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TowerFall: Dark World — New expansion to super awesome local multiplayer game
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hey @mattthorson !
I don't know very much about game dev. Data/analytics is huge in web dev. I'm wondering if you use any analytics to learn more about your players? Does is affect what you decide to work on?
@mscccc I don't use formal analytics at all. When I do playtesting, I'm either in the room or watching a livestream.
Hey @mattthorson,
Towerfall is in constant rotation on Dev Night at the Philly Game Forge. Everyone loves it!
Q: How much is "too much" in a game like Towerfall? How do you decide what special arrows, stage effects, etc. should be included, what might slow down the experience too much and needs to be cut altogether, and what needs more time in the oven? Is it a playtesting / balance thing, or do you go on your gut for most of it?
Bonus: What games are you playing right now? What's out there in the space that's inspiring you?
@rperdue awesome! Philly Game Forge was amazing with beta testing in the game's early days :)
"Too much" is super subjective, and I think your feelings on this can come to define a large part of your personal design style. I personally tend toward minimalism. But I try to accept different levels of complexity for different level sets, to help make them more meaningfully different. For example, playing on Darkfang is a lot more technical than on Backfire, etc.
But to answer your question - a combination of my gut and playtesting. I see playtesting as a way to refine my gut. Sharing the game and seeing how players react helps me develop my intuitive sense of what works or doesn't work in the context of TowerFall.
I'm playing Snakebird right now - a fantastic little puzzle game :)
http://store.steampowered.com/ap...
Hey @mattthorson - you mentioned you were gonna draft a competitive towerfall guide, is that still in the works? boop boop boop.
@sandersak I'll probably finish that once all the bugs are fixed from launch, and the game is out in the UK on PS4 :)
@mattthorson Wow heard a lot about your game :)
Mainly from @russfrushtick ;)
Any advice for casual gamers who want to dip their toes into Towerfall but feel a bit overwhelmed?
@andreasklinger The best way to start is with other new players - dive into it together! The game is designed to be discovered communally by a group of friends, and you'll all quickly get a hang of it.
@matthorson congrats on being our first developer AMA! I have a Q: what's not in the game that you really wanted to include but couldn't for whatever reason?
@eriktorenberg I prototyped a new Versus mode called Warlord.
http://towerfall.tumblr.com/post...
Players would fight over the warlord helmet. You only get points for your kills while wearing the helmet, and killing the wearer transfers the helmet to you.
It's a cool idea that I never got very far with, the new co-op mode took priority. I might revisit it later :)
I haven't been able to experience the glory of 4-player multiplayer yet. The expansion looks great!
Hunter
@matthorson will there be any new unlocks in the expansion or will the new archers, levels, etc. be unlocked from the start?
@psuchase Pretty much everything is unlocked from the start, aside from some progression in the new co-op campaign.
I considered hiding some of the content, but that introduced a problem: If I advertise the locked content, it seems unfair that people have to unlock something they paid for so directly. And if I don't advertise it, players won't be aware of how much value the DLC adds.
Hunter
TowerFall is an archery combat platformer for up to 4 players. It's a local party game centering around hilarious, intense versus matches. The core mechanics are simple and accessible, but combat is fast and fierce. It's best played competitively with friends, cross-legged on the floor within punching distance of each other.
This game is couch multiplayer at its finest. Easy to pick up and play. Endless hours of fun.
Can't wait to try this! The original was a huge hit with me and my friends. We started playing it as a quick break from popular console games like Call of Duty, but it quickly became one of our main go-to party games.
@mattthorson
How is IndieHouse like nowadays, since the Polygon article last year? :) http://www.polygon.com/features/...
@7thbeat IndieHouse has changed quite a bit - it's always changing. One of the original 5 residents has moved out, and as usual we house visitors pretty every month. I still love it here, it feels like home.
TowerFall creator, @mattthorson, will be joining us on May 13th at 1pm PT for our first developer AMA! Please ask him cool questions!
@mattthorson
1) What were the biggest challenges you faced in making a more compelling "campaign" experience for Dark World?
2) Any updates on the Vita version? Plans for cross-play with PS4?
3) I know one archer is secretly the best. Which one is it?
@russfrushtick Hey Russ!
1) It was clear that, in order to do it right, we had to upgrade to 4-player co-op (the co-op in Ascension capped out at 2 players). Committing to making 4-player work had ripple effects through the entire design. Most significantly it necessitated the new revive and progression systems.
2) We're still working on Vita, there's not much to say about it for now. It will be cross-buy, but there's no plans for the Vita and PS4 versions to interact in any way.
3) The Vainglorious Ghoul, of course.
Of course, the obvious question is whether there are plans for further additions following Dark World.
But additionally, was there ever a point in the development process when online play was considered? What was it like to adhere to a vision of local multiplayer when a lot of online chatter about similar couch-based games groans over a lack of matchmaking?
And what are the origins of the name TowerFall? What are some other names that were left on the cutting room floor?
@mlittledc Right now there's no concrete plans for more TowerFall development. I have ideas of where we could go further with the game, but I need to get some distance from it for a bit.
Online play was heavily considered for months during Ascension development. In the end, I chose to add the co-op Quest mode rather than pursue netcode. I researched online code a lot, and couldn't see any way to preserve the fun of TowerFall online.
The goal was to find a title as iconic as 'Castlevania'. Something simple, that felt like it was describing a world rather than a set of mechanics. I wanted to avoid "does what it says on the tin" in favor of a bit of mystery and charm.
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