Independent Amico Discussion Thread

[Michael Garvey]

Again. I'm not being a troll or tool.

 

I love games like monster boy and I really love platformers. 

 

But for me I just can't afford the high prices that games cost on Sony and Nintendo systems.

 

Indie games should have indie prices.

 

And if you want to say that monster boy 3 looks so great compared to Amico then I will point you to the new Shantae coming out in May.

 

That blows MB 3 out of the water.

 

Will it cost more...I don't know so if it does then itll prove my point that costing more gets you better graphics and so it's not a good comparison. 

 

We could even say ff8 remake looks 100 times better than MB 3 and it doesn't cost 100 times more so where can you draw the line.

[MrBeefy]

2 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yeah, the wall kills you. Seems to be a cooldown timer. I just don't see a way to get past the wall if you are on that part of the track and the wall is ready to be used unless the timing for the activation needs to be frame perfect.

Wondered that myself.

[Steven Pendleton]

1 minute ago, MrBeefy said:

Wondered that myself.

Same with the magnet, for that matter. I wonder how long the magnet holds you for. I wasn't really paying attention to the magnet, though.

 

Still, WIP game = stuff could change.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Steven Pendleton
spelling

[MrBeefy]

1 minute ago, Michael Garvey said:

Again. I'm not being a troll or tool.

 

I love games like monster boy and I really love platformers. 

 

But for me I just can't afford the high prices that games cost on Sony and Nintendo systems.

 

Indie games should have indie prices.

 

And if you want to say that monster boy 3 looks so great compared to Amico then I will point you to the new Shantae coming out in May.

 

That blows MB 3 out of the water.

 

Will it cost more...I don't know so if it does then itll prove my point that costing more gets you better graphics and so it's not a good comparison. 

 

We could even say ff8 remake looks 100 times better than MB 3 and it doesn't cost 100 times more so where can you draw the line.

There are great indie titles out there at those low prices. I would encourage you to look at Steam and a website called Humble Bundle. 

[MrBeefy]

Just now, Steven Pendleton said:

Same with the magnet, for that matter. I wonder how long the magnet holds you for. I wasn't really paying attention to the magnet, though.

 

Still, WIP game = stuff could change.

It was hard to tell in the demo. 

[Steven Pendleton]

30 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

It was hard to tell in the demo. 

It was. I don't think anyone actually escaped from the magnet. Maybe I forgot, though.

 

A tasty edit: just watched it again and nobody that got caught by the magnet escaped. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it is when the game launches.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[Michael Garvey]

3 minutes ago, SoloZolo said:

I'm very much aware of that and in my first post I address it. "Production values do not look high. Given the price point for the games, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised." I think it'll be a tough sell to get people to buy a new platform filled with games on that level. More people will see footage of a game than the amount that ever get to play it. Nintendo hardware has been low end for a long time, but the games they produce are usually very well crafted in all aspects.

You used an example. 

 

I asked specifically about that example and not your argument. 

 

If you don't want to answer my questions that's fine.

 

Again. Giving examples means you are comparing. I'm not referring to any earlier post or even arguing your points.

 

I simply wanted to know something's about your specific example.

 

Again please don't take this as an argument of your opinion about the games or the graphics. 

 

Everyone has opinions and that's great.

 

I think the problem is when people compare then we need to get down to what they are comparing. 

[Michael Garvey]

5 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

There are great indie titles out there at those low prices. I would encourage you to look at Steam and a website called Humble Bundle. 

I have more ideas titles then I will ever be able to play.

 

And I'm aware of Steam sales, Humble Bundles and the like.

😂

[SoloZolo]

1 hour ago, Michael Garvey said:

Indie games should have indie prices.

Gaming is ultimately a hobby and if that's how you feel, then that's how you feel. I disagree because that restricts what developers can do. Some projects are going to be limited appeal and the developers are going to need a higher MSRP to make up for that. Other games have cash dedicated to licensed IPs, music, etc. and need a buffer to cover costs. Some games are just going to have larger ambitions.

1 hour ago, Michael Garvey said:

You used an example. [...]

Most of your questions were about specific details regarding The Dragon Trap's development. I'm not privy to that info. Yes, both it and Monster Boy were created by small teams without the backing of any major publisher over a few years. The latter actually started life as a failed Kickstarter with a $150k goal. The effort put into both paid off. They were successful relative to what they are. Meanwhile, no one knows what this is. Worst off, it was just $5 less than The Dragon Trap at launch.

 

I mentioned these three because I feel they strongly highlight what I'm talking about. When I say many of the games don't look great, that has nothing to do with the Amico's GPU. Wonder Boy Returns doesn't look as good as the other two because it has low production values. That was determined by the skill of the development team as well as the budget and schedule they had to work within. I believe in quality over quantity (nothing wrong with both) and I'm willing to wait and pay for things I believe are worthwhile. I fully understand that Amico's titles are low budget releases sold at cheap prices. I just don't know if that'll be worth buying new hardware for. 

 

I don't necessarily think my request is outlandish either. Most of Amico's library doesn't seem to be as large in scope compared to the Wonder Boy/Monster World games. It shouldn't take years to remake arcade games from the early '80s. I also don't think I'm alone with this view either. Tommy's YouTube BFFs had little nice to say about anything Amico. I'm not nearly as negative (I think Skiing looks fine, though some animations look stiff - plenty of time left to improve that) but I agree with them that Breakout is one of the best looking titles we've seen. Pong doesn't compare well. Night Stalker is far more aesthetically pleasing than Missile Command and Moon Patrol. Like I said in my first post, everything is WIP and things can change for the better.

[Michael Garvey]

14 minutes ago, SoloZolo said:

Gaming is ultimately a hobby and if that's how you feel, then that's how you feel. I disagree because that restricts what developers can do. Some projects are going to be limited appeal and the developers are going to need a higher MSRP to make up for that. Other games have cash dedicated to licensed IPs, music, etc. and need a buffer to cover costs. Some games are just going to have larger ambitions.

Most of your questions were about specific details regarding The Dragon Trap's development. I'm not privy to that info. Yes, both it and Monster Boy were created by small teams without the backing of any major publisher over a few years. The latter actually started life as a failed Kickstarter with a $150k goal. The effort put into both paid off. They were successful relative to what they are. Meanwhile, no one knows what this is. Worst off, it was just $5 less than The Dragon Trap at launch.

 

I mentioned these three because I feel they strongly highlight what I'm talking about. When I say many of the games don't look great, that has nothing to do with the Amico's GPU. Wonder Boy Returns doesn't look as good as the other two because it has low production values. That was determined by the skill of the development team as well as the budget and schedule they had to work within. I believe in quality over quantity (nothing wrong with both) and I'm willing to wait and pay for things I believe are worthwhile. I fully understand that Amico's titles are low budget releases sold at cheap prices. I just don't know if that'll be worth buying new hardware for. 

 

I don't necessarily think my request is outlandish either. Most of Amico's library doesn't seem to be as large in scope compared to the Wonder Boy/Monster World games. It shouldn't take years to remake arcade games from the early '80s. I also don't think I'm alone with this view either. Tommy's YouTube BFFs had little nice to say about anything Amico. I'm not nearly as negative (I think Skiing looks fine, though some animations look stiff - plenty of time left to improve that) but I agree with them that Breakout is one of the best looking titles we've seen. Pong doesn't compare well. Night Stalker is far more aesthetically pleasing than Missile Command and Moon Patrol. Like I said in my first post, everything is WIP and things can change for the better.

Are you interested in getting Shantae and the seven sirens?

 

That's like the MB games.

 

It's on iPhone now but I have Samsung. 

 

Coming to consoles in May.

 

I think your talk about developers and skills speaks a lot to developers like wayforward.

 

I was blow away by the first shantae one gameboy.

 

I believe you can get it on switch. 

 

So much coolness in such a limited hardware.

 

Kind of like what you state above.

