Dare the Monkey (work in progress) and Dev Blog

Hi guys, I'm delighted to finally show off my first Buildbox 2 project called Dare the Monkey.

Dare the Monkey is a fast paced arcade styled platform game inspired by classic coin-ops. It's still a work in progress but I'm aiming to release on iOS in the coming months. All feedback and comments would be really appreciated. I've added some images and gameplay footage below.

Also I've been documenting the development process on my blog: http://www.darethemonkey.com and on twitter: https://twitter.com/darethemonkey

 

I absolutely love it. Has that Donkey Kong vibe which is solid with me. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to get my hands on this one.

 

nice

 

very nice!

 

WOW WOW WOW!!! Very nice!! All the best to your launch

 

Looking rad sir, definitely has the DK Country feeling, can i expect some animal riding as well?

some feedback, the grass level of detail is clashing a bit with the rest of the style, simplifying it a bit like the bushes you did on the back would do the trick (those are looking badass) as well with some of the textures, i think they might have too much details in my opinion ( the tree, rock platforms )

the rest is looking super solid, loving the atmosphere on the cavern so much.

Looking forward to more updates on this! great job man

 

Wow! Really nice graphics!
You made them yourselves?

 

That graphics is just wow!

 

Amazing game. Lovely graphics and great blog @alan_caleb

 

some feedback, the grass level of detail is clashing a bit with the rest of the style, simplifying it a bit like the bushes you did on the back would do the trick (those are looking badass) as well with some of the textures, i think they might have too much details in my opinion ( the tree, rock platforms )

Thanks @dani, I've added your visual feedback to my Trello board. I was going for a Ghouls and Ghosts style with the grass but as you say it might be too much. It's great to get some feedback at this stage as there is enough time to give some serious consideration to every comment.

 

Hi @nayamamarshe, yes I did the graphics myself. It's a very slow process, I've been working on the graphics for over a year now. I'll try to put some more information about creating the graphics on my development blog over the coming weeks. You can check it out at www.darethemonkey.com Mostly the graphics are created in Maya, Zbrush and photoshop. Also if there's anything you'd like me to cover in the blog I'd be more than happy to do so.

 

Many thanks so far for everyones comments and support. If anyone has got any cool ideas that would help to breakup the gameplay a bit then I'm all ears. I've spent countless hours on youtube watching Sonic, Donkey Kong and Mario videos and it's very hard to come up with original gameplay elements that these amazing games don't already have.

 

awesome stuff

 

@alan_caleb I too have spent countless hours playing these games. I have to say the devs do a great job with level design. Honestly, trying to come up with new gameplay elements is extremely difficult and can even hinder the creative process. Especially now with so many new devs popping up everyday with new games. From Angry Birds, Crossy Roads, Sonic Dash and so forth; none of them have original gameplay elements. They simply build upon existing elements and either tweak or build upon the original ideas. Don't kill yourself trying to reinvent the wheel, just have it spin with your style. Something, as simple as chocolate can be found everywhere at any store you shop at. Hundreds even thousands of companies have their own chocolate bar/candy. Every chocolate out there grows from a cacao tree, no where else. These companies haven't discovered anything new with their bars. Some add caramel, peanuts, strawberry but at the end of the day its the same damn thing just their take on this delicacy. Something to remember as well is that many casual gamers haven't played a lot of these games. So I'm pretty sure you can snag a gameplay element from either mario, sonic or even donkey kong and create your take on it. Another piece of advise or opinion (however you would like to take it) is instead of watching these videos try purchasing the games. You can even snag an emulator on either mac or pc to play the oldies. Its a whole different world watching vs playing. From how it feels to how the characters control to maybe playing a level that adds a sense of urgency is experienced differently with actual gameplay experience. As of now your game is looking quite sharp. Hope I've helped some. Keep up the good work!

 

Focus on the story, then create the characters move set. Check out my dev blog https://www.buildbox.com/forum/index.php?threads/vectology-games-dev-blog.691/

 

@Project K Studios Yeah, I spent a lot of time also playing the games but I got so engrossed in them that I stopped actually paying attention to what was going on in terms of gameplay and level design LOL!!! For me personally I found it easier to watch youtube videos as it also let me rewind and study certain sections over and over again without worrying about actually getting Game over Also it's worth putting out that I'm just plain bad at video games these days.

 

@VectologyGames the blog is looking exceptional.
.

 

This is looking great, Love the art style

Blog is also looking great something I should probably do myself. Nice to see how its developed from sketches to final game.

 

wow good design.

 

Impressive game! I will try it when release.