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Because I really need a development log or somewhere to ramble on about my game, the problems I face and everything else, so without further ado, time to roll out the SEGAbits post for Brock Crocodile.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtfPuHTIQAArOIS.png)
Webiste: www.brockcrocodile.com (http://www.brockcrocodile.com)
Twitter: www.twitter.com/brockcrocodile (http://www.twitter.com/brockcrocodile)
What is Brock Crocodile?: Brock Crocodile is a platformer game that takes a lot of inspiration from a lot of classic platformers from the late 1980s/1990s. The game stars a red crocodile who adventures from ruins to massive museum to a mechanical base set in a volcano.
How are you developing it?: The game is being developed using Clickteam's Multimedia Fusion 2 which most people on this board ought to know is responsible for a good amount of Sonic fangames.
What platform will it be on and when?: Windows is currently the only place it will be released and I'm aiming for sometime in mid-2015.
How far are you done?: In terms of content I'd say about 30% complete.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/ShootGif_zps3e62246f.gif)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/Gameplay2_zpsf2fb9bbb.gif)
Gameplay: Brock Crocodile is split between the two towns the player can visit to purchase powerups and the levels Brock must complete to progress the story. The game is designed in a linear fashion but the players can always revisit the stages to find whatever they overlooked. In the stages, Brock will be able to use his whip to take out baddies and use it to swing across pitfalls or interact with the background. If you prefer long distance combat, no problem! Brock comes packed with a fruitgun too, which can either dish out one of your five a day or take down some goons.
Levels: There's going to be a lot of variety in terms of both level design and art direction of the levels. Going with stage specific gimmicks to help each level stand out a bit more.
Level 1: Gazadiaz Ruins
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/GazadiazRuins_zpsa10f7454.png)Level 2: Beehive Battleship
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/BeehiveBattleship_zps99b4e952.png)The Villians
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/TheVilliansDeux_zpsd7bcf64c.png)Because we need more boss battles and more multiple types of baddies in games. The baddies are going to range all sorts of size, from the bee people who are shorter than Brock, to apes that are twice his sizes to bosses from mechas, giant turtles with plasma cannons and more.
Demo is actually done and I'll probably be releasing it soon, I just want to fix up the title screen. In the mean time, here, watch the trailer;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMr78No5GpQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SadNuYf3lbw)
EDIT: New trailer March 12th 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e19dduUBBns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e19dduUBBns)
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Game is awesome. Gonna move this topic to gaming.
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Damn, you perfected the swing.
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Because this needs to be stated, is PC all major OS's?
Or is it just your term for "Windows"
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Game is awesome. Gonna move this topic to gaming.
Thanks Shadi, I was unsure where to put it on, for some reason I felt uneasy dumping it here but it makes the most sense!
Damn, you perfected the swing.
It's a lot more fluid and it doesn't break the player's momentum, I think you'll be satisfied with the change.
Because this needs to be stated, is PC all major OS's?
Or is it just your term for "Windows"
Right now it's being developed for Windows, sorry I should have made that clearer, edited.
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No need to apologize hehehe
A lot of people use the term as such even today (PC/Mac/Linux). But since a few games have started bucking that trend I just needed to be sure. I still run windows mostly for school purposes so it wouldn't have effected me either way.
I'm just a weird person like that. Game looks great!
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I really like how much this reminds me of Sonic Advance games. Will be supporting this when it's done Aki.
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Maaaaan, this is looking NEAT. Totally gonna play this on my sexy new PC when its out. Unless you somehow manage to pull off a Dreamcast port....? :P
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I wanted a Master System port, it looks like a Master System game imo. Would be awesome to play on the unit.
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I remember talking to you about this game years ago, so great to see it realised. It looks fantastic!
I'm really very impressed and can't wait to see the finished product.
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I've been tweeting progress on the game, but I hadn't said anything in the forums. Looking great, man! And from what I've heard from my friend working on the music, it's gonna sound great too.
Nice to see somebody not just talking about a game, but actually delivering on it!
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No need to apologize hehehe
A lot of people use the term as such even today (PC/Mac/Linux). But since a few games have started bucking that trend I just needed to be sure. I still run windows mostly for school purposes so it wouldn't have effected me either way.
I'm just a weird person like that. Game looks great!
Thanks for the kind words! Indeed I didn't want to make any false promises at the beginning so I changed it straight away, although I'd love to get it on as many platforms are possible. Hopefully in future I might be able to get it on Mac too (Multimedia Fusion 2 has an iOS exporter but from reviews it seems to be pretty rough.) but as it is Windows for now.
I really like how much this reminds me of Sonic Advance games. Will be supporting this when it's done Aki.
Heh, can I ask what makes you think of Sonic Advance and not classic Genesis platformers? Just interested in knowing, glad you like it so far.
Maaaaan, this is looking NEAT. Totally gonna play this on my sexy new PC when its out. Unless you somehow manage to pull off a Dreamcast port....? :P
I wanted a Master System port, it looks like a Master System game imo. Would be awesome to play on the unit.
Guys let me complete the game first haha, I'll be honest if I could get a Dreamcast release it'd be one of my dream come true!
I remember talking to you about this game years ago, so great to see it realised. It looks fantastic!
I'm really very impressed and can't wait to see the finished product.
Yeah, I remember starting it way back in 2009, finally getting there and hopefully it'll be ready next year, glad you liked it Mang, finally Crocodile Dundee has meet his match.
I've been tweeting progress on the game, but I hadn't said anything in the forums. Looking great, man! And from what I've heard from my friend working on the music, it's gonna sound great too.
Nice to see somebody not just talking about a game, but actually delivering on it!
Yeah Steve has been brilliant on the project, the first level track works perfectly well with what I want, shame there are some tracks (https://soundcloud.com/ap0c/demo-reel-1/s-YA6oj < The middle one) I want to be expanded but it suits a desert level, which just so happens to be one of the level tropes that actually don't feature in this game! Thanks for the kind words Barry!
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So I've been working less on the levels and more on the hub section of the game. Looking at the dialogue box (Which was just a plain grey box.) I've changed it to be a black box with a white outline but I think the best change was adding a portrait to show off the NPCs, it forces me to do a bit more work but I think the pay off will be better characterisation as a whole for the project!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brockmugsv1.png)
Obviously they'll be loads more still to design, I think I'll have to make another 40 odd faceshots, taking a note from the Shining Force book too, the mugshots will be blinking/talking when their speaking to Brock.
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Why are all the women human and all the men 'animal based'?
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Why are all the women human and all the men 'animal based'?
It is an artistic statement to showcase that men are uncivilized animals and truly women are the superior sex that will lead the huwomen race into a glorious utopian future.
Really the tiger in the middle is a girl, they'll be other non-humans but I prefer drawing female humans.
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It is a nod to Sonic 1 and Madonna of course!
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It is an artistic statement to showcase that men are uncivilized animals and truly women are the superior sex that will lead the huwomen race into a glorious utopian future.
Guaranteedsales.jpg
For real though it's looking really fantastic. What do you use to make the sprites etc? Are you limiting yourself to a certain resolution to keep a certain aesthetic?
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I need this music in my veins.
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Guaranteedsales.jpg
For real though it's looking really fantastic. What do you use to make the sprites etc? Are you limiting yourself to a certain resolution to keep a certain aesthetic?
Good ole MSPaint, I've been sticking to the palettes used in most SEGA Japan games from either the Mega Drive or the Mega CD, it helps to give off that bright colourful effect. When it comes to the basic sprites, unless they're larger than normal, I tend to avoid shading simply because I only have a limited amount of pixels for me to play with and that is a real challenge I'll admit. It has it's advantages too though, mainly it's far easier to animate!
