The HARDEST part of game development | Devlog
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- Check out my game on Steam!
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Music:
2pm from Animal Crossing (GC)
Clock Town (Day 1) from Majora's Mask
Steam Gardens from Mario Odyssey
I love when I forget about a UA-camr for a few months and then find them again just great
I had the same experience for this video. 😅
Love the idea of secret areas only found by falling.
It was one of the things I was thinking about when I saw areas above me, and could I could fall off of above them.
YES! THE MAP IS *FALLING* INTO PLACE! AFTER AN HOUR OF SEARCHING! FINALLY-
@@AnimatingBeats All the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place now?
@@GingerNingerish absolutely! Super cool idea, so much could be done with that!
Lisa The Painful
omg those tree tops look so sick, ive never noticed them before
As he said they are new.
When I saw the title of this video, my mind went toward a different common struggle of up and coming indie devs: scope creep (the trap of being overly ambitious and a project getting overwhelming as a result). But I can see where you are coming from with level design being hard. The content shown here looks great and I found the concept of the three layers really neat, and I look forward to when it is out, whether in the full game or in a demo update.
Scope creep sucksss. I keep trying to make my first project but I always get scope creep for an overarching story with multiple endings. And yeah level design… is pain
@@AnimatingBeats Its the reason why so many old games have a page or two of an ending with a few variations, with maybe a ending screen. In particular RPGs. Undertale does the same.
Not super satisfying, but it gets the job of some form of closure accomplished.
Can't wait until release. It's been fun seeing progress and seeing it in the demo
the true hardest part is to remeber your password 🗿🗿🗿🗿
Lol
Real
I lost my favorite ROBLOX account because I forgot the password :(
Lol
I almost lost half of my apps on my phone because of app lock '-' but I managed to reset the password
I agree with you level design as a solo developer is AWFUL because of who time consuming it is, that's why I have to work on procedurally generated games or games that have no world to begin with
I think another advantage of the small maps is that the purpose of each space comes into focus. Nothing's there just because you need to fill space. But the motivation, shortening your iteration cycles, is something I'm realizing is more and more essential for my development process as well!
I struggle with level design in my hobby game, and what has helped is just blocking out levels in the editor with basic shapes. I learned this the hard way after planning out an entire dungeon only to discover that (like your overworld problem) my rooms were HUUUUGE for no reason. I went back and redesigned it all to be much smaller and it helped immensely. Getting a rough idea for a plan down and then just slapping it together with basic shapes helped me get a lot more done and not be so precious about planning. Plus it's super easy to redesign levels made entirely out of different color squares. Moonshire is looking great, love seeing your progress!
You're not even close, the hardest is remembering to cleanup test logs.
I like to open some indie games on bluestack to have the console and most of the times they forget the logs, some are very funny and relatable :
"Here!"
"Spawning the f****** ghost"
Loved the Video! The art style is amazing and I loved the way you talked about utilizing the foreground on smaller maps!! I just started learning Gamedev, and I've noticed I use a lot of my D&D DM knowledge for map and world building!
i would look at needing to redesign old levels as a good thing, because it means you're improving as you continue working on the game
the sky surface and underground reminds me a lot of the original darksouls which has a small map but a lot of verticality
I freaking love this channel! The game dev community is easily my favorite on youtube, so many hidden gems
Glad to see another post! The struggle is real.
I was able to play the demo and the game was great. To see you improve even more really makes me excited for the final release. While playing the demo I noticed that the main menu could really use some work. Try adding some more interactivity and make the interface easier to use. Overall, I didn't see many issues apart from some input lag. Anyways I'm excited to see you thrive so keep up the good work.
I appreciate all you indie game designers! I can’t imagine the patience and dedication this takes, not to mention it being downright frustrating at the same time!
Kudos on the sticky note idea. That is a great iterative way to tackle large maps! Possible to do the same thing with block out Sketches and PureRef on the comp as well and pair with environmental inspiration to keep a level on theme.
I agree with you. I just re-made flappy bird for the GBC on my Channel and the level design was by far the most tedious (and its just an endless scroller lol). Great vid!
I've seen lots of content about this game. Just wish listed! Looks great and can't wait to try it!
I'm glad your making Moonshire
We need more colorful, fun RPG's these days
I love the interaction between the floor levels!
Your effort is inspiring
So cool to see some small improvements you mentioned during the lives like the rope the access to underground/sky stages and the animation while walking (swimming?) in the cave
For me the hardest part of game development is the planning. It's knowing what to build next. Level design is a big part of that. I'm making a story-based game so everything needs to tie into the story, including the level design. I can't make any progress until I know the story in-depth. And yet it's difficult to fully construct the story without anything visual. If I change any part of the story, it can have a huge impact on the level design, characters, everything.
I originally started watching videos to get ideas on how to make my own dev log videos, and now I'm hooked and can't wait for your game to come out! So excited.
I have a suggestion for your weapon system, I think an awesome system is weapon enhancement. Like the skill tree in diablo where you can spend to get boosts for your weapons. I think this would fit perfectly in moonshire!
I found out that the hardest part is using limited pixels to build a character specialy 16x , thats why i moved on to 48 pixels which is surprisingly easier for me
4:20 for the map situation....you can also try the hollow knight map design and see if it fits 😊
The way you did the "parallax"-foreground is exactly the effect I was looking for for my own project. It looks so awesome!
Hmm i dont know If this
Sounds mean
But for an Exploration based Game (from whats visible in your Videos at least) the map seems pretty empty?
In my opinion there should be a little more Things to do or at least find.
Like a Minigame or two and maybe some Puzzles?
Or If you dont want to crowd the map how about having a chest with a Special Item appear after defeating every enemy in an area!
Anyway that's all i have to say.
Apart from that your Game Looks awesome!
I really Like the Design of the Protagonist and the asthetic of the Sky Area!
Stay creative! :)
I played your demo, and I'm surprised to see how compact the map is - even the demo itself felt bigger than that! Probably because of the maze-like setup for the sky area, where your path tends to loop around itself.
Played through the demo on Steam mate and it has to be said, what a game you're building.
Hardest boss fight by far was the cloudy domain lightning-ball-lady, I must've been at it for an hour!
After several back to back defeats on that boss fight, I experienced one game crash (playing on mac) but other than that it was a very smooth experience.
I enjoyed the element of exploring = rewards. Finding my flotation device after going back into the cave and getting to that final boss fight was amazing. Felt like a healthy amount of exploration without feeling incredibly lost and wanting to put the game down.
Can't wait for future updates.
P.S. Downloaded in my steam library and wish listed for 2025 release! Keep up the good work.
Seeing your devlogs has me wanting to hop back into game dev!
Took a SUPER long break from my initial project, so I'm gonna baby-step it back into things.
Looking forward to seeing Moonshire's release!
To be honest im still trying game developmment but seeing how you do this and how you make these video’s gaves me so much inspiration. Keep it up man. I looks amazing
Love the way this wonderful game is coming together! Rooting for you and I’m sure you’ll keep it together with level design!😂
I feel you with map design being hard. I did my first game jam recently and it was a nightmare to create a map for a simple platformer. Even when I was happy with it, it was still flawed with many players getting lost. Tbf though I forgot to add arrows and/or signs. But yeah level design is pain
As a Zelda’s fan, I am really in love with your game. Everything from the idea to the pixel art ❤
thats crazy, my favourite part is making and testing maps. my least favourite part by far is making sprites since you need sooo many. once the sprites are done its much more satisfying to apply them to the new area and experiment with how to lay them out and changing sprites (i dont mind changing them, but i hate making them for the first time).
i think this comes from me always having worked on romhacks, which basically is only level design. but i think its also a good exercise to learn level design for newer devs.
Interesting how so many people don't like level design. To me that's the most fun part of game design. It's like putting together a puzzle that's both functional and pretty.
I'm not sure about falling down mechanic though, because that can severely limit the design of the layer below.
Sticky notes is a really good idea for level layouts! You had some awesome insight in this video, and honestly the game looks sick. I’m gonna wishlist it and play the demo for sure, I’m looking forward to see you add to it in the future! Keep up the great work!
I think it's a great way to organize the map, the player doesn't get lost and there are different graphic styles in different parts of the map
recently played the demo, it was lots of fun. good work so far! still a few bugs, including getting softlocked once but I made it out with debug mode. cant wait to see the finished product!
In the process of playing the demo, seems promising!
Your game looks amazing, the pixel art is nice!
Being able to drop off the cloud map and fall into the matching spot in the "normal" one is such a cool feature!
I love what you do and seeing your process behind everything. I'm playing the demo now, really excited for this one.
Everyone complains about level design, and justifiably so, but when i was growing up this is how everyone got into game development (through modding) and to this day level design basically IS the game design. I would advise more designers to not try to just abstract it away with procgen. Good on you for not jumping into that solution!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with level design and the frustration that comes with all the planning. I think I will take your advice and try implementing and testing first before trying to make things perfect.
I’ll be adding your game to my Wishlist and subscribe to keep up to date with your dev journey 😊
Crazy. Today, I pulled out pencil and paper for the first time to start sketching out levels, after trying to just "design while building" in a Tilemap went nowhere and took most of my morning away lol.
I think level design is the funnier and best part ever! I really like the idea to plan a really functional and beautiful map!
Loving the foreground treetops!
You have some really awesome and unique mechanics in your game. I love the idea of sacrificing weapons to heal
In my game, areas are usually fairly small, and I have a level editor to make it much easier. I also use Unity's rule tiles so I don't have to manually pick which version of a tile goes where.
Man i really felt that when you said "level design" i automatically said "urghh" after that lmao.
Random suggestion, but when it comes to the cave maps or underground/dungeon settings, I suggest you make the top portions of walls darker, if not black, to represent a perspective cutoff point.
To try and describe it better, when you're in a cave right now the walls look less like defining lines of how your cave walls go to the ceiling, and more like raised hills or elevated platforms.
The elevated platforms thing can work for open sky and rolling hills, but if you make them in caves it just looks odd to me. May be a nitpick, but it might look better if you experiment around with it.
Either way, best of luck and keep up the good work.
Good feedback, I'll try this!
First :D
I'm a huge fan of all of your work and courses. Love the content. :)
I think the last part that you mentioned about the world itself being a puzzle, I think you can really incorporate world unlocking mechanics like TUNIC though it might ruin exploration for beginners
I really like the idea of separating the world into 3 different parts. By the way, is MOONSHIRE going to mainly combat focused, or have some puzzles too? I think it's fun either way.
Good to see you again, cheers on the hard work mate o/ French baguette dev support you o/
It would awesome to see some cool end game weapons, like Mjölnir or Tridents. Also pets would be fun idea.
LOVE the new changes! Good stuff! Can't wait to play the full release, the demo was great!
just a hint the second boss is a bit hard and you have low health starting it because of the cave
this problem is exactly like mine except i'm a writer not a game dev. i have a bunch of notes folders on my phone where i write down ideas for my books to get a clear picture of what i want to do before i start drafting, which is a great idea in theory, but in practice i have tens of thousands of words worth of notes for my current book and i've only written 3 chapters lol. i've already got three sequels for that book fully planned out i just don't trust myself to write it. also i just found your channel today and this game looks amazing
Hi,
I've written three novels and a couple dozen plays. I find the best way is to outline your characters and your books/plays fully before you put pen to paper on any of it. It may change later, but that's how you have a full idea of the work ahead and can then start writing.
You can do these outlines using a word processor or even a spreadsheet, or both as I did sometimes. Then, you write a bit everyday (500 to 2000 words I'd say was the best for me). Your research isn't done, your creative process with the story isn't done, but you have something to guide you so you don't forget it all, and so you can quickly get pointers to the next step.
My point is: notes are good for something you're not picking up for years (I have tens of projects like that), but they're just the next step up from keeping it in your brain. You have to organize ideas, plot-points, arcs, beats, characters on paper like a blueprint before you write something organized. Then you have rewrites, but you reduce the need for a lot of the extra ones regarding cohesion.
Enjoy!
@@LuisMiguelMarado thanks for the advice i appreciate it. that was pretty much my plan going into it, and i think i've got my ideas pretty well laid out at this point, what i was basically saying is that i've done all of the preparations you mentioned and now i just can't start the actual writing process lol
@@aldrichunfaithful3589 I totally understand. Writing is the fun part, but also the intimidating one. I'm going through that with game development. I think my strategy (which I don't recommend, btw) is going to be not to think about making money with it. If I turn it into a job, I shy away from ever dipping my toe in the water. I just need to think "I'm doing this for fun, to learn and grow, not for money, and I'll quit when I want". Motivation is hard for me, and that was the way I did with everything I wrote. That's probably why I never published or sold anything 😅
@@LuisMiguelMarado nah that totally makes sense, and even if you are planning to publish as soon as you start considering it as a product instead of a creative work then you've just taken a lot of the life out of it, both for you and whoever reads it. the money if there is any comes in after you've finished creating, and it's not likely to be a huge amount so it's not worth worrying about, but the more fun you have making it the more fun a reader/player will have anyway.
my issue is a bit different, my mental health has just deteriorated a lot especially recently, so i rarely have the energy to do a lot of things even if i enjoy them. i think i'll be in a better spot soon though, so hopefully my 7 books worth of ideas make it onto paper sometime this decade lol
@@aldrichunfaithful3589 I'm happy you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! I believe in you 🙃
I know something about those issues too, and I hope you find the toolbox to be able to manage and be happy, whatever you find useful and suitable. Thank you for the chat!
A couple ideas:
- What if you added dialogue for the bosses before you fight them? Y'know, to make them more like actual characters rather than being simply a obsticle.
- What if ya added names on top of the dialogue boxes so we know there names?
- Could ya draw some attention to the fact we are clearly a child?
- Could ya add some cute details to our character? Kinda like in Undertale Yellow, where the character sometimes swings their legs while sitting, or while being taken away has a derpy face.
- Could ya make our goal just a bit more clearer? Because rn it just seems like we are doing a bunch of random side quests.
- Could ya make it so we could grow a bit more attached to the npcs?
- Lastly, make it so you can't get achievements if you change your stats through the settings, since you can kinda make yourself unkillable? Btw, don't forget to disable it even after they change it back, since they prob still used it.
Why are we clearly a child? Thas a lil man with a full chest of hair
@@EXFrost lol
Played the demo of your game. It was so fun its not even real. I want to make something similar, but mine will be some dark fantasy, cuz scary monsters are cool.
Great video! Game looks good as well, definitely adding it to my wishlist 😎
Great video as always! Loved the throwback to old zelda game mechanics :)
LITTLE GUYS WITH HOODS GAME!
I shall now watch the rest of the video but “Little Guys with Hoods” has to be my favorite genre of character I think
there is so much i like about your game, that juice great sword, the subrosian character style from oracle of seasons... if this come on nintendo switch im getting it 100%
This game looks amazing. I am not a game developer but want to be and hope I can make a game this good
I think "I spent way too much time on this" should be the solo dev motto
dayumn the game be looking clean right now u should add a block
Great to see how you're approaching your level design, even if you don't like it as much as other elements. The pause map certainly seems like a good addition. Will you add some graphics to it, to make it more than a grey grid?
Hi Challacade ! Love to see how far you went since the first video of receating zelda !
I would like to know : Are you still using windfield as library for collision handling at this point of your game ?
The game is becoming real serious with each update its insane continue like that, maybe Microsoft will want it for 2.5Billions dollars :)
Love the combat feel of the game
Can't wait for the game release
Keep the work
this video deserves more views!
the welll looks pretty wonky when you can see water in it but when you go down it there is no water under it
Can't wait for release.
I really liked those leaves, they looked amazing
I think you need to focus on transition animations between scenes
I love your videos, keep it up
I agree, my friend. Level design is the most difficult part of game development, especially if it's a Metroidvania game.
Love to see the game progress :)
Your idea sounds more fancy than fun to me. But i like linear games because i have fomo when gaming.
Currently playing through your demo, & it’s truly awesome! I am currently working on a game (it’s super super early in development if I am even turning it into something real), but I wanted to ask what you’re using to make the maps. I’m using Piskel to make pixel art (I wanna use Aseprite but I am wanting to see if this truly would be my long-time interest before paying money since I’ve been writing a story for a while and love to write), and I’m making my game in GDevelop (first game of mine so I’m using beginner-friendly software). I wanna learn how to make game music too, but right now I’m just focusing on making the game. I don’t know if it’ll be in a style similar to yours, but level design, as you noted, is very tedious. So, with all of that said, could you tell me what software you use for making maps/levels?
3:01 Bro that knocking with my headphones on freaked me out
Sorry about that! I didn't realize it was too loud
@@Challacade it wasn’t loud, it just sounded like someone was actually knocking on my door in like an 8D kinda way lol
You accidentally discovered modular design, from first principals at that! People go to college for exactly this kinda stuff.
VIDEO IDEA: Make a tutorial on how you package your game and hide the tmx file for levels and how you store gamedata
What software do you use for editing/making sound effects?
Awesome vid! liked, wishlished. Inspires my own game.
This game looks so sick
i started out with level design (mapping for TF2, CS:S, and teeworlds), but i got stuck on programming and art that i never actually got to real level design in my own "games".
Knew your game was inspired by Zelda the second I saw it! I almost never wishlist games, but I will for yours since it just looks so good. I'm not familiar with that engine UI, what game engine are you using?
I'm using a framework called Love2D, the UI is entirely custom-made by me 💪
Hey Challacade, I'm curious to know what resources you are using to make your game?? Like what do you use to make the maps and sprites?? Also are you using a game engine to make your game overall??
Looks awesome!
Respect only on using Tiled haha.
I've gotten used to it. But yeah, a full game engine would be much better for designing levels
I actually don’t mind level design
…teach me your ways oh wise one
My only problem with level design is that for me, it's more time-consuming than anything else
@@ChallacadeDon't worry I get that completely but I mean I don't tend to work on games like moonshire so I see it must probably be difficult for you
@@AnimatingBeats lol
Brilliant 👏
I don't see the problem that Moonshire is being influenced by Zelda, it's a great game for a reason and replicating the good parts of another game isn't a bad thing
World maps don’t have to be perfect squares, it would be interesting if there were secret tiles or areas that are not on the map until you go there.