... No Progress :-(
Ah... those weeks that fly by like one long, long day. There's been a lot of those lately.
Even if I had a couple of nice ideas for April's fools, I couldn't sit down and actually produce something cooler than the last two.
Anyway... About the project...
When I saw the terrible news about Sonic 2 HD, I couldn't stop thinking: "Damn! That project was awesome... I wish I get to finish mine while I still have free time".
This whole month I wasn't able to get the time, and in some cases the motivation, to even open Game Maker.
That happened a lot before, it happens to all of us at certain points of our own creations. But this time I asked myself: "What if this happens all the time from now on?, What if the project dies, and I finally deny other game designers a chance to finish it?, Why am I thinking these questions in English instead of Spanish?".
Right now I'm positive I can finish the game. But, as life showed me a couple of times, anything can happen. The thing is, in the worst case scenario, whatever it might be, I don't want to leave a last impression of the project based on Confrontation, or the Demo.
So, I was thinking on releasing at least another demo, sometime in the not-so-distant future, so you can enjoy a little more of the game, and those playing for the first time won't be instantly frustrated by the first Alpha.
The idea is to release some content (finished and 100% playable) every once in a while. The first demo was extremely useful for gameplay balancing, and I'm sure future demos will help the development process a lot.
As always, you're invited to share your thoughts and questions about the project either here or at the forum.
Have a good weekend.
Comments
If you stop you'll regret it greatly later
This has happened to me before.
Take a little break but don't let laziness get to you.
I'm not going to tell you that you'd better finish this project. I just want to tell you that you really are doing something special. By working on this, you're bringing happiness to more people than most individuals can in their lifetime.
Whether you finish this project or not - and I'm very confident in your abilities - let me speak for everyone who keeps returning here when I say that we appreciate all of the work that you're doing for us. The love you have for this is evident in your work, and I hope that we fans can reciprocate that same passion.
Please don't think like this: "Damn..! i could not finish the project.., oh well, at least i released some demos, mision accomplished"
It will only break the hearts of many gamers that want to see the project finished :C
Anyway keep at it, good luck!
P.S. i'm the same guy as before,and I check your blog everyday even though I know you wait a month to report.
Hmm. Not sure how well I like that idea, but I -do- like the notion of turning your loyal if somewhat small fanbase here into beta testers. As always, we're happy to help push this project along in any way we can. Throw stuff our way, we'll let you know our thoughts and hopefully motivate you to edge your way across that finish line.
I am certainly not suggesting that team projects are all "bad" (quite the contrary since more people means extra able bodies to work on the project). However, solo projects do have their advantages too. I really like your approach of letting others finish your work should you not be able to sometime in the future. When many of these kinds of end, the source is lost forever and the main developer disappears without a trace.
When things get too busy and I don't have time for my hobbies, I'll step away from them and recharge. There is nothing wrong with taking a break and really, you just need to be aware of how much time you can step away for without losing interest yourself. The way I always handled this was I'd set aside a small pocket of time each week just to keep me "fresh" (knowing where all my resources are etc). Usually this was Sunday night about an hour before bed so that I really didn't have any other pressing matters. You'll obviously need to find a time that's best for you.
What I find this does is that some weeks I'd just leave my projects as is and go about my week. But some weeks, I would be completely inspired to continue and a lot of my free resources in the following week would go towards a project.
It's really easy to justify spending one hour a week - even if you know you might not get anything worthwhile done and it keeps you "connected". That connection really helps keep the "will it just die?" concern to a minimum and lets you fully focus on the things in life that really matter at that time.
Anyways, I wish you all the best and hope this helped you in at least a little way. Anyone who's developed as a hobby has hit this kind of wall and it's completely normal. Don't worry about the project - just stay connected and if you really enjoy doing it, your desire to invest more time will come back naturally.
Insert your own words of encouragement here!
be the one who actually finishes a game
However, I´m still keeping an eye every week or so on your blog to check out if you made some progress.
