Scoundrels: The Risky Reef (by Randy O'Connor)

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by randyo, Feb 11, 2014.

  1. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
    #1 randyo, Feb 11, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2014
    The Risky Reef is a pirate-ship survival game where you try to last as long possible as you plunder and fight through navy and merchant ships in an unceasing quest for treasure and money.

    It's a game I'm making almost entirely by myself (sans sound/music) and continually changing. Mostly I just hope it's good at all.

    No release date anymore because it's hard to estimate how long it takes to design a good game. I'm sometimes tempted to revert back to the massive procedural rogue-like with an alpha-release model.

    Y'all might know me from Dead End HD, another iOS game I'm quite proud of, or Distractions, or as the lead artist on Waking Mars.

    LATEST SCREENIES!
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    =============================
    NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS THE ORIGINAL POST, WHICH IS ALL OLD AND OUT OF DATE. But I believe there's value in seeing what was originally posted.
    =============================
    Hi everyone, I want to tell you about a new game I started working on a week ago.

    The goal is to create an approachable, systems-based game that I could release like Minecraft and other alpha-release games. I've been in a pirate-game mood and never found quite the game to scratch that itch. For me, iPhone games need to have that fun moment-to-moment gameplay to suck me in, so why not make an action-ish pirate game!

    In "Rogues", you sail a ship around, fight other ships and steal from then, and sell your goods at ports (if they like you enough to not attack you on-sight).

    It's going to be procedurally generated (eventually) and focus almost entirely on sailing around and fighting, though I want there to be a cool in-world economy of goods.

    The plan is to get the barest roughest fun elements into the game, and then put it up on the store for $.99. If it gains any traction or as I get into it, I hope to continue working on it and refining and adding systems and art and other stuff. If it reaches a good enough point, I'll raise the price to 1.99, and if it gets even better, I'll raise it to 2.99, etc.

    I'm a big fan of alpha-release, systems-based games, because you can actually support development, rather than me spending months/years on a project only to find out if you like it at the very end. The initial release (probably within a month) is going to be ROUGH, but that's the idea.

    What I want is to eventually have a game where you sail around, it turns to night, the fog rolls in, you attack a ship where no one sees, steal all their stuff and then sink 'em, then sail near a port that's friendly to you, where you take your dinghy in and sell the goods for doubloons and valuables, and then take a moment to bet half your fortune in a smoky smuggler's den, only to have to flee the island as the port authorities decide you've caused too much trouble.

    Mmmm, piratey goodness.

    Finally, here's some art for a pirate board game I'm working on. I imagine "Rogues" is going to look similar.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And here is a look at the game right now! (Isn't she preeetty?) :)
    [Circles are islands, squares are ports, and the red things are ships sailing around.]

    [​IMG]

    Cheers!

    -Randy O

    (Also, feel free to check out my other games for iOS: Distractions and Dead End HD, and we're finishing up Escape Goat 2 for PC/mac/linux too!)

    --
     
  2. iPadisGreat

    iPadisGreat Well-Known Member

    Dec 10, 2012
    2,391
    0
    0
    Arts looks fun to play. You might want to change your app's name. Another game released with a very common name, Shifts, and as a result, it is almost impossible to google anything about it, which would definitely reduce sales...

    So piratey customers looking for your game might be unable to find reviews of it easily and not buy.

    And fans of rogue-likes who stumble across a game called rogues, which is not a rogue-like would also not buy...
     
  3. kinshuksunil

    kinshuksunil Well-Known Member

    Feb 24, 2013
    206
    0
    16
    Male
    Makes Games at Hashstash
    India
    The art is really nice, and the objective sounds cool too.

    Any definite roadmap as yet?
     
  4. Pretty islands indeed :) Hope to see more about the game aar!!
     
  5. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
    @iPadisGreat: I will definitely pay attention to the name, though I do want there to be some rogue elements (permadeath, challenging, procedural). For now I like this name, but I'll keep it in mind if I come up with something better. Thanks for the feedback!

    Roadmap:
    Work purely on mechanics til near the first release, doing little to no art, so that mechanics don't get locked down by art. Then prior to releasing the first version, I'll do a first-pass on basic art.

    As of today: You can move around and shoot with unlimited ammo. Other ships sail to a port, then to a new port, etc, except for a few "navy" ships that head directly toward you, and then start shooting until they or you are dead. There are ports, but they just shoot at you if you get too close.

    Goals for first release:
    -Get the in-world economy working so ships trade goods with ports and carry stuff.
    -Get factions working. (I want 3 main factions.)
    -Implement boarding of ships.
    -Better ship movement, though probably not realistic movement.
    -More interesting combat mechanics (being able to choose how you set up cannons, maybe a couple cannon types, limited ammo).
    -Better AI
    -Make the navy ships smarter in their choice of actions.
    -Basic interaction at ports.

