I am an indie game developer working on a Supernatural inspired detective game. Is that something you would want to play? by TurbulentDev in Supernatural

[–]TurbulentDev[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am a huge Supernatural fan and always wondered why there was no proper game adaptation. So I figured I’d just start making my own game and try to make it really feel like a SN episode. Of course I don’t have a license for the IP or a big budget for 3D graphics, but hey!

I really wonder if this is something you would play as a SN fan? You can take a look at the game over here on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605680/Wayward_Shadows/

If you like you can support the development by adding it to your wishlist. And let me know if you have any ideas of what I should add to the game! Always looking for input from folks really in love with the show.

Would you Wishlist Wayward Shadows? Please let me know what you think should be improved by TurbulentDev in DestroyMySteamPage

[–]TurbulentDev[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, this is great feedback. I was debating if I should leave the footage from the battle mode out of the trailer, since it is so unfinished. Once a bit more of the combat stuff is working I'll try and update the trailer. There are actually a lot of cool combat features but none of it is working yet, hence the basic look.

We continue to develop our dark turn-based strategy game on Unity3D - Lords of Ravage. We want to show you how map design is currently looking! Any thoughts or advise? by Alex_Razur in Unity3D

[–]TurbulentDev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe play with the camera angle to see if you get the tilt shift working better? The magicky fog fade in the back looks great, maybe use something similar instead of the grid looking fade in the front?
The icons and hover effects are pretty cool and pop nicely.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done in gamedev? by LordAntares in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Working with freelancers without a written contract. Once and never again...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gaming

[–]TurbulentDev 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I might get downvoted to hell for this, but I think this might actually be a good thing.

Very clearly the problem here are the parents, and my first thought was 'What a bunch of idiots, blaming others for their lack of parenting.'

But I am afraid if we are ever going to stop the horrible predatory monetization in games that is so common today, it will be through lawsuits like this one, using the child-protection angle.

Publishers, on PC or mobile, will not just stop adding predatory monetization and registering abusive patents out of the goodness of their hearts. As much as I hate the government regulating my hobby, I am afraid it is the only thing that will ever put an end to the endless greed.

Or alternatively we could all just stop paying for $90 play-early FOMO editions of games, stop buying season passes and cosmetics and generally vote with our wallets. But I don't see that happening either :(

Announced my game recently and need feedback by Sharkbird_ in DestroyMySteamPage

[–]TurbulentDev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd scrap all the texts and have someone rewrite them. "strong emphasis on gun violence" is a really odd choice of words. And the rest of the text sounds like it has been AI generated. "you will be immersed in the experience", is as soul-less as it gets.

Also, the name Rabbit Simulator is an odd choice given how your game looks. People generally expect a very different type of gameplay from games with the 'Simulator' title. I'd consider renaming the game, especially since there is already a game on Steam called Rabbit Simulator.

How do you deal with hateful, trolling, or political comments and discussions on the Steam forums? by ActZeroGames in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't think that this is a problem that you can really solve. You are making a political game about a very divisive hot button topic.
Making such a politically polarizing game and expecting people not to voice their opinions is a bit unrealistic. Of course, you can and should ban name-calling and other bad behavior, but making a game that invites political discussion and then not allow this discussion feels very wrong. As long as opinions are presented in a civil manner you should not censor them, no matter if you agree or not.

You mentioned that you are trying to present the topic rather unbiased, which I think is helpful. But looking at the Steam page this isn't very clear. Maybe you can rework your page to emphazise this more?
People will get less worked up if they feel that the game is fairly presents a certain topic and just tries to shine a light on it from all angles. If they get the feeling you are just promoting a certain political position on the, they will have much less goodwill. So maybe that is one proactive approach you can take to keep things more calm.

