Aussie Rules Grass Roots

[sb944]

I want to introduce my first game Aussie Rules: Grass Roots. The idea came up a few years ago as a simple HTML5 game that could be played on any modern browser, but a few weeks into development I got bored and stopped doing it. But a few weeks ago I downloaded Unity 3D, which allows you to make 3D games with ease, so have picked up the idea again, but now in 3D and with mobile in mind. The idea is the final play before a goal, so the forward(s) leading, defenders defending, and the half forward having to execute a good pass to the leading forward to get a mark. After a successful mark the full forward goes back and has a shot at goal.

So it's difficult (REALLLY difficult for me) to contain my thoughts in just a few points, but here goes:

• This is a 12 week project, which means, I aim to deliver a brand new Aussie rules game by late November on Android, and hopefully on iphones (waiting on a promise of a Mac)
• In 12 weeks, I will have to cut a lot of corners, but my aim is to build on that 12 week result, but only with support. I have no intention to monetise this, so support can mean as little as some acknowledgement of what is possible on the forums here, a twitter follow, a download/review, and as much as putting some of your own time into it if you have any skills you can apply.
• There is no intention to license this game, it's based on the sport Aussie Rules Football, and while the obvious thought is to mimic an AFL type league, this version at least will mimic grass roots footy, meaning smaller ground, tiny crowds, local football feel and play. This may grow later, but at this stage I personally like the smaller crowds of a WAFL/VFL/GWS game.

So where to from here? For me, I plan to release a mobile game in November, so have a lot of work to do. I'll be looking here if anyone wants to leave anything here, or am sb944 on twitter if you want to help support the twitter account. I guess at this point it becomes a community Aussie Rules game if anyone wants to pitch in, otherwise I'll take it as far as I can by myself.

 

[flaps]

I want to introduce my first game Aussie Rules: Grass Roots. The idea came up a few years ago as a simple HTML5 game that could be played on any modern browser, but a few weeks into development I got bored and stopped doing it. But a few weeks ago I downloaded Unity 3D, which allows you to make 3D games with ease, so have picked up the idea again, but now in 3D and with mobile in mind. The idea is the final play before a goal, so the forward(s) leading, defenders defending, and the half forward having to execute a good pass to the leading forward to get a mark. After a successful mark the full forward goes back and has a shot at goal.

So it's difficult (REALLLY difficult for me) to contain my thoughts in just a few points, but here goes:

• This is a 12 week project, which means, I aim to deliver a brand new Aussie rules game by late November on Android, and hopefully on iphones (waiting on a promise of a Mac)
• In 12 weeks, I will have to cut a lot of corners, but my aim is to build on that 12 week result, but only with support. I have no intention to monetise this, so support can mean as little as some acknowledgement of what is possible on the forums here, a twitter follow, a download/review, and as much as putting some of your own time into it if you have any skills you can apply.
• There is no intention to license this game, it's based on the sport Aussie Rules Football, and while the obvious thought is to mimic an AFL type league, this version at least will mimic grass roots footy, meaning smaller ground, tiny crowds, local football feel and play. This may grow later, but at this stage I personally like the smaller crowds of a WAFL/VFL/GWS game.

So where to from here? For me, I plan to release a mobile game in November, so have a lot of work to do. I'll be looking here if anyone wants to leave anything here, or am sb944 on twitter if you want to help support the twitter account. I guess at this point it becomes a community Aussie Rules game if anyone wants to pitch in, otherwise I'll take it as far as I can by myself.

Sounds like a great initiative. Is it just the two plays (hitting up the target, then set shot) you had in mind? Just thinking of game style that may get a bit repetitive. Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[stattosoftware]

Good luck mate, looking forward to seeing how it comes out.

 

[sb944]

Sounds like a great initiative. Is it just the two plays (hitting up the target, then set shot) you had in mind? Just thinking of game style that may get a bit repetitive. Looking forward to seeing the results.

It's a good point, there is a big danger it will be repetitive. However. These two things are far from repetitive in the real game, so it really comes down to how well it's written in my opinion. My big focus is AI and realistic game conditions, and I think if I can do that well, it won't be boring. I'd prefer to start with something small, simple and fun, then I have something to build on, rather than a huge mess of a game that has more problems than I'd know what to do with.

