Where in the World is Teelio!? (Life Collection)

[Teelio]

I'm right here.

Been frequenting the Matrix a lot recently (since I played through the recent Mega Man collection) and was wondering what a majority of the ol' Matricians were up to. I see quite a few of y'all are still active to an extent (Mikero, Rez, Abe, a few others).

As time takes a toll on all of us, we can't forget our history, where we came from, the people we met, and the events that have shaped us into who we are today. Which is why I can't ever forget about this place or any of you folks, even if I tried.

I did post this in the Creation Station for a reason. Since I've been gone for [insert time here], I've dived into the music industry. I was in a small garage band the last few times I showed my face here, but much has happened.

A colleague from high school and I got together to mash up different genres for fun. This created our band project Still Conscious which has seen members join and bail. Our old material is located here. Our access and knowledge of technology back then wasn't efficient, therefore the quality is mediocre at best. I manipulated drums/beats and synths.

We took a hiatus to focus on college #####, but in time we got back together and reformed with two new members to recreate Still Conscious into a progressive metal band (not my cup of tea but it was something). That material is located here. Again, I was the drummer and synthist. Second warning, it is metal, so listen at your own risk. 

Some drama happened and we disbanded for good (supposedly).

Which brings me to today. My colleague and I are still producing music together while trying to bring back Still Conscious a third time. The artistic direction will not be the same as it was the last two attempts (dark wave-ish? & metal), but as of where we'll go with it is still up in the air.

Now, I'm working on a solo electronic project, completely experimental. You can find my material on the Chauffeurs YouTube page here. All of my material was written through my perspectives of life. I have one full song available (currently re-visiting) called "Metropolis" and three short demos for other songs on my album. All of my material was created through Fruity Loops & the rx Nexus2 plug-in, along with some additional tech. I produced virtually everything you hear, aside from the samples, and yes that's me whisper-singing in "Metropolis". I'll upload lil' snippets and such from time to time on here.

75% of my free time has been put into music. Other times I work on a novel thingamajigger I had ideas for. I made a teaser page for the antagonist company in the story here. I'm currently trying to revisit it, as there were too many similarities with the TV show Mr. Robot.

So that's about it for me. I gotta tell ya, while typing this up I fell into a nostalgic trance while zoning-out into the notorious blue checkerboard patterns on the walls.

[TheRedPriest]

The blue squares do have a hypnotic effect.

We're all mostly just waiting to see what kind of "relaunch" Mega Man gets.  The new cartoon has already caused the delightful Archie comic to be canceled.  Will it get a new game based on the cartoon?  We don't know.  I expect it to be awful at any rate.

[Teelio]

Lot of changes these past 4 years since last I posted in this thread. Was disappointed not to have more content to share. Also, ##### Still Conscious.

The new decade yields some exciting things (between the invention of hologram foods and a nuclear apocalypse).

I have some big plans for a juicy narrative I've spent the past 10 years cultivating called SURREALITY. Started as a simple text storybook that got to 3 chapters (which I will upload later) before I felt like text wasn't enough to express the world I created.

It graduated to comic book form, and my old band frontman joined in to help illustrate some concepts for characters, world design etc. This was where about a good 75% of the story and world was fleshed out. I'll upload some of the art I have put together for concept ideas, because my artist turned out to be an opioid junkie, and therefore, unreliable.

Felt like the world of SURREALITY isn't immersive enough, even at comic book form. Then I figured it could succeed as a video game. What I like to call a "disaster survival FPS", inspired by games like BioShock, Half-Life, and recent IPs like Dishonored & 2017's Prey (the original Prey is just as great, too). A quality story with some unique gameplay mechanics that may work out well.

Before indulging on the initial details, I have a question for all gamers, and since everybody here is a #####ing gamer, here is my question:

"When you start a story-rich single-player FPS, what are your expectations? For example, do you expect a linear path, options for gameplay experimentation, collectibles/lore insight, having options as to how to approach challenges...?"

Any and all answers acceptable.

[LCrazy11]

what i really like to see is multiple choices, and they don't have to be through dialogue options, but choices made through game-play:

in "spec-ops the line" there is a bit where a bunch of angry civilians and you can choose to just walk through them, shoot the air so they run away, or shoot them

the choices you can make don't even need to effect the narrative, they can just effect that situation

another thing is that the protagonist has their own personality, goals, morals, motives, all the things that make a real character, not just brown hair silent white guy that says nothing and is just there so you can shoot gun at the bad guy

[Teelio]

It's moreso the gameplay aspects that I want to fish out. Though the characters, goals, arcs and such are subject to any amount of change, the world and general mechanics are the main dishes.

