Post GDC Hype and Current Game Progress

Blog Entry 2 - 4.17.19

Wow It’s been over a Month since the last Post. Well fortunately, we have not started a kickstarter so there isn’t that much pressure. I’ll probably do this a bi-weekly thing to try to keep a more public record of the stuff getting done.

The main reason I have not posted anything Is because goddamn GDC was fucking awesome. I tempered my expectations, since the only stuff I knew from GDC was what I saw on youtube and read from the news and social media. But I was blown away. Nighty tried to capture my reaction but I don’t think It came out that cool XD.

I was very impressed with the expo floor and the different kinds of games that were being shown. While I know that the whole point is to pitch your game there, I could tell that developers were very hyped about people being interested in their game. I felt a very genuine love for their work and the worlds that they were building. It really kicked my inspiration into overdrive.

I’ve been very lucky to have had very pleasant interactions with other devs. It’s refreshing to see artists that support others, even if it’s not their cup of tea. I saw some of the games that I’m already interested in and others that I’d never heard of that looked pretty cool. One thing that I’m really happy about, is that I did not find another version of our game around. It means that the niche I’m trying to fill is still well… Niche :V

I got to meet FamilyJules, I was waiting to play Industries of titan when all of a sudden I realized he was right behind me, I fanboyed for a bit, but he was totally cool about it. I like the fact that we were both geeking out over the same game. Rockstars they really are just like us.

Nighty and I were able to pitch our game to ID@Xbox which was a nerve wrecking ordeal. We were freaking out, I was visibly nervous, mind you this was right after meeting FamilyJules, so it was kind of a fun adrenaline rush. I got winded half way because I was talking so fast, I’m keeping that mental note for next time I have to pitch. Pace myself. Thankfully Nighty was there to back me up and kept the pitch going when I needed to catch my breath. After we where done, we talked with the ID@xbox rep Tony who was a total class act, He could tell we were nooblets but he was really cool about it and gave us a lot of encouragement. We were really lucky that our first experience was such a pleasant one.

After that I went and asked around in the Unreal area to see if someone could help me out with the cover system issue, and one of the devs gave me a few options, but as soon as I told him that I was working a cover system for a top down game he actually looked a little confused, like “why would you wanna do that?”, after I explained he basically said: “What you’re trying to do is hard. It’s going to take some time to figure out”

This really alleviated the pressure I’ve been feeling over figuring out how to create this cover system and inspired me because If I’m able to figure out, It will be technically something new. Whether or not our game is a success, Top down cover will be something that will be made and that others won’t have to break their head figuring out, as my intention is to make a tutorial for it later down the line, Once I’ve finally figured out how to do it.

I think it’s really Important to share knowledge, It’s scary considering I’m making my concept public, but I would love if I started seeing this level of interactivity in new games.

Well Finishing up our GDC trip story, After we had finished our GDC checklist, We decided to just start getting all the swag we could. Unfortunately the last day when we had our bags empty and our plan laid out, our car broke down half way there. It was a bit of a bummer but considering we were able to accomplish so much in so little time, I honestly feel GDC was a success.

We saw what awaits us as devs once we have to start going to Expos to promote our game. We saw what kind of experience you should try to give your players when they’re trying out your game for the first time. We realized our Game design doc is a mess and needed to be readjusted to make more sense in a pitch, thankfully Nighty already took care of that.

And in the month since I’ve been working on the concept more, Have found a good base to work on the cover system for and the inventory system as well. We are in talks to commission some art from a very talent artist that works with the art style as far as what we’re looking for in our visual direction. Hopefully we can afford to get all the entire playable cast as well as some NPCs.

Another development has been that we’ve been working on concepts for the enemies as well as some equipment, and I have to say, I’m proud of the team we have. While talking about a specific concept for the game, Nighty sketched it out in an hour, and Rene was able to render/animate a 3D version in a couple of hours as well. It really inspired me so much, seeing a concept I’ve only thought about come to life in such a short period.

If we were to score the Epic DevGrant, I’m positive we would be able to make an awesome vertical slice. Until then, We’ll keep working with the limited time/money we have. This game is worth Making, and my Team is the one going to make it.

Damn that was intense. In any case I’ll post some gameplay soon and once we have some new sexy artwork, We’ll update the page to reflect the progress. For now we just gotta hussle.

Read you in a Couple of weeks.

Daniel “Freaky” Aguilar

Game Designer

Plasmapunk Studios