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Take my game! Please!
Take my game! Please!
| Name: | Thomas Tong | |
|---|---|---|
| Date Posted: | Jul 01, 2007 | |
| Rating: |  5.0 out of 5 | |
| Public: | YES | |
| Comments: | YES | |
| RSS Feed: |  or Subscribe with  . | |
| Profile Page: | View profile page for Thomas Tong |
Blog post
About a month or so back, I along with a few friends decided to make a multiplayer top-down shooter. A "Tribes as a top down shooter" if you will.
Our time frame was to get something almost completely functional within four weeks and then iterate on it with plenty of user testing. Build the game, play test it, and play test it again and really ensure we're addressing the "fun" factor before we worry too much about the graphical glitz or spend time on features that don't "matter".
A few weeks later and here we are and at the first major hitch. The problem of real people to play test the game. You know when you're trying to make a 6v6 game your network of suitable testers dries up pretty fast, especially when you need them to be online at the same time.
Now if we're having this problem now, and I assume when we do a full release that this is going to be a huge problem.
If you build a great fun game, people will come, but for multi-player game the fun doesn't seem to start until you get 4-5 people in there. At this initial point , I don't for see getting more than 100-200 downloads a day to start. Most of players will start the game, see that there are 0 people on the servers and promptly walk... actually no run away, even before they've even shot their weapon.
I'm sure there are others out there building multiplayer games, how do you attract an early audience without begging? Using? Or just plain spamming people? Granted we don't have a fully polish product available, but from our play tests (where we bribe our friends) it's a pretty darned fun. Not perfect, not crack cocaine addictive, but certainly worthy of some gaming love.
I've just spent a few weeks putting something together, I can't imagine how it is for developers of MMO's or other multiplayer developers that have put months if not years of the development in to their game and find themselves without the marketing muscle to attract people to play their game. Sometimes you can't even give it away!
If you look at all the older but still decent multi-player, many of the servers sit empty because you simply can't get that critical mass to be playing at the same time. Is this simply the nature of the beast? Should we include a free keychain with that? I'm not sure.
Required screen-shot and link below.
If you too would like to stare at an empty server, here's how. :)
www.cratered.com
Link
Our time frame was to get something almost completely functional within four weeks and then iterate on it with plenty of user testing. Build the game, play test it, and play test it again and really ensure we're addressing the "fun" factor before we worry too much about the graphical glitz or spend time on features that don't "matter".
A few weeks later and here we are and at the first major hitch. The problem of real people to play test the game. You know when you're trying to make a 6v6 game your network of suitable testers dries up pretty fast, especially when you need them to be online at the same time.
Now if we're having this problem now, and I assume when we do a full release that this is going to be a huge problem.
If you build a great fun game, people will come, but for multi-player game the fun doesn't seem to start until you get 4-5 people in there. At this initial point , I don't for see getting more than 100-200 downloads a day to start. Most of players will start the game, see that there are 0 people on the servers and promptly walk... actually no run away, even before they've even shot their weapon.
I'm sure there are others out there building multiplayer games, how do you attract an early audience without begging? Using? Or just plain spamming people? Granted we don't have a fully polish product available, but from our play tests (where we bribe our friends) it's a pretty darned fun. Not perfect, not crack cocaine addictive, but certainly worthy of some gaming love.
I've just spent a few weeks putting something together, I can't imagine how it is for developers of MMO's or other multiplayer developers that have put months if not years of the development in to their game and find themselves without the marketing muscle to attract people to play their game. Sometimes you can't even give it away!
If you look at all the older but still decent multi-player, many of the servers sit empty because you simply can't get that critical mass to be playing at the same time. Is this simply the nature of the beast? Should we include a free keychain with that? I'm not sure.
Required screen-shot and link below.
If you too would like to stare at an empty server, here's how. :)
www.cratered.com
Link
Recent Blog Posts
| List: | 07/01/07 - Take my game! Please! 06/28/07 - Cratered v2 |
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Submit your own resources!| Barry Gallagher (Jul 01, 2007 at 20:26 GMT) |
That first impact is all you really have.
And despite the fact that graphics doesnt make the game it does draw people in and gives the perception of more time being put into the game as a whole.
As for testing... Well thats a funny one. To get good testers might involve payment. Unless you have a lot of decent techie friends willing to dedicate hours to the cause. Or you could do a co-op with other developers asking them to test your game and vice versa. That involves trust though.
Most people just dont have the inclination to play an unfinished game.
| David Higgins (Jul 01, 2007 at 20:27 GMT) |
This way, potential players can goto the site and see a list of running servers and that no one's there ... BUT, they can peruse the screenshot gallery and videos (which you should include) ... and somewhere really obvious on the site ... they'll notice that your scheduling an 'all night event' or an 'all weekend' event in the near future ... you could make numerous schedules ... and set them at reasonable times to cover a large portion of timezone differentials ... possibly find some friends that are willing to 'host the event' during certain timezone peaks ...
this way, your potential players will know that ... on Monday, at 7-11 ... they'll be people playing ...
Just be prepared to handle a large number of players at that point ... it may not happen, but it's possible :)
| Tank Dork (Jul 01, 2007 at 23:43 GMT) |
-or-
Secondly.. allow players to build up to something if they play x time in non-player servers.. ie. I join and no one is online, I play against the AI for 10 minutes which allows me to get a weapon powerup I can use until I log out. Everytime I join I will stay around at least that long allowing better chance to develop games.
-or-
Have a lobby where players can chat and build up games prior to launching one.
-or-
Host regular events at static times so players know when they can be guaranteed to find a match.