 

If you haven't checked those games out I encourage you.

 

I think they'll speak to your sense of development and effort even without worrying about hardware limitations. 

 

🙂

Edited March 31, 2020 by Michael Garvey
Spelling

[+Tommy Tallarico]

3 hours ago, SoloZolo said:

Sideswipers does look like fun, but I question for how long. We've only seen one track, so hopefully more variety is introduced later on.

Info was in the description of the YouTube video.

 

 

Quote

I never said otherwise. Video games are a visual medium and graphics are a good indicator of the level of polish behind a title. Unity asset flips aren't garbage because they look like trash, but looking bad suggests that they might be garbage.

I completely disagree.  Tons of endless runners, match 3's, card games, casual that look like crap but are super fun to play and are very successful.

Also... in every single video I put a HUGE disclaimer saying these are unfinished works in progress demos.

 

 

Quote

 

Unlike what some other people are suggesting, my complaint has little to do with hardware prowess and more to do with production values. I thought the initial build of Astrosmash looked, if I'm being entirely honest, bad. Visually, the assets looked like a mish mash that didn't belong together. The newer footage has shown improvement but I still don't think it's a particularly decent looking production. Compare Wonder Boy III's remake or Monster Boy vs. Wonder Boy Returns. Those games are not really on the same level and that has nothing to do with the hardware. They're all available on the same platforms.

 

I think you may be missing the point and are approaching it too much like a hardcore gamer.  My mom won't be playing Monster Boy anytime soon so what difference does it make. 

 

People love comparing our "graphics" and "gameplay" to mobile games.  Ok... so what.  You mean the style of games that 93% of the entire population of the world is playing? 

 

Astrosmash is literally maybe 25% completed.  And quite frankly... art is subjective.  If you don't like the colors or whatever that is totally fine.  Clearly not for you.  But you should realize that you are in the minority on this one.  Maybe not among hardcore elitists... but among the people we are targeting... they LOVE the graphics and visual style.  Just take a look on the Astrosmash video.  18,000 views yet only 43 dislikes.  I'll take that ratio every single day of the week.  I bet Google wishes they had those kinds of percentages and ratios on any of their Stadia videos. 

 

 

 

Quote

 

 

That wasn't my intention. I chose to post my critique in this thread to make sure I wasn't raining on anybody's parade. I'm not saying things to be spiteful.

 

That's fine.  I respect that.  But when you specifically call out a team that has 600 years of video game experience and has worked on the biggest selling games and consoles of all time... it does come across as being spiteful (from the guy you were critiquing).

 

Tell me if you trust the folks who worked on creating these products.

 

 

 

You were insinuating that a bunch of industry veterans were trying to pull the wool over the public's eye by doing ripoffs of games.  And you don't think that is insulting in any way?

Honestly? 

 

Look at it from the other perspective.  If you didn't mean it like that... then you certainly chose the wrong phrasing of words to express yourself.

 

Quote

 

A clone that's using a discarded regional name for the real deal doesn't change my point. Bomberman didn't ripoff Dynablaster. It used to literally be Bomberman. Konami let that trademark lapse and some unrelated German company gobbled it up. If anything, that's misleading to those who encountered the real Bomberman under that title. People complain that Natsume is selling games called Harvest Moon when the series that used to be localized under that brand is still ongoing under a different name. It's like calling yourself Atari when you're actually the mummified remains of a software company based out of France ... 

 

You are splitting hairs here.  It's NOT a discarded regional name.  You just think it is because you clearly don't live in Europe or Germany.  The franchise has been around for years and has been successful for most of them.

In your methodology of thinking... there should only be one 2D shooter game?  Because every one ripped off the idea of the first ones.  They are all very similar.  Of course Nintendo and Indie developers can put a TON of constant clones on the e-shop... but it's okay for them to do it.  Just not us?

 

 

Quote

 

Given the genre focuses on single-player, at least we can be sure there probably won't be a turn-based RPG on Amico called Dragon Warrior. Any future plans for Probotector? It was also popular in Europe and is great in co-op! Rogue Corps wasn't very good. I loved Hard Corps: Uprising and ReBirth, though. 

