Hi,
So Death Pirate has been released on Steam. It was a quite long and difficult road.
Porting the game for Steam was pretty complicated. The Steam system is overly confusing with its own terms and its set of softwares. Anyway, I'm not allowed to talk about it (it's written "Steam Confidential" all over it!) so let's close the chapter.
Things were going smoothly and the game was ready for release two months before. One day, a nice fellow sent me a message on Singe Studio's Facebook: "You should check the Death Pirate board on Steam. Things are going sour over there". I didn't even know Death Pirate had its own message board on Steam! I read a few messages and, yes, it was a mess.
Last september, I received a message from a guy from Desura asking me if I'd want to apply to a special campain to boost my greenlight votes. For one week, they would sell the game at a discount price and the buyers would greenlight the game on Steam (I only got 200 votes from it - it needs around 2500 votes to be greenlit). Then, when the game would be released on Steam, they would get the game for free. I answered "Ok, why not!". I didn't sign anything, I didn't fill any form.
In the meantime, I reworked the game completely for the Android platform and reworked it again for Steam. When I created the Steam page for Death Pirate in March, if I remember well, someone sent me a message saying that he brought the game on "IR" (???) and asked if he would get the game for free on Steam. I answered that he brought the game on "IR" (???) so he wasn't entitled to play the game on Steam again. It's quite logical, if you buy a game on PS3, you're not entitled to the same game on Xbox 360.
It appeared that "IR" meant "Indie Royal" and it was the special campain I applied to 7 months before. I didn't remember this at all (I applied through a messenger in not even 1 minute by a simple "yes, why not?" - easy to forget to kind of stuff). So yes, the guy was actually entitled to a free copy of Death Pirate on Steam. But I didn't know.
It was the reason for an amazing flame war on the Death Pirate board. Nearly 250 messages of pure hate were destroying the reputation of the game. I tried to calm things down by answering most messages but, you know, it's the internet. I was a thief, a crook, an idiot, a murderer, a rapist, anything that could come into their minds.
So I looked for the email of the guy who made me apply to Indie Royal. I told him that I would send him the Steam keys for those who bought the game. He answered me "Alright. I will need 1000 keys.". I checked again the number of buyers and told him I'd send him the 200 keys for 200 buyers. He said that I had to send more because Steam keys tend to be falty sometimes and just in case it doesn't work, blablabla. Alright, here goes 1000 steam keys (1000 free copies of Death Pirate). The guy tells me he would send them right away (but the buyers wouldn't be able to download the game before the release day).
I do the announcement on the Steam board that they would get their free games. The board which was so full of hate before became just plain dead - people are more motivated when it comes to hate than to actually communicate or simply talk about a game. Fun.
Here comes the release day of Death Pirate. I check if the buyers' keys are working. No. None of them actually received anything. Consequently, more hate ensues on the board. I contact the guy from Indie Royal who answers me coldly "Desura and Indie Royal are out of business. I have nothing to do with these matters anymore". Fear. I'm still dead meat for the board.
I sent many messages to the same guy telling him that he should have told me before I sent him the Steam keys and that he lied when he said he would send them right away. I also implied that if he didnt send them and asked for so many keys, it probably meant he was to re-sell them illegaly on some other website. He was therefore a thief and a crook! No answer.
A few days later, the board is happy. They got their free games. Then the board turns dead again. One or two thanks and that's it. And a few bad reviews too. The steam experience.
Well, you got the whole picute now, the long hard road to release a game. In the end, I found myself strangely fullfilled. I did it. No regrets.
But I won't do it again for a while.
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Developer Diary. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Developer Diary. Afficher tous les articles
vendredi 28 août 2015
vendredi 1 mai 2015
Developer Diary #12 - Overview of the story and explanations
Yep.
I realized I didn't express myself much on the story of the game and I didn't promote it as much as it deserves it.
Basically, the story takes place in the very near future in Europe. The financial crisis is over and Europe has become the world's largest economy power. What?! How is it possible? A new Company called the "UCP" began producing a new kind of armors, the "J-Suits", that enhance the physical and mental abilities of Humans. So yes, in that future, Europe has become the richest nation in the world by selling weapons. People and pacifists are outraged but there's just too much money to be made.