Thanks for the support guys.

 

[sb944]

I know it's a tough time of year for Aussie Rules, and I have a large task on my hands to provide a decent game in 12 weeks if studios struggle with the sport with longer time frames, but I'm still after more support, so if you can provide any of the following for free, it would mean a lot to me:

• Music - I'd love to have any local music. No real genre, just as long as it's good. It would have to be free to use, but I will display artist and song title prominently, so I hope that's incentive enough for some.
• Charity sponsorship - I have a tonne of sponsor space in the actual in game objects, and would like to donate it to charity if any are up for it. If you have any interest in a charity and would like to help, I'd love to get the permission to put sponsors on several sponsor spots. The more logos the better, but I have spots for taller/wider/square, and would gladly do multiples if people can provide all three.
• Sound - I'm still a little unsure if this is possible, but I'd like this grass roots game to have grass roots feel, and a lot of that is atmosphere. What better way to build atmosphere than being able to hear the individual cries from the crowd, players calling, etc. I'd like to get some sound sample from people with a half decent microphone, pretend you are at the footy, what you'd say, what your kids would say/day etc. I am hoping I have the AI/computing power like mix sounds like this to make a more realistic situation when a player goes for the mark, hasn't kicked it quick enough, is about to get spoilt, etc, etc.

Also, it's half way through the 12 weeks, so here are my half way screenshots, more can be found at twitter on sb944, will dust off my facebook soon.

 

[random260]

I know it's a tough time of year for Aussie Rules, and I have a large task on my hands to provide a decent game in 12 weeks if studios struggle with the sport with longer time frames, but I'm still after more support, so if you can provide any of the following for free, it would mean a lot to me:

• Music - I'd love to have any local music. No real genre, just as long as it's good. It would have to be free to use, but I will display artist and song title prominently, so I hope that's incentive enough for some.
• Charity sponsorship - I have a tonne of sponsor space in the actual in game objects, and would like to donate it to charity if any are up for it. If you have any interest in a charity and would like to help, I'd love to get the permission to put sponsors on several sponsor spots. The more logos the better, but I have spots for taller/wider/square, and would gladly do multiples if people can provide all three.
• Sound - I'm still a little unsure if this is possible, but I'd like this grass roots game to have grass roots feel, and a lot of that is atmosphere. What better way to build atmosphere than being able to hear the individual cries from the crowd, players calling, etc. I'd like to get some sound sample from people with a half decent microphone, pretend you are at the footy, what you'd say, what your kids would say/day etc. I am hoping I have the AI/computing power like mix sounds like this to make a more realistic situation when a player goes for the mark, hasn't kicked it quick enough, is about to get spoilt, etc, etc.

Also, it's half way through the 12 weeks, so here are my half way screenshots, more can be found at twitter on sb944, will dust off my facebook soon.
View attachment 300035 View attachment 300036 View attachment 300037 View attachment 300038

For the music type up no copyrightmusic on youtube
Theres some good ones there.

Is there a joystick on the screen with buttons like spoil and sprint? A joystick would make the game challenging and realistic and fun. Like for example if your a defending in ai kick out you should use the joystick to try to get close to them and follow them and press spoil.

And where the fun lies is that the ai will have different running patterns and will side step or change running direction to lose you. And your goal as defender is to try to keep up and not get halted by change of direction. Obviously when ai changes direction like go from left to right you have like 1-5 second or so to change with him so that you are constantly close to him

 

[Fizzler]

I know it's a tough time of year for Aussie Rules, and I have a large task on my hands to provide a decent game in 12 weeks if studios struggle with the sport with longer time frames, but I'm still after more support, so if you can provide any of the following for free, it would mean a lot to me:

• Music - I'd love to have any local music. No real genre, just as long as it's good. It would have to be free to use, but I will display artist and song title prominently, so I hope that's incentive enough for some.
• Charity sponsorship - I have a tonne of sponsor space in the actual in game objects, and would like to donate it to charity if any are up for it. If you have any interest in a charity and would like to help, I'd love to get the permission to put sponsors on several sponsor spots. The more logos the better, but I have spots for taller/wider/square, and would gladly do multiples if people can provide all three.
• Sound - I'm still a little unsure if this is possible, but I'd like this grass roots game to have grass roots feel, and a lot of that is atmosphere. What better way to build atmosphere than being able to hear the individual cries from the crowd, players calling, etc. I'd like to get some sound sample from people with a half decent microphone, pretend you are at the footy, what you'd say, what your kids would say/day etc. I am hoping I have the AI/computing power like mix sounds like this to make a more realistic situation when a player goes for the mark, hasn't kicked it quick enough, is about to get spoilt, etc, etc.

