Gravitronix - tried it out yet?

VThornheart

So as some of you know, my friends and I made a game that just came out on WiiWare called Gravitronix. I'm curious if anyone on the boards has played it, and what your thoughts were on it! It's our first go-round.

urahonky

Someone better buy it. Else I'm going to have to get a divorce and purchase it myself. :P

slash000

How much of a single player aspect is there? I mean, kind of a funny question given that Wiis are popular as party / multiplayer devices, but I wouldn't have a chance to get a bunch of people together to play on my Wii for a while..

VThornheart

lol, no worries urahonky! I haven't seen much out there on the net about anyone having actually played it yet It worries me a little bit, but it's only been 2 days so I guess we'll see how it goes.

Also Slash000, admittedly the single player scenarios are mostly to get you prepared for the multiplayer game and to introduce you to all the options you can use in versus mode:

The first 10 levels are basically baby steps training, teaching you first how each projectile works and then how to beat progressively more players in the various scenarios the game has (2v2, 1v1, 2v2v2, etc... down the line)

The next 11 levels are levels that introduce you to some of the variety of options you can customize in multiplayer and to provide a bit of a challenge. There's quite a few scenarios in there that we had a lot of fun with when we were making the game at least.

But in the end, all 21 levels of the campaign are really just getting you used to the different kinds of games you can play so that you can compete in multiplayer. You CAN play multiplayer against the computer (in any of the configurations that would be available in a vs. humans game), but it definitely is a game meant to be played with people. However, even if it's just on rare occasion that you pick it up against people, you might find the single player enjoyable enough to tide you over for those occasions potentially.

urahonky

I think you should make this a information thread... Though you might want to get permission through the mods. But I'd like to see screenies of it and stuff.

I have a bunch of friends over on Fridays so maybe it would be worth the moneys :P

Nalouto

Half a dozen posts and I still have no fucking idea what this game is. Multiplayer... something...

INFO!

Gravitronix - Seen it yet?

VThornheart

Ah, I'll go ask permission and see if I can turn it into such a thread! I was trying to avoid it because I didn't want to be all "toot my own horn" like, but I really do want to know if anyone has tried it yet

And Naluto, if it helps, the game most closely resembles Warlords... but with up to 8 players, multiple projectiles at once, more actions that can be done (aiming, charging etc), unique projectile qualities, and 40 or so customizable game options. I'll try to get more info in here if I'm allowed

Mr_Grinch

Out on the UK store? I haven't bought anything in a while and likely have some points kicking around

VThornheart

Ah, I wish it was... our hope is that if we see any proceeds from this game, we were going to use them to pay for the translation and approval board expenses to get it out in Europe. Initially we were hoping for a launch in Europe, but basically what it came down to was that we all ran out of money by the time we finished with the North America translations and paying for the ESRB rating. In Europe you have to do 2x the translations and pay 3 different rating boards... and we just didn't have the cash. =(

Our plan is still to try and get it out in Europe if we can pull together the money to do so.

Mr_Grinch

Ah well. I would have tried it out. Sorry!

VThornheart

No worries! I'll keep you posted if we do manage to get it out in Europe.

Funguy McAids

I'm sorry but this game looks so very bad. I've seen many indy and low cost games look much better and more interesting.

How long did it take to make this?

I mean I don't really want to be offensive, but I am quite turned off by the generic looking, uninspired anime characters. The fact that it looks like the creators are from middle-america just adds to the feeling. What is the reasoning behind having some boring anime portraits instead of just a color for the players or something?

Really the visuals need some serious help. Anything to make it interesting to look at.

VThornheart

Indeed, the art was the part that we had the biggest fights about, and I completely understand negative sentiments about it. There was a lot of... well, internal struggle. I don't know if I can go into it more than that, but know that I personally agree with and understand the dislike of the art. =( I had previously felt like the gameplay mught make up for it, but now that its out I'm starting to realize that I should've fought harder to see that part improved or even the characters removed.

The game itself took... a long time, mostly due to the fact that people could only work on it when they had time. I moved up here to help them finish it, and that was almost exactly a year ago today. We ran into a lot of problems that stalled us, mostly due to utter inexperience... but I spent many a sleepless night trying to work through getting the code working with my friends. The art got a lot less attention, which I feel was a critically painful oversight. =(

Anyways, that's our story in a nutshell... as far as indy or low cost, we're about as much of both as it can get, though what little cost there was pretty much drained us all dry because it was whatever money we could come up with between us.

I don't know how much of this I should really be talking about, but I've always felt like these boards are my home... as such, I really want to try and tell it all as it is here as much as I can.

slash000

Unfortunately I think the reality is a lot of people make snap judgments about games based purely on screenshots or short gameplay clips, and if the artistic direction turns them off from the outset, they may not take the time to look into whether the underlying game is truly fun.

VThornheart

Aye, I agree completely... I think its a hard lesson we're learning for sure for the next time. I wish I could speak more on it, but I'm afraid that to tell the whole story of everything might alienate and hurt some feelings of people who are close to me, if they found me telling the whole story. I feel like I could write a memoir on the experience in retrospect... it was definitely an experience we need to learn from.

UncleSporky

Well I think most of us can understand how things go on projects between friends. Say no more. People thinking they're better at music or art than they really are, and being hurt when shot down by the rest of the group, or having created assets that are unusable or don't fit the style of what the leader was envisioning...

I feel a little bad for not supporting someone who is "living the dream," but it just doesn't look terribly compelling. I do hope you get some sales though.

VThornheart

UncleSporky wrote: »

Well I think most of us can understand how things go on projects between friends. Say no more. People thinking they're better at music or art than they really are, and being hurt when shot down by the rest of the group, or having created assets that are unusable or don't fit the style of what the leader was envisioning...

I feel a little bad for not supporting someone who is "living the dream," but it just doesn't look terribly compelling. I do hope you get some sales though.

Don't worry! I can't blame anyone for not feeling compelled to buy it, that is absolutely 100% okay! In retrospect, if the tables were turned I get the feeling that I might feel the same way. But indeed, the situations you mentioned above were all in play in spades. I'm thinking that I definitely want to try again, but maybe on a medium with less upfront risk and cost like xbox.

Brainiac 8

I was checking out NintendoLife (my main place for vc/wiiware) and they beat your game up to hell.

Sorry about that dude.

Eight Rooks

Sorry to tangent - I have no Wii - but

slash000 wrote: »

Unfortunately I think the reality is a lot of people make snap judgments about games based purely on screenshots or short gameplay clips, and if the artistic direction turns them off from the outset, they may not take the time to look into whether the underlying game is truly fun.

I'm not sure whether you mean it like this, but you're talking as if that's not a valid choice. If I find a game's presentation strongly visually unappealing, I'm not going to buy it. The chances that the game is so good nothing else with far higher production values comes close are slim to none, in my opinion. I don't think there's anything wrong with thinking that way, either. "ololololo ur artwerx iz fag'd" is obviously not on; "sorry, not interested, that looks like something the cat dragged in" is maybe just a tad rude, but as far as I'm concerned it's still a perfectly legitimate call to make.

Houn

I'm going to buy this. VT is awesome, and visuals aside, I'm all about supporting anyone from this community that's trying to follow their dreams. I don't care if this is crap; I'm going to buy it and play it because our people made it.

VThornheart

Houn wrote: »

I'm going to buy this. VT is awesome, and visuals aside, I'm all about supporting anyone from this community that's trying to follow their dreams. I don't care if this is crap; I'm going to buy it and play it because our people made it.

houn, you're too good to me.

I do think that the aesthetics point is definitely valid though, and I can't blame anyone for feeling that way. It's an important part of a game, and one we utterly dropped the ball on. =( I definitely appreciate your support and your friendship houn, you rock

Also, indeed NintendoLife gave a rough review, but I can't blame them. The one thing I'm not sure of is why the controls were unresponsive for him... I can't reproduce that problem. =( But the confusing ui and bad art are both true and are tough lessons we have to learn going forward. I'm definitely taking the advice they gave to heart, it was good wisdom for future attempts.

LewieP

What houn said if/when it ever gets a release in PAL region.

Brainiac 8

Keep at it....I also plan to support your product. I really hope you guys take certain lessons for a first effort and push forward to fix them the next time around.

I can't wait to see a second project from you.

VThornheart

Thanks guys, it is really kind of you... I deeply appreciate it, and I definitely want to hit these lessons home for our next game, wherever we end up being able to feasibly release it.

Houn

Oh, I'm still going to give you a scathing review on my blog, don't worry. But, you'll have my money, so there's that.

curly haired boy

if i had a wii, i'd buy it.

i will say that the character art doesn't look that bad, and it's probably best that it looks the way it does. you don't need better character art when the gameplay doesn't involve....characters. they're faces on spinny things that go 'round and 'round. you could probably have gone with shoulders-and-up portraits.

i can't say anything for the menus or interface, though, for i haven't played it.

VThornheart

lol, I wouldn't blame you if you did But if you run into that long delay problem they were mentioning in the controls, I'll need to pick you brain to see if I can reproduce it.