The greatest of all time or the absolute worse thing ever made of all time.
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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Official Update Thread
- Thread starter Zonar
- Start date
The greatest of all time or the absolute worse thing ever made of all time.
It's not just the budget. Most Japanese developers have moved on from the art of pixel based graphics, so not only is harder to come by people who still know how to do it but also do it well. Suppose you find someone who can do it, then you also need to make sure that person will be available to help you update the game in the future. There's also issues with scaling and porting a pixel based game to so many different platforms. Igarashi explained all of this in a fairly recent interview, which I can't seem to find at the moment.
There also seems to be no real counterpart to the western retro movement in Japan. I think this is why Japanese developers so often remake old 2D games using polygons. Be it Final Fantasy III, Rondo of Blood or Secret of Mana. It wouldn't surprise me if most of them think pixels look too dated and unacceptable now. Every time I read or watch an interview with a Japanese developer regarding such a remake they always talk about how the fans will appreciate how much better the graphics look now.
I make it quick: The game looks ugly as hell and is most likely stuck in kinda development hell. They delay Bloodstained with fancy messages to please the backers at Kickstarter, but let's face it, the development is troubled and the next delay will come. There are tons of games with smaller budgets and staff and it don't took them 3 years or more to actually release their game. IGA is creating the next Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained will be marked as the next Kickstarter debacle. People are so calm because Igarashi still own enough credits like Inafune had before he created Mighty No. 9. In the end, Bloodstained will become a mediocre Metroidvania game that will be faster on the bargain bin than you can say Castlevania. And let's not forget that Bloodstained isn't only backed via Kickstarter but by a Publisher too.
Sorry for sounding so pessimistic but every new news about this project starts to annoy me more and more. Of course I wish that the game will turn out great, but I lost my fate in it , in, eh, the end of 2016? The Kickstarter launched on May 2015 and like Shenmue III, the development is really troubled. I don't have problems with delays but the developers should make a good use of these huge delays. I can't seee that this is the case here with recent japanese Kickstarter projects.
Oh, and by the way since I haven't followed the recent updates: Do they have dumped Inti Creates completely now? The game was announced with Inti Creates developing the game, last year, Igarashi told us they are just co-developing the game but now, there isn't any mention of Inti Creates at all. Or were they just chosen to create this mini game from the start? It's a fishy story with Inti Creates.
Sorry for sounding so pessimistic but every new news about this project starts to annoy me more and more. Of course I wish that the game will turn out great, but I lost my fate in it , in, eh, the end of 2016? The Kickstarter launched on May 2015 and like Shenmue III, the development is really troubled. I don't have problems with delays but the developers should make a good use of these huge delays. I can't seee that this is the case here with recent japanese Kickstarter projects.
Oh, and by the way since I haven't followed the recent updates: Do they have dumped Inti Creates completely now? The game was announced with Inti Creates developing the game, last year, Igarashi told us they are just co-developing the game but now, there isn't any mention of Inti Creates at all. Or were they just chosen to create this mini game from the start? It's a fishy story with Inti Creates.
I backed this, but man...everytime I see a new update, I gotta admit I find myself losing interest.
The project launched in 2015 and you lost your faith by the end of 2016. How long do you think development of a game is supposed to be. What are using for reference here with this specific time frame exactly?
Have a question for you. Have you tried the playable backer preview of the game?
^
I'm not a backer, but I know this preview was kinda well received. But this certainly don't change or revert my expectation for the full game when it will launch in the upcoming time. I've watched a playthrough of the preview and I'm simply not impressed started by the weird slow movements of the character to character animations and enviroments.
Since this was an early build. you can expect upgraded visuals in newer builds, but I still don't like the visuals. Maybe it's a personal thing because I think 2D would fit more to the game, maybe I will change my mind if I play it by myself but since I live in the here and now, no, I don't like the choppy visuals.
So, when do I lose my faith in a project? If there isn't any progress and the only thing you get are just lame V-logs bei the developers where you see 2-3 concept arts in each video or an animation for a character. Bloodstained is one of many projects which isn't developed smoothly as it should be. Obviously, after Mighty No. 9 they will definitely not reveal any problems they are facing. Bloodstained is a project that looks good for everyone on paper but when they get to work on the project, they know how difficult it is creating a game from the ground up without the backing of a big publisher and very experienced developers.
Developing a videogame needs time (duh), but it is impossible not to compare Bloodstained to other projects. If I look back to Cuphead I know what a relatively small team can achieve when it comes to gameplay and visuals. And, I have to give you this, Cuphead proofed me wrong because I never gave the game much potential after the delays and the long development time. But in contrast to Bloodstained, Cuphead always impressed me in the previews. But a more recent example would be Hollow Knight which is a really charming game, even made by a much smaller budget.
Time will tell but currently, there is nothing to change my mind about Bloodstained. It's hyped because it comes from Igarashi. He really have to proof that he was able to do a better Kickstarter than Inafune.
I really don't understand the statement in that Igarashi needing to do a better kickstarter than Inafune. At least Igarashi has given consistent updates since the projects start. Transparency has always been a thing with successful kickstarter projects and Bloodstained hasn't failed in that regard.
There was a ton of mismanagement associated with the Mn9 project that isn't even associated with Bloodstained. To say that Bloodstained is being handled in the same fashion is blatantly false.
There was a ton of mismanagement associated with the Mn9 project that isn't even associated with Bloodstained. To say that Bloodstained is being handled in the same fashion is blatantly false.
If the option is the ugly (for me) hand drawn 2D art of Hollow knight or the actual 3D graphics they shown, I'd rather have 3D graphics.
I fail to see how Bloodstained looks ugly, unless your way of measuring these things is "if it's not a visual masterpiece it's ugly". I feel like the graphics for this game are "good enough", even if there's room for further improvement (which I'm expecting to see in a sequel). They've definitely nailed the atmosphere and overall aesthetics, but more importantly the game looks fun.
I honestly don't care about how it looks. Playing the demo was enough for me, because it felt like the sequel to Order of Ecclesia that I've been wanting.
Can we go through one page without people pissing about why this game isn't 2D pixel art? Or that it's the next MN9? They've explained it time and time again since day one in May 2015. You don't have to like but for fuck's sake this game isn't out yet!
And to the Extreme Kiwami hater here: it looks like you've made up your mind two years ago (why you lost hope on a game you didn't even Kickstart only a year after production began is beyond me) so why shit post here?
And you're obviously not paying attention if you think Bloodstained has been handled anything like MN9. Inafune's problems started a few months after it was funded. We don't know if Bloodstained will blow everyone away (it very well might not) but a MN9 level of disaster it won't be. We would've seen this coming by now.
And to the Extreme Kiwami hater here: it looks like you've made up your mind two years ago (why you lost hope on a game you didn't even Kickstart only a year after production began is beyond me) so why shit post here?
And you're obviously not paying attention if you think Bloodstained has been handled anything like MN9. Inafune's problems started a few months after it was funded. We don't know if Bloodstained will blow everyone away (it very well might not) but a MN9 level of disaster it won't be. We would've seen this coming by now.
Yep, the demo was enough to put away any fears I might have had. I didn't really have many because, unlike MN9, Igarashi was directly involved with gameplay, level design, and character design of the Igavania games. Inafune started as an illustrator and became a producer. Inafune had no skill in gameplay and level design. Igarashi does, and the demo showed as much. At this point, it's mostly just watching as they refine the graphics, environments, and animation as well as build out more and more content.
This is why I always ask folks that have a laundry list of complaints about Bloodstained if they at least played the backer demo. When a short one stage alpha state playable demo (Bloodstained) is better than the entire state of the finished Mighty No. 9 and folks make statements that they are going to end up the same it always comes off as strange statement to make.
I can understand some folks prefering 2D over 3D. What the game was going to be visually was established firmly on day one. However when it comes with the issue of floaty animations or the game looking too slow is something I know and anyone else who has actually have hands on time with the playable build, most of these things were minor at best. It plays very much like IGA's previous games, notably closest to SOTN and Order of Ecclesia. Folks wanted another IGAvania game and we getting exactly that in terms of gameplay where it counts.
