Adding Tons of Levels to My Indie Game
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
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Today I'll be showing you the process of how I created the world for my Metroidvania Dewdrop Dynasty!
🐝 Wishlist Dewdrop Dynasty on Steam
► bit.ly/WishlistDewdrop
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❤️ Check out my Website! goodgis.fun/ ❤️
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✦ Discord - / discord
✦ Twitter - / gooodgis
✦ Games - firith.itch.io/
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:10 Working on Level Design
0:55 Level Design Process
1:50 New Map System
2:47 Polishing the Game
3:58 How Many Wishlists I Have
4:43 Announcement
5:00 Brilliant
6:27 My Website
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I've been on a quest for over the last 4 years to release my first major commercial game. It's a lighthearted 2d action/adventure Metroidvania called Dewdrop Dynasty. Think Hollow Knight but with Ocarina of Time Mechanics and a lovable world and characters from Paper Mario. If you've ever thought to yourself "How to make a video game" or "How to release my first indie game" then follow along on my quest as I try to complete mine.
#Gamedev #Programming #Godot #devlog
Help Dewdrop Dynasty reach 20K, by *WISHLISTING* the game today! 🐝🔥
bit.ly/WishlistDewdrop
ok
I will and I have, and I will be doing it on every family member’s device
I wishlisted a half year ago!
bro
CAN YOU PLEASE BRING BACK THE DEMO I NEED TO PLAY IT AGAIN SO I CAN HELP ME GET REFRENCE FOR MY METROODVAINA
also can i work for you at frith studio i send a email with my work please
can you also please show us or make a engine to help with level desgn please
I wish I could, but I already have 😢
I think what was special about Hollow Knight’s map was how entering a new area was still a mystery, the map didn’t automatically update the moment you rolled up, you had to familiarize yourself with this new space before the minimap became an easy navigational tool
100% agreed
Thanks for sharing! This is helpful.
Definitely, I think this is a major feature more Metroidvanias should implement.
one thing about Hollow Knight though is that sometimes you would find a big room that block you off at one point, but on the map it looks like the whole room had been explored so if you enter from another side, you might think you've already been there before when you actually haven't. But then there were other 'hidden' large rooms that only showed the portion where you visited before, so if you entered from another side you would know you hadn't been to that part of the room yet. So if you are able, make the maps consistently like the later kind - so people don't miss a room because they think they've already been there when they actually haven't. Make it clear which parts of the room they've already been to before, and which parts they haven't.
Same. Tokens were a neat idea I never used effectively, keep it.
PLEASE add the foreground objects to every room, it adds so much depth and it looks so good in the cactadillo room
Awesome! :D
I agree it is so good
Honestly, I hate having to buy tokens to put on a map. I don't like feeling like the in-game economy dictates how many places I have to remember as opposed to placing a marker down.
That's I how feel as well.
I feel the opposite, I loved having to decide which map additions in the games I’ve played. If you wanted to you could make the purchase of map additions an optional mode or maybe setting that you turn on. But that would be a lot of work so don’t feel any need to do it
Yeah, it makes you think about your future choices and can you make it work with your current situation or do you actually need more. Also it depends on your game, I haven’t played it so don’t know but if it too hard then obviously make it either cheaper to buy or give them more at the start and then if it is easier increase the cost or give less.
Something in Metroid dread that I think you should do is: when a certain room has had everything in it found, some sort of way for the player to know. Since it can be daunting to search the whole map for what to do next. Or maybe at least mark when an entire area has been fully explored.
This! No matter how detailed the map is, this is definitely appreciated
After backtracking the entirety of animal well’s 250+ rooms several times to find eggs this would have been greatly appreciated
I love the foreground objects in the cactidilla fight!
Yay! :D
love the player roll animation so much, this game looks fluid to play
Thanks so much! Fluid movement is a big priority for me in games.
