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[DarkFalzX]

Hey guys!
I've been working on this thing since 2006 (and on different versions of it even WAAAY before that), but I finally got a demo together.

NEW Trailer up over here:

Keep in mind - the game is far from completion, and I already know a bunch of stuff needs to be changed for it to be more enjoyable. So please - don't beat to death topics like "run-turn is too slow", "enemy hitbox is sloppy", and others related to the over-animated-ness of the game.

The demo can be controlled with either the cursor keys+ZXC, or the WASD+123, which can be switched in the options menu.
The game also supports controllers - the button layouts for 360 controller and a sidewinder can be swapped in the options as well.
 
General notes:

• The game is written in GM8.1, so Windows8 people have to turn the sound effects all the way down in order not to anger the cruel gods of Microsoft.
• You MUST unzip the entire game including the external files and folders.
• There is an unfinished "8-bit" version of the game in the EXTRAS menu.
• Powerup items can be collected by standing over them and pressing up.
• Iya can climb ledges when you jump to them and hold up.
• Iya has two attack types - quick and strong. Tap attack button for quick, hold - for strong.
• While in the air Iya can either slam enemies down with down+attack, or kick them up higher with up+attack.
• Explore the area. There is one hidden powerup object and one health upgrade.
• Save rooms are activated by standing in the middle and pressing up.
• The sound and music are a placeholder. I have an awesome musician lined up for the project, but first I need some sweet, sweet Kickstarter money to pay him.
• Badgers WILL mess you up... as will the bear... as will the bosses.

Oh, and if playing the demo puts you into a generous mood - please support the kickstarter to help me finish this thing:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/523651724/legend-of-iya
 
And for those too lazy to play the demo, here is a Let's Play that I did:
 




Cheers.
Andrew.

UPDATES
1.3

• The game now has a proper pause and map screens. Escape/enter pauses, Tab - map screen.
• The game can't be quit by just tapping Escape (but you can quit it instantly with Ctrl+Q).
• Flowers now die and don't come back.
• Bunnies attack with a grace period, and wouldn't just gnaw at your health continuously.
• Iya now crouches properly under the ladders.
• The game-options are now get loaded properly every time.

1.2

• The events for player spawn and heart container collection are properly stored in the event flag array now - there is no longer a way to keep getting heart containers every time you re-enter.
• Corrected several instances where you couldn't climb a ledge, even though it looked like you clearly can. And one instance where you could climb a middle of a wall.
• Added the Scanlines option to the front menu. It ads an overlay of a CRT color grid.
• Corrected numerous small bugs

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/8983me9891w0oka/Legend_of_Iya_DEMO_1.3.zip
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5ljjkw
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24279321/Legend%20of%20Iya%20DEMO%201.3.zip
 

[Blambo]

FUCKING LOVELY LOOKING

On a more constructive note, I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but the floatiness due to the animation fidelity detracted from the experience a bit. Attacks didn't feel that responsive and the level's didn't seem to be designed around it like they were in Castlevania.

[ekun]

i like your accent.

animations are pretty fucking good too.

[DarkFalzX]

I've been talking about this a lot lately - I will probably replace Iya's run cycle with more of a jog, and save this lumbering run for, like a super-run power. That also means I will take out the slide animations.
The attacks - they don't feel great, mostly because Iya just sort of stays parked in place while you are mashing the KILL THINGS button. If I was to follow the example of Dust or say, God of War - the player should continue to move in a direction while attacking. I will try to do that too.

[Swifty]

Wow, this looks amazing. Really really nice pixels! Keeping the momentum while attacking is a good idea, I think it'd add a lot too the gameplay - making it less static.

Just to reiterate, those pixels are frikin amazing!

[joseph ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Glad you made this thread!

I'm not sure you need to keep movement while attacking -- encouraging juggles and air attacks makes sense, 'attack in the air to keep moving' is a pretty consistent element of castlevania clones. I think basically everybody knows that. However, I did find it very easy to miss attacks -- have you experimented with the size of their hitboxes? I even saw you whiffing several seemingly easy juggles in the let's play.

[DarkFalzX]

Thank you guys for all the pixel compliments I sort of have an unfair advantage in that area.

I did find it very easy to miss attacks

This sort of happened after I sped the game up post the incessant complaining that ensued once the trailer hit. I will have to either expand the hitboxes by at least 20% or rework the system altogether, which might not be such a bad thing, as the old one is mind-boggling to me... which is bad since I am the one who wrote it.

[Conker534]

I love this game so much. Keep working, make it awesome.
(for the record I found Iya's movement just fine)

This game is god damn cool.

[Uykered]

This looks great. Do you have plans for a CRT/TV filter for those of us who play fullscreen on LCD screens?

[DarkFalzX]

I love this game so much. Keep working, make it awesome.
(for the record I found Iya's movement just fine)

Dude, that's such kind words. Thank you. I've been getting a bunch of hate since I released the demo, not to mention a loss of backers, but stuff like this keeps me going: )

This looks great. Do you have plans for a CRT/TV filter for those of us who play fullscreen on LCD screens?

I am a HUUUGE sucker for CRTs - I will definitely have a CRT-effect filter to overlay the screen with, but it could probably be even better if my port to GM: Studio was finished.
The above screen shows the current effect.

[Uykered]

Good, thanks.

[DarkFalzX]

Demo updated with various bug-fixes and a scanline mode! W00t!

• The events for player spawn and heart container collection are properly stored in the event flag array now - there is no longer a way to keep getting heart containers every time you re-enter.
• Corrected several instances where you couldn't climb a ledge, even though it looked like you clearly can. And one instance where you could climb a middle of a wall.
• Added the Scanlines option to the front menu. It ads an overlay of a CRT color grid.
• Corrected numerous small bugs

[Conker534]

Awesome! Your kickstarter is pushing it to the limit, if it doesn't make it (I hope it does make it) are you going to repost the kickstarter and ask for a lower amount? Because I really want to fund this game but you're pushing it pretty close with funds.

[Lexonite]

I've read some of the kickstarter comments when I first saw this on there, and I was a bit taken back by how nit-picky people could be. I thought everything looked fine considering the creative direction with it and playing it felt fine as well. Every game has its own feeling and you eventually break yourself into that mold while playing and it becomes second nature. I hope feedback you get doesn't push you to making something that goes against your original creative direction/design.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to this game.

[Tuba]

Like everyone said, the art looks great but it's still kinda boring. The combat looked more promising in the Kickstarter video. I guess you still have a lot of work to do so, keep improving it


Btw, I posted about your game on my website a few days ago, before this thread was made: http://www.gamesfoda.net/2013/07/legend-of-iya-e-o-resultado-de-quase-duas-decadas-de-pixel-art/ just updated it with the demo, it's in portuguese so you probably won't understand but, overall the comments are very positive, everyone is saying that it looks like Seiken Densetsu.

[DarkFalzX]

The combat looked more promising in the Kickstarter video.

Because I was playing with a full moveset. The few moves that are implemented (but locked in the demo) add a lot of cool variety to the fighting. Also - Iya gets long-range elemental abilities, but those don't show up even in the trailer, as their functionality is in flux right now.
With all the feedback taken into consideration I know exactly what I will do with the combat system - I just hope the project gets funded, so I don't have to push it into deep background again.

[Zaphos]

Because I was playing with a full moveset. The few moves that are implemented (but locked in the demo) add a lot of cool variety to the fighting

Why not at least optionally enable the full move set in the demo, so people can see the cool stuff?

I would also maybe start the character in a location so that they *have* to go through save point area before they see any bosses or other potentially deadly encounters; it seems really easy to miss that there is a save point near the start, if you happen to go left instead of right initially.  (Oh and restart at the save point on death, not at the opening credits?  Seems unnecessarily punitive to add so much overhead to restarting after death.)

[DarkFalzX]

I would also maybe start the character in a location so that they *have* to go through save point area before they see any bosses or other potentially deadly encounters; it seems really easy to miss that there is a save point near the start, if you happen to go left instead of right initially.  (Oh and restart at the save point on death, not at the opening credits?  Seems unnecessarily punitive to add so much overhead to restarting after death.)

I am not doing any of those things out of malice or because my final design is flawed in this particular way - it's just this demo was hastily cobbled together out of a game that is not ready for primetime. You can access some other portions of the game, but because parts were removed or changed for the demo, I'm unsure how well they will work, or at all. When you are about to start a new game - hold Q and W when you select the save spot. The game will drop you into a warproom of sorts. BTW - 0 restarts the game.

[Zaphos]

Of course; I'm was just suggesting those ideas as relatively small things you might consider to improve the kickstarter demo.  It's something you're presumably hoping will sell people on your game, so I think it's worth going back and making it a bit more welcoming to new players. 
Obviously people should understand that it's an early look and will be rough in spots, but if it's too rough it won't really sell your game well ... and it seems like a few small tweaks (like a different start point, and auto-reloading the last save on death) might make it feel a lot less unforgiving at the start.

[Swifty]

Hey DarkFalzX, I'm really short on cash at the moment but I put down $5 to show my support! Good luck with the Kickstarter!