Been over a year since my last news post, which is where I talked in detail about my return to Newgrounds and not being proud of the posts of my past self.
Also on a side note I'm not proud of much of my art on the art page as I know that it's not indicative of my true skill, just forced to work with the cruddy MS Paint. Seriously, I could draw better in real life than whatever I can make in MS Paint. Well, I could do something amazing in MS Paint if I wanted to, but that's very time-consuming to the point to which I'm sure I can draw something good in far less a time, as with Paint you more or less have to go pixel-by-pixel if you really want something good. Used to have access to Adobe, but it was just really for college and now that college is done my folks had my Adobe cancelled due to the expenses. Just one of said art on the art page is from Adobe and that's it. Would rather like to remove much of 'em as in addition to being low-quality, they also remind me of my past self. Though I wouldn't want all of 'em to be removed as I'm sure there's a few I'd like to keep, it's just that at the moment I'm in no mood to do that myself.
Well anyways now I feel ready to talk about my current project plans. Sure, I'm well aware that I can't do this by myself and don't have the money or proper resources to really do something great, but I feel that if I don't speak up about it then nothing will get done. Not that I seek to assemble a team to do any of this stuff at this moment as I feel it's best to get some real life duties out of the way first, but I do at least want some interest from those who'd want to help make it a reality.
Yeah, for the first of these I may have gotten ahead of myself in terms of planning, but I say that planning for the long term is just as important as planning for the short term. The way I see it, it pays to plan for everything. This even includes thinking about how the market would react, as such I see it as really important to test the waters before doing or releasing anything big to see if folks would like it enough to even make a profit, especially if one wants it to be successful enough to warrant it becoming a series. Transparency and good marketing would be a great help to that. Well, not transparent in that you'll ruin the game by spoiling everything, I mean transparent in what we're doing and showing that we're at least delivering on what we're marketing. Ideally the goal would be to go above and beyond what we're marketing, but naturally that's easier said than done when you don't have much money or resources. As a consumer myself, I naturally care a lot about 'em and seek to be as consumer-friendly as possible, heard enough tales of anti-consumer stuff in other companies that just plain sickens me.
Anyways, here are some of my project ideas, the first two naturally being the main ones. Would love to type more about them to further elaborate, but I'm very nearly at the character limit for this news post.
The Gamechanger Saga
Back in my cringey old days on Newgrounds I made a thread about seeking to make my own video games series called The Gamechanger Saga. Ugh, don't even want to link it, let alone look it up as I despise my young and naive days on the forums. All I can say for certain about those days is whatever I had planned back then no longer matters as what I have currently planned for it has much more solid of a story and world to tell. Sure, what I have isn't a whole lot but it's still a backbone, a structure we can work with and build off of!
As for what this game is about... and yes you read that right, I said game and not game series as I don't know how successful it'll be, but I do know which material to set aside for sequel games should it do well.
Anyways it's a 3d turn-based RPG that stars my OC Det. GC. And no he's not meant to be me, just merely loosely based on me. "Gamechanger" is just a nickname for him, have yet to decide what his real name is. What the first game would be about is basically the case that turns him from a small-time hero to a big one, or in other words from being a game changer to the Gamechanger. However this doesn't mean that the game title is referring to just him though, as one theme I'd like to explore is what it means to be a game changer, and so as such there's no telling how many characters or things that'll qualify as that in this series at this point in time. Naturally, this can include threats the detective would face. Also interested in possibly making this literal by having the game change genres for certain parts of the game (e.g. going from a turn-based RPG to a race/chase segment).
As for the genre and setting, it's basically a mix between sci-fi and fantasy. The game takes place some time far in the future where humanity is finally generally all working together as a species (exception of course being criminals) and has long come into contact with alien life. That's not a description of the present of the game mind you, but its past. The game actually takes place on another planet at least a century or more after humanity has started to travel to other worlds and universes. Said planet's known civilization history is relatively new for both humans and aliens as it's a frontier planet whose native wildlife and such is still being studied. Quite a bit of the planet is unexplored and there's even been a few ancient ruins discovered with the identity and fate of the former occupants unknown. That means it's a world filled with mystery, which is perfect for a game starring a detective. As various civilized species live there it's basically a melting pot planet if you will, rich with various culture. The trips to various worlds and dimensions has also shown to humanity that magic exists as well, just simply in more abundance in places other than Earth.
Should probably mention what kind of detective Det. GC is. He's a paranormal field detective, which means he can take on both paranormal cases and regular ol' cases. So yeah, he's no Ghostbuster but the theme song would fit. He actually was born on Earth but came to the frontier planet, both to make a name for himself and for the thrill of the unknown. He knows how to do the paperwork that comes with cases but dislikes it as paperwork isn't his thing, hence why be prefers fieldwork and getting his hands dirty. As such he's no slouch when it comes to combat. As for how he fights, well while he can do good ol' fashioned close quarters combat he usually fights with inventions and gadgets. He's even willing to use the weapons he comes across from his various cases for his battles, but he does have some standards as to which ones to use as he knows some may be too dangerous to have around for that (too dangerous in this case can range from merely causing a gruesome death to one opponent to causing excessive destruction).
As for what Det. GC is, he's a human, though you may not tell that from first glance due to having a shadowy form that obscures his identity. No really, in this form his skin is pitch black and his facial features are blank. Luckily, he's able to turn it on and off at will but he's usually in that form due to the nature of his job. His actual skin color is... well, the same as mine. I'm mixed-race but I appear white if you're wondering. Probably worth mentioning that in the human society of this world, among other improvements, humans have reached the point that they don't judge other humans based on skin color or race anymore, just their personality and actions. As for how he got that shadowy form, he actually doesn't know as that's part of a mystery that he wants to get to the bottom of one day, but unfortunately for him he's out of leads for it and didn't learn much. You see he was involved in an accident years ago, the problem being that he has no idea what it was or how it happened. He was fine one moment, and was waking up from a coma the next, now having access to said shadowy form. The only thing said shadowy form does is cover his skin and face up and that's it, otherwise he's perfectly normal. As for what kind of body he has, he's skinny but toned enough that you can visibly see muscle, but not enough that you can say he's a bodybuilder.
As for his personality, he's typically the calm and chill one among a group, while he's generally serious he's not a dead serious kind of guy. If he ever was dead serious about something, then that's when he's either angry, sad, scared, or if one is stupid enough to make things personal. He's a very understanding and rational person and while he does battle crime he never takes it personally unless someone makes it so, he just opposes it on principle as he's well aware that not everyone who does crime is truly evil. He's quite humble as he's not one to blab about his achievements, even tends not to speak about his previous cases unless asked. He just sees himself as just a guy doing his job, nothing more. He does have a goofy and quirky side to him, and tends to take ownership of things from criminals he's put away if he either sees it as useful or just plain cool. If a crook has a pretty sweet ride, you can bet your ass he'd be interested in confiscating it for himself. He's also practically seen it all due to the years of heroes battling supervillains and personal experiences on previous cases, so not much really fazes him.
Worth mentioning that he does wear a masked respirator in battle, but he doesn't need it for health reasons as he's perfectly healthy. It's actually a training device and it's meant to train his body by restricting his power, so in other words the weighed clothes from Dragon Ball in respirator form. It also works in reverse, when the tubes are blue his power is restricted but when it's red his power is increased. The latter is actually dangerous and thus he only uses that when he has to. He does take it off when not in use however.
As for the rating of said game, I'm aiming for a T rating. Not really for cursing or hinting at mature themes (though I'm not afraid of putting in either of 'em for realism's sake), but to show how scary serious things can get. I'm not about to sugarcoat how twisted and screwed up life can get, to me that's something future generations need to learn from or else history may repeat itself one day. As such I'd like at least one of the cases in the game to reflect that. That's just one side of the scares, I also seek to put in some fantastical scares as well to fit the fantasy world this is set in.
And side note since I mentioned mature themes, while I do like lewd stuff as much as the next person, don't expect me to ever make that of my own characters as I'd rather not be officially tied to that kind of thing. For stuff like this best to leave this to the fandom, my one request for that is to make sure the characters remain in character.
Aside from being scary when it needs to be, the game for the most part I seek to be simply action-packed fun, filled to the brim with a colorful cast with plenty of humor. Seriously, I can imagine each of the playable characters and a few NPCs being able to snark at whatever situation makes their eyes roll. So in short, if I had to describe the game in one sentence, this is what I hope to pull off: "A genre-busting game where the core gameplay is that of a turn-based RPG, is packed to the brim with action and moments of awesomeness to the point it feels at times like an action-adventure film, with a side order of humor for good measure." I'm willing to involve any game genre for this, just as long as it makes sense as I don't want to put a genre in just to put it in, at least not for the main mission as it just wouldn't make sense. For example, if the plot requires one to go from one point to another far away quickly and the traditional gameplay of a turn-based RPG wouldn't make sense for that, then it'll become a racing game of sorts for that section. I've even thought about the possibility of some players not being good with a particular genre, and as such I might give 'em a way to avoid doing said genre if need be such as skipping that section entirely or playing an alternate version if it's plot-important.
One thing I wish to include is admittedly inspired by the Mario & Luigi series: being able to avoid attacks and possibly counterattack when it's the enemy's turn. I'm no expert on the subject so I have no idea if the concept is patented or whatever, but that's something I'd love to include.
I also seek to have character customization if you ever get bored of seeing the standard outfits on the characters. Regardless if it serves a function or not, I see it as a fun feature to have if you happen to have a few favorites among the equipment/clothes/whatever. Heck, I might have it so you could intentionally dress as something ridiculous before going on a mission in an otherwise serious area.
Speaking of character customization, the only other playable character I've came up for the game so far (well, at least for this installment as while I do have ideas for more I'm not sure if they'll fit the first installment or if I should save 'em for a sequel) takes it even further as she's probably the most customizable character of the main cast due to her species. I don't have a name yet for either her or her species, but the idea behind her species is what would happen if one were to turn the holiday spirit or spirit of celebration into a living thing. And by that, I don't mean just Christmas, but basically any holiday and celebration out there. They can change their physical appearance at will such as their hair style, hair color, and eyes, though they still have to buy clothes like everyone else. Yeah, Jack-o-lanterns and snowmen were partly inspired by her species in this world. And of course, being associated with the holidays they are indeed magic users, though the level of competence may vary depending on what they wish to do with their lives. As individuals, her species gets to choose which holiday or celebration they wish to represent, and she choose Halloween. In fact, she wants to be the representative for Halloween in the same way Santa is for Christmas. Unfortunately for her, she has plenty of stiff competition in that area, particularly on the side of evil which even includes a few members of her own kind. Her personality is that of an adventurous thrill-seeker who loves to battle, and though she likes scary things and doing the occasional evil laugh for the fun of it she's still a good person at heart. She's easier to anger than the detective, especially if you're evil as while she like seeing evil in films as it's all part of the show she takes it personally seeing that stuff happen in real life, so you can probably imagine her reaction to seeing real life slasher villain. In fact she's scary when mad, as when she's really pissed her face turns to something that's up there with the scariest Jack-o-lantern faces a professional can carve.
As for how many playable characters there'll be, not really sure but I do wish it to be gender-equal. At the very least, four characters seems reasonable. If there ends up being more than what can fit in battle, I could work with that by having the ones are aren't being used in battle have something else to do that benefits the party.
I also love secrets and easter eggs in games so I wouldn't mind having a bunch of those be put in. I also don't want every mystery introduced or hinted at introduced in an installment to be immediately solved in that same installment as this world is meant to be a world of wonder and intrigue and so having all of the wonders be figured out kinda ruins the point. I want this to be a game that folks would still be talking about years after it release, not just because it's a good game but because it genuinely stirred up their imagination, to really make 'em think about what's going on... kinda like how a detective would. If folks are still trying to unravel mysteries and are still finding secrets years afterwards, then that's a sign I've done my job right.
Wouldn't mind having voice-acting be in it, but until I know how successful the thing would be I think it's best for it to not have any at the moment. Don't want to have voice-actors be tied to a product that flops after all. Also, I'm on the fence about voicing Det. GC myself as I don't think my own voice is anything to write home about, especially since I have speech issues.
Music-wise, I'd like to see a variety of different music genres to fit the various locations. I'd also would one day like to have my own sound effects be made instead of using stock effects as otherwise there's a chance someone could recognize that sound from somewhere else and thus could ruin the immersion factor a bit. Also would like to see some freedom of musical experimentation as I think it'll be fun to include a few sounds one would normally never expect to hear in a theme, ever. I'd also would love to see a feature of letting the player have the option of picking whatever favorite song they want to play in an area and/or battle as they unlock the music tracks as they progress in the game. If the game does indeed become a success, then I'd like to see an official music channel for the work to be made as not only would all the music would be there but I'd also like to see actual official extensions of them to be posted there as well as I'm sure everyone would love that. As for the length of the extensions, at least 30 minutes for each of them, but not on the dot as I want it to feel natural and not cut off. Also, if future installments were to be confirmed one day, then i'd like each new installment to have all the music of the games that came before it in addition to whatever brand-new themes and new remixes said installment introduces so that the player can always be able to play their favorite music. Of course, the previous music would likely be an unlockable like purchasing them from the in-game shop, not something available from the get-go. As for what I want the music to sound like in general, i.e. the first thing folks think of when they think of the soundtrack, this ought to sum it up well:
The music of the old-school Godzilla films is the wingman for the music of the recent Godzilla films. It ends up with a date with Darkest Dungeon at a Hans Zimmer concert. Then things take a turn to classic 80's horror flicks when one of 'em finds out the other has been cheating with Final Fantasy and takes revenge, poisoned chain-guns blazing as a dark reprise plays.
Also love some good ol' fashioned retro tunes like chiptune so I wouldn't mind giving that treatment to the whole soundtrack as an unlockable. Hell, I love good music enough that I'm even feeling inclined to do a music-themed core installment when I have finally have the money and resources to do a musical remaster of the series so it'll be more in-tune with my vision. Yes, I said core installment and not spin-off, it'll be like the detective is on the case of bizarre occurrences at a music festival or something. If this were to happen then other sound improvements will be made, such as better sound equipment for making our own sound effects, and I'm even willing to make something from scratch just to obtain the right sound and don't care if I have to invent a new musical instrument to do so as I know I could profit off that. Another improvement would be the addition of voice-acting as I'd see that as the right time to introduce it, which naturally means there'll also be songs with lyrics. And I don't just mean that the new songs will have lyrics, but some of the older ones will get versions with lyrics as well, and even the previous final boss themes aren't off the table for that. And yes, the idea of having some of the VAs sing them has crossed my mind, especially if they sang them while -in-character. I can already see the heroes and the villains bickering back and forth to the tune of the song.
I've also been toying around with the idea of an in-universe explanation for the music, as when you think about it it's odd that characters don't comment on awesome music when there's seemingly nothing that said music is coming from, such as a forest or a cave. So my solution to that it's the sound of reality itself cosmically responding to whatever's going on at any location. The reason for why characters don't react to it is simply because they don't hear it, as you'll need a connection or something to the higher powers (i.e. deities and the like) to be able to hear that frequency. Luckily, I'm thinking of having a shopkeeper old friend of the detective's who has plenty of mysterious connections have access to that kind of cosmic tech, giving it to GC with the goal of recording all the music for a profit.
Now one thing I won't do is go by deadlines as I know full well just by looking at the results of other game makers that rushing a game is a horrible idea. If you want a holiday release, don't rush development but wait until the game is actually finished and if it's completed past the ideal holiday when just wait for the next major one.
I seek to have this game be a PC release first, though I do wish it to ultimately be on console. To be honest, the first public release, though very much a polished game as I very much care about the gamer experience being one myself, will be a beta in my eyes as I know I won't have the budget or resources to really bump up the artistic and technical quality to my true vision of the game. Said vision is the kind of quality you'd expect to see in a first-party game, not an indie game. So yeah, if I ever get that kind of resources then in addition to working on a new installment I'd also seek to remaster the old so that they all fit the same general level of quality.
Also, should mention that I've been taught in school long ago that the ending of the story is just as important as the beginning, with the middle being what ties the two together. So yeah, should this become an actual series I already know how the main story of the series ends, including what the final boss is. Key words being main story, as I don't see the series ending with the conclusion of the main story. Instead, those games would delve deeper into the rich world you saw or heard only glimpses of throughout the main story. I do have plans for a overall main antagonist of the series, but said antagonist won't be the main villain of the first installment. I do have concerns about when said antagonist debuts in full as I don't see finding the right voice actor for said villain easy as it may be the hardest VA to find with what I have in mind. Plus I don't see said villain being exactly easy to render, which given that one of the many things that can accurately describe said villain is "literal nightmare fuel", makes sense. Also should mention that I've also come up with plenty of different kinds of characters and locations, just would rather save much of that for future installments due to not seeing them as fitting for the story of the first game. For when exactly I'd ideally want said main villain to make their full debut (they'll be hinted at in the previous installments), I might have the fourth installment be that, and I'd actually want an October release for that installment as it's meant to be one of the scarier installments. As for why the fourth, well anyone who has a good grasp of what "four" sounds the same as in another language would know why.
Lastly, as for what I'm fairly certain would be cut from this initial version of the game as I know I won't have the resources or budget to really bring it to my dream, well besides the art and technical stuff I feel like several quality of life stuff would have to be cut. You see, I seek to make an immersive game that's full of life, to actually make you feel like you're interacting with a living, breathing world and not just a game. For example, normally for battles there's one or two idle animations for either side right? Well I'm thinking of adding more than that so that they'll look less like robots and more like living beings. For example, said animations may include the characters annoying each other. I don't just mean the player characters annoying the enemy, but the player characters annoying each other and the enemies doing the same thing to their own. Heck, I'm even thinking of going beyond just having that be nice eye candy and actually have some of the idle animations have an actual purpose that affects the battle.
One last side note is that it occurred to me I made a happy accident in having the multiverse be involved as I realized that doing so makes it crossover-friendly. As for what I'd be willing to crossover with, just about anything as long as it sounds cool to me. The only exceptions are adult games and kid-only games for obvious reasons. I wouldn't just do a typical crossover, as instead of having it be relatively the bare minimum I'd aim for the maximum as i'd like it to be a complete and utter love letter to the history of whatever the heck I'd be crossing over with, spin-offs included, doing my homework on what the fans want in the process. Dream team-ups the fans always wanted to see happen such as a certain villain teaming up with another villain? I'd be game for that. And of course I'd try to remix as many fan-favorite themes that they'd let me, even the ones that I probably won't actually use for the story I'd want in anyways as an unlockable as I know the fans would love that just the same. Now if a crossover were to ever happen, then what I'll be crossing over with would most likely be something that's multiplatform-friendly. If I ever went with a first-party, then my choice would be Nintendo as that's what I grew up with. For that same reason Nintendo would also be my first choice for a console release. Would be lying if I said that I didn't already have some ideas as to what I'd do with various works out there if I were to cross over with them as I'm a fan of quite a few of them and so it's only natural I already have plans in advance.
And while on the topic of Nintendo, might as well come clean and say that part of what influenced my decision to have this start out as a game series is because I knew doing so would make them eligible to be presented in Smash. I mean, what kind of self-respecting fan wouldn't want their video game to be represented, right? Not that I'd want it to be representing ASAP, no I'd instead have that be set aside as I'd like to truly establish my work, both in exposure and in content. This way the characters would have better moveset options than if they were just invited to Smash immediately. And yes you read that right, I said characters. While Det. GC is naturally the first pick, if another series rep were to get the go-ahead I've thought about that to. I could just go with another protagonist, though I'm also thinking of having one of my villain characters be the second choice. And yes I even know what the stage will be, what can I say I just love thinking ahead for everything.
Raid on the Newgrounds Vault
Last year I made a thread called Raid on the Newgrounds Vault, basically a RP thread about a fictional take on Newgrounds where the titular vault, well, is set to be raided by the protags. With two of the original team having deleted their accounts and interest in the thread on a decline as forums are fickle, not sure about the future of the thread itself. But the thing is that this occurred to me while the thread progressed: it would be a good plot for a Newgrounds turn-based RPG. It kinda helps that the thread is currently stopped at the point where the team was about to finally go to the vault (I thought it would be good story-telling to actually show the team doing preparations for entering due to us having no idea what's there), as the secret of what's really going on in the vault, including what said vault actually looks like, isn't spoiled yet. All I can say about the true size and scale of the vault is that the actual raid and storming of the vault would be at least 90% or more of the thread as it's just that massive and full of all kinds of things to encounter and deal with. Keep in mind that the thread is already lengthy with 12 pages, and it used to be even more pages until those two accounts were deleted.
First things first, if this were to be turned into an actual game the protagonists of course would have to be changed. As for who would replace them, no idea but it would have to be kept in mind that in this fictionalized take on Newgrounds, the mascots of Newgrounds are believed to be fictional. There's a few exceptions but for the most part the majority of the mascots aren't physically present. Now if they have a NG account, you could expect 'em to be playable in the beginning. Now the characters you start off with won't be the only playable characters as you'll unlock more the deeper you go into the vault.
The rating would be a solid T, with the reason for that being similar to my reasons for the Gamechanger Saga: the plot and tone is the main reason. Yeah, this is definitely one of those stories where things are darker than they first appear.
As for what's in the vault, well this game is meant to be a celebration of Newgrounds' history, and as such the vault would be full of such stuff, from the well-known to even the obscure. Heck, even concept art and scrapped ideas can be used as to what can be found in there. The vault itself is actually large enough that it rivals the size of a large city thanks to what's really going on down there. All that's known to the protagonists is that there's stuff of value located there, with each of 'em having their own reasons for going there.
As for music, I specifically want new remixes of iconic Newgrounds tunes, both new and old, as well as a few obscure ones and personal favorites from the team as it's all part of Newgrounds history. As for why I want all of those songs to be remixed and not just have the originals, I feel it'll be best to do that so they'd better fit the new place and situation they're applied to, i.e. the tone of the game. Also open to the idea of brand-new themes to be made, such as themes for the main foes. And also would like that same music feature I mentioned for the Gamechanger Saga of letting the player pick their favorite song for the area and/or battle.
As for the antagonists, well the ones calling the shots are OCs of mine I made specifically for the thread. But the one who's actually the real threat is a former NG mascot who loathes NG for personal reasons. Now this may seem like a spoiler but I kinda already revealed all that on the thread as he made an appearance, though I never actually shown what his real form looks like as I always obscured him. He's a robot, which I figured would be a logical choice for a NG mascot that came from its earliest days... though of course he's not related to P-Bot and the others, though he does consider them inferior as would you expect anything less from an evil robot antagonist?
As for what his actual appearance is, all I can give is a hint: he's very much not happy about some of the circumstances of his creation, and one of that is that of his design as while he has since embraced it he hates the reason for it as he was built during the height of the 90's.
Cryptid Catchers
Yeah, another project idea of mine from my cringey years, made a thread on it around the same time as the Gamechanger Saga thread. For the same reasons above, not gonna bother with a link.
It's basically Pokemon but instead of catching Pokemon, you're catching cryptids. Yeah, looking back it feels more like side project material than main game material, like something you release to tide people over as you work on the next installment of your main project. So currently, I have no plans for it.