Maybe add a way to change the player map icon because ✨️customization✨️
Good point! :D
The 2 most important functions of a map is to make sure you don't get lost, and tell you where to go next. Figure out how much you want someone to be able to wander around the levels uninformed as opposed to informed. Sometimes there's more exploration encouraged by not having map, sometimes it's the opposite. Typically for the opposite it's nice when maps have details on them that directly indicate unexplored areas or have a little bite size version of each screen mapped out so you can look at it at a glance and think "wait I didn't try jumping up here" or anything to that effect. So think about how much detail you're willing to put on the map and then that can inform how important it is to the player right away. If it's simple it can just be used to mark areas that can't be accessed quite yet.
Great advice! Thanks! :D
Amazing. I never really thought about how complex level building really is. It must take so much work just to plan it all out, before even touching the art!!
I love the way Animal Well handles the map system. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that you have to unlock these features, but I love being able to actually draw on the map. There's many times where a marker isn't enough information for me to remember what was there that I wanted to remember. Plus, seeing the map full of arrows, circles, mouse-written text, etc. was pretty cool.
This also allowed for the game to have more complex pathing without cluttering the map. For example, there's these pipes that get you from one room to another, but there's no indication on the map about where they are or where they'd take you, so I drew arrows on the map for the most useful ones (particularly, there were rooms that you could only access through pipes, and if you just look at the map they look like isolated rooms).
Obviously this feature adds scope, but it's worth considering as it was really fun to play around with!
This comment was a reply to another comment talking about Hollow Knight's map system and my take on it:
The thing that Hollow Knight had that also made it a mystery was that it was very hard and things worked in the background, it had a cycle of life that would work whether or not you were there.
Hollow Knight had little props you could break so pogo, statues, fences, the Lore Tablets (the infected NPCs) and just hidden details that if you paid close attention enough, you would see there was a story behind. One of the most known examples being the 4 Chairs at the Mantis Lords, with one chair being broken, and you later find out that there was a fourth chair for a reason after encountering the 4th Infected Mantis Lord.
That is something that I would like in Dewdrop, silent details that can be missed or be very obvious and would allow the player to piece things together without cutscenes or NPC dialogue. But it really depends on the game DewDrop is going to be, I've been watching these devlogs on and off (might binge watch them all later) so I have forgotten a lot, I have yet to grasp what the game wants to be but I could have said a bunch of nothing since this is my first devlog in a while.
P.S Goodgis, i really love your game so far, it looks very fun to play and very carefully planned. Wish you luck on this project, can't wait to see more. ❤
I love the foreground layers, they add so much depth!
Thank you. Looks so good. Loved the demo and played it twice! Love the foreground objects that give depth to the room. Also if we can have little parallax in the background tiles it would give it more depth! That'd be even more beautiful
PLEASE keep the foreground layers, they look amazing!
Congratulations on finally finishing the project!💪💪
its almost here, the devlogs were all great and i enjoyed every part of the series.
I know this a crazy complicated thing to request for a CZcams comment. Making this game multiplayer, at least couch co-op would be awesome and would make the time I play this game way more enjoyable.
I love the depth tests with the foreground and background elements. Very awesome.
Thank you! Cheers!
Brilliant progress! I've not played a lot of metroidvanias but I think unlocking the minimap areas and being able to see if you've completed an area is pretty important.
Thanks for the feedback! :D
love the foreground layer, seriously makes the world feel so much more 3 dimensional
Thanks so much!
I think the best part of hollow knights map was being able to choose if you wanted to see your exactlocation in the map or not. If you did, it took up a charm notch (with the wayward wompass), but more experienced players didn't need the compass and so they could use it for something else.
For a Metroidvania map, what I mostly want is clearly marked doors. Replaying Super Metroid gets confusing when you've been through a dense area, while Metroid Fusion fixes a lot of the confusion simply have letting you see where the doors are and colour coding the requirements to open them.