I mean the fact you got some people saying this is a troubled project or saying it's going to be a failed project like Mn9 is and they never even put their hands controller doesn't give much weight or credibility to those claims.
The post from the user above who saying Igarashi's name on the project is nothing but hype is baffling. For one thing Igarashi always had an active role in development in the games he released as part of the development staff as well as a director. This something that Inafune can never make claim to outside of some artwork and character design. The fact that they even being compared to in the same fashion is fucking laughable.
I played the demo and had the exact opposite reaction. The demo made me extremely worried about this game.
I dont care how long it takes. I think it looks awesome and I can't wait.
I enjoyed the demo. Looks like an Igavania alright. As others have mentioned, movement speed could be quicker but honestly I think once I start playing it I'll get used to it. I hope it makes it this year.
It's baffling how highly you praise a game with a short demo which still no release date after 3 years of development time. I will gladly resume the discussion when the game is released and 90% of the people yet hyped will be disappointed once again and start to rant about Igarashi and the whole project. If it turns out the other way I'm the last person who is not feared to admit that he was horribly wrong. So long, you shouldn't force one to accept your opinion because nothing here will change my mind, it's currently a very unpopular side in this thread but I can deal with it ; P
I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone.
You need to realize that Igarashi unlike Inafune, has had a active hands on approach in the games he directed, as Inafune had no skill in gameplay and level design. Igarashi does, as mugurumakensei has stated above.
You still didn't reply to Spaghetti's post either. I like to see your citation or claim that Bloodstained is a troubled project. If you think it's at all remotely in the same state in Mn9, you haven't been paying enough attention.
You need to realize that Igarashi unlike Inafune, has had a active hands on approach in the games he directed, as Inafune had no skill in gameplay and level design. Igarashi does, as mugurumakensei has stated above.
You still didn't reply to Spaghetti's post either. I like to see your citation or claim that Bloodstained is a troubled project. If you think it's at all remotely in the same state in Mn9, you haven't been paying enough attention.
Lastest update goes backstage with the music team
Good afternoon! For this month's update we're taking you behind the scenes for the recording of the Bloodstained soundtrack. Take a look (and, perhaps more importantly, a listen.) But first, a quick word introducing this music feature from Roberto Piraino, Bloodstained's brand manager at 505 Games.
Hey everyone! Wow, it's been an incredibly fun, challenging and extremely busy month, so much so that when I see the occasional troll online with their golden nuggets of commentary I'm not even mad or even annoyed, I just think about all the work being done and I'm like "lol k" haha.
This month the team has been working super hard on quite a few things, and something in particular we can't talk about publicly yet…so instead I'm here to tell you that the orchestra soundtrack for Bloodstained has been completed!
To celebrate, it's my pleasure to present to you a behind the scenes video showing everyone some of the studio recording and interviews with Michiru Yamane and other composers who supported this effort. I've seen the feedback from many of you wanting more lengthy updates and "meat" to sink your teeth into, and this is the first step in establishing a trend to satisfy that desire.
While not every future update will have such lengthy content, it's a goal we're ever striving towards in order to increase our transparency, communication and honesty with all of you who make this amazing journey possible. As always, feel free to let us know of any feedback you have, good or bad, on any of our social platforms or right here in the comments section of Kickstarter!
https://youtu.be/UfJ7TqkjKeU
We've also got another asset from ArtPlay to show off! You may have seen this enemy in previous videos, but today is Tord's time to shine—it's the subject of this month's turnaround GIF.
https://ksr-video.imgix.net/assets/020/396/943/063dd87731263d7e23bb141bf7fb2a4c_h264_high.mp4
The Bloodstained team continues to travel the world, building up an audience for Miriam and company one fan at a time. Earlier this month we were in Madrid for Japan Weekend, giving Igavania fans in Spain a chance to hang out and play the E3 2017 demo.
Japan Weekend
If you're a little closer to Texas than Madrid, next month is your chance to catch IGA's panel at the SXSW Gaming Expo.
SXSW Conference & Festivals - Press Photo by Samantha Burkardt
The panel takes place on March 17—head over to the Discovery Stage in Exhibit Hall 2 at 2 PM to hear all about Bloodstained from the best possible source. If you're going to be in Texas for the event, the easiest and cheapest way to get into both panels it to pick up an SXSW Gaming Wristband.
If you're not following Bloodstained's official Twitter and Facebook accounts, you missed another busy month of teases and reveals—plus a podcast appearance. Here's the digest version:
Happy Valentine's Day! Miriam will be keeping any unwanted suitors at bay with her Macuahuitl...
Just one day later, we got this update from Rocket Sound's studio:
1st day of recording the script for Bloodstained over at @rocketsoundus! It's pretty amazing to see the crazy high caliber of talent going into the story...and how long the script is! So much longer than another certain famous Igavania game...
Take a peek at which voice actor we're working with today! You could say..."he's pretty good"... Hopefully this means no more fans worrying about whether David Hayter is still in the game lol...
Last but definitely not least, Roberto appeared on the Nintendo Duel Screens podcast to discuss all things Bloodstained. The interview starts about 32 minutes in, but the whole thing is worth listening to.
Your monthly delivery of fanart has arrived! If you'd like to be part of a future fanart spotlight, just follow these two steps:
1. Draw, paint, or otherwise create a cool piece of Bloodstained art.
2. Tag it #Bloodstained or #Igavania (or mention @SwordOrWhip on Twitter) so that we can find it!
@AkaiRiot
skinrart
Roberto at 505 has so many words to deliver this month that we're giving him the first one and the last one—with a cameo appearance from an Igavania legend. Take it away:
Consider this the official announcement that we are indeed working on another demo. (You may have known already if you hang out with us on Discord). This demo will be only for backers, everyone will receive a STEAM code regardless of what platform you've backed for, because it will only be on PC. I can also tell you that the demo is going to be a traditional "game slice", including and building upon the galleon level and then allowing the player to progress further into the game. More details will be released moving forward, including things like how we'll be collecting feedback and more, and I look forward to bringing you an exact release date…soon™.
Last but not least, the always lovely Ayami Kojima visited the ArtPlay office recently and doodled a little something on the white board…it's her first Miriam drawing!
Apparently they had lamb skewer for lunch that day… >.>
Look forward to a really great March update! It's going to be "packed to the gills" with content! ;)
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So it's the official post/update highlighting that there will be another demo planned .
Can't wait
Can't wait
I'm hyped for another demo. I'm glad every backer is getting access to the demo regardless of which version they requested. I just recently changed my requested physical copy from the Steam version to the Nintendo Switch version. This game will be absolutely perfect on the a portable console like the Switch! Now if only Konami would only release all of their old castlevania games for new systems.
Ok so we got an appearence from Michiru Yamane in a video about the live recording of the orquestral music, a demo reconfirmation, a doodle and a confirmation that Ayami Kojima visited ArtPlay, and a picture of David Hayter recording his lines.
Anyone want to mention that this is another Mighty No 9 again?
Anyone want to mention that this is another Mighty No 9 again?
I got chills when the violins started playing the Galleon level's music. Cant wait for this game.
3 years of development (from scratch) isn't all that much for a game with the variety, detail and scale Bloodstained is supposedly going for with the team size they have, even if it's not a game with huge production values. Each environment requires its own set of assets, different enemies to design (both visually and from a game design POV), model, rig and animate (+ VFX creation) + this is developed for how many platforms at once? Not to even mention everything else that goes into game development. All that adds up. Game development is time consuming. Unless you're developing something really small scale and really simple or have a big team (compared to what you are doing), 1 or 2 years isn't necessarily all that possible without rushing & pushing the team to work tons of overtime. Or getting more people involved, which isn't necessarily possible for small devs & kickstarter projects.
Oh sweet another demo on the way, and getting a steam code regardless of what version you have set. Can't wait!
OP
OP
Another demo sounds great! Hopefully they tweaked the fonts a little bit.
Can't wait for that, this update is the first time that I felt like we're almost there. :D
Can't wait for that, this update is the first time that I felt like we're almost there. :D
Hollow Knight blew me away despite being helmed by an untested, unknown development team. Despite my reservations regarding Bloodstained's character design, after having played the initial backer demo, I'm more than willing to give a veteran studio the benefit of the doubt. All the more so, considering that we're almost certainly not going to be seeing another 2D Castlevania from Konami.
I backed this game late via Fangamer. Would I still be able to receive the demo when it comes out or is it exclusive to people who jumped on the Kickstarter?
Super stoked that Ayami Kojima stopped by too :)!
Can't wait to see what she draws for the game!
Can't wait to see what she draws for the game!
Orquestral music was a stretch goal after all! They're not orquestra ting every track though as not all of them need not should be orquestrated but yeah, they've confirmed this was a thing since the Kickstarter.
All backers are, well, backers, even slacker backers (that's how they're called right?). I don't see why you shouldn't get access to it, but then I don't really have a concrete answer.
You think we'll get a release date during that SXSW panel in March 17? If we're not we're definitely getting demo launch details.
Also: I completely forgot about the prequel mini game that Inti Creates is making. When are we going to hear anything about it?
Also: I completely forgot about the prequel mini game that Inti Creates is making. When are we going to hear anything about it?
Ah okay, if I don't get an email from them whenever it happens I'll just contact them!
If they're recording voice acting and music and releasing another demo the game is doing a lot better than you let on. It's probably pretty close to done.
I agree that I wish it was sprite art. But I think the game looks okay. I love the DS Castlevania games and I think this looks way better than those. Also this game has a much more vibrant color palate than SOTN, which I like.
My queen Yamane <3. Great video, and I loved seeing all those violins/stringed instruments purring. Also, interesting--I had no idea there would be other people involved in the music. This is great! I'm really excited about the metal dude's stuff. I'm going to hazard a guess and say he had a hand (or created) the boss track for that blood parasol boss. Everything all three composers said sold me on the music: incorporating, classical, dark themes, heavy metal. Give me all the buzzwords, please.
I'm dying to hear the music, and I hope there will be an OST for the game.
Is it only me or is there something that just feels "off" with this game? I really can't put my finger on it, maybe its the art style or animations, or just everything. I don't know really, it feels... cheap and empty? Even soulless?
I am not trying to sound mean, but some parts of it looks and feels like a browser flash game.
And why isn't this game out by now?
Peace out
I am not trying to sound mean, but some parts of it looks and feels like a browser flash game.
And why isn't this game out by now?
Peace out
Can I ask what browser flash games you've been playing because clearly I'm not finding the good ones
It's just you. I think it's looking fantastic, and the E3 demo all backers got to play nearly 2 years ago was a lot of fun, even if the game was very early. The release date for the game was set at 1H 2018 way back in September 2016, so the fact that it's not out yet shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody.
i don't get how you guys saying this is ugly...
this basically looks like how SOTN will look like if it's on PS2/Dreamcast and i am okay with it. It's a 2D sidescrolling made of polygons so i don't need it to look as technically competent as Horizon Zero Dawn. Good artstyle (which it seems to have here) is the essential key to provide excellent visuals for sidescrollers like this.
Will i like it to be in 2D sprite? Of course...but then you will be playing the game in 2025 if it's in hi-res 2D art.
The reason why the old 2D metroidvania games can be pumped out so fast is because they re-used so many sprite assets from the older games....SOTN is my fav games of all time but it's easy to see many cutting corners in that games.....lest of which more than half of the normal enemies in that game were basically repurposed sprite from Rondo of blood and other older castlevania games.
this basically looks like how SOTN will look like if it's on PS2/Dreamcast and i am okay with it. It's a 2D sidescrolling made of polygons so i don't need it to look as technically competent as Horizon Zero Dawn. Good artstyle (which it seems to have here) is the essential key to provide excellent visuals for sidescrollers like this.
Will i like it to be in 2D sprite? Of course...but then you will be playing the game in 2025 if it's in hi-res 2D art.
The reason why the old 2D metroidvania games can be pumped out so fast is because they re-used so many sprite assets from the older games....SOTN is my fav games of all time but it's easy to see many cutting corners in that games.....lest of which more than half of the normal enemies in that game were basically repurposed sprite from Rondo of blood and other older castlevania games.
I didn't back this game but I'm absolutely looking forward for it.
I will definitely buy it day1 on the NSW.
I will definitely buy it day1 on the NSW.