My Little Pony: The Game

[Clare Chan 5]

Pawsome! I can't wait for more!      

[Kaneki 1,073]

It's alright, good things take long times usually, just gotta be patient.

[BloodDrops 762]

when is it out

 

I WANT TO PLAY

 

unless you kill zombie ponies in it

 

then i find this game highly offensive 

[Rikifive 24,183]

@@Clare Gundersen, YAY! I hope to not disappoint you! :3

 

@@Cloggedone, That's true, but only if I was jobless... then the progress would go much, much faster! 

 

@@BloodDrops, Zombie ponies confirmed! Just kidding! Though you never know!  I'm so happy to see you interested and I hope to not disappoint you! 

 

 

Thank you all for visiting, it really matters much for me! 

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Now this really looks cool! What are you using to make the sprites?

[Rikifive 24,183]

@@EmeraldStar04, YAY!  Thank you!

 

I'm using GIMP for all my graphic needs. 

[Derpy Derper 87]

Maybe as a bonus for completing the game (If you could complete it) you could add a option to add your own oc in with it's own stats. Just a suggestion though if you want the game to have a more creative feel

[Rikifive 24,183]

Generally adding OC's would make the plot inaccurate as there wouldn't be any connection with those ponies in various events, which would make it look funny, so that's why I don't want to add them at the start.

Though New Game+ feature in games usually allows players to cheat or simply make the game funnier, so that wouldn't be a bad idea, but since all ponies have unique skills, there might be a problem with making abilities for OC's. Also I'm not sure how completing the game will look like yet ~ The show has totally messy timeline of events, so that itself requires some thinking to organize that properly. I know how to make the beginning, I'll see how it will go further. To be honest I'm not sure if there would be any point in adding OC's or New Game+ for that matter - I believe not many will want to play the game again, considering, that I'm pretty sure it will be a pretty long game. I'll think of adding OC's when I'll get to that point.

 

Either way you made me think of something ~ I was going to just make a single sprite sheet per pony, so any customization would require making the whole ponies.

Now I'm wondering, if I should split sprites into parts like body, mane, tail, cutie mark etc., which would be merged in the end, thus giving the possibility to select particular parts and change their colors to build ponies. That would also allow me to make visible equipment, where for example, I could replace mane with a helmet when equipped. Though that would create contradictions in cutscenes, where the equipment wouldn't be visible. Ouhh.. I need to think about this.

 

Anyway, thank you for suggesting! You made me realize, that I'm not well prepared for that project yet.   Don't get me wrong though, it really helps! 

Thank you for visiting and your help! 

[Alphys Hedge 671]

I noticed that you've switched to GameMaker: Studio. Just wanted to say you chose well, since I've been using GM:S for a while and it's been awesome. Once again, you've done some great work on this, and I can't wait to hear future updates ^o^

(I've also added the image to my signature now, btw :3)

[Rikifive 24,183]

Oh hello there! x3

 

Yup, GM:S offers more functions (code-wise) and much better performance, so it will be a great improvement, because there could be some problems in the previous engine. Adding some fancy details here and there were enough to produce FPS drops.

You made me curious - have you got something done there? :3

 

Why, thank you, I'm really happy to hear that! 

 

Thank you for visiting and your support!! 

[Alphys Hedge 671]

 

 

You made me curious - have you got something done there? :3

In GM:S? Unfortunately I don't have an original project started yet (I can't think of any ideas .-.), though I have been experimenting by seeing what genres I can make. So far I've only made an asteroids clone, it seems like it's not impressive (and admittedly you'd mostly be right), but it's actually helped me learn a lot about GM:S (specifically draw events). Actually, speaking of that, while experimenting with a different project, I made a script that automatically puts shadows on text, would you want to try it? I have the code in this reddit post.

 

Getting back to the topic at hand though, I think it was a great choice to switch to GM:S. It's actually been used for making some popular games like Undertale, and Hotline Miami.

[BloodDrops 762]

 

 

you could add a option to add your own oc in with it's own stats

 

 

Can i add my zombie pony oc into it?

 

would make the game very easy really. XD

[HereComesTom 2,267]

 

 

Now I'm wondering, if I should split sprites into parts like body, mane, tail, cutie mark etc., which would be merged in the end, thus giving the possibility to select particular parts and change their colors to build ponies. That would also allow me to make visible equipment, where for example, I could replace mane with a helmet when equipped. Though that would create contradictions in cutscenes, where the equipment wouldn't be visible. Ouhh.. I need to think about this.

 

Long-term, I'd like to have that kind of thing in my game, as it'd allow for an equipment system and dress-up minigames.  I know it'll be time-consuming to make, though, so I'm not 100% sure whether I'll cut it from the features of my final game release or not.

 

It's a tradeoff, to be sure.

[Rikifive 24,183]

@@Alphys Hedge, oh I see. ^^

Well, making a simple game is the best way to learn the basics. I saw a tutorial for that, but decided to make something else as my first project. :3

 

 

As for your script - I'm not really in need of extra features right now, because I don't have things set up yet, but I may check that out later when I get some things done. :3

 

Yup, yup! 

 

@@BloodDrops, 

 

@@HereComesTom, Yeah, that would be a lot of work. I don't think it is really needed in my game, so I guess I'll forget about this. 

[EclipseNightshade 26]

It may not be much, but I have some experience in GM:S and would like to help out where I can. I've developed some techniques that not only greatly reduce processing impact, but also greatly widen the scope of your game. So, if I could be of any assistance, please let me know.

 

Also, I'd post examples, but they're all so absurdly under developed I would be embarrassed to show them off.

[Rikifive 24,183]

@@EclipseNightshade, Actually I'm pretty new to GM:S and while I know the basics, I may have troubles with using its functions as best as possible.

I'm not new into the whole scripting thingie, but I'm new to gml (Game Maker Language), so I believe, that receiving some help sooner or later wouldn't hurt. 

There are tons of mechanics to be written, so a helpful hoof will always be appreciated.

 

 

As for examples - I know what you mean as my games also aren't well polished and they are.. rather silly. Anyway no worries, that would be understandable. 

 

@, Of course they will appear in the game as well as maaaaaany other ponies, unless you're referring to them as playable ponies, then it may look different as the game will be following show's plot. What I can tell though is that they'll appear for sure just like in show, so you'll be able to interact with them. 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Rikifive

[Overlord0909 479]

Dang, this topic getting big lol.

I said I'd help play testing, but I really want to help in other aspects. I could work on scripting from time to time to help. You just seem like a real nice person, and nice peeps deserve nice things! Most the time...

Other then taking transcripts and shifting them to an RPG format, I'm not sure if I can help with other things (I'm thinking of much later, making a game trailer or intro/outro thingy )... Any areas of need you struggle with? I may be able to work on that or ask others around that I know.

Of course my time management for this mat be iffy...

Anyways, let me know if I can do anything, I dropped my old project and have a new one lined up that will be hard to start, but easy to work on after it's started.

And of course, good luckies!

[Rikifive 24,183]

 

 

Alright, good to know. I hope they will be playable at some point.

It all depends on the show's plot. I'll be rewatching all episodes, to recreate them in game as accurately as possible, so I'll see if something can be done there.

 

For example, I can already say, that Princess Cadance will be a playable character for a short time. Think of 'A Canterlot Wedding' (S2 Finale) episode, then you may know where I'm going with this and what I mean by talking about getting possibilities from the show's plot.   I even have some ideas for nice abilities for her. 

 

 

@@Overlord0909, To be honest with all of you, I think that topic got way much bigger than it deserved. I mean, I'm extremely happy for that, don't get me wrong, but I kinda feel bad, because there's not much in here and my progress isn't anything nice so far. My real life really prevents me from doing what I'd love to do. 

 

Oh, why, thank you, that's really kind of you. I'm really happy to hear that. 

 

Honestly I think, that the most difficult part for me will be art, because drawing maps is most likely where I'll get stuck. Recreating Equestria will surely take ages. Or even making sprites is where I'm having some troubles. I can't think of anything else at the moment, because the progress definitely isn't far enough for game trailers etc.. 

Other than that, giving ideas for and/or discussing game mechanics would be a great help already. It's always good to see the things from different perspectives as it usually makes me realize, that I'm not well prepared for that yet.

 

Anyway don't feel obliged please. This game is mostly to bring fun, so the last thing I'd like to have there would be making other ponies to work or even worse, give them deadlines and such. Especially, when I barely can do anything myself. Don't get me wrong though, I really appreciate any help, but I wouldn't be able to handle the disappointment, when the project would fail, which hopefully will never happen.

So, no worries about the time management - it is understandable. Besides, real life makes that difficult for me as well. Originally, I started working on that game when I was jobless, so I was really progressing fast comparing to what happens now. I wish I wouldn't need to have a job... Game developing and keeping contact with the community is what really makes me happy. (that's where most of my free time goes, duh!  )

 

Uh. I'm talking too much again.  :-P

At the moment I kinda could say, that you can do anything. Since everything is about to be designed and programmed. There's a wide area for discussions and giving ideas for possible features and stuff like this, so for example, I'm wondering how exactly should battle system look like ~ I have the base concept in my head, but I'm not sure if everything is well thought. That's why I keep changing things during development... 

