Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Fan Stuff => Topic started by: kaonstantine on July 10, 2013, 06:04:13 PM
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Why? aren't there enough CV fan games already? Well, I think very few video games can stimulate the imagination as CV has done through all these years. You just need to be exposed to any CV game to start feeling the intention to pay tribute to it, or to share your own vision of the CV world, wether it is by making a drawing, a remix, a fanfic... or a game. Since i played Symphony of the Night, I started to feel that intention: to create a game based on the CV saga. Some months ago i finally made the decision to create this little project. It is called Neo:Vania. This is my first attemp to create a game. I'm aware there are a lot of chances to fail, but well, i'm learning new things and having fun since the beginning.
Story.
Ok, i can't reveal much about story yet.The game is set in modern times. The main character lives in Spain; he is studying archeology at University. He doesn't know he is the descendant of an old clan of remarkable witches who have helped defeating Dracula in the past (omg, i've said too much! ;) ). By the end of semester he receives an invitation from one of his teachers to travel to Mexico to visit and study the ancient ruins of the mayan civilization. Strange events sart to happen as they arrive at the archaeological site of Chichen-Itzá... Oh lord.
Some details
There are two persons working in this project: Pablo Bobadilla (music) and me (story, graphics & programming) You can view Pablo in action here (guy with the glasses):
Lucho Sanchez & Pablo Bobadilla - Lost Painting - Castlevania SOTN (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp-bYZTmPVQ#ws)
All graphics, art and music will be original. The game plays in window mode, 480X336 (weird size, i know): I personally don't like the look the sprites get when using scaling (not only in my game, in almost every game). So i decided to sacrifice the grandeur of full screen to show the exact look of the world. Game is being developed in GameMaker (yeah, i'm a noob at GML). At the moment, the game uses the keyboard to control the protagonist, but i'm considering to remove keyboard support and only implement gamepad support. Since the protagonist will develop a high afinity to magic, it is my purpose to stimulate the use of special moves and button combinations on the gamepad even to use the normal subweapon attacks.
Project is in a very alpha stage. I'll be adding updates when project reach the beta stage. I know we are showing very few material for now, sorry for that, guys. Progress is very slow, so please bear with us. We are doing our best. The screenshots are taken from the game, I resized them cause they are not definitive
First attempt at a title screen:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg4%2F4373%2F9tq.gif&hash=5b1a31591dc1940d17f98bfaac9521e5)
Second attemp at the main menu:
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg9.imageshack.us%2Fimg9%2F5899%2Foxe.gif&hash=3bfb85ef5f4f4a583ce79ebc1cd9e7c5)
A look on the main character, the background is for the first stage, The forest of Chichen-Itzá
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg850%2F6746%2Fv1wq.jpg&hash=aa699ae8053bb04c3a2ca6ffdbc6726c)
Comments, suggestions and critics are welcome. Thank you.
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Damn that's pretty awesome! Yeah man cool you already have a title screen and other goodies too. The cover and cover songs are pretty neat too!
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I'm interested to see how you relate the Mayan Civilization to Count Dracula!
Everything looks cool to me so far!
Is Neo-Vania a working title or will that be the main title of the game?
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@Las: Thank you. The title screen was one of the first things i designed. We needed it to capture the idea behind the game.
@MontoyaGraphics: Thank you. Well, i dunno. Neo~Vania was the first name coming to my mind, but I´m not quite convinced it'll work. I only know I wanted a reference to CV in the main title... I'm open to suggestions ^^
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I am liking the idea a lot, and I was hoping to give you a few suggestions:
1. Please don't remove keyboard support. Games that are skill based have used keyboard controls well in the past (such as Magicka), so it is still possible to have a dynamic magic/skill system while maintaining the keyboard controls. Also...I hate trying to set up my 6-axis controller.
2. Depending on the games type (Metroidvania or Linear), maybe you can make the character defenseless in the beginning. If the game is linear, it could a scripted sequence where he is forced to run from a powerful monster (maybe quetzacoatl?). Eventually, he would find the whip (or a spellbook, or maybe even the Alucard Spear?) and use it to damage the monster, before it crawled deeper into the ruins, trying to escape the powerful relic of the protagonists ancestors.
3. If this was a Castlevania game set in a cyberpunk universe, I think Neovania would be good. However...
Maybe Castlevania: Cursed Ancestry?
4. Do you have any idea for bosses in the game? I think the Mayan spin could bring some absolutely awesome new beasts to the game.
5. Do you have any additional modes planned? One that another fan game known as Castlevania: The Lecarde Chronicles lacked in my opinion was a way to refight bosses without restarting the game (and it was a pretty long game).
That's all that really comes to mind at the moment. Hope these help, and I hope I can help in the future!
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Oooh Castlevania: Cursed Ancestry! I like that name much better. It sounds more like a game and less like a project title. I think EmperorZephyr made some very good suggestions.
When I first saw your character sprites I didn't understand why the protagonist looked so ill-suited for battle. He is dressed in casual clothes. But now that you have explained that he is caught off guard abroad, that makes a lot more sense.
Cool stuff man! I'm looking forward to seeing more about this.
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The game's art had me fooled for a while now. The image looks like a women, but it's actually a dude. Why pretty boys..? lol.
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I am liking the idea a lot, and I was hoping to give you a few suggestions:
1. Please don't remove keyboard support. Games that are skill based have used keyboard controls well in the past (such as Magicka), so it is still possible to have a dynamic magic/skill system while maintaining the keyboard controls. Also...I hate trying to set up my 6-axis controller.
