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MARA - 2.5d platformer - WIP

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by intrikit, Jan 20, 2014.

  1. R-Lindsay

    R-Lindsay

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    Looking at the promotional poster I suddenly wondered, was tekkonkinkreet an inspiration?

    I think this game has godlike amounts of potential. My only hope is that you ride out the polishing phase (if you can afford to) to fully realise it.

    Best of luck!
     
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  2. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Yes, the visual direction has been inspired by Tekkonkinkreet! Thanks so much. That's very encouraging! I plan to polish this as much as I can within reason (not taking unreasonably long). Since I am doing this part-time and not really spending too much other than the Unity Pro fees, I have no deadlines other than what I've set for myself. I'll do my best to hit it out of the park.
     
  3. intrikit

    intrikit

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  4. intrikit

    intrikit

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    A level design and art update. Don`t fall! screen80.jpg
     
  5. intrikit

    intrikit

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    At this point, it's really just about finishing the game. There are a few mechanics that need to be developed, but the majority of what's left is finishing and polishing the levels. So here are some progress screens from Level One:

    screen82.jpg

    The earlier hard work has also been paying off in that assets are readily available for placement where needed. However, I make sure that they are placed differently in terms of height and distance to make sure that the experiences throughout the level aren't duplicated.
     
  6. intrikit

    intrikit

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  7. Ra1den

    Ra1den

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    Woaah! Digging the Art man! :)

    Despite the art being kinda light, the game has a unusual dark feeling to it.... Is that what you intended? :eek:
     
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  8. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Thank you! You got it man, behind the color and vibrancy, there is darkness. I'm glad you saw that! I try to get that across with some strange and eerie structures that juxtapose against the modern and colorful elements. The music also helps get that across.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2014
  9. Ra1den

    Ra1den

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    Okay now i'm even more curious :D

    What is this darkness? and why is there? I guess really what I'm interested in is the plot haha

    Anyway Love it!
     
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  10. intrikit

    intrikit

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    The premise of the game is about the boy monk who symbolizes tradition and spirituality and the world symbolizes hollowness, superficialism and materialism. The title of the game, Mara, actually means death, temptation and evil in Buddhist terms. I wanted to communicate that behind the color and vibrancy, there is actually a hollowness within.

    I'm trying to communicate the idea that the modern world, especially today's western youth, are so immersed in only whats in the surface. I even call the enemies in the game "Selfies". I'm very glad that this idea has come across at least enough to make you curious!
     
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  11. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Adding some more satisfaction to Selfie deaths and collecting power ups:

     
  12. DryTear

    DryTear

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    You should work on the transitions between animations, like when landing down, or when switching directions etc. Also you need to work on the design of the game, making sure that everything fits in place. (Team Fortress 2 and the Battlefield games).

    Keep up with the good work :)
     
  13. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Thanks for the comment! What do you mean by the design of the game and making sure everything fits in place? I would like to know what you are referring to.
     
  14. DryTear

    DryTear

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    Think about how Mario's art style and arcadeness fits in? A bad example would be a super realistic mario game with the features from the very first game. A good example would be how Battlefield games include realism in both graphical and gameplay wise. My point is, im hoping you have something that will make the graphics of your game match everything else.
    Everything to fit nicely done like a jigsaw puzzle.
     
  15. intrikit

    intrikit

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    I see! Thanks for your input!
     
  16. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Finishing up level one. Here is The Shrine. It will be where the player can select fast moving random items each worth varying amount of points and then will trigger the start of the next level. The mechanic for this is already working but the art is placeholder. I'll take a video of the final version soon!

    screen85.jpg
     
  17. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Starting to replace programmer art with better looking assets for the Mandalas. There are three unique Mandalas worth different amount of points and they will cycle around in the same coordinates. screen86.jpg
     
  18. GarBenjamin

    GarBenjamin

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    The whole game looks excellent. Big congrats on sticking with it! You have been working on this game for awhile now. And others seem to have started and stopped just this year alone. Your first video was back in January as I recall and even then you had a lot already done with character running and jumping through city and some combat! When did you actually start on the game concept and initial design and planning?
     
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  19. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Thank you!

    Yeah, one of the reasons why I am making this game is to finish something that I started. I know a lot of people start something and work on it for a while but lose interest and abandon it. Not just games but anything in general. I've been guilty of this myself but I decided NOT THIS TIME! I will finish this.

    I actually started messing around Unity around early 2013 and then I started prototyping and planning specifically for a platformer around mid 2013. So it's been a while. Doing it on my own too and that has it's benefits and drawbacks.
     
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  20. GarBenjamin

    GarBenjamin

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    That's awesome and 15 months to go from concept to this point is very impressive for one person I think. It looks like it equals many games being created by multi-person teams in the same time frame.
     
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  21. intrikit

    intrikit

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    I'm very glad it comes across that way. I'm happy that the level of quality shows!

    I think that it comes across that way because the vision is pure and I know exactly what needs to be done. It doesn't get bogged down by conflicting ideas. There isn't a lot of wasted time. The game itself is also basic and mechanics are not too hard to figure out which helps a whole lot. Being disciplined and progressing on a nearly daily basis is also a big factor.
     
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  22. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Here are the three mandalas screen87.jpg

     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2014
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  23. intrikit

    intrikit

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    With the first level all wrapped up, I'm moving onto the second level. Here are some progress screens:

    screen91.jpg
    screen92.jpg
     
  24. intrikit

    intrikit

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  25. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Working on a Pause Screen. Going to add an overlay over the text or something to make it pop.

     
  26. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Showing some more level design variations. Having fun with existing elements and using them to diversify the experience.

    screen106.jpg

     
  27. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Here are more progress screens. Finishing off Level Two:

    screen110.jpg

    screen111.jpg
     
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  28. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Here is the last bit of Level Two's obstacles in action:



    Finishing up the level with some of the vertical saws. Don't mind the hiccups. Not framerate related but from the Fraps recording!
     
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  29. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Just added a power-down indicator. The character blinks a few seconds before a power-up expires. Simple feature but I think it makes a big difference for the experience. It was a bit of a pain in the ass setting it up though using PlayMaker. Anyway, here it is:

     
  30. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Finishing off the third level with some variety. Adding a taiko, a circular platform to roll the boy to safety. Will be adding more obstacles on top of this mechanic as the level progresses. Will capture a video soon.

    screen122.jpg
     
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  31. intrikit

    intrikit

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    A video of how the taikos work:



    This is the kind of stuff that makes level design fun. The mixing and matching of existing and proven out mechanics to vary experience and difficulty.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2015
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  32. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Another screenshot of this area:

    screen123.jpg
     
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  33. intrikit

    intrikit

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    Another update on the Taiko mechanic: