Developer Diary #7: Out of Order and Beyond

This was really unexpected. After a day of working very hard over some stupid coding mistakes, I had that terrifying sharp pain in the head. It was like a sword stabbed throught my head. My girlfriend took me to the hospital: I had a cerebrovascular accident. My brains were bleeding. The thing was probably caused by to much stress and work but there was actually a reason to it: I had an extra vein in the brains that couldn't handle the flood of blood from other arteries.

I was told to stop and work and stay calm. So I did. I had many unsuccessful surgeries. Time was passing by when they decided they would open my skull. It was quite a risky business so I had to finish things before I had to go. I got to work again in april to finish the game in may, a few days before the operation. It was rushed but at least, it was completed.

Thankfully, the surgery was a success. I was broken but my brains were saved.

It took me quite some time to get back on my feet. I was tired, I had memory problems and many other little annoying medical things. In july, I went back to Death Pirate, polished it and released it. I didn't want to make video games anymore so, I didn't really care anymore. My only fear was that the game wouldn't sell. All this work for nothing, I couldn't swallow that.

Everybody says that it's easy to sell stuff on internet now but if nobody knows that you exist, nobody will buy your stuff. It's like throwing a bottle in the wide ocean. Releasing the game on this very website would be suicidal. I had to find a publisher. I tried Steam. Steam is pretty fair in term of royalties but the Greenlight system is just not for me. People have to vote for you. So you have to make a lot of advertisement, a lot of promotion and stuff. I talked to a guy who managed to get his game on Steam: it took him one year of harassment towards the video game forums, blogs and websites to get enough attention to be greenlit.

Personnally, that's not why I do this. I hate annoying people with my stuff and I don't want to spend my time doing advertising. I want to spend my time creating video games, drawing and making music! I don't want to waste my time on Facebook, Twitter and forums to get my game on Steam!!! Now, it seems like a good game maker or a good artist is mostly a good communicator or a marketing expert... And the Greenlight system is promoting this stance. That's not how it should be.

So I turned to Desura. I submitted my game and it was accepted. I was so relieved. They offered me a deal that I didn't even read. I was so desperate that I would actually have paid to sell my game! I just remembered that it was a pretty bad deal but I expected to sell at most 20 games so I didn't care. I was so tired I didn't care about much at that moment... Heavy Metal Death Pirate was released on the 3rd of September with no promotion...

In the beginning of October, I had a message from Desura saying that they had to pay me for my game. I didn't open the message... I was too afraid to see the ridiculous amount of money they would give me...

Then, in the november, I wasn't even thinking about video game making anymore and I saw that unopened Desura message... I thought, well, let's have a little laugh...

Heavy Metal Death Pirate had sold 2500 units and they gave me quite a bit of money. I was shocked.

Buma

Developper Diary #6: Here we go! Game Maker!

Everybody thought I was crazy: a videogame?! All by yourself?! It was the ultimate challenge and I was ready to take it on. I did a few games when I was a child on my Thomson MO5 (BASIC language) so I knew algorythm and such. At first, I planned on doing a small game in one month on RPG Maker. But it didn't support HD graphics, so I tried Unity.

At that time, Unity was only made for 3D games. You had to use program a 2D environment in the 3D engine and it was just really cumbersome to use. Since I couldn't make 3D graphics and I had to try something else.

I knew Game Maker for a long time and already tried it a few years later. At that time, it was very buggy and complicated. I downloaded the newest version and it was a nice surprise: it's perfectly organized to easily make a simple game and it has its own coding language for those who wants to make more complicated stuff. In about a week , I had a stage ready. My scope enlarged and I decided to make a real game that could compete with professionnals!

My adventure with Game Maker was nice... but complicated. First, Game Maker was (and still a bit is...) buggy. Many functions don't really work the way they are advised to and get ready to face a lot of bugs everytime you update the program. One time, they suddenly changed the sound system. I had to rewrite every sound functions in my game. I nearly cried, frankly.

