[WIP] In Elementum (2D Platformer) Update! [8/6/14]

8/6/14

8/2/14

Any thoughts?

It is basically based on giving the player a lot of mobility using different abilities with states that must be switched between to use.

The camera is going to show more of the level than you can currently see here. I have only been working on this for about 3 weeks in my spare time. Everything has been done by me alone. Artwork included. All of the pixel art and animations are all me as well. Except the music. The music is not mine. I'm not sure who it is, my spotify was just playing in the background. Though the music for this game will be along the lines of what you heard there. I have not done any background or foreground work yet. Everything you see currently is just placeholders.

Below you can find out more if you want (more or less going to be my kickstarter campaign)

CONCEPT

FUN!

I would just leave it at fun, but I know you want to hear more! The game will be a two-dimensional, level based platform game. A major focus of the game will be high skill, high mobility platforming incorporating the special abilities of the playable character. This game will have a pixel art style reminiscent of old school games that will be very colorful and as superb looking as my art skills can make it. It will also have quite a few secret areas! Only those with the true skill will be able to reach the greatest achievable heights!

I promise that nothing will make it into the game if it isn’t fun. There will absolutely be some challenging parts, but it will always, first and foremost, be fun. Everything comes second to gameplay, and the gameplay being a freaking blast. I want to include a story and all that, but I want the game to be able to stand on its own without any story at all. At the end of the day, I want people to be able to say; “Man, this game is so awesome and fun, that even if it didn’t have a story it would still be amazing!” do any of you know what I mean?

BASIC STORYLINE

As the main character, you start off the game in a dream, a dream in which you meet "Munus" a powerful and ancient being. "Munus" once helped the humans defeat his brother "Malus" and his powerful "Sensum". The humans were able to overcome "Malus" and his minions because there were a few humans whose bodies could endure the mysterious powers "Munus" called "In Elementum", and Munus was finally able to lock his brother away. These powers gifted the humans with abilities to become and control elements. The main character for this game is the only human ever to becapable of handling 3. Only a few could handle just one power, and those with 2 were an incredibly devastating force. However, the main character is the only human alive that has the ability to handle "In Elementum" at all, and "Malus" has escaped his brothers prison and reassembled his "Sensum" for another onslaught on humanity! Gifted with the abilities of "Ignis Imperium" and "Formatio Aqua Congelata" the main character must fight to save humanity, but there is another problem, he has no memories! Everything is lost. Who he was, what he used to do, his character as a whole now gone forever.

GAME DESIGN

Main Character

After awakening from his vision of “Munus” and receiving the gift of “In Elementum” the main character has the ability to morph between four different states of being, each of which relates to some form of large scale element. Listed below is a composition of each state and the abilities that the player will have access to in each individual state.

“Formatio Aqua Congelata” - "To form frozen water"

- Create a platform underneath the feet of the player while in mid-air. Only 2 platforms will be able to be created between jumping off of solid ground and landing back on it.

- Throw ice spikes as a ranged attack. Limited distance, and only can throw one at a time.

“Ignis Imperium” - "To control fire"

- Double jump ability

- AOE attack, close range to the character, not a projectile

- In air AOE attack, an explosion originating from the playable character

“Powerless”

- Wall Jump

- Climb ledges (maybe)

- Air dash

None of the powers or abilities are accessible from another state of being. The player will have to switch states of being (which will be a seamless and very quick process, the player will be able to change states at will, and it will happen instantaneously) in order to access different abilities. The list of states of being and abilities of each one is listed below. Additionally, the playable character will only be able to change states a certain number of times within a specific time period before entering a cooldown. This will also increase the challenge by limiting the number of times you can change states to make a complicated and difficult jump.

The idea behind this structure of splitting the abilities is to create a challenge for reaching those super secret areas of the game. The players will be challenged to push themselves to the limit in being able to switch between the different abilities in order to maximize jumping height and distance. Not only that, the order and combination in which the powers are used are going to be key. Players will be able to approach different situations in different ways, and play the game how they want to.

A lot of time and attention is going into each control scheme for the different platforms so that the gaming experience is going to be smooth and fun for everyone. A lot of attention is going into every aspect of gameplay, far more than any other aspect of the game. Don’t misread that though, EVERY aspect of the game will be worked, reworked, reworked, reworked, and reworked, polished, polished, and then polished again. Optimization is something that will never stop on this game, and we will always be listening to feedback from the players, and any ideas that prove to genuinely improve the experience will seriously be considered for implementation.

Then for those of you looking for a true platforming challenge, prepare yourselves for the “Are you F***ING KIDDING ME?!” difficulty level. It’s going to be AWSOME. The number of allowed transformations will be lower, reset time will be longer, platforms will disappear faster, enemy projectiles will move faster, attack ranges will be reduced, and a few other things! Get ready and prepare your pads and keyboards for hours of tight gripping, knuckle busting difficulty. Not to be read CHEAP difficulty. I hate that unavoidable death bs, and that will have no place in my game.



WHY SHOULD YOU WANT IT?

Because it is going to be fun! My whole focus on development is making the game FUN! It will have a story, and side quests, etc. but everything that goes into the game will be fun to play. There will be time attacks with leaderboards, and if I can get the funding, a competitive multiplayer mode that will be AWESOME!

I mean, just think about how awesome it will be when you finally reach that really high platform! How accomplished you’ll feel when you finally make that KICK-A** jump! Switching between the different ability states, and in rapid succession creating platforms, jumping walls, performing double jumps, wall jumps and mid-air dashes to just barely catch that ledge at the very top, finally reaching that secret area! The intensity of the boss battles as you combat “Ira”, “Timore”, “Avarita”, “Odio”, “Tristia”, “Dolus”, “Dubium”, “Ultio”, and ultimately “Malus”, the evil one seeking to dominate the human race. Fighting your way through the “Nisl” as you attempt to complete each level and grow as a hero.


This is a game made mostly by me and (if I can scrounge together some cash) some of the artwork by my brother Nathan. Everything I can do I am going to do myself, and anything I can’t will be subcontracted out to others. I know you guys want to play this game, help me make it happen! Spread the word about it now so when I launch my kickstarter people will already be pumped up!

Thank all of you that even took the time to read this, watch my video and look at my design pages for your incredibly valuable time. Show how psyched you are for this game by helping it become a reality! I am so excited to build this incredible game, and even MORE excited by the thought of all of you guys playing it and raving about how great it is!

I actually have even more details for story line, other characters, etc. but don't want to post up everything that I've got, you know? Let me know what you guys think!

 

Looks cool so far, but please use a screen recorder haha

 

That's looking cool. Love the ice thingy.

As for screen captures. LICEcap for animated GIFs (up the frame rate for your kind of game). For videos use something like Bandicam or Jing (Techsmith).

 

Mechanics seem pretty cool.. definitely keep going with it

 

Thanks you guys. I honestly expected this to get no real replies due to the horrible video quality, but never fear I have created a video using a screen recorder! I'm uploading it now, and will be updating the first post soon.

Updated the first post with a much better video and a lot of info for you guys! Let me know your thoughts!

 

Wow... This actually looks super cool, im impressed with the art and the game mechanics so far, did you make the art yourself? keep up the good work, would love to see a full version of this

 

I did do the artwork myself. Artwork, animation, coding, level design, gui, etc. will all be done by me. If I can get some money to pay my brother he will probably do the music and background artwork. (He is a pretty kick A graphic artist).

If things just start to get too much for me to handle alone I will definitely start contracting the work out, though that will depend on if I can launch a successful kickstarter. I got a family to feed, so this is only something I can do after work and on weekends for now. But I have gotten this far in just three weeks, and most of that was artwork stuff.

 

I bet if you keep it up like this and if the game is comprehensive enough, you'll be able to launch a kickstarter Retro games seems super popular atm, and u have alot of good ideas imo, i would play it
It also seems like you got the basics of the game mechanics down, are you gonna add more features to it?

 

What do you mean by features? More powers?

There will definitely be more features to the game. Ways to adjust the abilities, like making the explosion bigger if you equip x, etc. as far as more powers/elements, haven't decided. It will depend on whether or not the powers will mesh without over complicating the controls. I don't want the controls to be holding people back much. Just timing, efficiency, and character control. Everyone should be able to pick up the controls quickly, and for that fewer powers will be best.

 

Yea that's what i meant ye thats my gut too, that it seems fine with powers to have, its all about balance i guess.. Too many and it will be too difficult, too few and it can feel like not enough is happening

 

I played around with a third element beginning of last week, it didn't feel right at the time. Maybe things will change later on, who knows, it's still super early.

