Well, hell. That's my game!

So I’ve been working on my doom clone and had a very specific art style in mind, then 3d Realms went ahead and released this trailer:

This looks EXACTLY like what I was aiming for.

EXACTLY.

Like hauntingly so.

Change course?

Move on?

What do you think?

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Post comparison screen shot and we will see, but thats like generic unoriginal setting n°666
Like what do you expect when you get your inspiration in the same place as everyone?

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There are a lot of games that look like that.

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For starters, I have zero faith in 3D Realms.

For seconds, If I recall correctly, your plan was to use existing 3rd-party Assets for your project. One of the problems with that approach is that you aren’t the only person who can take advantage of it. Anyone with a similar or greater level of technical competency can do the exact same thing. The one advantage of personal, custom art, or of investing in exploring a unique art-style, is that it is much harder for other people to emulate. It is more work and effort, true. But that investment allows your work to stand out from the crowd more, and avoids the kind of scenario you currently find yourself in.

I’d say, go ahead and move forward if you are confident in your design and gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, 3D Realms are hardly the studio they once were. I would not credit them with much in the way of a competitive edge at this point. If not, I’d say retain what you’ve done with the gameplay, and maybe start exploring some alternatives for the art.

They have: marketing. And they’re doing it. It looks like Quake, they say “from people who made Quake”. That’s enough to marketing you out, does not matter what you have. Even if they never release, they can and will make people wait for the game instead of buying someone else’s.

I wouldn’t move forward with a Quake clone this year.

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IMO, if you have only the art style going for you, and nothing else, pivot. Do something else.

On the other hand, if you think you have gameplay, plot, mechanics, and other things that are interesting, sharing art style with another modern release isn’t going to murder you. (So long as you don’t do it poorly, which I’m assuming you won’t.)

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We’re in an age of digital distribution, where indie games usually top out at $20, and are frequently sold for less. 3D Realms can’t “make” anyone wait for anything. Not when the entry-level price is well within the average gamer’s impulse range. And again, 3D Realms is not the marketing juggernaut you are imagining. Their name inspires nostalgia, not confidence. They haven’t put out anything solid for a very long time.

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Check your computer for spyware :wink: :stuck_out_tongue:

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Bah… that’s nothing, I’ve been following this indie game, looks so good

I is hyped!

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That looks really fun. For some reasons the shotgun doesn’t feel satisfying from a viewer’s perspective, at least to me. The handgun has screen shakes but the shotgun doesn’t, that might be it. I wonder if that’s intended.

Play to your strengths. If you don’t have an art team, make the gameplay unique and interesting. Whatever you can do better than the other guy, maximize that. Don’t try to do the same thing, but worse.

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It could be a major positive thing.

It’s not like that genre is built for players to play the game indefinitely like some others. They are going to finish all the content within a months time or so.

If the game does well you will have a new and healthy audience looking for more this type of game.

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Two things…

First, aren’t there already a number of other games which look similar to that anyway? What difference does one more make? As a contrary point of view, if yours is good then people could discover yours as an “alternative” to the 3D Realms one. Their marketing is going to remind people of games like this, and that could potentially help customers find other products, including your own.

Second, this is aimed at somewhat of a niche audience who may like a particular graphical style, but are also likely to look past just the graphics. Are the other aspects of your game well done and somewhat unique? If they are, make sure your own marketing highlights those aspects rather than just the surface level Quake clone stuff.

If the other aspects of your game aren’t well done and somewhat unique… fix that?

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You know what, I’m really doing this for me anyway and I think I should just do what I find fun.

Also, I saw prodeus on gggmanlives and do appreciate a lot going on there, but it’s just not what I’m looking to do.

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Anyway if originality was your goal, taste is probably the worst enemy, since taste is based on what’s existing, cobbling stuff from taste only repeat what you like. It’s only when you have a new proposition to solve that you get original. (ie have to search a particular “aesthetics”, not just in teh visual sense). It happen to me so many time, I learnt to look outside my influence to get stuff that have a minimum of difference.

Anyway my rambling is pointless since you just stated that it wasn’t the goal lol, I guess it’s more the shock of seeing your “vision” alive that prompt you to post. lol

Prodeous looks amazing with a level editor as well.

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You cannot get upset or frustrated that somebody else decided to make a Doom clone. Doom (1993) was massively popular and literally iconic. It is completely normal to expect many more Doom clones to be created.

If you still want to make a Doom clone, go for it. If nothing else, you will gain more experience and knowledge by making another Doom clone, and you will be able to apply that to future projects.

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This is very insightful! I have one project idea that I’m concerned is (visually) too close to my inspiration and I think you must be right about this. I need to think of some additional element to throw in. Something that casts everything in a new light.

You don’t necessarily need “additional element” if they don’t add a new perspective, ie a new problematic. But then you still stucks into stuff that interest you. Which mean branching out IS difficult as hell. Taking genuine interest in stuff that is “alien” to you is quite a skill to develop.

Yeah, I think I understand. It has to be a disparate element. Then you are forced to think of new, creative ideas in order to reconcile it with your original idea.