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Post by DarkKobold on Feb 4, 2020 20:46:44 GMT
Update (3/14) I found an artist, and progress has continued! Here's the first 3 minutes of gameplay as a teaser. Be sure to watch on youtube.
So, in October, I contacted a retro game company about "porting" their game to PC Engine. I started, but then I went a completely different route, and made it my own version of their game, using their character. (PLEASE keep guesses as to who the character was out of this thread. Thank you.) After doing considerable work, they told me they weren't interested in my game. Despite that, I was really enjoying the process (and the mental break from Catastrophy) and so I continued... to the point that I have a near complete game, with near zero art assets I can actually use. That said, it dual compiles as both HuCard and CD, and I already have an arrangement with the music artist for the CD tracks. Its a Metroidvania style game set in an Egyptian Pyramid. 6 Different sections with 80 rooms each (5 currently fully designed), 2 different endings, 6 Unique boss fights. (4 of which are complete or near complete) ~13 different items, tons of upgrades, and lots of exploration to do. I wish I could share videos, but due to the IP restrictions, and really not wanting to throw my friends company under the bus, I'm just not wanting to post things publicly. (I'm willing to share privately with anyone who promises to keep the drama out of it, and just wants to see) I will be requesting public help though. Right now the CD overlays for each section are compiling to 232-240kB each, limiting the amount I can add. One place I could save is the map generation, shown below. It uses a huge image (160x128 pixels), which really could be just generated from the STM I include. I wrote C code to do it, but its incredibly slow. Also, since rooms are 16x13, it stretches them into 16x16 so I can "blank" which rooms haven't been explored. However, I have to generate each room in RAM, and then move it to VRAM. This took ~2 minutes with my crappy C code. Attachments:
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Post by Mathius on Feb 4, 2020 22:33:14 GMT
Very cool. Looking forward to future updates.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2020 22:42:28 GMT
So, in October, I contacted a retro game company about "porting" their game to PC Engine. I started, but then I went a completely different route, and made it my own version of their game, using their character. (PLEASE keep guesses as to who the character was out of this thread. Thank you.) After doing considerable work, they told me they weren't interested in my game. Despite that, I was really enjoying the process (and the mental break from Catastrophy) and so I continued... to the point that I have a near complete game, with near zero art assets I can actually use. That said, it dual compiles as both HuCard and CD, and I already have an arrangement with the music artist for the CD tracks. Its a Metroidvania style game set in an Egyptian Pyramid. 6 Different sections with 80 rooms each (5 currently fully designed), 2 different endings, 6 Unique boss fights. (4 of which are complete or near complete) ~13 different items, tons of upgrades, and lots of exploration to do. I wish I could share videos, but due to the IP restrictions, and really not wanting to throw my friends company under the bus, I'm just not wanting to post things publicly. (I'm willing to share privately with anyone who promises to keep the drama out of it, and just wants to see) I will be requesting public help though. Right now the CD overlays for each section are compiling to 232-240kB each, limiting the amount I can add. One place I could save is the map generation, shown below. It uses a huge image (160x128 pixels), which really could be just generated from the STM I include. I wrote C code to do it, but its incredibly slow. Also, since rooms are 16x13, it stretches them into 16x16 so I can "blank" which rooms haven't been explored. However, I have to generate each room in RAM, and then move it to VRAM. This took ~2 minutes with my crappy C code. Damnit, I think I know what this was. I won't guess the character, but if it's what I think it was I've been wanting to play it since first I saw pictures of it. Maybe reuse some of the assets from Pyramid Plunder? (It kinda sounds to me like that's what you're asking). This screams Pyramid Plunder to me. I hope it's not presumptuous of me to suggest that. I don't know if you're part of Aetherbyte or friendly with them.
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Post by ccovell on Feb 4, 2020 23:37:51 GMT
Wow, that is a great looking menu screen!!!
All kidding aside, action-platformer games with light exploration are my cup of tea, so I wish you luck on this project!
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Post by DarkKobold on Feb 4, 2020 23:52:38 GMT
I guess I probably wasn't clear, I'm more than willing to share videos if people PM me, and make a nice promise not to go leaking them around!
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Post by ccovell on Feb 5, 2020 0:18:46 GMT
I understood that; I was just wishing you luck in a humorous sort of way.
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Post by DarkKobold on Mar 15, 2020 6:56:32 GMT
bump for update
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Post by spenoza on Mar 15, 2020 21:33:23 GMT
I am curious what guided the design decision to do screen-by-screen instead of free-scrolling.
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Post by Black_Tiger on Mar 15, 2020 21:41:02 GMT
Looks great. Are these now original assets? If not, hopefully the player sprite will still end up with a similar level of animation, as it really adds to the feeling of momentum.
This is a great evolution of the game that inspired it. It looks much more interesting and fun than the sequel/update the original received.
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Post by DarkKobold on Mar 16, 2020 0:45:37 GMT
I am curious what guided the design decision to do screen-by-screen instead of free-scrolling. Mostly the design of the aforementioned game that "shall not be named" I wanted to stick to the same feel, but their management stuck it to me lol.
If/when I make a sequel to this, I'd make it more in the style of a monster world game, i.e. with full scrolling areas. That said, I learned a lot when making this, so I think I'll be more suited to make a free scrolling game next.
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Post by DarkKobold on Mar 16, 2020 0:46:43 GMT
Looks great. Are these now original assets? If not, hopefully the player sprite will still end up with a similar level of animation, as it really adds to the feeling of momentum. This is a great evolution of the game that inspired it. It looks much more interesting and fun than the sequel/update the original received.
Yup, right now, the girl and background tiles are all brand new specifically for this game. The enemies and diamonds are still borrowed assets.
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