Terry Cavanagh 🎲Ok, here we go! I'm going to make an FPS this week
Technically this doesn't start for another couple of days, but I'm starting early to work around a busy holiday schedule. I checked the rules and they seem to say it's ok
Game jam thread time! Ok. I don't have it all worked out yet, but here is my vague plan:
I'm interested in doing some first person platforming, doing something a little bit masocore. I know a lot of people really hate first person platforming, but yaknow, it's 2022, it's time to try again
Here are some things I'm inspired by at the moment, and am hoping to draw from for this:
Been playing some old DOS games recently. In particular, I've rediscovered this old maze game Get Lost!, which came out in 1996 (but got rereleased as freeware a few years back!). I really love how evocative the huge open spaces are, and how it does so much with really simple mechanics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O_waoEhd0I
Get Lost! | 1996 DOS Game | Level 33
Another old DOS game I've rediscovered, 1992's Clyde's Adventure, which I just 100% completed for the first time a few days ago. It has this almost Kaizo Mario thing going on with the level design, and it's another game that's doing a lot with very little:
Have you seen those TikTok videos that are like, a robot voice reads out a reddit post while somebody does minecraft parkour in the background? Fascinating! https://www.tiktok.com/@the.vault.of.reddit/video/7113716800696651014
Since I've been trying to get better at 3D lately, I went back and looked at 3D Construction Kit, which I had a tattered copy of for my Commodore 64 when I was a kid.
The old VHS instructional video is still on youtube and is worth watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_RuvDoyypk
3D Construction Kit (VHS, 1991)
Finally, a couple of Roblox inspirations too - I've really been enjoying the genre of liminal space/"dreamcore" games on the platform. It's kind of a backrooms adjacent thing, but less about Horror. This is a good example: https://www.roblox.com/games/7688194227/EXPLORE-Dreamcore-Weirdcore-Doors
❓👁🚪 EXPLORE 🌈☁️✨ Dreamcore Weirdcore Doors
Check out ❓👁🚪 EXPLORE 🌈☁️✨ Dreamcore Weirdcore Doors. It’s one of the millions of unique, user-generated 3D experiences created on Roblox. ❓ Vibe, Hangout, Roleplay, Explore! No jumpscares. 5+ graphics recommended! 🚪 Game is still WIP. Like, Fav, Fallow for updates! Join the Server and group ALNDN: https://www.roblox.com/groups/12976405/ALNDN 🔨 UPDATES: (Full list on the Server) - Rain Storm Cloud Room. TV Stack. Dreamy Window. Mushroom Art Exhibit. - Rainbow Ocean Eyes, Wooden Playground, Mushroom Cave, Static Room. - Sand Sky Office Building, Sparkling Rainbow Door Room - Living room, Sky Clocks, ToiletFlowers, Original MUSIC by JxstR3Y - EscapeThisSimulation, OrbsRoom, ChildrensHospital. - Dream Trains, effects and graphics update. 260+ Hours developtment. TAGS E❓X👁P🚪L🌈O☁️R✨E dreamcore drmcr dremcor dremcore dreamcor dramcoredreamcr oddcore odcore weirdcore wierdcore werdcore wirdcore space nostalgia nostalgiacore dereality unreality lucid dream surreal explore exploration mushroom backrooms void playground kidcore antfarm cats doors
I was also really into Sky of Secrets, which I posted about on my free game of the week blog a while back: https://terrysfreegameoftheweek.com/sky-of-secrets/
So, yeah! That's what's in my head right now; let's see what comes out of that this week!
progress: got some nice floaty jumps working
Ok, got a bit distracted and had a think about how I'm going to do graphics for this thing. I came up with this: the Omnicube
I discovered that if I colour individual faces in Blender and import the model into Godot, it will create these individual material files - so, I found a palette I liked, and imported them all at once!
It's a shame there's no easier way to do this, I assume
The palette is Arne's Amiga 64 colour palette, which sorta gives me the limited colour look I want here. (There's not really anything you'd call an identifiable DOS palette)
Basically, the look I'm going for is low res, zero lighting, big polygons. It might end up looking terrible, but at least it'll be consistent! And it should be pretty easy to make assets like that for the jam.
Day 2 is going *ok*. Nothing exciting yet, but I'm getting the structure of the thing to work
everything in godot is taking just a *little* bit longer than I'd like, because honestly I'm still learning the basics. This is what jams are good for, though!
spent a *while* trying to get 3D rotating platforms that move the player working, and...
you know what, never mind, I don't need these anyway
Basically trying to fill out a little playground full of props I can use to make the rest of the game
People also ask
>how do I remove parent node godot?
>how to unparent a child godot?
>how do I get rid of all children in godot?
>how do I remove parent node godot?
>how to unparent a child godot?
>how do I get rid of all children in godot?
anyway if anybody knows how to take an object and attach it to the player, keeping it's world position intact, let me know (in godot)
got it! (thanks @Cheeseness and @Kooda!)
Happy with how these gems are feeling now, moving on
speedpads!
Alright! I'm at roughly the halfway point of the jam, so it's probably time for a check in?
There are still a few more gameplay props I want to add before I start making any real content - but I'm starting to get worried that I'm this far in and that I don't have anything "real" to play yet
I'm also worried that I haven't really figured out what the game is "about" yet - no gameplay, only vibes
So, my plan for the rest of the day is to try to put together a real level, and tomorrow, try to polish it up a bit so it starts to feel more like what I've got in my head
That'll leave me with, like, 2 days? To make more content and try to make it a finished game. That should be plenty of time.
Had a go at making some grating midi adventure music this morning, and I'm not sure if it's too much or not enough
added buttons! Took a while to get these right
Lost a lot of momentum, but I'm still poking away. Added computer terminals!
This computer was a lot of fun to model! I still don't know how textures work and maybe I never have to learn
Ahh, I think I'm calling it quits - I've run out of energy, and it's just not realistic to finish this by tomorrow
The game has fallen into the "I like this prototype too much to rush it" trap, which is one of the best ways for jam games to fail I reckon
Anyway, I'll keep poking at this at a slower pace! It's a great project for learning Godot and 3D modelling, and I think it's gonna be a really cool game once it's finished.
Good luck to every else still doing #7dfps!
Jack Mott@terry how is Godot so far for you?
@jackmott godot is amazing - I'm totally won over, I really like working in it!
@terry great to hear, I feel the same way. It is the game creation tool I always imagined ought to exist, and now it does!