[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/8eef86175f318f56aa47205430ff3a196194bd2f.png[/img] Hello, today marks the one year anniversary of the release of Raindrop Sprinters (Switch JP version: August 3, 2023)! We are so happy that so many people around the world have been playing our game. Thank you very much! My website, "909games" is now open, so please take a look! [url=https://games.909works.net/]https://games.909works.net/[/url] Now, since the timing is just right, let's continue with the development story. As before, there are a few spoilers, so please be careful! Also, if you have any questions, please keep commenting. All are welcome! [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2566020/view/4271182997391952909]Click here to read the previous development story.[/url] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/de4920a259cf048378be7a24f25bfd0af33e42af.jpg[/img] It had been a while since I released the freegame "Raindrop", and I was thinking that it was time to make my next game. Some game creators friends asked me, "Why don't you release Raindrop on consumer consoles?" No, no, no! They would never buy such a small game! I panicked, but my other friends also wanted me to release the game. Finally, I was approached by my friend's publisher "Play, Doujin!". I was very impatient. I was quite torn, but I figured that my GameMaker could be released on a variety of platforms, and maybe it would be my last chance to go pro. I was a bit worried about the technical aspects (because everything was new to me!). But since Amaya and NIGORO had already done it, I thought I would give it my best. It was a big decision. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/596ef47f4c1762c2da8dec1a709c466977c1aff3.png[/img] The first thing to think about is the title of the game - it's an upper version of Raindrop, so "Raindrop Special"...is too obvious and uninteresting. I did some research in translation software and came across the word "Sprinter". Surely this is a game about running through passages, and the title itself is a clue to the game's strategy. It's interesting! I thought it was interesting, so I adopted it, but it also created the problem of not being able to abbreviate well. Japanese people tend to abbreviate titles. So for Japan, I decided to add the hashtag "#走る肉球(Running paw)" as well. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/c4589b7fb24c91862772053dfe653751d7cf7bd2.jpg[/img] Then came up with a logo. I liked the Raindrop logo, so decided to add the word "Sprinters" to it. Since the game is about running to the right, it was decided to move the letters to the right side and add an arrow. Additionally, katakana characters were added for the Japanese. I think it all came together nicely. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/a4219ac9e1bdfa5d4c99fab27d812a47c54a30da.jpg[/img] Now, since free software is to be powered up for sale, a lot of work has to be done to it. I faced Raindrop again, which was supposed to be finished, and thought about what to do. The first thing that came to mind was to add more game modes. If possible, I would like to make it possible to play in about four different modes. The content of the game will be worked out in the future, but in terms of volume, I thought this was the best way to go. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/e0923d829626a4e66f545e3bcf71370c048bc97b.png[/img] The first thing I thought of was Customize mode. Since the time of Raindrop, some player have been saying, "This game is so difficult!" So I decided to make it possible to adjust the difficulty level, but just creating an EASY mode and a HARD mode was not interesting enough. Then I came up with the idea of changing the base bonus points depending on the gimmick you choose. This way, beginners can gradually grow and improve their scores, while advanced players can push themselves to pursue high scores. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/a03723b0faa120d1b4e77d745cb489b660c21bdc.png[/img] As for the gimmick content, we have tried to make it as consistent with the game's worldview as possible. Umbrellas are used for protection from the rain, and tents at rest points are commonly found in Japanese elementary schools. Thunder and wind are common in the rain, and ghosts are often heard in school ghost stories. Also, kids bounce around when they're happy, there were stories of corridors freezing and slipping, and since slow motion is available, even recovering gauges... As a side note, the layout of the gimmick selection screen is based on "Circus Charlie (Konami)". [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/85b1f601a44bd52f996c098dd28b880a871b1dd3.png[/img] The hardest part to make was the Onrush mode. I love the time extend in racing games, so I tried to think of a way to make this work. It is a system that encourages people to run through it faster and faster by setting a time limit and extending the time they have for each goal they reach. But this alone is not enough. That's why I focused on slow motion and dash. What if we could use these abilities, which are often conserved, more boldly? I tried to make it so that '"the more you use the gauge, the more bonus points you get" and "the gauge recovers when you get a star," then the game became more aggressive at a stretch. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/31c2afebfeb2f4275efc578a8c40628948553c8f.png[/img] At first, the system was designed so that you could get points on the spot if you used the gauge, but that would lose some of the thrill, so I tried to make it so that you get them all at once at the finish line. A bonus counter is displayed in the center of the screen, and you can't help but get greedy. Eventually you end up dancing through a downpour until the time limit is up, and I really like the extreme nature of it. Once you get used to it, you will be able to mark higher scores more easily than in Standard mode. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/c95f2164e377c86cdb802b2ef71844a7ece82d22.png[/img] And one more thing: I thought of everything in reverse, Maverick mode. I remember when in elementary school, I used to deliberately catch rain and play with it. When it comes time to catch a raindrop that I've been avoiding for so long, it doesn't go well. It's a bit of a head-scratcher, but it's fun. Adding a combo element to the game and increasing the bonus points for consecutive catches would make the game even more exciting. I created a system to see how much you can increase your score in 30 seconds, but I wanted to add a little more originality. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/ce6cede9e08e2f8a872f2dbdf9db5ad1bfeab6a7.png[/img] So, I focused on body temperature. When exposed to raindrops, the body temperature gradually drops, and eventually the body freezes and cannot move. To avoid this, I came up with a mechanism to recover body temperature by taking bouncing hearts. The number of hearts is limited, so if you rush to take them, the second half of the game will be difficult... The reversal of catching the rain and avoiding the hearts made this mode even more interesting. I was thinking of going against all the previous rules for this mode, and it turned out to be a great success. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/0468e404c7cd21bb0330f6f4cc144691051da53f.png[/img] That makes four modes, but the first three have Endless, and Maverick has an additional choice of Thunder. Endless is an advanced system that, like the initial Raindrop, has no end and the level goes up to 59. Thunder is a lightning strike while playing Maverick, which adds even more chaos to the game (surprisingly, some people used this to increase their scores). Now you can play in 4x2, for a total of 8 game modes. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/451ffbf661d96815561934d585d75a3e33ed9ab3.png[/img] Then I thought about how to get people to play this. I didn't want first-time players to just go straight into Maverick mode. So the idea was to unlock modes based on cumulative scores. The Customize mode for beginners would be unlocked early on, and the Maverick mode would be unlocked when they were familiar enough with the game to play it. I think it worked out well. So the general framework is in place, but now we need to work on the details. I'll talk about that in the next issue! [h2][Follow-up][/h2] [h3]Want to recreate a screen from the 1980s[/h3] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/62f40a59715882039334750e9d6f63c0dc0e91f3.png[/img] Much like Raindrop, Raindrop Sprinters uses only 16 colors. I thought that if the number of colors were increased any further, it would not be possible to reproduce the atmosphere of that time. Conversely, I believe that with this many colors, it is possible to express most things (albeit deceptively). Also, the resolution of the game part is 224x288. This was the size used in Dig Dug, Galaga, and other Namco arcade games of the 80s, and I believe it is the optimal resolution, especially when playing games on a portrait screen. In Raindrop Sprinters, we have added the installation cards and backgrounds on both sides of the screen to make it a good 16:9 screen size. It really fits well, don't you think? [h3]Want to recreate the sound of the 1980s[/h3] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44714141/5c6b3c881fcc11c2ebfb9c1310c38425c2d4d5cf.png[/img] This has not changed since the creation of Raindrop, but all BGM and SEs are created using the Kamata plug-in for KORG Gadget 2, which reproduces the C30 wave table synthesizer used by Namco in the 1980s arcades. It is a reproduction of the C30 wave memory sound source used by Namco in the 80's arcades, the same sound used in "Mappy" and "Tower of Druaga". I was fascinated, obsessed, and lost my way with this sound. That's how great the C30 sounded. I have been playing with MSX since I was a kid, so I had access to PSG and FM sounds, but for many years I could not touch this sound that I loved the most (Konami's SCC is also a wave memory sound source, but it was not available to the general public). That is why I was so excited when Kamata was released. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Korg and Namco for their development.