IC Forum Archive

James · Posts: 1735

the concept, at least - I'm not so hot on bullet pattens, less so as to how they'd be workable in my game idea.

I will probably need to work with someone who can code 3D and someone who can plan bullet waves as well as a sound and art crew. I will work on my design doc this weekend.

The idea is basic but playable!

oligophagy · Posts: 110

Neato!

I would help if you told us your idea and also it wasn't 3D.

James · Posts: 1735

Essentially the idea is that the "boss" sits in the middle of the spherical game area. A faint grid defines this. Players must navigate to a certain range of the boss to attack the bosses' core with a laser, beating the stage. Bosses attack by throwing out shaped attacks which must be flown around and through in the bullet hell style. Players can orbit the boss in 8/360 directions (supports analog and digital pads) to evade attacks or move forward by hitting the boost button. Maybe the game is set inside a dyson sphere? In reality you needn't orbit too much, but I don't want to impose an arbitary restriction on your ability to dodge.

8 bosses, stages loop and increase in difficulty (because of ALGORYTHMS) until you die.

Imagine the last boss stage of Sonic Adventure 2 if it was more solid, controlable and less shit. That's the closest I can think of to avoiding attacks in the way I'm talking about.

James · Posts: 1735

Maybe bosses and shots could be made of 2D spheres, BALLZ style. That would cut down on CPU power.

Hot Stott Bot · Posts: 2097

James wrote:

Maybe bosses and shots could be made of 2D spheres, BALLZ style. That would cut down on CPU power.

Man, don't worry about that shit. Pretend you're making this on an X360 or PS3.

(Also, that would cut down on GPU power, not CPU.)

vision · Posts: 472

Are you thinking of utilizing a first- or third-person camera? I think it would be very hard to keep track of incoming shots with either, but moreso with a first-person view of the playing field (especially if not facing the boss).

Come to think of it, has a game ever used a second-person camera?

professor_scissors · Posts: 1033

Speaking as a bullet hell fan: A proper bullet hell game hangs on the player knowing exactly where he and the bullets are at every moment. If any element introduces uncertainty as to where a bullet is (such as it being a small object in 3D space, making it unclear how far it is from the camera) the game will become an excersize in seething, unfair frustration, unless you have some REALLY clever trick that either I didn't read right or you haven't told us.

MrBlarney · Posts: 133

vision wrote:

Come to think of it, has a game ever used a second-person camera?

I remember these was a second-person shooter done as an art exercise, and a few searches and clicks later: Adventures in the Second Person. I haven't actually tried the demo, so I can't say much about the quality.

More on topic, sounds like an interesting idea, James. Start with something like fuzetsu and build from there. Prof. Scissors definitely does bring up an issue of making sure depth perception is handled properly... having all bullets be uniformly the same size will help, and players can probably adjust quickly. Alternatively, set up some sort of alternate 'visors' such that bullet colors change when closer to the player's ship. That's what came to my mind first, anyways.

James · Posts: 1735

It's not literally a bullet hell shooter as such, certainly not a traditonal one. It's an orbital attack avoiding game! The unique features can be resolved in a manner that's satisfying to play - there aren't going to be solid walls of bullets huzzing at you. Your ship will be transparent with a bright red "hit sphere".

glitch · Posts: 216

this sounds a lot like the second (i think) boss in Internal Section, adding up & down movement. the second boss in Internal Section is quite playable and good fun too, maybe you should have a look at it. i'd love to see this happen. [/bullet hell junkie]

Koji · Posts: 571

James, your idea just gave me the visual of another kind of game. Imagine that the battlefield is like the solar system, in that you are a 'planet' among others, and you circle around the 'sun' (the boss), but only within the confines of your orbit. Say that with the left pad you'd control left and right your ship, and with the right analog you'd be able to rotate your orbit around the boss. The enemies would also move in orbits, and there would not be too many or it would look too messy, but they would fire plenty of bullets I guess. You'd always face the boss, too, but probably the enemies would get between you and the boss, making it impossible to get clear shots at first.

glitch · Posts: 216

Koji wrote:

James, your idea just gave me the visual of another kind of game. Imagine that the battlefield is like the solar system, in that you are a 'planet' among others, and you circle around the 'sun' (the boss), but only within the confines of your orbit. Say that with the left pad you'd control left and right your ship, and with the right analog you'd be able to rotate your orbit around the boss. The enemies would also move in orbits, and there would not be too many or it would look too messy, but they would fire plenty of bullets I guess. You'd always face the boss, too, but probably the enemies would get between you and the boss, making it impossible to get clear shots at first.

and you'd slowly spiral in towards the the 'sun' and once you get close enough to hit it you'd have to destroy it in time before you smash into it. maybe.

antitype · Posts: 1148

vision wrote:

Come to think of it, has a game ever used a second-person camera?

Siren?