So I’ve decided to get back into Game Development a couple of years since I stopped working on Hoop Flick. I’ve played quite a library of games since then, and gained new inspirations that will hopefully make this new game a more successful one.
By the way, Hoop Flick is still available on the Google Play store, though I haven’t updated it in years. It does work, though, for better or for worse, with very minimal Ads.
Unlike Hoop Flick, the new game doesn’t have an awesome title yet. Yes, the title of this post says Hero Runners, but that’s only because the game is about a group of heroes and the object is to run across a stage – and because “Hero Runners” isn’t taken yet on Google Play.
That said, that working title isn’t the worst app name in the world, so I’ll stick to that for now.
Development Tool
For Hoop Flick, I had to learn Unity 4.x from scratch, and I have to say, considering that and considering that I was working alone while also working a full-time job, I think I did a great job and that my entire experience was not useless even though Hoop Flick has earned a measly $3 so far (I know, I know, LOL right?).
For one, with the experience in hand, I will probably have an easier time learning Unity 5.x. I also have a Google Developer account ready and set up. And finally, creating an actual, working game, has always been a dream of mine and that, I surely have accomplished. Now it’s time to finish the job!
Leaning, though, is always a part of the experience in my book. So instead of using Unity 5.x, I’ve decided to learn and use a different tool this time around – GameMaker Studio from YoYo Games.
From what I’ve read, GameMaker is less powerful than Unity, but that only means it’s more suitable for simpler games, which is what I’m aiming for. Also, I have the full Android license for GameMaker, so I wouldn’t be as restricted as with Unity, where I’m merely using their Free License offering, which has a few restrictions (for example, the unremovable Unity splash screen).
Of course, I do have to start from scratch again.
I know, how exciting!
The Game
As I mentioned, the game will be a sort of running game (like Temple Run), but with a twist. It will be a side-scrolling, 2D runner (maybe platformer?) and have small RPG and rogue-like elements, and also be card-based as I find these games interesting.
Basically, the player collects two types of cards – Hero Cards and Skill Cards. A Hero Card can be infused with a Skill Card, embedding the said skill into a Hero Card. For example, I can infuse a Fireball Skill Card into my “Jan” Card, then when I use “Jan”, he can use the skill Fireball.
In addition to skill upgrades, a Hero Card will have star ratings. All Hero Cards can be upgraded up to 5 stars, but cards differ by their “Natural” or starting star rating and rarity. For instance, the “Jan” Hero card starts as 1 star, but can be upgraded up to 5 stars. On the other hand, the “Jeek” Hero card starts at 4 stars (i.e. a natural 4-star hero), and can also be upgraded to 5 stars. Higher starting star ratings mean stronger Hero Cards, but they’re also much more rare.
New Cards can be obtained as rewards or by using points/currency to purchase a Card Pack, which contain themed cards (for instance, there will be a Hoop Flick card pack containing our beloved Hoop Flick characters).
When the game begins, the player will choose one of his Hero Cards to activate during this run. The Hero then runs automatically to the right. The player can only interact with the hero by means of 3-6 buttons which corresponds to 3-6 skills. Three of these are fixed skills already embedded into the Hero Card, while the last 3 are to be filled by Skill Cards. Not all Hero Cards have the same number of Skill Card slots, though. Some have none at all!
The object of the game is to score as much points as possible. Much like in Hoop Flick, the score gained is also the currency used to buy card packs or upgrade cards. The further the player goes, the higher the score gained per second, and the higher the score goes, the higher the Score Multiplier becomes. Obviously, the game becomes more difficult as well.
Hopefully I can implement a better Facebook or Google Player leaderboards this time around, but more on that later.
Finally, here’s a snap of one of my planning drafts detailing how a Hero Card would look like:
Inspirations
The game is a combination of different gameplay styles, and even different genres. I’ve taken interesting stuff from different games I’ve played, among which are the following:
- Postknight (Android) – If you play this game, you will notice that my game looks very similar to this game. While this is one of my favorite games on this list, I swear I thought of my game first before I even knew Postknight existed. That the layout I had in mind and the gameplay being so similar actually shocked me. Still, I decided that Hero Runners and Postknight would have several differences in the end that I believe I can continue without competing against this game.
- Hoop Flick – Points = Currency. So improving one’s Score Multiplier also increases Currency rewards. I’m not sure if any other games implement this.
- Mobius Final Fantasy – While I also played other Card-based games like Hearthstone or Yu-gi Oh, Mobius FF is where I realized that cards need not necessarily be just cards, rather, they can be manifestations of something else. In Mobius FF, cards determine a character’s class and the skills he can use. The same is true for another game I played, Ragnarok Odyssey for PS Vita. Unlike Ragnarok, however, Mobius FF’s cards come in card packs, a system I plan on implementing.
- Nonstop Knight – I realized offline, AFK, or non-stop systems, where your character continues to earn credits even when you’re not playing the game, have been quite popular recently, but I first encountered this in Nonstop Knight. I plan on implementing something similar to this in my game.
- Summoners War – The star system and having “natural” star ratings.
- Guild Wars 2 and World of Warcraft – As you know, I love my MMORPGs. GW2 and WoW are 2 of my favorites, so I decided to base my rarity system on them. I copied GW2’s color scheme (Green < Blue < Orange < Purple), but copied WoW’s naming scheme instead (Common < Rare < Epic < Legendary). (WoW’s color scheme is similar to GW2, but Purple and Orange are swapped. On the other hand, GW2 calls the “Epic” rarity “Exotic”). The best of both worlds!
What to Improve
Believe it or not, Hoop Flick’s graphics actually exceeded my expectations. Seriously. Just watch the transformation from the earliest alpha versions to the first release version.
That said, compared to a lot of games available in the app store, Hoop Flick’s art and animation just sucked, and it is one thing I’m serious in improving for this next game.
I spent more than 50% of my development time tweaking Hoop Flick’s physics engine, and since Hero Runners will most definitely have much simpler Physics, I can spend the extra time learning graphic design or drawing applications instead. Hopefully, I can muster enough artistic juices to produce a decent game graphics-wise.
Hoop Flick also suffered from dodgy controls, and while that won’t be an issue due to the nature of this game, I will pay close attention to collision detections and game balancing.
Finally, I hope I can properly implement in-app purchases, but the truth is, even though I will be implementing card packs, this isn’t a priority for me. I okay with another ad-supported game like Hoop Flick, and maybe a “donation” version with all Hero Cards unlocked. That said, I know for a fact that the In-App purchases model will always be more profitable.
Expectations and Timeline
As simple as Hoop Flick was, it took me more than six months to finish it, and that included weekends where I spent literally the entire day working on it. I don’t see this project being faster, especially since I’m expecting heavy work load in the next few weeks or months. But I am hoping to reach Closed Beta sometime in Q4 2017 and maybe Open Beta before the end of the year.
Unlike Hoop Flick where I started the game with one character in mind, then added skins later on, I’m starting with plenty of characters in mind (I already listed around 20). I believe this will be beneficial in the long run, so that the coding of the game will allow for more flexibility, in case I decide to add features in the future (multiplayer maybe?). However, this does mean it will take longer to reach Alpha and Beta, as I have to make sure at least the initial roster of characters are ready.
That’s it for now. I will be posting again once I get the basics of GameMaker down and once I have the preliminary stage design, much like I did with Hoop Flick. See ya!
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