When it comes to Hollow Knight's map, I like how you can easily look through all the areas, though I never really used the markers you could place yourself. The automatic ones were sufficient for me, but I image others might feel differently. I really liked how to you had to buy a map of the area and fill it out by resting too, but that would only really fit with a few games. Going back to Metroid, it makes sense that you wouldn't have to do that because of sci-fi tech doing it for you, but in a fantasy setting it makes more sense to have to do it yourself.
3:44 looks bangin, really like the depth stuff
Interested in seeing how you went about implementing room transitions
Really excited about the progress you're making, this is going to be awesome! For the ingame map, here are some pointers:
Absolute must:
- Be able to zoom in and out
- Be able to place, change and remove custom pins
- Be able to accurately show your position in the room
- Important NPCs (like merchants), save points, fast travel points and other important points of interest are marked on the map when you encounter them
Would be great if:
- Areas show completion % so you know when you've missed something in a given biome
- Important landmarks show up as sketches on the map (HK does that - for example, the Ancestral Mound, the Temple of the Black Egg, etc.)
- You can filter out what pins are shown on the map (the Ori games do this - able to filter out by save points, by quests, by collectibles, etc.)
Lastly, for completionists, it would be amazing if there's a way very late in the game to unlock some option to show all missed collectibles on the map - Ori 2 does that by having a very long quest that in the end rewards you with an item that can be placed in one of the late game locations to show all collectibles you have missed. Aeterna Noctis allows you to buy expensive maps from an NPC for each area with all collectibles inside marked. Something like that could help players finishing up the game reach that satisfying 100% completion.
Hope that helps and best of luck with the development and eventual release!
What made HollowKnight’s maps so great for me specifically was that it was earned over time. You needed to work for all the convinces. This doesn’t need to be a payment but I don’t think I would like the map system in HollowKnight so much if in the early game with few geo I had to decide which markers or other convinces were worth the most.
Sonething I love about Metroid Dread's map is that after a while the room while pulsate slightly lighter if there's an item you haven't collected. Makes it actually accesible to 100% instead of having to just hit every single wall in the entire map.
That foreground layer looks good
goodigs i have watched every dewdrop dynasty video keep it up we your fans love your videos!
Always look forward to these updates!
Glad to hear it! These videos are a lot easier to make as I'm literally working on Dewdrop daily.
This game looks really good good luck on it!
Hiya! Ur game looks awesome, and I was just wondering what website/software you were using to plan out your levels!
IMO the best way to handle making such big worlds as an indie is using procgen. Even if you want a static map, just either pre-generate stuff or have a static seed hardcoded into the game. Then just tweak the generation until you have something you like. Much easier than doing everything by hand. You can even mix the two approaches and have most of the game procgen'd, but then go in and do some touch ups to make it look or play better.
You don't mention a few things so I don't know how much you've thought about it already, but in very good metroidvanias, the world is a lot more than just some rooms, and the game is more than unlocking more rooms as you gain abilities. The best metroidvanias, like Metroid, Axiom Verge, etc. will lock you out of entire areas you've previously visited just to force you to stay in one designated area long enough to solve a certain puzzle (as opposed to thinking "oh I'm missing an ability from a previous area, let's go back"). The layout of rooms also tells a story and contributes to the lore of the game. The best metroidvanias will also subtly guide you towards progress. This was one of the major realization from Metroid Dread for example, the way you can have an intuition about where to go next. If you don't overthink, you'll naturally "flow" where the game wants you to go. In contrast I've played some bad metroidvanias in which I would reach a crossroad, without any hint as to which way to go next, pick one way, and only half an hour later realize "yeah no this is a dead-end, there wasn't any point in going this way. Where was that crossroad again?".
Honestly, I really like your idea of this game and also, keep up that good work!
Thanks, will do!
I wish It came out some time soon !
Wow dude, this got me hella hyped. Man the new locations look STELLAR✨✨✨
Aww, thanks so much! :D
im so excited for this game
1:12 what is the software used for blocking the base map? couldnt understand what you said, still nice video!
