Rumble Box - A new indie PC game
by Joe Bourrie · in General Discussion · 06/29/2005 (5:18 pm) · 27 replies
We are currently putting the finishing touches on our newest game Rumble Box to get ready for the IGF, and thought others might want to play it and possibly give feedback or suggestions. It can be downloaded from www.phackett.com/rumblebox. If you have any feedback or suggestions, feel free to email me at jbourrie@digipen.edu
Rumble Box is a fast paced 3D action beat-em-up with a unique premise:
all of the characters are made of simple objects which stay around
in the level even after the character is defeated. The objects pile up,
changing the gameplay landscape and altering your combat tactics.
The game takes place inside a giant box, and the ultimate goal
of the game is to pile up enough defeated enemies to get out of the box.
Joe Bourrie
Game Designer
www.jbourrie.com
Rumble Box is a fast paced 3D action beat-em-up with a unique premise:
all of the characters are made of simple objects which stay around
in the level even after the character is defeated. The objects pile up,
changing the gameplay landscape and altering your combat tactics.
The game takes place inside a giant box, and the ultimate goal
of the game is to pile up enough defeated enemies to get out of the box.
Joe Bourrie
Game Designer
www.jbourrie.com
#2
06/29/2005 (5:34 pm)
No multiplayer yet, and there definitely won't be a multiplayer networked mode, but we may possibly add multiplayer on the same machine (especially if we build it into an arcade cabinet).
#3
Bummer.
edit: just saw this on your website -- "Requirements: 1.0 GHz processor / ATI Radeon 9500 or GeForce3 or higher" I have a 9200. that sucks, because this game looks really cool (reminds me of Katamari Damacy in a way). here's some images from your site to entice people:
Now you just need to port this to Torque so we can all play! :P
06/29/2005 (8:36 pm)
Rumble Box.exe - Unable To Locate Component "This application has failed to start because d3d9.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem"
Bummer.
edit: just saw this on your website -- "Requirements: 1.0 GHz processor / ATI Radeon 9500 or GeForce3 or higher" I have a 9200. that sucks, because this game looks really cool (reminds me of Katamari Damacy in a way). here's some images from your site to entice people:
Now you just need to port this to Torque so we can all play! :P
#4
It does, however, require DirectX 9.0c. Make sure that is installed (that's what your error was)
06/29/2005 (10:49 pm)
It may actually work on a lower machine now, I did alot of graphics optimization (though it may get a bit choppy)It does, however, require DirectX 9.0c. Make sure that is installed (that's what your error was)
#5
06/29/2005 (11:05 pm)
Now that is one awesome game. Congrats guys. Ran perfect on my machine and is quite fun. Also, I had no idea Digipen was in Redmond. My son keeps telling me that one day he wants to go there but I always thought it was somewhere far away like Florida. I live in Sammamish and work in Redmond. Hmm...maybe I'll take a course there :-)
#6
This is definitely one thats staying on my harddrive for when I need a little break at work.
06/30/2005 (12:14 am)
Joe, NICE WORK! This is a fanTAStic little game! This is definitely one thats staying on my harddrive for when I need a little break at work.
#7
06/30/2005 (12:45 am)
Yeah, interesting concept.
#8
Wish there were more games like this. :)
06/30/2005 (11:23 am)
Wow, really nice. Cool concept, nice execution. It gets a little hard to follow what's going on sometimes (maybe dim inactive blocks slightly to make a visual contrast between the active characters and debris?), but overall I like it a lot.Wish there were more games like this. :)
#9
I didn't make it past level 3 though....
06/30/2005 (12:15 pm)
What can I say? Kicks ass. Pure action. =)I didn't make it past level 3 though....
#10
06/30/2005 (12:23 pm)
Nice work... somewhat addicting (read: I haven't worked since downloading)... Runs fine on my mobile Radeon 9000
#12
I think that quotes gotta go on our website :)
Thank you, everyone, for the kind words. I love to see when other people are enjoying my creations.
