Assuming more than two of you visited this page after seeing the title, I'd like to take a quick moment and gather some feedback on the game I'm sure a handful of you have at least heard about.
Unlike in the past where I made a rather notorious name for Diamond after releasing sequel after sequel with little to show between each version and worse... not taking in much feedback between each release, I'm taking the time to truly get this one right the "first" time.
The real magic behind True Diamond is that this is the version I finally want to get right. So while it's been years and a lot of announcements have been made, this is the version where feedback is truly taken to heart in just about every aspect of the game. The name says it all, this is the game I've wanted Diamond to be. This is Diamond in it's truest form.
I have just recently uploaded a short 48 second video showcasing the completely new and entirely handmade style. The new style is more or less designed with a clean, sharp, flexible theme.
So without further adieu...
Note: Music is not a part of the game and is credited at the end for anyone interested.
The new style was and will continue to be developed based on any and all feedback I get. One example of this was creating a more noticeable difference between the background and actual playfield. A lot of adjustments have also been made under the hood which dramatically smooths out gameplay and improves framerate almost three fold.
Here is a screenshot of the version recorded above.
(Warning, this picture is 1440x900.)
While I have no intentions on releasing a public test anytime soon, I will be more than happy to discuss with anyone whose interested in helping provide hands on feedback. Until then, I'm really encouraging constructive feedback here. This includes but is hopefully not limited to constructive criticism.
PS: I would have long since created a Project for this game, however I wasn't sure how appropriate it would be seeing as though the game is now being made in Unity as opposed to MMF2. If no one has a problem with this, I'll be more than happy to create one.
I actually think this looks very good. Only criticism is that the white pulses in the background might be a little distracting - give the player the option to turn them off
Thanks for that, Chris. I have dimmed them down significantly to hopefully make them less distracting. If it comes up again however, I will be sure to add an option to disable the effect before release.
If anyone else has any feedback, again I'd be more than happy to take everything you say into consideration.
What sort of time limit are you proposing to afford more challenge to the player?
It's obvious to me that it's a puzzle/block-breaker game, but will there be a risk to taking too much time? Limiting the number of bounces until failure, or maybe a simple stopwatch, for example?
Graphically, it looks stunning. Maybe instead of the white pulses, you could rotate the parallax background. I have a feeling that would look outrageous...
In the past, the main criticism was that there was too much risk. It made the game play more like a relay race or an obstacle course and less like a reflex-puzzle game. So continuing from Diamond: Revolution 2, there will be no time limit, no general bounce limit, and most importantly, no lives. Dying simply restarts the level. At least right now.
Puzzle wise, there will be a lot of things that will make solving puzzles trickier. Over the years, a long list of puzzle elements have come and gone, being improved along the way. Color will play a very large role.
Take for example, "Death Bricks". Nothing more than a simple brick with a large colored X on it. If the player matches the color of the X, bouncing off of it is fatal and will result in restarting the level. Otherwise, it's safe to bounce off.
Other obstacles include things that aren't in their nature 'bad', but can be. For example, bricks that fall when not supported can be used to open or close passages, but can be fatal if the player gets caught beneath it and crushed.
Depending on the response to the main game however, it's not out of the question that 'challenge maps' that do track your time or number of bounces. Similar to Portal and the map variances that test how fast you can solve a map or the number of portals used to solve it.
More than happy to answer anymore questions and take more feedback, thanks! ^^
How about destroying the color-changing blocks once a player touches them? This would encourage players to think about where they go next to destroy blocks, and to think about whether or not they've gone about things in the proper order.
I'm sure you've already thought about this, along with your other puzzle/challenge elements you'd already mentioned. I just hadn't seen any of them in the video footage.
Strangely enough, that idea did not come up yet. There is a 'bomb' power up that turns the player into a bomb which destroys the next destructible they touch (ie: wood, diamonds, color switches, etc) but the idea of a type of color switch that's destroyed upon use, oddly enough is not something that came up. Thanks. ^^
It could be a nice feature to keep the timer in as a counting-up timer, just for players to see how fast they can complete the level. Then maybe keep track of the player's best times.
Just wanted to throw in a quick update to anyone whose interested. It's still new and there's not much to it yet, but with all the added effort being thrown into this game, and the hopes of seeing it succeed retail, I'm starting in early on building up the hype.
The reason it's been taking as long as it has is because shortly after I started working on the game in 2008, I got a job and a lot of other personal issues started coming up. Unfortunately for the games progress, my standards were raising faster than the game was being developed and with having a pretty bad rep for releasing the same old game over and over again, I wanted to make sure that this game lived up to the name "True" Diamond. I wasn't comfortable letting this game being seen as just another half-baked rushed release. Diamond: Revolution 2 wasn't bad, but I wanted and still want True Diamond to be my best game, my best effort, something I can be proud to put my name on today.
I would release the MMF2 version but aside from looking and playing better, there's not much new to the Unity version, its just an improved remake. I wouldn't be doing the game justice by releasing both. In fact, I'd come across as seeking attention.
I really appreciate the interest, don't get me wrong! I just want to make sure I do everything I can to make this game the best it can be, fracturing its name between the MMF2 version wouldn't help.
I can assure you though, I am doing everything I can to make sure the new version is just as fun as the MMF2 version. In fact, I spent over three days working on a custom camera script that would make it as comprehensive as it needed to be. While it may look good, the gameplay and puzzle design are and will continue to be center stage. If you're interested, I would be happy to share some pre-release previews with you as the game progresses. You seem to have a good idea of what to expect from the game so your feedback would be very valuable.
Like you though, I don't have much time these days, so I couldn't promise anything.
I'm working on my own project slowly when I get a little time here and there.
I'm sure it'll be just as fun as the MMF version, and from what I've seen it just looks like a graphically enhanced version. Which is fine, I like great graphics.
After about a week of balancing between work, social life, and programming, plus a good hour or so of reading up on FileStreaming, I finally have something to show for.
The games progress is finally starting to pick up some real momentum and here's a peak at the new level editor that's being designed specially for the game. Keep in mind, it's designed with function over form and everything is still subject to change.
Two things that will immediately stand out in the level is the lines around all the blocks, which can be toggled by hitting the B key and the grid which can be toggled with the G key. The grid is useful for lining things up on the X and Y axis and the bounding boxes around each brick is good for helping align things on the Z axis.
Currently the player will not be able to move off the z axis though, so while you can place diamonds and switches out there, it would be purely cosmetic - or in the case of diamonds, make the level unbeatable.
Once again, feedback is always more than welcome. I'm encouraging it.
In an effort to quickly explain to people on the go, what exactly True Diamond is... when they've never seen it or a game at all like it, I've begun creating these short clips that I aim to keep under a minute. The point is not only to show off the simple game mechanics to people who have never seen a Diamond game, but also to show off new (or updated) mechanics in the new engine, for people who have played previous versions.
While some of these might seem familiar to people who have played older versions, the videos are short enough not to be an inconvenience for anyone to at least check out.
Don't forget to let me know what you think, what you'd change, or what you'd like to see. Feedback is more than appreciated, it's heard loud and clear and WILL influence the game for the better.
PS: None of the music is part of the final game.
All music and the artist is located in the credits, show them some love too!
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