The making of these armors is quite mysterious. We don't know where their powers come from, how they are produced... And soon, monsters appear and start assaulting the countries... The two events seem linked but instead of stopping the production of the J-Suits, Europe sells more and more of J-Suits because people are scared... and because the politicians don't want to stop making money. Then, it becomes a vicious circle.
This is, in short, the basics of the story. This is also what happens right now in Europe. They tell us we need money and they'll do anything to get it. We already sell weapons, yes, but in a "reasonable" way. I just wanted to ask the question "where would the people in power go to make that money?". The goal of the State is to protect the people, to insure its safety and welfare. And with that Crisis, the governments are doing quite the contrary. They are sucking on the poorest, in sometimes an inhuman way, to make that money.
The parallel is that, in both cases, the State is going against its nature. The State which is supposedly a virtuous protector of society has become the killer of Civilization, promoting hate, individuality and war. Right now, in Europe, people are hating each others, they are even hating themselves! Why? Because the Governments are crushing them and telling them that their neighbourgs are stealing their jobs and their money. They tell us if we don't do as they say, Europe will fall down and there will be misery all over the place.
Everybody is aware of this... but we don't do anything about it... because we are scared. And there we've got our vicious circle.
In my story, things turn sour and the plan backfires. Nature takes its rights back. I hope people will take the power back in Europe.
Death Pirate will be released on Steam on 6th June 2015. Death Pirate SP is already available on the Google PlayStore for android. Here's the link:
I realized I didn't express myself much on the story of the game and I didn't promote it as much as it deserves it.
Basically, the story takes place in the very near future in Europe. The financial crisis is over and Europe has become the world's largest economy power. What?! How is it possible? A new Company called the "UCP" began producing a new kind of armors, the "J-Suits", that enhance the physical and mental abilities of Humans. So yes, in that future, Europe has become the richest nation in the world by selling weapons. People and pacifists are outraged but there's just too much money to be made.
The making of these armors is quite mysterious. We don't know where their powers come from, how they are produced... And soon, monsters appear and start assaulting the countries... The two events seem linked but instead of stopping the production of the J-Suits, Europe sells more and more of J-Suits because people are scared... and because the politicians don't want to stop making money. Then, it becomes a vicious circle.
This is, in short, the basics of the story. This is also what happens right now in Europe. They tell us we need money and they'll do anything to get it. We already sell weapons, yes, but in a "reasonable" way. I just wanted to ask the question "where would the people in power go to make that money?". The goal of the State is to protect the people, to insure its safety and welfare. And with that Crisis, the governments are doing quite the contrary. They are sucking on the poorest, in sometimes an inhuman way, to make that money.
The parallel is that, in both cases, the State is going against its nature. The State which is supposedly a virtuous protector of society has become the killer of Civilization, promoting hate, individuality and war. Right now, in Europe, people are hating each others, they are even hating themselves! Why? Because the Governments are crushing them and telling them that their neighbourgs are stealing their jobs and their money. They tell us if we don't do as they say, Europe will fall down and there will be misery all over the place.
Everybody is aware of this... but we don't do anything about it... because we are scared. And there we've got our vicious circle.
In my story, things turn sour and the plan backfires. Nature takes its rights back. I hope people will take the power back in Europe.
Death Pirate will be released on Steam on 6th June 2015. Death Pirate SP is already available on the Google PlayStore for android. Here's the link:
mercredi 22 avril 2015
Developer Diary #11: The release on GooglePlay
So it was with great joy that I finally could release the game on the PlayStore. But my hopes were quickly crushed.
The first disappointment came with the achievements. I programmed the trophies on GooglePlay and integrated them in the game. It worked. But the game became dangerously unstable. I tried different ways to get a bit more stability but to no avail. I had to do a lot of cuts to fit the game in a tablet and it seemed that trophies were the drop that made the cup overflow (I don't know if that's the right expression...). Anyway, I had to get rid of achievements.
Second huge disappointment: the promotion from Google. Death Pirate never appeared anywhere on the Playstore frontend. It didn't even appear in the new apps section. I've never seen this before. On Steam, Desura, the Xbox live, the PSN, you always have the newest games or apps appearing on the news page of the store. I checked it many times and it only featured big apps like candy Crush Saga or Clash of Clans. Even if you searched for the exact name of the game, it would only appear on the 5th or 6th spot in the search page. It's just like throwing a book in the middle of the ocean and waiting for it to become a best-seller...
Do I have to pay to be considered as a regular developper? My game is not big enough to be qualified as a viable app? Why would we promote apps that obviously don't need any promotion since they are already all over the place??? It's something I really don't understand. And it's the same everywhere. Big medias promote stuff that don't need advertisement. When you see the reviews of the last Assassin's Creed or the online game Destiny and you compare it with the press coverage and the indirect promotion it gets, you wonder if that system is not a bit corrupted... Now, everybody is OK to say that these games were not that good... some even says they were particularly buggy. So... Isn't it time to promote new stuff instead of cash cows?
The first disappointment came with the achievements. I programmed the trophies on GooglePlay and integrated them in the game. It worked. But the game became dangerously unstable. I tried different ways to get a bit more stability but to no avail. I had to do a lot of cuts to fit the game in a tablet and it seemed that trophies were the drop that made the cup overflow (I don't know if that's the right expression...). Anyway, I had to get rid of achievements.
Second huge disappointment: the promotion from Google. Death Pirate never appeared anywhere on the Playstore frontend. It didn't even appear in the new apps section. I've never seen this before. On Steam, Desura, the Xbox live, the PSN, you always have the newest games or apps appearing on the news page of the store. I checked it many times and it only featured big apps like candy Crush Saga or Clash of Clans. Even if you searched for the exact name of the game, it would only appear on the 5th or 6th spot in the search page. It's just like throwing a book in the middle of the ocean and waiting for it to become a best-seller...
Do I have to pay to be considered as a regular developper? My game is not big enough to be qualified as a viable app? Why would we promote apps that obviously don't need any promotion since they are already all over the place??? It's something I really don't understand. And it's the same everywhere. Big medias promote stuff that don't need advertisement. When you see the reviews of the last Assassin's Creed or the online game Destiny and you compare it with the press coverage and the indirect promotion it gets, you wonder if that system is not a bit corrupted... Now, everybody is OK to say that these games were not that good... some even says they were particularly buggy. So... Isn't it time to promote new stuff instead of cash cows?
jeudi 26 mars 2015
Developper Diary #10: My GooglePlay experience
Yep, so I ported Heavy Metal Death Pirate on Android. It seemed to me like a daunting task at first and I was really scared I couldn't make it. But, now that it's over, it was actually quite simple and hassle-free. Game Maker handles everything perfectly and all you have to do is pure programming, no conversion or authorizing crap stuff.
The most difficult part was the controls. It took me a lot of time to create the screen pad and make it so that it feels simple yet intuitive to play. The rest of my time was made of converting graphics and other little things.
Then comes the time to create a Google Developper account and upload the game. I did it one month before the actual release. The fist thing to do is to create an expansion for the game. Yes, Google doesn't allow app bigger than 50 Mb. You have to split your game into a little 50 Mb app and then add a download for an expansion which contains the rest of your game (in my case, 450 Mb of graphics and sound mostly). It's really easy to do with Game Maker.
Then I created my account and you enter the Android Developper Console. Everything is shiny and beautiful and easy to configure, very "Google Style". In no time, I could upload my game, put all the needed info and assets, configure the prices and create leaderboards and trophies. I was amazed at how easy it was. Since you can't put a release date, I didn't publish the game and let it rest until the fateful day. I was relieved and happy.
A few days before, I noticed a forum post where people were complaining about Expansions not downloading well on GooglePlay. It was strongly advised to test your download before the release date. Wow! I panicked as I didn't worry about this at all! I rushed to my Google Developper Console and quickly realized things were not that easy...
First, if you don't want your game to be release officially but still you want to test the download, you have to upload in the alpha channel and PUBLISH it. Then you create a googlegroup where the testers will be able to download the game through the alpha channel. I thought at first that the publish button was for the official release, silly me (=one workday wasted).
Then, the game is uploaded in the alpha channel. Since I'm the only tester, I joined my own group and try to download. Failure. The thing to know is that it might take one to two days before the app is available for download (=two workdays wasted).
Four days later, I still couldn't download the game to test it. I emailed the Google Developper support. They couldn't understand what I was asking for. In the end, they didn't answer my question and told me to check the help section (which didn't help me) (=two workdays wasted).
The release date arrived and my game wasn't available. As you've seen it, I had to announce the game would be late (a big shame for me). I was at a loss, I couldn't find the solution. Then my girlfriend suggested me: "Maybe you can't download your own app...?". WHAT?!!! She joind the googlegroup, became a tester and try the download link on her smartphone......................AND IT WORKED!!!
