Galaxias - a Metroidvania Project

RandomFellow - ahh the pressure! thanks for checking it out

Very nice!! I like this style of game!!

Elinewton - thank you!

Quick update, just some simple first boss behavior (I of course took its health WAY down for debugging purposes.. you get me)

Slight graphics update, preview of a new area with a new tileset and new enemy graphics. Also, the charger boss's eyes blink when he's going to charge you... kind of like Mike Tyson's Punch Out.

A couple of quick updates -

A functioning metroidvania style map and minimap, which works across multiple layouts. I guess there are a few ways that this can be accomplished, but essentially what I did was build the map separately in a TMX file, coded a means to export that TMX file as an array, exported it as an XML, and used a separate array to track whether a particular part of the map had been visited or not. I also have each layout specify what coordinate on the map the upperleft most part of the layout corresponds to.

The more I try to explain it, the more complex it seems... but it's really done in just a few lines. Anyways, I hope that explanation helps someone.

Building out a bit more of the scifi atmosphere - here we see a new landing pad and some antennae

Wow, the updates are looking great! Such a difference. Awesome job emulating the metroidvania style.

Dang, this is getting better day by day...

Keep up your excellent work and good 2016!

Natal and HR78 - ah man, thanks guys. Lots of encouragement from the scirra community going into 2016. I'm super grateful for you guys!

Some prototype boss movement - graphics are still rough.. but I finally made an 8 bit enemy that creeps out my wife. I'd say that's a good direction.

happy new year, my friends.

mudmask About the sprite styles, I had a thought:

I just only realized now that your stage sprites use black as a shadow, while your original player sprite and enemy sprites never include black. I think this is important when it comes to determining your art style.

Personally, the preview that comes together perfectly style-wise is the "Drone Exploration with 8bit darkness". The drone uses black as its shadow, as do all the tiles, and the light effect. Second would be "Update - simple boss behavior and event flag", but without the new player sprite. The boss, and the drone, are great examples of the character fitting the style.

I think if the player sprite matched this palette, it would be a perfect fit. The new player sprite has the addition of a highlight, rather than the inclusion of a shadow, which makes him stand out from the rest of the style. He looks almost 16-bit, now.

Anyway, food for thought, if it helps! I'm really looking forward to this game!

brushfe - thanks so much for the detailed and well thought out feedback. It's really encouraging to have some people watching my project who actually want to see me achieve the best end product possible.

at one point in my design I was committed to keeping a strict 3 color palette, utilizing the black background for a fourth accentual color. one of the issues I of course ran into was how sprites were obscured when overlapping other elements. why does that matter? maybe because I was born in the 80's.. ha, but as the guys who made Odallus: The Dark Call pointed out, at times key sprites were able to utilize more colors using kind of an overlay technique.

I figured that was a good compromise, so that's maybe the direction some of my more important sprites are heading in right now (bosses, suit parts). I know it looks more 16 bit (and I'm glad you pointed that out), and I could still roll everything back if I decide that's not the visual direction I want to head in in order to tell this story.

I did spend a few days thinking about whether to include the shadow specifically on the player, or the highlight, and the highlight won out (for now). for his proportions, black would've added maybe too much contrast, and I felt that the highlights were just a bit more subtle and maybe made it easier to track the player on the screen.

any more thoughts that you have are totally welcome. I really take a lot of this into heavy consideration. thanks again!

It's great to see & hear from someone so thoughtfully invested in their project!

I think you'll be aces whichever way you decide. It seems that in both cases, remaining consistent is the key (a good reminder for my own project...) — building an art style that at worst isn't distracting and at best memorable and immersive.

That last image you posted (prototype boss movement) is a good example of the choice ahead. The GUI and boss have a lovely 8-bit palette, while the main char and stage tiles feel much more Super Metroid than Metroid. Amazing how something like a highlight and a bit more detail can do that.

Overall though, it seems like you're moving from strictly adhering to the old restrictions and building your own visual voice. To me that trumps everything. I really like the direction you're heading and I'd only say keep going down that road! Good luck!

Wow you've pumped out a lot of work since I've last peeked at this!

Digging all of it. That boss up there reminds me of the snake level from Battletoads.

Will definitely snag this when it comes out. Keep going, dude!

brushfe - thanks so much again for the feedback and insight. bclikesyou as well. seriously, it's encouraging to get feedback from guys who really have a feel for the 8bit aesthetic. maybe somewhere deep down, I channeled some battletoads without realizing it

here's a quick update on the snake boss - trying to come up with a more consistent graphic style (as well as some new behaviors):

This would be an example of using mainly a 3 color palette with either an extra color in a key area, OR a subtle palette change in a different 8x8 block.

I had thought about doing some kind of attack mode where it grabs you in its mandibles and drives you into a wall or something...

I know - this is a style, but I think that total lacking of the background is bad idea.

Without backgrounds it seems that the character's adventures take place in the same room.

RedBlackSpade I suppose that's the challenge then. I do have a few backgrounds in the works, nothing I've shown yet though, and I don't plan on making them a main feature.