Zinc

[eric22222]

We've named our main character, though not the actual game. He'll be called Zinc, and the game will probably be Zinc's Adventure, or Zinc's Quest, something like that. I realized I still haven't posted any screenshots yet, only a tileset which hasn't actually been used. So here's a preview. The plus of a movie is you can see the parallax in action, along with how the player moves. Only downside is terrible sound quality. Still, you get the idea from this.

The movie!

Questions, comments, and suggestions welcome!

Edit: the video may take a bit of time to go live. If you're getting some errors from Google Video, try back later.

[bluemonkmn]

Great-looking game!  I hope you have an opportunity to try your hand at SGDK2 someday (did you get the alpha working yet -- perhaps with the additional update?  I want to work out that problem if you haven't.)  Sure it might be worth waiting until it's released for a serious project, but if you can do anything before the final release, it would make for some pretty cool elements in the SGDK2 library, and you could have your name in the credits of something I hope will be quite popular.

BTW, I think most of the audio problems in the video might have to do with the volume.  It sounded like it was too loud, and that's what was causing most of the distortion.

[Jam0864]

Dude.....Nice. This looks really cool. I like the idea of throwing the spear. The jumping animation makes jumping look much more realistic. The boat thing is cool too. It has some good graphics also.

[eric22222]

Alright you guys, I've trimmed a bunch of the content out of the game. Why? To make a demo without spoiling any plot points or cinematic moments. For now, you can get it here.

The demo shows alot more than the video. For one, you can get a feel for yourself on how the game goes beyond the standard GameDev physics. The player swaps to a different sprite in the air that has a lower speed, making jumping more realistic (if you can call being shot into the air off springy fungi "realistic"). The spear is definitely something to try, too.

Controls:
  Arrow keys: move
  Shift: action (go in door, talk)
  CTRL: Throw spear (if you have it)
  Space: Spear vault
  Alt: Change weapon (put spear away to jump higher)

And, since I love them so much, there are a handful of secrets, too. 

[bluemonkmn]

Quite nice.  I couldn't find Jasper; was that part done?  But I did find lots of Gems and talk to a few ... other furry tortoises?  Were they referred to as "Turquioses"?  I like the spring breeding garden, but I didn't find it until after I had already bounced on a few 'shrooms.

D'oh, now I've spent my morning playing a game instead of writing rule function documentation for SGDK2.

[eric22222]

Yeah, the opening quest (used to familiarize the player w/ jumping physics) is all in there. Jasper's at the third floor, I think. The older looking one on the far right. Turquoise was the name of one of them; the species itself doesn't really have a name as of yet. Right now, we've just been calling them "furry guys." I've heard them called turtles, armadillos, sheep, porcupine, etc.

The only "quests" available in the demo would be:
   Rescue the baby furry guys (probably will be required in the full game)
   Complete spear training (can't get spear without it in full game)
   Open the shortcut tunnel (speeds up overland travel)
   Make it to the end of the desert (obviously required in full game)
   Collect all 128 gems (maximum obtainable in first two maps)