[B]UPDATE: 1/23/15[/B]
[B][URL="http://store.steampowered.com/app/266550"]Spark Rising Early Access 2.0 Live on Steam![/URL][/B]
Wow... Spark Rising to date has been successfully Kickstarted, Greenlit, showcased at GDC, and now our moment of truth... we hope we made a game worthy of your attention! Or at least I hope I made a game that didn't suck so bad you would quit gaming all together.
[B]GAME STUFF:[/B]
Genre: FPS Sandbox Game
Theme: Sci Fi
Platforms: PC, Mac
Launch Date: Q5 2015
Game Engine: Voxel + Unity 3D
[B]ANNOUNCED FEATURES:[/B]
Voxels + Polys = Game World
Take down a mad god and his red army
Conquest mode is just that... conquer some worlds!
Multiple enemies types to fend off from mech units to giant spaceships to bio creatures that roam the wild
Power up your exo-suits in battle
Control turrets, traps and barricades
Build your fortresses
Share your creations with others
Spark ? Like Project Spark the sandbox game on Xbox One ?
Strange choice for a name.
[QUOTE=Kowalski;42323314]Spark ? Like Project Spark the sandbox game on Xbox One ?
Strange choice for a name.[/QUOTE]
I thought about this once before, but now that you bring it up, I'm wondering if it triggers that impression from others as well. "Sandbox" is a pretty broad genre so I'm hoping there's room for both games, especially once you see how different Project Spark looks. I was already toying around with the name late last year before MS announced their game in mid of the year.
We called our Spark Rising because you play a Spark Bot, whose prime directive is to build and defend fortresses that protect rare resources. Spark coming from the the imagery of sparks flying around as construction goes on, and also a spark of imagination. The whole Rising concept centers around how you build fortresses that rise from out of the ground. Basically, both words have double meaning in our game... but I don't want to go too far into it lest I give away the story. And that folks is how we came up with the name!
Looks interesting, good luck with the Kickstarter. I'll see if I can get about throwing some money at it and if not, I'll certainly give it a spin if it gets successfully kickstarted and made.
Another Voxel game, no surprise, it seems everyone wants to make one.
[QUOTE=GHOST!!!!;42333364]Another Voxel game, no surprise, it seems everyone wants to make one.[/QUOTE]
I'm assuming it's 3D's version of 8-bit "retro" pixel art. It's probably cheaper, it's probably easier, it makes random generation and destruction very simple to do, and it can still look visually pleasing.
This looks really nice actually, I would back if I could spare it. I hope this makes the goal.
This looks pretty nice, but keep in mind that if you get Greenlit then expect countless threads on your community forums about how you're a lazy game designer who's going the easy way out by using Minecraft graphics, and such related things. I might pledge to you, but I just moved to a different country so my funds are a little tight right now. I voted for you at least.
[QUOTE=Sanjuaro;42334615]This looks pretty nice, but keep in mind that if you get Greenlit then expect countless threads on your community forums about how you're a lazy game designer who's going the easy way out by using Minecraft graphics, and such related things. I might pledge to you, but I just moved to a different country so my funds are a little tight right now. I voted for you at least.[/QUOTE]
I'm gonna try to err on the side of believing that gamers would appreciate the color cubed approach rather than whine about some visual :) (but you're probably right.) That being said, the concept was inspired by Minecraft, and I'm happy to recognize that game got me off my butt to finally make a game.
I'm hopeful that the cubed look becomes secondary to how the action plays out. A voxel terrain is really great for destruction, and can allow us to put a lot of activity on screen. The way we do lighting, and particle effects should add greatly as well, which is something that we'll have to tweak in much later in the dev process.
Oh, and thanks for the vote on greenlight!
Since the Kickstarter video had a mix of gameplay and people chatting, I thought I'd make a separate trailer of just gameplay footage. Still feels like a ways to go to nail certain aspects of the gameplay in my opinion but overall it does convey the scale of battle. I'm attaching it below.
If you like the concept please upvote us on Steam Greenlight! Or even better, help contribute to our Kickstarter fund. We're up to about $5k!
[video]So we put together a Steam Greenlight page! There's also a trailer there you can check out, which I'm also posting here. Though if you like the concept enough, stopping by our Steam Greenlight page to upvote would be truly appreciated! [video=youtube;ZNSzwjHPop8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNSzwjHPop8[/video] It's very early footage, so I can't say it's close to being done. But you can at least see where we took the game concept.[/video]
Hey all, an update!
[B][URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game"]We are live on Kickstarter![/URL][/B] Raised about $6K with 20 more days to go. Need some support, so if the concept of building, battling and conquering is your cup of tea, check it out!
We already had 4 updates, each revealing something new about the game, the latest one is a lot of fun, as we talk about one of the exo-suits you can jump into and wage war. I included a mock up of a stats card for Goliath, but if you want to read more about it, just [B][URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game/posts/624418"]check out the latest update.[/URL][/B]
[IMG]https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/016/941/888e2946611e30d3bc8118427b0c716f_large.jpg?1381373734[/IMG]
Backed for Alpha access. Wish you guys the best of luck.
might want to try to get the game out there some more, honestly I hadn't heard about this if it wasn't for this thread.
