I've mentioned I'm doing a new game. Here's a VERY preliminary screenshot to wet your appetite. (Note that many things will change, including some of the graphics you see here. Some of them are quite preliminary.)

The game is a shooter, much like Galaga. Level design is being done by our very own Psychotronic. And I have an artist who is just amazing.

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Hey, I reconize that type of game! It's like Diamos Rising by Ambrosia! I loved that type of game!  ::) Make sure you add lots of cheats that make you shoot ridiculous things like burning sheep.  :P

Another picture. This one is actually a static background. Whereas the screenshot I posted earlier is a new (in-progress) background that actually is animated: the sun's rays move slowly over time, and the asteroids all move. The idea is to have lots of interesting animated backgrounds that add visual "wow!" to the game.

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[Reply to Wingy's post]

Well, Mars Rising and games like it are in a category called "vertical shooters" because the screen scrolls vertically. I'd like to make a game like that some day, but that's a lot more work.

Insectoid is even more retro than that... the screen is static. You aren't flying anywhere. Just aliens on the screen to shoot, and when you shoot them, you advance to the next level. Classic arcade goodness.

Ahh yes. It's like that old Swoop game that Ambroisia made. I think this will definatly be a great... remake of this type of game.

And... uh... why is the main shooter thing a bug?

Anthony wrote on 08.09.2007 at 03:17:05:

Ahh yes. It's like that old Swoop game that Ambroisia made. I think this will definatly be a great... remake of this type of game. And... uh... why is the main shooter thing a bug?

Like I said, some artwork will change. The main shooter is a bug because that's place-holder artwork until I get final artwork for it. Same for the blue ships in the first screenshot. And some parts of the background.

Swoop is itself a clone of an old arcade game from the Galaga era called Galaxian. But Swooop didn't add too many new ideas. I always like to add ideas of my own and change things up, so I'm not just cloning some other game. I'm making my own new game, but it's based on principles and concepts from older games... hopefully the principles and concepts that made those games so much fun.

Looking forward to it! :)
Wingy

P.S. Make sure you add cheats to shoot burning flying sheep!  :P ::) ;D
Ok, I think I had my laugh. I'll stop saying that. ;)

What are the flying sheep from? Worms?

Worms 3D, yes it has that, but not burning sheep. The idea I had in mind came from Warcraft III. I was playing the other day and there is a place in the expansion of WarCraft III where theres a secret level powerup surronded by burning flying sheep! :P

Anthony wrote on 10.09.2007 at 01:57:43:

Worms 3D, yes it has that, but not burning sheep. The idea I had in mind came from Warcraft III. I was playing the other day and there is a place in the expansion of WarCraft III where theres a secret level powerup surronded by burning flying sheep! :P

Reminds me of the Cow Level from another amazing Blizzard game, Diablo II, but that may be before your time!

I absolutely LOVED Swoop when it came out.  Sure it was a pretty straightforward port, but at least it was done well.   I went looking for this the other day and was even willing to buy it again (I bought it when it first came out, but don't have that registration code anymore) but found that it never made the transition to OS X and I have an Intel Mac Mini now, so no Classic for me.

Definitely looking forward to Insectoid.  I've been wanting to see something awesome made with Torque 2D for some time!

It's funny to see these old screenshots and see how much the game has already changed. Here's a new one.

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A new game?? I find that games are really old????  :-/

Chippy wrote on 03.02.2008 at 23:22:17:

A new game?? I find that games are really old????  :-/

I think something may have been lost in translation here?  Do you mean this kind of game is old?  Galaga was a hit back in the 1980s, which in the video gaming world is almost as old as it gets. :-)  So I guess I can see that.

But it definitely looks like what Vern is doing with Insectoid looks and feels very modern -- and with Vern's record on MM, I don't think any of doubt that it will be fun, polished, and a great value!  

I just hope that MM community does not rebel because they are so impatient for the MM Expansion!

By the way, Vern, does the Expansion have a clever name/subtitle?  Midnight Mansion: The Thirteenth Hour?  That has a nice ring to it!  :D

Oooh, The Thirteenth Hour... I like it! We were trying to come up with names, but none of them really fit... but that one is really good! I think I just might use it!

That is a great name! Scary sounding and intriguing.

HOLY $%^& thats a good name.

But make sure you have that name have a part in the game. It would be a bit okward if you name it that and it says nothing about a thirteenth hour in gameplay. Make something related to it in the final mansion, which I urge, that all the judges of that contest, make a third of that mansion.

Hah, glad you all seem to like the name.  :-)  

Maybe you should put a grandfather clock graphic into the game, Vern, which has thirteen hours for those who look carefully.  And if you want to get bonus points, make it start ticking from "midnight" to that thirteenth hour in real time with the mansion played time.  And if you're in a room with a clock when the clock strikes 13 -- You hear 13 chimes, of course!  And then the clock breaks.  It'd be cool to encounter these clocks as you progress through a mansion, particularly in save rooms and the final treasure room.