I need this music in my veins.
Glad you loved it so far! Steve, the guy who made the trailer music (Which is the first stage song in the game.) has all his musical stuff hooked up to a Mega Drive so he's as authentic as possible when it comes to replicating the sounds, the other tracks his working on so far sound pretty grand, I'll be sharing some hopefully in future once's his finished them.
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It is an artistic statement to showcase that men are uncivilized animals and truly women are the superior sex that will lead the huwomen race into a glorious utopian future.
Really the tiger in the middle is a girl, they'll be other non-humans but I prefer drawing female humans.
I like this actually haha
I almost missed this thread but damn this looks fabulous.
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It is an artistic statement to showcase that men are uncivilized animals and truly women are the superior sex that will lead the huwomen race into a glorious utopian future.
Really the tiger in the middle is a girl, they'll be other non-humans but I prefer drawing female humans.
:lol to all
Damn I like your art though. I can't imagine how exhausting it must be to be that detailed everywhere.
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No version for other o.s. in future?
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I like this actually haha
I almost missed this thread but damn this looks fabulous.
Thanks bro! Been working pretty hard on this project, literally my life's project since I came up with the idea when I was like 5 or something, so any compliments I get is much appreciated!
:lol to all
Damn I like your art though. I can't imagine how exhausting it must be to be that detailed everywhere.
It actually comes to me relatively easy heh, the hardest part is animating the sprites. Though the game originally started at 200 x 180, infact this is what the first two levels use to look like;
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/1.png)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v151/Aki-at/BeehiveScreen2_zpsefad899b.png)
I've come a looooong way. I've got a lot of rejected level tile sets, probably enough to make an extra level or two heh.
No version for other o.s. in future?
I actually want to get it on as many places as possible, though I am not a particularly skilled programmer (And I'm the only one to boot!) I'm focusing on one for now. But if I can get it on OS, Linux, even on consoles I'd be damn willing to. As there exists an exporter for iOS that's the most likely though that does bring it's own selection of headaches.
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Aki, if you sneak a SEGAbits reference into the game, I can then news the reference. Hint hint ;)
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Aki, if you sneak a SEGAbits reference into the game, I can then news the reference. Hint hint ;)
Barry please, don't you know I abide to the highest moral and ethical standards humanly possible?
(Sure I'll put you and George as graffiti causing maniacs, that's a SEGA reference in there too!)
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Thought it was best if I went a bit further in detail in the tools I used and a bit more on the history of the title. Consider this my first *proper* developer blog! (Which happens to me copying the post off my website!)
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TheDesignProcessofaBrockSprite.png)
The Design Process of a Brock Sprite
HISTORY
Brock Crocodile finds it’s early roots back in the early 1990s when as a young chap I decided that I wanted to be a game designer. From designing the characters in LEGO bricks to making faux magazines posting previews and reviews of the title. After a stint in various fangaming communities during the early 2000s I had come across Clickteam’s highly popular The Games Factory, a video game development program. The application used a range of GUI tools instead of scripting to help allow users an easier way at designing computer games. But it was not until 2009 that I actually began designing Brock Crocodile.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ProgressionofGazadiazRuins.png)
The Gazadiaz Ruins in 2009 (Left & right image) and present (Centre images)
The First Pieces of Art
On a late Autumn day I finally decided that I should give my attention at actually designing the game I had planned to and so I set about creating the first Brock sprite. Opening up Microsoft Paint and using the basic palette as a guide to the colours I would use, I drew some nifty little circles and started attaching them together, before long I had the first official Brock Crocodile sprite! But I did not stop there and quickly after completing Brock I went straight for designing the first area the Gazadiaz Ruins. Looking back at it, whilst the same Brock sprite has remained through from 2009 the first stage has changed considerably. Now with more shading in both the foreground and background with much more detail, I opted to abandon the strict restriction on the palette limitation I set on myself.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/01.-Gazadiaz-Ruins-Stage-1-e1413825799131-150x150.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/01.-Gazadiaz-Ruins-Stage-1-e1413825799131.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1-1fulla-150x150.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1-1fulla.png)
The level design to the left flows much better in terms of progression
Crafting the Level Design
When it came to designing the levels I originally opted to once again use Microsoft Paint but found it much more effective and efficient if I used the good old fashioned pen(cil) and paper. Another area that saw drastic changes as the project went into full production and saw me unfortunately scrap some good work but trying to implement my originally Microsoft Paint level designs lead me to the realisation they were just not as good as the new set I was making with my pencil and pad. I must have scrapped a good level of two worth of content but I’m not sadden by it, in fact I think what I have designed now is much more impressive! Compare the first half of stage 1 with that of the level design I created using Microsoft Paint to see what a massive difference it makes. Another major contribution to the project was digging through level designs of classic platformers from the 1990s and it proved to be incredibly help at analysing what they did right and how they implemented an effective design centred around the game’s core mechanics.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BaseEngine.png)
How very programm-ey
Working on the Engine
Now whilst the art may seem to some to have taken some time, nothing compares to the amount of time I spent programming the title. Thankfully the Clickteam community have a stockpile of tutorials on helping you learn how to use their programs and I finally dived in and discarded my old copy of The Games Factory I had from the early 2000s and decided to purchase Multimedia Fusion 2. Using various tutorials on Youtube and both the Clickteam official community sites as well as the many fan websites through out the internet, I eventually managed to get a hang of coding my first proper engine with Multimedia Fusion 2. From first giving Brock the ability to jump, then to walk, shoot, get hurt etc it all slowly added up. Ironically the core part of the gameplay, Brock’s whip, was the hardest and last core part to implement but finally after many stressful nights that too was accomplished!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ResolutionWars.png)
“Hey where did the other hoop go?!”
Resolution Wars
Another massive change that happened during the early production of the title was the resolution change. The original levels were designed with a resolution of 240 x 180 to try and stick with the same sort of resolution a 8 bit title would usually be restricted too. However in 2013, after finally completing the base engine I decided that to not only to push for a much more varied and better art direction (By giving myself access to a wider range of colours.) I found a larger resolution would allow for a much less cluttered screen that was being suffocated with the HUD taking more then I would like of the vital space. More importantly though is that it helped the player avoid colliding with obstacles and enemies. Finally, the window size was upped to 320 x 200 (Closer to games found on the SEGA Mega Drive.) allowing me to space out the levels just a little bit more and allowed for a much better swing radius for a key component in Brock Crocodile, the use of his whip.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/brockLogo_lightBg.png)
Brock gives you a thumbs up for reading the whole post!
This wraps up the history lesson for the project, I hope you all enjoyed reading about the project a bit and please look forward to more developer blogs where I’ll be going more in depth from things such as level design to the coding of the game itself. Thanks again for reading and look forward to many more updates coming in the future, till then enjoy your Monday afternoon people!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2014/10/20/developer-blog-1-history-and-tools/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2014/10/20/developer-blog-1-history-and-tools/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/524274935125266432
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Fascinating write up! It's always a pleasure to read and even have visual peaks into the experiences and thought processes of others, especially in the field of gaming. As a programmer(however novice atm) it also helps with the logistics and system design elements to see the examples of others and how they work around problems.
