For the past few days I have been speaking with Cottentrek. For those who don’t know, Cottontrek has made many short little “games.” Most of them being unfinished. One in particular caught my attention. Currently it is untitled, but has also been going by the name “Slow Motion Game.”
Dan: Can you best describe to me what exactly "Slow Motion Game" is at it's current state?
Cottontrek: Well, it's mostly just a gameplay engine. It's taking a while to find a solid story or even a consistent art style for the game, so the game is mostly just gameplay at this point. So far there are the basic game mechanics, weapons, abilities, and enemy types, and there are a whole lot of levels for me to test gameplay interactions, balancing, and art. I do have a lot of ideas for possible stories and characters, but first I hope to make sure that the game mechanics are solid and varied before I get to anything else.
Dan: Completely understandable.
Do you have an idea on what you might intend for the finished product to be
Cottontrek: Gosh, I have a lot of ideas, but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep, so I'll try to keep it as realistic as I can!
The basic idea for the finished product would be a mainly gameplay focused experience. Gameplay wise, I'm trying to create this balance between frantic run n gun combat and thought-out, almost meditative slow motion combat. The main game mechanic is the use of slow motion, and it's heavily inspired by The Matrix, used primarily to plan accurate shots and to dodge out of the way of fire.
Considering basic game progression and structure, the story will probably be relatively linear but I'd like to offer players some freedom in choosing the levels. It would be nice to allow players to take a break from a particularly difficult level and branch off onto another level, perhaps then acquiring a more advantageous weapon or ability. I don't think something like an open world approach would be realistic for this project, but I would like to offer players some freedom in progression.
Dan: That sounds pretty realistic to me.
Would you consider maybe multiplayer even if it was local as a possible feature? Maybe just like fighting the other player(s) in a fixed small stage.
Cottontrek: Hm, that's an interesting idea, considering that it is gameplay focused. I'm not sure if it would be possible though, since the game deals with time manipulation - it might be hard to implement multiplayer at this current state... but, with a few tweaks it could be really exciting! Might have to think about that further, that could be really fun.
Dan: What tools and programs are you using to develop this game?
Cottontrek: Right now I mainly use Game Maker Studio, for both the basic sprite work and engine. Occasionally I use GraphicsGale for complicated animations or really large sprites/backgrounds. For audio, I occasionally tweak things with various free software but I may just have to get help with sounds and/or music, if possible.
Dan: With this game and your others that you have made, what would you say the most challenging thing is when it comes to developing?
Cottontrek: Probably the design of the game mechanics themselves. I generally try to start projects that are within my skill set, so programming isn't usually an issue since I usually only have very simple game interactions.
However, it is difficult to be able to step back and observe whether a game mechanic really works or not. At a certain point I can test a game so many times, but never really understand whether its systems interact in an enjoyable way. It would definitely help to get others to play these prototypes and to hear other people's feedback about the game mechanics. Unfortunately, though, since I usually tackle a project's game design first, they're not often in a state that would be convenient for others to try out, often being jumbles of game engine and tests rather than a cohesive experience.
Dan: That definitely does sound challenging.
How many different games/prototypes have you made? I have noticed you have many different looking things on your blog.
Cottontrek: Yeah, there's a lot of projects I've started and a whole lot more I've never finished. Looking at my past blog posts right now, there are maybe three or four really basic game "prototypes", most of them programming tests. There are about two or three prototypes which, while I was making them, I hoped to bring to full release but never could.
Right now I'm trying to balance two projects, the slow motion game and the Mad Max (ish) game, hopefully both of those can be finished up. Turns out I've released about five projects in total, but it's interesting to see that only one of them was actually released outside of a game competition... Maybe I should set myself more realistic deadlines!
Dan: I'm sure if you did, you probably would full release more stuff. It looks like you got a lot of potential with the skill and talent you seem to have.
I have one more question for you. What can people do to directly support you and your work?
Cottontrek: It's always helpful if people can spread the message if one of my projects catches their eye, but the one thing I appreciate most is simply someone playing something I've made. Feedback you get from anyone is essential and super helpful, especially if you're still trying to get a grasp of things, like me.
But beyond that, just knowing that someone's tried out something you've made, nodded, and maybe said "hm, not bad", that's a really nice feeling.
“Slow Motion Game” seems like it has the potential to become a full fledged game if the time and work is put into it that it needs. At it’s current state though it does seem pretty impressive visually. I would completely recommend anyone who is interested to check out Cottontrek’s blog and all his projects.
Cottontrek’s Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cottontrek
Tumblr: http://cottontrek.tumblr.com/
itch.io: https://cottontrek.itch.io/#_=_
Game Jolt: http://gamejolt.com/profile/cottontrek/163377#_=_