One important thing to know with Game Maker is that it is advertised to be a very easy drag-and-drop game maker but this only works if you're making a very simple game. If you want to make a big, more complicated game, you will have to actually CODE. Another thing is that the developers and even the community will tell you that you SHOULD load every assets of your game in the program. Let me tell you that if you're making an HD game with huge sprites and stuff, Game Maker won't be able to handle it. You WILL have to load everything externally. I had to learn all this b myself with a lot of frustration and anger.

But I think Game Maker is the best. It's easy to use at first and then it allows to expand into more complicated algorythm with its own language. It also helps a lot in organizing your assets and your files. I tried Unity lately and it still is unwelcoming and overly complicated.

I planned to work one year on the game which would be called "Heavy Metal Death Pirate". It was clearly not enough. There was too much to learn and too much to do. I worked 10 hours a day, sometimes more. The 29th of january, as I was nearly finished with the game, I had a cerebrovascular accident.


Buma

Developer Diary #5: Manga Artist= DEAD

With my English degree in hand, I couldn't much expect but becoming a teacher. It didn't motivated me much: my experiences in schools in the UK was pretty bad and the few I had in France were not even better. I tried the exam once, failed and called it a day.

I thought instead of studying hard to become someone I don't want to be, I might as well work hard to become who I want to be. So I draw. I draw 24 hours a day. I've always been drawing, and everybody told me that I had to make it my job. The reality was not that easy. My first works were bad. REALLY bad. And I had the guts to send them to publishers. Who, of course, rejected them.

I was bad, yes, but there was another problem. My art style is closer to manga than French or American comics. And, honestly, why would a french publisher publish a French mangaka who's not doing even better than japanese? And in my case, I was doing far worse. But I kept making manga.

There were other problems: the market in France was (and still is) in real crisis because people are now buying mostly JP mangas or US comics. Only collectors are buying French comics. And the whole profession is suffering, regularly protesting against the low salary and royalties. Basically, in France, being a comic or manga artist is DEAD. For example, I had a deal with a young publisher. At first, I thought he was trying to rip me off. Then, after checking on forums and blogs, I discovered that it was actually a very normal deal:

- He would publish my comic, make the advertisements, take me to conventions
- I would draw the comic and pay for all the printings

And the share is 50/50. And I think it was a good deal as big name publishers can do much worse. Many artists are bound to these kind of contracts. It became the norm.

And even today, it's not getting any better. You DON'T make a living with comics in France. So I had to find a new direction.

During all this time as a manga artist, I've worked as a part-time receptionnist in a hotel. It's a nice job, I kinda like it. Two years ago, I thought that it was time to go on and take a real job. But, before that, I have to do MY "Final Fantasy", my last and best work. So I thought a lot about what I should do. I love video games, manga and music... That's it! I will do something that embraces all my passions: a video game!!!

Buma

Developer Diary #4: Era of Enlightenments

I went to University to study programming: I wanted to make video games for a living. But it wasn't really what I expected: at that time (1999), there wasn't any dedicated video games school. So I learnt industrial programming. Well, I didn't really since I quited 6 months later. I didn't learn my lesson as I went to an Industrial programming school the next year to quit again 4 months later.

I was kinda lost on what to do. Except for music, video games and manga, nothing really interested me. I had a friend who was studying English Litterature and History (?!) so I followed him. I flunked out again. I don't know why but I decided to try again. And then I had THE Professor who gave me the love of reading and understanding.

The next three years were an orgy of Shakespeare and Byron stuff and UK/US Politics. I loved every minutes of it. I used to be a bookworm when I was a child and I've always been interested in Politics but I never expected to study it! I've learnt so much during these years, my vision about life was completely turned upside down. And I had my degree. Then I was offered a job as teaching assistant in England. I needed some fresh air so I left.

