Hello, everyone.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Someone very nice dropped me an ask (on my other blog? I can't find it now) re: how I was doing, so I felt like making a little update post.

I haven't been able to work on things (especially this game) much at all lately between family and work and other stressors, as I mentioned in that ask if you saw it. The thing I didn't mention that might be apparent is that I've just been depressed. But as my therapist tells me, this is a normal thing that happens sometimes and it is temporary.

For now, I figured if I don't have lots of cool progress to show you, I can at least open up a little about where I stopped in the process (because I think it's interesting).

VVVV

So, picture me. A tiny spider sitting at my computer.

I'm done with the basic tutorials of Game Maker and am trying to tackle actually making a game. The kind of game I want to make is relatively complicated, so I decide to make two smaller prototypes that'll focus on the parts of the big game that I think I'll have the hardest time figuring out.

A game that focuses on branching paths based on simple player choices with a short cutscene between each transition and endings that depend on your cumulative choices. (Temp. title: Hands.)

A game that focuses on the actual needs of a fighting game. Stage parameters, moves, epic finishers, etc. (Temp. title: Super Muybridge Fighter.)

I decide early on that I'm gonna borrow the photographic oeuvre of Eadweard Muybridge so I don't have to draw sprites just for some tests and spend a few days scanning in pages from collections of his work I've had lying around since my dad gave them to me high school.

Then what? How do I actually build this thing?

See, the way Game Maker thinks is by association. Every little action and instance needs to be connected to something else. You can't just tell the game to make a little dude walk. You need to associate his walking sprite with his game object, and give that object commands that interact with gravity and movement/positioning (which you have to define yourself) and the ground he's standing on and what room that ground is in and which room he gets sent to when he walks off the screen and how that transition is supposed to be executed. And then you have to remember to tell him to stop walking.

That all in itself sounds complicated, and it gets worse when you think about how to put together an entire game.

But there are ways to organize this. In fact, there are multiple ways. You can use indexes (basically making lists of things you can point at with numbers and tell the program to use) to keep track of different categories of thing and point at them when you need them. You can set up scripts that contain programming you want to use over and over, so you can just hand each little guy a script on how to walk instead of having to teach them all individually. And then there are tools for grouping scripts and making indexes that contain other indexes (maps, I think), and character parenting and instance execution code manipulation and many many other cool tricks to make connecting all your things easier.

In fact, there are so many fucking things to make it easier that it becomes really really hard to know what would be best for what concept and where the pitfalls are. And I realize a lot of that comes down to trial and error (and asking forums).

But I have two ideas. Mostly on how to tackle the branching path concept in Hands.

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Think of it like a theme park ride.

You, the player, move from room to room--with different actors and props for each room. When you get to the end of a room, you make a choice, and a door appears. As you step through it, you enter a little dark room where a cutscene plays, and then you go on to the next prop-filled room. If an actor must appear in more than one room, they're cloned to be in both places at once with a different shirt and lines to read. The room paths just split and split and split until there are tons of hallways, each with their own discreet end-room and exit door.

(The player object transitions between separate game rooms, and each room uses discreet instances of reused objects placed in appropriate rooms. Use character parenting and scripts for primary functions, edit secondary programming and execution code for specialized functions.)

Higher volume of pathways and copies of things to manage, but each thing has less-complex stuff to do.

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2. Think of it like a theatrical stage.

There is only one room. The game engine dresses up the room to look like a different room for each scene. When the player, sitting in the audience, makes a choice at the end of the scene, the curtains go down for a minute as they watch a cutscene, and the actors and props rearrange and redress themselves for the next scene.

(The player object is reset to the same room after room completion and choice made, but indexes/maps swap out background textures, enemy objects, characteristic variables, dialogue, etc. Actor objects contain all possible needed functions and dialogue and execute them during appropriate scenes.)

Lower volume of rooms and objects, but more complex use of the objects in play.

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Anyway, as I figure out which will hurt my/your computer less (and my head), feel free to chime in with any advice if you have it.

Things are very very tough out there, but stay warm and keep pushing.

I think the biggest reason I’ve avoided playing fighting games despite loving the concept is the control/execution complexity.

I’m adhd and autistic af and instantly forget combos and get overwhelmed. It’s true in most games, actually. I have a habit of picking a favorite weapon/move and mashing my way through. Otherwise, the game becomes stressful instead of fun. I’ve picked up similar accounts from other people over the years.

So how do I make this more accessible without completely neutering what’s largely fundamental and fun about fighting game controls…?

My first idea is to just limit the combos. Don’t make them complicated. Don’t give a million to every character. With so many characters, that’d be an insane burden not just for me to program but for the player to keep track of (it’d likely get boring and samey too). So, the fun factor comes from getting to play as all these AUs, each with a neat little set of moves that doesn’t require too much investment to get your head around. Because that’s more what the point of this project is—being a celebration of the fandom’s creations. I don’t mind not making it into EVO.

Cool. Good. But even a basic moveset without crazy combos still has lots of options for button/key presses. What else?

Another idea I had has to do with the SPARE mechanic. I could divide the control scheme in half. Only use A and B to do FIGHT moves, only X and Y for MERCY moves. Executing those moves builds the FIGHT or MERCY meters, and whichever one fills up first will finish the fight. You’re encouraged to pick one or the other and stick to it, otherwise you’d just be taking longer to win the match and risk getting your ass kicked (or… hugged?) by the opponent and losing.

Even if, say, A and Y were exclusively for jumping and blocking, there’s still plenty of minor combo potential if you pair B and X with other inputs so the combat doesn’t come down to who can mash the fastest.