Here is another question. You have a linear game like Half-Life 2 or BioShock, whatever suites your taste.... How many maximum playthroughs do you normally do with those kind of games? Typically for me there was an average of 7-8 total playthroughs on said games, but each time I played I had different goals in mind. For example:

- Playthrough 1 of game x and all I wanted to do was immerse in the world, follow the story. Take the general path (more or less), do what was told, finish the story.
- Playthrough 2 of game x and I'm out trying to find all the collectibles, audio logs, ammo caches, secrets etc.
- Playthrough 3 ... is just a self-challenge on the game's hardest difficulty.

And so on.......


Though that's just my method for single-player games. Everybody has a different method of attacking these types of games. I just want to know the average gamers' personal tastes, locate some consistent patterns.... Some ideas that could be utilized later on down the road.


This project is very near and dear to me. I've never been so sentimental about any of the garbage I've churned out. Remember back in the early 2000s when I made those awful sprite comics, The Capsules? We all knew that was a story that wasn't going anywhere, and quite frankly, I was just wingin' it at the time.

I've committed the next decade to this project. My resources are all that UCF Creative Village have to offer. With EA moving their Orlando office to the school in 2021, that could open up some new opportunities. Also building a home rig that's suitable for creation programs (ie. Blender, Source Hammer).

Who was it that said "single-player gaming is dying"? You look between the lines of AAA games and see plenty of SP experiences flourishing within their own communities. Hell, some sleeper single-player games have awoken in forms of cult classics, stronger than ever (ie. Earthbound). With the gaming market being filled with rip-offs of rip-offs competing to dominate a certain MP gimmick, or those annual releases of more-of-the-same with virtually no other desire than, "if we make it, they will buy it".

I want to give a quality single-player experience to those who want something fresh, but I also want to know what it is they want or do not want out of something that could be as linear as BioShock. Best to get some insight from gamers themselves, rather than pretend to know what the audience wants out of the industry.

[TheRedPriest]

I have never, and never will be, a huge fan of multiplayer games for the most part.  It's always fun to play a game of Mario Kart or Turtles in Time or Castle Crashers, but I much prefer single player games.   You can enjoy them any time, any where, and don't need friends to play.

[Mikero]

For what your story sounds-like at face value, I would want it to be fairly linear and the characters to feel fully fleshed out. Nothing on rails, of course, but something where the narrative is what's important. I mention that specifically because it does inform what limitations the gameplay has.

There was a time where I was all about having a bespoke character in a sandbox world. I still love that but I don't want it in everything so I have to ask;

What part of SURREALITY is the focus?

If we're talking about following a fully formed character through a tight narrative, then I would personally want a more linear experience. And possibly one that is well paced. Think of something like the Uncharted series. I never played Hellblade but that also comes to mind.

But if the focus of the game is about titillating the player's senses with a miasmic topsy-turny world, then moving in a straight line would take away from that.

Sorry to answer your question with a question, but since I play and like almost every type of game I'd have to know that before being able to say what I'd like to have in the game.

Per your other question: Now that I'm older most games are one and done, especially if they have narrative thicker than the gameplay. If they are free roam though, I could put in extensive hours after the story is complete looking for little rocks in side-missions and stuff. Length also matters a lot there. A medium platformer a la Mega Man? I might play that a bunch of times. Red Dead Redemption 2? That's probably not going to warrant restarting.

[Teelio]

What part of SURREALITY is the focus?

Narrative-wise, the world would be the highlight; how it functions, its inhabitants and many other elements are intentionally put in to make this world feel rich with story and lore. The main character mostly serves as a "host" for the Player to explore and immerse in this world. However, this main character has a rhyme and reason for being in this world like everybody else, so naturally everything will need to feel organic. Though, with everything as rounded out as they are, linear paths may be the best option. Maybe with well-placed "hubs" to give the illusion of open areas.


Here's a little synopsis:

- Pittsburgh, Spring late 90s

A juvenile gets framed for a horrific incident and is forced to take a new, mysterious VR therapy offered by a mysterious company.

... That's virtually all you need to know going into the story, as the intention is to fill in the gaps and tell a few stories over the course of the main arc while keeping a steady flow.

I made a PowerPoint oh I don't know.... 4 years ago, that I used to "pitch" the story idea to friends and coworkers. If I can find it, I'll upload it here.

For now, I have several of my concepts here. Looking to have some better quality, REAL work to share by the end of this year. I'm not an artist by any name nor can I draw faces to save a life.

[TheRedPriest]

Late 90s seems early for a VR themed premise.

[Mikero]

I do kind of like the alternate 90's though where we would have fully immersive VR and some other historical differences.

I think to really show off the world then linear gameplay would be best since you can control events and make them seem organic.

Actually, believe it or not one of the Call of Duty games has a really heady mind##### story to it. I believe it's Black Ops 3. I didn't play it (or any CoD) myself, but I watched a video explaining the story and I was really impressed. It may be worth looking at that to see how they controlled the narrative and balanced the gameplay.

Also with your story, definitely watch this show on Netflix called The I-Land and then don't copy any of the garbage therein, haha

[Teelio]

  It will indeed be an alternate timeline. If something like Nintendo's Virtual Boy then was the equivalent of VR specs & handling today. Or maybe not as advanced.... There's still room to tinker.

   Linear is seemingly the safest way to go for world development. It's just a matter of offering replay value without dumbing down to the "this-or-that" choice illusion.

   I read up on the I-Land. Sounds like a promising premise, but the missing memories/dying in virtual world--die in real life gimmick.... Worn tropes.

   With the current state of things, everything is up in the air. Haven't been on site since March, and the lack of lab access really puts a dent in things. As of now, I'm looking to get a powerful desktop PC (no more laptops); one made for gaming but will be used to production.
   I've priced and checked the specs on some, and found some from iBUYPower. Granted, I know next to dirt about PC specs, but I have minimal requirements that must be met above all else. Budget is quite flexible here:

- Processor 2.5+ GHz
- 8 GB Ram
- DirectX11+ Graphics Card
- Windows 10 OS

   In other news, I'm taking an online 2D Art class. Played with concepts like shape, line, texture, color, color psychology.... I'll upload some images soon.

[Johncarllos]

You can build an extremely competent PC for very little with those specs.

If you want to save a bit more, the Ryzen 3400g has really competent integrated graphics (not so much for new games), and is 4 core 8 thread at 3.7 Ghz. $150.

If you're getting separate graphics, the Ryzen 3 3300X is similarly specced, but much faster and doesn't have graphics on board.

If you throw down a budget, I could give you a parts list for best price/performance and availability for futureproofing.

[Teelio]

   I have $1k reserved, but hoping I don't have to pay terribly for a complete setup. Would it be wise to do a custom-built setup or get a setup already on the market? I wasn't too sure how much everything would be priced out, so I saved enough in case other purchases were needed (speakers, mouse, monitor etc.)

   Here's the projects I worked on these past weeks.

   First was about SHAPE (had an idea and executed it poorly), second was LINE (a Nintendo Switch made of black electric tape), third was for TEXTURE, and the last one was about COLOR (redid the "Nighthawks" painting as a color wheel).

   Currently working on one for COLOR PSYCHOLOGY and the use of the color pyramid schemes (eg. Lucid, Melancholic). Should be completed before the end of the week. Using Mega Man from MM11 as my template for this one.

[TheRedPriest]

Not too shabby.

[Johncarllos]

I like Shape and Texture the best. I'm a sucker for monochrome, anyways.

Honestly, to be sure of good long lasting parts I recommend looking at the Paul's Hardware youtube channel. He does monthly builds/designs and discusses each choice as far as price/performance, and has lots of build logs showing everything step by step for each type of system.

Alternately, the Build a pc sales subreddit is a great place to find deals on prebuilts.

I've designed a tower here for you, just now: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mrh9gJ
This is a highly competent PC. Will play pretty much anything at 1080p 60fps, has a 2TB storage drive, a 480GB boot drive, plenty of options for expansion, and comes in at $700 USD. I've also only picked highly rated and reliable parts with good warranties and return policies/ customer service. This is tower only, but you can find starter monitors, keyboards, and mice on local craigslist/facebook marketplace or thrift shops pretty easily. Windows 10 can be gotten for free, kind of.

Honestly though, if you can find a pre-built with similar parts and similar pricing, and an in store warranty you may be better off. It's the difference between fighting with troubleshooting everything yourself (if there's an issue), or contacting support personnel to fix things for you. It can be daunting, especially because every PC part has a standard failure rating of between 0.5-2% depending on the company. I watch a lot of tech videos online and even the best in the business can spend a whole day troubleshooting a failed part.

