This is an article I am going to share with you, gamers who are interested to know the ambition behind the game projects. This article has been written by the Developer, that is, me. First of all, before I start sharing information about the game. I would like to introduce myself.
Who is the Developer behind Flight O Flight and all the games published in this website?
The Developer is Me, Anamik Majumdar, an Indie Game Developer of India making games since 2011. I am a student studying Electronics B. Sc. honors at college and I have also specialized in making games from 2011. I usually make retro graphics styled games based on Shooter, Action Platformer, First Person Shooter and Side-scrolling shooter games. The people has frequently asked me about the engine in which the game has been developed. Flight O Flight game has been developed in Game Maker Studio Engine.
Origin of Flight O Flight game Development:
Flight O Flight is a side-scrolling shooter game where the player has to shoot the enemy planes at any cost! The player will be given a few lives to begin the battle with and will decrease with the passage of time. So, what's the point of developing a side-scrolling shooter game despite more games of this niche has already been published by many developers in the indie gaming world? To make a unique shooter game which was my first attempt of developing a shooter game. I had got influenced by the game 1942 which was published long ago and became successful. I made an attempt of making a scrolling shooter game being influenced by the game 1942 and I eventually made something similar in the end but with different game mechanics. In 1942 game, there were some battle ships along with the planes but in Flight O Flight no such ships have been introduced to make it somewhat unique.
Ideas and Game Mechanics Implementation:
I had many ideas floating around my mind to make a unique but small scrolling shooter game. This is really a very small game which lasts for about 30 minutes. I am going to openly discuss about the ideas and game mechanics implemented during the development. Here are some ideas given below:
1. My first idea was to make a clear and clean retro graphics which will be appealing to the gamer. When I had started developing Flight O Flight, the graphics was not at all appealing. The graphics almost looked like 1942 game. So, I had decided to change the backgrounds and water and ground graphics totally to give the game a unique feel and look. I was successful in introducing a new graphics style which most of the gamers have told me about. Here is an image showing the modified graphics below:
2. Secondly, I wanted to make some enemies including the enemies, which will fly over the sea water and ground and also some ground static units which will not move from the area where they are standing but they will attack the player. Their attacks are non-predictable and the bullets are directed towards the player. Here is a screenshot showing the ground units below:
3. Then, I wanted to introduce some lives and health balloons which the player can collect just by shooting at them. I had also given appropriate sound effects for them. The AI of some of the planes are created in such a way that they can shoot the player anytime they want and some bullets are almost unavoidable.
4.The enemy planes are arranged in a wonderful manner. Some planes will attack from the back suddenly. These are impossible to avoid. The GUI is also appealing and attractive. The GUI was very simple in versions V2.0 V3.0. But with the release of the latest and the final version V4.0, GUI has been changed completely and all the bugs has been fixed. Take a look at the image given below:
5. This is almost like 1942 game and this is because Flight O Flight has been made being inspired by 1942 game itself. This was my first attempt to make a scrolling shooter game which the people can enjoy. This is for everyone and open to the audience of all ages!
Distributing Platforms:
Flight O Flight game is supported in PC Windows and Web. However, I had released Flight O Flight for PC Windows platform at first. I did not get much popularity at that time because I was unable to spread the word out. Later, after upgrading my engine and buying the HTML5 export module. I had started making Desktop HTML5 web games and published them on Gamejolt and Newgrounds for further exposure which has got more than 2K views and plays. Flight O Flight game has got a written review from a blogger. The people have started liking the game so much that they have started reviewing the game in Youtube, blogs and various other platforms.
NOTE: Flight O Flight Shooter game is currently available for PC Windows and is downloadable through my website.
Pricing and Justification:
In game industry, the budget and monetization has become the main factor for sustainable business. However, as a professional developer, I am giving away some of my works for free to the people who might enjoy the game and would consider sharing them with their friends and family. Sharing is also helpful when it comes to spreading the word out while development continues. I wanted the game to be Free. There are various reasons why I made it free to the public.
1. I wanted to make more people know about me and my company, that it exists![Brand Awareness] Everyone is welcome to my website who want to play and download games.
2. I don't want to charge for a short game which lasts 30 minutes game. It's for fun experience and hopefully, to get more exposure.
3. I needed some honest feedback from the players and I really got a few reviews too. It was really a good experience for me and this game has got a written review.
This is not necessary to charge the people for every game I make. This depends upon the complexity, and how long the player can play the game.
Lessons Learned During The Development and Aftermath:
There are many things which the Indie game developers learn every now and then. I am not an exception either. I know that practice makes one perfect. The more I make, the more I learn and the more I improve my developing skills! It was really a hard time for me when I started making this game with limited budget and I knew that this was going to be a free game making $0 per month. But still I did not give up and I just made the game on my own from the beginning to the end. I made graphics, sounds, animations, and I had done the programming myself. I used music which I made myself in the game too.
The development of Flight O Flight game took 2 months to make and other 3 months for sorting out bugs, making promotional videos and submission for game reviews. Unfortunately, I did not get any press coverage. I had tried but did not get the spot. I can presume that I have already lost some traffic and potential players.
After the development is over, I had got a few beta testers. Again, I had fixed the remaining bugs which were present in the game itself. The community of GMC also helped me a lot.
I have had a few success making games till far. However, my game Flight O Flight has got 2K views on Newgrounds alone and plays and the image given below is the proof of it:
HTML5 version has also been published on Gamejolt. I can show the statistics here too:
Conclusion:
Flight O Flight is my first attempt of making a scrolling shooter game and I would say that the game has a lot of potential to be played by thousands of people. If you are reading this article, please feel free to share this post with your family, friends and whom you know. They might come and take a look at the game in their free time. I would love to have some support from gamers to make more games in future.
