Going for the cheesy 90's look?
Props for going to GDC dude! You gotta tell me all about it!
What engine don't I use at this point? I've got my own particular ones, but there's a lot of hodge-podge of stuff I've studied and learned techniques from other engines on that have all melded nicely. :)
I think the only part of her design that's irking me is what appears to be a platemail miniskirt. Can't say I'm a fan of that bit, it feels kinda like it's trying too hard to fit in with the rest of the outfit. Maybe a samurai-esque thighguard on one side and a longer dust skirt or something on the other?
I dunno, the miniskirt's aesthetically bugging the crap out of me for whatever reason. Can't really put my finger on it.
Before I fix her stiff walking up the stairs animation, everyone soak in that her rump is totally peeking through. :)
And for the sake of it (as sad as it is that I feel I have to do this), since it has seemingly been an issue for others, the content of the Anathema website (including music, sprites and all other content) is not for use except for the sake of press. Sprites and music may not be used for games, art or any other medium besides press.
And for the sake of it (as sad as it is that I feel I have to do this), since it has seemingly been an issue for others, the content of the Anathema website (including music, sprites and all other content) is not for use except for the sake of press. Sprites and music may not be used for games, art or any other medium besides press.
On a side-note I also see nothing wrong with your character's outfit. It kinda reminds me of this one. Just not as exposed;
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hardcoregaming101.net%2FJPNcomputers%2FRusty%2520PC98.jpg&hash=3af2e56b1fc34d62a067042b389238b2)
Wow, that's pretty awesome. I just looked the game up, I might have to play this some time.
Well if you're ever up for a classicvania challenge, Rusty will give it to ya without fail.
Awesome build! I'd say that's well past an alpha build. The whip swinging looks good. No issues there. However her body is still a bit stiff on the stair-climbing though it does look improved since the last vid you showed us. If you have her shoulders and arms move a bit more when she's ascending or descending it will look more natural. But it still looks impressive! Don't quite! :D
But glad you dig it!
You should totally give her collectable costumes.
The best part is her anatomically correct model when all the armor is removed.
You knock that shit off and finish your game!
Sorry for the multi-post, but this was too awesome to not share. This was sent to us today! The author requested to remain anonymous...mysterious :)
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I've tried converting the 3d graphics into sprites in Photoshop and it is just plain awful looking. I was hoping for a magic fix. :)
Maybe I can bribe PlotTwist and Jop somehow ;)
Anathema has been greenlit on Steam!Yep don't listen to that crap man!
Thanks everyone for all of your encouragement and kind words. In light of Anathema being greenlit we will stick to our guns with the art style but expand on it to make it more unique and better presented overall.
When I wanted to revert to sprites it was my hope of just making a game that Castlevania fans wanted to play, but I was apparently wrong in thinking this was not the desired art style. I am happy to be wrong in this case.
Development will immediately progress forward and it we have been given crucial feedback that is graciously appreciated.
Thanks again everyone for having our back and being the voice of reason. Game development is very tough and sometimes the negativity can get to a man.
But what is a man...?
But what is a man...?
Looks like you had fun Jop :D
Part of the reason is it is presently only playable with Xbox 360 gamepads and is still very early.
I would mind the 360 controllers so much but they have the worst D-pads I've ever experienced. It makes playing classic side-scroller games risky as you can easily make a directional mistake which is not the case with the traditional cross-shaped D-pad.
At the moment, no. We might possibly release the demo from the Game Developers Conference but have yet to discuss this. Part of the reason is it is presently only playable with Xbox 360 gamepads and is still very early. I would personally prefer to release a more well presented demo for that purpose versus how we had to grind to get the build ready for the GDC. A more complete demo I guess is what I am trying to say.
Another thing I'm curious about, are you able to tell us what programming language or software tool you're using to build this game?
To be honest, those pre-rendered graphics would've looked nice... 20 years ago. :-[
The poses are awkward and the animation looks stiff, as well as it not having many frames.
I'd suggest using nicer shaders, then looking at Maria's sprites, artwork, and stock photos of women in battle poses to get the posing down.
I hope I didn't come off as rude.
Nah, it doesn't come off as rude. As a matter of fact, I definitely agree about the animations and poses. All I will say right now is stay tuned, things got a whole lot better. :)
Alrighty, I will. You always seem to put out good work one way or another.
I've been only sorta following this since you first announced it, but I gotta say, it keeps looking better. I'm really digging the new outfit there. And while I thought it was cool for being a Castlevania clone before, I really do appreciate the fact that you're trying to make the game it's own entity, rather than a copy of something else. There are plenty of copies of Castlevania out there, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what you bring to the table with these revamps. :D
Ooooo another image :D
Look 'n good! Although compared to her top she's lacking some armor for her pelvic region. That's just me of course, but you could add something of an armored skirt something like this;
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.darkknightarmoury.com%2Fimages%2FCategory%2Fmedium%2F116.png&hash=20c5cbd7c921dcf1cc374efc0f2bcc49)
This costume is muuuuuch more delicious than the last!
I also like very much the changes you added/plan to add! Castlevania clones are nice and all, but you're putting so much effort on this that I actually would like it to be its own thing, just like you said :)
I agree with Claimh and Plot about the originality of the game, but just don't stray too far from what you've already established. The game itself looks good already and I want to play it as I've seen it in your previews.
Update Stuff
I do agree, the stairs are from decades ago game design and leave you vulnerable.
Slight tease with the website...http://www.anathemagame.com (http://www.anathemagame.com)
So, it has been an extremely long time since I have shared anything straight out of the game besides concept renders
new look its great!!!
I totally am digging the new style of gameplay. Way more action oriented. Very Ninja Gaiden-ish.
wow pretty nice gameplay can't wait to play it ;D
I'll say! I feared this project might have been scrapped.
So... How does that crossbow-shotgun work, exactly? :V
I must say I'm liking a lot what I'm seeing. There is no battle in that GIF, yet I can feel a lot of action going on.
Very Beautiful Environment and Scenario!! i'm liking it much more than the Older Style!! ;D
This is actually how the Shadow of the Beast remake should be, and reminds me of the original game - not the PS4 remake, which is looking too MoF'y for my liking.
Wow what a step up from the last update. Nice work.
Wow
Love the new look of the game! It's even better looking at it in motion since it's so fluid.
Hello everyone.Yes that indeed looks badass!
We have received our new poster art for Anathema, and we wanted to share it with everyone here. We were lucky enough to commission a talented artist that we really dug the style he brings for this "cover art". Coincidentally, you will be able to hear some of the music I have composed in his game soon. His game is on Steam in the Early Access program but it doesn't have any of my music yet. Show some love at http://store.steampowered.com/app/386200/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/386200/). It's a very fun zombie tower defense game that is in its early stages.
I've shrunk the poster down to 1280x1920 as the original resolution of 7200x10800 is just WAY too much to post here. The best part is this looks amazing framed on my wall. ;)
Enjoy everyone!
EDIT: Fun fact, I should also say the reason we went this route with the cover art is my unending infatuation with the hand-drawn/hand-painted artwork of 80's horror movies and games.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi25.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc90%2FPiscesDreams%2FAnathema%2520Cover%2520Revision%2520Smaller.png&hash=665c1999d6e470d60cd3c16ec8cffd86)
Looking awesome man!
Damn dude, I can only get so erect.
Everything is spot-on. The sound effect of the attack, in special, gives me such a satisfactory feelling! The animations, of course, are perfect.
It's like a love child of Bloodrayne betrayal and castlevania (OF COURSE!).
I wasn't too keen on the pre-renders, but in motion it looks pretty damn good.
Thanks very much man!
So, even though it may be against my better judgement, I figured I would show a glimpse of the game in motion using one of the earlier areas. I want to save the newer areas for the trailer. But anyway, not all environmental areas are finished, animations to refine and there are still places to insert enemies...blah blah...unfinished...disclaimers...be sure to watch in HD/60fps.
In my opinion, you're already showing off great stuff, here... but ok. I'll wait.
Dude, this is ridiculous! You are doing this in 2.5 correct? Who did you soundtrack because that's some catchy tunes! I hope that you are releasing the OST as well. This is Early footage? The action is on point! I could go on an artist critique, but your presentation, models, and environments are all top notch! You've improved by leaps and bounds from your previous titles. Awesome sauce!
Who did you soundtrack because that's some catchy tunes! I hope that you are releasing the OST as well.
I was out for many months, and Im really Surprised with the way that this game took!!!
Now the this is so much fast-paced, dinamic and......BETTER!!!! щ(゜ロ゜щ)
I really hope this doesn't come across as an insult...this has really come a long way from your initial post! It looked great then, and it looks incredible now!
Haven't checked this out in a while and you're making great progress since the last time I was here. Keep it up.
So it's been a month since anyone last talked about it, but I started following this thread again since my last post (last year... wow) and I wanna offer up my two cents, especially after watching the gameplay build.
I'm REALLY digging it. The fast-paced feel of it is really something. It looks like a solid mixture of Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, and Mega Man X. You put them together in a really solid way. Nice job!
