Frog R. SPLAT intends to be a game with two versions. A FPS (For PC) and a Top Down 2D Shooter (GB)
#Frog R. SPLAT! (Now in Consideration/PreProduction!)
regal orbit
Both would be released for free digitally on Itch
The object of the game is to make it to the other side of the road (obviously)
However! - The vehicles on the road are going AWOL and will chase you down on sight, spitting oil slicks at you - OH NO! How does one defend themselves against the almighty truck?
Simple - Use your tongue! (Literally) Slurp up bees, bugs and other bonuses and collect the ammo and goods they drop. Bees drop ammo for your main attack - frog slime! Just spit that stuff at the cars and trucks to give them the slip! But don't get caught in the muck yourself!
On PC, cars and trucks would chase after you when you enter their line of sight. Then they will start attacking. Either evade or defend yourself. Other enemies might join in on the fun as well!
On GB, things would be a bit simpler. Depending on the limits of no-code gameplay, the cars and trucks will move in various patterns on the map, drop oil slicks on the ground, and be a real nuisance. You don't start with a melee tongue on GB, instead, you slurp up bees and other critters directly.
Both games will be worked on in order starting with GB. Once the GB port is ready, it will be put on hold to give the PC version a chance to actually be finished next, then both will be released day and date with one another. Frog R. SPLAT! 3D for PC, and Frog R. SPLAT! GB for GameBoy.
The GB port will be first because it will have the easiest dev cycle. The PC version or "main" version will be worked on next. If the dev cycle for that fails, the GB port will be seen as the "main" version, and would be released with a slight name change to just Frog R. SPLAT! - Making use of the original preproduction asset. The goal is to get both games out, but if there are any kinks, the GB version will have to suffice, just like what sometimes happened back in the day.
And then the PC version will go on in history as "what could have been" with only prerelease info to go off of and maybe some leaked assets.
Both games will have 4 maps apiece, and an ending. The GB maps will be different from the PC maps to give both games value. There might be other differences too, like exclusive enemies for each version, and other such features.
If anyone is willing to lend their graphical or audio talents for the GB port, or provide additional ideas, they are welcome, under the pretense that it will be as volunteers, given the non-commercial nature of the project. (I have no moneys...😩)
The GB port will make use of some of the Pre-rendered assets from the PC version, but mainly in splash screens. It is undecided whether there will be music or just sound effects, as with the soundtrack, a GB and PC version of the score would need to be created, which might be beyond the scope of any contributors, and I'm not a music guy.
I will be doing the bulk of the work on PC, while the GB version may or may not involve a small team depending on whether anyone is willing to lend a helping hand.
I will try to handle all 3D graphics, game logic, sounds and 2D graphics on my own. Any contributors who might lend a hand may help with anything they please.
The more hands I have, the better the game will be, naturally.
But I will begin work starting with the GB version on my own. I might overlap and create 3D graphics to be used in the PC port alongside the GB work to save time and help things along, and some of those might make it to GB as well.
Also, important - The GB version will be a standard monochrome release.
celest forge
What have you made so far? (images)
regal orbit
I also made more splash screens than this
I made the usual "Not licensed by Nintendo" Disclaimer, a voluntary E Rating screen, a credit screen saying I was responsible for the GB conversion, BitzGames Logo screen, and then the two Splash screens you see here and a test of the frog sprite so I can see its animations.
VERY early prototyping
My goal for yesterday was to just get some splash screens and a couple graphics done and compile a rom to see how it looks. I wanted to see if the prerendered graphics would be mostly intact when crunched by the color pallete, (or lack thereof)
I stayed up the night before and into the wee morning hours working on the box art and renders. Then I started working on splash screens, had a video visit with my doctor, slept and then finally ver. 0.02a of the rom was compiled with the frog sprite test, complete with some pretty handsome frog sprites. I don't have much done yet though. I'm still working the game idea out in my head and getting a feel for the editor.
The tricky part was getting the splash screens with text to fit within the tile limit. Surprisingly, the prerendered splash screens fit within the tile limit with no additional edits required, so we have two nice uncropped renders that take up the whole screen!
I even added some rudimentary sound effects, including what sounds like a frog croak when the large frog appears telling you to "PRESS THE START"
And also a rudimentary selection noise when start is pressed.
Just basic early alpha prototyping.
The idle pose when the frog is facing to the side does look a bit gimpy, I might make some edits to the side facing sprites in future builds.
junior atlas
Love the CG art!
regal orbit
Thanks!
In response to @celest forge, I haven't truly started making the in-game sprites and backgrounds yet. Only the frog and the CG renders and splash screens. I have a full time job (and most of the money goes to bills) so I don't have too much free time to work on projects so that is why I don't have a lot done yet. I'm away from my PC so I can't share the raw sprites from here, so if you would like to see the early frog sprites I can send them to you when I get home.
Yesterday was one of my only days off so I spent most of my time sleeping, lol
regal orbit
@junior atlas Fun fact - I started working on the renders to be used for the "box" at around 3 am in the morning yesterday and finished around 8 or 9 am. (This was Central US Time)
I used a tool called Anim8or - I've been using it since middle school back decades ago. It's been around a long time. I've used it so much that I don't have the patience to learn blender to the same extent. The only flaw with anim8or is that my models made in it tend to have a few points that go awry, clipping in weird ways and the source of the problem is usually impossible to find.
A model can look great in wireframe mode, but as soon as it's time for rendering, it has potential to have some buggy points somewhere in there. And sometimes the source problem is so microscopic that it is impossible to sift through every point just to get at the problem.
