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Game Design

FANTASIA: Development(3)

NEWS
I know that waiting for the hiatus to be changed to production is tedious, but bear with me, I have been developing lots of new material secretly until I can get a computer again. Fantasia IS NOT dead, I still make various changes daily such as the public profile and various information.


NEW CHARACTERS
One of the many things I've been developing is New characters and New designs for existing ones. For Example, Lydia looks different now. There are also 6 NEW characters to the left. I also, promised Gourd_Clae that Kiki(Blonde girl in the OLD section) would be the first character I added once I get back on production. So Far I have a total of 16 characters on the line for the game, but I may reduce that to 8 playable and all the other characters (including new ones the subscribers create) will be stored for another entry.


POLISHING REALMS
In the new development process I decided to forget about the name of "World" from the Mario games and decided to come up with something unique, so I call them "Realms" now. I have also been trying to polish the areas so I can finally move on, so I am trying out new level maps and boss strategies so that even casual players can play this game. I played through the game and noticed that in some areas, they are quite difficult. It looks like link_2112 and a number of other people were right about that. I plan on starting some levels from scratch.

PROGRESSION CONCEPTS
I came up with several ways the game is going to progress, but I want to hold a vote for what the people here would rather have for the game's level progression.

Progression Types
Fantasia will have 7 Realms with a certain number of Acts each (including bosses). Here are the possible ways the game could progress.
  • Each character plays 1/6 Acts and fights the boss, but the Acts will be lengthier

  • Each character plays different stages, fights specific bosses, and has their own path in each act(Branching Levels)

  • You select 2 characters of your choice and you can switch between them, but there are only 3 acts and a boss

  • Each character plays all stages, but fights the same bosses and has their own path in each act(Branching Levels)


Here is an example the Beach Realm, Tropical Coast. I still have a little bit to do with the other realms, but at least I know what I'm going to do with them once back on production.


Finally, I want to share some concepts I've been able to slightly work on. I am progressively getting better at pixel art and I would like some feedback on them.



Announcement

FANTASIA: Development Update II

I've been away for a little while, but that doesn't mean that I haven't had any time to develop any fresh ideas for Fantasia. Here are some of the things I've been developing and finding ways of applying them to the game.

  • Re-imagining of worlds and Level Designs

So far, I've noticed that the Beach levels are fun, but I need to enhance the experience of a beach. Instead of having levels that all feature the same type of design(s), I decided to have areas such as beach caves, underwater scenes, and levels where you have to jump on palm tree leaves. There is also going to be a temple at the end of each world.The same will occur for all the other worlds. Areas such as pyramids, underground tunnels, and cloud palaces will also appear later on in the game.

  • Story

The story is dependent on which character you choose to play with. So far, several designers have shown me their character designs and storylines along with them. However, the main storyline revolves around several Seals, Crystals, Monsters, and a series of villains who have heavy world domination plans. It's a mixture of the usual stuff, but with several original ideas implemented into it to keep it fresh.

  • Increased Bestiary

The monsters you have seen in Fantasia so far aren't the only monsters you'll see in the next update. The beach area will have monkeys that throw coconuts at you and several new marine creatures. There will be plenty of new monsters and several strategies in order to defeat them.

  • New character(s)

So far, Lydia is fully functional. Bai is almost there, but she needs some tweaking. The other characters are coming in as well, but It takes a lot of imagination and knowledge of movement in order to make all the character's sprites look and feel right. Soon there will be a character selection screen so you'll be able to choose a character from the start. Some characters coexist while others don't, so they will not all meet each other.

  • Additional Scenery

So far, the Levels look great, but I've been doing some research, and I learned that there is more to an area that meets the eye. When I redo some of the levels you'll see new visuals such as flowers, pushable rocks, and other things that make the area(s) more memorable.

  • Enhanced Gameplay Engine

So far, I believe Fantasia's Engine works great, but its not perfect. I'm not trying to make a perfect game ( some people probably just make games for fun). I just want to deliver a simple action/platformer/RPG that has several characters, plays well, spans several worlds,has a touching storyline, and eventually ties up to being a lengthy,epic, and fun adventure.

  • Soundtrack

When the game is done, I planned on releasing an OST dowload that shows each song's original game and where it is used in Fantasia. It will include all the songs and a series of advanced versions of them. I may also release a higher definition version of Fantasia that uses advanced MP3 versions of the songs rather than MIDIs. This is going to be the alternate decision instead of a built in sound test(which is possible).

  • Possible Voice Acting
A subscriber asked me about this and I thought it would be interesting. If I were to type Fantasia's script, would there be anyone willing to voice it or the character's themselves? I already have plenty of previous voices from games such as Tales of Symphonia, Kingdom Hearts, and Super Smash Bros Brawl, but custom voices would be nice. To do this I would describe what kind of voice I'm looking for and have people act it out in audacity or something. If you're interested, let me know otherwise I'll just continue using the voices I have.

  • 1st Anniversary Coming Up

Fantasia's Birthday (March 1st) is coming up soon and I was planning on doing something special for it. It may be an update with a new world and several other things that will celebrate it's first birthday.

  • New Character's Needed!!

My Goal in Fantasia is to have 36 playable characters. All characters will be divided into 9 parties of 4. I'm doing this because I have a list of 35 character classes and I want to have 1 character for each class.I plan on making Fantasia a huge project in a small package(less than 100 MB) so that in the future I can use Fantasia's engine as a base when creating new games.

  • Video Creator Needed!!

At the time, I lack the equipment to make a video of Fantasia. If there is anyone out there willing to make a video demonstration of Fantasia for me, I would appreciate your help:)

  • Feedback

Hopefully, this development update answered some of your questions and gave you information about what I've been developing behind the scenes. If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask:) I look forward to any feedback you can give me.

Progress Report

FANTASIA: Added 3D effects, Improved Engine, remade levels, and more!

Once again, I've taken a huge break on Fantasia to plan, change, and redo certain things about the game's design. I'm going to talk about a few of the many things that have been done since.

1.) Added 3D visuals.
  • There will be added effects to magic skills and various actions and events such as Lydia's Sphere wave and gems.


2.) New Moves/Platforms/Gimmicks/Improvements
  • Several people have complained about being knocked on the ground after every hit. Now, there is a quick maneuver called Quick Recovery. This skill is similar to Kingdom Hearts II and Tales of Symphonia in which you are able to react to being knocked in a frustrating,unable to act state. This fixes that by adding an extra jump if you are unable to act.

  • Thanks to playing recent platforming titles such as Sonic Colors, Super Mario 3D land, Mega Man 9 10 and such, I now have better level design and Ideas. They have also inspired my platform/gimmick choices when deciding new areas.


  • A Challenge Mode is also planned. This will be a simple mode with small levels that train you to play the game and get ready for the journey ahead.


  • New affects are also added since the hitbox detection kicked in. Now the game is more accurate and feels even better than ever (except for perfecting the ladder movement) Sparks appear when you hit something or if something hits you.


  • Darkness Visual. In certain levels, there will be a Dragon-Quest like picture that will show only a portion of the character and the level.


  • Fantasia Bar: A 3rd bar will be displayed showing your special skill energy. Once at 100, you can release a massive damage attack. You can fill the bar by dealing and taking damage. This is similar to limits from FFVII and IP skills from Lufia 2.


3.) I'll be ready to receive and start making characters once the engine is to a point where I can't fix it anymore. I look forward to the day I finish Fantasia and move on to Fantasia II or even a III. There is so much more to talk about, but I'll leave you on a cliffhanger for now. See ya!


Progress Report

FANTASIA: Plan Updates

There has been a large gap in between developing Fantasia and I'm sick of it. However, Programming, Future changes and animations have been planned and I'm going to share some of them here to update you on what I'm doing. OK, here we go.

First off, I would like to talk about the formulas and what changes I've made and additions I've added.

1) The countdown timer will be removed unless there is an escape/pursuit mission. It serves no purpose during normal stages because I don't have bonuses anymore. Plus, you won't feel rushed and you can take your time. Instead, there will be a timer going upward like Sonic games so I'll know how long it takes for each level (test purposes).

2) Score will be changed into Experience points (EXP). The more monsters you fight, the higher your stats will be.

3) Crystals will now be a currency and will extend to the 1000 mark instead. You can only get lives by purchasing them or finding them within stages. Shops will also be available.

4) Power ups will also be added. Some things I've planned are invincibility, Power and defense boosts/multiplyers, experience/level orbs, HP/SP increases and so much more.

5)All characters and walk speed and jump height vary from 4-10
6) All characters have 100 HP and SP, but they have different Defense (DEF) and SP recovery rates (REC). The damage you recieve is relative to an enemy's STR minus player's DEF. For example, Monster STR=10/Lydia DEF=4, the total damage is 6. Increased DEF= less damage. The damage the player deals is relative to the players STR.

7) Character Selection. Since the characters are no secret, I'm making them available from the start.

8) Boss Barrier Points (BP): Each boss has a main HP bar of 300 (RED BAR). However, if the HP is above 300, The bar turns blue and becomes a barrier bar. Each Health bar and Barrier is a set of 100, anything above 300 is a Barrier. Some boss battles also start with a checpoint crystal.

9) Worlds: I've decided the main worlds but not their names. They are Beach, Desert, Forest, Shrine, Arctic, Cave, Sky and Castle.

10) Final attacks: I've been working on how the characters deadliest attacks work. For example: Lydia Throws her sword while remaining in midair. While in the air, you are able to control the spinning sword until the SP reaches 0. The sword returns to her, and then returns to normal

There is so much more to talk about, but I'll leave it at that for now. BTW, I'm sorry about this blog being all text, but I'm using the Wii remote to add this blog and it's very time consuming (letter by letter). If you have any comments please post them :) I hope to get back to work soon. See ya!

Announcement

FANTASIA: Development (2)

It's been a while since I posted something for this game. The gameplay has had a development break, but everything else is being developed. I know the owners of the other characters are just DYING to see their character in this game. Just wait a little longer.
Meanwhile, I've been developing the story script, drawing anime-style cutscenes,planning the new battle system and formulas, characters, level maps, worlds and so much more. If there is anything you wish to know please ask.

Game Design

FANTASIA: Status design

I've planned the official Status System. The damage characters take is relative to the enemy STR minus your DEF. So, if the enemy STR is 20 and my DEF is 4, DMG=16. Simple and to the point. All characters will have 100 HP, but different DEF. Also, MP is now SP (skill points).All characters will have 100 SP. So if your character can't use magic, their skills will use the bar. SP also regenerates for all characters.That's about it for the status system.

Game Design

FANTASIA: Animation Details

The story for this game is going swell! For all people created a character, I need details on how you want your character to be animated. What I need to know is the jump, walk, attack, and skill animations. I will also be using these when creating in Fantasia RPG maker 2003. This will look similar to the platformer. But , it will have an deeper storyline.

Game Design

FANTASIA: Story Development

Although Fantasia is on a gameplay development break, that doesn't mean the story is. I've been thinking about how to incorporate other characters into the storyline. I've also been developing who the main villans are and what the characters fight for. I plan on making 7 main bosses. Anyway, if you have created a character, I need to know who or what they fight for. What has the enemy done to ruin their life? This could be something like lifting a curse, revenge, or something.

Game Design

FANTASIA: Next Direction

Recently, I have received so many different kinds of feedback for Fantasia. Some are positive, others negative. However, both help me fix what's wrong with the game.

I am going to read off my "TO FIX" list I wrote on paper before I released the 1.2 demo. This is to let you know what I have planned ahead of time. IF SOMETHING IS CROSSED OUT, IT IS DONE!!

1) Add hitbox detection- Can someone explain in detail what this is? (maybe I should look up a tutorial or ask people on RMN).

2) No more levels or any other content until gameplay is finished- since the update of the game, I've made a test room full of platforms and things that have to be tested. I decided to do this because this is how the most popular game companies develop their games.

3)HUD has to be refined- The HUD is boxy, and has to be redone in some areas. I plan on removing some parts, but they are all necessary. I believe I should remove the score. There isn't a point of this.

4)Add new items or power ups. This could be invincibility, shield, or making the attacks more powerful.

5)Add more platforms- I have the basics, but now I should add more types of them.

6) Attack Engine- I have to wait to get up. I should remove this so the players won't get irritated.

7) Change Sound Effects- some of them need to be removed. Also, people may recognize some of them, so I'm going to be more original.

8) Improve the gameplay engine. I played MegaMan ZX advent and compared the two. This game feels kind of funny compared to it. I'll have to make it play similar to this to make it more fun.

9) Remove extremely familiar music. Some people have never played the games I have. Perhaps I should take from some games they won't recognize. Especially the Final Fantasy III boss theme.

10) The time up was in this game forever. It's about time I make it better than just a message.

11) Add status effects such as Poison, Paralysis, and MP sap.

12) Make a combo engine- One slash is OK, but more would be fun.

13) Fix animation. The animation is good, but some sprites are funny, fix this ASAP.

14) Get rid of any unused material.

15) Finalize controls- Double tap to dash maybe.

16) Add the user's characters. This process is going to be fun! I plan on adding Bai, Ferkin, and Kiki First.

17) Make a way to shake the screen- this is used to make the game effects better. This should be like an earthquake.

18) Fix collision engine. Some of the collisions are weird and may cause bugs.

19) Add more missions. This includes
  • Get all gems

  • Destroy(x)enemies

  • Find(x)item

  • Reach the goal, etc.


20) This game may be too hard for some players. Not many people are as good as I am when it comes to action games(cleared MegaMan ZX advent on Expert). Decreasing this could be great for me and the players. I should start off easier, then go hard. Redoing levels could fix this. However, they have to understand that this is meant to be challenging like MegaMan, not easy like Mario. I love Mario, but his difficulty level isn't what I'm aiming for. But, if that's what they want, I'll give it to them.

21) The music is all Midi and can't loop from a certain point. The media player restarts the song with a certain pause. I can't fix that, but it's not a big problem.

22) There are several glitches such as the health going to -1. I'll have to fix that. Somebody is bound to notice that in the 1.2 demo. But, nothing is final.

23) Due to the change in controls and moving speed for Lydia, some jumps have become harder. Fix this immediately.

24) There is no use for bonus either. Games of this type are about the story and gameplay. Who cares about score if there's no use for it?

25) The gameplay could use more fluidness. Thanks to playing games on my Wii's homebrew channel, I can compare them to my game.

26) Play as many 2D action games and compare them while making this game. Having them by my side should let me compare easily.

27) Test out gameplay. It is good to combine different gameplay elements. Some of them work while others don't. Try out the test room as much as possible.

28) Look up more game maker tutorials and make this game better. People are going to make comments about the good and bad, but I'm ready for them.

29) Fix coding, bugs and finalize Lydia's gameplay elements before moving on to others characters.

30) Add custom controls- this is a high demand right now(although they aren't' that hard to get used to.)

31) Make a damage percentage bar so that (similar to Lufia II and FF VII). The Special attack will be available at 100%

32)Fix the timer, it doesn't stop when you reach the goal.

33) Add Game pad support. This isn't important right now, but It will be added in the final stages of the next demo release. It is also, sort of complex. Hopefully somebody has an easy tutorial. If not, the players will just have to get used to the controls. If they have played with an emulator before, this should be a cake walk.

34) Fix wall jump- the character slides up the wall.

35) Play test. See how long it takes to clear the demo, and watch closely for any bugs. Get some testers to test it before I release it.

36) Fix Ladder movement- I keep getting stuck when I'm too close to a wall.

37)Finally, Release the 1.3 Demo Update

Miscellaneous

FANTASIA:Glitch Fix

In the demo I updated yesterday, there was a glitch where if you got hit near a corner or something, Lydia would get stuck and not move. I fixed that, so you can now download it again:)

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