And it´s just because I love the amount of effort and hard work you put in this to happen, and how you´ve been struggling through difficulties to complete this. I want to play this game just because of what it represents. No fucking joke.
So you are telling me you are going to just throw it up after 6-7 some years of work??
Screw that! You know you have to finish this, dont waste all the effort you already put into it
You don't need to force yourself to make a demo if that'll take time away from the full version. We are fans, and as fans, we appreciate everything you've done for us and more. Thanks for thinking about us and asking for our thoughts, but I'm sure that you'll do what's right for the community.
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
- DocM64
I also understand what it means to have a project that you want to work on but at times you still have responsibilities and priorities.
You are doing an amazing job at keeping this project alive! Just keep it going. I've been following this blog for about 4 years already. A lot has happened since then. You have made tremendous leaps and bounds to get where you are now, you can't stop now or anytime past this point. That demo you released was AMAZING! I've been watching this project because I want to do something like this someday when I get out of college in 4 years. That way I know a bunch of programming languages and I could do all the scripting.
No matter what happens though, you will always be an inspiration to me DrM64! I keep forgetting your real name but hell, if I knew you in person, I'd still call you by that alias! XD
Keep up the good work! EVERYONE IS COUNTING ON YOU FOR THIS MASTERPIECE!
Im a Metroid Fand since the First Hous and i Follow Your Project for Many Years now.
Im sure you find a kind of soloution that works out, we got Time here.
If you really want to drop it, drop it, your Choice ! Don´t go with this "Expectaion Stuff"
You are Yourself After all, Thats all what counts.
Of Course i try to Say Dont give it up That Easy, but keep in Mind its Your Life.
But, that's not my decision. I'm just glad that you'd stuck to this project for so long.
Whatever you do, just make sure it does not turn into another one of those internet drama stories. The internet is my haven from reality tv.
-From a watchful eye, Jer-
Just take the time you need to put the pieces together and it'll all be ok!
im just glad to see your still woking on it!
Good luck.
You're an amazing person to have come this far, but giving up now would be unthinkable. You've invested too much time and effort into this to simply let it stagnate and die. I've worked on multi-year hobby projects myself, and I definitely know the pain you're going through. It happens near the end of a long project, when the end is finally in sight, but you're totally burned out and have lost the will to keep going. Here's some advice I can offer from my experiences...
Take a break, but don't lose interest. The break should last a month or two, or three--enough time to distance yourself from the project and feel refreshed. However, every week or two just startup your game and admire how far you've come. Don't open GameMaker. Don't look at a single line of code. Just admire everything you've accomplished and and let the weight of how far you've come set in. Because you have come a long, long way, and there's a TON of work to be proud of there. Relish it, because you really do deserve it.
Once you feel distant enough from the project and refreshed, just take a step back and think about what you need to do still. Maybe make a list of the tasks that are still outstanding, come up with a plan and decide what to start working on next. Open up GameMaker one night and get reacquainted with everything, then follow your plan and start checking things off the list.
Anyone that's been there will tell you that the last stretch of a project is by far the most difficult to get through. But you've gotta dig down deep and find the will to get across the finish line. It's just a little further!
for now don't let this turn into those cases of videos i wanted to make but "never got around to it" and ended up "getting around to it" several years later.....
we're all counting on your love for metroid 2 to finish this re-visioning project.......
I have a question though. Do you have some aquaintance who could test the games on Linux OSes? I tried the demos and they all wouldn't start in Wine due to some awkward error.
I think you are developing the best fan made game till now! PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP MAN, Just because of that unique moment that we all have with this franchise.
Believe me, AM2R will be a BOMB in the game industry!
Y no queja ni mucho menos al contrario es para que veas que te apoyo desde Cd Juarez Chihuahua yo y mis amigos que esperamos con ansias este juego.
ATTE: Impichon pichon (Facebook)
There's also always the chance that you could be incapacitated, leaving your work unavailable to anybody, unexpectedly. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
If that's not going to happen though, turn it over to someone you trust to finish it off that has the time to work on it.
But my real life absorbs a lot of time and I don't complain about it because I love it.
Recently, I resumed the development and... blah, it doesn't matter.
You have my support in everything you need. See you later!
Olvidé que hablas español pero bueno. Un gusto saludarte.
The one thing I can say about periodic demos is that the constant user feedback will help greatly with your motivation and positivity towards the project. It's tough going through months on end without any enthusiastic players to show their love and support.
Of course, you have other obligations and priorities that affect the time you have to work on the game, but a little love and feedback from players along the way might really help you take advantage of the free time you do have.
Good luck with everything, Doc! You have made and continue to make a lot of people happy, and no matter what, that counts for a lot!
I tip my hat to you, and I encourage you to take a breather for yourself if need be.
I personally want to play your game, I would pay money for it, if that were legally feasible.
But you do not owe use anything, in fact, if anybody is owing, it us. We owe you a thank you!
Thank you for kicking ass. :)
Que las palabras de todos aquí sean la fuerza para dar el último empuje y cruces victorioso la meta, la meta de haber cumplido un propósito y capricho personal, de poder recargarte en la silla y ver el monitor y percatarte que lo hiciste... lo lograste, esa sensación de victoria que no muchos llegan a experimentar.
Never give up, trust your instincts!
No matter how much it takes, and how you decide to distribute this (either in sections or as a complete product) we'll be supportive!
Heck, I can still wait. Besides, there's still Prometheus coming out this June.
-Arnold
On the long you'll regret giving up. I've regreted leaving many things and the projects weren't even that big. I can't imagine someone giving up on something like this. This has a lot of followers, trust me. My friends and my friend's friends are all waiting for the day that I tell them that this project is released. This is more than a remake, after playing the demo I found that you could capture the ambience and the concept far better than nintendo did with it's latest release.
Plus, I've been visiting this blog more than twice every week for some years, I've played all the demos several times, and I've visited the forums and spent a long time there. That's a lot of time I spent on your game, I can't imagine the time and work you've spent there. Finishing the game will definitely be worth it, no matter how fast going through it is.
Llevo esperando muchos años a tu juego y seguiré esperando otros 10 años si hace falta, pero no abandones el proyecto ahora que estas tan cerca de terminarlo.
Recuerda: ¡¡¡Todos los fans de Metroid te estamos contigo!!!
¡¡¡SUERTE!!!
Take all the time you need we're all behind you 100%. I don't care if it takes you another 2 years I'll wait that long if need be. Just please don't let this project die : /
You are truly a blessing to the community at large for undertaking this project, and you have tons of support behind you. I understand that we all need to walk away from our projects from time to time to take care of other projects and real life matters. But whatever you do, please don't give up!
I have been following this project for years now, and have pretty much lost interest in the lackluster Metroid games Nintendo seems intent on shoving down our throats lately. This is the only Metroid project of late I truly care about, because this is the game that is screaming out to be remade. Nintendo has made it all too obvious they don't care about what fans of their games want. You do!
Whatever help is needed, anything we as a community can do to encourage this project to completion, please let us know. No level of help is off the table, whatever it takes.
Take care, and keep chiseling away at what has the potential to easily become the best Metroid game I've ever played. Cheers!
Sé que es difícil encontrar tiempo para las cosas que te gusta hacer, y lo digo por experiencia, pero por favor no pares de hacer lo que te gusta. Así como otros, yo también he estado pendiente de lo que escribes en tu blog. Siempre ha sido un momento emocionante cuando veo que tienes algo nuevo que contarnos acerca del proyecto. Y creo que hablo por todos cuando digo que de verdad nos gustaría que lo terminaras. Pero no lo digo para presionarte, ¿sí?, solo digo que es un proyecto increíble. Creo que ninguno de nosotros había visto jamás un juego de Nintendo hecho por alguien más, y que sea tan bueno. Tan bueno que hasta pareciera que lo hubiera hecho alguien de Nintendo, pero mucho mejor; incluso con los poderes y habilidades que tanto nos hubiera gustado a nosotros que aparecieran en el Metroid 2 original e incluso en otros juegos de Metroid. Me parece que eres un fan de Metroid de corazón y que has puesto tu sangre, sudor y lágrimas para hacer este excelente trabajo, y no me gustaría que no llegues a terminarlo. Ten fe. Estoy seguro que lo lograrás terminar en el momento preciso.
