As I mentioned in my previous post, I am starting a new project that I am working on for school. One of the beauties of this project is that it is fairly open. I can choose whatever I want to work on without having to spin it or twist it relate it to the topic.

Of course, I chose to make a video game.

I am going to take full advantage of this and develop some ideas that I am thinking of applying to future projects. I have a bunch of ideas as to where I can take it but one of them has grabbed hold.

The Project Goal in Mind

If you look at my previous projects a large majority of them are arcade-y games; Glitch in the System, anti|piracy, and Neon Ritual just to name a few. What I mean by that is your aren’t necessarily playing the game for its world building or characters, you are playing for the gameplay and the excitement that brings. Which is totally fine. I love games like that otherwise I wouldn’t have made them myself. But I also have ideas that aren’t highscore, competition, or challenge room driven like those games. So for this next project I want to work on something different, something more atmospheric.

I want to make a 2D sidescroller and build a world that you want to explore. I am planning on a 5-10 min experience; Because it is short I really want to nail the level of polish and the production values in the game. Challenge myself in crafting a world worth exploring and getting to know, even in its brief stay. I am going to do this by focusing on the animations of the world and how the player interacts and moves through it. Don’t let me fool you into thinking that there will be zero gameplay elements. I want to try out a decent range of gameplay elements as well from platforming to light puzzle solving.

Spark of Inspiration

When I was first brainstorming this concept and where I wanted to take the idea I had a couple of games in mind as inspiration.

Ori and the Blind Forest

The animations alone was a big inspiration let alone the environments. The fluid animations breathe life into the characters and really make this standout. The amount of care in all of the details is astonishing and it truly does look like a moving painting. I want to have seamless animation transitions in the character that give life to the character. Not only that I also want to have a lot of varied lighting conditions that Ori showcases. The particle effects, volumetric lighting, and dynamic shadows light my imagination up with a wide variety of possibilities.

Rayman Legends

A lot of the sentiments found from Ori can be found here. Gorgeous art design and aesthetic litter this game with all of its fun character designs and easily identifiable characterizations. But one of the biggest takeaways that I garnered from Rayman is its gameplay and level design. The platforms are clear and distinct and it feels great to just move around the world. Also if you go off the beaten path you occasionally get rewarded with secrets or bonuses; this type of interaction is one that I would like to explore, learning the different ways to nudge the player along a certain path.

First Leg of the Journey

Currently the game is still in its very early stages, I am still fleshing out some of the narrative points and gameplay beats that will be throughout the experience. I have very high hopes for this project and I think that I can really step outside what I have previously done and test some of my skills.

I would love to hear what you think! Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts below or send me a Tweet over @DarkaysTG.