 

Not familiar with any of those games... and I personally hate turn-based RPG's so it would need to be something very special (and not boring as hell) to make it on board.

 

 

 

 

[+Tommy Tallarico]

3 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Is anyone else mildly concerned about the ability to dodge the traps in SideSwipers? Unless you can completely stop your car to make the person using it waste it (and it does not seem that you can do that).

How many more times did you want me to say SPEED UP!  SLOW DOWN!  SPEED UP!  SLOW DOWN!

 

 

It's very easy to dodge them because you hear the sound first and depending on where you are you can try to speed past them or slow down to avoid them.  They go away quickly. 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

3 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Not familiar with any of those games... and I personally hate turn-based RPG's so it would need to be something very special (and not boring as hell) to make it on board.

Probotector = the EU name of Contra for some time, which was heavily censored to make it so that you are robots instead of people. Dragon Warrior is of course Dragon Quest.

[Steven Pendleton]

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

How many more times did you want me to say SPEED UP!  SLOW DOWN!  SPEED UP!  SLOW DOWN!

 

 

It's very easy to dodge them because you hear the sound first and depending on where you are you can try to speed past them or slow down to avoid them.  They go away quickly. 

 

Oh, good. I think that should be fine if you can hear it. I did notice they are only active for like 1 second at most, as well.

[roots.genoa]

4 hours ago, Michael Garvey said:

Indie games should have indie prices.

Unfortunately, most people think that way and I find it really depressing. 😕

[Steven Pendleton]

Yay, marvelous surprises await me since I got my golden ticket in the mail! Envelope is hand-written! I don't know if that's still common anymore, but it certainly is nice to see hand-written mail!

[Intellivision Master]

1 hour ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yay, marvelous surprises await me since I got my golden ticket in the mail! Envelope is hand-written! I don't know if that's still common anymore, but it certainly is nice to see hand-written mail!

I'm glad you got your ticket.

[Steven Pendleton]

2 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

I'm glad you got your ticket.

So am I! It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I thought it would be about the size of the original Intellivision controller for some reason. Not sure where I got that idea, so please don't ask!

 

Still, I'm looking forward to... whatever it is that it does. I thought the announcement about these was supposed to be this week. That's okay, though. As long as it gets announced before 2070, I'll be okay. Maybe even if it's before 2080.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[+Swami]

3 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

So am I! It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I thought it would be about the size of the original Intellivision controller for some reason. Not sure where I got that idea, so please don't ask!

 

Still, I'm looking forward to... whatever it is that it does. I thought the announcement about these was supposed to be this week. That's okay, though. As long as it gets announced before 2070, I'll be okay. Maybe even if it's before 2080.

Cryogenics? Alien symbiote?

 

[Steven Pendleton]

1 minute ago, Swami said:

Cryogenics? Alien symbiote?

 

Nope, I'll only be 80 in 2070!

[+Swami]

1 minute ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Nope, I'll only be 80 in 2070!

Well, I guess I’ll only be 100. 😆

[Steven Pendleton]

2 minutes ago, Swami said:

Well, I guess I’ll only be 100. 😆

https://youtu.be/4ajRaTq7Eow

[+Tommy Tallarico]

5 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yay, marvelous surprises await me since I got my golden ticket in the mail! Envelope is hand-written! I don't know if that's still common anymore, but it certainly is nice to see hand-written mail!

I insist on it to all my folks!

 

 

[+sixersfan105]

Just ordered the Limited Edition Woodgrain through the VIP pre-order. If only they could speed up the release to the next week or two, that would be much appreciated while we're all stuck in our homes!!!

[MrBeefy]

1 hour ago, sixersfan105 said:

Just ordered the Limited Edition Woodgrain through the VIP pre-order. If only they could speed up the release to the next week or two, that would be much appreciated while we're all stuck in our homes!!!

You and a bunch of others! Hopefully you have other video games at the ready you can play?