Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide) : Games

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Oct 17, 2010 8:50 pm

henke37

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That depends on what you mean by game and game maker. Some game makers are more like complete engines that are designed for a certain kind of game. It would be a major waste of time to make your own engine if you want to do an ace attorney case. But at the same time, the engine you use brings it's own limitations. Either make your own engine or chose carefully.

Currently working on a trial engine in Flash. I am looking for assistance.

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:53 pm

Arkillian

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I mean like... if you wanted to create all new sprites with different animations

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:58 pm

nudalman

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With most casemakers, you can change the resource library, to allow custom sprites.

For example, with PyWright, all you would have to do is create a folder with all of your character animations right there. Then, in your coding, just tell the engine to load those files :)

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Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:46 pm

Arkillian

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Ah- cool :) Thank you for telling me ^^

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:13 am

Bad Player

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Can't you do that with all the case-makers out there? :yuusaku:

(All you have to do is get the files you want, and then tell it "load that sprite/background/GUI/foreground/evidence/whatever" and it should do it.)

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Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:38 am

Arkillian

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Bad player- we all give advice on what we are familiar with. Telling me that pywright will do what I need it to is actually a VERY helpful thing. If you don't know if another does it, then it's best not to mention them. Guessing will just lead people down a bad road.

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:56 am

nudalman

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Bad Player wrote:

Can't you do that with all the case-makers out there? :yuusaku:

(All you have to do is get the files you want, and then tell it "load that sprite/background/GUI/foreground/evidence/whatever" and it should do it.)

You can. I was just giving an example 'cause I'm more familiar with it.

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Oct 31, 2010 4:05 am

Huddini

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I got some advice which I think is good and helps:
If you got a team together, divide up the priorities/jobs depending on who's good with what, and then check on each other's progress, and if someone is lagging behind, you can simply drop what you're doing, help them get back to speed, and continue on the process, keeping a smooth rate of progression. There's more varied ways to do teamwork, but this is the gist of it.

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:36 am

Arkillian

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Yeah- it sounds like a plan, but I guess now that I know I can do it, I need to sit down and nut out the plot. I've been reading through this thread and other pointers people have given (the sprites thing wasn't something anyone specifically spelt out), and I think I have a general gist of what to do. I've poked pywright a few times but it's pretty scary. Part of me wants to make a movie out of flash rather than a game, but I think interaction is far more fun than watching endless movies of things. I was thinking of doing a game with my OC Zeth in it :) Maybe turn Turnabout Attorney into an actual game. I should probably start smaller and just make something with the current sprites and see what happens >.>

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:52 am

Katharos

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I have some doubts regarding fanmade cases in general:
Is it wrong/ frowned upon to use BGM from anime/visual novel OSTs? Even if they're credited?
Would cursing and crimes regarding sexual offenses be considered too tasteless? I'm not planning on doing a case based on a rape, but could the topic be brought up?
I know it's a fangame, but I don't know much about them and I want a honest opinion from more experienced people.

Did somebody say "MURDERS"??

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:25 am

SilentBobX

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Katharos wrote:

I have some doubts regarding fanmade cases in general:
Is it wrong/ frowned upon to use BGM from anime/visual novel OSTs? Even if they're credited?
Would cursing and crimes regarding sexual offenses be considered too tasteless? I'm not planning on doing a case based on a rape, but could the topic be brought up?
I know it's a fangame, but I don't know much about them and I want a honest opinion from more experienced people.

1. I always consider it a no-no to use BGM from other media. That's why I stick with the games music. I even stay away from soundtrack music (Orchestra, Remix's ect.) based on the Ace Attorney series. Even those songs don't seem like they belong when used in fan-games. There's just something very off about it. Of course, some people want they're games to be as different as possible, so using songs from others games and anime is a sorta good idea, provided it fits with what you're using it as. :grey:

2. Yes it would be. The Ace Attorney series has gone by without using alot of curse words. Yeah, Lang did call the real murderer in Investigations a Bastard, but he wasn't a drunken sailor throughout the game. So there was no need for him to curse all the time. Cursing should be resereved for certain situations. Rape is a subject I would NEVER touch. You'd lose all the humor that goes into the story of the game. And Ace Attorney has ALOT of humor. I mean, try imagining Mike Meekins arresting a rape suspect and acting the way he does around the situation. Not cool... Also, young kids might play these games as well. They can wrap their heads around a murder case, but I think Rape will make their tiny little minds explode! :jake:

