Monday, January 30, 2012

Oceanhorn in Kotaku!


Wonderful Luke Plunkett of Kotaku made news of Oceanhorn Secret video in Kotaku! Check it out!

Kotaku: The iPad's Unofficial Take on Wind Waker is Looking Great!

So far the article has had 10 000 views and counting! Thanks a ton! All the publicity for an indie game is needed! ^_^


About the controls. Battles are one of the key ingredients of Oceanhorn, but so is interacting with your environment. We aim to keep the number of on-screen buttons minimal. In fact, you will do various things with that same "A" button. You can talk to people, push boulders, throw rocks etc.

Controls are one of the drawbacks of the iOS platform. I know there are games with slew of buttons for your right thumb, but many times they can make gameplay just a little bit confusing and sometimes frustrating. We try to minimize confusion, but it is likely that we will add a "B" button at some point, but first we try to live without it. The less a player has to worry about where to press, the more fun he has with the game.

I find it kind of funny how Oceanhorn is constantly compared to Wind Waker. It's ok, but I would like to state that we are not making a copy of any existing game. Instead, we try to capture the feeling of our favourite console adventure / RPG games, where you can discover the world, find treasures and roam through lands and seas.

Thanks for your interest in Oceanhorn everyone!
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24 comments:

  1. John HarveyJanuary 30, 2012 at 4:52 PM

    I am really looking forward to this game it looks beautiful, so well done on that.

    With regards to the controls, have you considered having a dynamic virtual stick? Virtual controls are not all bad, but when they're locked to the same point of the screen they can be cumbersome. How about centering the stick wherever the user first presses the screen, and then going from there. A recent successful example of this would be GTA3, it's very easy to use and much more user friendly than a big ugly stick in the corner of the screen.

    Also, with this approach you can even have an invisible A button too. If you really are going for one-button then you should be able to tap anywhere on the right hand of the screen and have it register a button press.

    And lastly, if you are going to have onscreen controls, can I please ask you to consider a midscreen option (or even better, configurable controls so I can choose where suits me best)? iPad games with controls at the bottom of the screen are a pain in the ass to play if they're not resting on a desk or a lap. Midscreen controls allow the player to hold the iPad much more comfortably and play for longer. As a bonus, the dynamic virtual controls would allow this by default.

    Anyway, good luck with your game, I look forward to hearing more about it.

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    Replies
    1. CornfoxJanuary 30, 2012 at 5:30 PM

      Thanks John!

      You could vertically adjust virtual stick on Death Rally. Some people like to keep them in the middle of the screen or just a little bit higher. We are definitely going to include that in Oceanhorn.

      I personally like to keep iPad corners resting in the middle of my palms. I kind of learned to play that way when I played hundreds of hours of Death Rally during development and it does not hurt my wrists in any way.

      We are going to include multiple control mechanics in Oceanhorn, but there are upsides for fixed sticks and that is why we keep them as default.

      Upsides:
      - If sticks are fixed, you can release your finger and find the direction you want to go immediately just pressing from the right place.

      If you have floating, your first press always just defines the center of the control and after that, you can show the direction. We are talking about milliseconds difference here, but still! :)

      - When you use touch controls, you have very narrow spectrum of physical variables you can experience or memorize. With physical buttons you have many. You can feel the button layout and you can feel the direction from physical analogue stick.

      With fixed virtual stick you have one physical variable you can trust on, it is your thumbs pose and distance. If controls are fixed, you subconsciously learn the location of buttons or directions you want your character to move to.

      With floating analogue stick or buttons, you are robbed from that one physical dimension you could possibly have with touch controls.

      We understand there are players who prefer different things, so especially for the movement we will implement as many control mechanics as possible! So I think you are going to see the floating stick there like in Mage Gauntlet or in GTA! :)

      There is one thing that can confuse all the movement touch controls and it is the need to remove your thumb from the screen. We try to minimize that as much as possible.

      Delete
  2. keatonJanuary 30, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    Do you think there will be an iPhone version on well? The market for the iPhone is much larger than the iPad so it would be great if you could play the game on both devices like the super brothers game!

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    Replies
    1. CornfoxJanuary 30, 2012 at 9:57 PM

      There will be iphone and ipod versions as well. They are our priorities, but we test a lot with ipad during development because our level editor Roc runs on ipad! :)

      Delete
  3. - michael ianJanuary 31, 2012 at 1:33 AM

    anyway we'll see this on Android? It looks fantastic!

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2012 at 10:45 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CornfoxFebruary 2, 2012 at 8:37 AM

      I removed this email, so spambots cant get your email address. :)

      Delete
  5. Les écrivains GéniesFebruary 14, 2012 at 6:02 PM

    This game of yours looks awesome ! I hope we'll see it in the apple store by the end of the year !

    I just wanted to ask you if you heard about the iCade 8-Bitty ?? It has just been announced, and I feel like it'd totally fit the gameplay of Oceanhorn ! Please consider adding support, especially for the iPad.
    As soon as this thing is available, I'll purchase if for sure !

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    Replies
    1. CornfoxFebruary 16, 2012 at 3:16 PM

      Hi!

      I saw iCade 8-bitty too and completely felt in love with it. Would love to get my hands on one and it would be great to support iCade devices.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2012 at 11:16 PM

    This game looks great! I see a lot of people talking about controls. I think most people will agree physical is better. Have you considered the PSVita at all? I've been playing Rayman Origins and the game with it's unique art style (yours is amazing as well) looks unbelievable. Having the physical controls would be great also. I know development is a lot different for Vita, but many it's something to consider. Food for thought! Good luck and hope it comes out soon!

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  7. MoulinoskiMarch 4, 2012 at 4:49 AM

    I just saw this game (I was search for Zelda iOS clones) and instantly fell in love with the art style and premise... but then again, I'm seeing its target platform is the iPad... Please say there'll be a iPod Touch version as well!

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  8. UnknownMarch 28, 2012 at 1:36 AM

    Any updates on your progress? When will we see another video? I can't wait for this game, any idea about when it will be done?

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  9. JockApril 15, 2012 at 5:28 PM

    Found this game by looking for Zelda iOS games and it looks great, but couldn't help notice that you havn't updated your progress in over 2-3 months :/
    I was hoping to hear more from you to see how it's going, I can't wait to play this game it look like so much fun and the cartoony look makes it even better :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. SukeiApril 19, 2012 at 1:19 AM

    +1, give us more !

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  11. KoenApril 19, 2012 at 4:47 PM

    +1 please give us some information, maybe give us more info of the estimated ETA???

    ReplyDelete
  12. alundra311April 24, 2012 at 8:33 AM

    With regards to the controls, have you ever considered the control scheme of the DS Zelda's? I know a lot of people hated the controls but for me, I liked them. Any chance for an alternate control scheme using them? Also, any chance on this coming to android. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Riccardo BaruffiApril 29, 2012 at 4:24 AM

    3 months, no news.

    I lost hope...is this a dead project?

    ReplyDelete
  14. UnknownMay 7, 2012 at 2:58 AM

    Does anyone know what is going on with this project?

    ReplyDelete
  15. TeeAgeMay 8, 2012 at 7:37 PM

    Any news somewhere on this planet about that awesome game? I want some news :D i want this game!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. MosscowMay 14, 2012 at 7:38 AM

    Heikki - can we pleaseeeeeeeee have an update on the projected release? This is my #1 most desired game on the iPad!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. hamieMay 22, 2012 at 7:50 PM

    When's the game out?
    When's the game out?
    Whens the game out?

    Fffffffffffffsssss whens the game out????????

    ReplyDelete
  18. hamieMay 25, 2012 at 12:25 AM

    Ehhhhhhh when's the game out?

    ReplyDelete
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