 

Thank you for visiting, support and your kind words! That really means a lot for me and keeps me motivated! 

 

---

Getting back to adding OC's - I've been wondering on that one and perhaps I'll add some unlockable OC's after completing the game.

The first OC, that comes to my mind is 'Snowdrop' - she'd even give me a wide area for designing abilities for her.

 

But still - I'm not sure about creating OC's in game. Besides changing the look, there's kinda no way to allow players to customize things, so for example the skills your OC's would get could be totally inaccurate, so it all would be pretty much pointless, since there's not really any space for roleplaying, as the game will follow the plot focused on its own characters anyway.

 

Unlockable OC's would be more like easter eggs, rather than serious things, as it's simply not possible to make them nicely work in a game like this.

It all would look totally different if I'd be making for example a Rogue-Like game, where you could make your own OC and go through some random dungeons etc, with custom plot, that would allow me to put some interaction directly to the player's pony, instead of specified characters. To be honest I was thinking of making a simpler game like this. Perhaps someday.

 

It all may still change in future, so I'll see how things will go. I don't want to make fake promises.

[Lulaypp 2,555]

This sounds like a really great project. I am sure it would be good. Keep it up! ^^

[Rikifive 24,183]

Can you play as villains? 

It depends, but I don't think so. 

But if, only for a very short time - same thing as with that example with Princess Cadance, that I've mentioned before.

They'll rather be enemies, than playable characters, unless they reform etc.. Just think of the show - this may more or less answer some questions regarding this. 

 

Also, don't get me wrong please, but I have a small tip. 

Don't quote whole posts like this.

Your post was right below mine and quoting my post was absolutely irrelevant anyway, so it only took a lot of space and made spam, because there are two exactly the same wall of texts near each other. 

 

 

 

If you just wanted to make sure, that I'll see your post, then you could just mention me. ^^

To mention somepony, just highlight a part of his post and select "@Mention":

 

Doing this will send a notification to mentioned member after posting, just like he would be quoted:

..Unless set otherwise in notification settings.

 

Other than that, you could quote a part of the post, that would be relevant to your reply.

To do that, highlight the part you'd like to quote and click "Quote" button:

 

It would result in having this:

...and wouldn't that look better? 

 

 

 

Anyway I'm following this thread, so I'm getting notifications whenever somepony replies, so there's no need to quote/mention me - I won't miss any post! 

And please, don't get me wrong. I'm not upset, nor anything and I'm really sorry if you found that offensive. I don't mind quoting like this (within reason, that is), but some ponies do as it unnecessarily takes space. This tip may save you from potential hate comments and/or moderator actions, because that can be counted as spam and can become destructive, when done many times on one page.

Once again, I'm really sorry for that whining, but I just wanted to share some useful information with you.

 

I'll ask a moderator for help to make this page neater for everypony, don't take this personally please. 

 

 Trivia for entertainment:

- my quote had ~169 times more characters, than your reply

- around 99.4% of total characters of your post was my quote

 

 

---

 

@, Why, thank you!! :3 I hope so and I'll do my best! Thank you for visiting and words of motivation! 

Edited November 24, 2016 by Rikifive

[EclipseNightshade 26]

I've got a sound engine that's about half-way coded for your game here. It's got speaker specific audio, that fades with distance, and changes pitch depending on if the player is getting closer or further away from the source of the noise.

 

I'll send it over to you Monday if you'd like to have it.

[HereComesTom 2,267]

 

 

Or even making sprites is where I'm having some troubles.

 

Is it sprites for things like parasprites, timber wolves, and non-player-character ponies that you're still looking for?  Or are you still working on eight-directional animations?

 

If you need a base for eight-directional animations, I can probably help with that---I still have the Coco Pommel poseable doll, and I can use your existing images of Twilight as a reference to get an animation base together.

 

Other than that, I'm wondering...what kinds of backgrounds are you thinking about using?  Will they be views from the top down or three-quarters views?  If I could see some examples, I might be able to put together some things to get you started, but I could use some pointers on what you need---sizes, whether each image will be a tile that gets copied again and again, that kind of thing.

 

Like, if I wanted to draw something that could function as grassy ground for your game, should I draw a 300x200 image with grass tufts here and there in it, and could that be "tesselated" outwards, for lack of a better term, to make a large grassy field?

 

Also---this is an art style question, but how much detail would be a good idea?  Would a plain 0:200:0 green bitmap with a few bits of grass visible be a good idea, or should there be textured grass all throughout it?

 

 

 

To be honest with all of you, I think that topic got way much bigger than it deserved. I mean, I'm extremely happy for that, don't get me wrong, but I kinda feel bad, because there's not much in here and my progress isn't anything nice so far.

 

I don't know about that; it's an ambitious project, and you'll need help to pull it off.  Having a large thread with people offering to help strewn throughout it is probably a good way to get help in the future (and present ), so this may actually be just what your project needs!

[Derpy Derper 87]

Can i add my zombie pony oc into it?

 

would make the game very easy really. XD

Maybe I'll just make Princess Celestia to take care of all those issues. Naw, that definitely won't happen. But in case it does

[Fluttershyponygal 83]

A constantly active thread compared to mine, oi. I'm jealous with a capital J! Oh well.

 

[Rikifive 24,183]

@, I hope you're not upset at me for that whining. 

 

@@EclipseNightshade, I didn't get into the Audio stage yet, but that sounds great and I'm sure I'll be needing something like this to make step sounds nicer, when NPC ponies will be walking around Ponyville, for example. 

 

@@HereComesTom,  Well, kinda both.

 

I didn't have much time to get into 8-dir sprites lately, but I think it shouldn't be that bad. I mean, it surely will take so much time to make every pixel look good and stuff, but thanks to references I think I'll be able to come up with something. When I'll really get stuck, then we'll be thinking of possible solutions. Also I think animating them will be much harder than making the sprite itself.

 

As for backgrounds - I was just thinking of typical RPG's perspective, which have that specific angle from bird's view. I was considering isometric view, but not sure about this.

Let me google some examples, they shouldn't be hard to find...

Oh these are nice:

 

 

 

It could be even simpler ~ the most important thing is to make these maps, let's call it, 'readable'. I mean they should be nice for eyes and not confusing.

The game will be using free movement, to make it look better when playing on cooperative mode, so this doesn't have to be grid-based. I'll take care of the collisions, so no need to have everything blocky. 

 

 

 

Like, if I wanted to draw something that could function as grassy ground for your game, should I draw a 300x200 image with grass tufts here and there in it, and could that be "tesselated" outwards, for lack of a better term, to make a large grassy field?

 

Yup, making 'tile'-like graphics would totally work.

I'll be making slightly animated maps, so for example I'll make some flower objects, that will be gently moving (think of wind) and place them here and there.

There's no problem in having the map in many files ~ it all can be nicely merged in the game. What's more, it's even preferred to separate things like buildings, or even tall grass, so that I'll be able to program depth, where ponies will be able to get 'behind' something.

Tall grass-like this should be even a tiny, tiny image, so that pony hooves would be less visible behind that grass.

For example I've made some grass real quick:

 

Now when placed in game, ponies are covered by grass, when standing behind:

(in-game screenshot)

 

But first, it would be best to come up with the general design - like making a WIP whole map of one location (with building and such), to establish the style and how colors work. Then, if everything would look nicely together, we could get into the details. 

 

 

 

Also---this is an art style question, but how much detail would be a good idea?  Would a plain 0:200:0 green bitmap with a few bits of grass visible be a good idea, or should there be textured grass all throughout it?

 

Style-wise: I don't know yet. As I said, it would be best to draw WIP whole map with objects and trees and then edit things around to make it all work together.

Tech-wise: Like I said before, dividing into parts is a good approach, especially for trees and buildings. Though as a base a looped plain green background with some small grass should totally work.

 

 

 

I don't know about that; it's an ambitious project, and you'll need help to pull it off.  Having a large thread with people offering to help strewn throughout it is probably a good way to get help in the future (and present ), so this may actually be just what your project needs!

 

Yup, we can do much more when working together, though it somehow makes me feel kinda bad.

 

@@Dragonite Mlp Lover, I believe you'll have a chance to play as Princess Celestia for a short period of time, though I'm not sure yet. :-P

 

@@Fluttershyponygal, You're making me feel bad.  Sincerely my thread doesn't deserve that much of activity, considering, that it barely offers anything at the moment.

That's what makes me worried... To be honest I was expecting, that it will be pretty quiet until I'll actually be able to post something. 

 

Anyway, don't be discouraged - If you'll put all of your heart into your project, then it surely will get interest sooner or later. 

Edited November 27, 2016 by Rikifive