The 'natural' comment means a lot to me, thanks. When i played shadow of the colossus what i loved about it was the dirt and dust and how they combined all this rough, messy textures and extras to create a world that felt really real to me. In fact, in a sense it was real. It took thought, and experience and they made it work. Some people thought it was bad graohics, and i could see what they are talking about, but on an artistic, holistic level i felt it came together to eb something more. I wouldnt compare myself to that masterpiece, but what i do try to follow is trying to unveil, kind of discover myself a real place in the procedural landscapes, dirt and dust. I have a lot of fun exploring my own creation and it's good to hear that for you at least it has some sense of being a natural real space and more than just objects cobbled together.
Wow that is really beautiful - thanks, especially this one http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schmalbl%C3%A4ttriges_Wollgras_Hohes_Moor.jpg (the white flowers would be right at home in BrightRidge) and this one http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alter_Torfstich_Hohes_Moor.jpg - i am fascinated by sunlight shining through shadows and shadows on the grass. I'm always collecting landscape photos and these are great. Funny i was just watching a movie where they were burning peat for heat (cant remember which one) and then me and my friend were talking about peat cutting. small world.
In all honesty, I'd forget about older devices completely. Harsh, but true. As you surely know, Metal will only work on iOS8 and A7+ devices. Once that gets traction (and it will pretty fast, I believe; just today I read a blogpost from Unity about how they are already incorporating the Metal API to be ready for launch) , anything below will be obsolete before you can say "does it work on my iPod Touch"?
This brings up a really good point about game design. For years i was making flash games, and i spent so much time creating the engines that would run the game, pushing the boundaries of flash back then, that it soaked up a lot of my time to make an actual game. But i wanted to work with flash because what was most important to me as an artist was to reach people, to give people a few minutes of fun and the web was the best way to do it, if not teh most technologically advanced. In a way now designing for mobile i have some of the same restraints. I am working to optimize the game for A5 devices, but if I do that ill also lose the ability to push the engine farther with iPhone 5 (which is a little powerhouse) and up. So im looking backwards trying to limit my design and at the same time wantimg to push its limits. There's is a LOT of optimization that needed to go into making this run on mobile. Thankfully Unity solves a LOT of the problem. Finally ive got access to a great engine (i dont have to build it), the asset store (its like working with a team of artists and programmers) and cross platform delivery. But during all this i have to keep in mind how to make one project file work across a ton of devices with different limits. If i looked only forward though i would hit IOS 8 Metal - seeing what can be done on the iPhone 5S means the sky will be the limit on iPhone 6 with metal. I just hope that I can be a part of that and if i continue to listen to feedback, upgrade the game and build the world maybe i'll be able to make enough to work on my game worlds full time
@protopop: small world indeed, and my pleasure If I can interest you in something else, the "hollandse biesbosch" should be right down your alley. I live in the Netherlands now, and been there twice. What the pictures don't show is how serene and natural/wild the whole area (it's a nature preserve) still is. I picked two results from the image search: http://www.panoramio.com/user/7030860/tags/hollandse%20biesbosch : topright image captures the feeling best, I think. And this, because the little guy is so cute, and he has his own webcam http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rijnmond.nl/sites/default/files/imagecache/photo_popup/6/8/bever_Biesboschcentrum_8C870AFEF1461FCCC1257A9B00385975_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/17-04-2013/bevercam-hollandsche-biesbosch-online&h=470&w=624&tbnid=ECUiBe8UPLfggM:&zoom=1&docid=tAstqA-JhTUSHM&hl=en&ei=eMXOU6PjC4mFO-rbgcAP&tbm=isch&client=safari&ved=0CFEQMygqMCo
I'd really like to hear from other people about this. I think you are right. I'm trying right now to optimize for A5 but if I just accept a6 as the baseline device, it will help me in 3 ways: 1-i can take the a5 optimization energy and use it to make a better game experience 2-i can start to add elements to the iPhone5 and up experience knowing that iPhone 5 is the baseline and if it works there it will work on faster devices 3-I can strategize an approach that will let me take advantage of new advances like metal more easily I'm going to spend some more time optimizing for a5 (and im optimizing the game in general, refactoring code etc to make it faster on ALL platforms) and see if i can find the key to it. But, especially with what you said which is a frank, good analysis, I think i need to look at making a decision about how im going to build these (the original was divided into 4 games, this being one of them). I hate the idea of excluding people because of devices though...anyways something for me to think about. Thanks for the thought provoking commentary...
