Swarm Development: Postmortem

[Icey]

@Ascovel: I noticed that today on youtube.

Btw, I changed the GUI now and here it is. What ever you don't need just take off.

[Hudders]

So it could be something like... Draculator II: Heart of the Swarm

We should make it a sequel to a non-existent original. With lots of references to things that never happened.

[Atelier]

So it could be something like... Draculator II: Heart of the Swarm

We should make it a sequel to a non-existent original. With lots of references to things that never happened.

Lol that could be hilarious, make the player feel like they're really missing out on something good.

I can just see the help topics now *dream cloud above head*

Draculator I missing from database?
Help finding original Draculator?
Stuck on Draculator II... can't find Disk 1!!

[Armageddon]

So it could be something like... Draculator II: Heart of the Swarm

We should make it a sequel to a non-existent original. With lots of references to things that never happened.

Lol that could be hilarious, make the player feel like they're really missing out on something good.

I can just see the help topics now *dream cloud above head*

Draculator I missing from database?
Help finding original Draculator?
Stuck on Draculator II... can't find Disk 1!!

This idea is epic! There can even be an unsolvable mini-puzzle that you can only figure out by playing a non-existent game. And then after this we can make the first one, like a prequel.

[Grim]

And then after this we can make the first one, like a prequel.

I'm sure Icey is already working on that one;)

[Baron]

Name voting in progress!  You are eligible to vote if you have posted in this thread at some point after the project got going.  If you didn't receive a PM then the gist of the process is this: rank your preferences of the following (1 being highest) and PM them to me by Saturday night.

Your options in alphabetical order:

Another One Bytes the Rust
Blood, Sweat & Gears
Byte
Chronicles of Merrick
Compute Borgula
Draculator II
Fang Drone
Vambionic
Vamborg
VampeRage

      May the best name win!  If there are two close contenders we will try to splice them (overall name + episode name, probably).

EDIT:
I played a bit with Merrick's back animation while keeping an eye on the hockey game this evening.  The old slapped together one:

And now my latest attempt:

Improvement?

So, for those of you who haven't seen the rough game mock-up, this is Merrick's proposed walk-cycle:


And here is the new sprite master (only leg shades have changed):

[Baron]

Sorry for the double post, but this is time sensitive:

LAST DAY TO VOTE!
I've heard from 50% of the eligible electorate so far, which isn't bad for only two days, but I'd really like everyone's voice to count.  Results to be announced in just under 23 hours!

[Baron]

Polls closed!  Voter turnout is 72%, which means modern democracies should get their citizens to make more adventure games if they want to see more of them participating in the polls.

ROUND ONE
(Percentages are approximate and may not add up to 100)

Draculator II 29%
Byte 24%
Another One Bytes the Rust 15%
Chronicles of Merrick 15%
Blood, Sweat & Gears 10%
Vamborg 4%
VampeRage 4%
Compute Borgula 0%
Fang Drone 0%
Vambionic 0%

  Those strikeouts mean those options have now been eliminated, and their votes will be redistributed to the other names in the next rounds.  Remember a name must cross the 50% threshold to win -this is far from over!  Back in a bit with second round results....

ROUND TWO
(Percentages are approximate and may not add up to 100)

Draculator II 33%
Byte 24%
Chronicles of Merrick 19%
Another One Bytes the Rust 15%
Blood, Sweat & Gears 10%
Vamborg 0%
VampeRage 0%
Compute Borgula 0%
Fang Drone 0%
Vambionic 0%

    So Blood, Sweat & Gears is eliminated and Draculator II inches closer to clinching.... how exciting!  Round three coming up.


ROUND THREE
(Percentages are approximate and may not add up to 100)

Draculator II 43%
Byte 24%
Chronicles of Merrick 19%
Another One Bytes the Rust 15%
Blood, Sweat & Gears 0%
Vamborg 0%
VampeRage 0%
Compute Borgula 0%
Fang Drone 0%
Vambionic 0%

     Well, THAT was a pretty one sided round.  D2's lead looks like it is becoming insurmountable, but we'll play this out until we get to that magic 50% +1.

