Advice required on Excel games

[Thargoid]

ExcelRocks and SimpleRPG are fine enough but do they come close to the majesty of the SquariaSoft games on http://www.dzikosoft.com/ ?

Squaria Adventure
Rotation
Invasion Fours
KlaXL

Quite probably they do, but I keep on releasing them...

Anyway, what kinda games do people want to see in Excel?

I've currently got prototypes for...

Another couple of RPGs.
A Racing Game
A Puzzle Game
A Shoot-em-up
A Platformer.

I keep diving between then all and as a result am nowhere near to finishing any.

 

[clut]

I'd like to see you do a racing game.

I made simpleRPG, and I've seen a few platformers out there, However I don't think I've seen a racing game in Excel yet (at least not a decent one!), so I'd like to see you put one together.

I've also developed a management game, but due to it's nature, I can't advertise it. That said, you can get to it by following the link in my sig. You have to request the game via e-mail, but it's well worth it.

 

[MorganO]

I agree. A racing game is something unique to the Excel Gaming universe. All the others have been done before several times. A racing game might be quite a challenge due to the limitation of Excel and the requirements of a racing type game!

Take care,

Owen

 

[clut]

What might be cool is a racing game with some RPG elements.

Basic game is racing, but you (or your car) has adjustable stats (handling, acceleration, top speed, y'know, all the usuals) that can be increased over time either by buying upgrades, or increasing skill based on time spent driving, or some other, more original method.

The underlying game is still racing, but there is still an element of self-progression.

p.s Who remembers Super Sprint and Championship Sprint??? Collect 3 golden spanners and you get to pick an upgrade.

 

[Bartek]

Racing game would definitely be cool, I think it may combine cell graphics for the background (highway, landscape) and shapes for sprites (car, trucks).

Thinking of some other oldies that may look great implemented on Excel, the Moon Patrol immediately comes to mind - loved the game when I was 20 years younger . Anyway, there are dozens of great ideas for Excel games, so I am sure you will end with another cool game.

 

[Thargoid]

Looks like people are clamouring for racing.

I've a couple of ideas for that so I'll work on those a bit more.

That said, I'm nearing the end of development for the sequel to KlaXL so I'll probably still be switching between the two.

 

[clut]

Maybe we should try to form some sort of collaborative environment to thrash out game ideas.

Often I've got lots of good ideas, but no time to code them, and other times I've got time, but can't think of anything interesting.

If there were a place to share ideas, whoever had the time could then use those ideas. Even if two people set about coding the same idea, they'd both end up with different games...

 

[Thargoid]

Excellent idea Clut.

I've a myriad of ideas but my coding skills just aren't up to par yet.

 

[clut]

Another benefit it would/could bring, is the availability of beta testers... If someone has a working prototype of one of the ideas, I'm sure people there would like to beta test it.

I know you can go to almost any forum on the net asking for beta testers and get a ton of responses, but most people just want to play the game, and moan when it crashes. That's not beta testing, and the few people that do understand it's not a finished game, don't seem to like having to give lengthy feedback on the game.

I think the people in this environment would understand the requirements of beta testing, as they are also developing (or want to be developing) games themselves.

 

[MorganO]

When I set out to get beta testers for Excel Rocks I didn't think it would be much of a problem. Boy was I wrong. I posted to several reputable Excel sites (including this one) and even asked friends for input. Nada were the results.

Aaron Blood from XL-Logic.com has a thread devoted to Excel Gaming on his site but it has very limited conversations going. He mentioned to me in my post that getting beta tester for an Excel Game is probably harder than getting testers for Excel Add-ins (http://xl-logic.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=802#802)

Maybe if there is enough interest here on MrExcel, we could convince an admin (Starl where are you!) to devote a top level forum to this endevour? Or maybe we could start an appropriate thread and get it 'Stickied' within the Lounge.

I would certainly be willing to assist.

Owen