::) okay nice game anyway

Hey, so I'm not sure that we have too many "space shooter" fans here, but maybe I'm wrong?

I was at a diner the other morning and they had this kind of ultimate Neo-Geo system (well it was not Neo-Geo, but it let you choose from a variety of games) and it included a number of classic arcade shooters.

I got to play "Phoenix",  "Astro Fighter", and a couple others.

They were fun, to an extent.  I found the whole history of arcade starship shooters fascinating.

I also have Galaga at home on a joystick that lets you play Galaga or Mrs. Pac Man, or a few other classic games.  Galaga is the best though.  At least until Insectoid comes out!

Does anyone else have a favorite such game?

When I was a kid I played the heck out of "Battle Squadron" on the Amiga. Great game.

Vern, so you had put this game into to the forums or something site? :-/

It's going to be a game that sells at www.Actionsoft.com, for probably $20, just like Midnight Mansion.

I don't know how its going to work, but I'm guess that when you hit "Forums" on the main page, (after Insectoid comes out) it will bring you to a page saying, "MM forums" Button and a "Insectoid" Button. Maybe Insectoid doesn't need a forum, but I dunno.
:-/

Anthony wrote on 12.02.2008 at 00:24:03:

don't know how its going to work, but I'm guess that when you hit "Forums" on the main page, (after Insectoid comes out) it will bring you to a page saying, "MM forums" Button and a "Insectoid" Button. Maybe Insectoid doesn't need a forum, but I dunno.

I think ideally these forums would change to allow posts for new games, and maybe condense the Midnight Mansion forums a little better. (i.e. not so many sub-forums for a specific custom mansion)

Alright... so, what are the time frames you're looking at? You said that the Expansion will be out after Insectoid, so... how long now, until Insectoid, and the Expansion? :-?

Anthony wrote on 12.02.2008 at 10:21:49:

Alright... so, what are the time frames you're looking at? You said that the Expansion will be out after Insectoid, so... how long now, until Insectoid, and the Expansion? :-?

I will release Insectoid when it's done.

...alright, so, how far are you done with Insectoid?

Anthony wrote on 16.02.2008 at 04:41:42:

...alright, so, how far are you done with Insectoid?

That falls into the category of "don't ask". Because I don't know. I've learned from the past that I am very bad at estimating how much work I have left to complete on a project. My *hope* is to be done in 6 months or less. But I really can't say.

:( So, I guess we'll just have to sit tight and watch... you could, maybe, get another programmer, that you direct, to help, because you're in University and all.

Nope, I'm not in a university any more, and I don't make enough money to hire another programmer.

It looks like someone needs to reread the rules for posting.

A few new pictures of the game.

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In this level, the whole background scrolls in multiple parallax layers. It's pretty cool.

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This is a much harder level.

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Oh, and for the title screen picture, the whole thing is animated. The stars in the background are moving, the space station is floating/rotating, and even the buttons move into position when it first appears.

Thanks for the preview, it looks very good :o

I'm not a fan of shooter games, but I really admire the graphics, they're stunning!

Thanks, I agree. If I do future games like Midnight Mansion, I hope to be able to use the same artist, at least for background and tile artwork.

I agree........The 13th Hour  very eerie!

Wow Vern, you're really progressing in your field of Programming.

You said awhile back, the background animates? That will be pretty awesome.

Love the graphics, the game looks leet. How many people are working on that game? I'm curious!

If you need a beta tester... *cough* ;)

I can't say very much...  :-X

But I can say THIS GAME IS AWESOME!  8-)

Haha.  It looks fantastic, and is a lot of fun.  Very different from Midnight Mansion, but it still has that beautiful level of ActionSoft polish behind it.

I hope everyone here tries the demo, even if you don't think you will like this kind of game!    :)

Totally agree with daFalcon. This game is going to be a big hit. Can't wait for it to go into stores! (Hopefully soon!)

Alan Falcon wrote on 17.04.2009 at 22:11:39:

I hope everyone here tries the demo, even if you don't think you will like this kind of game!    :)

Is there a DEMO of the game???  Where?  

Nope, no demo yet. There will be a new ActionSoft web site with more information about the game (and some cool screenshots) in the coming few weeks, but the demo won't be out until the game is ready to purchase. Wingy and Alan are doing levels for the game, hence why they seem to have more knowledge about it.

Oops, I see where you can get confused there Missy. (lol)

No worries, it doesn't take much to get me confused these days.  lololol

These looks like very cool  8-)

So when do we get an Insectoid board to discuss the world's best Space Shooter?!  And who here has downloaded the demo and tried it out?

www.actionsoft.com

Alan Falcon wrote on 04.11.2009 at 13:11:51:

So when do we get an Insectoid board to discuss the world's best Space Shooter?!

Hopefully within a week of release.

This Topic was moved here from Speaker's Corner by Freddy.