Murdoc

Awesome painting Kusy! I finally get to see some of your work..

This looks amazing! Who did the models for it?

Looking more tasty all the time. Your art has a warm feel to it and the animations are smooth. Keep up the good work!

> Your palm trees turn upwards too? Because the tip of his palm tree leaves look like they turn up a bit. lmao

> Major Bump , any criticism will be gladly accepted! > >  Looks great Major! I tried to find something to critique, but I can't. :)

Why is this game pinned exactly? I mean, it looks good and all.. But pinned?

> I'd say neither, unless you credit the authors who painted the background scenes. Let's face it, neither the backgrounds or the images used in the logos are his own work. But, I agree credit should be given to all the artists.

If you fixed the text in the first I'd say go with that one. The "V" in the second is too obscure.

I like that it's browser based. Looks good so far. Best of luck!

> Its been a long time since I crushed the spirit of fellow eclipsians…. > > > > Restart! *sighs* ….... 1

> Don´t forget Dofus :D It is a very nice tactical game, but it is to one of the unbalanced game ever. (I prefer V1.29 since 2.0 kinda sucks.) I agree. I've played Dofus and a few others mentioned here. The ones I listed in the o.p are just examples.

A demo would boost the appeal. But, I think you also need to run an advertising campaign. Promote your game on as many sites as possible.

> It's true they might try it, that's logical to say. But if he's building this game I assume he wants a fan base that will stick, the question is what will he do with the concept to make it juicy and ensure that those players who try it want to come back for more? > > > > You're right, he's showing off his programming, but what really is there to show besides main mechanics of movement, a chat box, and the algorithm which isn't complete? My point there was he can't blame anyone for saying it's boring if they do, because he decided to show something he himself knows isn't much to show off. If he wanted to show off programming he should have waited until he had some editors, more content UI wise and so on. > > > > In relevance to my patience comment that was also pertaining to him posting what he had so early on which in all truthfulness isn't much. Don't get me wrong, I said it was good thus far because as ANOTHER PROGRAMMER what caught my attention right away was the algorithm, but not everyone who looks at this will be a programmer like the few of us on the topic who said they liked the progress mostly because they're speaking from a programmer's perspective. If this "work in progress" was simply to show off John's programming skills, then yes it would make sense to show more aspects of programming. But, the point of this thread is to show the progress of the game itself. It is a prototype, nothing more nothing less. We understand why some don't like it, and others do as far as mechanics and visual appeal (This will all change in time). Now as far as patience is concerned, I don't think we're being impatient by showing a game prototype in it's very early stages. And, isn't it fair to say that if we really were impatient we would've skipped the prototype phase, rushed programming and development and released a buggy game? Needless to say, we have no intention of developing this way. I hope that clears things up as far as "Why game no look like game yet?" Keyword: Prototype. ;)

We're still working on the algorithm, to make maps more appealing. Currently, some areas are actually quite interesting as far as layout. We would go with the room algorithm except were aiming more at "this dungeon is very old and worn" with missing walls and such. And, a cavernous approach feels too perfect for the vision we have. Here is an example of a less boring dungeon layout. Keep in mind this does not show any mobs, lighting (which is in the works), or decorations like torch-stands: 

Grade A herb goes in that.. take your pick. Molasses flavored tobacco ftw.

Looking good. I hope you plan on finishing the large stump though. Looks like a kid drew it atm.

Downloaded the latest version. But, for some reason, I crash when I talk to the weapon sales dude.

Circle Helix? I'm kidding of course. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but If you're attempting to make a professional company, and want a professional name like Square, Nexon or whatever your gonna have to be highly creative. I'll give reasons. For one, I assume you'll want a .com or .net site eventually and just that alone is going to limit your selection tremendously. Good company names are literally worth gold. Just head over to godaddy.com type in 20 cool words, and see how many are already a .com or .net site.To top it off the cool names that aren't taken are usually 2-30k just for the domain name. I'll give an example. Originally, I wanted our company to be called K.O interactive. Unfortunately, the domain is 3 grand out of my budget so I settled on KAO. This might explain why emerging game companies have such weird names, sometimes with no definition at all. They either can't get a name that has a simple definition like "Square", or even if they can the domain is too expensive. Your best bet is to be as creative as possible, make sure the .com or .net is available and the name isn't already under copyright. I'm probably not being much help but there's a reason I'm saying all this. Chances are, if someone had a cool name to share that you could use for a professional company, they would probably keep it to themselves and wait til they can afford to buy the domain. Now, if you don't care about .net, .com or whatever then it shouldn't be so hard. You'll still have to avoid copyright infringement, however. Then there's the easy route. Find a definitive word or phrase and stick "games" or "studio" at the end. Personally, I find this tacky.

> Just wanted to know what people think of the new UI layout. > > > >  > > > >  Seems like extra work to have to click menu then a menu button. Why not just reserve space below the screen for the entire gui and leave it off screen? That way it doesnt obstruct anything on screen but is still easily accesible.

> I've gone through the game and eliminated all bugs I could find. Im nearing finishing the city, and then I'll probably release a new demo and the teaser trailer as promised. :) Looking forward to it!