Still the same signature fighting game feel, just… smaller in scale.

(Backgrounds pulled from Darkstalkers, Guilty Gear, and DBFZ)

Tell me what you think!

How well/poorly do the characters and HUD read against busy backgrounds?

What color should the special meter be? (I'm trying to stick to Undertale's HUD style, but I'm already using red for the Spare meter for lore reasons. That and the special meter are both supposed to be aspects of LV in this scenario. Alternatively, what color could I make the spare meter (yellow? Or would that be confusing?))

I'm figuring out how to indicate the amount of stack you have for specials, and I'm waffling on the way I did it. I like the idea of incorporating a soul symbol in it that gets bigger/bolder as the number goes up (like the one on Error's side), but it doesn't read well. :/)

A ton tbh, but not a ton to show off.

Game development just takes a long time to get out from under the boring stuff, and I haven't had a lot of time to get through an extra long boring part. I've been very busy and very tired, but I'm still cramming in a couple hours to work on this whenever I can sit up at my computer and concentrate.

The other main reason it's taking a while is because I've realized the most effective way for me to learn Game Maker is to take some of the video tutorials out there and write them down into a searchable document, making notes on what each part does to make sure I understand.

And by that, I mean doing this--

--for 20 lessons worth of material. Maybe more.

Which isn't as impossible a task as it sounds. I think the repetition really is teaching me the steps and vocabulary I'll need to navigate programming on my own. Plus, this might be proof that I'm less likely to fall victim to programming fatigue.

I've already followed an actual video tutorial with Game Maker itself (I made an extremely sloppy platformer where Frisk goomba stomps a bunch of Ink clones), but that's not quite enough to etch anything lasting into the adhd putty that is my brain.

Once all the studying is done, I'll hopefully have enough building blocks and forum post tips to stumble my way through a proof of concept build. (And I have a pretty funny idea for cutting down on sprite drawing time, involving Muybridge plates.)

I know I haven't been doing as much of the cool and fun parts of game making like sprite art, UI design, story writing, and feature development. But to be honest, it just doesn't feel like the right thing to be focusing on until I can get basic game functionality off the ground. I've watched way too many projects collapse in my day because the sprinkles outweighed the cake.

HOWEVER! I accidentally let my instagram algorithm know that I like weird industrial/improvised/custom instrument music, and now I'm swimming in it. You can check that out in the MUSIC REF/INSPO doc if you like.

Also here's the tutorial I was using if you, too, would like to lose your mind learning GMVL. It's a little outdated, but it's got some really helpful stuff in it.

Slyddar's Gamemaker DND Platformer Tutorial

I'm gonna keep the doc I'm using to study in a non-shared folder for now, only because I can't decide if it'll divert people away from his actual videos. It wouldn't be right, considering that I'd be lost without this dude in the first place. But maybe I'll change my mind. It could be more of a companion guide. I dunno.

Anyway, seeya later!

SOUND EFFECTS.

Sound effects are obviously really important to game feel, and I’d want the sound font of most menuing and stuff to match the original UT.

But, in terms of combat sfx, I have another idea.

I don’t picture there being many voice lines in this fighting game outside of a special easter egg/reward here or there. Dialogue usually only happens in word bubbles between matches or subtitles during cutscenes.

So instead, what if I could characterize fighters by giving them unique, slightly abstract sfx packs that fit their vibe?

Undyne has very stereotypical heavy combat sounds with some anime stings, someone like Classic Paps or Swap Sans has softer, goofier sounds (maybe an occasional squeaky toy noise if they get punished on whiff). Fresh makes 90s soundbites. Dust sounds like creepy hollow instruments/percussion. Error makes bugged out windows sfx (insert bluescreen gag on whiff). Ink makes woodblock sounds, idk.

It’d be a ton more work, even if I limited it to special moves and counters. And it’d be tough to balance to prevent it from turning into a cacophony of mismatched noise or distracting gags. But it might be a nice touch.

With as massive a cast as I hope to put in the game, there’d need to be a lot of structure to keep characters unique but still accessible. That could be partially done by giving each character their own general fighting style that fits their personality, and then each AU having a flavor of tweaks on top that fit the AU.

Let’s say classic is the best, most concentrated example of each type. Undyne is a rushdown fighter, Mettaton uses a lot of zoning, Sans evades and pokes, etc. These typecasts generally remain true across all AUs.

Except everyone in Underfell plays dirty. Their normals are more unpredictable, and they have cheeky, petty little jabs they can do after whiff or damage or dodge or whatever. They love to add trickle drain to your health. Moves like this wouldn’t add to the set so much as replace other minor specialties the classic cast had.

Underswap basically converts all movesets to corresponding characters but still retain a little of what they would have had in classic. US!Paps mostly fights like Sans but has a couple things only Papyrus would have, for example. Same with StoryShift, only with a more unexpected mix. Mostly the way they would be in classic, but with chunks of the role they shifted into. Or maybe half and half?

Outertale could be all about dexterity and strategy, while OuterFell are just so huge that they don’t even have to cheat and rely more on brute strength and scary-ass magic. Dancetale are practically rhythm-based (or at least very combo-heavy).

And when you get to the miscilaneous cast (Geno, Ink, Dreamtale, etc.), the familiarity of moveset scales directly with their similarity to classic or each other. Geno would be closer to Classic Sans than FatalError or Ink would be. The Dreamtale twins are very similar to each other, but with tweaks that have opposite effects. The murder trio are all extremely different from each other and are a nightmare (lmao) to fight one after the other. So are Ink and Error, one focusing on buffs and obstacle-making, the other on debuffs and teardowns. Generally, the wackier the AU, the wackier the moves.