Topic: Qa'Doth

[Dracula9]

So, I've reached the point in game-making where I want to make my own product, and hopefully market and sell the thing. I can probably blame Shovel Knight for this sudden inspiration, but I'm glad it's hit me.

Haunted Castle is probably going to be on hiatus, since after making Castlevania (and also Mega Man) projects for the better part of six-seven years now, I'm pretty burnt out on making them. I know a bunch of folks have been pumped for HC, but I've just lost the drive for it. Can't say that's fair, but after coding the same shit for so long, I'm craving something more, something I can look back on and say "that's mine, I made that."

Which is what I'm currently doing now. I've noticed a considerable decline in good horror games as of late (this applies moreso to the indie market, which is where I'd doubtlessly be marketing this once I finish it), and especially 2D horror titles. I've taken it upon myself to try and add to that genre with Kadath (that name may or may not remain placeholder, haven't decided yet). On the same note of game types that are lacking, there aren't very many Lovecraft-based games. There are plenty of Lovecraft-inspired ones, but they don't draw too heavily on the mythos from what I've seen. And sticking Cthulhu or Yog-Sothoth or Nyarlathotep into a game as an enemy doesn't really count in my book, and there's been plenty of games that do that.

What I'm planning is a 2D horror platformer (oh boy is this one gonna be a struggle), based on and in NES graphic and sound styles (just like every indie developer, but hey, retro stuff sells), and also very heavily derivative of Lovecraft's mythos (and not just the Great Old One and Cthulhu mythos, the whole shebang).

What I've fleshed out so far is to have the game follow a plot and tonality reminiscent of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, one of Lovecraft's most thought-provoking and descriptive (and longest) stories. I don't think I'll end up going with the "it was all a dream" idea the story does, as that's become a cliched trope. However, I do want dream realms to play a large part. At present, the game will begin with a modernized version of the Antarctic expedition seen in At the Mountains of Madness. Once that plays out, and the protag and what's left of his crew flee the continent for safety, they will arrive at those fated coordinates, and the protag will subsequently have to navigate through R'lyeh. He will come upon the slumbering Old Ones, and the sight of them will fuck his mind up and he'll pass out. Once asleep, with his mind having become awakened to the Eldritch realms by now, his consciousness will travel beyond time and space before he finally settles in...Sarnath. And for anyone who knows Lovecraft's stories, you know that this poor bastard has precious short time before the Moon-Beasts totally destroy the city (I'll be changing this so that Bokrug himself is actually leading the charge, in the story he's only present as a magical idol). After fleeing the city and fending off Bokrug (pulling architecture down onto him and briefly trapping him)...I haven't worked out yet. kek

As for gameplay shit, I have settled on a couple of things.
>You will begin the game unarmed, and have to rely on using the environment to dispatch or avoid enemies (since it's a horror game in the end weapons should naturally be severely limited). You'll find a few things here and there, but largely it's being able to find a way to break shit.
>Non-melee attacks will be used by invoking and summoning various incarnations of the Fifty Names of Marduk (from the Necronomicon, which you will be given during the course of the game by a certain mad poet, who is also wandering between time and space). Certain invocations will summon various deities, who will function as shopkeepers (you can only summon them in certain areas, however, and there will be technicalities to fulfill before those areas are usable). Some will teach you spells, which can be used outside of the summons area once they've been learned. Others will function as weaponsmiths and your basic upgrade shop (maybe...I might nix this one).
>The big creatures (i.e. Bokrug, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Mordiggian, Shib-Niggurath, etc) cannot be killed. Their mere existence is something most mortals cannot even comprehend without succumbing to incurable madness, so naturally a normal guy would have no chance of actually slaying them. However, they can be sealed, injured, and temporarily incapacitated. But not killed.
>Nyarlathotep's gonna be the primary antag. Just because he's a dick like that. And it's gonna be fun to make a big twisted wormy final boss.

Aaaaand aside from all THAT, I've gotten a few non-conceptual things done so far.