The England year was amazing. I nearly became alcoholic, yes, but I met so many people, learnt so many new things that it was worth the risk. A year later, I had to go home. And then came the big question: what am I supposed to do? Well... I brought a Playstation 2. At first, I wanted to play the new King of Fighters games and the Dragon Ball Z games. Then I hacked it. I know, it's bad. But i've discovered so many japanese franchise that I couldn't have offered otherwise! Videogames Orgy era 2: the Return!


Buma

First game play video of Death Pirate SP

Hi!

Here is a little video of Death Pirate SP. You can see the new Android interface and the changes in the gameplay. The game is now even more aimed towards the shoot'em up genre. Let's check it out:

Expect more infos to come very soon and a release near the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015.

Developer Diary #3: Guitars and Video Games...

The Ultra 64 (future Nintendo 64) was announced and I was dedicated to it. Suddenly, it came from nowhere: the Sony Playstation! All of my friends jumped ship and brought it. No way! I was really not buying those 3D graphics at that time. Frankly, it was just plain ugly. I didn't understand why everybody was so excited about it at that time... and I still don't understand. I get the technical innovation and the new way to program and handle a game. But to find it beautiful at that time was just silly!

Anyway, I was more into nice 2D pixel art and I really wanted to buy a Neo Geo. I went to a few arcade centers and these legendary games (Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighters...) were like the Holy Grail... Then I discovered that there were nearly arcade-perfect ports of these games released on the Sega Saturn... So I brought the thing.

The Saturn was... a good console for 2D games. But with the 3D graphics craze, the developpers had to change side. But it was a complete failure. Maybe if they had stuck to 2D, the console woud have lived longer... Anyway, it was the time for my SNK craze. I would buy a game then finish it with every characters on the highest difficulty setting without using any continue. I became a King of Fighters beast.

Then I became a teenager and my interest for video games faded away. The Saturn died and I wasn't interested in the PS1. The Nintendo 64 came out but it was doomed from birth. Their choice to use cartridge instead of CD was THE mistake: less games and mort importantly less GOOD games. I had no major console and I switched to music and started playing bass and synthesizers in many bands...


Buma

Developer Diary #2: A New World

So... Where to start?

I'm a big video game junkie. It's started when I was 9, the day my cousin bought a NES with Super Mario Bros 2 and Trojan. It was just  a revolution for me. I didn't care much for Mario but Trojan was the real deal: a Mad Max adventure with swords and punks. I was amazed.

I think it defined my view on video games (and maybe my flaws). Trojan was not really good and the gameplay was clunky compared to SMB2. But the setting, the story and the characters were the best for me. And it was a real adventure. I guess it stuck: cool story, lovable characters, exciting adventure and fun and simple gameplay.

I was dreaming every nights about the NES and then the shock came: my parents brought me a Sega Master System for Christmas! I was so disappointed at first. For me, it was a sub-par console, the real thing was the NES!!! The sadness lasted 3 seconds, disappeared... and I was hooked: Alex Kidd in Miracle and Shinobi World, Wonder Boy 2 and 3, Y's, Golden Axe Warriors, Sonic... I was lucky that one of my friend's uncle was owning a Video Game store so he would lend me for free many games through the years. These were really cool times and I discovered many SMS games thanks to him.

Then, I don't know how it happened but my sister and I decided one day to buy a Super Nintendo. We withdrew all our money from our bank accounts (to my mother's dismay!) and brought the beast with Super Mario World. A new era of fantastic gaming and adventure began! The first game that really blew my mind was Super Castlevania IV. This game is a masterpiece. Everything is perfect except perhaps that it's a bit too easy. The Super Nintendo is also the console that made me discover a new side of gaming: import games. I didn't know anything about that, video games that would never be sold in my country! How? Why? There were so many masterpiece that never came in Europe! At that time, I really couldn't understand why...

Thankfully my local game store had many great japanese games. But there was one BIG obstacle to their enjoyment: the language. Actually, I tended to find games too easy and this turned out to be a way to rump up the difficulty (well, that's how I saw it at the time). It was actually a good thing as I now can read and understand a bit of japanese.

