SFML community forums

General => SFML projects => Topic started by: yparghi on March 23, 2016, 05:49:21 pm

Title: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on March 23, 2016, 05:49:21 pm: K Station is my Space Quest-inspired sci-fi adventure game.

Vote for us on Steam Greenlight!: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=649211984 (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=649211984)

It's New Year's Day, 2319, and the happy denizens of K Station are disappearing one at a time. That's all you know.

You are Maya, a lab assistant and government employee working on K Station. You're hung over from the New Year's Eve party, cranky, street-smart, and a little tired.

K Station is an adventure game where the world and story are collapsing, room by room and life by life. Discover new lives, new hopes, new dreams and new disappointments -- all from the friends and coworkers you thought you knew.

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SXNYnyjicQ

(https://kstationgame.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/1_bridge.png?w=800&h=450)

(https://kstationgame.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/2_comms.png?w=800&h=450)
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on March 23, 2016, 05:50:29 pm: Oh, if anyone can show me how to embed the YouTube trailer, that'd be much appreciated. Curse you, computers!
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: bitano on March 23, 2016, 06:00:32 pm: I like the old school look as well as the adventure genre. it reminds me a lot of certain commodore 64 games i played.

What i never liked though was the command line input. It suggests an amount of freedom, but instead often resulted in "I don't know what you mean".
I loved the SCUMM(tm) interface that was incorporated in all the LucasFilm / LucasArts games
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: Laurent on March 23, 2016, 06:03:51 pm: Quote
Oh, if anyone can show me how to embed the YouTube trailer, that'd be much appreciated
Just use http (not https) in the link and it automatically works ;)
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on March 24, 2016, 03:21:19 pm: Quote from: bitano on March 23, 2016, 06:00:32 pm
What i never liked though was the command line input. It suggests an amount of freedom, but instead often resulted in "I don't know what you mean".

I hear you, though my personal preference is the text input for exactly the freedom you describe. But like you said -- when they're bad, they're terrible. So I'm making mine good.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: bitano on March 24, 2016, 03:27:28 pm: Quote from: yparghi on March 24, 2016, 03:21:19 pm
I hear you, though my personal preference is the text input for exactly the freedom you describe. But like you said -- when they're bad, they're terrible. So I'm making mine good.

I'll hold you to that! :D
Title: AW: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: eXpl0it3r on March 24, 2016, 05:13:55 pm: I'm a big adventure game fan, so I'll certainly look forward to this! :)

One suggestion for the trailer: Would be great if you could include multiple sceneries and try to provide some more information on the story.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on March 30, 2016, 04:51:19 pm: This is a minor technical demo. I was researching particle engines because I needed to vent some steam (literally, in the game). I ultimately tried a simple one-class solution with a VertexArray, and here's how it came out (gifv link (http://imgur.com/0KQnfNx.gifv)):

(http://i.imgur.com/0KQnfNx.gif)

I think it's not bad! And I like how my simple code inadvertently captured the way the steam ebbs when it's turned off.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: FRex on March 31, 2016, 08:26:49 am: Did any of the Chzo Mythos games inspire this game?
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on March 31, 2016, 04:06:19 pm: Quote from: FRex on March 31, 2016, 08:26:49 am
Did any of the Chzo Mythos games inspire this game?

No because I hadn't heard of these, but I'm going to give it a shot. I see there's one that uses text input. Thanks for the tip!
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: FRex on March 31, 2016, 05:43:53 pm: Yes (Trillby's Notes), and one another (7 Days a Skeptic) takes place on a spaceship. That's what gave me this Chzo vibe. I'm not into adventure games so my experience is very limited (in 2D I played just the 4 Chzo games and in 3D just Post Mortem and History of Violence) but the Chzo games were very good and enjoyable despite me disliking the genre. So if your game is anything like them then that's very good.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on April 09, 2016, 10:35:59 pm: Does anyone here use a particular library or approach to menu screens?

I have various interactive UIs in the game, and I put together an ad hoc configuration system using JSON (same as the rest of my game's content/config). It processes key-downs, and updates visible sprites and sf::Text contents, according to the currently focused element.

It works, but maybe there are canned approaches for this. (Also, I should've used Lua, not JSON, but it's too late to change.)

For example, here's the typewriter UI:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfZDDTaUUAABTSd.jpg:medium)

...And the time machine:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfXh_dXWsAAm3Rk.jpg:medium)
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: DarkRoku12 on April 10, 2016, 04:10:43 am: We have several good-looking (sfml) games this year.
Great art and animation! Hope your game become successful. :D
Title: AW: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: eXpl0it3r on April 10, 2016, 11:48:47 am: For maximum flexibility you most likely want to stay with your own solution. Otherwise there's also TGUI, but I don't know how customizable itis.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on April 11, 2016, 07:15:32 pm: Quote from: DarkRoku on April 10, 2016, 04:10:43 am
We have several good-looking (sfml) games this year.
Great art and animation! Hope your game become successful. :D

Thanks a lot, I appreciate the support.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: eXpl0it3r on May 11, 2016, 11:25:15 am: I just saw that the game has been successfully Greenlit! Congrats! :)
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on May 13, 2016, 10:44:11 pm: Quote from: eXpl0it3r on May 11, 2016, 11:25:15 am
I just saw that the game has been successfully Greenlit! Congrats! :)

Thank you very much. The game comes out in late June or early July, and I'll post an announcement here when it's out. Thanks to the SFML team for making this possible.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on May 17, 2016, 08:23:10 pm: Hey all, K Station is now in beta!