2. Depending on the games type (Metroidvania or Linear), maybe you can make the character defenseless in the beginning. If the game is linear, it could a scripted sequence where he is forced to run from a powerful monster (maybe quetzacoatl?). Eventually, he would find the whip (or a spellbook, or maybe even the Alucard Spear?) and use it to damage the monster, before it crawled deeper into the ruins, trying to escape the powerful relic of the protagonists ancestors.
3. If this was a Castlevania game set in a cyberpunk universe, I think Neovania would be good. However...
Maybe Castlevania: Cursed Ancestry?
4. Do you have any idea for bosses in the game? I think the Mayan spin could bring some absolutely awesome new beasts to the game.
5. Do you have any additional modes planned? One that another fan game known as Castlevania: The Lecarde Chronicles lacked in my opinion was a way to refight bosses without restarting the game (and it was a pretty long game).
That's all that really comes to mind at the moment. Hope these help, and I hope I can help in the future!
Hey, Thank you EmperorZephyr! I really appreciate you took the time to think those ideas
1. I could leave the keyboard support enabled, but i guess keyboard users will have a hard time trying to do things like (LEFT, 225°, DOWN, 315°, RIGHT). I also have to think of the keyboard distribution. Right now Jump and Normal attack are the only working buttons.
2. The intention is to create a Metroidvania fan game. The main character is (or will be) able to use normal weapons and spells. In the game, I'll give him access to normal weapons before spells
3. I see your point and i agree, but the the fact of the matter is I really want to avoid things like sorrow, cursed, sonata, aria, concert, moon, unholy, haunted, etc. Also, i don't want the explicit "Castlevania" word appearing in he title. I like Ancestry, sounds good, it could work...
4. Having new enemies and bossess was one of the first ideas i had for the game. Yeah, there will be creatures based on Mayan Mythology, but boss design will be the last stage of the game development, i guess
5. hadn't thought of that. Maybe i'll consider adding new modes after finishing the bosses.
Oooh Castlevania: Cursed Ancestry! I like that name much better. It sounds more like a game and less like a project title.
I can see clearly now you don't like the "Neo~Vania" title, LOL. I like the "Vania" , don't know why
The game's art had me fooled for a while now. The image looks like a women, but it's actually a dude. Why pretty boys..? lol.
LOL. Since SotN and AoS motivated me to make this, I could not escape the pretty boy cliché ^^. If you're fighting Dracula, you must be pretty.
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3. I see your point and i agree, but the the fact of the matter is I really want to avoid things like sorrow, cursed, sonata, aria, concert, moon, unholy, haunted, etc. Also, i don't want the explicit "Castlevania" word appearing in he title. I like Ancestry, sounds good, it could work...
Hmm...Alright, how about Sacred Ancestry?
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Hmm...Alright, how about Sacred Ancestry?
Sacred Ancestry seems like a good name to me. :)
XXX: Sacred ancestry?
or
Sacred Ancestry: XXX?
A new logo will be needed...
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Sacred Ancestry seems like a good name to me. :)
XXX: Sacred ancestry?
or
Sacred Ancestry: XXX?
A new logo will be needed...
I assumed you were going with Castlevania: Sacred Ancestry.
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Yeah. What's with the XXX? That makes it look like a porno game.
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Yeah. What's with the XXX? That makes it look like a porno game.
Not a bad idea ;D. What i meant was, I'd like to have one word as the main title, and then "Sacred ancestry". But well, there's no rush to have a name.
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This really reminds me of Aria of Sorrow and that's a good thing. I am also intrigued with incorporating how the Mayan civilization would of dealt with Dracula. That is a untapped storyline and would fit good in the original universe similar to the effects of Dracula's curse in WW2 in Portrait of Ruin and such. Also, how about Castlevania: Thaumaturge of Souls for a title name? I think you should keep Castlevania in the title and make it a part of the actual IGA timeline.
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This really reminds me of Aria of Sorrow and that's a good thing. I am also intrigued with incorporating how the Mayan civilization would of dealt with Dracula. That is a untapped storyline and would fit good in the original universe similar to the effects of Dracula's curse in WW2 in Portrait of Ruin and such. Also, how about Castlevania: Thaumaturge of Souls for a title name? I think you should keep Castlevania in the title and make it a part of the actual IGA timeline.
Thank you, darkmanx. I keep special affection for AoS. I have many doubts about the title, but i'm sure of one thing: No "Castlevania" on the title. I'm even considering using Mayan etymology, like "el hijo de kukulkan" (son of Kukulkan). Kukulkan is the mayan equivalent for Quetzalcóatl. They both are "good" gods, not evil forces as depicted in CV.
EDIT, July 23: I had no idea how important the design document can be. I'm trying to figure out a good method to implement the inventory system. There are a lot of variables and items to organize! Now I'm aware this is something I should have done before starting to code :P. I've come up with a half detailed outline of items and weapon properties. I'll be using a mixture of arrays, lists and maps to create the inventory,. Time will tell if this is a good method
I'm also working on the HUD, not very elaborated, but trying to go one step further from the classic 2D metroidvania HUD. There are a lot of things to do. 8)
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How About Sacred Ancestry: Heritage would that work?
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How About Sacred Ancestry: Heritage would that work?
Iiiiiiiiiit's not god to bump a thread over 2 years old within yothe rules and look at the age of the thread before you post from now on please. post from now on please.
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Yeah, 2 years is a little excessive for a bump. I'll let it go with a warning, Dio, but I'll lock this thread too. Please don't necropost in the future and check the date of the last reply of the thread you want to bump. If it's been over a year--really, a couple months is the breakoff point for necroposting--make a new thread instead.