ROUND FOUR
(Percentages are approximate and may not add up to 100)

Draculator II 48%
Byte 29%
Chronicles of Merrick 24%
Another One Bytes the Rust 0%
Blood, Sweat & Gears 0%
Vamborg 0%
VampeRage 0%
Compute Borgula 0%
Fang Drone 0%
Vambionic 0%

     Looks like we're going to the final round after all!  There's an odd number of ballots so this process will end next round.  Drum roll: badda badda badda badda badda badda badda badda...........

ROUND FIVE
(Percentages are approximate and may not add up to 100)

Draculator II 53%
Byte 43%
Chronicles of Merrick 0%
Another One Bytes the Rust 0%
Blood, Sweat & Gears 0%
Vamborg 0%
VampeRage 0%
Compute Borgula 0%
Fang Drone 0%
Vambionic 0%

       So DRACULATOR II is our game name!  Awesome.  In the end there was one ballot that ran out of options, so it was discarded.  I don't see any way to combine the names, although Byte could be part of the subtitle I suppose (subtitles are common in sequels....).  Thanks everyone for adding your two-cents!

[Ali]

I think the only solution is to have a coalition title which satisfies no one. That's what we did in Britain.

By the way, I really don't get Draculator II. Surely people will think the game is a sequel and not play it because they haven't played the original? What will happen when we do make the sequel?

We have to adopt a comprehensible numbering system, this isn't Final Fantasy. Or an Edward Gorey book. Although that would be cool.

[Hudders]

What will happen when we do make the sequel?

Draculator IV

I don't see any way to combine the names

Another One Bytes the Rust, Chronicles of Merrick and Blood, Sweat & Gears would all work as subtitles.

[Icey]

I think it should be called Draculator, Then we would be better off making a prequel. But if you do keep that name then we must make a prequel  

[Baron]

I don't really see the issue with non-linear numbering.  For two decades Star Wars started with episode IV, and then there was Douglas Adams' trilogy of four (which actually ran to five books..... ok, not a linear thing, but still an irrational use of numbers).  To be honest I didn't vote for Draculator II, but I think once the name's been around for a while we'll wonder that we ever contemplated calling the game anything else.

Edit: Draculator II GIP thread is now up with most recent screenshots (including Tabata's cursors and Ali's patrolling guard).

[Armageddon]

I'm not a fan of the cursors, simply because they are ripped off from a real smiley.

[Secret Fawful]

Decided to give a shot at the vampiress twins closeup portraits-




Now I DO have a version of the blonde with exactly the same hairstyle, but I altered it slightly in this version in order to make her stand out in a subtle way from her sister. I have ideas for how I'll position their hands, and I may flip the blonde and reshade her to suit that, but I need feedback and suggestions before I attempt any of it. Basically I want to know if I'm on the right track or if any of these are usable. Took me well over an hour to make them.

[Armageddon]

Smile?

[Secret Fawful]

Wish granted. 

[Hudders]

After I read this:

Merrick will be made obedient with an IV of poodle blood.

I instantly thought of a living dog suspended on a pole like an IV, its blood being fed down a tube into the vampire.

This led me to think of a puzzle idea: the dog is alternately barking and gnawing at the wound the IV has made in its body. By talking to the dog you are given two dialogue options: "Good boy" and "Bad boy". By saying "Bad boy" when the dog is barking and "Good boy" when the dog is trying to escape, you create a situation whereby the dog *only* chews the IV and frees Merrick from the connection. When the dog completes its escape it jumps down from the pole and runs off into the darkness.

[Anian]

Wish granted.  

God damn that's a creepy smile.  
You might wanna think about lowering the eyes and eyebrows and ears just a tad though, think it'll give better proportions.

[arj0n]

I was wondering, are there any (beta)testers needed for this project?

Edit:
looking at the first post it seems not.

[Igor Hardy]

Wish granted.  

Cool vampire portraits, Fawful. Very Hammeresque.