Absolutely every game ever should have markers in it. It's so nice to let the player Matt things out themselves and keep track of things that they want to keep track of, especially if they don't have a great visual memory like me. However you decide to implement them, as long as there are markers I think most people will be happy :-)
Really liked the foreground visuals
Thanks! :D
Yoo this game is good anyway this game is getting better every devlog!
Edit: How do you actually design this good Im jealous XD And whats the tool to deisgn some game design?
I have juust started my own metroidvania and I would love to see a stream of yours on making this game :). I love the design and the game and the serie!
Thanks so much! :D
I love the foreground objects, they absolutely made it for that room
Glad to hear it! :D
I like the foreground layers
Thanks so much!
Hi! Could you please let me know the software you used to plan out the map initially?
Also the movement looks awesome!
Can’t wait to see finished product!!!
Same here! haha
love the fore ground layer :)
Thanks so much!
YESSSS ANOTHER DEVLOG!!!!!
if anything, the minimap DEFINITELY needs a completion percentage or indicator for at least the general area. things like "is the boss defeated?" and "did you collect every item?" and "did you find every secret?" alongside a percent like "tumbleweed is 89% complete" things like that are really useful generally, but especially so for completionists who want to 100% the game in entirety ❤🔥
Hollow Knight's map system's main strength is core to the metroidvania genre as a whole: it recontextualises your environment..
Just like how a power-up can change how you interact with a room, HK's map changes how your environment feels. Most of HK is dark and threatening, so without map you're stumbling around in the dark. Buying the map gives you some guidance, but no more than a nudge on where to go next. It isn't until you've been to a place and familiarised yourself with the environment that the map reflects this.
However, this works as well as it does because of HK's atmosphere. Place the same system in a game that looks like a Mario game and you lose that impact. So consider if HK's map is the right tool for the job you want it to do.
Just added to Wishlist so excited to play it
Thanks! :D
AMAZING!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK :)
3:38 that looks fantastic :D
Thanks! :D
Hey goodgis, I wanna know on what application did you use on making the map. overall great game! keep up the good work man!
I cant wait for this game! The new aditions look great :)
Thanks so much!
I found that Animal Well's map system was nice to use and easy to navigate.
It’s interesting how my friend just told me about Animal Well today and a bunch of people are mentioning it. I definitely need to check it out.
yo the foreground objects look sick!!!! please add them, it looks so cool :)) cool video btw :D
Thanks! :D
I loved the Hollow Knight map with how it was laid out, with areas making sense (Lake over city of tears and whatnot) and with the map not giving too much away but still having a few key graphics to remind me of key elements I needed to return to. I recently played the new Metroidvania "Animal Well" which did something similar although leaving even less information on the map, instead providing players with stamps and a pencil to add their own notes and keep track of things! Also, fast travel points/hub; love to see one in any game and it can really be designed as a beautiful element that's enjoyable and not drawing a circle to teleport like RuneScape lol (although that's evidently still memorable to me 😅)
That lumbridge teleport animation is classic though! haha This is great, thanks!
On the topic of Hollow Knight's map, I didn't realise you could place multiple of each pin until over 60 hours into the game. Probably just me though, it was the first time I'd encountered a mechanic like that in a video game.
I really love dark levels on a metroidvania. Only having limited lighting even for a first pass through is really fun. And where's all the pots and barrels for bashing?! I must break things!!
Maybe you could get tokens to place on the map by doing specific things ? kinda like achievements ? like killing 10 ennemies or sum
I assure you there is still interest in the switch. I'm not trading in my totk oled anytime soon
Also the minimap could be a more zoomed in portion in the corner while you are playing but if you hold down a hotkey the whole map overlays the screen to check where you're ultimately aiming for in the level
I think it could be fun if you can unlock map tockens as you explore. Where each area would have 1-3 tokens which you can collect
I’ve (somehow) never played a metroidvania and dewdrop dynasty might be my first!
