INTRODUCTIONHullo! MeliSoft Games here, reporting on my first ever indie video game, which will hopefully come to fruition later in 2011, but most likely in early 2012. I'm plugging away at it, spending 4-6 hours a day programming my life away. This has become sort of my baby, and I'm very proud of how it's turning out so far, so I thought I'd share it with this community.
THE STORYSkunk'd: Live Your Dreams is the story of a teenage "emo" boy, Thommy Summers (nicknamed "Skunk" due to the albino stripe running down the middle of his pitch-black head of hair), who has quite a bit on his plate. His father is a deadbeat, drug-dealing loser who leaves him home alone most of the time, and he is tortured at school by a stereotype-defying bully who is actually much smarter than he is. And yet life goes on; Skunk keeps himself chugging along with daydreams of his classmate and love interest, the plucky, nerdy writer Lilly Hartwell.
One fateful day, however, Skunk opens his eyes to find himself in the land of dreams he used to escape to as a child, a magical world called Lucidia. Here, he comes across a ghostly figure greatly resembling Lilly, who urges him to wake himself up and save her, as she has been brutally attacked and left to die somewhere in their town. Upon trying to wake himself, however, he is told it is not possible by his childhood imaginary friend, the sadomasochistic and self-mutilating teddy bear Kid Snuggles. After an emotional reunion for the two old friends, Snuggles reveals that he is now Skunk's guardian angel, and that the only way to awaken from his slumber is to defeat the "imagination killer" who has taken over the Spire of Dreams. Skunk is shocked and horrified to find out that the "imagination killer" is actually Japanese-American boy genius Satoshi Kuragame, who is his real-life bully!
Determined to confront his fears, Skunk, joined by the restless soul of Lilly and his self-abusive teddy bear-made-angel, decides to traverse the seven realms of Lucidia, climb the Spire of Dreams, and put an end to the imagination-killing bully once and for all. Then and only then will he be able to wake up and save Lilly from her otherwise inevitable death.
THE GAMEPLAYSkunk'd: Live Your Dreams is a platformer that takes place across 7 puzzle-filled realms, each with its own mechanic to alter your surroundings and solve mysteries. Each level is named after a specific type of dream:
I. Sweet Dream (candy and dessert themed level)
II. Pipe Dream (level in a giant hookah complete with altered states of mind based on which 'clouds' Skunk walks through)
III. Wet Dream (ahem, it's a water themed level a la Water Temple in OoT)
IV. Day Dream (day-night mechanics)
V. Bad Dream (horror-themed level with darkness, flashlight required)
VI. Double Dream (level in a castle with one entire side made of a giant mirror, introducing playing as two Skunks at once)
VII. American Dream (level in a New York-style city, weather plays the biggest role here)
Once all seven realms are completed, you must climb the challenging Spire of Dreams and confront Satoshi in a sure-to-be-epic battle!
CONCEPT ART
The main cast of Skunk'd, improved version. Art by
Clement Swennes.
SCREENSHOTSScreens are not available at the moment; here is some temporary pixelart of the characters:
Pixelart by
Clement Swennes.
BOTTOM LINEThis game is being programmed in
Scirra's Construct Classic, an alternative to Clickteam products that works similarly but ultimately produces much prettier and efficient results, in my opinion. I'm currently looking for feedback and, actually, a musician to write the score for the game (a paid position). Thanks for reading, lol, if you got through all this you're a better man than I. <3
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