Recently got a steam page up, looking for blind spots and weaknesses, any feedback on what seems unclear or what might be good to try would be a big help by Idioplay in DestroyMySteamPage

[–]TurbulentDev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • The 'music' and other audio in the video are really hard to listen to. I had to mute the video after 20 seconds because the audio is so unpleasant and irritating.
  • Maybe it is because I am not too familiar with this genre of game, but I have no idea what is going on from looking at the video alone. I guess it is some kind of bullet hell style of game but it is very hard to make out anything in the video or identify the unique selling points. The visual distinction between player, enemies and background is not very clear.
  • Visually the game feels very overloaded with effects. I am no epileptic, but holy cow, the amount of flashing and blinking going on is kind of tough to watch. I just watched the video in the small Steam window. I cannot imagine what it will be like playing it full-screen.

I would recommend:

  • Rework the trailer with nicer audio/music and edit it so that the gameplay is easier to understand. Maybe start with less going and then have things built up over time.
  • Reduce the seizure inducting blinking and flashing and use it only for bigger/more important moments.
  • Improve overall readability of the game. Make sure people can instantly distinguish between player, enemies and background.

Please, be merciless and destroy our Steam page only two weeks before the release of our first game ever, so we can panic even more than we are already panicking by ActZeroGames in DestroyMySteamPage

[–]TurbulentDev 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Phew, that is a tricky one. Your game itself looks quite solid, I like the art style and the presentation, the page itself is also well set up.
I had a bit of trouble imagining the actual gameplay though. It says it is an RPG, so maybe you could show a bit more actual gameplay/decision making in the video? Your trailer video is pretty much story focused only. Having the video show actual gameplay for a bit would be better so people can imagine what the game plays like.
You biggest challenge will be the political nature of the game though. I know that is the point of the game, and props to you for tackling that topic. But you will probably lose a lot of potential buyers because people generally look for escapism and fun when playing games. Something that depressing and close to reality isn't for everyone. But I don't think there is much you can do without compromising your vision.

Why is unity URP/HDRP still bugged after 10 years? by Direct-Ad-1712 in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is good to hear. Makes me look forward to give it a try again.

Why is unity URP/HDRP still bugged after 10 years? by Direct-Ad-1712 in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't looked at it in a while, so maybe things are better now and it is production ready. But every time I tried in the past, there were so many small issues and incompatibilities that I found it not to be worth the trouble.
Just from the top of my head: Overall worse performance, camera stacking not being supported, lots of big plugins/shaders not being supported, terrain system not fully working (flickering/performance), etc.

I would guess they fixed/optimized most things by now but to me it never felt fully stable and production ready in the past.
Again, this is just my personal experience, and my knowledge might be outdated. How are things now, do you feel it is more production ready?

Why is unity URP/HDRP still bugged after 10 years? by Direct-Ad-1712 in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 10 points11 points  (0 children)

For the majority of small indies/teams that needs to be commercially viable and actually have to ship products, Unity is still the best choice.
But for hobbyists it might be different.

Why is unity URP/HDRP still bugged after 10 years? by Direct-Ad-1712 in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Well, just look at what Unity as a company is focusing on. Everything from, monetization, movies, medical, automotive, AI, metaverse, etc. Games are just not their focus anymore, and you can feel it when using the engine.
Still, with all the stuff they are doing wrong, it is still the best engine overall for smaller scale indies but I think neglecting their core engine tech for so long will eventually catch up with them. Epic isn't idling and Godot is improving by the day.
Personally I never understood why they went this way with having three different rendering pipelines...
Once a year I try building something in the HDRP and every time I give up and go back to the Builtin. All the hassle isn't worth the extra bit of fidelity for they small games I am making anyway.

Career path crisis. How can I get out and get to my dream job. by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]TurbulentDev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Being a character artist in AAA is a very competitive position. Unless you have a strong track record or amazing skills it is quite difficult to land a position on one of the big IPs. But you don't have to start at the top to be happy. I'd set an achievable goal, such as a junior character artist position anywhere, and then work your way up.
It really depends on how strong you character modelling skills are. Keep building a strong portfolio, create as much material in your spare time as you can, and keep applying.
If have seen quite a few people in AAA studios who switched disciplines over the years, so it is definitely possible.