final boss based upon your interactions with them throughout the game in 2006, Star Fox: Command had branching paths and a LOT of endings (also in 2006), Mass Effect had a gigantic map of branching paths in 2007, and branching paths has become more and more popular as we go later in the history of gaming.

 

[Cheerilee]

And yet those games in terms of offering multiple pathways still fall short to Undertale. It is a game that makes the player acknowledge restarting the game is still noticed and challenges their presumptions in treating this game like Mass Effect or any of the other titles you mentioned as just being a game where you can just restart and pretend you didn't make a mistake. And it is even a bit more than just meta cognizant as the game does more with this than just making it a quirk, a nod, or a wink. It builds and incorporates this aspect into the framework of the game when you least expect it making it a very poignant moment not just for the game, but for you as well.

 

[Spak]

And yet those games in terms of offering multiple pathways still fall short to Undertale. It is a game that makes the player acknowledge restarting the game is still noticed and challenges their presumptions in treating this game like Mass Effect or any of the other titles you mentioned as just being a game where you can just restart and pretend you didn't make a mistake. And it is even a bit more than just meta cognizant as the game does more with this than just making it a quirk, a nod, or a wink. It builds and incorporates this aspect into the framework of the game when you least expect it making it a very poignant moment not just for the game, but for you as well.

You can. It's called deleting all of the files in Undertale's appdata folder.

 

[#HBC | Kary]

related:

Let me tell you a little story about innovation and creativity. Years ago, I worked on a wiki-based project to find the first instance of ideas/techniques in video games (like the first game to use cameras as weapons, or the first game to have stealth as a play element). It excited me to dig to give credit to those who laid the foundations of ideas that we now take for granted. I couldn’t wait to show the world how creative and innovative these unknown game designers/developers were.


I went into it with much passion and excitement, but unexpectedly, it turned out that there were almost no “firsts”. Every time someone put up a game that was the first to do/contain something, there was another earlier game put up to replace it with a SLIGHTLY less sophisticated, or SLIGHTLY different version of the same thing. The gradient was so smooth and constant that eventually, the element we were focusing on lost meaning. It became an unremarkable point to address at all. We ended up constantly overwriting people’s work with smaller, less passionate articles, containing a bunch of crappy games that only technically were the first to do something in the crudest manner. Sometimes only aesthetically.


After a lot of time sunk into this project, I came to the conclusion that I was mistaken about innovation/creativity. It would have been a better project to track the path of ideas/techniques than to try to find the first instance of an idea/technique. I held innovation so highly for years before that, but after this project, I saw just how small it was. How it was but a tiny extension of the thoughts of millions before it. A tiny mutation of a microscopic speck that laid on top of a mountain. It was a valuable experience that helped me very much creatively.

— Dave Freeman, a game designer, friend, and former coworker of mine

source: http://adiscourseongaming.tumblr.co...t-me-tell-you-a-little-story-about-innovation

 

[Cheerilee]

You can. It's called deleting all of the files in Undertale's appdata folder.

 

[Cheerilee]

 

[Cheerilee]

 

[Cheerilee]

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

Multiple endings has been a thing for a LONG time. Star Fox 64 had multiple endings (and multiple paths), Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal had a huge number of endings, Cave Story had multiple endings in 2004, Neverwinter Nights 2 had character loyalty checks at the final boss based upon your interactions with them throughout the game in 2006, Star Fox: Command had branching paths and a LOT of endings (also in 2006), Mass Effect had a gigantic map of branching paths in 2007, and branching paths has become more and more popular as we go later in the history of gaming.

Cave Story had multiple endings my ass, fight me.

Cave Story has ONE ending. The other two endings are very obviously subpar. You basically have a score check to see if your score is high enough to progress. It's only a step above Luigi's Mansion, and I don't classify that as multiple endings.

Chrono Trigger had ONE ending and a bunch of optional things that happened before (or during) the credits depending on when you got to the ending.

Many games have a multiple routes that funnel into the same ending with slightly different coats of paint.

Your best example is Star Fox Command, but it didn't strive to have an interlocking narrative. It was also made to be significantly less heavy than Undertale so it didn't have to bend over backwards to keep its story impactful through multiple endings.

Undertale, while not totally unique, provides three separate routes that result in three different destinstions where no "true ending" exists. The introduction of the way that they treat saving also manages to interlock the three routes despite the fact that they are new playthroughs.

Much like what Cherilee said, you can ALWAYS find somewhere that someone did something that is somewhat similar, but to claim that Undertale didn't present an experience not offered elsewhere in modern gaming is foolish.

I have pondered these subjects extensively. Since I was no longer spending any time on PM Development, I've been filling my time working on my own project in Unreal to learn the skills necessary simply because I want to. I actually drew a lot off of what Undertale does right because it fit in with what I was trying to accomplish.