Game Mockup - 1 (WIP2)

Now the concept is really coming to life with the underwater environment. I also polished up and added more details to the previous screenshot. The biggest change is doing away with the cabinet projection for the ground tiles. It looked kind of neat but didn't match the perspective and is hard to precisely show where the collision areas are.

I always enjoy the mood in underwater levels, so I figured why not make a game that is mostly underwater. The added mobility of being able to swim in all directions presents lots of fun ideas for enemy and level design. My biggest concern with water levels is making sure the character doesn't feel too slow, as I want the gameplay to feel very snappy.

Speaking of gameplay, I've given it a lot more thought over the past week. I'm a big fan of metroidvanias but there are a couple of design elements that seem prevalent in the genre that I would like to avoid. One is back tracking. I actually don't mind backtracking in games, as it can give you a satisfying feeling of memorizing a layout. However, it becomes a  major chore when the environments aren't unique enough to be committed to memory until your 5th or 6th visit to the same area. To make the back tracking more enjoyable I would create lots of unique tiles and assets to give every area a distinct feel. The game isn't super long so It would be a reasonable feat.

Another important aspect of the gameplay is keeping a good balance between feeling powerful and vulnerable at the same time. I hate when a game allows you to just bullishly push forward, purposely taking damage because it's faster than playing the game with eloquence. This behavior can result from too much defense/power ups, or too gracious of checkpoints.

For Xenaqua I would like to create a kinetic ballet that is about agility and precision. Elona moves quickly with very responsive input and totes a blaster that cuts through her foes like butter. However, your enemies will also be fast and aggressive. It's quite a different game, but I sort of want to capture that feeling in Hotline Miami, where you have a split second to dispatch the enemy before they take your head off. However, in Xenaqua if you don't shoot first you still have sufficient speed to dodge, which is important when ammo can be sparse. Limited ammo further ups the tension by requiring precise aim and smart management. While you have a basic slash melee attack, it's mostly used in times of desperation.

Overall the game would not be very long, but it would be action packed and full of unique set-piece scenarios to give it a cinematic quality. However, I would hardly if ever interrupt the gameplay with dialogues and story scenes. Most of the narrative would play out in the gameplay and be subtly tucked into the actual assets. Unless it's a rpg or story-driven genre, I don't care to see text bubbles in my games.

Also, did I mention I made an all new pallet for this mock-up? Well, I did, and It's been working pretty sweet so far. Will definitely share with you soon after some more testing.  

Looks like I'll have time for a title logo for the final image. Stay tuned!

p.s. If you haven't seen it yet, checkout Elona's run cycle in Pixelmotion - 8