Also, it's half way through the 12 weeks, so here are my half way screenshots, more can be found at twitter on sb944, will dust off my facebook soon.
View attachment 300035 View attachment 300036 View attachment 300037 View attachment 300038

Hi there. I'm willing to send some crowd sound. I'll record some and send them to you (preferably by email.) If you have any specific phrases you'd like me to say, please do let me know. I'm excited for this game and I'm hoping you have a great game out by the 12 weeks, those halfway screenshots look great (loving the Port Melbourne-esque scoreboard!)

 

[sb944]

For the music type up no copyrightmusic on youtube
Theres some good ones there.

Is there a joystick on the screen with buttons like spoil and sprint? A joystick would make the game challenging and realistic and fun. Like for example if your a defending in ai kick out you should use the joystick to try to get close to them and follow them and press spoil.

And where the fun lies is that the ai will have different running patterns and will side step or change running direction to lose you. And your goal as defender is to try to keep up and not get halted by change of direction. Obviously when ai changes direction like go from left to right you have like 1-5 second or so to change with him so that you are constantly close to him

Your ideas never even crossed my brain, it was really refreshing to hear that idea. But it's another game now, as I've already somewhat committed to my ideas, which is to try to make this more mobile friendly and control more than 1 player at a time with a drag/tap sort of control. But that doesn't mean I won't try to re-invent it at some point, even just for fun, as I really like the idea of just trying like crazy to outsmart a single opponent.

 

[sb944]

Hi there. I'm willing to send some crowd sound. I'll record some and send them to you (preferably by email.) If you have any specific phrases you'd like me to say, please do let me know. I'm excited for this game and I'm hoping you have a great game out by the 12 weeks, those halfway screenshots look great (loving the Port Melbourne-esque scoreboard!)

I appreciate it, those are not Port Melbourne, but I'm thrilled to hear it, as that's the memory I'm trying to draw out of people that have any idea of what happens in Aussie Rules behind the mega stadiums, and has maybe a little bit forgotten the leagues we all used to be so passionate about.

I have a bunch of phrases, but would love some innovation too, so just go for it. It's still mainly a forward opportunity sort of game, and V1 will be a home game, so hopefully that reduces thoughts down a bit. email is sb944@hotmail.com, send anything you come up with.

 

[sb944]

Updated weekly blog post:
http://html5aflgame.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/wednesday-update-6-late-hump-week.html

TLDR: hit a little mental wall this week working on the AI, but next week hope to pick up the pace again. 6 weeks to go!

 

[sb944]

New blog post:
http://html5aflgame.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/wednesday-update-7-ai-physics-ios.html

TLDR: AI and physics have drained most of my time, and plenty more of that left to do.

4 weeks left!!!

 

[Fizzler]

Since you're looking for physics and noise, I have a link here.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6G-8pt3I_0eeVkxcEVBd202elU/edit?pli=1
It's a download of AFL 2004 and it has crowd noise (AFL crowd, though), kicking noise, player noise, etc. It also has animation files. I don't know if that would be of any use to you since it's an Android game, but it's worth a try I suppose.

 

[Mootsy]

Looks good already mang! Superb.

 

[sb944]

Thanks. To be honest, I've been held goalless the last few weeks by a tough learning curve on animation controllers (and I don't even dream of trying to edit an animation yet).

But I'm hoping the goalsneak will pop up late in the 4th and kick some goals to seal the game, only 9 days left to launch!

http://html5aflgame.blogspot.com/2016/11/2-weeks-remain-animation-animation.html

 

[Fizzler]

Thanks. To be honest, I've been held goalless the last few weeks by a tough learning curve on animation controllers (and I don't even dream of trying to edit an animation yet).

But I'm hoping the goalsneak will pop up late in the 4th and kick some goals to seal the game, only 9 days left to launch!

http://html5aflgame.blogspot.com/2016/11/2-weeks-remain-animation-animation.html

Getting excited over here! Have you got any screenshots?

