SingSong

It's nice to see so many people becoming core members. ^-^

Hi, Liz!

Just stopping by to say that Liz is a fantastic person to work with. If you give her a list of items you need with vague descriptions, she can create exactly what you need. And she works quickly and is always friendly and polite. 

Thanks for joining us! I hope you stick around.

Haha, welcome! I know you from around VPL, but I don't know much about you other than that you're an artist. Is there anything else you'd like to share? Like, what is your favorite household pet, for example or maybe whether you prefer sunny days or rainy ones? >_>

Did you know that Digital created this forum on the 4th of March? Now, on the 5th of April, we have reached over 1,000 posts. You all have been doing an amazing job helping this forum grow.

Now that we have more users, who thinks we can triple our amount posted by the end of this next period of 30 days and reach 4,000 posts?

As always, I appreciate your involvement everyone. Keep it up. 

On 4/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, Sparren said:

On one hand I need the gameplay for the feature to stay 'generic' enough that tying new creatures, npc's, landmarks, ect. into it doesn't become prohibitively expensive or time intensive (what's the point of having the feature if I can't roll out enough new 'discoverables' to keep it relevant?). On the other hand, I still want it to be fun. Ideally something more than just a button click and skill check...

That's the same kind of dilemma I'm dealing with myself for a new project. There has to be a balance to it, because making each situation entirely unique is unrealistic, but you also don't want users to become bored and unchallenged.

On 4/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, Sparren said:

If an investigation is successful new information is revealed, exp and reputation points are awarded, and the player may choose whom to reveal the discovery to (the world, their clan, or no one at all). If they tell all they get a larger rep boost, the information is added to the global bestiary with the player credited for its discovery, and other researchers will no longer be required to investigate that category. If they reveal it only to their clan only the secret clan bestiary is updated, a lesser reward is given, and other players can still make the same discovery with the first to choose to make it global receiving final credit. Choosing to reveal it to no one works similarly.

What is the benefit of not telling anyone about a discovery?

On 4/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, Sparren said:

When the skill fails players will usually just get a failure message, however occasionally they will instead make erroneous discoveries. At face value these appear no different than legitimate discoveries and are treated and rewarded exactly the same. Players will only know that an error has been made if they run into problems or contradictions trying to apply the information learned somehow or if discoveries for all of the categories available have been made but the investigation symbol still appears by the creature's name.

I would like to see this in action. It sounds interesting.

On 4/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, Sparren said:

Researchers of the appropriate rank can use the validation skill on revealed discoveries within the bestiary to test their accuracy. It is an expensive skill with high cooldown, but required to officially detect and remove false entries and allow the true information to be discovered. When it succeeds it tells the user whether or not the information is accurate. If the information is inaccurate they may choose to refute it which costs them nothing, grants a boost in exp and rep, removes the entry, and deals a rep penalty to whomever discovered the falsehood. If they choose not to refute it nothing happens and another successful verify will be needed for the chance to refute again.

I like this. But why would they choose not to refute it?

On 4/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, Sparren said:

I'm sure a lot will be changed and I could still wind up scrapping the idea entirely, but right now I'm having fun attempting it at least. ^^

Haha, such is the process of game design.

What's the point of reputation in your game currently?

On 4/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, Sparren said:

That's a shame. I'd really liked where you seemed to be taking it with the art and lore you'd shown so far. I guess stuff happens though... Glad to hear you have something else in the works in the meantime. I'll have to keep an eye out.

It's okay. I was sad about it for a while, but now I feel so relieved. I think working on a smaller-scale game with someone that can create the features I want in a short period of time will be much better for me in the long run. And in letting that game go, I also realized that I don't really like doing the HK art style. It looks nice as a final product, but it's not for me. I don't have fun creating it. I want to do a style that's a little more messy. But anyway, now I'll be putting the same effort into this new game, and hopefully people can start playing it in the near future.

Welcome! Glad to have you on the forum! You have a great amount of talent to have created Eliyo from the ground up. I look forward to seeing you involved in discussions around TGL. 

Thank you! I will do my best! 

I like your art improvement post on DeviantArt. Good luck to you. Hope you can find some work.

Hi! Welcome. And congrats on your pregnancy! Do you know if you're having a boy or girl? And what game are you developing now?

Hello, Liz! Nice to see you again!

I'm glad you like it here so far, @runeowl. You're the artist for the Novilar pets, right? It's always nice to see a game with a unique style.

Hi @SkullPuppy! Welcome! How many virtual pets would you say you own in total?

Thank you for joining us! I hope you like it here and enjoy evolving your pet.  

Yes. I do remember them mentioning something about that now that you mention it. That's unfortunate that the site wasn't built to handle to many users initial. I wonder how much more successful the site would have been had that not been overlooked. Thanks for sharing what you know, @Sparren!

It seems like the majority of us are agreeing that the repetition of the features on Flight Rising has made the game dull as a whole. What specific changes would you like to see be made? What things could make you excited about Flight Rising again?

Subeta.net

Rescreatu.com

Paladore.com

Kaylune.net

Verpets.com

There are more, but I can't think of them right now.

Edit: Wait. Suddenly, I'm reminded of some.

Daylightpets.com

Chickensmoothie.com

Dragcave.net

Felkyocreatures.com

Khimeros.com

Grophland.com

Kingdomsky.net

I'm going to stop there, because I can probably keep thinking of more.

I remember hearing about bullet journaling a couple years ago, but I never tried it.

My problem is that I write my to-do lists in random notebooks (that I lose track of at the end of the day, usually), and the act of even doing that is sporadic for me. I try to get something done immediately when it comes to mind (if possible).

I keep telling myself that once I clean out and sort my USB files, I'll be able to start clean and start being organized after that point. But that hasn't happened yet.

I definitely need to find a better way to keep track of things than repeating dates and to-do lists over and over in my head. So thank you @hurricaneviolet; I have been inspired to try a planner again.

It depends on what is defined as the "treasure" in your game and how much of that treasure the player deserves for completing the task. If your game is like Meat Boy, completing a level with a good time is the treasure, but there are also things to discover in some levels like Warp Zones and Band-aids, which are extra treats for the observant and skilled players.

If a game's focus in on battling and being quick at the buttons when up against a boss, then including a boss at the end of a level will be a good addition, because it will encourage players to improve their skills and reward them for doing well.

If a game is instead about rescuing a princess, obviously achieving that is the biggest treasure in the game, so it will only occur at the very end. But in the meantime, if players, for example, found letters written by the princess in the game each time they completed a series of levels, that would also be an achievable treasure that would work to reward players for getting closer to the goal.

I think any kind of treasure earned should reflect the main goal of the game, and higher and lower amounts of it should be awarded respectively. This helps direct players in playing the way you intend for them to play, and it rewards them for doing a good job at it. When they feel like they're accomplishing things, they'll return for more.

I usually create outlines of sorts. I write notes about which things need to be included, and then I work from point A to point B to point C and so on. Every few points, I re-read my writing to make sure I am accomplishing what I set out to do, and I fill in information I have learned about my characters or the story from writing more. I usually re-read a chapter (or about a few thousand words), make sure it's okay, and move on. After a few chapters, I'll read all the writing at once, again making sure my story fits the vision I had for it. I edit out discrepancies and information that is no longer true or correct. I find typos. Once that part of the story is complete, I leave it at that. Then I do the same for the next part and the final part. Lastly, I'll read the entire piece at once in a couple weeks (when I can no longer guess words before they come up, and I have a clear mind). I add in special details like foreshadowing or secret hints, or I improve on the suspense building or character development.

To me, writing is the process of slowly weaving a story together. Editing and revisiting the story are two important things.

If I want to just write something, anything at all with no goal, I use writeordie.com, or I wait until I am actually inspired by something. It's hard to write a creative piece in a sincere voice when I don't have the passion for it. I have to want to know how the story ends.

I use Sai for just about everything. I love lining art on Sai, because it makes the lines smooth. Even when you're just starting out with digital art, you can achieve crisp lines on Sai. One drawback on Sai is that it doesn't save transparent PNGs (or other file types), so I have to save a PSD and then take it over to GIMP or Photoshop to make the image transparent. It also has a very annoying glitch that prevents you from saving a SAI file after you open a PSD (then you can only save images as PSDs). This is bothersome when I want to save a file as SAI to preserve a line art layer. Once the file is no longer a SAI file, you can't edit the line art layer with the pen tool; it becomes a normal layer.

I use Photoshop for other edits like moving a group of layers together (I don't believe Sai has that ability) and deleting white backgrounds from images. I want to learn how to use Illustrator, but I haven't had the need for it yet, so I've just been sticking to what I know.

That bunny is so cute! The eyes make it somewhat mysterious, and I can't tell if it's a nice bunny or not. I'm not sure if I should approach it. 

I am interested though I know very little about programming. Perhaps you can explain it in a way that would be understandable for beginners and go deeper into discussing it if programmers want to know about this too?

I think @PaulSonny makes a good point here. "It depends on your target audience and what you are trying to achieve."

Many of the users that choose games like pet sites for the nostalgia factor probably aren't that into using mobile apps casually. I'm still getting used to using them myself and would prefer accessing games on the computer for the most part, because I like a wider screen and being able to communicate using my keyboard. In that way, I would prefer to just see a responsive layout when I must use my phone, because I would plan on that just being a back up. And as people have mentioned, it is a large investment to create an app when the userbase doesn't really want or require that.

However, if you want to reach a modern audience and offer something new that will compete with current games, I say mobile apps are the way to go. I think apps condense games in a way that can easily showcase the focus of your game and put things like advertisements and in-app purchases in the face of players (assuming you're developing a game with the goal of making money). I think apps have a way of appealing to a click and scroll generation.

@SkullPuppy Thanks for joining! Your adoptable is growing fast considering you just joined.

And thank you everyone else for all the time you've put into this place and the conversations we've had so far. I look forward to the future!

Let see what else you need. Teal/Aqua. Light Blue. Light and Dark Brown! Maroon or Dark Red. Light Green. And if possible, you could make the yellow brighter. Haha, I'm so demanding.

Cool Easter Stuff, hmmmm? >_>