But I have to agree with Barry on the polish. Its rare that I find a game that is demoed early that will excite me enough to follow it (Buccaneer quest for infamy was one that has). I tried your game and when I got inside I couldn't figure out how to spawn or move or do anything but move the camera and zoom.. maybe I didn't read the instructions well enough.. should I have to for a fps these days?
| Andy Hawkins (Jul 01, 2007 at 23:59 GMT) |
| Phil Carlisle (Jul 02, 2007 at 00:20 GMT) |
Make a live environment that can be scaled back as people get online.
Or require everyone to be in game at once, i.e. timed events.
Or ask a clan to try out the game and give feedback.
| Andy Hawkins (Jul 02, 2007 at 00:56 GMT) |
BTW - has anyone noticed the dark green bananas on the tree? Shouldn't they be yellow? Just messin' around :)
| Corey Punches (Jul 02, 2007 at 01:40 GMT) |
Edited on Jul 02, 2007 11:33 GMT
| Thomas Tong (Jul 02, 2007 at 01:52 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
Thanks for the great ideas all, i think the best short term options are an organized game. :) AI will have to be down the road as ultimate I agree with everyone here that there needs to be somethign to do when there are no players around.
Tank Dork - You need to choose a team (that will spawn you, it is pretty standard for FPS's) since you had that problem i can imagine others will, I'll add an auto-assign on join.
Those banana's are raw - green and raw. :)
Thomas
| David Higgins (Jul 02, 2007 at 03:33 GMT) |
| J Sears (Jul 02, 2007 at 03:52 GMT) |
I think scheduling an event is the best thing you can do, or and I don't know if this has been done before, maybe make some mini games of some type that people can play while waiting for others to join in.
I don't agree with the person who said you need a fully polished product first. If it's free people won't care and if you title it beta people will understand. Look at the mod communities for games like halflife and Quake, games get released for downloads with one weapon and 2 characters and 1 map but if the game idea is good there's plenty of people playing it and if there's a problem you quickly here "it's a beta it will get better" people understand that type. So you just need a couple scheduled events where at least most of your crew can get on, and you need to spread the word
| Thomas Tong (Jul 02, 2007 at 04:56 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
So the question is what is the minimally acceptable and what is not. Clearly i don't think you can have broken looking functionality and graphics, but I do think given the type of game it is, that early feedback (at a cost of potential lost users) may be a worthy trade off. Especially since it's a free game anyway :)
On the bots, thing, i think the key is that there is something to do, perhaps not full on CTF bots, development of those would be difficult and time consuming. We just need to have an activity occurring to keep you busy until humans appear.
Thomas
| Tank Dork (Jul 02, 2007 at 06:53 GMT) |
I really like the top down feel and wide range of weapon/support choices. Rocket might need toned down a little to keep it from being a newb gun though.. maybe decrease damage radius a tad to make you have to aim a little more.
I have to also disagree with the free part now that I have played it with multiple players. With some polish, level building, different game types, AI, QA, and minor balancing you have an indie gem in the making, sell it!
| Josh Caba (Jul 02, 2007 at 07:08 GMT) |
I was in there playing tonight as well. Good Game. Feel proud of it.
One minor suggestion.
In the overhead map. Make it so that the player can see the actual physical layout of the map and not just the enemies/friends. That way they can find their way around the place; since it is a top down shooter it is hard to know where your going unless you have the map memorized.
| Vincent van Delden (Jul 02, 2007 at 08:46 GMT) |
I would also go with a scheduled event. Another option that ive used in the past to test a game, is to ask a clan (like someone else said before). I asked some members of a clan i was in and they were always happy to test.
About the game; ive played a very short session 1vs1, only two firefights, and i think the game could be really fun if played with some more players (1vs1 was already quiet fun) :)
The only thing that bugged me a bit: I had choosen the jump boost and sometimes i would receive falling damage (and no i didn't jump off a hill :-P ).
I wish you the best with your game, its already fun^^
| Joshua Dallman (Jul 02, 2007 at 21:15 GMT) |
| Thomas Tong (Jul 02, 2007 at 22:01 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
Vincent: For most firefights, it's mostly, i spawned, i shot, and i shot some more as he fell off the cliff. Then laugh at his flailing body :)
Even based on the existing player combat , i think there's a number of tweaks that we'll be implementing to fix the bugs we've seen come up. The big one of course to have something for a single player to do on join.
| J Sears (Jul 02, 2007 at 22:22 GMT) |
| Vincent van Delden (Jul 02, 2007 at 22:28 GMT) |
Edited on Jul 02, 2007 22:29 GMT
| Tank Dork (Jul 02, 2007 at 22:57 GMT) |
| Christopher ross (Jul 28, 2007 at 14:14 GMT) |
loved the team idea, sound fx power ups and the gui selection are all great.
didnt like the control system that much should stick to the default w for forward rather than upward. Why not give the player the option to go top view or first person.
I'd say you need to give gradual powerups like r-type so if you stick around you get really powered up but if you die you lose them.
You need to setup a dedicated server and give its IP address and build in some persistant data possibly with python database back end. A ladder of whose the greatest. (like warcraft3) even if you just type it out to start with.
Some sort of solo area where you can mindlessly blast things a bit like space invaders, marching zombies/aliens you can slaughter in various humourous ways.
You definately need some sort of coin reward system so you can buy upgrades, like in supersprint.
Your obviously a talented bunch of people, would you be interested in helping with my project?
I am trying to make a generic extension to the first person shooter example,
available at www.darksprite.co.uk
Edited on Jul 28, 2007 14:16 GMT
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