[editline]10th October 2013[/editline]
also backed for early bird because i'm not very nice.
[QUOTE=Psygo;42475564]might want to try to get the game out there some more, honestly I hadn't heard about this if it wasn't for this thread.
[editline]10th October 2013[/editline]
also backed for early bird because i'm not very nice.[/QUOTE]
Well, ur nice enough to support our game, so that's okey dokey in my book.
We're starting to do more outreach to the media, but we can definitely use help in spreading the word! Generally speaking voxel-based games don't as much coverage, but the community is strong and word spreads better via word of mouth, social media, Youtubers, etc.
[QUOTE=GHOST!!!!;42333364]Another Voxel game, no surprise, it seems everyone wants to make one.[/QUOTE]
Well, its supposed to be about creativity, isn't it? Creating your own custom creatures, buildings, etc. would be extremely difficult for the average Joe if it [i]wasn't[/i] voxel. Sure, its also a bit easier and cheaper, but I find it perfectly acceptable if people are meant to customize the game to their liking anyways.
I personally find the voxel art style very pleasing, though that's just me.
[editline]11th October 2013[/editline]
Also, I backed. Game looks interesting! Keep trudging forwards.
[QUOTE=Jrose14;42493741]Well, its supposed to be about creativity, isn't it? Creating your own custom creatures, buildings, etc. would be extremely difficult for the average Joe if it [i]wasn't[/i] voxel. Sure, its also a bit easier and cheaper, but I find it perfectly acceptable if people are meant to customize the game to their liking anyways.
I personally find the voxel art style very pleasing, though that's just me.
[editline]11th October 2013[/editline]
Also, I backed. Game looks interesting! Keep trudging forwards.[/QUOTE]
Thx for backing! You'll love our new announcement then: ALL +$10 backers now get access to the alpha! [URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game"]We just broke the news earlier today! [/URL]
[IMG]http://sparkrising.com/wp-content/uploads/Rewards-Grid-3x.jpg[/IMG]
Awesome, I don't mind becoming Wicked Loot. However the funding levels are worryingly low. This game needs a much stronger media presence. If I were a famous youtuber, I'd offer to run a segment on it, but I'm not. What you need to do is reach out to some, give them an alpha build that they can use to show it to players. I guarantee you that it will bring your funding levels up massively.
[QUOTE=Trekintosh;42494651]Awesome, I don't mind becoming Wicked Loot. However the funding levels are worryingly low. This game needs a much stronger media presence. If I were a famous youtuber, I'd offer to run a segment on it, but I'm not. What you need to do is reach out to some, give them an alpha build that they can use to show it to players. I guarantee you that it will bring your funding levels up massively.[/QUOTE]
Perhaps an Alpha Strike by TB (if he'd even bother). I'm sure at least one of the Yogscast would throw up a video of your little pre-alpha build, especially since its a creative voxel game and that's all their very loud fanbase will even bother looking at. Maybe NerdCubed, dunno. Tons of possibilities.
[editline]12th October 2013[/editline]
One question, by the way, if you can answer it Johnmasterlee, dunno if it was answered anywhere else. I think I saw you using Qubicle Creator in one of those videos to model things. The free version does NOT allow the exportation of models, and its really one of the only 3D voxel modellers out there that is easy to use and not too expensive. Are you going to have an in-game modeller later on, or are you just gunna roll with this and basically only have people who've purchased Qubicle to create models?
[QUOTE=Trekintosh;42494651]Awesome, I don't mind becoming Wicked Loot. However the funding levels are worryingly low. This game needs a much stronger media presence. If I were a famous youtuber, I'd offer to run a segment on it, but I'm not. What you need to do is reach out to some, give them an alpha build that they can use to show it to players. I guarantee you that it will bring your funding levels up massively.[/QUOTE]
Agreed, we'd love to get more media coverage. We done quite a bit of outreach to traditional gaming media but no major site has picked up yet. So if I were to be honest with myself, something with our game hasn't resonated with them yet. We do have a couple of major announcements coming up soon that gaming media tends to gobble up, so let's hope that is the tipping point that gets wider exposure.
That being said, the type of game we have does do better from a grassroots level, especially with YouTubers, and people who share what they create. It's just too early for us to be able to give the game to someone to play through right now, so we have a few months to go before that becomes an opportunity for us.
Well I'm glad there's still development happening and big announcements soon, but what happens if funding fails? Does Kickstarter have any kind of double jeopardy rule? Or will you try an alternate funding solution like Indiegogo?
Don't you have a free little build where you just walk around (albeit while clipping through terrain) to get a feel for the game's artstyle?