Well, the Super Nintendo era was like an orgy of enjoyment. I was really into RPGs and the SNES was the place to be in terms of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Shin Megami Tensei. Then came the Playstation Era...

Buma

Developer diary#1: Singe

Like many indie developers, Singe Studio is actually just one person... Some people think it's stupid to use the name of a "studio" or a "company" to develop game but for me, it's just a pseudonym really... I don't really like to see my real name displayed everywhere on the internet. I don't know, it may be a kind of shyness.

Why "Singe Studio"? It's not that i mean to be a "studio", it's more an homage to Akira Toriyama (the mangaka behind "Dragon Ball") who funded his "Bird Studio" very early in his career. He signed most of his work under both his alias and his name, even though he's sometimes the only one who worked on the project.

So yeah, I'm guilty of all the stuff you'll find here. The art, the music, the story, the programming, I did everything. Not that I wanted to, it's more that I don't know any people who would do that for (nearly) free. And I may be a bit of a control freak too.

Well, that's it for today. Keep checking here to get more info about me or read some stories about videogame making...

Buma

New project: Death Pirate SP!

Thanks to the success of the first game, I'm proud to announce a new version of the game will be released soon: Death Pirate SP!

This improved version will be released on Android and will feature a new gameplay in accordance with the platform (tablet, smartphones). There will also be new bonus contents: a new mode especially made with the new gameplay in mind which will also expand the storyline, new playable characters and a new bonus epilogue!

More info coming soon...

Here is the artwork for the new version:

Thank you! 2500 units sold!!!

Yes! Thank you!

Heavy Metal Death Pirate has sold 2500 units in one month! That's a lot more than what I expected and it's a great pleasure to know so many people played the game.

Please stay tuned for more exciting projects!

NPCs - Part I: The UCP

Here are the non playable characters of the game with a small bio:

The UCP

The UCP is the company behind the creation of J-Suits. They founded the J-Academy. The pupils of the school generally end up in the Milicia, a private army aimed at destroying the Diemen.

 Boss Shin - He's Hideo's main mentor at the J-Academy. He's a bit weird and grandiloquent but he seems to be a competent teacher.

 Captain Copper - He's the main founder of the UCP and the leader of the Milicia. He was a politician before but he had to quit after a financial scandal a few years ago. Thanks to the J-Suits' success, he's now back in the business and runs for the upcoming presidential elections. His J-Suit is the Jaguar X.

 Valis - She's Captain Copper assistant and one of the Milicia's General. She's entirely devoted to him and would risk her life to take him to the top. Her J-Suit is the Budokan.

 Dr Moshpit - This mysterious man wanders in the UCP buildings. He's not supposed to be working here but his presence is tolerated because he's the old friend of Captain Copper and the UCP's cofounder. Some people said he built an hybrid J-Suit with incredible power...

Enter your foes!

Meet the bestiary of Heavy Metal Death Pirate! I don't really like to make a list of numbers but I really want to show you the huge content the game has to offer!

40 enemies will try to take you down during the game and you'll have to face 17 huge bosses and sub-bosses in your adventures!

I really wanted to make every stages as unique as possible so the player will never get bored and will meet surprises at every corner. See you on September 3rd!

Heavy Metal Death Pirate release date set!

Hi!

A big news today: HMDP will be released on the Desura gaming platform on September 3rd! The game will offer you hours of arcade action, a gripping story, 7 playable characters, three types of gameplay, 29 episodes and much more for less than 5£!

Get ready!

Death Pirate is on Steam greenlight! Vote now! (+updated characters profile)

As the title implies, Heavy Metal Death Pirate is on Steam Greenlight We need your help! Please vote or at least check the game's page. Thanks!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=284868448

To celebrate this, here are the characters profile with updated art!

Thank you for your support!

Death Pirate's back!

Sorry for the lack of updates but, due to serious health problems, the development of the game had to be stopped for quite a few months. Sorry about that, I'm working on this game alone and I had very serious troubles.

Now, everything should be fine and I resumed working on the game. The game is completed and is now in beta-testing. Things will go along much better now and expect to play the game very soon.