 

who knows indeed well anyways best of luck with your project man hope it develops well!

 

Well, I guess at least bob is excited for it already! XD That's one pre-order almost guaranteed, haha. Looking forward to sharing my progress with all you fine folks.

 

dude ill buy 10 copies

 

Just wanted to let you know that I will *not* forgive you for not working red boxes.

[edit] Are you using Mecanim by the way? The transitions between animations and states look well done.

 

Haha. I actually got them working last night. Going out of town this morning though, won't get to work on it for a week.

I am, Mecanim is by far one of the best 2D tools unity has to offer.

 

Should my video be shorter? Is there something I can do to improve it? Or is it more of a lack of content holding it back? A lot of people seem to be checking it out, but don't seem to have much to say, I know it's not the concept, so what is it guys? What can I do better?

 

Don't let a lack of feedback discourage you. If you focus on the game (and not on us) and keep posting, more and more people will notice it!

If you're looking to build momentum more quickly (for a Kickstarter campaign or something), maybe focus on visuals and "game feel" to make it more demonstrable.

 

Definitely not discouraged! XD Just looking for honest feedback to help me improve my presentation of the game.

Again thanks to all of you who have replied and any that reply in the future. I understand how valuable your time is, so you have my appreciation and thanks.

 

Feedback:
- Yeah, that video is long and lacking action that helps to explain your concept. It's like it took you 4 minutes to make it up over the wall and that's not fun to look at = not fun to play for some.
- Judging from your concept and story treatment, this sounds like one of those "platforming from Hell" games like Super Meat Boy and 1001 Spikes (lack of enemies, lack of attacking enemies, difficult for the sake of challenge = pissing the player off, etc.)
- Lock down your concept-story then work on the gameplay around it. Once you have more then you should show it again with far better presentation.

 

I disagree with pretty much everything Antman said in his post above.

1) Yea, the video might not be action packed, but its not supposed to be. It's meant to be informative and show some early framework of a soon-to-be-game. And as that it's just fine.
2) Meatboy is not "trying to piss the player off". It's challanging, yes, but it's defined by its peferct controlls and genious level design more then its difficulty.
3) never never NEVER EVER build a game around a story. Ever. There are plenty of articles and discussions on the web why this is a bad idea. I woun't go into detail on this subject since it's a more complicated topic and this really isn't the place for that.

But back to the game.
Tbh I find it kinda difficult to give much feedback at this early stage when all we got is a little(and maybe slightly too long) video. Without a webplayer build it's really hard to tell which features work and feel right, and which don't.

From what I see in the video the controlls seem to be a bit fiddly and unpercice. Getting controlls right in a platformer is a darn difficult task, specially since they pretty much make of break the game.
I do really like the elements idea though and the sprite animations are pretty darn sweet as well.

Keep it up and good luck!

 

Thank you very much!

I actually have a plan to create several difficulty levels with a few of the mechanics becoming more difficult. There will be a "platformer from hell" difficulty level, but there will be the option to just enjoy the game. The main thing about this game is that people can play how they want to.

However, my story, etc. is all secondary to gameplay. The most successful games are not those with great stories, but great gameplay. The story revolves around the gameplay.

Thanks for the feedback!

I actually plan on releasing a webplayer demo once I get a level blocked out, won't have any artwork, but it will be a working demonstration of the game, and I will be able to get more feedback then.

It is really tough! There are a lot of intricacies that have to be just right in order for the game to feel right, but I will put in the work to get everything just right!

I appreciate your thoughts guys!

 

"I disagree with pretty much everything Antman said in his post above.... Tbh I find it kinda difficult to give much feedback at this early stage when all we got is a little(and maybe slightly too long) video."

So... basically everything I gave as feedback does make sense seeing as how you're pretty much agreeing with my point on the lack of much in the video. All the feedback I gave was based on the video and what is typed. You really gave feedback on my feedback with regards to all game development.

"NEVER EVER build a game around a story..." This may be true in some instances. However, since the video shown has gameplay that clearly makes it an action platformer... then all the developer can do at this stage is lock down the story/concept. Within this process the developer may discover that the gameplay 1) needs to be changed entirely OR 2) slightly adjusted OR 3) scrapped all together. It's not very different than writing a film script since pretty much any idea you can think of will eventually fit into a genre or a type.