You can post your opinions regarding the games in the comment section.
To download Flight O Flight Game for free, please visit this website: http://www.amaxang-games.com/2015/02/flight-o-flight-full-version-game.html
Thank you.
Who is the Developer behind Flight O Flight and all the games published in this website?
The Developer is Me, Anamik Majumdar, an Indie Game Developer of India making games since 2011. I am a student studying Electronics B. Sc. honors at college and I have also specialized in making games from 2011. I usually make retro graphics styled games based on Shooter, Action Platformer, First Person Shooter and Side-scrolling shooter games. The people has frequently asked me about the engine in which the game has been developed. Flight O Flight game has been developed in Game Maker Studio Engine.
Origin of Flight O Flight game Development:
Flight O Flight is a side-scrolling shooter game where the player has to shoot the enemy planes at any cost! The player will be given a few lives to begin the battle with and will decrease with the passage of time. So, what's the point of developing a side-scrolling shooter game despite more games of this niche has already been published by many developers in the indie gaming world? To make a unique shooter game which was my first attempt of developing a shooter game. I had got influenced by the game 1942 which was published long ago and became successful. I made an attempt of making a scrolling shooter game being influenced by the game 1942 and I eventually made something similar in the end but with different game mechanics. In 1942 game, there were some battle ships along with the planes but in Flight O Flight no such ships have been introduced to make it somewhat unique.
Ideas and Game Mechanics Implementation:
I had many ideas floating around my mind to make a unique but small scrolling shooter game. This is really a very small game which lasts for about 30 minutes. I am going to openly discuss about the ideas and game mechanics implemented during the development. Here are some ideas given below:
1. My first idea was to make a clear and clean retro graphics which will be appealing to the gamer. When I had started developing Flight O Flight, the graphics was not at all appealing. The graphics almost looked like 1942 game. So, I had decided to change the backgrounds and water and ground graphics totally to give the game a unique feel and look. I was successful in introducing a new graphics style which most of the gamers have told me about. Here is an image showing the modified graphics below:
4.The enemy planes are arranged in a wonderful manner. Some planes will attack from the back suddenly. These are impossible to avoid. The GUI is also appealing and attractive. The GUI was very simple in versions V2.0 V3.0. But with the release of the latest and the final version V4.0, GUI has been changed completely and all the bugs has been fixed. Take a look at the image given below:
Distributing Platforms:
Flight O Flight game is supported in PC Windows and Web. However, I had released Flight O Flight for PC Windows platform at first. I did not get much popularity at that time because I was unable to spread the word out. Later, after upgrading my engine and buying the HTML5 export module. I had started making Desktop HTML5 web games and published them on Gamejolt and Newgrounds for further exposure which has got more than 2K views and plays. Flight O Flight game has got a written review from a blogger. The people have started liking the game so much that they have started reviewing the game in Youtube, blogs and various other platforms.
NOTE: Flight O Flight Shooter game is currently available for PC Windows and is downloadable through my website.
Pricing and Justification:
In game industry, the budget and monetization has become the main factor for sustainable business. However, as a professional developer, I am giving away some of my works for free to the people who might enjoy the game and would consider sharing them with their friends and family. Sharing is also helpful when it comes to spreading the word out while development continues. I wanted the game to be Free. There are various reasons why I made it free to the public.
1. I wanted to make more people know about me and my company, that it exists![Brand Awareness] Everyone is welcome to my website who want to play and download games.
2. I don't want to charge for a short game which lasts 30 minutes game. It's for fun experience and hopefully, to get more exposure.
3. I needed some honest feedback from the players and I really got a few reviews too. It was really a good experience for me and this game has got a written review.
This is not necessary to charge the people for every game I make. This depends upon the complexity, and how long the player can play the game.
Lessons Learned During The Development and Aftermath:
There are many things which the Indie game developers learn every now and then. I am not an exception either. I know that practice makes one perfect. The more I make, the more I learn and the more I improve my developing skills! It was really a hard time for me when I started making this game with limited budget and I knew that this was going to be a free game making $0 per month. But still I did not give up and I just made the game on my own from the beginning to the end. I made graphics, sounds, animations, and I had done the programming myself. I used music which I made myself in the game too.
The development of Flight O Flight game took 2 months to make and other 3 months for sorting out bugs, making promotional videos and submission for game reviews. Unfortunately, I did not get any press coverage. I had tried but did not get the spot. I can presume that I have already lost some traffic and potential players.
After the development is over, I had got a few beta testers. Again, I had fixed the remaining bugs which were present in the game itself. The community of GMC also helped me a lot.
I have had a few success making games till far. However, my game Flight O Flight has got 2K views on Newgrounds alone and plays and the image given below is the proof of it:
HTML5 version has also been published on Gamejolt. I can show the statistics here too:
Conclusion:
Flight O Flight is my first attempt of making a scrolling shooter game and I would say that the game has a lot of potential to be played by thousands of people. If you are reading this article, please feel free to share this post with your family, friends and whom you know. They might come and take a look at the game in their free time. I would love to have some support from gamers to make more games in future.
You can post your opinions regarding the games in the comment section.
To download Flight O Flight Game for free, please visit this website: http://www.amaxang-games.com/2015/02/flight-o-flight-full-version-game.html
Thank you.