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Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:21 am

Katharos

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SilentBobX wrote:

Katharos wrote:

I have some doubts regarding fanmade cases in general:
Is it wrong/ frowned upon to use BGM from anime/visual novel OSTs? Even if they're credited?
Would cursing and crimes regarding sexual offenses be considered too tasteless? I'm not planning on doing a case based on a rape, but could the topic be brought up?
I know it's a fangame, but I don't know much about them and I want a honest opinion from more experienced people.

1. I always consider it a no-no to use BGM from other media. That's why I stick with the games music. I even stay away from soundtrack music (Orchestra, Remix's ect.) based on the Ace Attorney series. Even those songs don't seem like they belong when used in fan-games. There's just something very off about it. Of course, some people want they're games to be as different as possible, so using songs from others games and anime is a sorta good idea, provided it fits with what you're using it as. :grey:

2. Yes it would be. The Ace Attorney series has gone by without using alot of curse words. Yeah, Lang did call the real murderer in Investigations a Bastard, but he wasn't a drunken sailor throughout the game. So there was no need for him to curse all the time. Cursing should be resereved for certain situations. Rape is a subject I would NEVER touch. You'd lose all the humor that goes into the story of the game. And Ace Attorney has ALOT of humor. I mean, try imagining Mike Meekins arresting a rape suspect and acting the way he does around the situation. Not cool... Also, young kids might play these games as well. They can wrap their heads around a murder case, but I think Rape will make their tiny little minds explode! :jake:

I was hoping to do a darker type of case, but I guess my sense of humor is kinda wicked :payne:

Anyways, it's not like I was going to put Jean Armstrong as a suspect for rape, that would be too much crack for a fangame (but a goldmine for a Phoenix Wrong!! :karma:

)
I'll try to adapt the plot and the character's personalities to the standard AA settings. I'm sure I can make a character bitter and rude without using curse words.

The main thing that worries me is the music... It's complicated to come up with a creative melody that fits the situation. Any recommendations on this?

Did somebody say "MURDERS"??

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:10 am

Ropfa

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I'd say for music, just use your own judgement. Different people are going to find different pieces acceptable. For example, I know people who loved the classical stuff in Turnabout Substitution and people who hated it.
As Silentbob has said, he prefers to use only real AA music. However, there are others who like to make entirely new soundtracks and not use any pieces from the canon games. I'd say to just do what fits for your own game. Maybe get some feedback from your beta-testers on what fits and what doesn't.

As for the whole rape thing... Yeah, don't do that.

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Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:17 am

Katharos

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I got the point: no sexual assaults of any kind.
I wonder how am I supposed to explain the pregnancy of a 15 year old girl that deceived a man so he thought she was 20... That's statutory rape, right? :yogi:

Ok, I'll tweak the story a little more. It's not like that part is necessary.
I just thought of the story ad the characters before I have played the AA games, so I have to make it fit in the game standards :meekins:

Did somebody say "MURDERS"??

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:18 pm

Huddini

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If it's going to be a really dark case, then it's best you use custom music.

As to what custom music would fit...well there's a whole criteria you could work with.

Just note that simply picking a song that you like/that others will like won't fit the scene/atmosphere for a case, it takes careful consideration and time to pick the right tracks.

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:17 am

Smithee

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Question: Are you expected to pay anyone who collaborates with you, or is it all just for "teh lulz" on behalf of all involved?

Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:02 am

Ropfa

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That would depend on the situation. In most cases, I would assume that the other people are helping for free. However, it's often nice to offer some kind of compensation, maybe helping out with their own fancase or promising them a beta-testing position. And occasionally people (like SilentBob, for instance) will hire actual artists to do stuff, in which case, yes, money would be involved.

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Re: Making a Fan Game (This is a Guide)

Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:14 pm

Smithee

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By the way, let it be known that it sucks so hard that my computer is in an infinite boot screen loop, forcing me to use my iPod Touch to get on here, meaning I currently have no way to begin working on Turnabout Dumas.