Thanks for accepting my feedback as feedback since this doesn't happen often.

A few things of note: It's hard (maybe for me personally) to accept 'fun' as a concept when 'fun' is actually a real thing people experience or don't experience; concepts are considered abstract ideas (this is why story development is crucial if a story is involved). Also, why the Hell are you naming everything in Old Latin speak?

 

Fun as a concept is just meant to convey that the element of the game I consider to be most important is that it is fun to play and watch. Which you directly addressed and I am glad that you did!

Well, it plays into the storyline. All of the abilities are elementals, which find their basis in the concepts of alchemy. Western alchemy can be traced back to Alexandria in ancient egypt, and the language of scholars during the time period of the greco-Roman empires was of course, Latin. Even though it was Paracelsus who established the definitions of elementals in the early 1500s, his brach of science was alchemy, and all of that stemmed from that branch of science. So even though Paracelsus was of Gemanic origins, I turned back to latin for the namings. I guess you would call it a artistic choice?

Also, I want the gameplay to be able to stand on it's own two feet, however you are right in that when I bring the story in I will probably have to do some minor tweaking to some of the gameplay elements. Again, I appreciate your input a lot! Thanks!

 

Updated with a new video! Not a ton of progress, but I just got back from work today and had about 3 hours to work on the game. So I added a small bit to the level, and got some more things working. This video gives a better idea of the kind of platforming you can kind of expect to see from this game.

 

I very much like your concept with transforming, useing and combing different powers.

Just a question: How are the controls for this purpose? My suggestion would be that the player could instantly transform by holding down the left(ice) or right(fire) button. When none is held the player is in "powerless" state. Maybe you could go even further and allow the player to combine those two elements when holding both triggers down to create a new element!

Keep it up.

 

Cool update! I like the shorter video format and the overall level flow really seems to be coming along nicely. That lava pool thing was pretty awesome! As a programmer I'd love to hear a little bit more about the technical side of things. How are you handling hit detection and those flying obstacles? Might be a topic you could tackle in a future video.

@antman
I think you got some interesting points there but I still don't agree on the story subject. Especially in indie game development it's often a lot easer to change out story or even setting then reworking the gameplay mechanics in later stages of development. For prototypes and early alphas I'd even recommend not having a story at all as it only restricts gameplay mechanics and forces you into compromises. Once you got a basic framework and a good idea of how the game is supposed to work and flow, then you can start thinking of a story that works with the elements that you already got. The other way around often breaks the game to a point where the only way to continue is total cancellation of the project since the basic frame code just doesn't support the new gameplay vision inflicted by story changes.

@Suinit
I get that this is kinda getting offtopic, if you want then ANTMAN and I can continue this via pm and keep your thread clean

Anyway, keep it up!

 

Thanks!

On PC you only use the keyboard, no mouse:

A: Left
D: Right
Space: Jump
J: Fire
K: Powerless
L: Ice
U: Action

For Consoles it would look like this (PS/Xbox):
(L2/LT): Fire
(R2/RT): Ice
(R1,L1/RB,LB): Powerless
(Cross/A): Jump
(Square/B): Action

I'm trying to come up with functions for the other two face buttons, but it's difficult enough with just one action button on the keyboard. Considering creating a grounded and air action that have to do with mobility, then creating a separate attack button that will have on grounded and in air attack.

Sure, I'll make some tech videos too. I'm sure that there are people that would be interested in that side of it as well.

Also, I would appreciate my thread being kept clear of clutter, so if you don't mind please take it to PMs. Thanks!

Thanks to both of you guys for the comments!

 

Put this project on hold until December. I need to get this mobile game released so that I can start bringing in some cash to work on this game with.

 

Check out my new project set for release at the end of December!

Archer Dash

With this game getting released, development on In Elementum is going to be picking up again.

 

Well, after a lot of difficulties over the last year, In Elementum is being reborn as The Last Alchemist. Check out all this new artwork! I have put in a bunch of work since the last time I have posted, and it's ready for artwork before I have something complete to show off. Here's a few images for you guys to check out!

Character concept/design: http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?action=profile;u=47680
Animator: Me

We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

Main Character:


Ira:


Odio:



Timore: