Coldfire Keep: First-Person RPG

[geppetto]

Just added a little proof of concept video to the original post showing the game (as it currently stands) running on my iPad2. Starting to take shape...

The funding campaign is going nowhere right now, so if you'd like to play this game sometime in future, please head on over there and check it out and consider pre-ordering the game. Funding the game also gets you a mention in the credits, either on the website or in the game itself, depending on the funding level selected.

Coldfire Keep Funding @ IndieGoGo

[geppetto]

Just a little update on this project. Funding for this thing went down like a lead balloon, but I've decided to persevere and try to get it done myself. It just might take a little longer.

I'm reworking some of the story at the moment to give me a smaller scope in which to work. Sticking with the traditional model now of: Party starts in the dungeon. Party stays in the dungeon. World map and multiple locations would have been nice, but it just isn't doable if I ever want to finish the game, and it blows out the scope of the story to the more "Epic" level, which just isn't necessary. I'm also pretty sure that it might ruin the immersion of this sort of game in which the dungeon itself is really the main character.

Anyway, rambling. Hoping to bring some more updates, videos, screenshots, etc to you soon. Hopefully there are people out there who are interested, and hopefully Grimrock has brought on a new generation of players for these awesome first-person RPGs of old.

[Captive]

Hopefully you will have some success with this Geppetto,Grimrock has created a huge buzz for these type of games.Can i ask you if this will be a real time based dungeon crawler because thats what we seem to be short of on the ios.Anyway good luck and keep us updated when you can thanks.

[geppetto]

Originally Posted by Captive

Hopefully you will have some success with this Geppetto,Grimrock has created a huge buzz for these type of games.Can i ask you if this will be a real time based dungeon crawler because thats what we seem to be short of on the ios.Anyway good luck and keep us updated when you can thanks.

Are you referring to the battle-system? Coldfire Keep has traditional "Dungeon Master"-esque realtime battles, unlike Descend where I went with a fully turn-based "stop and fight" approach.

[geppetto]

As an exercise - if you ARE a fan of first-person, grid-based RPGs - let me know:

* Top things you loved in first-person, grid-based RPGs (that you've played).
* Top things you disliked in first-person, grid-based RPGs (that you've played).

[Captive]

Originally Posted by geppetto

As an exercise - if you ARE a fan of first-person, grid-based RPGs - let me know:

* Top things you loved in first-person, grid-based RPGs (that you've played).
* Top things you disliked in first-person, grid-based RPGs (that you've played).

Hi, firstly i'v played many grid-based rpgs from the past and some of the parts i liked were the spell casting system used in Dungeon Master,killing some of the creatures for food,lots of puzzles and character leveling.A lot of those old dungeon games were extremely well made and there was almost nothing i disliked about them so am not a very good critic,sorry.Hopefully others will jump in and give you some feedback from those games.One of the most important things for me is the realtime combat which you already confirmed.I will look forward to seeing more on your game.

[Riotgirl]

In all honesty, I'm probably not best placed as although I did play Dungeon Master on my Atari ST back in the day, it is probably too formulaic for me to play now.

I would add don't be too ambitious in scope. You're right to pare back the game to focus on absolutely nailing the basics. Essentially, it's dungeon crawling - so get the party dynamics right i.e. different approaches to playing the game, plenty of different NPCs / monsters that have different motivations, habits, strengths, weaknesses and special attacks, puzzles, loot (I prefer a more Demon Soul approach but not everyone appreciates such gameplay) and traps.

Oh yes. Plenty of traps!

Above all else, a real sense of immersion in terms of ambience. ** Addendum: after watching the mini trailer, I was impressed with the ambient sound. If you manage to retain that level of quality in the released product, and lots of it, then I'll definitely be interested in returning to old-school roots.

[MrSpud]

Hi Geppetto! I bought Descent and enjoyed it for a bit, but find myself frustrated with some of the design choices, mostly the lack of a map and the ridiculous hunger system. It's my understanding that these issues were brought up here on this forum and also within the iTunes reviews, yet very little was done to improve these issues and appease your customers.

As much as I respect your integrity, are you going to have more of an open mind with this game? Or are you going to make a game that you feel is what it should be instead of a game aimed toward what people want?

I will most likely buy your game, but this time I won't buy it on day one, I wish you the best and I hope you keep on making these kind of games, and keep an open mind when it comes to constructive criticisms.

[geppetto]

Originally Posted by Captive

Hi, firstly i'v played many grid-based rpgs from the past and some of the parts i liked were the spell casting system used in Dungeon Master,killing some of the creatures for food,lots of puzzles and character leveling.A lot of those old dungeon games were extremely well made and there was almost nothing i disliked about them so am not a very good critic,sorry.Hopefully others will jump in and give you some feedback from those games.One of the most important things for me is the realtime combat which you already confirmed.I will look forward to seeing more on your game.

I'm with you - I find it hard to find fault with this style of gameplay. For me, these first-person RPGs were just the most immersive games ever made. Those moments when you turn around and find a monster in the square right next to you are just priceless.

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

In all honesty, I'm probably not best placed as although I did play Dungeon Master on my Atari ST back in the day, it is probably too formulaic for me to play now.

I would add don't be too ambitious in scope. You're right to pare back the game to focus on absolutely nailing the basics. Essentially, it's dungeon crawling - so get the party dynamics right i.e. different approaches to playing the game, plenty of different NPCs / monsters that have different motivations, habits, strengths, weaknesses and special attacks, puzzles, loot (I prefer a more Demon Soul approach but not everyone appreciates such gameplay) and traps.

Oh yes. Plenty of traps!

Above all else, a real sense of immersion in terms of ambience. ** Addendum: after watching the mini trailer, I was impressed with the ambient sound. If you manage to retain that level of quality in the released product, and lots of it, then I'll definitely be interested in returning to old-school roots.

I totally agree re the scope and I feel confident now that I'm refocused on just creating a great dungeon crawl and not trying to create some epic over-world adventure.

I tend to sum these games up as Traps, Puzzles, Creatures, and Treasures.

NPCs are something that I'd like to put in place too. Not everyone/thing you come across in a dungeon should be something you have to kill.

Immersion is key and a tough one to crack. It's more than just graphics and sound though - it's something almost intangible. Take a look at how basic Dungeon Master is, and how advanced Legend Of Grimrock is, and yet both of them absolutely nail immersion.

Originally Posted by MrSpud

Hi Geppetto! I bought Descent and enjoyed it for a bit, but find myself frustrated with some of the design choices, mostly the lack of a map and the ridiculous hunger system. It's my understanding that these issues were brought up here on this forum and also within the iTunes reviews, yet very little was done to improve these issues and appease your customers.

As much as I respect your integrity, are you going to have more of an open mind with this game? Or are you going to make a game that you feel is what it should be instead of a game aimed toward what people want?

I will most likely buy your game, but this time I won't buy it on day one, I wish you the best and I hope you keep on making these kind of games, and keep an open mind when it comes to constructive criticisms.

You have to understand that "what people want" isn't what YOU want. Everyone has different opinions, and for every 1-star review of Descend complaining about food, there's a 5-star review saying the game is perfect. It's extremely hard for a developer to please everyone. In fact, it's a huge mistake to TRY to please EVERYONE.

The game didn't have a map because the old-school games didn't have maps, and at that time, I was trying to create a VERY traditional old-school feel. Coldfire Keep DOES have an auto-map by the way - I've already coded half of it.

I'm also not sure what made the "ridiculous hunger system" so ridiculous? Was it the fact that there WAS a hunger system? Definitely let me know. I know that initially there was a lack of food for players that wanted to explore every corridor. I addressed this by adding more food to every level which - in my opinion - ended up being too much food (when I play it now, I throw half the food away).

Anyway, the food stuff is something I'd love to hear more opinions on. I have a note in my layout for the Options screen for Coldfire Keep that says "Option to turn off the hunger system?". There will definitely be a hunger system in Coldfire Keep because the game wouldn't feel complete to me without it, BUT would people like the option to turn it off?


Thanks for the feedback guys!

[MrSpud]

I see you still have the same mindset, I will only buy your game if you have an option to turn hunger off.