The game will be available in english and french and will feature 26 stages and 7 playable characters.

 Here are some new screenshots:

Playable character: Rori The Psicophant

Rori - The Psicophant
Rori is in the same class as Hideo and Judau as an aspiring pilot in the J-Academy. She's quite laidback and not really interested in the classes. She admits bluntly she's only in the school to meet a husband who might become famous and who will help her accomplish her dream: become a celebrity. Under these superficial aspects, she will be the first to investigate on the real nature of the J-Suits and the past of Captain Copper.

Type: Shoot'em up

Strength: D/ Power: B/ Constitution: D/ Defense:C/ Speed: A

Playable Character: Polly Long Hu

Polly - Long Hu

Polly is the descendant of an ancient clan who sealed the Death Pirate a long time ago during a long-forgotten war. This normal young girl will have to embrace a destiny she wasn't expecting and she will have to learn to use those legendary powers to seal the beast again. But the task will be much harder when she will befriend Hideo...

Type: Shoot'em up

Strength: C/ Power: C/ Constitution: C/ Defense:A/ Speed: B

Playable Characters: Gunter - Xenon The Prince of Merciless Darkness

Gunter - Xenon the Prince of Merciless Darkness

Gunter is the shy guy of the academy. He signed in as an aspiring pilot to become a hero but he ends up in the operator class by a strike of bad luck. Unable to accept this fate, he will disguise himself as Xenon, 'The Prince of Merciless Darkness" to become the Superhero he always wanted to become. In this disguise, he will have a totally different persona and he will create his own personal Army of Darkness made of elderly and yakuzas...

Type: Run n'gun

Strength: B/ Power: B/ Constitution: B/ Defense:B/ Speed: B

Playable Character: Bishop Mifune

Bishop - Mifune

This mysterious young man is an operator in the UCP Militia, the firm which builds and commercializes the J-Suits. He's unsociable and taciturn but he still has a strong sense of justice which will lead him to fight the Death Pirate many times...

Type: Beat'em up

Strength: A/ Power: D/ Constitution: B/ Defense:D/ Speed: A

Playable Characters: Jazz Backhorn

Jazz - The Backhorn

Jazz is Hideo's childhood friend and one of the elite pilot of the UCP Militia. He falls in love with Polly and he will then have to fight Hideo to protect the one he loves. He's the protégé of Captain Copper, the J-Suit creator, which will soon become a more and more cumbersome burden.

Type: Beat'em up

Strength: A/ Power: D/ Constitution: B/ Defense:A/ Speed: D

Small revamp of the website

The website has been slightly revamped. Enjoy!

I repost the last videos in the proper Video section:

Pages des caractéristiques du jeu (French)

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• Heavy Metal Death Pirate est un projet de jeu vidéo pour PC et Mac (pour l'instant). Le but est de réaliser un jeu d'action 2D ancré dans un univers riche avec une histoire qui tient le joueur en haleine. J'aimerais aussi créer une vraie licence française de jeux vidéos, chose qui devient de plus en plus rare de nos jours.
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  Présentation du concept

  Heavy Metal Death Pirate est un jeu d'action en 2D se déroulant dans un univers urbain contemporain. La particularité du jeu est de proposer plusieurs personnages représentant chacun un gameplay rétro différent. Ainsi il y a pour l'instant trois types de gameplay: Shoot'em up, Run n'Gun et Beat'em up. Bien sûr, les multiples niveaux ont été conçus pour être complétés par n'importe quel personnage. 
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• Ainsi, un personnage de Shoot'em up pourra voler librement à travers le niveau mais il ne pourra tirer que dans une seule direction et ne pourra encaisser que peu de dommages. Un personnage Run n'Gun pourra se propulser dans les airs mais il sera toujours sujet à la gravité et courra toujours le risque de tomber dans un trou. Par contre, il peut tirer dans n'importe quelle direction et sa barre de vie sera plus grande. Enfin, les personnages Beat'em up ne pourront pas voler et auront un champ de tir limité. Ils sont par contre plus fort au corps-à-corps et plus résistants.
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• Le jeu est divisé en 15 épisodes principaux représentés dans un univers 2D. Chaque stage aura des objectifs variés correspondant à l'histoire en cours: rejoindre la fin du stage, protéger quelqu'un, détruire un ennemi en particulier, etc... Il y a aussi 14 épisodes spéciaux, des stages optionnels à la difficulté plus élevée dont l'histoire se focalise plus sur un personnage secondaire ou qui développe un point obscure de l'histoire.
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• Le scénario a été aussi une priorité dans la conception du jeu. Contrairement à beaucoup de jeux de ce type, l'histoire est ici centrale et elle se déroule devant le joueur à travers des scènes de dialogues détaillées (qu'on peut bien sûr zapper pour passer directement à l'action pure et dure) où se mèlent comédie et gravité. Le but était vraiment de créer une histoire à suspense, un vrai univers et des personnages attachants.
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• L'histoire

  Année 20XX.

  L’Europe sort dévastée d’une crise financière et politique de grande ampleur et d’une série de catastrophes naturelles que l’on surnomma le “Black Monday”. L’ Europe se releva pour devenir la première puissance économique mondiale grâce au commerce de “J-Suits”, des combinaisons militaires décuplant les capacités physiques et psychiques de leurs utilisateurs.

  Hideo, un des rares survivants du “Black Monday”, s’inscrit à la “J-Academy”, la nouvelle école formant les ingénieurs qui entretiennent les J-Suits, basée à South Town, ville qui a été le théâtre du “Black Monday”. Alors que la cité devient la cible d’attaques de mystérieuses créatures appelées “Diemen”, Hideo deviendra justicier malgré lui quand d’obscures pouvoirs s’éveillent en lui… les pouvoirs du Death Pirate!
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• Mais on ne devient pas un héros d'un claquement de doigt et Hideo le découvrira à ses dépends! De quiproquos en quiproquos, il se mettra à dos les Yakuzas rappeurs du 16ème, le club du troisième âge "Le soleil d'automne", les représentants du syndicat communiste du "Crazy Blue Boy" et enfin, l'armée nationale, symbole de notre force pure militaire.

  Heureusement pour lui, d'autres héros se lèveront pour se battre à ses côtés... ou contre lui!
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• Les Personnages
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• Hideo - Le Death Pirate

  Le "héros" de l'histoire est l'un des rares survivants du "Black Monday" de South Town. Dix ans après la catastrophe, il s'inscrit à la J-Academy pour devenir un opérateur de J-Suit afin d' éviter que les atrocités du passé ne se reproduisent. Il découvrira vite qu'il est possédé par un étrange pouvoir: le Death Pirate. Il devra alors découvrir ce qui s'est vraiment passé dix ans plus tôt et pourquoi cette malédiction lui a été infligée.

  Type: Run n'gun

  Force: C/ Puissance: A/ Constitution: B/ Défense:D/ Vitesse: A
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• Judau - Le Squier

  Il se considère comme la coqueluche et le meilleur pilote de l'académie. Il n'hésite pas à se mettre en avant et claironne que son père est le mystérieux "Mayor". Quel est la source de ce lourd mensonge? Hideo devra faire équipe avec lui malgré leurs différences et la cohabitation sera difficile!

  Type: Run n'gun

  Force: B/ Puissance: C/ Constitution: B/ Défense:C/ Vitesse: B
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• Bishop - Mifune

  Ce mystérieux jeune homme est opérateur pour l'UCP, l'entreprise qui commercialise les J-Suits. Taciturne et mystérieux, il a tout de même un sens de la justice aiguisé qui l'amènera à affronter le Death Pirate à plusieurs reprises.