¿Sabes?, noté que al principio, tal vez avanzabas bastante rápido en el juego. En un mes ya tenías listo el Morph Ball, Power Grip, Wall Jump y muchas otras habilidades, pero eso es normal. Solo te concentrabas en ello y lo hacías rápidamente porque ibas empezando. Ya cuando tenías todo el mundo hecho, fue cuando las cosas empezaron a avanzar más lento y es lógico porque tenías que ocuparte de todo el mapa y no solo de un fragmento. Tranquilízate, tómate una o dos semanas libres, y vuelve a empezar. Sé que todos confiamos en que lo lograrás terminar. Has hecho un trabajo increíble, y además has usado tus propios diseños, bueno, con la ayuda de otros jugadores, pero son tuyos. No creo que te pase lo mismo que a Sonic 2 HD, porque es creación tuya. Además, creo que ha Nintendo le interesaría mucho tu trabajo; estoy seguro que les gustaría ver cómo un fan hace su propio remake de un juego que le fascinó, y que era de ellos. Así como les interesan los concursos para ver cómo los fans crean sus propios flipnotes de Zelda, o hacen su propio video del vigésimo quinto aniversario de Mario, así también están interesados en tu trabajo, y esto está comprobado por la entrevista que te hicieron recientemente. No te rindas, sigue trabajando, no descuides lo demás pero tampoco descuides lo que te apasiona hacer: ¡crear el remake de un juego asombroso de Metroid de una manera genial, original e increíble!
¡Te deseo el mejor de los éxitos en tu vida y también en tu proyecto!
PD: ¡Qué chistoso! ¡También me ha pasado lo de preguntarme cosas en inglés en mi mente y luego no saber por qué lo hago! ¡Ja, ja! ¡Suerte!
Sure the tech demo and the demo is very nice, but I want a full game.
Still though, this is not about what I´ve want.. You got a personal life too. I hope your personal problems gets solved and you find more free time to spare on your project.
You got my best wishes and I hope you doesn´t throw this whole project away.
Sincerely,
one of your biggest fans!
http://www.youtube.com/user/yolmzwelra
this is a fantastic project !! To me this is the best metroid since super metroid (I'm dead serious) no matter how long it takes, it is totally worth it.
Take your time, :) mario garon
Everyone get has doubts with what they do at some point, the trick is to focus on what's on the other side and push through the hurdles in the way (life loves throwing hurdles at people).
Don't give up I've seen so many positive articles on the way regarding am2r it's clear to see allot of people are waiting for and hoping for am2r to be completed, as am I.
Don't let all you hardwork, time and effort be in for nothing, if you still have doubts google search your self or am2r to see all the good things people are saying. You owe it to your self, and when you are done you can say I did this and be proud.
The whole community is behind you, you can do it.
;)
You don't owe us anything and we are all great full for your time and effort.
There should be more people out there like you :)
So carry on with your head held high.
Keep up the good work and rest easy.
Burn outs happen to everyone, so take some time and then you be fine, don't give up.
Good luck! And best wishes.
VioletLinked@gmail.com
Boa sorte!
Dude, leave the option of facing the Alphas as is. I loved the difficulty. The ideal is to create two options: easy and hard.
Good luck!
P.S.: First Of all, sorry for my bad english. I'm from Brazil, and I don't speak english very well. Anyway, I have a Blog. There, I make reviews of various game of all the generations. When your project is completed, I want to ask you permission to make a review of the game, because I really love Metroid! What do you think about it?