MAJOR UPDATE 12/14: The Shmup is now funded for Android since September! We are in the process of developing it. Thanks! We are open to anyone willing to publish it for iOS. Thanks! IMPORTANT UPDATE: As of July 8, 2011, GMT +8. we are putting this game on shelf in favor of other games and contractual projects. We are a very low cost studio and needs to consider our finances. We have estimated that the development cost of this game would be financially challenging for us. If there's any publisher willing to help us pursue this game, or just about anyone who wants to fund the development of this game, feel free to contact us at [email protected] Thanks for understanding! Upcoming SHMUP by Spotcat Studio Description: Top-Down shooter (shoot'em up) that uses different projectiles on different worlds and different characters. Wield multiple weapons/projectiles as you battle different enemies using your own style. You can use different characters while fighting on different worlds We plan on making it bridge the gap between a casual game and a pure shooter. We plan on using characters to shoot down enemies (like most modern shmups) instead of jets. Will be available to iOS devices. ________ Any suggestions or feedback about the game? guys? Thanks for Looking!
Looks good. First thing, make it universal with hd graphics. That will separate from most other shmups. Beam weapons a la raiden4. Wide color pallete like Phoenix. Moving parallax background also like Phoenix. Ability to play your own music or stream via Pandora etc. Also look at Danmaku Unlimited for crazy psychedelic effects.
Here's my thoughts, after watching the video: Looks like you're making a 'bullet hell' game. It's crying out for a thumping music soundtrack and some bullet sound fx each time a bullet is fired, or hits. There a lot of empty sound space currently. In the boss fight, the bullets need to look like they're actually hitting the boss as they seem to stop before reaching the target. The bullets which hit need to register as hits, with an explosion or sound effect, because that's what gives the player satisfaction. And you definitely need to display the score. I like the idea of having a storyline within the game. If possible, use the full screen for the game, as it appears part of the screen is used for controls.
Noted! We are actually considering retina display.. but we're thinking about the game's compatibility with the older version of the iOS....so it's a dilemma Yep, we're considering beams a la raiden4. We are planning as well on making the game colorful, especially the projectiles. We're considering adding a little bit of flashiness on it. We're in the process of improving our moving parallax as well... Great suggestion about the ability to play your own music! I personally like that one. But, we'll have to see if it would be a beneficial feature for the iOS market.... We saw Danmaku while in our initial development period...We took note since it has a lot of positive reviews before the paid version was actually released. Very flashy projectiles.. Thanks so much for the feedback! Really appreciate it!
Hmm.. we are actually considering a shift from dodging to shooting... so it would be more on shooting down more enemies rather than dodging a la bullet hell style... but we are considering difficulty levels as well so we'll consider bullet hell on the "difficult" mode... the prototype video is more of a prototype for the easy mode... Regarding the sounds, we haven't added proper sounds yet, but our sound engineer is ready anytime. We're concentrating more in the gameplay and graphics in its initial stage of development... but we'll take note of your suggestion once we are in the process of adding sounds! Yeap! we are in the process of polishing the animation of the bosses, the sound effects (through suggestions), and the hit animations... everything is in prototype stage right now.. but we'll certainly consider your points. thanks! Yes, we plan on displaying scores as well... and yeah,there is a story as well just to make the player know that he's fightng for something.. or something like that.. Regarding the idea of using the full screen... we actually left a little space below so you can maneuver your finger... and avoid possible distractions on your view once you get your finger going... or do you have any ideas regarding using the full screen of iOS without having to distract the player's view? Thanks so much! Really appreciate it!
No problem. As you can tell, there are lots of old school shmups players here and we all appreciate responsive devs. As for older iOS users, screw'em! (ray liotta laugh)
Thanks so much! Yeah, I could see some shmup enthusiasts here... All feedbacks are appreciated! and LOL@older iOS users! We really want to make a universal app though...
Thanks! Is there anything you see that needs improvement? Any suggestion from you to improve is highly welcome! Thanks again!
um... so long as it has relative touch controls (a ship that doesn't always sit under your thumb...) - and the ship doesn't move to the bottom right of the screen every time you change your weapon/shot, it looks like it'll be really good! =oD
At first our artist made a design concept study for the main theme of the game which looked like this: then we decided that the colors were good as a main feel of the game, the artist then designed the characters to be more casual friendly,cute, and easier to draw so it went to something like this: Any thoughts about the designs? Let us know
woah, the pix look AWESOME!!! And actually... I think the bullets could flow a little better... for instance, when you move left/right, the bullets just look kinda weird. Reminds me of Shoot The Magic, but a little more stiff. It doesn't really... flow. I can't word it better than that. Here's a vid of STM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2v-iqU_i8 if you could make it flow more like... hmm... Phoenix, or Danmaku... here's a vid of Danmaku Unlimited - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcFdjjsYWhI if you can tell the difference... It's not a deal-breaker, but it adds style, and looks a lot more polished. Aside from that, the graphics look GREAT! =oD Really, really excited about this one! Do you already know how much you're going to charge when it first comes out?
@syntheticvoid true, the graphics of the bullets/projectiles are what we are working on right now... we believe it is still the key factor why the prototype still lacks something in it. also we are experimenting on a newer gameplay so that the casual market would be introduced into the shmup genre. more on attacking than dodging perhaps is the main goal of our next alteration.
