HII (Hyperspace Invaders I) - demo version!

[Atomhead]

Hiiiii all!

In case you've not been reading the Development thread, I'm here to tell you that my game HII aka Hyperspace Invaders I (the sequel to HI0) is finished, trailered, and out there.
You may find the official site here ---> http://hii.entity.be
...and a video here ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q-cZWqtWpo
NOT to mention, the demo ---> http://www.entity.be/hii/HIIdemo.zip

Gameplay wise I like to compare it to a manic, unforgiving vertical scrolling Geometry Wars type game.
Then again pictures do tell 1000 words:

Hope you like it!

ps: don't worry about the seemingly exaggerated additive blending (which makes it hard to see the bullets) - they're screenshots from an earlier build.

[Atomhead]

I've made a demo version so you can see if you like it from up close! Comments welcome.
http://www.entity.be/hii/HIIdemo.zip
Enjoy!

[Op Intensify]

Well, someone played Infinity Gene. You're cruising for a C&D letter from Taito for using those sprites, if you're making money off this game.

Sorry, but it looks pretty meh. Bullet patterns don't have any real design to them. The "neon void" aesthetic is intrinsically boring. Music is bangin' though.

[Atomhead]

Actually, I didn't play Infinity Gene although I'd love to.

I wasn't sure if those 1982 invader sprites were patented (since they're such a simple collection of pixels that are used everywhere), so I went ahead with them anyway.
If Taito doesn't like it, I'll replace them... although I can't imagine they'd bother!

What do you mean "bullet patterns don't have any design to them"?
There are 8 actual bulletpatterns (1 for each type of boss), of which only 3 can be seen in the demo.
The rest of the game is supposed to be chaotic, unpredictable.

And finally, to each his own but I like the neon aesthetic a lot (by which i mean to refer to Geometry Wars)!

[Atomhead]

ps: I've started working on my next game, which will be more bulletpattern based. Also it'll be a 360° topdown shooter.

[Op Intensify]

What do you mean "bullet patterns don't have any design to them"?

I mean there's nothing about them that's distinctive or sticks in your mind. Bullet patterns can be iconic in their own right, like the huge cannon burst of DDP's second boss, Black Heart's swiveling vulcan web, or DOOM's vertically converging maze of bullets with an added homing wave. I'm not seeing anything nearly as creative or memorable here. Haven't played the full game, though.

I wasn't sure if those 1982 invader sprites were patented (since they're such a simple collection of pixels that are used everywhere), so I went ahead with them anyway.
If Taito doesn't like it, I'll replace them... although I can't imagine they'd bother!

In every other unofficial use of the Taito Invaders I've seen, they make them look different enough from the originals as to not infringe copyright, but still close enough to be recognizable. Why couldn't you have done the same?

The rest of the game is supposed to be chaotic, unpredictable.

I don't like unpredictability and randomness in a shmup, or most any game, because it makes comparing scores nearly meaningless. It also makes similar games feel less distinctive from each other. Right now your game is another face in the crowd of neon retro-styled shmups on PC/XBLA/XBLIG/iOS that would seem interchangeable to the casual observer.

[BPzeBanshee]

I wasn't sure if those 1982 invader sprites were patented (since they're such a simple collection of pixels that are used everywhere), so I went ahead with them anyway.
If Taito doesn't like it, I'll replace them... although I can't imagine they'd bother!

In every other unofficial use of the Taito Invaders I've seen, they make them look different enough from the originals as to not infringe copyright, but still close enough to be recognizable. Why couldn't you have done the same?

I like how you pick your fights, man. So much for 'avoiding being needlessly confrontational'.

I mean your other points are pretty legitimate but you're just whinging about the Space Invader sprites now? I mean:
- I put a Space Invader player in GMOSSE in 2010
- This dude put out his last game around 2011
- This dude put out this game over a fortnight ago

Didn't see you bitching about it then, and neither of us got a C&D letter yet!

Seriously though, my two cents on this:
- my persistent grilling about performance over graphics has prevailed! It appeared to be running fullspeed the whole time on my Bootcamp Mac which HI0 struggled on, and the extra settings were nice if a little difficult to adjust with it set to all these different buttons instead of one consolidated menu.
- is Windowed mode shrinking the normal res or is fullscreen expanding the normal res? Looks nice either way and if it's the latter then that's probably the biggest factor in compatibility etc. Game Maker does not run 1080p stuff in 2D that well, but you know this already.
- if you do get a C&D letter from Taito let me know

[astroid]

Link to the demo not working