But I also thought it would be a fun challenge to try making a metroidvania without ever playing one
How do you make the maps for your games? Any software you recommend?
I'd like to have some coloured to mark gates treasures etc. on the map.
And it would be cool to buy a sketched area-map with just hints here and there, I'd like to see it updated only after I've explored it.
Thanks for sharing!
The map is just an example... You just made this whole big map as an example!? 🤣👏🏽 The dedication (1:22)
Yeah! I really wanted to show the example. The real one is bigger and wayyyy more detailed.
@@Goodgis can't wait to see it for real!
How about the early builds that visible on you first videos? How much we can see from those in the game itself, or in the files?
new Dewdrop vid lets gooooo 🙌
:D
Add some question marks for unknown areas and when the player arrives in them reveal its name on screen and on map, Oh and add a mini map.
Do any of the rooms change as you progress through the game?
Metroidvanias have the feature of unlocking abilities to get to other parts of the map, but the best ones (such as Metroid Fusion) have rooms that change at certain story points :0
So me, the only real Metro Vania game I played was hollow knight. But there’s a stew things you can take from that game which I would say. Make sure you can like find the map. I think what I kinda wished for Hollyn knows that you walk around the map until you find the actual map to look around in the map so if you missed a couple of things you can look up your map and then you can go to those things once you found your pacific map in the map. It sounds weird but I’ll say it better. You go into the Pacific area and then when you find the map for that area, you can look through that map to see if you miss something in the Pacific area. I think that would be exciting because that’s what I wish for hollow knight. But honestly, I love what you’re doing with the game. I will definitely play it when it gets released and honestly it seems exciting.
What did you use to map out the game at 1:00
I can't understand the name of it and the subtitles won't pick it up
Wow I'm more excited than ever for the game! It looks so great
Thanks so much! :D
Well it looks good @@Goodgis!
What software did you use to make the level layouts?
I think if you have a boss in each area, defeating the boss or achieving some main goal in that area should THEN grant you a map
what I loved about the hollow knight map is that I could _not_ buy the map markers. in my entire playthrough I never bought the markers, and I never used the charm that shows my location on the map
Best of luck, the game looks great. I always found the request for wishlists rather strange though. Just because wishlists are correlated with sales doesn’t mean it helps asking people to wishlist. It’s like asking people to put on a baseball cap because you want them to become baseball players…
I think the depth you were testing looked good
Thanks!
How are u doing these tilemaps placment in the minute like 1:35?
Which software do u use for pixel art and vector art ?
How do you Decide how rooms should be sized and arranged?
Trial and error. It all comes down to play testing.
Yoo this is sick man your also soo inspiring
Thanks so much! :D
How do you rotate pixel art smoothly. Have you made a video on it because I have been so confused with how to use pixel art in godot. I frequently run into issues with half pixels, distortion, etc.
Suggestion: You may add some levels which are top-view or isometric like RPG games.
I would love to see crossovers between dewdrop and fraymakers
That would be incredible!
This game will be so good, for sure!
Thanks so much!
Played through Animal Well a few days ago, and I would not have been able to get as far as I did without the map markers
Definitely a good call
omg, the linux announcement made me so happy, it's so been able to run it natively without having to configure anything is a super nice thing to have
Heck yeah!
less gooo! the game is playable now
I love the parallax ❤
Awesome!
Scope creep warning, I think the map you have is splendid and adding icons is super useful, but once you open up the buy tokens from the shop for your map, you will quickly see a lot of stuff popping up in your head, unless that is what you want, I suggest you build some limits on what does what and how and say nothing more...
another beautiful game devlog
Thanks so much!
I think instead of the mini map being super detail it should be more simple because i feel like detail mini map would make it look super cramped
What was the level design tool you used at 1:00?
Mate Im loving the game so far, but I feel like the gun should match the bee theme.
Also what is that music you play over the start of the video please tell me
Looking sick!
Thanks so much!