  Type: Beat'em up

  Force: A/ Puissance: D/ Constitution: B/ Défense:D/ Vitesse: A
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• Jazz - Le Backhorn

  Jazz est un ami d'enfance d'Hideo et aussi un des pilotes d'élite de la milice privée de l'UCP. Il tombe amoureux de Polly et se trouvera face à face avec Hideo pour protéger celle qu'il aime. Il est le protégé du Capitaine Copper, le créateur des J-Suits, ce qui sera un poids qui lui sera de plus en plus difficile à porter...

  Type: Beat'em up

  Force: A/ Puissance: D/ Constitution: B/ Défense:A/ Vitesse: D
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• Rori - Le Psicophant

  Rori fait partie de la promotion d'Hideo et de Judau à la J-Académie en tant que pilote. Elle n'est que peu intéressée par les cours et avoue franchement qu'elle ne s'est inscrite que pour rencontrer quelqu'un qui l'aidera à réaliser son rêve: être une célébrité, enfin du moins quelqu'un de connu. Sous ses aspects superficiels, elle sera la première à enquêter sur la vraie nature des J-Suits et sur le passé du Capitaine Copper...

  Type: Shoot'em up

  Force: D/ Puissance: B/ Constitution: D/ Défense:C/ Vitesse: A
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• Gunter - Xenon le Prince des Ténèbres implacable

  Gunter est un jeune homme chétif de l'académie. S'étant inscrit comme pilote pour devenir un héros et changer sa vie, il se retrouve par malchance opérateur à son grand chagrin. Décidé à courber la trajectoire du destin, il se grimera en Xenon, "le Prince des Ténèbres implacable" pour devenir le super héros qu'il a toujours voulu être. Mais la route vers la gloire sera rude et Gunter sera souvent dans le pétrin, au grand désarroi d'Hideo.

  Type: Run n'gun

  Force: B/ Puissance: B/ Constitution: B/ Défense:B/ Vitesse: B
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• Polly - Long Hu

  Polly est l'héritière d'un clan ancestral qui, il y a fort longtemps, a scellé le Death Pirate au cours d'une guerre oubliée depuis bien longtemps. Cette jeune fille banale devra assumer une destiné qu'elle n'a pas choisi et utiliser ses pouvoirs pour sceller le Death Pirate à nouveau. Mais la tâche sera bien plus difficile que prévu quand elle se liera d'amitié avec Hideo.

  Type: Shoot'em up

  Force: C/ Puissance: C/ Constitution: C/ Défense:A/ Vitesse: B
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• Caractéristiques

  - Jeu à 60 fps

  - Langues disponibles: français et anglais

  - Graphiques HD

  - Un mix d'action et de RPG

  - Jouer dans la peau de super héros pouvant voler et explorer de vastes niveaux aux environnements variés

  - 15 stages et 14 épisodes spéciaux

  - 7 personnages uniques répartis sur trois différents types de gameplay

  - Explorer la ville de South Town et enquêter sur le mystère du Death Pirate

  - Rencontrer de nouveaux personnages et tisser des liens avec eux pour obtenir des bonus pendant les niveaux

  - Une histoire originale servie par une bande son rock

  - Gagner des niveaux et upgrader vos techniques et capacités

  - et plus encore...

  
  

  Galerie de screenshots: Screens 1

  Screens 2
  Pour plus d'infos:

http://singestudio.com

https://www.facebook.com/singestudio?fref=ts

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• L'auteur du projet
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• En dépit de ce que pourrait suggérer son nom, Singe Studio est une seule et unique personne: MBuma. Jeune homme au physique simiesque, il a grandi bercé par les sons electroniques de la Master System et la Super Nintendo. Passionné par ces univers virtuels et, certains diront, "digitaux" (du verbe tripoter), il profite de l'ordinateur MO5 (édition "Michel Platini") de la famille pour créer ses propres jeux en basic, langage qui lui permet de découvrir les algorythmes et leurs "if", "then" et "else" dont il fera une véritable philosophie de vie.

