Release Notes version 0.6.5

Solomon’s World improvements for version 0.6.5.

• Added new usable item: “lever” and trigger events to open exit and complete stage.
• New goal system to end a stage: keys, treasures, foods, monsters, levers.
• Started monster clustering in worlds.
• New monster: skeleton (no fantasy game can ship without one !), snake, black spider (glue movement on walls), snowman, snobee.
• Collectables system in Placer class (with 10 collectable items) and new book page animation. Map item unlocks new worlds.
• New “charge” action for monsters that shoot, hit state and hit push.
• Popup effect for worlds in map.
• Shifted from lives to energy for player.
• New player actions: run-jump (Mario-style) to reach higher places, powerfall to break blocks when landing.
• New blocks: snow, mud; block property: wind.
• New world 6 (graveyard), 7 (dual clouds, climbing stage).
• New spatial audio, samples.
• Screen bezels and UI improvements.
• Fixed a lot of bugs and glitches.
• Improved pixel animations for monsters, fx, backgrounds.
• Improved dungeon generation (getNextCell).
• Improved performance and loading speed.

Do you want to play Solomon’s World ?

Register to play Solomon’s World alpha

In the next few weeks we will release an alpha version of Solomon’s World to receive player feedback and improve the game.

Solomon’s World Press kit

Just published Solomon’s World press kit here.

Each image explains one concept about the game, design and theme.

 

Solomon’s World – the timeline

version 0.0.0 – No key pressed yet, just some photoshop

Below you can see is the original Solomon’s World mockup, made reassembling assets from a Solomon’s Key screenshot. The project had to be chosen between 3 different ideas.

The other two were simpler, as it should have been a 4 months development time work, but we chose the most complex one, a modern reinterpretation of the original Tecmo classic.

version 0.0.01 – one happy little redhead

The project kicked off officially in april 2016. The first prototype was only a raw maze navigation with a character animation made by Ryan Carag. Unity has enabled us to develop it in less than a week.

version 0.1.8 – the monkey engine

Several months later, the game still looks the same, but there is more than meets the eye.

Usable items were added in right and left hand, large levels are supported through an optimized scrollable view frame.

Using our 10+ years experience in framework development we programmed an almost fully configurable procedural platform game environment (“the monkey engine“) controlled by JSON files, without too much to hassle with C# for new monsters, effects, sprites, samples and level generation. Obviously it’s a work in progress, but we are very happy with it.

version 0.6 – Where’s the light switch ?

Almost all placeholder art (32×32 pixels) has been replaced by final assets (64×64). There is music and sound samples for a lot of game events.

The new dungeon generation has been added. Here we show only the most basic one, Perlin based.

A flood of monsters, treasures and different types of blocks are there and sometimes there are funny interactions between the various actors.

Still a lot of work to do.

Solomon’s World – first public video

In this first video of Solomon’s World (coming 2017) we can see the cavern level generation and some of the game main features: different types of blocks (earth, stone, lava), enemies and treasures.

 

Solomon’s World

Above: the game title for the splash screen of the intro (WIP).

Below: the first world region of the pre-alpha version, “Valley of Bohlon”, with 4 stages (WIP) illustrated here on the book map with the wonderful icons by Jonik-9i.

1: Old Temple of St. Luke (descending stage)
2: Cursed Ruins (descending stage)
3: Caverns (descending stage)
4: Frozen Shiver Tower (ascending stage)

Multiplying pixel art blocks

This is an interesting photoshop technique for multiplying pixel art assets. It applies to any irregular background tile. In our case we doubled the earth blocks present in a couple of minutes.

I started with the following spritesheet with just 16 different earth blocks. We will finish with 32.

And using photoshop I did the following.

1. I duplicated the vertical canvas size and the blocks layer. Now there are two new upper rows. Identical to the lower ones.
2. And that’s what I got after the swap of the two upper blocks. Each one above is identical to the one below on the other side (notice the corresponding color frame).
3. Then I duplicated the two rows below, again and, without swapping, created a new layer just below the upper ones.
4. Using photoshop “blend modes”: “darken” the two new upper rows merge together creating new irregular patterns that remind earth.

So the final spritesheet has doubled the blocks without drawing any pixel, very fast and the new blocks (upper two rows) are even fancier than the old ones !

Here is another example with ice blocks.

From this:

to this:

Just some minor adjustments for hi-res (32×32 to 64×64), rounded corners and opacity for a frost effect.

Solomon’s World: A new screenshot

This new Solomon’s World screenshot (ver. 0.5.0) shows:

• Taffy (Taphath), the new main player sprite in the center, surrounded by some monsters that you can encounter in the various dungeons present in the game. Here’s some of her pixelart animations.

• Earth, ice and stone blocks, that represent the main structures. The gray stone blocks are unbreakable, the others may be escavated and broken using various tools or by hand.
• The green monster’s name is: “Bargill” and is actually the most dangerous enemy in the game. It can follow the player around and can shoot dangerous balls of venom.

• Fire monsters just strolls around, heating up the atmosphere and carbon footprint of the game.

• Bats (placeholder art) fly up and down, and are not annoying… yet.

• The new grass & ivy decorated earth blocks just look cool.

 

 

Solomon’s World reveal screenshot

August 18th 2016: first public screenshot from the pre-alpha version of “Solomon’s World“.

It a new Radical Bit videogame for PC/Mac from our the “arcade classics reimagined” serie.

It’s 1988A (Alternative ? Again ?) and this is what an imaginary sequel to the great Solomon’s Key (Namco, 1986) would taste.

It features procedural levels, monsters, custom graphics and animations inspired by the pixel art of the 80s and some nice effects and music.

 

 

 

Five Elements Press Kit released

“Five Elements” italian press kit released: DOWNLOAD HERE