Author Topic: My idea for a shoot-em-up  (Read 3400 times)

SONIC BHOCOLATE STRIKER

  • Doing >9000 Barrel Rolls
My idea for a shoot-em-up
« on: June 05, 2009, 08:52:29 PM »
I assume this is the proper forum for people who are making games that aren't touhou related. But I'm getting into game programming now. I knew C and C++ for a while, but language isn't the problem for me. It's logic. Game logic is something I have yet to tackle; I can handle algorithms and syntax. Linear programming and object-oriented programming are easy for me. User interaction is something I'm working on. But dynamic programs that move beyond the scope of "if" and use graphics is something I'm slowly working my way up on. I'm starting to understand some things, but I haven't yet answered the question that I think is all-important - Where do I begin? I have decided to start with a state manager and a menu state that is mouse-controlled, to learn how to display graphics and handle mouse movement (although mouse movement isn't too important to me at this moment in time, one of my friends asked me to write a menu app for him).

I have an idea for a shoot-em-up that I was going to use for my first foray into the world of game programming. It's a system based on water and steam.

Water is acquired in minuscule amounts by killing enemies, but will generally come from waterfalls or rainclouds. These will usually be placed in specific locations on each stage. Rainclouds will release water until shot at, in which case they start thundering and lightning as well. So don't shoot those. In this game, water replaces "power" in Touhou. Water is mainly fuel for your options; all of them shoot as long as you have some. In other words, you are always at "full power" per se (unless you bomb - see below), but you can only shoot with your options if you have water.

Steam is acquired by shooting. As you shoot, the water is converted to steam, which is used mainly for bombs. There might be other ways to get it, but that's the main way.

As far as shooting goes, there is your normal shot. Kinda weak, but not as weak as they would be in the standard Touhou game. This shot requires nothing special, but does nothing special either. Normal shots will also be more varied than just firing straight forward.

Then, there are your options. Each option burns through water at a different rate. Ones that burn fast are great for bombing because they fill up the steam tank quickly, and ones that burn slow give you more firing power.

Finally, bombs (which are option-specific) will use a tank of steam, overloading an option and unleashing the bomb's technique. That option will be unusable until it cools off. If you have insufficient steam and you bomb anyway, you'll eat up water reserves. The amount of times you can bomb are limited only to how much steam you've got. Bomb attacks grant temporary invincibility and autocollecting. Also, there will be deathbombing.

I'm seeing the controls like this:
Z-regular shot
X-shoot with options
C-Bomb
Shift-Focus

with the added options of:
hold-focus (holding the shoot button enables focused mode)
hold-options (holding the shoot button shoots with options)


A few other nitpicky things I wanted to do: make sure that people get adequate bonuses for timing out spell cards (no, I won't actually call boss attacks "spell cards") and I'll probably use the Touhou 11 style for extra lives. I want to try and export a lot of stuff to scripts (hey Lua) to make it easy to add content and even let others make games/stages/characters with it. I have no clue how scoring systems for shoot-em-ups usually work, so that's a major caveat.

I hope to be able to do some interesting things in boss fights and certain levels by manipulating this system. Not something as extreme as a boss with control over water that totally screws you over, though.

It's got a story but... seriously. Do you really want this post to get any longer?


tl;dr version: I'm making a game (or trying to), wish me luck and give feedback if you want to..
I gotta have something for my sig, so...

Drake

  • *
Re: My idea for a shoot-em-up
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2009, 01:04:01 AM »
That actually sounds pretty cool. Go for it. Although an idea like this would have to be executed with fairly good graphics or it'd be totally uninteresting.

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SONIC BHOCOLATE STRIKER

  • Doing >9000 Barrel Rolls
Re: My idea for a shoot-em-up
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2009, 02:35:13 AM »
That actually sounds pretty cool. Go for it. Although an idea like this would have to be executed with fairly good graphics or it'd be totally uninteresting.
I know a couple of good spriters. I'll put at least one of them through his paces. I'm also planning on learning some kind of OpenGL effects for the waterfalls and stuff.

I'll do my best to make this a fun experience! ... as soon as I figure out how to mesh everything I know together.
I gotta have something for my sig, so...