Just to let you know, in a few weeks a new version will be up, with a high score mode, and we will soon be sponsoring a high score tournament. If you want an email when the tournament begins, please email me at jbourrie@digipen.edu
- Joe
06/30/2005 (1:11 pm)
"I haven't worked since downloading"I think that quotes gotta go on our website :)
Thank you, everyone, for the kind words. I love to see when other people are enjoying my creations.
Just to let you know, in a few weeks a new version will be up, with a high score mode, and we will soon be sponsoring a high score tournament. If you want an email when the tournament begins, please email me at jbourrie@digipen.edu
- Joe
#13
The part I was not able to implement was that I wanted the player to be more distinguishable from the other characters. Sometimes when there are upwards of five characters on screen at once, it gets REALLY hard to see your character, so I would recomend maybe adding a glow around it or leaving its outlines black.
Some other things I'd like but probably wouldn't be so easy to add are:
Graphic Options - I want to adjust resolution and add anti-aliasing without having to turn it on from my video card.
Adjustable Controls - I want to use a gamepad and at the moment, doing that is difficult.
But the game is very fun. Yet another Student-developed classic to go alongside the likes of Bontago for being totally awesome.
06/30/2005 (5:37 pm)
I have two very small suggestions which I was easily able to half-implement by modding game graphics. On the outlines of the character graphics, use a 50% grey instead of black. It makes the game look smoother and more pleasant. All that black becomes an eyesore and it is easier to play. The part I was not able to implement was that I wanted the player to be more distinguishable from the other characters. Sometimes when there are upwards of five characters on screen at once, it gets REALLY hard to see your character, so I would recomend maybe adding a glow around it or leaving its outlines black.
Some other things I'd like but probably wouldn't be so easy to add are:
Graphic Options - I want to adjust resolution and add anti-aliasing without having to turn it on from my video card.
Adjustable Controls - I want to use a gamepad and at the moment, doing that is difficult.
But the game is very fun. Yet another Student-developed classic to go alongside the likes of Bontago for being totally awesome.
#14
06/30/2005 (5:49 pm)
Very, Very, Very nice game! :D Doesn't have much replay value tho. I'll be nice if it kept your high score.
#15
The high score mode is currently being created (as well as a more difficult "Challenge Mode"). It should be on the web in a few weeks. :)
06/30/2005 (5:59 pm)
"Very, Very, Very nice game! :D Doesn't have much replay value tho. I'll be nice if it kept your high score."The high score mode is currently being created (as well as a more difficult "Challenge Mode"). It should be on the web in a few weeks. :)
#16
06/30/2005 (7:41 pm)
Hehe, fun little game you got there. I think I'll keep an eye out for your future versions, and keept he current one on my hardrive for awhile.
#18
This is what I would do, if you care to listen:
Stage 1 would be exactly how you have it, where the player is trying to pile up bodies to get out of the box.(brilliant by the way) Stage 2 bonus round was a nice change as you had us dodging bombs as long as we could. For stage 3 though, instead of going back to the 1st stage's method of piling up bodies, what if you made it a walk through stage like Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe where you start at point A and fight all the way to point B with a boss at the end that's nothing more than a larger version of the other enemy characters that takes just a little longer to kill.
After another bonus round (catching falling blocks instead of dodging bombs this time) I would have something else fresh in mind for the next stage.(maybe you have to fight while climbing ladders in a Donkey Kong style level and some ladders are too high to reach, forcing you to pile up enough bodies to reach the ladder or fight while free falling and making enough rubble on the ground to land on safley) After that stage then I would probably wash rense and repeat stage 1's formula if I run out of time or ideas and start over with higher difficulty. But now the player has already gone through 6 levels without really playing the same game twice.
This sort of design and veriety would have kept me playing much much longer. As long as the stages are fun and have a lot of variety, I'm happy. This is just what I could think of that I feel would be fun to me. But it was a great game anyway and you should definatley continue and expand the title. But one more thing, and there's nothing horribly wrong with it because it is appropriate for a game with no real "character" or emotion, and I don't expect a LotR orchestral score but do all indie games have to have some sort of bland generic music? That's my stupid rant and advice. Keep up the good work.
-Ajari-
07/01/2005 (7:19 am)
I'm gonna be honest and speak how I feel like I always do, good or bad. Very impressive. I was amazed by the controls and animations. Then as the bodies pilled up it got a little hard to determine where my player character was. Also the game got a little repedative and I stopped playing out of boredom in the middle of the 3rd stage. I would suggest adding more variety in level design. This is what I would do, if you care to listen:
Stage 1 would be exactly how you have it, where the player is trying to pile up bodies to get out of the box.(brilliant by the way) Stage 2 bonus round was a nice change as you had us dodging bombs as long as we could. For stage 3 though, instead of going back to the 1st stage's method of piling up bodies, what if you made it a walk through stage like Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe where you start at point A and fight all the way to point B with a boss at the end that's nothing more than a larger version of the other enemy characters that takes just a little longer to kill.
After another bonus round (catching falling blocks instead of dodging bombs this time) I would have something else fresh in mind for the next stage.(maybe you have to fight while climbing ladders in a Donkey Kong style level and some ladders are too high to reach, forcing you to pile up enough bodies to reach the ladder or fight while free falling and making enough rubble on the ground to land on safley) After that stage then I would probably wash rense and repeat stage 1's formula if I run out of time or ideas and start over with higher difficulty. But now the player has already gone through 6 levels without really playing the same game twice.
This sort of design and veriety would have kept me playing much much longer. As long as the stages are fun and have a lot of variety, I'm happy. This is just what I could think of that I feel would be fun to me. But it was a great game anyway and you should definatley continue and expand the title. But one more thing, and there's nothing horribly wrong with it because it is appropriate for a game with no real "character" or emotion, and I don't expect a LotR orchestral score but do all indie games have to have some sort of bland generic music? That's my stupid rant and advice. Keep up the good work.
-Ajari-
#19
However, I really agree with Ben on this one. At times I have no clue whats going on. You really need to add some contrast between the active players and the "dead blocks". It would make gameplay allot more enoyable at time.
07/01/2005 (10:48 am)
WOW, very good. I live right by digipen and am going to another school up in Everett. We are also developing an independent game for our senior project. This is very impressive its a good solid and most importantly realistic design that turned out very well.However, I really agree with Ben on this one. At times I have no clue whats going on. You really need to add some contrast between the active players and the "dead blocks". It would make gameplay allot more enoyable at time.
#20
As far as the music is concerned, its kind of funny that you mentioned that. Most indie games do have a pretty bland score, and I'm certain that its because good musicians are expensive and most indies don't have the in-house talent. However, with Rumble Box we knew from the start that our musical inspiration would be swing, so our music was written by a friend who tried for the swinging style. I realize that it is a personal preference, but in this case we DID actually think out our musical choices.
Thank you for your input, and we are definitely thinking about how we can make the game more varied and interesting without sacrificing what Rumble Box is at its core.
07/01/2005 (10:51 am)
Thank you for your input, I have actually brainstormed similar ideas during a session where I asked myself: "What would happen if we took Rumble Box out of the box?". I don't think these things will happen in this version of Rumble Box, but who knows, there might be a "Rumble World" coming! :)As far as the music is concerned, its kind of funny that you mentioned that. Most indie games do have a pretty bland score, and I'm certain that its because good musicians are expensive and most indies don't have the in-house talent. However, with Rumble Box we knew from the start that our musical inspiration would be swing, so our music was written by a friend who tried for the swinging style. I realize that it is a personal preference, but in this case we DID actually think out our musical choices.
Thank you for your input, and we are definitely thinking about how we can make the game more varied and interesting without sacrificing what Rumble Box is at its core.
Torque Owner Dave D