Ethereal - On Hiatus

Mini-Update: 07/09/15

Hey guys, first off the game is still in hiatus. Just wanted to update people on what's going on. Currently, I'm freelancing. It's allowing me to survive without worry and save up a little so that eventually down the line I can afford to get this game made. I'm working on little side projects as well so you may see me post other threads about those eventually. I'm not working on this on the side because I feel its a project I'd rather devote my whole attention to.

The big thing here is a change in design. Looking back at the 7 months after it went into hiatus gave me a look with fresh eyes. I feel like originally I planned it out to be heavily puzzle-based like Braid. However, as it developed over time it slowly gained characteristics of a different type of game that I actually enjoy more: twitch platformers (like super meat boy). The problem is that I was still in the mindset of a puzzle platformer. So the player moves a little slow and each section was designed with making the game puzzley in mind. However, the enemies and level design were designed like a twitch platformer would be. This makes the game feel confusing and nothing great in either genre.

So, I've decided it's time to pick a style and stick with it, and I've decided on... Twitch Platformer!

There will likely still be some puzzles such as the clock puzzle shown in the trailer, but the main gameplay will be focused towards precise movements and avoiding obstacles. The player will still have many abilities throughout the game, will still be able to flip gravity and there will still be items you have to collect throughout the levels. All of these things support a twitch platformer much better than a puzzle platformer anyway! The biggest changes involved in this decision are:

1. Movement: The player's movement is going to be much faster now. I'm going to be doing a lot of work on making sure the movement feels really good and the controls are great because those are things extremely important to making a twitch platformer enjoyable. Bouncing off enemies is going to be fine-tuned as well.

2. Levels: Currently each room has a lot of parts to it. I may be changing it so that each room is focused around 1-2 parts so each room is considered its own level really. If you've played Super Meat Boy you may get where I'm going with this.

3. Environment Design: There are going to be a lot more obstacles throughout the levels now. Currently the only real obstacles are the enemies and some spikes. I'm going to make a lot of different types of obstacles so it doesn't get stale quickly.

4. Death: Since levels will be smaller rooms I may be removing the checkpoint system completely and having the player start at the beginning of the room when he is harmed. I would also be changing how death is portrayed. Currently, it's meant to be the ghost being afraid and returning to the last spot he felt was safe. However, it seems that isn't easy to pick up by testers or people who watched the trailer, so we may changing how that is portrayed.