Planning myself to enter homebrew projects(though not necessarily making games myself, I don't have that much art talent lol) myself in the coming week(s). Gonna be fiddling around mostly with Commodore/Amiga. If I do extend to games it probably will be porting, but I don't expect this to happen for a while, between Commodore BASIC and 68000 Assembly....I have a lot to learn xD
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Fascinating write up! It's always a pleasure to read and even have visual peaks into the experiences and thought processes of others, especially in the field of gaming. As a programmer(however novice atm) it also helps with the logistics and system design elements to see the examples of others and how they work around problems.
Heh thanks, I enjoyed writing and hope people find these future posts useful ^^
I've definitely learnt a lot through making my own game and I cannot stress enough that having a rough idea of how you are going to implement the code before you go through it is fundamental, not just a good idea. Prior to this I was just wigging it and left scratching my head needlessly most of the time!
Planning myself to enter homebrew projects(though not necessarily making games myself, I don't have that much art talent lol) myself in the coming week(s). Gonna be fiddling around mostly with Commodore/Amiga. If I do extend to games it probably will be porting, but I don't expect this to happen for a while, between Commodore BASIC and 68000 Assembly....I have a lot to learn xD
Oh by all means do post about on the forums when you've got stuff to show, it's great to see we're starting to get a community of coders on here heh.
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I've definitely learnt a lot through making my own game and I cannot stress enough that having a rough idea of how you are going to implement the code before you go through it is fundamental, not just a good idea. Prior to this I was just wigging it and left scratching my head needlessly most of the time!
Trust me, experience has taught me thus so far xD.
SO many assignments that took longer than they should have because I was coding first thinking later x.x
Oh by all means do post about on the forums when you've got stuff to show, it's great to see we're starting to get a community of coders on here heh.
I plan to, most likely in the programming thread of course! Subject to change based on relevance!
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This is so frigging sweet. Very inspiring!
I've invested lots of time learning programming and such in Unity, after knowing most of the art pipeline, so I dig that other people are tipping their hat towards game design.
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Sorry for the late replies chaps but better late than never!
Trust me, experience has taught me thus so far xD.
SO many assignments that took longer than they should have because I was coding first thinking later x.x
Haha tell me about it, but now I feel that if I ever do a sequel or another game, it'll probably take me half the time it did to get this one, the learning experience is invaluable.
This is so frigging sweet. Very inspiring!
I've invested lots of time learning programming and such in Unity, after knowing most of the art pipeline, so I dig that other people are tipping their hat towards game design.
Truth be told I've always wanted to design games since a kid and I've been using this program in and out of my teenage years but I finally decided to just do it. A bit of a nostelgia trip for old school SEGA fans too I hope.
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Right not much to say but I was wondering where to take the project from here in terms of raising awareness. Should I be posting up screens of WIP stages? GIFs of some of the sprite work in the game or maybe videos showing off the systems and level design? As for progress I'm just about to finish off the 8th stage and working on designing the 4th boss, almost to the half way point!
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Yes to all of the above.
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Yes to all of the above.
Yeah I thought that might have been a response.
My only worry is if I reveal too much of the game, I'd love people to come into it without knowing what they've gotten themselves into but I suppose I'd have to sacrifice that in order to ensure the game gets the sort of exposure that's needed.
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Perhaps just show a single screen from later stages and only show off the first half of the game?
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Throw up some spoiler warnings for those who want to go in 'blind' but others can spoil the twist that Brock is really an Alligator.
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I had no idea that anyone here is making a game.
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Perhaps just show a single screen from later stages and only show off the first half of the game?
That's a good idea actually, showing off the first 5 levels in playthroughs should be enough and then just WIP screenshots of the later stages + 1 actual screenie.
Throw up some spoiler warnings for those who want to go in 'blind' but others can spoil the twist that Brock is really an Alligator.
Actually the twist is Brock is a dragon and not a crocodile. So obvious you should have seen it coming, he's red after all!
I had no idea that anyone here is making a game.
I think I'm the first to show off a game but we've got a bunch of creative people here. I've been working on it for a while so I hope you like what you've seen so far!
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1_15.gif)
Just an idle animation of a baddie from the fourth level, City Lockdown, Russell the Ape. He's life goals are throwing wooden barrels at you and generally making life difficult for you.
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That looks great, Aki!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this title. How much is the game challenge from baddies vs platforming pitfalls in your opinion?
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Just an image for Screenshot Saturday, Brock having a delightful conversation with the boss of Museum Mayhem.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7Bp3eeIIAEMf4o.png)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/554059157197041664
That looks great, Aki!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this title. How much is the game challenge from baddies vs platforming pitfalls in your opinion?
Good question and I'd like to say its a mix of the two but depending on the stage, one might be more common than the other. The fourth level City Lockdown so far has the most baddies in the game but the following single stage level Breakout Prison is just traps and puzzles, also at times it'll also depend on which route you take.
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Got another developer's blog up on the site
Developer's Blog #2: Updates and Progress
First before we start this developer blog, Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a warm and fuzzy festive period with friends and family. I thought I might try my hand at giving a bi-monthly report from now on. It lets you guys know the the project is alive and kicking whilst also letting everyone interested know how everything is coming along. So without further ado, let's get the second developer's blog running!(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/20141102_211054-150x150.jpg) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/20141102_211054.jpg)(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ZetropolisBackground-150x150.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ZetropolisBackground.png)
Some concept art for the fourth stage, City Lockdown. Also introducing Stick bean Brock!
A quick recap on what occurred during December that ended up being far busier than I anticipated but I still had more than enough time to contribute to my project. Working with my level artist Matthew I quickly drew up the concepts for the fourth level and he helped produced the majority of the art. I also completed the set up for both stages for City Lockdown and now leaves me with working on the fourth boss, Lankeyarms (Name just a placeholder.)(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1_15.gif) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1_15.gif)
One of the baddie's from City Lockdown, Russell the Ape
So far this January I've started planning out the level design for Breakout Prison and working on the concept art. In order to keep things fresh I've decided to exclude any sort of baddies from the stage safe for a few secret ones used to help boost a player's score. In terms of the speed I'd describe each stage as the following; Gazadiaz Ruins (Fast) Beehive Battleship (Fast) Museum Mayhem (Slow) City Lockdwon (Moderate) Breakout Prison (Slow) I'm really hoping that this mixing up would help differentiate the levels apart from another, of course it's a dangerous method too, I don't want the gameplay to slow down excessively that it'd bore players.(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/DSCF4747-150x150.jpg) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/DSCF4747.jpg)
Concept art for Breakout Prison
Although it does share a gimmick from Museum Mayhem (Laser beams to turn on and off.) the stage is also equipped with flamethrowers that are activated when the player is spotted by a search light, retractable spikes, floors, doors and also a mini-puzzle where you'll have to insert coded boxes into the floor to open a door. It definitely is aiming to be a bit more time consuming than the prior two stages (That should be completed within 3 to 4 minutes in total.) since it's the only level in the game that has a single stage baring the final level. And again barring the final stage, this one has the lowest number of alternate routes. Coming off of City Lockdown that had upwards of 16 different paths, I'm gunning for a more linear straight forward level with maybe 2 or 3 different routes the player can take.(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Lankeyarms.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Lankeyarms.png)
Work in progress sprite for Lankeyarms.
Now back to Lankeyarms, just like with the stages I'm hoping to keep the bosses fresh. An elderly primate dressed in a fashionable sharp white suit, he jumps around from the stage using his steam powered gauntlets that jettisons him into the air and tries to land a spinning roll on Brock. Failing that he always has a few handy banana grenade's to throw at our scaly protagonist. Lankeyarms leads a group of monkeys and apes to assault Serena City and capture it's mayor after botched attempts at stealing the artifact Brock recovers in the first stage. A thing to note about him is that he is so far, the shortest boss Brock encounters in the game and the second shortest overall (Brock's rival, Egaunodon, is the shortest being as tall as Brock) so trying to take him out with anything but your whip could be difficult.
That wraps up this developer blog, I hope you enjoyed reading it and one of my goals for this coming year is to start churning these out on a more regular basis. Until then folks!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/01/12/developer-blog-2-updates-and-progress/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/01/12/developer-blog-2-updates-and-progress/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/554728640702058496 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/554728640702058496)
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Absolutely lovely round of Updates Aki.
This deal is getting better all the time =P
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Absolutely lovely round of Updates Aki.
This deal is getting better all the time =P
Glad you're liking them, from time to time I'm worried if people are reading up on them haha.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7lEbyyIIAARzsj.png)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/556551274414751745
New screenshot of the fourth stage, just a tease for now but I'll be showing it off in a week. Also put up a Facebook page for the project!
https://www.facebook.com/BrockCrocodile
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Love it. Looking really good :)
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This is too cool.
Seriously hope there's a pescadores reference there somewhere...
PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES
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This is too cool.
Seriously hope there's a pescadores reference there somewhere...
PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES
I think this needs to happen. Aki-at, contact me in regards to Pescadores.
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Love it. Looking really good :)
Thanks my hombre.
This is too cool.
Seriously hope there's a pescadores reference there somewhere...
PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES PESCADORES
I think this needs to happen. Aki-at, contact me in regards to Pescadores.
Won't this anger our Chinese overlords?
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Another developer's blog, this time with footage! Yay!Developer's Blog #3: Designing a Boss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvgTWWsKkoY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvgTWWsKkoY)
Welcome again for another insight into the development of Brock Crocodile. On this week blog I’m going to be talking about a central component in the game, the boss battles! Bosses are one of my favourite moments in video games, they can go from hectic shootouts to downright brink of sanity crazy. The first thing I do before starting any boss is designing the character themselves. Having the most awesome boss battle means very little if the character themselves aren’t memorable. I tend to look at titles from the Yakuza series as some of the best boss battles in gaming and how the games’ constantly take liberties in the fights to give the bosses some rather unrealistic special powers. I’m also trying to avoid repeating myself, the first four bosses range from a giant turtle with plasma cannons embedded in his shell to the current boss, a smartly dressed, elderly and slender ape with mechanical gauntlets.(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BrockvsPummells1.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BrockvsPummells1.png)
The next bit would be getting a rough idea of the boss’ attack pattern and fighting style. This however depends greatly on the prior bosses as well as some future planning of later bosses. For example outside of his plasma cannon the first boss Pummell Gunzhell attacks by retreating into his shell and rolling towards the player. The following boss Princess Cassandra would hover around in her bee mech before trying to impale Brock with her stinger. The difference in both bosses are more than just aesthetics. Whilst Pummell’s attack’s can be dodged by jumping in one spot, Cassandra requires movement to get out of the way of her attack. The way to attack them is different too, you can get a few whip attacks on Pummell whilst footed on the ground but Cassandra requires Brock to jump to reach her hitspot area.
With that in mind and with the third boss following Pummell’s method of attack and opening, Lankeyarm is closer to Cassandra. Originally Lankeymonk was meant to be swinging back and fourth but I deemed that a bit too similar to Cassandra so soon and just a bit too difficult for the fourth boss too. He was always going to have specially designed gauntlets but they were to give him extendable limbs in a sort of Dhalism-like way but now instead uses them to jettison himself into the air. Once he reaches the end of the screen the game gives the boss a choice to either initiate his second attack or go back in the opposite direction. His second attack occurs when he hangs off the ceiling and pulls out three bombs after which he tosses them into the air. Once they’ve landed the players must judge depending on how fast the bombs are flashing to correct guess which bomb will go off first and position themselves next to the bomb that will go off last.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BeehiveBattleship4.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BeehiveBattleship4.png)
Another thing that was introduced with the previous boss, the Asguardian Golem, was the boss slightly changing their attack pattern based on their HP. This will not necessarily occur with all the bosses and some will even have totally different forms but it’s just one of the many ways to keep certain battles fresh from others. With Lankeyarm, this difference is less to do with more aggressive attacks like the third boss but more to do with giving the players less openings to attack the boss with.
Once a basic moveset was done it was finally time to let some people review the boss fight. A few friends (Shout out to Farzana and Bruno.) suggested the boss was a bit bland so in the name of variation, Lankeyarm changes the height of his jump and the speed (Moving as fast as Brock.) at set intervals. It certainly adds a lot more challenge to the battle and definitely means players should be cautious when attacking Lankeyarm at certain sections but not too hard that he would be out of place as the fourth boss. You can check a demonstration of the boss battle (Without the animation unfortunately!) above and one funny glitch I encountered.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AsgardChat.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AsgardChat.png)
That wraps up this developer’s blog, I hope you guys and gals enjoyed watching it and on a final note, we recently opened up a Facebook page, drop by and give us a like/share if you can! Till next time!
Tweet: https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/558000489854693376
Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/BrockCrocodile/posts/426588720826735
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Box Bad is my favorite boss.
This is fact now.
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Box Bad is my favorite boss.
This is fact now.
You know I'm surprised how many people actually like Box Bad, it gives me an idea for later in the game : P
Some more work on the fourth boss, this time he has a name and sprite. Presenting... Sir Theodore Thunderbolt!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/GauntletsOut.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/559131472029048833 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/559131472029048833)
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New level profile added on the website, third stage Museum Mayhem;
Museum Mayhem Level Profile Added!
We've been showing off this stage on our Twitter account for sometime now but now is the time to officially announce the third stage, Museum Mayhem!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MuseumMayhemTitle.png)
After protecting an ancient artifact discovered in the Gazadiaz Ruins and stopping the attempt to steal it in Beehive Battleship, Brock finds there's some mysterious goings on in the museum that threaten the artifacts safety again. Spirits of warriors passed long ago, mummies and living demonic skeletons wander the halls of the museum... But is everything as it seems?
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MuseumBreakin3.png)
So far in the development of Brock Crocodile I definitely had the most fun in designing this stage. It also, combined between both stages, the smallest level so far in the game but don't let that make you think it's the shortest. Completing either stage should take you more than 2 minutes even knowing the most effective route to the goal. While Gazadiaz Ruins only had baddies standing in your way and the Beehive Battleship need you to wait for hoops to drag you to the next location, Museum Mayhem has a few different kind of obstacles.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MuseumMayhem2.png)
Firstly the biggest hindrance to players is going to be the secruity system of the museum. Through out the stage the players will find laser beams that are meant to discourage any thief who dares enter (Why a museum has this system we may never know... ) The second and third gimmick are mostly safe, a moveable block and crates blocking your path. One just requires a push from the player whilst the other needs them to find the levy hook attached to the crate to move it upwards. But be careful with the crates, if you want too long under it it'll come and crush poor Brock (No instant death here but a 1HP damage to our scaly friend.)
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MuseumMayhem3.png)
I also had the most fun in designing the baddies for this stage but that's a tale for another update. Until then head over to the stages section and read up a bit on Museum Mayhem. We've done some basic changes to our website now linking our Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Google+ pages on the header and you'll find you can share or retweet this entry at the article's title. Hope you've had fun reading this and be sure to look out for more future Brock Crocodile content!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/01/30/museum-mayhem-level-profile-added/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/01/30/museum-mayhem-level-profile-added/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/561228766136262656 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/561228766136262656)
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I really adore this level, it's quite brilliant.
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A museum is a great idea that I've rarely seen in games! Can we expect some unique background elements, like pieces of art or unique one-off background bits?
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Just saw the preview at Siliconera, I think this game will go far, looks good.
http://www.siliconera.com/2015/01/31/brock-crocodile-has-the-moves-of-a-classic-16-bit-mascot-platformer/
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I really adore this level, it's quite brilliant.
I think with the fun I'm having in designing Breakout Prison a lot of people might end up enjoying that stage too. Glad you liked what you saw of this though Mang!
A museum is a great idea that I've rarely seen in games! Can we expect some unique background elements, like pieces of art or unique one-off background bits?
It's something I've thought about but most of the items so far are generic mummy caskets and skeletons.
Although there are two references. One from a video game series and one from a film series in there, let's just say one series starts with a P and the other with a G : P
Just saw the preview at Siliconera, I think this game will go far, looks good.
http://www.siliconera.com/2015/01/31/brock-crocodile-has-the-moves-of-a-classic-16-bit-mascot-platformer/ (http://www.siliconera.com/2015/01/31/brock-crocodile-has-the-moves-of-a-classic-16-bit-mascot-platformer/)
I honestly couldn't believe it. Was out with the partner when Inthesky tweeted it to me and I was shocked, it's great hearing from other people too what they think about it. So stoked that the game got coverage from such a major website.
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Flame8.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/564124259082309633
Some men Crocodiles just want to watch the world burn...
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Fires looking nice. Think about adding transparency to it? How hard is that?
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Probably my longest developer's blog yet, this time talking about the work carried out on the flamethrower for the fifth level;
Developer's Blog #4: Making a Gimmick
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/02/10/developers-blog-4-making-a-gimmick/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/02/10/developers-blog-4-making-a-gimmick/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/565177586255675392 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/565177586255675392)
Welcome back to another developer’s blog, this time we’ll be taking at how we design a certain gimmick in the fifth stage, Breakout Prison, where Brock finds himself in the high security Navadash Prison.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/PipeTeleport.gif)
Jump in to get this blog post started!
In this particular blog we’ll be looking about the design process that went into making the spotlight. Some context on the level itself, the player will find herself/himself confronting all manners of traps that have been activated to deter any prisoners in trying to escape from laser beams, spikes hidden in the floor, trapdoors and the gimmick we’ll be focusing on this blog the spotlight that activates the flamethrower! Just like the museum, we’re not quite sure why a prison has a flamethrower…
The level itself has one thing that differentiates it from the previous 4 levels and that is a distinct lack of bad guys, save for the 5 hidden through out the level that help the player reach the maximum attack bonus. Outside of that the player will simply be facing an onslaught of gimmicks that will attempt to impale, fry and electrocute our poor reptilian friend. With this in mind it really came down to making sure the gimmicks themselves had a bit more personality and above all else, managed to combine well together when placed in succession or together.
The most important one would be the spotlight. I broke it down in two parts, first of all the spotlights that alternate between themselves and then the flames that start shooting out if the player is detected. First of all required research, as people are aware of by now that with Brock Crocodile we’re attempting to create a platformer from around the 90s. There were plenty of methods I found on how to do a flamethrower but all of them seemed far too advance so I decided to play some good old fashion classics from the 1990s.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DreamsAreMade.png)
After seeing how it was done in SEGA’s 1994 release Sonic & Knuckles (Who says games don’t teach you anything!) it came down to trying to emulate it. This brought a lot of fun and quirky techniques that I learned after messing around with the Sine and Cos that should definitely provide some future use for me! Now to tell you how it’s done, I’m sure there is a more effective way of doing it but for someone who hardly programmed it worked almost as I wanted it to.
The mask that creates the flame, which we shall call the generator from now on, has four different versions (Up, down, left and right.) and one alterable value (Flame direction.) In the initial testing the game would create a dozen or so new flames every 5 seconds at each specific generator points. Once the flame hits the generator, a specific alterable flame in the flame would change (from 0 – 3 representing up, down, left and right.) once this happens, the current y position of the flame would be subtracted by 1 or plus 1 depending if it was going up or down and like wise for the x position if it was going left or right.
The second alterable value is a bit more tricky and makes it needlessly longer. Everytime a flame hits the generator, the generator’s type of movement value would go up by 1. This same value is copied into the flame’s alterable value for type of movement so it knows if it needs to be more slightly left, be in the centre or slightly right allowing for a slight “wavey” movement. Depending on the type of movement, the movement value of the flame would change (From -6 to +6) and a forumla is used to calculate just where the flame should be. In this case it would be;
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Coding.png)
[Set X position to X( "Flame" )+(Sin(Movement( "Flame" )))]
Now depending on how far I want the flame to be to the right or left, a multiplication will occur. Finally after the flame reaches the end of it’s life cycle (Around .35 seconds.) it extinguishes, leaving its slightly younger predecessors to take the reigns as the top flame for the remaining .10 seconds of its life, ha!
Next up the much less frustrating thing was to make the spotlights. The spotlights are controlled by an object, called the Prison_System from now on, in the background that makes use of it’s 5 alterable values (BrockSEEN, BrockACTIVATION, FlamecreationTimer and LightSwitch.) Whenever Brock overlaps a spotlight, BrockSEEN changes from 0 to 1 and 1 is constantly added to BrockACTIVATION and FlamecreationTimer whilst BrockSEEN equals 1. During this time the FlamecreationTimer creates one flame at the various generators and is reset to 0 every time it reaches 6 so we don’t have an overload of flames!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Flame8.gif)
Though you may ask how does Brock get past these spotlights? That one is easy, the LightSwitch is constantly adding 1 until it reaches the maximum of 120 when it’s reset to 0. At each successive 40, one light switch turns on and the other two turn off. A very simple system for a rather complicated secruity system in a prison! All in all, 3 days of work saw me complete the system which I think looks rather pretty and retro in motion. There’s still somethings to sort out (Such as where exactly the fire comes from.) but for now enjoy this GIF.
I believed I’ve covered everything and hopefully you can take away with you the sort of planning that goes on behind the scenes to get something as simple as a flame to work in a game! I must admit when I first started working on Brock my preparation for gimmicks was step by step, I was just winging it, nowadays I plan beforehand, what is the system’s purpose? How is it going to do? How many parts is there to it etc and it’s helped me give greater admiration to some of the industry’s best programmers in the past and future who had to deal with vastly more complicated systems!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/VictoryDance.gif)
Thanks again for reading and you can always share the link via our share buttons above the topic title, until next time!
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Finally showing off the fourth level City Lockdown. Monkeys have taken over the city, kidnapped the mayor and demanding a ransom, fairly typical day in the life of a video game character.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B90-ReWIgAAHfFK.png)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/566677598986858496
Here's the funny thing, that stance by Brock is actually a glitch, his lower body sprite should be completely different from what you see. But the glitch works so well I think I'll just leave it in there!
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Damn, this is lookin' very good.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-aU9_4IcAAiejE.png)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/569306196651479040
Was doing some rough work on the hubtown. In the process of actually "modernizing" the graphics, the original use to look like this.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/001.png)
Next up, fixing up the background.
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Absolutely loving the variety of both scenery and color in these shots.
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Absolutely loving the variety of both scenery and color in these shots.
Yeah that's actually really important for me. Everything from the gimmicks to baddies all just add at trying to make one level as different as the next, one of my absolute favourite things about the classic SEGA platformers was the variety in stage selection (Ristar, Sonic 2 and Shinobi 3 OH YES YES.)
Anyway a bit an update, Brock's going to be at GDC!
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Brock Playable at GDC 2015!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/TitleScreen.png)
That’s right the reason we’ve been quiet is getting Brock Crocodile ready to be played at GDC 2015! Very excited to announce that a playable version of Brock Crocodile is going to be hosted at the Game Developer’s Conference thanks to the lovely people over at Clickteam (http://www.clickteam.com). If you’re going to be in San Fransico for GDC please drop by booth number 736 and give the game a go! If you want to pass any feedback to us or just want to let us know how much you enjoyed the demo, you can shoot us an email to contact@brockcrocodile.com
But that’s not it on the announcement front, we’ve got quite a few things to show off and talk about through out March and you’ll understand why we’ve been quiet for so long, so stay tuned for some more updates in what’s going to be a busy month for us, exciting times ahead!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/02/27/brock-crocodile-is-playable-at-gdc-2015/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/02/27/brock-crocodile-is-playable-at-gdc-2015/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/571362104772562944 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/571362104772562944)
Oh yeah and the announcement of more announcements : P
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Congrats on getting into GDC.
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Congrats on getting into GDC.
Cheers man, I can't believe the games going to a tradeshow, another one of my life goals ticked off!
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A new screenshot Saturday, Brock takes on some of the baddies in City Lockdown. The monkeys are anything BUT a barrel of fun!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-8trY8XEAAWXvh.png)
https://mobile.twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/571725902792429568
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Donkey Kang vs Brock.
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Donkey Kang vs Brock.
Does actually a really good idea for a bad guy name haha.
Got some images from GDC 2015 of Brock being shown off :D
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockGDC_01.jpg)
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockGDC_03.jpg)
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Is Brock on that banner in the background?
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Is Brock on that banner in the background?
Not that I was aware of, it's all completed and fully released titles in the banner.
Now for something from the sixth stage, time for some surfboarding!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockSurfboarding.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/574269760566882304
Everything except Brock and the waves are placeholders. Really happy how that wave effect came out too.
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Congrats on the media big time there.
Nearly got Battletoads PTSD from the water gif there hahaha. As always the game continues to show improvement after improvement. Maybe the games industry can learn a thing from you about marketing and WIP
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Dat Shinobi/Battletoads/TMNT inspiration. BC is really looking good every day. Great job, Aki :)
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Congrats on the media big time there.
Nearly got Battletoads PTSD from the water gif there hahaha. As always the game continues to show improvement after improvement. Maybe the games industry can learn a thing from you about marketing and WIP
You're too kind with your compliment! I think the funny thing is most of what I learned about how to come up with ideas and direction originate from the 1990/80s, it's like the industry forgot what it was and just thought screw it, let's be junior Hollywood.
Dat Shinobi/Battletoads/TMNT inspiration. BC is really looking good every day. Great job, Aki :)
Damn right! Shinobi 3 was a major influence on this stage in particular. Came this far into the game and the only references thus far have been to TMNT, Sonic and Puyo, needed to throw in another SEGA classic in there! :p
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Can we expect any SEGA or SEGAbits easter eggs in the game?
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Is Kogen going to be a bad guy?
I love that surf board, Shinobi III fans eat your heart out.
(http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4uyoyM66i1qegdapo1_500.gif)
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Can we expect any SEGA or SEGAbits easter eggs in the game?
I was thinking of putting MadeManG in as the bitter old man who is disgusted at how AGES has fallen from grace and screams at all the new kids for liking their new stuff.
Nah but seriously I haven't thought about anything outside of a special thanks bit.
Is Kogen going to be a bad guy?
I love that surf board, Shinobi III fans eat your heart out.
(http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4uyoyM66i1qegdapo1_500.gif)
Final boss is the mutated post of Joe and TA's fused into one unreadable grammatical abomination. Press F to beat it.
And this whole level is meant to have a few references to the Shinobi games : 3
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Final boss is the mutated post of Joe and TA's fused into one unreadable grammatical abomination. Press F to beat it.
I'll buy 50 copies
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75 here. As long as I can press F to pay my respects.
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NEW TRAILER! STEAM GREENLIGHT! NEW ART! CAPSLOCKS BUTTON BROKEN! No the last one was a joke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_EYGAp71fI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_EYGAp71fI)
Happy to say Brock Crocodile is now on Steam Greenlight! (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=398370496) Been building upto this and even made a spiffy new trailer. Still a lot more to show off but really happy with how this one came out, especially compared to the last one.
There's also a massive upgrade to the second level, really happy with that, makes the battleship feel more like an airship than a highway in the sky! Made a blog post (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/03/12/brock-crocodile-trailer-2-steam-greenlight-page/) detailing the process on making the video and the new people I've hired too, hopefully they'll accelerate the development a lot faster.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/576088949157924864 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/576074325553496064)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrockCrocodile/posts/449114051907535
Votes and retweets/shares all appreciated!
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Someone pointed I I left the H out of "Threatened"
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF editing it now, this isn't a Capcom game I'm making!
What? I didn't reupload my trailer with no spelling mistakes, honestly I don't know why you would think such a thing.
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Main Baddy design is grade A awesome
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Congratulations on getting Brock Crocodile on STEAM Greenlight!
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Main Baddy design is grade A awesome
Glad to hear you like him, hopefully his boss fight(s) are just as awesome : 3
Congratulations on getting Brock Crocodile on STEAM Greenlight!
Thanks Shadi, now I wait for the votes.
I feel like a politician almost!
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So as you all know I started work on the 6th stage, Havoc Waves, which will have Brock chase down some escaped criminals. So far the engine is just going to be slightly modified so that Brock hits top speed in 0.04 seconds and maybe I'll make his jump gravity just a bit stronger. Outside of that the only change is Brock can only do frontal attacks now (Obviously) and the inclusion of ramps to send Brock higher into the sky.
Below are some gifs showing the process in developing the stage, unfortunately do not have anything for the wave creator so we're just going to have to start with Brock surf walking across the sea!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Surfing.gif)
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockSurfboarding.gif)
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockSurfing2.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/576827182892331008
I'd also like to take this opportunity to show off a new track the music guy, Steve Lakawicz, came up with for the third level Museum Mayhem. Steve's been using DefleMask to pump out the music for Brock and it really helps to make the project feel a lot more authentic and I think this one (Of two) of my personal favourite from him, you can give it a listen HERE. (https://soundcloud.com/ap0c/brock-crocodile-ost-museum-mayhem?in=ap0c/sets/brock-crocodile-ost) If you loved Mega Drive/Genesis tunes then I think you'll be in for a treat! The trailer music and first stage song is there too, so pump as much as you want into your veins JRcade : P
Also Steam Greenlight page is up etc etc http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=398370496
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BRB...going to ER for Chiptune vein pumping.
My body was not ready.
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On the day Kojima is going to leave Konami, on the week Nintendo enters mobile gaming, I give you.
Placeholder map graphics.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Map.gif)
Please be excited.
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I heard they removed "Aki-at" from the Brock cover art, can you comment?
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I heard they removed "Aki-at" from the Brock cover art, can you comment?
(http://media.giphy.com/media/Ic97mPViHEG5O/giphy.gif)
Made me laugh more than I should have.
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Looking good.
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I was thinking of putting MadeManG in as the bitter old man who is disgusted at how AGES has fallen from grace and screams at all the new kids for liking their new stuff.
!!!
Boycotting this game.
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!!!
Boycotting this game.
It's either that or have you and Bruno argue about pirated games.
Would be so meta if a pirate was playing the game at the same time.
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It's either that or have you and Bruno argue about pirated games.
Would be so meta if a pirate was playing the game at the same time.
I can argue with someone using 'we' when referring to his favourite Croco-Ball Team.
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I can argue with someone using 'we' when referring to his favourite Croco-Ball Team.
You can argue with me about we, Bruno about piracy and Barry about SEGA games! Old Man Luke.
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Threw this together to update my Steam profile page but I might just like this more than the original title screen...
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockLogo.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/579373862703513601 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/579373862703513601)
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Well now... It has been a long time hasn't it? And a long absence calls for a big update.
BROCK CROCODILE HAS BEEN GREENLIT
:afroman: :afroman: :afroman:
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/05/28/brock-crocodile-has-been-greenlit/
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BrockLogo.gif)
It’s been just over a month since our last blog post so it probably makes sense to make a major announcement. Well today thanks to the support of everyone, I am very happy to announce that Brock Crocodile has been officially greenlit (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=398370496)! It goes without saying but a big thank you to all who voted Brock Crocodile on Steam and we hope we can deliver the type of experience everyone who showed an interest in the project is expecting.
We’ve come a long way from when the project started actual development, infact if you want to take a trip down memory and reminisce about our first blog post (http://brockcrocodile.com/2014/08/10/official-brock-crocodile-site-launch/) or read up on the development history (http://brockcrocodile.com/2014/10/20/developer-blog-1-history-and-tools/) you can do so on the respective links. From now to the release of the full game, we’ll try to keep you a bit more in the loop of what we’ve been working on. Although there hasn’t been many updates, behind the scenes there has been plenty of work carried out, from new music tracks, level adjustments and sprites. I’ll also be trying my hardest to get a demo available for people to try.
On a final note I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who has supported us through our Greenlit campaign, I’m honestly grateful for all the support shown, me and the team hope we can retain the favour by releasing a game that meets everyone’s standards!
Be sure to follow us on Steam (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=398370496), Twitter or Facebook for all up and coming updates!
I'll admit I've been a little slow the last few weeks but this is the boost I need to help me carry on to the finish line : D
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Congrats! This is awesome news. Love the logo btw.
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Congrats!
I saw some comments doubting the soundtrack, but I've seen Steve's setup and it is legit. Was actually talking to Steve about writing a feature for bits on composing Mega Drive music.
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I already congratulated you via the SEGAbits twitter, so congrats x2.
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Way to go!
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Late replies but the forum was down and hey I've been busy :- P
New level being worked on, Volcanic Meltdown. WIP screenshot to show how everything is going to look, going to have the background desaturated so the foreground doesn't get absorb with the background.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Volcanic_Meltdown.png)
Congrats! This is awesome news. Love the logo btw.
Yeah I'm thinking of changing the title screen from the city backdrop to Brock overlooking the jungle with the shiny logo.
Congrats!
I saw some comments doubting the soundtrack, but I've seen Steve's setup and it is legit. Was actually talking to Steve about writing a feature for bits on composing Mega Drive music.
I laughed at that comment haha, now I know how professional developers feel when gamers say "This game looks like it belongs on the Xbox" when it clearly belonged to the Xbox 360!
That'd be cool if you can, Steve did a massive write up once on it and he's very good and experienced in this stuff. It's a shame he didn't do more Genesis stuff, but with this and Crescent Isle DX that counts picked up a lot!
I already congratulated you via the SEGAbits twitter, so congrats x2.
Thanks bro!
Way to go!
Let us dance in celebration!
(｢･ω･)｢ 乁( ˙ ω˙乁) ヽ(°◇° )ノ (ﾉ*ﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ
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Progress Update: Work on the seventh level begins
Hello everyone! I hope everyone had their fill of enjoyment for E3, I know I certainly did! On today’s blog post I’ll be giving you an update to where the project currently is. Over the past couple of weeks, work has began on the seventh level of Brock Crocodile, Volcanic Meltdown. Following the almost baddie-less level of Breakout Prison and the surfing mini-level of Havoc Waves, this level is set to take Brock back to a traditional level structure with a fair few hazardous obstacles included in this stage.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Volcanic_Meltdown.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Volcanic_Meltdown.png)
You can have a look at the work in progress screenshot above, both our artist have been busy designing the level art and baddies passed off of concept art and previous design of the stages. You may recall from the history of Brock Crocodile blog that original the game had a much more restricted palette and aiming to be closer to a Master System game than a Mega Drive title. You can have a look at what the level use to look like below with another screenshot of the stage to compare it with.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Volcanic_MeltdownPP.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Volcanic_MeltdownPP.png)
I think we’ve definitely managed to stay true to the original level’s art direction. There has been an obvious change in the colour palette so to help Brock stand out more and the saturation for some of the level tiles have dropped done down a few notches. Next up will be making sure the gimmicks for the stage work all well and proper, hopefully on the next update I can talk to you more about the minions that populate the area and the obstacles Brock has to overcome, until next time!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/06/29/progress-update-work-on-the-seventh-level-begins/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/06/29/progress-update-work-on-the-seventh-level-begins/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/616691381696876544 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/616691381696876544)
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You working on a game Aki-at? Looks good. Glad to here it got greenlit too, congrats! :)
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You working on a game Aki-at? Looks good. Glad to here it got greenlit too, congrats! :)
Thanks a lot! I've been working on the game for a while, you can read up about it's history here if you want: http://brockcrocodile.com/2014/10/20/developer-blog-1-history-and-tools/
Now for Screenshot Saturday... Brock being chased by Skullface.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SkullfaceChasev2.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/619928964371492865
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Progress Update: The enemies of Volcanic Meltdown
If you’ve been following our Twitter account then you’ll know that work has began on implementing the baddies for Volcanic Meltdown. As this level is set in a mechanical base, I’ve gone with a choice of only robotic enemies in this stage that a bit tougher than the previous grunts Brock has faced.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SkullfaceChasev2.gif)
First of all we introduce Skullface. This orb shaped walking bomb with a skull for a face leisurely walks around the stage however once he locks onto Brock he’ll frantically run towards him and if he misses, players have to be careful they avoid the sparks he sends out after he explodes!
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MechaDuckFlamev2.gif)
Mecha-Duck is another mechanical menace (Complete with a glitch I need to resolve!) Brock has to take down and slightly tougher too. Whilst Skullface only had 2HP, Mecha-Duck has 3HP meaning on stomping on him will give the player an instant kill. Just like Skullface, he’ll walk around the stage in his set area but he has a longer line of sight and worse still a more deadly attack! Players might remember the flamethrower from the fifth level, Breakout Prison, makes it’s return here equipped as the weapon of choice by Mecha-Duck. What makes him tougher once he activates his flamethrower is bullets are ineffective against him and Brock’s whip doesn’t have enough range, a well timed jump is the only way to rid Brock of this obstacle.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SqueekOne.png)
The final baddie is Squeek-bot, a small mice like creature that’ll run from one end of an area to the other. It’s one of the weakest baddies in the game coming at a poultry 1HP. However the nuisance comes from its smaller frame, letting it able to dodge Brock’s projectile weapons or extended whip on a flat surface.
And that wraps up another one of these progress updates. Hope you enjoyed reading it and we’ll continue to keep you updated on Brock Crocodile and a happy Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating the festivities! Until next time folks!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/07/17/progress-update-the-enemies-of-volcanic-meltdown/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/07/17/progress-update-the-enemies-of-volcanic-meltdown/)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/622075245441069057 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/622075245441069057)
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/LavaStream.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/625067808926367744
New gimmick added, lava streams! Going to make it slightly faster at some point but this is more of a demonstration than the final speed. Got to finish off polishing off the other gimmicks and then it's down to level designing this stage!
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Not done as much progress this week other then polishing up glitches, so here's something for Screenshot Saturday, Brock taking a trip though the city.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CityRunner.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/627556076163072000
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LavaBath.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/632678366412435456
Please use conveyor belts responsibly, otherwise... LAVA BATH! That's all the gimmicks done for for this stage, time to complete up some level designs. My favourite part!
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CNC0jcNW8AARO4x.png)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/635206069699133440
Finally started my favourite bit about game development, level design! Since this is going to be one of the last 6 levels, going to have to make it tricky ahahaha!
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Nice, level looks good here.
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BeePaladinAttacks2.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/637753335932690432
The bees are buzzing with excitement at the prospect of taking the sting out of Brock... I'll buzz off now with my bee puns and beehave.
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looking good.
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PummellTalkVer1.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/642791300186669057
Finished some pre-boss fight smack talk.
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The mincemeat line was pretty awesome hahaha
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Does he have a cool defeated animation and does he explode or simply flash into nothingness?
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The mincemeat line was pretty awesome hahaha
Good to know the humour is off to a good start! : P
Does he have a cool defeated animation and does he explode or simply flash into nothingness?
Remember Streets of Rage 2? How you beat the boss, imagine that!
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(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WalljumpHeli.gif)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/645359708686155776
Nothing new but replaying an old stage for extra polish. Wall jumping and heli-hooks going to be some of the main features of this level.
Also a small clip uploaded onto the facebook page of the same level, showing off the transportation system used in the beehive: https://www.facebook.com/BrockCrocodile/videos/528878770597729/?permPage=1
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I like it.
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Progress Update: Let’s have a chat… Development Blog
Hello everyone! It’s been a while since our last development update but fear not, we’ve up another blog to show how the development of Brock Crocodile is progressing. Today we’ll talk about a minor, yet also important improvement that’s been done to Brock Crocodile, the pre-boss fight cutscene.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PummellTalkVer1.gif)
Now whilst not an essential part of the game, I decided early on that there would be plenty of chatter in the game. The general idea behind it was the give players a feel of the characters and their personality and if in future there is more dialogue in future games, the process isn’t as jarring as going from no talking to every character talking. It also helps to expand the world of Brock Crocodile and more importantly for players who like a neat story to their package, have something to motivate them forwards.
Credit for the coding of the dialogue engine goes to a tutorial provided by Chris Burrows using the text blitter extension for Multimedia Fusion. After obtaining the basic game logic, the next up was how to active it or disregard it. The design process was as follow;
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/TextDevelopment.png)
Brock passes specific area > Camera moves into position > Disable movement and Dialogue box drops down > Text begins > Dialogue box moves up once dialogue is finished > Active character movement and boss movement, boss battle begins.
Following that it came down to two more extra features that had to be implemented. First of all if the player died at the boss, the game should disregard the dialogue box and head straight for the boss battle. The second feature would be if the player wanted to actively skip the dialogue and this was done by giving the player to hold the C key (So anyone who accidentally pressed C doesn’t miss the scene) to skip the cutscene. I’m hoping players can enjoy these scenes that would be filled with light hearted humour and interaction with other characters but those who want to go straight down to gameplay can do so too.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/TitleScreenAni-300x186.gif)
Thanks for reading, that wraps up this update! We still have some more exciting news to announce soon all coming in the future so keep on the look out for future Brock Crocodile news. Until next time folks!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/10/12/lets-have-a-chat-development-blog/
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/653968700291330048
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Been a while hasn't it? Time to get back to work!
Last progress update for 2015: Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year
Yes those wondering where we've gone, worry not, the work on Brock Crocodile has picked up once more and everyone on the team is wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! As we head in 2016, I've started working on one of the most important art pieces for the game, the main map menu.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mapsneakpeak1-300x196.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mapsneakpeak1.png)(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mapsneakpeak-300x188.png) (http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mapsneakpeak.png)
Those who have been following our twitter feed would know that I've been working on the map screen for Brock Crocodile. It's been hard trying to come up with a style I felt "right" but after checking a few world maps, I opted out of the usual top down you find in old school RPGs and instead went to focus on a sort of more natural look, as if you're overlooking it from a mountain in the distance (With stylized mini-map icons of course)
The biggest problem that I'm finding so far is trying to keep everything in a relatively similar size, as you can see from the above image, the hub town is a good decent size but then the first stage icon is absolutely massive in comparison. Obviously some stuff that I'll need to fix up once the full map is complete!
This is going to be the final update for the year but rest assured that there is going to be more Brock Crocodile in the future, until then, have a great Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/12/24/happy-christmas-and-merry-new-year/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2015/12/24/happy-christmas-and-merry-new-year/)
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Awesome! When can we expect more music teases?
I love that map, very Sonic 1 Master System.
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Awesome! When can we expect more music teases?
I love that map, very Sonic 1 Master System.
Sooooon.
Work continues on the map!
And 2016 begins! Happy New Year!
So begins the new year, and we welcome 2016 with another blog post! Since our last post, work has been carried out on the world map, some really awesome tracks on the later levels have been made and fine tuning some of the game’s glitches. Today we’ll continue to look on the world map of Brock Crocodile.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Mapsneakpeak2.png)
So far I’ve designed two more icons on the world map, one for Beehive Battleship and one for Museum Mayhem. Beehive Battleship actually had a different map icon (see below) but after seeing the original’s finished design, a very generic airplane that only had some black strips to indicate it was related to a bee I decided to scrap the design. Its funny how the answer was looking straight at me, I wanted something to look like a hive and yet didn’t take inspiration from an actual hive design, so I based the final aircraft design with a cross between a ship, a beehive and a bee’s face and stinger. Unfortunately the museum didn’t need as quite elaborate design and stuck with a good old fashion building.
(http://brockcrocodile.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/twobeeornottoobee.png)
I get the feeling they’ll be a bit more cut content (Infact might make it a blog post about it in future!) from now till the completion of the game. Now comes the slightly trickier part of populating the map with buildings but that’ll be in the next update. That wraps up this blog post but keep coming back for more information on Brock Crocodile and finally we’d like to wish everyone a great 2016, let the good times roll!
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/683006998665904129 (https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/683006998665904129)
http://brockcrocodile.com/2016/01/01/and-2016-has-began-happy-new-years/ (http://brockcrocodile.com/2016/01/01/and-2016-has-began-happy-new-years/)
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Loving the growing detail in these new art pieces
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Yeah its looking really good!
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Thanks guy!
Still working on the world map screen, have a feeling I might have made the buildings on the right a bit too big haha. Going to have to fix up the shading but gives you an idea of what it'll look like when done.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYTt86HWQAA_5m0.png:large)
https://twitter.com/BrockCrocodile/status/685934674749853697
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Good work, buddy! Keep it going :)
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Brock Crocodile DEMO 2020
(https://i.ibb.co/5xyJkmb/Brock-Crocodile.jpg)
Starring Brock, a red croc, you'll be armed with your trusty whip and fruitgun as you travel through Crocodillian Island taking you from ancient ruins to secret volcanic bases to defeat the wicked Wize!
So if you want relive a bit of the 90s, then check out Brock Crocodile and let the adventure begin!
Download the 2020 Demo here :
https://digicroc.itch.io/brock-crocodile