So yeah, with GooglePlay, YOU CAN'T DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN GAME AS A TESTER TO TEST IT! This important fact is nowhere to be seen in the Google Help center, DAMMIT!!!
In the end, I created a new google account and I could test the download. It works. But the trophies do not show up.......... * sigh* Anyway, I might be able to release the game in a few days, so stay in touch!
The most difficult part was the controls. It took me a lot of time to create the screen pad and make it so that it feels simple yet intuitive to play. The rest of my time was made of converting graphics and other little things.
Then comes the time to create a Google Developper account and upload the game. I did it one month before the actual release. The fist thing to do is to create an expansion for the game. Yes, Google doesn't allow app bigger than 50 Mb. You have to split your game into a little 50 Mb app and then add a download for an expansion which contains the rest of your game (in my case, 450 Mb of graphics and sound mostly). It's really easy to do with Game Maker.
Then I created my account and you enter the Android Developper Console. Everything is shiny and beautiful and easy to configure, very "Google Style". In no time, I could upload my game, put all the needed info and assets, configure the prices and create leaderboards and trophies. I was amazed at how easy it was. Since you can't put a release date, I didn't publish the game and let it rest until the fateful day. I was relieved and happy.
A few days before, I noticed a forum post where people were complaining about Expansions not downloading well on GooglePlay. It was strongly advised to test your download before the release date. Wow! I panicked as I didn't worry about this at all! I rushed to my Google Developper Console and quickly realized things were not that easy...
First, if you don't want your game to be release officially but still you want to test the download, you have to upload in the alpha channel and PUBLISH it. Then you create a googlegroup where the testers will be able to download the game through the alpha channel. I thought at first that the publish button was for the official release, silly me (=one workday wasted).
Then, the game is uploaded in the alpha channel. Since I'm the only tester, I joined my own group and try to download. Failure. The thing to know is that it might take one to two days before the app is available for download (=two workdays wasted).
Four days later, I still couldn't download the game to test it. I emailed the Google Developper support. They couldn't understand what I was asking for. In the end, they didn't answer my question and told me to check the help section (which didn't help me) (=two workdays wasted).
The release date arrived and my game wasn't available. As you've seen it, I had to announce the game would be late (a big shame for me). I was at a loss, I couldn't find the solution. Then my girlfriend suggested me: "Maybe you can't download your own app...?". WHAT?!!! She joind the googlegroup, became a tester and try the download link on her smartphone......................AND IT WORKED!!!
So yeah, with GooglePlay, YOU CAN'T DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN GAME AS A TESTER TO TEST IT! This important fact is nowhere to be seen in the Google Help center, DAMMIT!!!
In the end, I created a new google account and I could test the download. It works. But the trophies do not show up.......... * sigh* Anyway, I might be able to release the game in a few days, so stay in touch!
mardi 24 mars 2015
Sorry!!!
Hi,
Bad news... But the Android version of Death Pirate SP has to be delayed for a week or so. I'm really sorry!!!
It's not totally my fault, but Google is very slow on publishing apps and the game won't make it on time. It's ready and totally functionnal but I didn't expect the publishing process to be so long.
As a gift for waiting, I can announce that the game will feature GooglePlay trophies!!!
I'll keep you posted but the release is very soon!
Bad news... But the Android version of Death Pirate SP has to be delayed for a week or so. I'm really sorry!!!
It's not totally my fault, but Google is very slow on publishing apps and the game won't make it on time. It's ready and totally functionnal but I didn't expect the publishing process to be so long.
As a gift for waiting, I can announce that the game will feature GooglePlay trophies!!!
I'll keep you posted but the release is very soon!
mercredi 11 mars 2015
New announcement: STEAM!!!
As a big surprise, Death Pirate has been greenlit by Steam. I wasn't really expectring that as the game was just approaching the TOP 100 last week.
Anyway, that's a really good news and there'll be more announcement soon. Thanks to all for your support!!!
Anyway, that's a really good news and there'll be more announcement soon. Thanks to all for your support!!!
mercredi 14 janvier 2015
Developper Diary #9: How soon is now?
So here I am.
Right now, i'm finishing the port of Death Pirate for Android. I was pretty scared at the amount of work and the complexity of the task but, actually, it was pretty easy (in spite of a few Game Maker issues that got me stuck for a few days... :-/ ).