  Mais vint l'âge de l'adolescence et ses problèmes d'identité existentielle. Il se rebelle et décide d'exprimer son mal de vivre en formant un groupe de musique. Mais un problème fondamental se présenta à lui: il ne savait jouer d'aucun instrument. Que nenni, il s'achète un synthé et joue deux notes (le do et le fa dièse) dans plusieurs groupes de speed metal mexicain synphonique. Mais on a jamais vu un leader charismatique jouer du Botempi. Il se met alors à la guitare mais vu que c'était trop dur, il se résout à jouer de la basse.

  Tout naturellement, il se lance dans des études d'informatique industrielle. Après avoir écrit l' algorythme pour allumer la petite LED sur son bureau, il plaque tout, certain de son pouvoir créatif qui lui assurera le contrôle des générations digitales (toujours du verbe tripoter) futures.

  La drogue et le rock n'roll lui monte à la tête: il entame des études d'anglais et se casse au pays du rosbif où il fera fit des conventions capillaires. De retour en France, c'est la douche froide: interdiction de fumer à la cafet'. En toute logique, il décide alors d'être le premier mangaka français et produit nombre d'oeuvres majeures méconnues du public. 

  Après bien des déboires avec des éditeurs locaux aux dents longues, fatigué et usé par tant de vies vécues, il se met alors au travail pour réaliser sa dernière oeuvre, celle qui englobera toutes ces vies passées et toute cette passion virevoltante qui tourneboule, la combinaison ultime de musique et d'image: un jeu vidéo. Heavy Metal Death Pirate était né.
• Nouveau Trailer HD!!!
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Trailer (de très mauvaise qualité, désolé!)

Le Financement

Un projet de financement sera lancé très bientôt sur une plateforme qui reste encore à définir. Le financement servira à finaliser le portage sur les plateformes de téléchargement (achat de modules Steam et droits à la vente sur Steam) et terminer la production du jeu. En effet, les plateformes de téléchargement demandent d'acheter des modules pour adapter le jeu à leurs fonctionnalités (trophés, microtransactions (attention, le jeu n'en proposera pas mais bon, faut quand même l'intégrer...), leaderboard). Le module coûte 90 euros.

J'utilise un logiciel de programmation professionnel spécialisé mais il me faut utiliser la version d'export windows à 49 euros. Il me faut aussi le compiler qui coûte lui 299 euros.

Enfin, le reste servira à payer le matériel pour mixer la musique de manière professionnel et payer les derniers supports graphiques. Jusqu'à présent (cela fait un an que je travaille à quasi temps plein sur ce projet autofinancé), j'ai fourni moi-même le matériel et cela permettrait aussi d'alléger la pression financière.

En cas de dépassemement, je pourrai considérer une sortie sur Android et Iphone... mais mon rêve absolu serait de sortir Heavy Metal Death Pirate sur Vita ou 3ds!!!

• Les Contributions
• J'ai prévu plusieurs types de récompenses pour remercier les participants au financement. La contribution simple est de 10 euros et permettra de télécharger le jeu et d'apparaître dans les crédits de fin. Pour 20 euros, vous bénéficierez des mêmes avantages et recevrez une illustration dédicacée accompagnée de la bande originale du jeu. Pour 50 euros, les contributeurs auront en plus le choix soit de recevoir une mini BD guide du jeu ou alors d'apparaître dans le jeu en tant que personnage de l'histoire. Pour 100 euros, ils pourront en plus apparaître en tant que boss du jeu (il faudra bien sûr me préciser sous quelle forme!). Enfin, pour la première fois je pense dans l'histoire du jeu vidéo, les contributeurs de la somme maximale pourront devenir des personnages jouables au sein du jeu!!!
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La Musique

J'ai composé moi-même la plupart de la musique du jeu avec quelque fois la coopération de mon collègue musical de toujours, le sieur Grokik. La musique s'étale sur un large panel de style allant du rock en passant par le métal et l'electro pop pour même parfois aller titiller du jazz. Mais quand on parle de musique, le mieux c'est de se taire et d'écouter. Alors voici quelques extraits de la bande son du jeu: