[foxblock]

Whenever I played a Mario or Wario styled game on the GameBoy I measured it against Warioland II, because in my opinion this is the best of its kind.

Sure, some might say Wario is just Mario with an up-side-down turned M, but here are some reasons why it's better:

• More variety of moves, to those who don't know the game (and don't know what they are missing):

• You can walk, jump and swim just like in a Mario game, but you can also
• Box (enemies, walls, etc.)
• Stomp on the ground (also introduced to newer Mario games)
• Pick up enemies and throw them (to kill other enemies and to destroy some special walls which only could be destroyed by thrown units)

• Special moves (for example some units could set you on fire, frost you or make you dizzy, changing you repertoire of moves)
• More complex, nested levels
• Humour, Warios animations were always good for a laugh
• Story, well not that much, but a nice twist on the original princess rescue mission (you had to "rescue" your money)
• and Warioland II only: Different story turns and endings, depending on what exit you chose on some levels

However, if you don't like Mario, you probably won't like this either, but if like Mario and have not played Warioland, give it a try (cartridges should be pretty cheap now), note though: WL2 was the best imo, the two sequels added some good mechanics, but also cut on other things, which I don't like.

Well back on the project:
Engine / Graphics: I plan to use Penjin as the engine, it might be mostly undocumented, but we have its creator right here in the community ;) and it already runs on the Pandora, too. I will be 2D tile-based (of course), with a foreground layer, a background layer and collision layer (or maybe every tile gets a separate collision layer...)
Gameplay: It mostly will be like WL2, with some added mechanics from the sequels and some community ideas (so speak up if you have one).
Story: It's a secret :P , but I might add that I also plan to have multiple different endings - it won't be anything to show off though, as much as I like games with a great story, the main focus of this project will be the (variety of) gameplay.
Nothing is fixed though, I am always open for ideas.

I have already started programming, but there is nothing to show yet, I have to get familiar with the engine first.

However, I don't want this to be a one-man-project, so this is a call to all those interested (coders, artists and musicians alike) to help me. Just PM or reply right here, I don't bite ;)
I would like to keep the team small though (lets say 3-5 people). I think more men can come up with more ideas, but too many ideas are hard to realise.

Well, that's enough for a brief introductory...

foxblock out

[Dragons_Slayer]

WarioLand II... I can remember the days I played that game! I agree, it really is a great game (although I would never dare to say it's better than Mario).

I'd say go for it! Some things I that I would like are like you said multiple ways of completing the game. What I also liked about WarioLand II is that you couldn't die, you just lose some coins, that made the game less frustrating compared to Mario.

Good luck, already looking forward to more info.

[Consequence_9]

Warioland II is one of my top 5 all-time favorite games. I played it RELIGIOUSLY. I would LOVE to be a part of this project. I can definitely help you out with art (pixel-art used to be my shit), level/sprite design & music.

I would definitely go as far as to say (IMO) Wario > Mario. I just had so much more fun with the Wario series than I ever did with a mario game. Mario gets frustrating & tedious, but Wario always stayed satisfying without getting repetitive. It definitely had something to do with the unique elements of busting through tons of walls, finding hidden rooms, hitting enemies head on & coins being so plentiful. There is just something special about ending the level with tons of treasure.

Warioland II was definitely the peak of the series. I was pretty disappointed with 3 (got it the day it came out), and 4 was good, but not great. 3 had a lousy story & frustrating level design & 4 added too many extra gameplay elements, which just ended up slowing down the action. That and I hate anything timed.

Having said all that, I hope you feel that I know what made #2 so special & that I would love to help bring back the 'glory days' of Wario. Please don't hesitate to email me: consequence9 at gmail dot com

[Xian Long]

i could probably do a lot of pixel-art for sprites and backgrounds, maybe some level design too or something, but i can't help you with the coding.

[foxblock]

Well, THANKS for all the replies, I am really happy this idea is picked up so positively.
I will send some PMs with my contact info soon, also I think we need some kind of project site where we can discuss contents and upload stuff. I would prefer one of Google's services as I am already registered to that (and I don't want to register to any other service a long as it's not necessary), so I am looking into Google group, which seems to offer everything I want (you have a personal forum, locked membership, can upload files, and you can easily create a simple web-page to show the public). But maybe there are better options, so post if you know any.

@Dragons_Slayer: The concept of "invincibility" will be included, but I had the idea of a "hard-mode" with fixed lives for the extra-challenge ;)

@Consequence9: I totally agree with you. I am still picking up the game from time to time if I go on a vacation or a long ride and I am still finding new hidden passages (something that will be definitely included). I remember the first level having more hidden rooms than every other level, also some hidden rooms IN another hidden room O.o I also disliked the story of WL3, that was plain rubbish. WL4 had some nice graphics and some new elements (the Pinball-level is really nice), but also was a bit too slow imo.

So long!

foxblock out

[MarkoeZ]

foxblock, on 13 July 2009 - 05:43 PM, said:

Well, THANKS for all the replies, I am really happy this idea is picked up so positively.
I will send some PMs with my contact info soon, also I think we need some kind of project site where we can discuss contents and upload stuff. I would prefer one of Google's services as I am already registered to that (and I don't want to register to any other service a long as it's not necessary), so I am looking into Google group, which seems to offer everything I want (you have a personal forum, locked membership, can upload files, and you can easily create a simple web-page to show the public). But maybe there are better options, so post if you know any.

@Dragons_Slayer: The concept of "invincibility" will be included, but I had the idea of a "hard-mode" with fixed lives for the extra-challenge ;)

@Consequence9: I totally agree with you. I am still picking up the game from time to time if I go on a vacation or a long ride and I am still finding new hidden passages (something that will be definitely included). I remember the first level having more hidden rooms than every other level, also some hidden rooms IN another hidden room O.o I also disliked the story of WL3, that was plain rubbish. WL4 had some nice graphics and some new elements (the Pinball-level is really nice), but also was a bit too slow imo.

So long!

foxblock out

Hiya, Beside google groups for the discussion, you might want to check out google code. It has an SVN option and all kinds of other nice features. I have not used it a lot, so there might be some drawbacks that i don't know about. Also i don't know if the discussion and code pages can be linked.

Anyway, good to see another project :)

[PokeParadox]

Well I don't know if I will actively help with the project itself, but I will certainly be here to offer any advice and to make any necessary tweaks to Penjin as needed.

As for the Wario Land style gameplay... yes definitely something that would be fun, and something that would probably feel "right" on a handheld.
Good luck with the project! :)

[foxblock]

/me steps into the empty topic
"Well it's pretty empty in here"..ere..ere..ere

Enough of the unfunny jokes!

As much as I would like to show you something, I can't, because there basically is nothing to show. However, I can say we are working hard(ly) (haha!) and making progress - basic collision detection is done, we are currently working at the map loading/integration. Also the story and the main character has been discussed a lot and I think I can say we came up with a pretty good twist on the original story while not being too close to it (we are not finished on it yet, so there also is a lot room for changes). I don't want to give it away now though, maybe when we've got the first screenshots...maybe ;)
Speaking of screenshots, here is at least something I can show you: A shot of the map editor, a WIP by me. While it will be mainly designed for the game, it still could be used for other ones, too - the output is pretty basic (no own file-format, just some text) and can be interpreted pretty easily. The tilemap is a random one I found on the net, and the level is for presentation purposes only.


The team currently consists of:

aundy (code)
Consequence9 (graphic)
Dragons_Slayer (code)
me (code, being the Captain :D )

We are still short a designer (both tiles/sprites/backgrounds and mapping), so if you are interested, drop me a line. We currently are managing the whole project via Google Groups, so having a Gmail Account is an advantage (but not a requirement) ;)
Dragons_slayer has put up that having more than one graphics designer may lead to a inconsistent style. While I think this is true, I also think two people can try to coordinate their style, we also need backgrounds which won't be tile based and therefore styled a bit different, so I thought I just might give it a try.

You are also welcome to post your ideas, we still have not settled on the different "forms" of the hero (being on fire, flat, etc.), also worlds and levels is an open book...

I hope I can show you something more soon, until then

foxblock out

This post has been edited by foxblock: 23 July 2009 - 10:14 PM

[foxblock]

Hi there, time for some news, real news it is (with images)!

The Story
We had a big conversation about that and lot's of crazy stuff came up (enough to fill another game), but in the end we settled on a pirate setting.
So the main character, the hero or the player will be pirate named "Wandor" (that name also came out of a funny coincidence, but that's another story...), he is the simple minded guy, solving puzzles with his fists rather than his brain (when he is not slacking off and doing nothing). He is part of a 4-man pirate crew, but he is not the captain. The game will start with the crew exploring an unknown island and some dark cave and... well something is going to happen there.
The overall setting may not be completely realistic as we might add technology (a level in a modern town maybe), but who needs realism when one can have FUN, right?

The Engine
...is still being worked on, I release videos of the latest version from time to time, the most current video (which is some days old, already) can be seen on my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=6X1Ve_mOiaU
The editor has also gotten some new functions and we plan to add custom map functionality, so you guys can create your own maps for the game in the end (well, maybe not right after the launch but it will definitely happen).
Well that is rather boring so onto the part you were waiting for:

The Artwork
A really big thanks go to Dragons_Slayer for creating this while sustaining my constant criticism ;)
He will also create the in-game graphics and well I am really glad to have him in the team as his stuff is awesome!
The image shows "Wandor", so this is the guy you will be playing in the end ;)



You can see more images from time to time on his deviant art page: http://dssiege11.deviantart.com/

The End
Well that's the end for now, but we certainly keep you up-to-date with more info from the project
You always give us your input, so...
What do you think about the character(s), the setting, etc.?
Have you any good ideas for features?
and any other criticism and praise is always welcome.

So until next time,

foxblock out

[Jan-Nik]

foxblock, on 24 August 2009 - 11:06 PM, said:

What do you think about the character(s), the setting, etc.?

Awesome! I really like the setting and the artwork so far.

Quote

Have you any good ideas for features?

Maybe playing other characters from the crew with other abilities?

[Spirit]

That all looks gorgeous.

[Dragons_Slayer]

I'm glad you guys like it :)

Quote

Maybe playing other characters from the crew with other abilities?

That could be a possibility, but we'll start with one character, maybe we can still make other characters playable as an unlockable. But that is something for when the game is almost finished.

[midna25]

Dragons_Slayer, on 12 July 2009 - 11:09 AM, said:

What I also liked about WarioLand II is that you couldn't die, you just lose some coins, that made the game less frustrating compared to Mario.

NO. IT. DIDN'T.

In Mario all you have to do is finally make that jump, or bounce on that Goomba. You might die once or twice, but the solution is clear. Oh, the hours I wasted away trying to find solutions to those damn Wario Land puzzles. GAH!

[foxblock]

midna25, on 25 August 2009 - 03:45 PM, said:

Dragons_Slayer, on 12 July 2009 - 11:09 AM, said:

What I also liked about WarioLand II is that you couldn't die, you just lose some coins, that made the game less frustrating compared to Mario.

NO. IT. DIDN'T.

In Mario all you have to do is finally make that jump, or bounce on that Goomba. You might die once or twice, but the solution is clear. Oh, the hours I wasted away trying to find solutions to those damn Wario Land puzzles. GAH!

Well the game certainly won't stress you brain that much ;) , but unlike Mario the levels will be non-linear and you sometimes have to think a bit, but we try to keep it on the level of Warioland 2, WL 3 certainly had more puzzles (and things like like the objects with open certain paths in levels - I really dislike that).

foxblock out

[pstudio]

foxblock, on 24 August 2009 - 11:06 PM, said:

Well that's the end for now, but we certainly keep you up-to-date with more info from the project
You always give us your input, so...
What do you think about the character(s), the setting, etc.?
Have you any good ideas for features?
and any other criticism and praise is always welcome.

I love the idea and I'm looking forward to play this game. Love the pirates theme.

About ideas:

* A cannon you can jump or hit to make it fire a cannonball. Perhaps you can push the cannon to make it hit certain objects (ex. some wall objects can only be destroyed by the cannonball)
* A level designed around a battle between two or more ships. A rope you can swing from one ship to the other.
* Drinking rum makes Wandor super. For instance he can jump higher or he just goes plain berserk.