Even if you decide to head away from Cardallion, I hope you’ll use similar graphics in one of your future games. The eyes warping around the head is genius and really gives it a lot of stylistic depth

Regarding the leveling, there have been many suggestions here in the comments. I wanna point out that a core problem is this: Your towers *have to* die in order for the "heroes" to progress. A core part right now seems to be that rooms will be wiped and rebuilt. I think a mechanic where heroes progress without wiping a room will fundamentally change the game and solve the leveling problem while give you different problems that all other TD-games also have and solve.

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Completely agree, a big part of this back-to-basics was to solve that issue and find a way for heroes to choose priorities on defeating minions and moving towards the boss room

Refreshing look on reality. Your experience is mirrored in many game Dev KZreadrs who leave uni and get a job. I know how that feels (except KZread didn't exist back then). I agree that you shouldn't set a deadline. I haven't, and won't either and I'm still going - after work - for two years (and I'm old, married, kids etc). What is glaringly missing is what you define as a minimum viable game. You must define that now. Then you have a tight goal to work toward and you know exactly at what point to make the next decision of whether to continue. There's no time pressure because it's not a deadline but it is still a meaningful, measurable goal. Before you do anything else, I'd write out your minimum viable game - what are the features YOU need to see to decide whether to continue. You might have already done that, if so, fair play. Best of luck, mate!

@KeyboardKrieger

2 жыл бұрын

Second that. Just taking some month off from work to have more time for my game. But in a few month I'll have to return to earning money and work in the evening hours at my game, when the kids are asleep. In my opinion there are two possible ways for us programmers: Save money and every now and then live from this savings and stop regular work to work full-time on your ideas. (Did that till now) Work less hours to have more free time for own projects. (Next job will be max 4 d/w 24h/w)

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Already know what I'm planning for an MVP, and I don't know how you do it with a whole family to look after too 😅 I mean what can't you do

Oh no! I was looking forward to this one too, it's beautiful.

@nemene8585

2 жыл бұрын

It might just be a click bait question

@vectazeplayz

2 жыл бұрын

@@nemene8585 it was

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

It's not over yet!

@vectazeplayz

2 жыл бұрын

@@MashUpGames 3 days later

@nemene8585

2 жыл бұрын

@@vectazeplayz yeah i can clearly watch the video???

Idea: what if the types of troops leveled up instead of individual troops

Going back to basics like this see can feel rash but it is the smart thing to do, especially when you're working full time. It took me 2-3 years to get back into development once I had started working and only when I forced myself to get up early before work to do so. Good luck finding your grove! I hope to hear more from you soon.

Having a similar problem at the moment, been busy with various bits lately and struggling to get back into things after work. Hope the new prototypes end up somewhere, but I look forward to whatever you put out and whenever those videos do drop

I 100% understand this. I look forward to watching how you'll go about it this time, and I'm sure that no matter what you decide in the end, it'll be great!

If you ever do decide to come back to this, one solution to the issues caused by a fixed sequence of minions would be to make them rotate what room they're in after every round, similar to Volleyball. That way, they get similar levels of XP, and it becomes an interesting problem for a player: continually deciding on the best sequence of minions given what they have.

Great video ! Your reasons are more than justified and I love the fact you're still giving the game a chance honestly. Looking forward to see what comes from it :)

Great to hear your back at it. My game had a preproduction problem / identity crisis which made development hard. Once I realized this however and got it back on the right tracks it went much smoother. Hopefully I will be making dev logs about it in the coming months.

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Once you know the identity of your game and what you want it to be, development becomes so much easier. Good luck with the game!

Don't quit. I don't care if it takes a very long time but I don't want to see all of your hard work go to waste!

@francicoria8799

2 жыл бұрын

its probably not gonna quit it, just the thumbnail "I QUIT MY GAME?!" seems like clickbait. He just gonna say that the development will continue, even if slowly, because of his new job. Than he's gonna say that devlogs wil take a long amount of time or they wont even continue. Then, he's gonna thank all of the community for the support he recieved and end the video.

@francicoria8799

2 жыл бұрын

lets see how much im right

@thesheepdev9863

2 жыл бұрын

@@francicoria8799 aBout 50% i guss

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

I'm not quitting yet, but even if I do I've learnt so much from working on this game that whatever I do won't be a waste

Not sure if any one else has suggested this, but what about leveling up the rooms, allowing more “towers” to be placed over time? Either way the next steps of development goes, remember that every game dev has at least one project where they’re passionate about it at first, make a lot of progress and then something happens that kills that motivation. The momentum is lost and coming back to it becomes incredibly daunting. But that’s okay, not all games need to get out of that stage and it doesn’t mean you didn’t learn something or grow from working on it. Great video, great channel, keep it up!

Hmm... mechanically, we need different enemies(like one that would rush through) and maybe being able to move around units between phases. Also, if there are multiple possible routes, being able to have filters for those would add more to depth with placement. Those are the first few ideas I have with this.