> Why stop at MMOS? Games like terraria and starbound are extremely popular. To answer simply: There really isn't much doubt you can create a successful 2d game outside of the online genre, and actually have people play. There is more skepticism when it comes to online games. Granted, most of these titles came out in the early to late 90's, and have nostalgia to boost their appeal. So the skepticism may be somewhat warranted. But these, along with others I didn't bother to post, prove at least one thing: online 2d games are still alive and well. To be quite honest I could just be trying to convince myself it's not a dead market. But I hope this encourages someone who feels like "What's the point?" Over the many years I've been here, I've started and quit several projects because of that self-defeating attitude.

So, there's usually a variety of opinions when it comes to the success of an online game, that's set in a 2D environment. On one hand, some say: "Even if you make a great online 2D game you'll never achieve a player base above 50.. and that's IF you're lucky." On the other hand, some shoot for the stars and come crashing back to earth with: "I'm gonna make the most epic online 2D game anyone has ever played and it will be as popular as WoW!". You can almost hear the snickering now. Because I like to be as realistic as possible, I'm going to challenge both sides of this proverbial coin by covering games that are not only well made, but have a substantial player base. (Nowhere near millions, but much higher than 50) Without further ado, here are a handful of online 2D mmos that have achieved success over the years: **1\. Maplestory** Average Player Base: 25,000  _**MapleStory**_ is a [free-to-play](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_massively_multiplayer_online_games), [2D](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_computer_graphics), [side-scrolling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-scrolling) [massively multiplayer online role-playing game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_role-playing_game), developed by the [South Korean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea) company [Wizet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizet). Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, and each is published by various companies such as [Nexon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEXON_Korea_Corporation). Although one may play the game for free, one can only purchase some character appearances and gameplay enhancements from the Cash Shop with real money. **2\. Tibia** Average Player Base: 25,000  _**Tibia**_ is a [massively multiplayer online role-playing game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_role-playing_game) (MMORPG) created by [CipSoft](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CipSoft). It is one of the oldest MMORPGs and was considered most noteworthy in its early years; however, with the development of MMORPGs, its popularity has grown much slower than other MMORPGs. Its most unusual aspect is its [2D graphics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_computer_graphics) environment, which may have contributed to its slow growth, as the gaming community rapidly shifted to [3D graphics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics). **3\. Nexus TK** Average Player Base: 20,000  _**NEXUS: The Kingdom of the Winds**_ alternately known as **Nexus TK** or simply **Nexus**, is a [Pay to Play](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_to_Play#In_online_gaming)[MMORPG](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG), currently run in the US by Kru Interactive. Nexus began as a U.S. version of the Korean game ??? ?? (_Baramue Nara_, or simply Baram) developed by [NEXON Inc.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEXON_Inc.) of Korea, and is loosely based on Korean mythology and on a series of graphic novels by an artist named Kim Jin. Development of Baram began in Korea in 1994 and the game was released in 1996\. One year later, it also entered [Beta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_stage) in the United States, going commercial in 1998. **4\. Ragnarok Online** Average Player Base: 50,000  _**Ragnarök Online**_ often referred to as _RO_, is a[Korean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea) [massive multiplayer online role-playing game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_multiplayer_online_role-playing_game) or MMORPG created by [GRAVITY Co., Ltd](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_(company)). It was first released in [South Korea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea) on 31 August 2002 for [Microsoft Windows](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows)and has since been released in many other locales around the world. Player characters exist in a world with a player environment that gradually changes with the passage of time. Player characters interact in a 3D environment but are represented by 2D character sprites for front, back, side and diagonal facings. **5\. Habbo** Average Player Base: 10 million per month  _**Habbo**_ (previously known as _**Habbo Hotel**_) is a [Finnish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland) [social networking service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_service) aimed at teenagers. The website is owned and operated by [Sulake Corporation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulake). The service began in 2000 and has expanded to include 11 online communities (or "hotels"), with users in over 150 countries. In August 2012, the site opened to users from [Turkey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey). As of August 2011, over 230 million avatars have been registered. There are an average 10 million unique visitors monthly.

@Dr.House .. How is it wrong to advertise by admitting you wish to fulfill the dream of your company? If the product is a win, the players will want to be on board with the same dream of making it become a reality. The idea that being transparent is bad for a company, sounds to me like an outdated business practice. That kickstarter even exists shows that consumers (for games or otherwise) accept that companies cannot continue to operate at their full potential without backing. There's no reason to pretend that you are so "professional" (different depending on who you talk to) you can't iterate this to your potential fans; since, they already know. I think this is especially true when a company is getting under way. On-topic: I think the kickstarter looks great! The only thing I might add to the page is some previews of monster transformations to highlight this aspect of the game (it's one of my favorite features). After looking over several games and the backing figures, I believe this one deserves to be high on the list for gamers, even if it is in it's early stages. I wish you the best of luck, and I look forward to playing.

> Good luck with that LOL

> Maybe posting more informations of what you guys are trying to make will bring more interest. > > I'm an artist, and this didn't really attracted me. It's "didn't really attract me". We are making several games besides the two in the preview, including an online shooter and dungeon crawler. Anyone who joins can bring their ideas to the table as well. If what you see doesn't attract you I'm cool with that. We already have a great team. Just need a few extra hands to speed up production on titles.