Wow - beautiful - bookmarked, thank you This one http://www.panoramio.com/photo/75706693 makes me think about the witcher 3 swamp http://next-genrpg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/3.jpg I have to say, there's little that excites me as much as the idea of observing the world like this and recreating it in the virtual world
I could come up with more for a few hours easily, and I'm not a nature guy at all That Witcher image reminds me of Koehlerhuetten (the folks that made charcoal way back when). Ignore the restaurants you want the thingies that look like wooden tipis. Looking around for images of them, I found this: http://bin-dabei.de/maerz_11.htm Some great pictures, and stuff that would be right at home in a fantasy RPG: http://bin-dabei.de/images/2011/Maerz%2011/kleiner%20Steinbruch%2019-03-2011%208848.jpg http://bin-dabei.de/images/2011/Maerz%2011/Kunstwanderweg%202%20-%20Spinnennetze%2030-03-2011%209627.jpg
Don't forget Xenosaga. I love that so much but I only have the Japsnese version (did they make an English version?) and I don't speak Japanese! Anyway, I'm glad to see all the discussion about this game because I'm on my way to the App Store right now to pick it up
Just purchased, the game looks great! Ive only had a chance to play for five minutes or so but im looking forward to spending a lot more time with it. The only wonky things that have happened so far are i fell off a huge cliff and received no damage and i felt that the swimming speed was a little too fast. He swims way faster than he walks. Both are not big issues but thought I'd share. I really hope you stick with it and keep bringing updates to this game!!!
@ protopop I'm very excited for this game after seeing the screenshots and reading everybodies posts in here, i already know i will enjoy it, will buy it asap! And really cool the way ur answering everybody in here, appreciate that even though i haven't been part in the talks!
This is all really exciting and this looks great. Can't imagine how great your "bigger " game is going to be. Props to you, sir.
Wow, this is beautiful and totally engrossing. I hope you keep adding to it but honestly, I'm content right now just to have this endlessly explorable world, just with the ability to discover new things and places - what a treat it was to literally stumble upon the Brightridge Inn and the dancing and merrymaking inside. Can't wait to discover more. Congratulations on designing such an awesome world.
Thanks witedahlia - That's the cool thing about games (and art in general) - kind of like food, we can appreciate games made in other languages and countries I know the Xeno series has a lot of fans. I actually have on my list of to do items for future games that i'd like to remove text altogether and use ust icons that could be understood internationally. I haven't figured out how to implement it fully yet, but it's near the forefront of my mind. I hope you enjoy exploring the world and thanks for your support
This looks amazing, will this be the elder scrolls of mobile cuz it looks the part. I'm wondering if it will work on ipod 5th gen, I know it said it won't but I want to be sure. Also great job to the dev, I'm looking forward to what this game will become with updates.
These are crazy. I love the idea of totems and was going to put them in BrightRidge - ever since I say totems in New York museum of natural history. They were absolutely huge - stories high. You know, if we look around the Earth there are so many fantastic elements that can find a place inside a fantasy world. In fact i think in fantasy you can learn a lot - D+D actually had a lot of historical information in it that I soaked up when I was a kid.
Thanks Akrose - that's great feedback and i've put in in my list. Yeah the swimming is faster, i thought that you'd get bored swimming but I think a good idea would be to have variable swimming speeds based on something? Like switching into a water creature just like you can switch into an eagle? (even as im writing this i really like the idea See it's cool when people talk to me about the game i get to see things through different eyes and i really helps.
Thanks Jayzilla - you know, I really appreciate people talking about it. I made this game with just personal money and spare time and sometimes I have wondered why im doing this. I mean, i know i want to create these worlds and share them so i get the motivation from inside, but you need motivation from outside too, and the encouragement and insight I'm getting from reading teh forum is pure gold I hope you like it, and there is iPad 4 / Air / Mini Retina support on the way too in the next update.
Yeah, it used to be 4 times the size but it was just too much, so i divided it into 4 distinct games. Before i was focused on more new games but now i want to sit down with this one, listen to feedback and improve it. Thank you for the props ImJPaul