This is BY FAR the best approach you should be taking, believe me, I've been in your shoes too. This is a very hard decision to make, but it takes everything into your life into full consideration, keep up the great work, and keep living your best life~

Its okay take all the time you need!

Sounds like we’ve been going through a similar stage where work-life balance has had a heavy refocus! Totally understand where you’re at with your game as I’m doing the same: going back to the fundamentals, figure out what the game should be before actually making it. Best of luck with this new prototyping phase!

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Good luck to you too!

For the creature level progression it’s simple, after each round let the player move creatures to different rooms. That way you can level up a creature and then move it towards the back to upgrade. Possible future enemies can be: Orc: (Big and tanky + deals small splash dmg and rage/dmg buff if it’s alone) Baby dragon / salamander: (fire dmg) Giant skeleton: (tank + when it dies it’s bone shatter doing splash dmg) Warlock / Lich: (heals undead Creatures + any human who dies in that room will turn into a skeleton that won’t be able to level up for balancing reasons + throws powerful spells Heal slime: (slime that doesn’t fight but passively heals creatures except for undead Trolls: (similar to Orc but they have regen + no rage) Stone Golem: (Tanky + slow and takes reduced damage to most humans because sharp point things are weak against stone + you should add a human to counter this + attacks very slow with high dmg) Bone dog / regular wolf: (small + fast and does bleed damage but has lower health) Maybe you can upgrade rooms that are hazardous like putting a poison pool that damages all creatures except for skeletons because there undead And maybe a spike pit that damages all creatures except for slime because they just phase through everything Hope this helps

@e_buffturtle2037

2 жыл бұрын

I meant possible “enemies” as creatures you can use, sorry for the typo

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

I already tried this in a previous devlog, I wasn't very happy with it as a solution. For that to work it requires the player to frequently change their minion layout rather than encourages.

I have been in the same boat and I think its awesome your giving it a chance :)

Since your working on square one, I thought I could give an idea that might fix a previous problem: the leveling up system. I was thinking, after I saw the randomly generated room prototype, I thought I’d groups of monsters moving around by the player from room to room, sort of like a management game, and with different places the hero’s can come from, it’d be even better. I know it’s not really what you previously intended, but since it’s a new start, I thought it would be the best time to pitch the idea. Good luck with the game, I hope you figure everything out.

Just an idea. With the problem of front and back units, you might just remove the room selection for placement. So the player is required to fill an entire room before proceding to fill the next one. I really like the style keep at it. But, don't marry with the mechanics, if you have to remove leveling up or change it, just do it. If the game feels better to play, it was the right choise.

We believe in your ability to do what makes you happy. Find games that make you so happy you are unable to stop developing. Keep awesome!

One idea that i had with rts tower defense was to make the scenario a barricade instead of a line, so you cpuld micro a single line of defense, and make the scenario where the enemies come from random, so you can explore with your minions, weakening your defense for some reward, like more resources

I think the issue of placing units at the end not being smart could be solved by adding multiple paths, multiple spawn areas, etc. This would also make the game a lot more challenging since you need to defend multiple points.

A very candid discussion of the realities of managing the burden of a full-time job and investment in other passions. Thanks for sharing your journey, best of luck figuring things out for Cardallion Redux!

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

I went for candid so it didn't seem too much like I was complaining 😅

You can add a system like in normal tower defence games where minions can go the the closets, farthest, strongest, weakest, etc. enemies.

I totally understand. Treat it as a journey that you show to the community.

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

The best way to view it

👍That is pretty respectable. My 1st game was just to learn, but my second game will be made under the same premise. I'll just have to see how it goes. 👍

Maybe it would help to put in a healer or passives that can heal the enemies?

I hear you about the issues with leveling up of the towers. The best TD games I've ever played--the ones with the most replay value and highest engagement--solved this problem in the same way: defeating enemies earns you some form of credits, which the player then spends to upgrade the towers. IMO, the reason this works so well is because it gives the player _two_ orthogonal mechanics to manage: tower placement, and tower upgrade priority. This leads to a wide search-space of strategies the player can explore, keeping the game fresh. That concept, however, is a bit at odds with the concept of "towers" as minions in a dungeon: when the towers are ostensibly sentient entities, it makes sense that the benefit of defeating enemies would go to the entities that registered the kills, in the way of D&D style experience points. This breaks the separation between tower-placement and tower-upgrades and thus removes one of the game mechanics: less for the player to manage, smaller strategy search space to explore = more boring game. One way you might keep both mechanics in Cardallion without breaking the aesthetic of the game would be to add a "soul harvester" apparatus somewhere in the player UI, which fills up as enemies are defeated. Periodically, these souls are boiled down into XP potions that you, the benevolent player/deity of the game, can bestow on your minions as you see fit. This is really just the same credits mechanism as always, but skinned in a way that fits the fantasy/dungeon aesthetic of the game.