If you'd like to playtest the game (and receive a free Steam key), you can sign up through this form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HB9cB9yOS88FmZHOx3yE3MivSFK7yu8az-kNztrTgX4/viewform).

If you like story-driven games like Life is Strange or Space Quest, then K Station is up your alley. Thanks!
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: Hapax on May 17, 2016, 10:38:10 pm: Quote from: yparghi on May 17, 2016, 08:23:10 pm
If you like story-driven games like Life is Strange or Space Quest, then K Station is up your alley.
Oh god! Is it going to make me cry?
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on May 18, 2016, 06:24:40 pm: Quote from: Hapax on May 17, 2016, 10:38:10 pm
Quote from: yparghi on May 17, 2016, 08:23:10 pm
If you like story-driven games like Life is Strange or Space Quest, then K Station is up your alley.
Oh god! Is it going to make me cry?

I've focus-grouped the game for maximum tear extraction. No, I'm kidding, my sense of humor is too cynical. Still, I mean, there's a handful of love stories in the game...
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on May 19, 2016, 05:33:37 pm: To anyone who signed up for a beta key 1 or 2 days ago and hasn't gotten it yet: check your Spam folder. I've heard of at least one email with a Steam key that got caught in the recipient's spam filter -- sorry for the trouble!
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: Mario on May 19, 2016, 11:25:33 pm: Might have misinterpreted the video, but are you able to write something during the conversation sequence, i.e. while your character is busy? If not, I'd say it would be a good idea to hide the input bar or somehow make it obvious that no input is possible.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on May 21, 2016, 01:06:57 am: Quote from: Mario on May 19, 2016, 11:25:33 pm
Might have misinterpreted the video, but are you able to write something during the conversation sequence, i.e. while your character is busy? If not, I'd say it would be a good idea to hide the input bar or somehow make it obvious that no input is possible.

Yeah, this is something I think about. There is a small indication in the absence of the text cursor, i.e. "> talk to dr feng _" becomes "> talk to dr feng". In gameplay, I think the player "feels" this strongly enough since they're staring at the cursor as they type. I might add something else if I get feedback about it from playtesters.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on June 07, 2016, 11:22:33 pm: K Station is out on Steam June 15!

Enjoy the new launch trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbN0IdkAm1o
Title: AW: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: eXpl0it3r on June 08, 2016, 02:25:26 pm: Hurray! Looking good! :)
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on June 15, 2016, 06:55:11 pm: Hey all, K Station is now out on Steam! (http://store.steampowered.com/app/471720)

If you like adventure games and innovative storytelling, please check it out.

Thanks to the SFML team for making this possible. I found SFML sensible and straightforward to use, and I mean that as a big compliment.

(https://kstationgame.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/logo3.png)
Title: AW: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: eXpl0it3r on June 15, 2016, 07:00:57 pm: Awesome!
Sorry that I haven't been able to bring in more testing results. Last few weeks were a bit filled with university work and now I'm stuck doing my annual army service. :D
Plus your mails still get marked as spam for me, so I haven't seen the last one in time.
Title: Re: AW: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on June 15, 2016, 08:15:16 pm: Quote from: eXpl0it3r on June 15, 2016, 07:00:57 pm
Plus your mails still get marked as spam for me, so I haven't seen the last one in time.

UGH. Thanks for letting me know. If you do have time to play, a (positive?) review would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help so far.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: achpile on June 16, 2016, 01:38:10 am: Congratulations! It's really looks awesome! ;) Sadly there's no linux support :'(
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on June 16, 2016, 05:29:26 pm: Quote from: achpile on June 16, 2016, 01:38:10 am
Congratulations! It's really looks awesome! ;) Sadly there's no linux support :'(

Thank you. Yeah, I'm tentatively planning Mac/Linux ports, but to be honest it depends if there are enough sales on Windows to justify the effort. If I get enough sales in my first month, I'd try to have ports out in mid-to-late July...
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: Ethan.Calabria on June 30, 2016, 03:41:14 am: Hey congrats on the release! The story sounds pretty cool!

I haven't played much of this genre of games. How flexible are the commands? That's one thing that usually makes me hold back on these sorts of games (potential frustration from really specific commands). Would 'Talk to Yan about Julia' and 'Ask Yan About Julia' both work? Or if you just wrote 'Talk to Yan' would he bring up Julia on his own? (just as examples)
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: yparghi on July 05, 2016, 05:42:57 pm: Quote from: Ethan.Calabria on June 30, 2016, 03:41:14 am
I haven't played much of this genre of games. How flexible are the commands? That's one thing that usually makes me hold back on these sorts of games (potential frustration from really specific commands). Would 'Talk to Yan about Julia' and 'Ask Yan About Julia' both work? Or if you just wrote 'Talk to Yan' would he bring up Julia on his own? (just as examples)

Hi, sorry for my delayed response. You're right about the frustration potential, so I've done what I can (though I know it's not perfect). All of the examples you give would work. Whether "talk to yan" would automatically bring up Julia depends whether the puzzle/story requires you to deliberately ask about Julia (to show you've got the right idea for how to advance), or whether the game wants to give you an indication of what the current puzzle is about...

Hope that makes sense.
Title: Re: K Station: An adventure game of disappearing lives
Post by: Ethan.Calabria on July 17, 2016, 01:45:33 am: Yeah that makes sense! I think as long as there are a few options and certain options remain consistently they players should be able to figure it out.