The Funk has finally hit Beta
by Chris Labombard · 01/17/2006 (11:13 am) · 10 comments
The Funk is a rythym based music game. You follow the waves of music beats on the screen to gather points.
These are Beta screenshots. That's all final art. The background images were done by Corey Ford. These are shots of most of the tracks (There's 10 tracks total).
After getting frustrated with finding artists and communicating my exact art needs I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and do the art myself. I have no idea how I actually managed to make it look decent but I think I did. Here's the final results:
Main Menu
Overview high score screen
Track high score screen
Nag screen
All the music for the game was done by David Wright. Well, all except 2 tracks which I did (they're the really simple ones) and Tom Bushby is working on the game website (hopefully this will inspire him to hurry up ;) )
There's a few things left to do. I have to create graphics for the website... And most importantly, the game needs to be ported to Mac. Not sure how Im going to swing that one yet. It shouldn't be too difficult, seeing as I only added one file to the engine code. I suppose I should do some more in-depth testing after I get the installer set up as well. So expect to see a plan from me soon looking for a few beta testers.
Also, each month I'm posting a new track (in track 10's position) and giving away a prize to the individual who gets the highest score at the end of the month. I want to give away a CD containing a free indie game (donated by a fellow indie developer) and demos for other indie games. So I'm currently looking for someone to donate a free copy of their game. Think of it as free advertising. :) Email me if you're interested. Chris at spunkygames dot com
These are Beta screenshots. That's all final art. The background images were done by Corey Ford. These are shots of most of the tracks (There's 10 tracks total).
After getting frustrated with finding artists and communicating my exact art needs I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and do the art myself. I have no idea how I actually managed to make it look decent but I think I did. Here's the final results:
Main Menu
Overview high score screen
Track high score screen
Nag screen
All the music for the game was done by David Wright. Well, all except 2 tracks which I did (they're the really simple ones) and Tom Bushby is working on the game website (hopefully this will inspire him to hurry up ;) )
There's a few things left to do. I have to create graphics for the website... And most importantly, the game needs to be ported to Mac. Not sure how Im going to swing that one yet. It shouldn't be too difficult, seeing as I only added one file to the engine code. I suppose I should do some more in-depth testing after I get the installer set up as well. So expect to see a plan from me soon looking for a few beta testers.
Also, each month I'm posting a new track (in track 10's position) and giving away a prize to the individual who gets the highest score at the end of the month. I want to give away a CD containing a free indie game (donated by a fellow indie developer) and demos for other indie games. So I'm currently looking for someone to donate a free copy of their game. Think of it as free advertising. :) Email me if you're interested. Chris at spunkygames dot com
About the author
I have been a professional game programmer for over 5 years now. I've worked on virtually every platform, dozens of games and released a few of my own games, including 2 iPhone titles and a title waiting release on Big Fish Games.
#2
01/17/2006 (11:24 am)
Alan, I have no rythm either and can still pull off some impressive scores. Unfortunately, there isn't a download link at this time. 
#3
01/17/2006 (11:37 am)
I'm adding this one to the list of games to check out when I get a new computer. I'm a sucker for rhythm games, even more so if there are periphereals involved. 
#4
-Ajari-
01/17/2006 (12:54 pm)
Way to go man. Looking good. A game every couple of months eh? Not bad at all. Good luck.-Ajari-
#5
01/17/2006 (2:25 pm)
Looking good Chris. I like the art.
#6
01/17/2006 (3:28 pm)
The art's good. I suggest trying a few things to bling up the fonts before release, especially the gameplay HUD and high scores, since they seem to be unchanged from the prototyping test. Some "glow" and "bounce" when they appear or change is usually pleasing to the eye.
#7
01/17/2006 (4:13 pm)
Looking excellent Chris. Congrats on the 2-3 month dev cycle. Let me know if you might need any 3d work on your next project.
#8
Can't wait to play the beta...or the demo version.
01/17/2006 (9:18 pm)
Wow it seems like only a few days ago I was trying the super-alpha and thinking "hey that's a cool concept". The in-game art looks great. The menus look good as far as the layout and all, but as a friendly critique I'd look at how it complements the in-game "look". One's white with playful blue (kid's playroom-ish?), the other is extra dark with fluorescent colors (futuristic inter-planetary-ish?) Can't wait to play the beta...or the demo version.
#9
Matt - The game has been in development 3 months today... :)
James - Good idea. I will look into that.
01/18/2006 (3:38 am)
Jeff - The menu's feel right when you play the game. I tried the menus with backgrounds like the game shots and it just didnt look or feel right. Matt - The game has been in development 3 months today... :)
James - Good idea. I will look into that.
#10
My only comment would be on the high score screen. The grey boxes are a bit dull and Excel-ish, compared to the brightness of the rest of the game. I'd play around with the color or the character of the lines (e.g. rounded corners) or maybe make them solid, alpha-blended boxes with negative space between them. And depending on the fonts, you might not need boxes at all, relying on rules or implied lines.
Anyway, nice job!
01/18/2006 (4:03 pm)
Looks really cool so far, Chris. =)My only comment would be on the high score screen. The grey boxes are a bit dull and Excel-ish, compared to the brightness of the rest of the game. I'd play around with the color or the character of the lines (e.g. rounded corners) or maybe make them solid, alpha-blended boxes with negative space between them. And depending on the fonts, you might not need boxes at all, relying on rules or implied lines.
Anyway, nice job!
Torque Owner Alan H