Hey everyone,
I've been playing 3D platformers since psx and I've wondered why there hasn't been more platformers inspired by the psx era especially. I've seen many cool indie platformers especially in 2D but for some reason not as much in 3D.
So I've decided to create my own game and hopefully I can make it fun and a good experience for everyone who miss more of such games.
I decided the mascot should be a manta ray as it is a cool and unique looking animal. In this world though, it is not a swimmer!
I made an Itch.io page HERE
Please keep in mind this is VERY early gameplay, I haven't done anything for sound design so far, I'm just testing and using random sounds I alrdy own the rights to use. Textures are placeholder/bought and so the game might not look too unique as it is right now.
Movement: I am thinking to keep the kit simple with a jump, spin and maybe a sort of bash downwards. This is mostly for the sake of making better and more focused levels, because if I add a lot of 'fast' and long jump, double jump etc., the whole level design has to change a lot because suddenly every challenging jump needs to be taking into account the length of the jump and height. On the other hand, it can make the levels more varied and challenging depending on the movement types being implemented. I am still thinking a lot about it, please feel free to give your input.
Difficulty: I really think Crash Bandicoot 2 nailed it in terms of difficulty. It felt hard at times but never so that you would be giving up or get bored (maybe my nostalgia is talking, its hard to tell always.) I do think some of the hard platform sections from Crash Bandicoot 1 would have been nice to have more of in the second game. An indie game I found really cool was PsiloSybil, but I think it is wayyyy too hard for most players and also the time trials feels so hard because of the levels already being super difficult, so I definitely do not want it to reach that difficulty on average.
Graphics: As you can tell from the video, I am aiming for a colorful, I guess stylized look. Some of the assets are placeholder for now and textures especially. And some are already replaced and changed but just didn't create a new video yet. I was debating with myself if I should aim for the classic psx style or something similar to PsiloSybil because it honestly looks really cool, but I ended up deciding on a more 'common' stylized look I suppose.
Collectibles: I really want something like the rocks with crystals inside that you see in the video. To me there is something inherently satisfying of destroying some kind of object and getting a small reward in the form of a collectible. I think making it a part of the level design and the platforming itself brings more fun to the game. Thats how I always felt about Crash Bandicoot and its what I felt always lacked in a lot of 3D platformers.
If you have any ideas, critique or comments in any way I'm all ears and open to hear it. Just keep in mind what you see right now is super early, but I am working hard to making it good.
You can also Wishlist it on Steam.
Thank you and if you happen to know any cool 3D indie platformers I should go play, I would love to hear about them as it is my favorite genre of games.
Best,
Aske