I am currently looking for dedicated pixel artists for a 2D Castlevania style game. There can be more than one artist. From the artists, I am looking for everything ranging from Tile Sets for the map, monsters, character, UI (Menus, Item Icons, and other UI elements), and attack effects.
This will be a revenue share project that will later be put on Kickstarter. For the idea of the game below is a short and quick rundown of the idea of the game. Since this project is to be a serious one I would prefer a contract for everyone that will be working on it. We will use BitBucket as a repo manager. This game will be a lengthy one, but I want a good game people can enjoy.
Title – Mystic Spelunker – Search for Immortality
Game Type – Metroidvania
Number of players – 1
Target audience age 13+
Target audience interests
- RPGs, Hard Combat, Exploration, Extra Quests
Tools being used
-The engine of choice is Unity. Unity has been working on some new 2D tools set recently that has added an abundance of potential for making 2D games. I been working heavily with the news tools and have become very comfortable with the new API for the 2D tools.
High Concept
- A 2D Metroidvania style game that takes place in a cave that has portals to other worlds. Featuring puzzles, side quests, and rewarding exploration.
Gameplay
Story – Your character is a young treasure hunter. He has had his fill with supernatural filled caverns and adventures. He is looking for the ultimate treasure, the fountain of youth. In his early years, he was searching for a golden vase. During his hunt, he was in an accident. This accident almost killed him and left a new fear engraved in him. To calm his new fear of death he decided to make himself immortal. After exploring many lands, he found a map that leaves to a gate inside a cave. When he found the gate and entered it, he is swallowed by a dark shadow. Once awake he sat in front of the grim reaper. Bored the grim reaper asks if he wants to play the ultimate game. Winner takes all. Accepting the challenge the grim reaper tells him the fountain lies within this cave, but the cave has rifts in space that lead to new lands. Only after conquering every land can he reach the fountain. If he makes it to the fountain, he gets one wish from the reaper plus permission to drink from it. If he loses, he is forced to reap the souls of the dead for all eternity. He must take the place of the grim reaper and carry out his duties until someone else agrees to take over his spot.
Mechanics
One of the main mechanics in the game is dimensional gems. They are gems you get by beating bosses in the game. Each gem uses MP once found. There are several types of gems.
Ice Gem – Freezes water allowing you to walk over it. It can also be used to cool lava and walk on it, but lava freezing is temporary.
Fire Gem – Melts certain objects. Also, can be used to burn stuff. Example is thick vines that have spikes. You cannot normally pass them without dying so you have to burn them.
Bomb gem – Can be used to blow certain walls up and other objects.
Wind Gem – Creates a vortex of wind of wind in any of the 8 cardinal directions. You can move certain objects with it. Later you can get a glider to make vortexes that can lift you to get over great distances.
Lightning Gem – Allows you to electric water and energize certain machines.
Earth Gem – Allows you to do various things in certain locations. This could make an earthen brined to walk over or make a spike step you can climb.
Light Gem – Lights dark areas and allows the user to go through certain puzzles. Example lining up an array of mirrors and having the light beam follow them to hit something and open a door.
Throughout the game, you get items for your item belt. These items can be found through the dungeon or gained by beating bosses.
Magic Rope – Allows you to create an infinite rope that goes as far as you want it to. Also, automatically returns to your belt when done with it. Sounds simple, but there can be some puzzle uses for it. I have some ideas about mirrors that take go to other mirrors in the room. Drop rope into it and the mirrors can exit sideways making the rope defy gravity and go to the side.
Grapple Hook – Allows you to grapple to certain areas with hooks or rock formations that can be hooked. Also, could be used to pull flying monsters down to you just be careful of their close attacks. With the Strength gloves, you can pull down certain objects to make new paths.
Strength Gloves - Allows you to move certain objects. You can push objects onto pressure plates to make doors open and much more.
Magnetic Gloves – These allows you to stick to metal surfaces. You can find iron ore in caves and hold onto them and much more.
The game will have a level system, combat system, magic spell system, and equipment to wear.
Level up system is something like you would expect from Castlevania.
Combat would also be like Castlevania, but you have the items in your tool belt and the gems to use.
The magic system is unique. When you get a gem, you unlock magic tree. When you get the gem, you learn one spell. When you kill enemies, you gain magic gems. These can be used to level up magic. Some gems can create dual magic trees. Fire + Earth = Lava
Note the attack spells do not interact with the environment as much as the actual gem uses do.
Process for making the game.
Starting with how the levels will be made. I would use the experimental tile map. It allows designer to make levels quickly without the mass items in the hierarchy. Since you can write your own tile brush scripts, you can make new brushes that do an assortment of things. One is animated tiles for water, trees, or anything you can think of.
I been using Unity's new contact system for making a custom character controller for very precise control over the character movement. This has become very hand for making swimming, climbing, and other character actions.
I have written an item, spell, and weapon database manager for easy inventory implementations. The databases are working through an editor extension script in Unity.
For more of the process shoot me an email or a private message.
Email = jonathan.westfall1@gmail.com