Baby designer's first project here! Been teaching myself Unity (thank god they reversed course) for the past year, and this is the result. I've reached my first milestone of getting the physics mostly worked out (few kinks I'm still trying to fix) and putting together a level. So I thought I'd share the progress so far:
Meet the Cast
A speed demon who loves nothing more than to race. One morning, he and his partner in crime, Ollie the Armadillo, have a rude awakening when an Unidentified Flying Object plows through their tree. Next thing they know, weird alien tech is spreading all over their canyon home. Will Riley be fast enough to stop this other worldly menace?
Flapping
Being a roadrunner, Riley doesn't fly, but if he builds up enough speed, he can flap mid jump to gain some extra height.
This helps him reach heights others could only dream about.
Drill Dash
And when something gets in Riley's way that he can't soar over, he breaks out his drill dash, using his flight, speed, and sharp beak to spin through obstacles on ground or in air!
Ollie The Armadillo
A little more cautious than his partner, Ollie is the more levelheaded of the pair, but he knows he can't talk Riley down from an adventure (or a race for that matter.) He might not be as fast as Riley, or have Riley's verticality, but he has ways of making up for that. But will it be enough to turns things back to normal?
Rolling
Ollie can use his natural ability to roll up into a ball to gain speed down hills and slopes. He can also use his sturdier body to roll through enemies and obstacles Riley would need to drill through.
Bouncing
To get some extra verticality, or crush obstacles beneath him, Ollie can slam himself against the ground and bounce back even higher. Though he can't reach the same heights Riley can, he can still get around pretty well.
Riley And Ollie Are Pretty Formidable Alone, but what happens when they work together?
Expect a partner system similar to a familiar Kong's return, or maybe a chameleon and a bat.
The Invaders
This mysterious group seems to be spreading far and fast, but why are they here? And what exactly are their plans? They're leaving their strange machines all over the canyon and seem to be experimenting on local animals, but I hear their experiments elsewhere are even stranger...
Gameplay
- Faster you go, the larger your currency multiplier
- Secret routes requiring speed and familiarity
- Cosmetic and upgrade shop
- Alternate palettes for the Player Character
- Get a device that will shield you if you spend a certain amount of currency. Is the added safety worth the loss in cash?
- Etc
- Bosses and Mini Bosses that aren't a pain in the butt
Wanna see the game in action? Check out this vid from earlier this year of me showing off Riley's Solo Gameplay
A lot has changed since that early video, so consider it a bit of a time capsule.
How You Can Help
Right now, this is a passion project for me, but I would like it to be something more. I have a few other people helping me with music and sound design (still needs to be implemented), but I'd love to get more people on board. Particularly, I'd like to get an actual artist on this project. You can probably tell, but I have done all the pixel art for this project so far. I don't mind doing it, but I don't think my particular "style" stands out much in the marketplace of indies. Plus, I'm not the best at environmental design. I'd love to move away from pixel art since it's a cliche of sonic fan games, but I know it's probably the easiest to design for.
I'd also like to get another unity dev who knows what they're doing to kind of proof read my work. Code that works is one thing. Code that is the most efficient is another.
And finally, I could use some play testers who are familiar with Sonic-likes. As we all know, momentum based platformers take a bit to get use to... If you can record yourself playing, or know anything about game design/unity, those would both be a plus!
As I said, this is mostly a passion project for me, and I can't afford to pay anyone. So if you help, it will be out of the goodness of your heart (unless we get this to a level where it can be kickstarted/sold, but obviously, I can't promise that). I'm mainly using this game to help me and some friends get better at our respective fields/get our feet in the door.
Thanks for Reading!