At first, I wanted to add a lot more stuff and release a new mini game in a free version of the game. In the end, I did none of that. The vanilla game already had a lot of contents. It would have taken me a lot of time to make the new graphics, code a new mode and think about the new concepts. A friend of mine, who is also a developper, told me that it would be better to use this time to polish my game instead of adding new clunky modes and butchered graphics. At first, I thought he was wrong.
I think most of the appeal of Death Pirate comes from its story, characters and universe. So I wanted to add more of that, to expand the license to make it richer and attract more people. To give his idea a try, I revamped the game menu to make it more dynamic and more pro. And then I realized he was right.
Adding more content in an amateurish game would be useless. And my game is already 26 stages long and features 7 playable characters. It was enough. I had to do that polish and make some publicity to give the game a true second chance. Then goes away then the idea of a free version. I'm against demoes. I think they kill the magic that happens when you play a game for the first time. It's more frustrating than anything else as you don't get the real scope of the game.That's why I wanted to make a specific new mini game that would be included in the full version but also released as a free game. Well, it won't happen. Well, not now.
Right now, I'm in a big bug chase. And there are a lot.
Buma
Right now, i'm finishing the port of Death Pirate for Android. I was pretty scared at the amount of work and the complexity of the task but, actually, it was pretty easy (in spite of a few Game Maker issues that got me stuck for a few days... :-/ ).
At first, I wanted to add a lot more stuff and release a new mini game in a free version of the game. In the end, I did none of that. The vanilla game already had a lot of contents. It would have taken me a lot of time to make the new graphics, code a new mode and think about the new concepts. A friend of mine, who is also a developper, told me that it would be better to use this time to polish my game instead of adding new clunky modes and butchered graphics. At first, I thought he was wrong.
I think most of the appeal of Death Pirate comes from its story, characters and universe. So I wanted to add more of that, to expand the license to make it richer and attract more people. To give his idea a try, I revamped the game menu to make it more dynamic and more pro. And then I realized he was right.
Adding more content in an amateurish game would be useless. And my game is already 26 stages long and features 7 playable characters. It was enough. I had to do that polish and make some publicity to give the game a true second chance. Then goes away then the idea of a free version. I'm against demoes. I think they kill the magic that happens when you play a game for the first time. It's more frustrating than anything else as you don't get the real scope of the game.That's why I wanted to make a specific new mini game that would be included in the full version but also released as a free game. Well, it won't happen. Well, not now.
Right now, I'm in a big bug chase. And there are a lot.
Buma
mercredi 7 janvier 2015
Developer Diary #8: Change of mind
2500 units?! It was way beyond my expectations!!! I sold the game for 4.99 dollars and it sold 2500 units! Amazing!!!
And Desura paid me... 400 dollars?! Hum... Let's see: 2500*5=12500 dollars... 12500-400=12100 dollars. Yeah... I really accepted a very bad deal. That's OK, I signed, I take the blame. But no more Desura for me.
So now, I have a few questions... Of course, I wouldn't have sold that many games through my website. Because selling a PC game outside of a store is just suicidal. Nobody cares about your game, even if it is a masterpiece. But it would have sold as much and perhaps even more on a platform like Steam or GooglePlay with a much better deal. Is that so? Then there is the genre of the game. HMDP is full-fleshed game with many characters, many stages and modes, unlockables and complex gameplay. PC gamers are supposedly more attracted to this hardcoregaming type. It is a different thing on android. There, we have free, simplistic, time killing, applications. Would it fare as good? To port a platformer on tablet is quite an ordeal as you have to greatly simplify stuff. It might even end up a completely different game... But to make it simpler would actually get rid of the clunkiness of some mechanics and make it more "in-your-face"... Hum... That might be interesting.
Buma
mercredi 31 décembre 2014
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
mercredi 24 décembre 2014
Developper Diary #6: Here we go! Game Maker!
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
mercredi 17 décembre 2014
Developer Diary #5: Manga Artist= DEAD
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
mercredi 10 décembre 2014
Developer Diary #4: Era of Enlightenments
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
mercredi 3 décembre 2014
Developer Diary #3: Guitars and Video Games...
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
mercredi 26 novembre 2014
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
mercredi 19 novembre 2014
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
Inscription à :
Articles
(
Atom
)