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[NiceWalrus]

I used to mostly be a content whore - I just wanted to experience the game without being too challenged.  My initiation was tough (rage quit like 5 times but friends egged me on) but I became hooked, and played Dark Souls for like 300 hours.  Now I can't enjoy easy or casual games anymore because they're lacking that intensity DS has which is like a drug. 

I wanted to create more of that 'terror of the unknown' and also experiment with some new gameplay mechanics in that universe, so I'm making DarkMaus.  It's an indie action RPG where you play a lonely wanderer searching for what’s left in a corrupted world. 

The game is hard as balls - I haven't heard anyone complain that it's too easy yet in playtests.  I have a bunch of weapons with unique movesets and abilities you can unlock as you progress that give you a lot of combat options.

https://imgur.com/DjzqlQY
https://imgur.com/tdfPp45

I'm still in the early phases of development so I would love to know:
Does the game sound interesting?
What gameplay features would you most like to see in a game like this? (can be existing DS or new and crazy)

http://www.darkmaus.com/

I'm going to have an alpha build ready soon and I could really use some alpha testers.  Send me a message if you are interested - [email protected]

Edit: Here's 2 ghost allies about to help out taking on a big enemy
https://i.imgur.com/OHjEq0Y.jpg

[Quicksand-S]

I'm curious what it is about this game that's like Dark Souls, because it doesn't really sound much like it. A video might help. In any case, I'm not suggesting that this is a negative.

I like the overall art direction and the flame spout coming from the mage's hand looks cool. The swirling smoke is a nice touch, too.

As a player who generally focuses on melee, pretty much all I need is a couple of attacks (strong lunge or weaker swing, perhaps) and a shield that works well. A dodge move would work too. One thing I loved about Dark Souls was that the focus was mainly on my own skill level improving (and some nice weapons), rather than my character's abilities. Unlockable skills kinda take away from that, in my opinion, but they can still be fun.

I'll send an email about the alpha. I think I'll have time to try it.

[locknic]

I love it. I think the deciding factor for this game will be how the combat controls feel.

Sent an email for alpha testing.

[Indievelopper]

Ok, so first of all, I really love the animations of the different creatures, and the fire/smoke/light effects like pointed out by Quicksand-S.

The idea of a 2D Dark Souls haunted me for some time now, but I never really figured out a proper way to do it.

From the gifs you shown, it does look like the AI is trying to take advantage in a battle without blindly attacking you, which is probably a very good idea.

@Quicksans-S correct me if I'm wrong but I understood that only weapons are unlockable, it's not like if you suddenly gain the dodge ability. Much like it currently is in Dark Souls, you discover new weapons with different animation. Although some weapons are arguably just plain better than other, most of the progression is done by gaining madskillz and partially via upgrading your weapons with rare stones. For example, once I looted the Claymore in Undead Burg beneath the dragon, I kept it for most of the game. Not because it was overpowered, but because the slow, powerful and high-reaching strikes of the blade fitted me completely.

Some people will prefer a very lightweight and quick weapon that arcs widely around them, giving the combat a whole new pace.

As for the difficulty, I think it's extremely important to keep in mind that difficulty alone doesn't make Dark Souls. Dark souls is a beautiful game, with a beautiful lore that uses it's hardcore difficulty and lack of guidance to allow you to contemplate the content it feeds you drop by drop. Some games survive on difficulty alone (10 second ninja, super meat boy, league of evil), I just hope you'll make a game that's more than that. If you don't but still have a kickass combat system I won't be mad at you though

Purely on what you've shown, I'd say that the "camera" seems too close to the game, It's nice to see the characters from that close, especially during combat, but enemies looks like they are a just a second from attacking you when they appear on the screen. This could be a problem if you intend to sneak past some enemies or try to manipulate the aggro. Maybe a dynamic scaling, the camera would be further away in normal conditions, and zoom on in during combat, to try and fit yourself and the closest enemies.

Anyway, off to sending you a mail aswell

[NiceWalrus]

The Dark Souls inspired parts are:
* Bonfire mechanic - enemies respawned, items collected permanently
* Endurance mechanic - you have to carefully manage it in combat
* Large openish world
* High degree of difficulty, and enemies that you can only defeat once you figure them out

The standard moves are quick attack (gets deflected easily if blocked), strong attack (can't be deflected), block and dodge. I have a bunch of different movesets and weapons for people's favorite play style.  There are another 8 or so abilities that you can unlock which give you a lot of options - for example shield bash, sweeping attack, deflect projectiles. I have pyromancy and you can coat your weapon with oil so that it burns enemies.  Honestly the abilities are more like 'at your own pace' tutorial, so that you don't get overwhelmed with all the combat options early in the game and never remember to use them.

One of the unique gameplay mechanics I have is a ghost ally system. Every time you die, a ghost ally is resurrected, and he follows your previous path up to the point of your death, engaging any enemies along the way. There's some strategy here because you can choose to die in strategic places and with the right weapons so that when your ghost ally(s) spawn, they will do what you want. It's like single player coop and it works as adaptive difficulty as well.

[NiceWalrus]

Here's 2 ghost allies about to help out taking on a big enemy

https://i.imgur.com/OHjEq0Y.jpg

[Quicksand-S]

enemies that you can only defeat once you figure them out

That alone makes the game sound much more appealing. The ghostly ally idea seems interesting too, and I like that you mentioned strategically dying. It's great when a developer thinks outside the box a bit like that.

I'm really curious to see how well it all works. The two GIFs you posted originally made it look (to me) like the game was just a strafe-and-attack sort of thing, but what you've written sounds really good.

[Morroque]

You have my interest. I'm quite picky about what I alpha test for. The last game I tested for was Qasir al-Wasat, and that was a year ago by now.

I once tried to imagine what it would be like to make a Mouse Guard game. Not only would the physics of the situation be remarkably different from what we consider intuitive, but the level design would require a million dollar budget. Things that would be a mere texture in any other game would require a fully complex model. This becomes compounded by how naturalistic the game objects of the wild settings would be. It would also require an artistic talent unlike any other, to make a vast game world out of what might just be a few hundred meters of your own backyard.

That said, I am very, very skeptical of your method of execution. The obvious vapidity of being a Dark Souls clone doesn't worry as much your top-down 2D perspective. I do not think the terrifying and oppressive enormity of the world a mouse lives in can be conveyed from the viewpoint your game is using. It would also limit your design choices to anything a mouse is already sized at and may make implementing their numerous larger predators very difficult.

Unless, of course, you have some ideas as to how to get around that? Is the game setting the holed out stone walls of some cursed castle as opposed to a mouse's natural forest of grasses? Is it not quite the Mouse Guard of Dark Souls you're going for, but instead a Grendelmaus-esque lore? What kind of story are you imagining to implement here?

[diegzumillo]

That looks nice. Agree about comments on camera, a dynamic camera might remove the claustrophobic feel of it (unless that's what you want, of course)

I'm too lazy to send an email, but I'll test it once you have a link up here 

[NiceWalrus]

Thanks a ton for the thoughtful feedback guys.

Purely on what you've shown, I'd say that the "camera" seems too close to the game, It's nice to see the characters from that close, especially during combat, but enemies looks like they are a just a second from attacking you when they appear on the screen.

The gifs were cropped in to fit size limits, usually you can see your enemies coming further out than that.  You have an always-active torch which lights the area around you and gives you vision.  As you progress through the game you get brighter torches which give you more vision.  The increased vision is really important when combined with archery, or if you are in a tough area and have to be extra careful.

Your torch slowly burns out the longer you are from a campfire, so you have to consider that if you stray too far.

That said, I am very, very skeptical of your method of execution. The obvious vapidity of being a Dark Souls clone doesn't worry as much your top-down 2D perspective. I do not think the terrifying and oppressive enormity of the world a mouse lives in can be conveyed from the viewpoint your game is using. It would also limit your design choices to anything a mouse is already sized at and may make implementing their numerous larger predators very difficult.

The top down 2d has definitely been a challenge.  The main thing that makes it viable, I think, is that I have a stylized world and don't have to stick to real world constraints.  The scale of enemies doesn't have to match.  I think of it more like the mice are Rodents of Unusual Size and there are other unnaturally large animals as part of the lore of the world.

Morroque, you might like 'Ghost of a Tale' if you have not already heard of that. 

[Chromanoid]

I love the style and the animal characters. Will there be cats, owls and other predators? If so will they walk like the mice? I would prefer them to be more like real animals. Just imagine a sudden shadow when an owl approaches... BTW you should embed those gifs and post them to http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=32077.0 to catch more attention.

I am definitely interested in the game, although I must say my main interest lies in the theme. As a child I loved mice and had pet mice. Since then I am fascinated by media that feature mice.

When you really start development, I would be happy to see a  DevLog on TIGSource.

[squibbons]

This definitely appeals to me. I love hard games, I love top-down games, and I love Dark Souls, and Demon Souls for that matter.

Something I really enjoyed about Dark Souls that I'm curious as to how you might address is that really skilled players can play through the game with relatively few to no upgrades and still come out successful as the combat is skill based and not luck based. So once a player has master fighting each enemy type, they can do so without taking any damage ever. Is this something your game will do as well?

[NiceWalrus]

The reason it's possible to beat DS at low level (my OneBro is in Duke's Archives) is because the game is based around player skill (as you said) instead of character progression or just rewarding the player for showing up, as so many games do. 

My goal when designing enemies is that you should be able to beat each one with zero damage if you know what you are doing, but that each enemy forces you to react to it in a different way to be successful.  I think this is the key to making the combat skill based, which is probably my top goal in making this game.  I don't think I'm there yet though.

[pluckyporcupine]

Holy crap. This looks awesome. The Teleglitch-style top-down view combined with silhouettes is just too great.

Message sent!

[Minion Studios]

Excellent! Looking for a little more challenge in my life whilst I save up for DSII. email sent