 

[Kick Behinds]

Good luck with the game.

I've been working on an Australian Rules football game for mobile devices for over three years now, I wanted to start a thread about it but can't for some reason.

I look forward to seeing the end result.

 

[sb944]

That's pretty exciting you know!!! Contact me if you want some help, but definitely share what you have right now.

I won't be delivering an end result, I will most likely deliver about 1/10th of what I really want in an Aussie Rules game, but really hope for a bit of support and help to make a V2 to get much closer to 1/2 of what I really want.

 

[Kick Behinds]

That's pretty exciting you know!!! Contact me if you want some help, but definitely share what you have right now.

I won't be delivering an end result, I will most likely deliver about 1/10th of what I really want in an Aussie Rules game, but really hope for a bit of support and help to make a V2 to get much closer to 1/2 of what I really want.

All I have at the moment is some gameplay vision which you can see here.

Part of the reason I am talking about it now is that it forces me to stick to a deadline, I will be launching in February, 2017.

 

[sb944]

That's fantastic, this was one of the things I was thinking when I started this project. If I show that it's not too difficult to get something up in 3 months, maybe others will take their vision of how a game could be made and we could get a few games going, each from a different perspective, and that if any are good the community could get behind them to build it up to something really good. It has to be better than waiting 3 years for a single release, and hoping it's not another disappointing title.

I also love the idea of a deadline, mine is end of November... better get coding I guess!!!

 

[sb944]

My deadline is officially over, 12 weeks is up, the game is not ready to release! It's close. I'm going to allow another week to clean up existing issues, and hopefully get one or two nice things I wanted in the product. So hopefully by this time next week.

http://html5aflgame.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/project-deadline-passed-new-deadline.html

 

[flaps]

My deadline is officially over, 12 weeks is up, the game is not ready to release! It's close. I'm going to allow another week to clean up existing issues, and hopefully get one or two nice things I wanted in the product. So hopefully by this time next week.

http://html5aflgame.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/project-deadline-passed-new-deadline.html

Any luck?

 

[sb944]

No it didn't happen. I picked end of November for a couple of reasons, one of which is December is always rediculously busy.

However, I'm close! I've had a chance to iron out the major bugs, but not enough time to test properly, or sit back and work out if anything in my wish list can be squeezed in, which I still want to do. Unfortunately this week is busier than last, so I'm aiming for Wednesday next week again.

 

[flaps]

No it didn't happen. I picked end of November for a couple of reasons, one of which is December is always rediculously busy.

However, I'm close! I've had a chance to iron out the major bugs, but not enough time to test properly, or sit back and work out if anything in my wish list can be squeezed in, which I still want to do. Unfortunately this week is busier than last, so I'm aiming for Wednesday next week again.

All good. I'm sure it will be worth it when you have it out!

 

[sb944]

Still a no show. This week has been as crazy as I'd imagined, so the saving grace was actually working through issues as quick as I'd hoped. The game is close enough now that you can play a full game without "major" issues, and if you can ignore some bugs (mostly visual) is pretty close. But I still can't release with those bugs, even as a beta, so I am giving myself another week

Some screenshots

 

[sb944]

Finally made it to release, on Android as a beta still, be kind, but criticism is welcome:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cinchai.afl

To play, you drag the player out to give them a path to run to, then when they are running, tap the ground to pass it there, they will automatically try to mark the ball. To kick a goal, flick the ball straight (really straight, it's not very forgiving).

I'm a month overdue, the last month was the worst grind. Not only busy in normal life and job, but the programming tasks were difficult and frustrating. I had this written over a week ago, then tested on a few devices, was so buggy on devices, but working fine in testing. I learned a lot about 3D game dev even in this last week.

This is a beta, so still a long way to go, so many features I want to add, in fact I had to take a few out just to get this up.

Next up iPhone, then probably a little break. Whether I come back and finish this after a break or work on something else is still unknown, but any support is very welcome. Here are some ideas I have going forward:
* Sounds
* Defence
* Online Multiplayer
* Contact, so bumping etc (was in, but too buggy so pulled out)
* More advanced gameplay options including interaction while in play, play on, etc
* More tactics to forward play
* Teams/ladders/finals

Enjoy!