I'm renaming my game. It's a story-driven platformer about a Wizard and a Slug. Here is a trailer:



Here are some ideas. Suggestions?

[Slug Story]

Some brainstorming / writing as I come up with each. Each one may or may not be good at all, but maybe it'll give you some ideas to bounce around!

- A Slug's Mortality (a little harsh...)

- A Slug Tale

- Slug Tales

- I second your idea for "Slug Story," if that helps as well.

I thought of A Slug Tale too or just plain Slug tale or Slugtale. Like with Slug Story, they're probably pretty good names. Not very original perhaps but maybe I shouldn't worry too much about that. It's usually better to go simple and not overthink too much. At the same time.. the story itself is actually not really about the Slug (player) but pretty much centered around the Wizard.

Anyway a couple of titles:

• Slug Story - Short and simple
• (A) Slug Tale - Same
• The Wizard and The Slug - This title got a bit of a fairy tale feel which I kinda like. Problem is, it's a bit long. I don't know, what are your opinions on long titles? Is it generally a thing to avoid?
• Wizard & Slug - Shorter but loses the fairy tale feel. Still, it's a pretty interesting combination of words while not being too weird.
• Immortal Slug or Slug Immortal - Kinda makes me think of Metal Slug which I'm not really going for .
• Immortal Besluged - Haha, I loved this title when I came up with it but that's the thing. It's only a good title for me. The reference will go over most peoples head too. I thought about something like Wizlug too but I think I'm going to stay away from weird made up words.

The game is pretty story focused (in comparison to most platformers) and I want to convey that in some way. I mean it's not "Super Meat Boy". Slug Story is pretty blatant and my current name "Pools of Creation" is too vague. If I didn't worry about the length I'd say The Wizard and The Slug is the title that best fits what I want to convey.

I feel like I'm starting to overthink now . The game already have had 2 titles both of which were bad, I don't trust myself anymore. Please help me! Tell me what you think and feel free to give me suggestions.

Just played around a bit. I like this font but it's not final since I'll probably have something custom made eventually. Visually, I'd say shorter title certainly looks better, at least when just laid out like this.

[CONTENT]

That boss looks great, but definitely seems out of character for the more playful/cute overall tone of the rest of what I've seen. It looks like it's an undead sort of thing? I'm not saying it's a bad fit - just curious as to the story behind it.

There are some tonal shifts in the game and the main storyline is quite serious and has some darkness to it. It won't go full blown Lovecraftian though . As for the bird boss, well, I don't want to spoil too much. It's not undead, rather it's pretty close to being just plain "dead". Turns out birds aren't really fireproof.

CONTENT
Working on the next area, the crystal caves. New area means a new companion.. it's a doggy! The dog will lick enemies, pacifiying them with LOVE!




I've also made some cat knights that can only be hit from behind.




These just charge you but I'd like to make a variation with a bit more of an A.I. I really love the Goldarmor enemies in Shovel Knight. To me they're "sniper joes" done right. A shielded enemy that's not just about waiting for the right time but that actively engages you and is fun to fight.



They don't like dog kisses though.



NAME CHANGE AGAIN?
On a finishing note, I'm seriously considering changing the name of the game again. Right now it's just a reference to a minor plot element but it sounds like it's about mechanics (a game about creating stuff.. from pools or something) which it's not. It's a game about a mortal Slug and an immortal Wizard going on an adventure.

Maybe I should just call it "Slug Story" or something simple like that. Something with "Slug" I think, slug is a fun word.

Please give me suggestions if you have any.

Dog kisses!

[It's officially 50% done at this point!]

Hey there thread, nice to see you again. Been working (to live!) during the summer but I'm finally back to the game.

I also participated in Ludum Dare for the third time. Made a little microgame thing. You can check it out here.
http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-36/?action=preview&uid=47199 


As for the game, It's officially 50% done at this point! The later part of the game definitely has some challenges but so far I've been able to do pretty much everything I've wanted so I hope that trend continues.

Got multiple save slots implemented and it seems to be working. I think 3 is enough, my original plan was to not even have any but I'm glad I got it in there now.



Made a new background for the volcano too since I was just reusing the old cave background. Not a 100% happy with it. It's a bit too ..red I think. I dunno maybe it works but I don't want it to blend in too much and distract. Because the tileset is that mix of "Pitch black" and "Saturated red" you kinda have to find something that's neither dark or saturated for the BG. The cave one I used before worked pretty good but I want something different.

 

Also looking into shaders to maybe give the background a heat wave effect.

BEAUTIFUL!

The demo is updated as well so please give it a try if you haven't . (For anyone interested I also have a non-public, test-build with twice the amount of content).

[Requires two players and at least one gamepad (two recommended for better experience), so grab someone!]

Requires two players and at least one gamepad (two recommended for better experience), so grab someone!

Shoot, oh well I've played everyone else's entry so far though I think.

Ouch... missed the deadline. I'm not too sure how I feel about that.
On one hand well the fact that I was working till the last second kinda shows I wasn't quite satisfied with what I had.
On the other well, its 3 days worth of effort in garbage.

best part is how I screwed up... I didn't know I needed to upload externally. Came face to face with that fact with 5 min to go. thought of dropbox... didnt remember my password. (im usually always logged in, but my PC died)
Actually even login in ludumdare robbed me of time... didn't remember that password either :/
and well that was that.

Oh well I screwed up!

Might not be too late, Mike just posted this.

Hi. I’m still away, but I’ve been getting a number of people contacting me that weren’t able to submit, or had issues submitting, so I’m going to send them here. Please leave a comment here if you had issues submitting.

If it’s an account/activation issue, I’ll take care of those. You can contact me directly.

http://ludumdare.com/compo/2016/08/30/problems-post-here/

 As long as you haven't worked a bunch more on it I think the rules can be bent a little, especially since there are no ratings this time around. Either way, don't forget that your product is your real prize anyway so don't feel like it was time wasted.

Played the demo and here are some thoughts:

-It controls fine, no major complaints there. I thought the wall jumping was a little iffy at first but I got used to it fast and then I was zipping along fine. Because I can't(or won't) read it also took me a while to figure out why I couldn't wall jump on every wall (only light side).

-I like the speed and the platforming is FUN. I personally never got frustrated with the platforming challenges but I can see people without as much platforming experience having trouble with some parts. The checkpoints are fair though so you don't get sent back a lot even if you die.

-The only time I got a bit frustrated was when I had to backtrack to kill an enemy I missed and it sent me back to my last checkpoint if I happened to die on my search. Maybe letting you activate which checkpoint torch to use might help? I dunno. It wasn't that big a deal anyway.

-It can be hard to see what's below sometimes especially when you have to move down. This is always an issue when you have delayed camera movement. It's a stylistic/aesthetic choice but sometimes the camera just doesn't keep up enough and it gives you no time to react.

-Weakest part for me was really the combat. I dunno, it's lacking..something. Maybe it's the lack of knockback? I know there is some knockback on the cannibal guy which is better than nothing. There might be design reasons for not having enemies flying all over the place when you hit them but it needs something to feel more satisfying I think. Right now though, the game seems to be more about platforming and less about combat which is fine and it's all about where you want to put focus. Again, the platforming is really fun!

-First time I played, I picked air magic but I pretty much forgot about magic for the most part . It wasn't until later I found out it gives you another jump (again because I can't read probably). I also didn't visit the blacksmith, I assume you need fire magic to get past the blockade?

-Make the regaining of health and magic by the bouncing tofus instantaneous! (or give me a reason why it shouldn't).

-Are you deactivating the insta-kill crystals out of view? You need to expand the deactivate/reactivate region a bit because now they're "popping" into view on the edge of the screen as you move.

My only (really minor) gripe was the dark turn it took during the last rooms - it makes by a narrative standpoint, but I felt the serious themes clashed a bit with the overall silly gameplay. I'd love to see the concept expanded.

I hear you. I wasn't really sure how to best end it. My original idea was to go much further in time but I decided to just narrow it down to the Dawn of man in fitting with the theme but also because it would have been too much work to get it properly paced. I do think a dark turn could be pretty powerful but I think it might require some more pacing as well. I see how it can feel a bit tacked on right now.

Man that is the best one so far!!

Not for long, I'm sure (but thank you!).   

[Submitted! Try it here:http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-36/?action=preview&uid=47199]

Submitted! Try it here:

http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-36/?action=preview&uid=47199

["Touch the Monolith".]

Progress report for "Touch the Monolith".
When I started I had no idea where it was going but it became.. something. It's kinda like WarioWare but without the pressure. I think I'm done for the most part. I usually like to spend the last day just polishing. Music is left too. Ok, time for bed. Night everybody and good luck!

I thought the themes are pretty good myself. I mean if you only go with the most literal meaning they are pretty underwhelming but bent and twisted a bit and most of them are fertile grounds for some interesting ideas.

Yeah, I know hating the themes is kinda a thing but for me it's all part of the challenge to make the theme work for you. I usually never pay much attention to the theme voting because I like the surprise. Anyway, I'm IN! 

Bird is back! New boss I'm working on.

Started working on the next boss. It's kind of a twist on the last one and probably the biggest challenge yet. The game is getting darker too .



Here it is in action. There is a lot less floor to work with this time and you need to keep moving.

Last Ludum Dare I made a game about a hedgehog-catching-night-shift-working triangle in a balloon factory. I decided to turn it into the companion for the volcano level.

Now it pops things other than balloons though. At first it felt a bit too similar too other companions so I'm trying to see what I can do to make it a bit different.


Putting out fires with a net would work right?


I decided it had to use the net for something appropriate too so now it can catch the fire spitters and use them to fling fireballs back at enemies. I made it purple too because there's already so much orange going on in the level.

Well this is all kinds of adorable :3. Love the hats! Looks like it could work well as a cooperative game too.

[tips on platformer games with really good design]

I'm also looking for tips on platformer games with really good design as I've been playing some games while taking notes. Feel free to give me suggestions (preferably PC or old school stuff as the last console I owned was the first Xbox).

I've got some such thing on the "designclass" thread of my blog. In the "Old PC classics", I'd recommend Commander Keen and Fury of the Furries...

Keep dev'ing

Thanks, I'll definitely check that out!

Now for some content. I found this carrot a while ago and there was only one thing to do.



My reference folder is actually filled with vegetables, fruits and microbes pretty much.



I also found the perfect place for a jam.

A carrot with an identity crisis.

Working full time during the summer so not a lot of time for development. Save for a few music tracks the mountain area is pretty much done though. I've also made some progress for the next area, the volcano.

I realized most of my enemies fire towards you or in arcs and figured I wanted just a basic horizontal shooting turret enemy. Did some sketching and realized it was too tall. Just stuff to keep in mind when the playable character is so short.

So it evolved into this little guy.


I haven't done a lot of frame by frame animation in my game and I kinda want to do more since if you give it enough time it almost always looks superior. Some stuff you really can't do any other way too. I was a bit worried it would clash with the rest of the look of the game but I think it works fine.



Also made these gas cloud enemies that shoot at your position.


These flame enemies can be temporary disabled but are otherwise unkillable which means some timing and haste is required to get past them.


Also what is a fire themed level without some environmental hazards? The game's difficulty is ramping up at this point.


As always, feel free to try the demo (link in the OP) which covers the first 2 levels. Everything is subject to change and I'd really appreciate feedback to make the game better!
 

Fire level