This art I made for Frog R. SPLAT! was made using mainly subdivided primitives and text, so I avoided any issues with glitchy points. But as soon as I want to mess with the points on a model, that's when problems start in anim8or.
Also, lighting scenes in Anim8or can be a nightmare. The world lights aren't bright enough, meaning you have to add up to three of those suckers to get results. (There is no way to modify brightness of the world lights as far as I'm aware.)
junior atlas
That's interesting. It's probably good to use an older program for these kinds of graphics - much more in keeping with the way these games were advertised back in the day.
regal orbit
Made an addition to the cover art. Buzz Buzz the bee and his friends have joined the party! (Buzz Buzz being one of the critters in the game)
Here is the render of Buzz Buzz. Quite a unique looking design for a bee!
junior atlas
Hell yeah, big 2000s vibes
regal orbit
👍
I have no idea if I'm ever going to be able to implement these ideas in GB studio without code. I'm not a coder, myself. I prefer to just use visual scripting/action and event systems
I didn't draw Buzz Buzz before making the model - I just went to town and made it up as I went and boom! There he is! That's how I've always worked.
I don't know what compelled me to give Buzz Buzz a cat mouth and a lazy look but it works! As Todd Howard would say, "It just works!"
Here is the frog sprites, which have been updated to get ready for the next build. Side sprites don't look so strange and I made his hands a bit bigger when hopping toward the player.
As you can see, the frog has a stripe going down his back, which is not reflected in his 3D model. This is because while he IS technically Great Value Frogger, he is still at the end of the day Frogger so I put that stripe there both because that is the frog design I'm attached to from when I was a child AND because he would look generic without it there.
And I don't think that version of Frogger owns the whole stripe going down the back thing. Froggy from Sonic Adventure has one, and it's the same color too. Lots of frogs have stripes going down their back. It's pleasing to the eye and it works. Konami took away the stripe for their iteration of Frogger post-Hasbro days so Hasbro had the better design.
I don't think I'm breaking any copyright having the stripe there. It looks cool anyway.
regal orbit
After a bit of a break, I'm finally back, and I've made some new in game graphics, this time a tileset and a test map
I'm going to follow a tutorial to get the isometric movement set up
Feedback is welcome!
I know the game looks empty but there will be things going on like cars driving on the road, bees to collect, etc. I'm still trying to figure out the design without too many graphics made
I might just make it an avoid-em-up like Frogger. Why fix it if it ain't broke?
That does make the PC version of the game more of a challenge, should I choose to take it. I might just delay the PC version indefinitely and just focus on getting the Gameboy version done
I kind of don't want to make too many more prerendered assets if I don't have to. I think I'll do just that - it's a GB game exclusively from now on.
I have the box art, I have assets to make key art, I'm doing ok with the sprites and tiles, things are going according to plan. It's just slow.
I'll keep the "GB Conversion By" credit in the final game to make players wonder. That'll be a riot.
(I don't intend on releasing this physically. Digital only. If physical copies of the intended final version start being cranked out, they are unofficial. If you are charged money for this game at all, you will have been scammed.)
I do not endorse or condone the production of physical carts being made of this game unless it is personal use only.
The game may not be close to being finishes yet, but I still want to make that perfectly clear. I'm holding back the release of a beta version for that reason.
I want to get a good portion of the game done before it gets tested by others.
A "Trade Show Demo" of sorts.
I'll get a good ol' vertical slice done and then release a playable demo for testing and feedback.
I don't intend on attending any trade shows (don't have the clout) so it's only gonna be a trade show demo in spirit. But that's a ways away.
Plus the game is gonna be Freeware, so no need to spend money I don't have to cart me and my equipment to a show floor only to have no audience. I can just release it to a nonexistent audience on itch... Yeah... that'll work!
(I'm just babbling now, I'll shut up.)
regal orbit
Merry Christmas! Santa Claus came a little early! ROM incoming! It's still in early development so it's a little unoptimized but there are trucks to dodge and some roads and grass!
Two trucks on screen equals bad slowdown. I don't know how to fix this, the sprites are a little large but I don't want to make them any smaller because they look so good. Their movement is handled in "On Update" and the scripts have to only run when they are on screen or else the game is unplayable. Is there any way I can optimize this? Will transitioning to GBC help? I heard the GBC has more ram to work with
There is only the player and the four trucks and they slow the game down to a crawl at times. I don't know how I'm gonna do this.
Here is the gameplay I've considered: the goal is to eat bees while dodging the trucks and get to the end with all bees eaten or until your froggy tummy is full (undecided). This gameplay has not been implemented yet but the trucks do move along the road and warp to the other side when they reach the end of the street. I need to create graphics for the bees and a HUD. I have other tiles made besides those used in this prototype, water tiles which cannot be entered and flat bridge tiles that can be placed in any way I see fit, which could create interesting mazes over water.
If I cannot address the slowdown directly, I could creatively layout levels in a way to minimize slowdown. I could have bridge sections breaking up the traffic sections, with one truck going on each lane at a time.
i.e. it wouldn't be a very good idea to create large highways with many trucks, maybe narrower two lane roads would suffice. If moving to color would increase the amount of memory like I hope, I will pull the trigger and start coloring all the assets.
Also, I still need to figure out isometric movement. I followed the tutorial to the letter and it seemed like it was built for an older version of the editor, because I could not get the frog to move hardly at all after implementing the code.
runic linden
Two trucks on screen equals bad slowdown. I don't know how to fix this, the spri...
not an issue of ram, just cpu time (of which the gbc also has double) but in general most default operations in gbstudio are really slow
if you want a lot of objects moving around on screen on DMG, it is possible but you'll need to do it in C code