I do wanna offer up a BIT of criticism, since I didn't see anyone else point it out. Don't know if you changed or not in the couple months since the video release, but... yeah. In the trailer, we see that the player can run up and down rubble as slopes. However, these pieces of rubble, visually, are no different from the non-interactive background images. While watching the video, some of these slopes confused me since I thought they'd simply be in the background. (I attached an image of what I mean, as well as the specific part that confused me)
So basically what I'm suggesting is maybe making them stand out a bit more? For example, the pillar itself looks to be in the background, while the ground itself appears in the foreground. I think that putting them on the same plane would be better, like having the pillar itself in the grass rather than behind it. Or even something simpler like brightening the graphics of the slopes.
Outside of that, though, there's nothing else I see wrong with it so far. As I said, it looks solid. Definitely gonna keep tabs on the project more. Keep up the good work!
Nice to see you're still making progress on it! That full moon in the first screenshot is very striking.
Aimee has a broad range and we quite like her approach to Aurora. It's very different than Milla though.
Glad you're liking what you see. Hopefully you will like what you play.
I wonder if a different thread should be started since the info on the first page is obsolete.
2- Create a new thread with a easy link pointing to this one in the first post, then put a link to the new thread at the end of this thread and lock it (so the two will be linked and easily found).
Im Really impressed, the gameplay seems frenetic and the voice work is superb!
To be honest, this revamp is one of the best things that could happen to your project; The old build, although had good music, was very clunky, and it seemed just like just another Castlevania clone.
Now your game is fast-paced and has its own identity, and is "Based on castlevania franchise, but not a mere clone".
keep great as aways! I'm very excited to see the demo!!
Well Damn!
Video:(click to show/hide)
Well Damn!
Video:(click to show/hide)
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Wow. I've just had to pick my jaw up off the floor. That looks fantastic. I seriously love the introduction, the music, the storytelling, the voice acting. Great stuff so far!
I want to give a very special shoutout to Lelygax for all of the testing done. Lelygax helped tremendously with the bugtesting phase. If you find bugs please let us know so they can be fixed. If you know how to reproduce them, that is even better. I hope everyone enjoys.
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Good Demo! Very good 8) I wasn't expecting three stages though, just one which is the norm for most other demos. The game was tough but not unreasonably so. I was able to complete it without much trouble. I did have some trouble in stage three as I was at first unable to tell where to go after all the water platforms stopped drifting. After dying I deduced the vines were the way to go. For others this little thing might be an issue. The story had started to get interesting, unfortunately the game ended >:( LOL! Please continue and finish the product. It would be a treat to play the completed version.
The vines themselves could stand out a little more if they had some small animations to them. But I'm sure there are many tricks to getting these things to work out :)
Thank you so much for the demo I will try it out soon, game looks amazing;)
Cold be a good idea if this game have a "stage clear bonus" ??
For example, the player will get a bonus score what is a sum of:
-the souls collected
-remaining time (a invisible time counter that will not kill you, but decreases , the quicker the gameplay, the bigger will be the bonus, encouraging the speedrun) Like the Koumajou Densetsu series.
I do not know if it could be a good idea, but who knows? ;)
Also, great demo, very challenging and fun.
That looks great! Looking forward to seeing more! :)
Well I enjoyed a lot, I have one complain, I know my computer will not work with all the video configuration on, actualy it work slow so i turn off but when I open the game again the options are not saved so I need to go again and change that, its not a problem but it will be nice if you can save the configuration of that :)
if someone is interested to see the other areas:(click to show/hide)
Hopefully, I'm not stating the obvious here, but the full version of this game will also be available on itch in addition to steam, correct? I don't support steam nor their DRM policy, so I try to stick with GOG, Itch Playism and Humble (DRM-Free) exclusively.
That's quite the list ???
Can we play this yet? Jaysus I've been looking forward to this!
Looks good. I'm buying.
wow :o looks very beatiful this kind of art and graphics in games is great
does it support anything modern like subsurface scattering or full AO?
Yes, it supports both. I’m not sure what your definition of “full AO” would be compared to others, but Daz does support AO and I’ve begun using both much more. Though, you don’t really need normal maps too often in Daz because typically it is high res models, but they still can be useful in some scenarios regardless.
I mean non-approximated AO. Most games and other 3d applications don't support it because it's insanely resource intensive, so instead opt for approximated or fake AO.
Prerendered sprites can be very polarizing for some.But who cares? Very few developers are using this kind of graphics today. It deserves respect.
I miss that style.
I don't, but it fits and looks well with this game.
I wanted it to be either pixel art or hand drawn like Marvel vs Capcom 1 and 2 originally, but pre-rendered was the best method available to us.
SNK-style would have also been a good choice. The way they do their sprites is simplistic yet they pop out due to the method with which they colour them.
The only thing that I don't liked in this game so far is the role of Aeron, to someones as important as "The first Vampyr" should be, She have a very lame role, much like a low-level minion, I'd love to see more of her in the full game :-/