First set of tiles for Sarnath (hey, it's a huge-ass city made of fuckin' gold, what'd ya expect? The areas will get progressively more disturbing as the game progresses)

(click to show/hide)

And the intended art style for the Great bosses, and the characters in general. But it looks best at a scale this big.

(click to show/hide)

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, it wouldn't be a D9 thread without some music; only this time, they're original. *le gasp*
Kinetic Heartbeat - Undecided stage theme
Dimensional Lurkers - Suspense theme
Stellar Stalkers - Chase theme(note that this one is a variation (or a reprisal of sorts, I guess) of Dimensional Lurkers, which is intentional since this one will often follow the former.

I was kinda going for a Metroid-esque vibe in the music. With the game being 2D, I lose a lot of elements of horror buildup, so I have to make extra-good use of the classic methods; music setting atmosphere being one of the most basic. Let me know if I pulled it off or totally fucked it up.

And...that's it for now, I guess.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

Looking good! Although I would suggest a Sega Genesis type palette, with 8 colors allowed for each sprite? Iunno, but it would allow for more horrific looking things. I would offer to help with sprites, but I'm only good at people and ground tiles.

[Dracula9]

That Cthulhu IS eight colors. And I'm not following NES limitations exactly, I'm merely imitating the style.

And Genesis palette? Ew, no. Way too bright and high-contrast for a horror game.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

That Cthulhu IS eight colors. And I'm not following NES limitations exactly, I'm merely imitating the style.

And Genesis palette? Ew, no. Way too bright and high-contrast for a horror game.

Yeah, but look at what CV:Bloodlines did with it. Some of those sprites look horrifying and haunted me since I was a little kid. Of course, no sprite can compare to the horror of Silent Hill: Homecoming.

[darkmanx_429]

I approve this!

[BLOOD MONKEY]

Is there going to be mmx style wall jumping? I love  mmx style wall jumping.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Will you release your existing Haunted Castle code, so that others may perhaps continue it?

[BLOOD MONKEY]

Will you release your existing Haunted Castle code, so that others may perhaps continue it?

ooooor the VZ code......

[theANdROId]

Looks/sounds pretty nifty so far!

[Inccubus]

Awesome! + What Jorge said.

[X]

Love the tiles there! And that Cthulhu? Bad@$$. I'd hate to be on that very boat 'cause when Cthulhu wakes, everything dies. I agree that the Genesis palette is not the first choice for a horror theme game, however if you can pull it off like so few others have then by all means, go for it. I would recommend the SNES palette though seeing as how games like Super Castlevania IV and Nosferatu did so well with it.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

Drac, you should use a palette like this for the cthulhu scene:    It makes him look freaking scary as shit.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Wow that looks amazing!

I agree with Zero's cthulhu recolor. It's scarier and more disturbing.

[Dracula9]

Bitch did I say you could recolor my shit I oughta slap you silly

I'm going for book descriptions here. Cthulhu in Call is described as green, flabby, and amorphous. That recolor looks a little too "generic scary colors," but the scheme isn't bad. I'll work with the NES palette and see what sticks.


Jorge, I'll probably release the HC code, but ZSG, again, I'm not releasing Variable Zero. You need to learn how to do this stuff yourself, seriously. All this going around asking for everything else to be done by other people is fine, but you still should learn this stuff yourself as a backup. And, if you do get a team together, learning this will make it easier to understand what you're asking of your crew. I'll give you krw's X engine, but you'll have to edit Zero's gameplay into the engine and everything else yourself. I'm not just going to give you a nigh-complete and pretty complicated engine just so that you conveniently have half the work done for you.

And no there won't be wall-jumping. You're a human and this is a horror game. The only wall-jumping that should be in a horror game are monsters.

[VladCT]

Since retro-style indie games tend to be equated with lack of effort by its detractors, you'll have to go for the extra mile with this one.

Also, I dunno about the others, but I didn't find Kinetic Heartbeat to be that scary for its purpose. Foreboding, yes, but not so scary.