PSP Minis

1. 

   James @ FuturLab
   Member

   Hiya,

   As mentioned elsewhere, I reckon it'd be a good idea for us minis devs to test each other's games. The likelihood is we are all fairly small studios without extensive testing budgets. It's very time consuming doing updates once the game is out (speaking from experience), so to get feedback from a group of likeminded people, probably with different ideas of what makes a good game, could help to bring all of our games to a new level of enjoyment/value for money.

   I'd be happy for other devs to test our games, and I'd be more than happy to test games other devs are working on - to share tips, discuss ideas etc.

   If minis is going to become the platform we all want it to be, maybe we should work together a little bit :)

   What do ya'll think?

   James

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   FantasyDragon
   Member

   I think this is a perfect idea. The only thing is, I wish fans could help out too, in some way. But developers working together is a great plan!

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   evanac
   Member

   Seconded (or thirded, I guess!).

   :)

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   onmode-ky
   Member

   This is the precursor to my suggested Minis crossover project! Clawrence vs. Ace Armstrong is in the bag! :P

   P.S. Ace may seem like the hands-down winner in that match-up, but don't count out Clawrence; with all that gold, he can hire a whole army of mercenaries.

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   Carson
   Member

   This is the precursor to my suggested Minis crossover project! Clawrence vs. Ace Armstrong is in the bag! :P

   P.S. Ace may seem like the hands-down winner in that match-up, but don't count out Clawrence; with all that gold, he can hire a whole army of mercenaries.

   
   that really wouldn't be a fair fight.....
   given the reflective surfaces of all of Clawrences riches, and the fact that Ace's weapons are light based, Ace doesn't stand a chance!
   Are you TRYING to make Ace Armstrong, an even harder game, onmode-ky!?

   In all seriousness though,
   I do believe that the "MDA", (if you will,) is a fantastic idea with lots of potential.
   James, Al, Paul, all the other developers who are regulars here: make it happen!
   Its gotta be the best idea I've heard to give the service a good reputation, have the developers scratch each others backs!
   It'd also be a great thing to brag about: "this game was made in association with the minis developers alliance, and has the MDA seal of quality"

   I think this is a perfect idea. The only thing is, I wish fans could help out too, in some way. But developers working together is a great plan!

   
   actually, I like to think we do help in a similar manner, perhaps not as much as that could, but there's been tons of polls and questions asked by developers here about what we would like to see.
   Makes me think... another thing a Dev alliance could do, share statistics and results and requests they've gathered over the years with each other.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   onmode-ky
   Member

   given the reflective surfaces of all of Clawrences riches, and the fact that Ace's weapons are light based, Ace doesn't stand a chance!
   Are you TRYING to make Ace Armstrong, an even harder game, onmode-ky!?

   Oh, come on. Ace just has to make it past the army of mercenaries, and then he's pretty much got the win. Has it occurred to you that, to Ace, Clawrence is a GIANT ENEMY CRAB? Ace just has to attack Clawrence's WEAK POINT for MASSIVE DAMAGE.

   If you don't think Clawrence is giant enough, consider that he's about the same size as Ace's fighter ship on your PSP screen. By the way, why do you think Ace's weapons are light-based? I thought they were, you know, bullets.

   I now return this topic to its regularly scheduled programming, Minis Dev Alliance Colon-P, brought to you by Futur Laboratories. "We drop E so you don't have to!" But, seriously, I'd like to see more devs hop on board in this topic. The Alliance, I mean, not dropping E.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   (Grip Games) Jakub Mikyska
   Member

   This discussion has gone a little off its way, unfortunately. But James is right, small minis developers should cooperate.
   Paddy from OpenMotion had similar idea a few weeks back. I wonder what happened with that.

   James, just send us an email, so we get in touch and we can work out something together. I'd love to see what you are cooking and we have some games in development that we would love to hear opinions about from "outsiders" :-)

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   blacklabgames
   Member

   I think the idea has much merit. I guess the only caveat would be in relation to developers working on similar projects - obviously their is potential for problems if we are working on similar games (and there have been a few similar games come out lately...side scrolling shooter anyone?)

   FantasyDragon, yeah, I'd love to be able to get regulars on this forum more involved with testing and feedback, but it's not easy, since minis development and testing is tied to proprietary hardware :(

   L8r, Paul

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   Hellboy546
   Member

   Im not a game developer but i would like to test out your games. I also have ideas for games but no way to create them.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    Carson
    Member

    I think the idea has much merit. I guess the only caveat would be in relation to developers working on similar projects - obviously their is potential for problems if we are working on similar games (and there have been a few similar games come out lately...side scrolling shooter anyone?)

    
    true, but couldn't it also help this problem be avoided? By allowing the dev's to see what the others are working on first hand, they would be able to say "ok, [devX] is doing their game like this[A], so we should do our game like this[B] so neither of us have competition."
    even if its in the same genre, it could at least allow the developers to do the games in a different style, so that comparing them would be difficult.

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    onmode-ky
    Member

    This discussion has gone a little off its way, unfortunately.

    Sorry about that. It was meant to be a quick side joke, but it sort of took on a life of its own.

    Perhaps you guys should set up a mailing list, or maybe several mailing lists. Like for playtesting discussions, tools discussions, debugging discussions, optimization discussions, outsourcing discussions, etc. I would suggest this forum's "Developer Services and Trade" section, but being very public, that would not be suitable for projects in progress.

    Paul, do Minis not have a beta testing phase (which, to my understanding, involves code running on consumer hardware)?

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    Hellboy546
    Member

    Are you guys ignoring my last post?

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    Carson
    Member

    Sorry hellboy, not ignoring your last post, you just posted it after I had the page opened up, and didnt notice it
    

    Im not a game developer but i would like to test out your games. I also have ideas for games but no way to create them.

    
    for the reasons Paul explained that is not possible.
    I believe the psp test tool is the only to play unreleased games, meaning that unless you are a licensed PSP developer, you cannot test the games.

    If you would like to try to make your dream games come to life, I recommend that you do a little research on the subject, and try to make a game, there's some amateur developer software that requires little experience, just alot of patience and persistence.
    Have you tried "Game Maker"? its a great little tool for someone with absolutely no experience. And in fact, there is a possibility that games you make with it will be ported to minis (yoyogames (the program's developers) hold contests every now and then, and the winners and some runnerups will get to have their games be converted to minis by a converter that is supposedly in developement!).

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    Hellboy546
    Member

    The only thing is would they take a minor's ideas?

    Posted 1 year ago #
15. 

    Carson
    Member

    you mean if you were to make a game that won?
    I assume parental consent is all they would need.

    Posted 1 year ago #
16. 

    Hellboy546
    Member

    Oh. Thanks. I mean i have epic ideas for games but i just cant figure out how to make them real.

    Posted 1 year ago #
17. 

    Carson
    Member

    oh, and if your going to ask developers to make your game idea come to life,
    appearently it annoys them if your idea is "like uncharted 2, but with better graphics!"
    phhht! developers! dont recognize a great idea when they see it!

    well, "epic ideas" typically take years to decades of experience and a 100k to 10M $ budget,
    if your ideas require 3D graphics and you want it to happen now, you might want to see a genie

    Posted 1 year ago #
18. 

    volcane
    Member

    I think this is a great idea!

    This reminds me of a recent initiative in the Half Life modding community called: The Beta Testers Collective

    The BTC is a structured formalised process that provides mod developers with a pool of commmitted beta testers. The beta testers themselves come from the modding community and are primarily mod creators & indy game developers, although there is some representation from non-developer mod players as well.

    More info here: http://www.planetphillip.com/beta-testers-collective

    Overview

    The Beta Testers Collective is a group of players who believe that beta testing should be taken seriously and done systematically. We believe in communicating feedback in clear and concise language. This website is a place for modders to find suitable and trustworthy testers. Not everybody is accepted as a tester and generally must be recommended by a current tester.

    “I truly believe that beta testing is a neglected but essential part of mod development. I hope that this project helps modders find suitable testers and demonstrates the benefits of a proper beta testing programme.”

    Phillip Marlowe - Founder

    Posted 1 year ago #
19. 

    midaskid
    Member

    @futurlab Sorry I didn't pick up on your comment over the weekend busy chap.

    This is a thought I have had for short while now. Especially after a conversation I had with a guy from the Quebec Embassy at the recent Edinburgh Interactive Festival. Oh yes you meet all sorts at these things.

    It is one of those grey areas and not totally sure how it would work when it comes to the boring stuff IP rights etc... It would help enormously when making the leap to the bigger platforms e.g. PS3. Certainly looking forward it will be worth having a serious discussion

    BTW AAvsTAS gameplay is being reviewed so check out the LJ site for updates in the coming days ;)

    Posted 1 year ago #

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