    After first release, I'll probably start to figure out what areas to push on, but I'd like eventual weather elements, night and day, options to bury treasure, building the world procedurally, saving/loading/icloud, actually make it so you don't collide with islands (maybe I'll do that for first release).

    Anyhow, I best do some work on it!
     
  6. ScotDamn

    ScotDamn Well-Known Member
    Patreon Silver

    Jul 8, 2013
    1,990
    0
    36
    Wireless Sales
    Happy Daddy
    I really like the game concept here. I would just encourage there be at least a certain level of polish when you release the initial version. I'm definitely interested!
     
  7. Bleau

    Bleau Well-Known Member

    Sep 27, 2013
    274
    0
    0
    One half of MoWOW Studios, an mobile indie game st
    Koblenz, Germany
    Looks really interesting. Will there be a "Search and steal someone else's treasure" challenge? That would be a fun multiplayer. Destroy/capture 4 players to get the pieces of a map. Then get there in time and steal the treasure :))
     
  8. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
    @ScotDamn: I definitely want to have some basic art in place and some notes of polish, but I want to release something in a rougher state just to get the system into people's hands. Like the way DayZ is rough in so many ways, and a lot of things break, but the game is fun.

    The important thing before I release is for me to find a good rhythm to the game, and get that out there. Right now it has some push, but no pull, so I have to get those parts working for sure.

    @Bleau: Oh man if I were a better coder... I'm an artist first, so the thought of coding multiplayer is terrifying. Maybe if this gets super famous and I learn how to make good network code, cause your idea sounds awesome!
     
  9. JCho133

    JCho133 Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
    7,907
    27
    48
    I'm all for it, I haven't had a good pirate game since Plunderland! The art looks great, definitely keep with it!
     
  10. Bleau

    Bleau Well-Known Member

    Sep 27, 2013
    274
    0
    0
    One half of MoWOW Studios, an mobile indie game st
    Koblenz, Germany
    Fully understand that. You should also insert some pirate talk and gibberish, even if the accent is wrong. That would be some funny rough :p
     
  11. CzechCongo

    CzechCongo Well-Known Member

    Jul 17, 2013
    294
    0
    0
    How about "rogue pirates" or "pirate rogues" or somesuch? Truth in advertising and all.

    I, for one, would like to play a procedurally generated, pirate themed game, where one sails and attacks and buys and sells, and not have to do any dancing.
     
  12. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
  13. CzechCongo

    CzechCongo Well-Known Member

    Jul 17, 2013
    294
    0
    0
    Tried to follow you but the twitch app sucks. Post next time you're streaming, then it should be easier to find you on twitch.
     
  14. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
    Sorry no updates this week, but I'm working a ton trying to finish Escape Goat 2 AND get ready to travel to the East coast. Escape Goat 2 has been in a bit of a holding pattern for a bit, and now there's real efforts to actually push this sucker out the door.

    I did work on Rogues on Sunday for a few hours, but it's backend stuff, trying to get the ships to acknowledge "enemies", figure out exactly how ships and ports store knowledge. Like, do they keep a log of all ships they encounter? Or just enemies. Anyway, once I get over that hump, the game should start to come way more alive. Then I'll start working on actual selling/trading of goods.

    -Randy

    (And will do CzechCongo!)
     
  15. christopherrocs

    christopherrocs Well-Known Member

    Aug 15, 2013
    553
    0
    16
    This looks sickkk, I hope for iPod 4 support!
     
  16. mikeworld

    mikeworld Well-Known Member

    Oct 10, 2013
    265
    0
    0
    Suggestion for name; Peace Main
    You can also take inspiration from manga/anime One Piece
     
  17. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
    Gonna stream some game development tomorrow on twitch. 10:30am pst is the plan! Www.twitch.tv/randallion
     
  18. randyo

    randyo Well-Known Member

    Sep 11, 2011
    192
    0
    16
    (see above)
    Chicago!
    Hi everyone!

    I shipped Escape Goat 2 (for PC/Mac/Linux) and got to be in a video with Tim Schafer! So, yeah, pretty great. :)

    But I've wanted to get back to Rogues, so this week I began to get ports working. What this means is that while you're intersecting with a port you can trade any goods you have with said port.

    [​IMG]

    This makes an almost complete game loop, so I'll be testing things around a bunch and starting to tackle more about how ships trade and attack next. Also I expect to start messing around with art a bit.
     
  19. CzechCongo

    CzechCongo Well-Known Member

    Jul 17, 2013
    294
    0
    0
    Sorry I missed your twitch stream. Post again when you do it next.

    Good luck developing!
     
  20. SirHanet

    SirHanet Well-Known Member

    Aug 5, 2013
    563
    0
    0
    Halifax
    Beta Test?Alpha Test?

    Will there be a beta test or a alpha test?
     

Share This Page