It's a hobby of mine though; I've built, fixed, and done troubleshooting on 4-5 PC's per year for the last 10 years, so feel free to message me with any questions.

[Mikero]

To reiterate, The I-Land was a garbage show and nothing should be copied from it.

I really like that Nighthawks inspired piece, it's one of my favourite paintings.

[Teelio]

   John, you rock. Surprising it wasn't as expensive as I assumed, but shows how current I am with computer tech. There's a store not far from here called Refresh that actually builds custom PCs based on specs. I'll print out that list you made and see if they can fulfill it. Shooting to have the PC up and running before the fall semester begins (one month from now). I'll be sending you a message or two before then. Now that B Summer is finished, I can put my full attention to it.

   Mike, found out my mother-in-law watched it a while back and said nothing but good things about it to me. Then again, she does have poor taste in television!

   Also, thank you all for the compliments. The Nighthawks was the most enjoyable to do. The textures project was a nightmare.

   Last week, I said I was doing the COLOR PSYCH. on Mega Man. Waited until this semester was finished to upload it. I had one other project I just completed yesterday, but it was a redo of the texture project and well.... it's horrific. I'll spare y'all.

[Johncarllos]

   John, you rock. Surprising it wasn't as expensive as I assumed, but shows how current I am with computer tech. There's a store not far from here called Refresh that actually builds custom PCs based on specs. I'll print out that list you made and see if they can fulfill it. Shooting to have the PC up and running before the fall semester begins (one month from now). I'll be sending you a message or two before then. Now that B Summer is finished, I can put my full attention to it.

If they have OEM copies of Windows 10 for a good price and a warranty, I wouldn't be surprised to see a system like that go for $1000. Microcenter or Bestbuy also sometimes have killer deals on prebuilts when they clean out their old inventory. I'm curious what the rates at Refresh are!


I'm all about Lucid MegaMan, the other two are unsettling! I think it's just the skin color.

[TheRedPriest]

Mighty No. 3

[Teelio]

   I'll be doing projects with Maya and the Unity engine this semester. I had to create a "Hello World!" game, but it wasn't really a game so much as it was a test of basic C# knowledge.

   Maya though.... I've fallen in love.

   This project wasn't suppose to be anything specific. Just an abstract sculpture that shows understanding of the basics.

   I'll be constructing a little 2D side-scroller near the end of the year too (for final project and portfolio-building). For now, I have gameplay concepts and cute little characters. Think of Worms/Hogs of War-type mayhem without the turn-based schtick, with some class inspiration like Team Fortress 2 for flavor (character & level design concepts respectfully).

[TheRedPriest]

Untitled Chicken Game?

[Teelio]

Untitled Bird Game... Now titled! This is the current game project. (Anarcho Techno is being written at the same time, but this is a far more realistic vision, at least for what I'm capable of at the moment)...

All sprites are custom-made... Who would have thought playing with sprites 10+ years ago on the Matrix would pay off so beautifully?

[TheRedPriest]

Goodfeathers

[Teelio]

I made a small clip to demonstrate the art in the level. I initially wanted to do various art styles for the environment (one level painted, one more 3-dimensional & geometric, one minimalistic etc.) This would be a minimalistic approach to the Western level. (The moonshine bottle is a temporary placeholder)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsfzGJuucXg

The idea was to keep the characters and collectibles at a consistent pixel style where the backgrounds would vary. I'm not 100% on this approach, so any constructive feedback would be great.

Also don't mind the "slippery" player. I'm still ironing out the code there.

[TheRedPriest]

I like what I assume is the character select lets you just walk into the stage.  I would suggest maybe once you hit that zigzag border between the white and the actual level, that that white area pull back to the left of the screen, leaving the level behind it, so you can walk back to the left to the "can't go any further left" point and be in the stage and not back in the character select.

[Teelio]

I've taken that idea and working on a smooth transition between character selection & the level intro sequence. As of now I have both the level and character selection on separate scenes, but with your idea, I can possibly incorporate a character selection option that is available throughout the level, where can switch about immediately.

https://timrage90.itch.io/fair-feathered-five-demo

You can play the demo I released last month. The game has progressed much farther than that (character selection isnt the only new feature). No game uploaded, but I have a small video that shows the current state, more or less:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fOXqaywrjE

Also, made a small game that I uploaded yesterday for a school project. It's playable within browser (WebGL):
https://timrage90.itch.io/fly-into-the-light

[TheRedPriest]

WebGL will never be half of what Flash was.