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Very insightful comment! Definitely considering that as an option

I've been wondering abt this for a long time

@LanK111er

2 жыл бұрын

Same here

you could have an RTS style system where you can move units around the rooms close to them which will sort of eliminate the issue :)

i got an idea on your minions level problem! make minions move to forwards room if minions on those room die on the end of round then respawn dead minions on the back. so this could make minions rotating and add extra thinking

Deciding to rethink or scrap the game altogether is way harder than it looks. Good luck with Cardallion or any other project you have

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

You're right it's a very hard decision, but I'd rather make the decision now than when it's too late so at least I have a chance to make it great

Can’t wait

the problem of characters not being able to upgrade, i have a suggestion, make a character that capture instead of kill, then you can place the captured enemy in any room as training fodder

Yeash. It's like watching someone narrate my own development

Cardallion reminds me of a dungeon core book. It's a different take on a tower defense, sure, but in dungeon core books both the dungeon and the heros grow in strength together. Maybe look into that genre of you'd like to get some fresh ideas. I hope cardallia doesn't get shelved and forgotten. But I can also see why it isn't working out at the moment. Here's to hoping you find the key to making it work.

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

I'll make a note of it, thanks!

"Simple" solution to the leveling issue: allow the player to pick up and move the monsters around. I say "simple" because depending on how you've already coded the game it might be impossible.

Super agree that pre production is massively important. Honestly a lot of issues like "the minions in front level more" can be solved with a paper prototypes before you've even started coding things. The philosophy of "just jump in and start making the game asap" is not super great imo, it basically guarantees you will overlook crucial aspects of the game off the bat

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Paper prototype is definitely going to be helpful

Could you let us know what you would have done in pre-production, if you had the chance now?

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

I would have looked at similar games for context, quick prototype example gameplay, and figure out both the identity of the game and how it would function. I'll be basically doing this for the next devlog as an example of what I would do

I really like the concept and design, but I fully agree with all your arguments. Certainly working 8hrs a day and being a solo indie game is just not compatible. That's at least what I'm finding myself.

This is so sad. I absolutely love the aesthetics of the game and I think it has a lot of potential. However I didn’t really care for the gameplay part of it. Would be nice to see this in another genre.

The leveling system should be that the enimys at the back LV up quicker.

if you ever decide to scrap the project, you can always make it open source that way multiple people can work on it and you still have a project that you can put on your portofolio (same for those that contribute to it) ofc putting the game on steam after making it open source is a questionable act, but it should be fine as long as it remains open source that way it would be more of a donation rather than a purchase, since anyone can build the game from the source code

a Deadline helps by finishing a Projekt

Pre made levels with non linear map design and multiple points of enemy enter. That is what your game could be.

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Premade levels is the more likely option than procedurally-generated ones, and though I would prefer to keep just one entry point I might need to also consider multiple entries as a possibility

Let you micro your minions, and add ways to buff minions with gold, so you coyld make a tank line

Based on your track record, I say make games to learn to make great games for studios.

but remember that if you decide to quit, all time was not wasted cuz you can use your scripts to new project. And also you have learned much

Oke, what if you don't give XP based on how many enemy's your units killed, but on how many times there attack hit, and remove all the regeneration wen leveling up, and have your minions coward in fear wen Below 20-10% HP , and you would need actual healers to heal you minions , and also remove the "rounds" just make the heros come no matter what, but do add a pause button so you can preplan stuff, after the healer heals the wounded your minion will go to a room that is empty or has bellow 3 units in it, I hope this comment helps you, even if you don't use all thr ideas from it , but you can at least get some inspiration from it, I can't wait to see the next attempt at this amazing idea of a game!

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

Having the minions cowering in fear when low on health is a great idea of giving all the minions more equal action without them actually dying!

Why not just the weekends

I think it's funny you're calling the game scrapped, but in reality, you're just really reworking it. While it might change a lot, you're still pursuing the original idea.

no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sorry to insert my two cents in here, because I really appreciate your content, but this kind of video contains a very dangerous message to prospecting game developers. Let me explain, this is not a personal attack by any means. These days game devs seem to be all about bending the project to one's will and if it doesn't it should be archived or restarted. This is really wrong from a design standpoint (e.g. when you say your front units are the ones getting more exp, that is a suggestion the game came up with for you to take into consideration, instead of seeing it as a problem) but most importantly from a marketing standpoint. I want to preface that this next point is only aimed at people that want to make games for a living and are not just interested in it as a hobby. Where there's a product there's a market. You have a product, if you scrap it, you lose your market. At this stage you have something you could pitch to a publisher, you could crowdfound development and get collaborators on board, you could outsource/purchase additional assets or help to get you through the finish line. The point is: you have many options. I may have started this comment with a strong opinion, but I want to make very clear that it stems from a place of love, towards the industry and towards each individual with a dream. Thank you for reading it.

dont quit

No

No probs, totally understand. I'll unsub but I wish you the very best.

@thesheepdev9863

2 жыл бұрын

I mean we knows in 18 hours if its cancled

@MashUpGames

2 жыл бұрын

The game isn't cancelled yet!