How it's made

Hello and welcome back to the third blog post about AI Vendetta!

It has been a couple of weeks since our last post, but today we are excited to let you know that a playable, alpha stage, build from our game AI Vendetta is available for anyone to play.

We felt that it is time for us to involve other people more into the process of developing this game and that is why you can now play the game in your browser using this link or the huge button below.

(Supports Internet Explorer and Firefox using the Unity WebPlayer.

If you need help with the plugin feel free to contact us!)

We have also been shaping up our social media presence a little bit and made some changes and additions to the blog. (Of course, the blog will still remain our main media outlet. :) )

From now on you can follow us on Blogger, Facebook, Youtube and Google+ as well as our individual members on Google+, Twitter and Indie Gamer. Additionally, we have added a small forum here on Blogger and you can also email us at CatbyteGames@gmail.com

The next part is going to be less focused on AI Vendetta and perhaps a bit dry, but we hope it is also very informative and useful for people that are developing (small) games or are interested in doing so.

So... before we move on, have some more screenshots! And don’t forget to play the game! From now on, we will also be placing screenshots and videos from the game on the “Media” page (accessible from menu bar above). If you have any feedback, comments or questions, feel free to comment on this post, on the forum, or send us an email.

Sneak preview from an upcoming level.

From design to finished level.

How it’s made!

And now to the main topic of this post. Last time we promised that we would share a little bit more in depth about how AI Vendetta came to be and the pipeline we use for developing it.

Personally, we believe that the process of developing a game is both very interesting and rewarding as we get to combine technology with art and creativity. However, it is also hard work that requires a lot of time and dedication.

To give you a better idea of where we currently stand with AI Vendetta, we made a small image [Image 1] that represents the several stages that make up the creation of a game. As you can see in the below image, every game goes through a Design phase, followed by a Production phase that, if everything goes well, results in a Testing and Polishing phase. The end result would be a full-fledged game that is entertaining, looks and feels consistent, and works well.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule.

[Image 1] Typical phases a game will go through during its production.

As you can see, during the Design phase, the game idea is born and in most occurrences takes form as a Game Design Document (GDD). This is a document that describes most, if not all, player interactions and mechanics of the game, the game flow, and a little bit about the game story. However, the document is usually not conclusive about the game and a lot of things described in there will need to be validated, which can sometimes only be done by actually building them into a prototype. Additionally, level designs and story elements are most of the time left out of the GDD as they are too specific to be predetermined at that time. And of course, most of the time during the production of the game, changes and additions to the GDD will be made. A keyword to remember in game development is therefore: iteration.

The Production phase consists of two sub phases: the Alpha and Beta product.

During the first development cycle, you will typically be building a prototype or Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for the game. This is the stage where we are at with AI Vendetta right now; we created a first playable version of the game, containing all the core mechanics, a level demonstrating all of these, and some early stage art-work.

Usually when in the Alpha stage of the process, you don’t immediately move on to building a Beta product, instead, we want to see if the product is actually fun and if people would be willing to play it. That is why letting people play your game at this point is crucial, not only is this a great opportunity to get valuable feedback on what is fun/works well or not, but you also gain insight on what people like and if there is a target audience for your game. This can be compared to the LEAN method in software development [Image 2] and is exactly what we are doing right now.

[Image 2] The LEAN method cycle

Only after validating the product (which may take several prototyping cycles!) will we start on the Beta phase and ultimately on polishing the game for its release. During the Beta stage of the game, also known as full production, all the missing features, artwork, and music will be implemented and the complete game will be built. During this time more playtests, both internal, external, open and closed, will be held to gather more feedback and help refine the game. During the last phase, the game will be fine tuned and sanded down to its final version and be released: the Gold Master.

As mentioned before, the key thing to note is that game development benefits heavily from iteration. However, it may also make development feel slow and disencourage many. Apart from that, it is also very hard to plan for iteration. It is also important to note that each phase will take longer than the previous, which is why some games take years to develop, even with large teams of experienced and professional developers.

What can you expect from us in the next Blog?

We hope you found this post interesting and of course also hope that you will play our game.

Any feedback, comments, suggestions or questions you may have are always appreciated and we will do our best to answer them. And who knows, your ideas might end up in the game!

Our next blog will arrive around new year and will include the results of the open playtest. We will also be showing you the progress we made so far and what we plan to do with the game.

That’s all for now, thank you for reading! And of course, we wish everybody a merry christmas and happy holidays!

~CatByte Games

Gameplay Insight

Hello and welcome back!

As promised, today we will be sharing some footage of AI-Vendetta. This includes a short gameplay session that will give you a good indication of what the game is and where we are at this point. Further on in this post we will talk a little bit about the game and also answer some questions we received as a response to the last post. However, we will not keep you waiting for the video any longer, so please sit back and enjoy!

Gameplay Demonstration

About AI-Vendetta

To all people who have been following us since our last post, as well as people who just saw the game for the first time; AI-Vendetta is a 3D Puzzle Platformer which focuses on tactical gameplay in which the puzzle element is combined with both stealth and action.

As you saw in the video, the game features 3 core gameplay modes, all of which have to be combined in order for the player to complete certain puzzles. This also offers the player other tactical choices, for example you may choose to sneak your way past enemies, or if you like you can also try and blast your way through the area. Two different options in the same scenario, one leading to safety while the other might lead to added rewards. This offers the opportunity for some interesting scenarios!

Proto

AI-Vendetta, Why, How and for Who?

We are currently developing AI-Vendetta in our spare time, but in that time we managed to create what we would define as the Alpha state of the game. This means that all the core mechanics are there and they have been implemented in a good working order. We already have several level designs, multiple enemies, a story/script written for the game and, as you have seen, we have some (placeholder) art assets in place which help visualize the game. We think that this is a good start, especially considering the size of the team, and because of that want to share some more about the game and its future with you!

So where do we go from here? We hope that we can take the project to the next step; this means that we want to further invest our time into the project so we can create a worthy game experience. However, before we take it onto the next level, we are writing these blogs so we can get a feel for the general interest people would have in playing this game. Unfortunately we can’t create a game tailored to everyone’s wishes, but we certainly do hope to get some of those in! That is why we really want to know what YOU think of the game so far!

Utility Mode; Push and Pull large containers

Questions - Answers

So in our first blog we wanted to introduce you to the world of AI-Vendetta, but in a very general way. We received some questions and have also been looking at other projects that are in some ways similar to what we are creating. Here are a few questions that came up:

Will the game feature a story and how can we relate to the main character?

We personally agree with that and unfortunately we can’t show you all of what we have planned for the game in only three minutes. But we can tell you that we intend on having both dialogs as well as monologs visible during the gameplay. This may or may not be narrated depending on our budget.

We also want to make the character more visible to the player because that tiny little speck on the screen is not going to make the character bonding flow on itself!

We really hope to give the game some personality, which will be done through music, environmental storytelling and dialog.

Dialog Mockup Image

Is the game going to be difficult and are all of the gameplay modes going to be equally useful?

It is hard to tell at this point but it is our mission to make both a fun and interesting game. We intend to make it a game that is easy to get into at the start but we will be making it gradually harder throughout the game. And if that is not enough, we are also throwing some boss fights into the mix!

During the design and creation of the game we will strive to make all game modes useful in one way or the other. We benefit from the fact that each game mode features its own unique abilities and behaviour. We will try to put these to good use as best as we can!

What can you expect from us in the next Blog?

As this post is already getting a little bit oversized, let's move on to what you can expect from us in the next blog! Next time we want to share a little bit more about the development process of the game – a sort of “how it’s made” if you will. This includes the production pipeline but also a roadmap of what is still ahead of us.

We will also be shaping up our social media attendance, meaning that you will be able to email us and follow us on Facebook. And of course, we may have some new screenshots in store for you as well!

Thank you for reading! And please, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions about the game in the comments section below! Any and all feedback is always appreciated.

~CatByte Games

Hello World!

Hey there,

We are Catbyte; a small team of passionate, Dutch, game developers that simply want to create fun and inspiring game experiences. Our most recent project, AI Vendetta, has reached a point in which we can now openly discuss its design and progress with all of you! So without further ado, let us take you into the world of AI Vendetta!

AI Vendetta is a fun and challenging 3D action-puzzle game and is inspired by games we love to play ourselves, such as the Legend of Zelda and Portal series. In AI Vendetta you, the player, will take control of a small robot that uses its ability of transforming for sneaking, puzzling and blasting your way through a range of beautiful and action packed levels and boss fights!

Before we move on, here are some more details about the game:

In AI Vendetta the player takes on the role of Proto, a discarded robot with the unique ability to transform into different modes, each with their own tactical usage and gameplay feeling. The game offers the player a range of fun and challenging levels, puzzles and boss-fights while telling you the story of Proto.

Proto has three different modes for the player to use and experience:

• Combat: Blast your way past obstacles and enemies while making your way to the next elevator!
• Stealth: Fast and agile, perfect for sneaking past enemies and reaching places others can’t!
• Utility: No container is too big for your magnetic arms and with tougher armour you power through areas and move blocks around as you desire.

Change into any mode freely at any time! You will need to switch to a certain mode to solve specific puzzles. Sometimes you will even need to use multiple modes in one puzzle!

Can you solve the puzzles and unravel the mystery behind this little robot’s existence?

This is a game you simply can’t resistor!

So let’s meet the team!

The first member to introduce is Thom! He is our main programmer and directing force behind the game. Thom focuses on the technical aspects ranging from tools development to gameplay programming. His focus in programming is to create flexible code architectures for iterative development. Besides managing the game’s development process he is also working to turn the game design into reality. You can check out his portfolio here.

Then we have Davey, a starting game designer that specializes in quick iteration and prototyping designs. He is the designer of the team, so he focuses on thinking of mechanics and level designs for the game. After coming up with the designs, he documents them and communicates them to the team. Additionally, he uses the available tools to iterate on his designs. Currently, he is working hard on the game’s many puzzles and levels. Check out his portfolio here.

And finally we have Rens. Besides helping out in the programming sector, he is also a passionate sound designer and is currently busy developing the soundtrack for the game. Rens is a hard worker and when he is not creating music, he is likely working on his audio engine. Therefore it was only natural that he is now also doing the audio integration for the game as well as some AI programming. Check out his portfolio here.

Now, as you may have noticed, there is no active artist working on this project! Yep, that’s right, currently we are working in a zero-budget setup, which means that it’s hard to find people that will dedicate their spare time to your project. However, we do have a very good head start and art style, both of which were gifted to us by a former colleague and good friend of us. You can check out his portfolio here.

So what can YOU expect from us!?

Well, for our next post we have planned something cool! Until now we have never really shared any content about the game, but there is some video footage on its way to your monitor!

We plan to give you monthly updates about the game’s progress. In the meantime we would also like to share our development experiences with you, including some technical-mumbo-jumbo and design tips and tricks! And of course many progress screenshots!

If there is anything you would like to see or know more about,
please feel free to let us know in the comment section below!

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for more soon!