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[Jamo]

What is Dr. Bones?

I think it is about time that I properly introduced Dr. Bones, and tell you a little about the game and what you will get up to on your adventure. This is also the first in a series of development blog posts where I will post updates, music and artwork from the game as it progresses, and maybe even something playable later on!

 
Dr. Bones
Dr. Bones is an explorer, seasoned from years in dangerous temples and jungles. He is also, notably, a dog. A pug to be precise. This gentlepug is the main character of the game, and is who you will be controlling.



Exploration
The game revolves around exploring exciting locations such as Tibetan temples, Egyptian burial crypts and much more, each with their own deadly traps and obstacles, and each with their own treasures to collect and coins to grab! The treasures and coins will let you purchase new items and equipment to help you get further in the temples, and get new maps for different locations.



Gameplay
Upon descending into a temple using your balloon, and taking the first treasure that you can find, all hell breaks loose and the temple starts to collapse into the ground, as was the traditional security measure at the time. Climb up through the temple before you get crushed, collecting as many different treasures and coins as you can and stuffing them into your bag to take home with you. The levels are randomly generated, so you will never travel through the exact same temple twice!


Curses
Some of the treasures are cursed, and picking them up can have some crazy effects upon you. There aren't too many just yet, but so far include reversing your controls, flipping the screen upside down and turning you into a ghost! The curses last for a random amount of time, and you cannot put a treasure into your sack until the curse has worn off.

There is still a lot of work to do on the game, so expect regular updates showing the new content that is being added, and please do leave feedback on what you have seen so far, and what you would like to see!

[_Grey]

Reminds me Henry Hatsworth and the puzzling adventure.... and i love that game

[Jamo]

@_grey, yeah I see what you mean! Thanks for checking it out, glad you like the look of it

[GeoffW]

I love this sprite.  Are you doing all of the art work yourself?

[melos]

For some reason, for me, the natural progression of that sprite is to daintily spank a skeleton with that stick, while giggling. This is a good thing.

[Jamo]

Thanks! I do all of the artwork myself. Only thing I don't do is the music, I have a great musician working with me who also did the music for my last game. I'll put some of his other animations into sprites later on and post them up for you.

Skeletons aren't in the game yet, but they will be!

[Jamo]

I'll post an update later on, but I thought Id share the new Jamo Games logo, as I think its pretty cool!

[jeko88]

nice project and nice logo

[Jamo]

Thank you! Ive been wanting to animate it for a while, I'm on a bit of a gifathon today. That's a thing..

[Jamo]

Hi everyone, here is todays Dr. Bones update.

The basic game mechanics are in place now, so the levels generate randomly and you can play games, collect treasures, die a lot, and all that good stuff. My main goal for next week is to keep adding new content to the level generation, along with some new locations for you to explore, to keep the game as fresh as possible each time you play.

New Mechanics

Levels can now be played to completion
Coins can be earned and are stored between games
Treasures can be collected and are reflected on the start screen in your collection
Traps and enemies so far all working
Tibet level now has an avalanche as a random event, might be too strong though, I've only survived it twice!
Artwork

I'll post the new levels later, but for now here is a gif of the two enemies that are currently in the game, mummies and yetis, and a screenshot of how the title screen is looking.

[Claw]

This looks wonderful.

I love the little wobble on Dr Bones chin has he turns his head All the art and animations look great!

I don' know if I missed reading it, but did you say what platforms it's being developed for?

[CEDE]

This looks pretty cool. I like the main character design.

[oahda]

This is pretty! I love the big, white, fluffy thing.

[Graham-]

I may like this. I may <3 this. Wait, Indiana Jones? But a pug? What, that rules.

Looking for crit? Don't love the coins.

[Jamo]

Lots of replies on here! Sorry I haven't got back to you sooner, I was visiting family this weekend, so here we go -

This looks wonderful.

I love the little wobble on Dr Bones chin has he turns his head All the art and animations look great!

I don' know if I missed reading it, but did you say what platforms it's being developed for?

Thanks! I spent a lot of time trying to get the animations to feel right, so I'm glad someone noticed. I should update the top of the topic really, the game will be cross-platform, so PC, Mac, Android and iOS. I try to do all of my games this way so you will be able to play it no matter what your preferred platform.

This is pretty! I love the big, white, fluffy thing.

Glad you like him, he's a yeti! You will run into that guy in the Tibetan mountains.

I may like this. I may <3 this. Wait, Indiana Jones? But a pug? What, that rules.

Looking for crit? Don't love the coins.

Yeah I'm always looking for input, what is it that you don't like about them, the artwork? None of it is set in stone yet so it's all open to feedback. Also, glad you like it!


Thanks for the input everyone, I'll post a new update tomorrow. It's a bank holiday today so I'm chilling out for a change.

[Graham-]

Nah, it's the fact that they exist. I could be wrong, because I'm judging from screens.

First I think, "ooh, like Indiana Jones, but cuter. Maybe I'm going on an adventure, to hunt treasure? ... Oh, I'm collecting coins."

Why coins? Is that the best way to deliver your experience? It feels like some "mechanic" from some other game to make this game a "game" also.

But, I could be wrong.

[Jamo]

Nah, it's the fact that they exist. I could be wrong, because I'm judging from screens.

First I think, "ooh, like Indiana Jones, but cuter. Maybe I'm going on an adventure, to hunt treasure? ... Oh, I'm collecting coins."

Why coins? Is that the best way to deliver your experience? It feels like some "mechanic" from some other game to make this game a "game" also.

But, I could be wrong.

Yeah I understand where you are coming from.

The main mechanic is collecting treasures which are all worth varying amounts of coins depending on their rarity, the coins are just there to give you a cash boost and some bonus sections, that you can use to buy upgrades and things to help you on your adventure. Originally they weren't there, while I was building the core treasure hunting mechanic, I could make them rarer or something to stop them being so marioey?

[Graham-]

Yeah, because... well, it depends what you want.

Mario is like, "wooh, I'm doing stuff! over here and here!" And your game, from my impression, was more like, "mmm. cute Adventure Time. I wonder what this mysterious place is about?" Clash.

It depends what you want though.

[Jamo]

Yeah, the game is pretty fast paced and arcadey, very much a high score chaser, as the temple starts crumbling as soon as you get take the first treasure, so the goal is to get as far as you can before you get pulled off the screen or hit something that kills you. I guess because of that the mario thing might work, so the coins wouldn't detract from the experience.

I was also working on a more puzzle oriented mode too where you have to figure out how to get to each treasure, which does not feature coins, so maybe that mode is more suited to what you were thinking.

Thanks for your input by the way

[Graham-]

Hmm... ok, a high score game is more appropriate, yes. Maybe just reduce their frequency, or size, or make 'em more suited to the locale. I don't know. It's their presentation I think, not the fact that they exist.

Here they fit in more: