Project Zi (name will change later, it's just a project name).
Story summary
Many of the lesser races of the forest have been enslaved by the Skrekkans and Olekks (the wolves and owls of this world). In their quest for absolute domination, these antagonists have begun experimenting with a rare element called Voxerite, which, when harnessed in certain ways, allows for what can only be described as fearsome black magic.
Zi is a young fox who lost her entire family to the tyrants under the darkest of circumstances. Ever since this tragic event, Zi has been under the protection of the forces of the Glade. But as Zi grows up safely in the Glade, the magical spirit known only as the Heart of the Forest begins to sense that there's something special about Zi. One day, Zi is summoned by the Heart of the Forest, who's ready to share its plans on how to free the world from the tyranny of the rulers.
Gameplay summary
Project Zi is a game that's heavily inspired by a wide range of different games, but most notably; Super Mario, Metroid and Ocarina of Time.
This game has three different playable characters; the fox Zi, the bear cub Ai and the hedgehog Bim:
Zi is the games main protagonist and also the initial character. Zi is all about movement and speed. She has the highest movement speed of the three characters and she has plenty of movement related abilities at her disposal.
Ai is a fighter who uses his claws as weapons to attack enemies and obstacles. Ai can also utilizes tribal spells to empower his attacks, making them even stronger. Ai is also more resistant to certain types of attacks and harsh environments such as cold.
Bim is a bit of a specialist who can traverse smaller pathways which might lead to new and secret areas. Bim also have both defensive and offensive attacks of his own, as well as very sharp spines. Bim can also gather and eat mushrooms and berries to restore health for the party.
As the companions are traveling the world, they will meet and help many different animals who are struggling with their daily lives. Some animals will be of great help by teaching new skills or lending some of their powers. Some of these skills will enable the party to progress to new places in the world.
The companions will be able to find many upgrades in their quest. While some upgrades are necessary, most will be optional and their only purpose is to make the quest more enjoyable.
The companions will be able to unlock new areas and levels by exploring the world and finding the entrances to these places. After a new area is found, that area will also be added to the party's map. In the early stages of the game, the companions will have to travel from area to area, but as they continue to explore and grow, they will discover different ways of fast traveling.
The Dark Forest The Toxic Bog The Snowy Peaks The Glade (Early WIP) The Bottomless Pond (Early WIP) The Giant Worms Nest (Early WIP)
Engine
Before I began working on this game, I had worked a lot on another project called "Super Mario Bros. Fusion" for many years. I've learned a lot from working on this fangame and applied what worked well into this game and removed what didn't work. As such, the engine is stable enough to handle everything I've thrown at it so far.
Most of the major things are already done. But there are plenty of improvements, bug fixes and optimizations left before the engine is considered "done".
Graphics
This is where I spend most of my time.
The native resolution of the game is 426x240.
Enemies
I've created around 273 unique enemies in my (now abandoned) "Super Mario Bros. Fusion" engine. This means that I can import and tweak many of those enemies to suit the needs of this game. As a result of this, most of this games enemy behaviors are already done, they only need original graphics and some unique code.
Sound
I'm using Fruity Loops with the NES VST to create the sound effects.
New music will be added as soon as a level is considered "as good as done".
Story
The main story will be presented from cutscenes and text at the beginning of the game. Although, the story will also be told from dialogue and in-game cutscenes.
As of now, new music is only added when a level is considered "as good as done".
So far, there's only music for the Toxic Bog, but music for the Dark Forest is on it's way.