5/5/2022

Hello everybody, I want to thank each one of you who have downloaded and expressed your thoughts on the game! I reached a lot more eyes than I thought initially. Over 800 people explored the game page and 140 people downloaded the game on day one! That's crazy to me. Nevertheless, I just want to reiterate that this is my first RPGM game and I still have much to learn! With all that being said; let's dissect the game!

CONCEPT & STORY-

Zombie Tower is an apocalyptic setting with hints of romance. My main source of inspiration ranges from Zach Synder's Dawn Of The Dead and Siren's Domain's Zombie's Retreat. Though, with the feedback I've received regarding how I started the game, along with the interactions with the characters and their motives for doing tasks, the next update will most likely have a totally different start and the characters will behave differently. 

GAMEPLAY:

COMBAT-

I want the gameplay for ZT to be similar to Zombie's Retreat, but of course have its own look and feel.  I don't want to have turn-based combat for the game, and have decided that the run and gun type of gameplay is what I want. Though that is easier said than done. Having no experience in making an RPGM game before, I didn't really have any idea where to start. Sure there are ABS plugins for the run and gun gameplay, but they cost money and for a hobbyist game developer, that's not something I'm really looking into, though with the feedback I got from the DEMO, I might change my opinion and have a look into the already available plugins around the web.  The way I implemented the combat system was very convoluted and involved a ton of events and script calls. I do believe I can achieve the combat I want with the system I already have in place, so before going out and buying an ABS system, I'll work with what I have at hand. 

H-SCENES-

The way I implemented the sex scenes was through a plugin that gives the ability to view WebM files and play it on screen. At first, this was a godsend because I had no idea how other RPGM games played their scenes. Even to this day! Though, feedback from the players informed me that the plugin can cause certain scenes to glitch out or even not play. I have no idea if this is from the plugin itself, or if maybe the players devices might not be able to handle it. I haven't a clue. With that being said, I will look for alternatives on how I can play scenes in the game if at all possible.

BLENDER:

PARALLAX MAPPING- 

In an attempt to have my game stand out from the others, I wanted the game to have a certain look. When it comes to RPGM games, for me, I personally like the non-chibi aesthetic. I want my characters to actually look like their 3D counterparts and not some short off brand character. When it came down to making the world, I wanted a sorta "realistic" look to them. That meant going out and searching for asset packs and tiles for me to use. But, I never found them. Or, they would be behind a pay wall. So, I thought the next best thing was just to make it myself. That decision was what made the development take as long as it did. I originally wanted this DEMO out by late January. Though that was obviously not the case. Most of what you see in the game world, was made in Blender, and put together, with a plugin, in Photoshop. On top of having zero experience making a RPGM game, I would have to learn the art of parallax mapping. And that, was in its own, a very hefty process. Even to this day, I am still learning how to better implement my 3D renders of the world, into the 2D game. 

ANIMATIONS-

This was probably the only part I had zero difficulties in. I've made animations before, and I would think I'm decent at it. So, creating the animations for the scenes was most likely the easiest and fastest part of the entire game development. Some things I would change is just pick better camera angles and use better lighting. 

CONCLUSION:

All in all, I would say this went better than I expected. A lot more people saw and played it than I thought it would. And people gave me some very helpful feedback! Though some would phrase it in a way that made me out to be some sort of AAA game developer, but once again I would like to say this my first game ever! I have many more speed bumps to hit and much more to learn. I just hope that you all will stick along for the journey and watch this project flourish. With that being said, I'll be back with some changes I;m going to make and just some updates to keep y'all in the loop.

Til Next Time