[QUOTE=Jrose14;42499805]Don't you have a free little build where you just walk around (albeit while clipping through terrain) to get a feel for the game's artstyle?[/QUOTE]
We do. You think that's good enough to let people play around with? One YouTuber did take that and made a video from it.
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R4mkf6jvDgY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R4mkf6jvDgY[/URL]
[QUOTE=Jrose14;42495873]
One question, by the way, if you can answer it Johnmasterlee, dunno if it was answered anywhere else. I think I saw you using Qubicle Creator in one of those videos to model things. The free version does NOT allow the exportation of models, and its really one of the only 3D voxel modellers out there that is easy to use and not too expensive. Are you going to have an in-game modeller later on, or are you just gunna roll with this and basically only have people who've purchased Qubicle to create models?[/QUOTE]
Ah, I can see you are someone who is familiar with the voxel space:) So we'll have an announcement on all the different building options soon. Promise it'll be worthwhile.
[QUOTE=johnmasterlee;42500401]We do. You think that's good enough to let people play around with? One YouTuber did take that and made a video from it./
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R4mkf6jvDgY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R4mkf6jvDgY[/URL][/QUOTE]
Yeah, should work well enough. I mean, if you've seen Stonehearth, a game I blasted tons of money towards, the build they gave out was just... chop down trees. Build extremely basic houses. And tons of videos and support was riled because of that. I believe they got, what, 850k? I can't quite remember.
You also might get lucky and have one of those 'Anonymous Tech CEOs' that you see pledging 10k to games they think look promising. Dwarf Corp had some random business Tech CEO pledge then a huge chunk of change, and I believe Stonehearth had a few, so you never know.
[QUOTE=johnmasterlee;42500401]Ah, I can see you are someone who is familiar with the voxel space:) So we'll have an announcement on all the different building options soon. Promise it'll be worthwhile.[/QUOTE]
Good, good! I loved modelling with Qubicle, but I never had enough dough lying around to purchase the 80$ full version.
[editline]12th October 2013[/editline]
Also, your almost half way there with a little over half of your time left. And with the rush that normally hits right at the end of kickstarters, hopefully you'll make your goal!
[editline]12th October 2013[/editline]
Also upped my pledge to $35. I look forward to Alpha access if you succeed!
@ JRose14
Thanks for believing in us! We are going to need a big rally for this 2nd half of Kickstarter. I think we are about to hit that tipping point where things take off. We just made the alpha access available to everyone, got an announcement coming up for some new creation tools, and an announcement regarding how our battles work. If that doesn't get people excited, then we may be totally off the mark on this game!
[QUOTE=johnmasterlee;42510709]@ JRose14
Thanks for believing in us! We are going to need a big rally for this 2nd half of Kickstarter. I think we are about to hit that tipping point where things take off. We just made the alpha access available to everyone, got an announcement coming up for some new creation tools, and an announcement regarding how our battles work. If that doesn't get people excited, then we may be totally off the mark on this game![/QUOTE]
Awesome, man! Looking forward to these announcements.
We just created a Minecraft Import Tool so you can now take your Minecraft creations and put them into our game. You know, to battle it out!
Like many of you, we’re big Minecraft fans here at Wicked Loot. I personally spent countless hours in Minecraft creating massive structures, ships and stuff which inspired me to see whether I can build a voxel game that focused on BIG BATTLES.
Which got me thinking: Could we make it wicked easy for you to take your Minecraft creations and put it into our game? The answer is: Yes!
[B][URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game/posts/629283"]You can check out a video demo of it here![/URL][/B]
[IMG]http://sparkrising.com/wp-content/uploads/Minecraft-Import-Tool-800x.jpg[/IMG]
Got another update!
In addition to being able to import your creations from Minecraft, you can also import your creations from [URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game/posts/630692"]Qubicle[/URL], the popular voxel creation tool! Our lead artist loves using it because it's so powerful. So for those of you who prefer a voxel tool that's comparable to Photoshop, this is for you.
[URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game/posts/630692"][IMG]https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/196/507/2d6369dc5e94759871957fcd3a5bfb95_large.jpg?1381909328[/IMG][/URL]
We're also now updating our [B][URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnmasterlee/spark-rising-a-build-battle-sandbox-game"]Kickstarter daily[/URL][/B], sharing more details about the game we are cobblin together. So stop on by and say zup!
Oh, and thanks to all the Face Punch peeps who contributed. Means a lot to the team and I working on the game.
I have to ask, what happens if the Kickstarter doesn't get funded?
[QUOTE=Trekintosh;42561658]I have to ask, what happens if the Kickstarter doesn't get funded?[/QUOTE]
I was going to address this today in an update. I think the solution will demonstrate how committed we are to the project!
FYI all, I just posted up a Reddit AMA. Check it out!
It answers what happens if Kickstarter doesn't get funded!
The short answer: I just sold my home as plan B.
[url]http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1owy9f/iama_i_sold_my_home_to_make_games_for_a_living_ama/[/url]
[IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BXHeAZcCYAAkOW3.jpg[/IMG]
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