So much has happened since the last time I was active around this place lol. To much to get into right now for sure.

I wanted to just jump right back in with my current idea. Mostly cuz why not I guess. I still want to make a cv fan game of some type and now is the best time to do that given my current situation. I don't have any demo/materials to share just yet mostly just a concept that I am going to build out. I wanted to start a thread though and lay out my idea a bit and hangout while I work on this one.

Before I went inactive I wanted to make a game but I really had no particular direction really. I mean I guess I kinda knew what I wanted to do maybe but it wasn't organized at all and I probably would have had a real mess going on within a short time if I had continued on like that.

My current plan which I want to start with and complete before I do anything more is simple. I want to make a non-linear cv1 remake of sorts. Nothing extreme though I don't plan to make an 8bit sotn or anything. I think I should describe this in chunks it might be easier.

Expanded maps will be the first thing I guess. I can't just take the original cv1 maps and use them since they aren't big enough for a non-linear game. Those maps are all designed for some brutal unforgiving one-way trips only. The difficulty of the original game and the handling of the control all played a huge part in making those tiny stages doable. If I make the character handle differently more along the lines of scv4 and on then those tiny stages will have ZERO challenge. Not to mention the fact that there is no exploration in the original game which you need in a non-linear one so again tiny maps are a no go. How do I plan to solve it though? Well I really want to keep this true to the original when it comes to the overall castle layout. I think the best way might be to take the original stages and add new sections in between the old ones and fork off of them a bit. I picture this as allowing the original stage to kind of shine through the new additions a little so that it still feels very familiar in a lot of places just extended a lot. I also need the space so I can add save points without having to many save points to close together. Probably go one save room per area at most.

To go into the character handling more since I mentioned changing the way it plays. I don't want to get to fancy. I mean there aren't going to be any equips like in sotn or anything for sure. Pretty much the same old basic combat we remember with a bit more fluid control since the old cv games had very "stiff" control which has also aged poorly if you ask me. While I love the old games it is so hard to go back after playing newer ones where you don't have to commit to the jump once the button is pressed. I mean it works in a linear deal where you are only going one way but asking someone to explore and backtrack with those controls is harsh really. I doubt I will add something like double jump etc but I won't say it is completely off the table yet either. I may add something like that if I feel it will solve a problem or make the game better in some way that really matters. The thing is I really want to minimize the amount of extra stuff I add to this one. I can always go back later once the game is complete and fool around with cool ideas. But if I get into this and realize it might be better to add something I hadn't planned because it will make things work that aren't without it then yeah it has to go in.

So why non-linear if there is no real reason to explore? Well there is a reason. You didn't think I would make the game non-linear just because did you? You did didn't you... Seriously though I have a reason. Rather than break a candle get a sub weapon or whip upgrade I will hide those items in the expanded maps. Thus you find the sub weapons and whip upgrades and they become a permanent arsenal. Sounds easy enough right? I will keep the whole thing pretty slim also I picture sub weapons working like the ones in shovel knight where you can use the shoulder button to forward and back through them. Whip upgrades and double/triple use sub weapon upgrades require no extra work either you just get them and they are there from then on. If you save and don't die after getting them anyhow lol.

Music is 100% undecided. I know I said I wanted to keep it true to the original and I will but music is an after thought in the design just yet. I will spend a little time soon figuring out what to use for this but one thing at a time I guess. I am a cv music fan and a music person in general really so I won't disappoint when it comes to audio promise.

So simplicity is the overall goal. I need this to stay very basic without being boring. Like I was saying I can easily go back later on once the main idea is complete and add new stuff. Until that point I need to keep to a strict set of goals. At the end of this I will probably be pretty open to ideas on how to improve things. I will almost certainly have ideas of my own I want to try adding too.



Enough about the concept and design goals. What engine do I plan on using for this one? What tools did I have in mind for getting this all done? I plan on using ue4 for this. Is it overkill for something like this? Oh hell yeah big time. I didn't choose ue4 because I wanted to use it for this lol make no mistake here a much smaller much more simple set of tools would definitely be an ideal choice and I would strongly recommend something else to anyone else doing a simple game for sure. I am using ue4 because I need to simple as that. I need to get familiar with ue4 and this is the best way to do just that. I mean the game is still going to be an 8bit style 2d side-scroll just like the original for the most part so ue4 is completely unnecessary but I plan on using ue4 for a lot of other stuff and I want to get familiar with it. Most of that other stuff is still also going to be 2d probably a lot more complex but still 2d.

Aside from ue4 all the other common tools you would imagine are going to be involved such as photoshop etc the basic tools you expect to see used I guess.

That's probably more than enough about it for now. Let me know what you think of the idea I would love to hear some opinions on it. Ask questions and/or make some suggestions too if you like.