next »

[blindskystudios]

Mandagon is available now for free on Steam!.

_______________________________________________________________________

Explore Mandagon, a world inspired by Tibetan theology and philosophy.

With a focus on life and death, discover what it means to make a true sacrifice.


Traverse a vivid interpretation of Bardo, the Tibetan word for limbo.

Learn what experiences brought you there and what forces pull you through . . .

A sequel, titled Mandagon: Bones of Clay is currently in production.

You can view the dev log here

[io3 creations]

At first sight, the game Journey came to mind - which isn't surprising as both have similar inspirations.

I really like the visual style and how various background elements move (e.g. flags).  The only thing that seems odd is the main character.  I'm not referring to the shape or style but mainly the visual aspect.  It doesn't seem to stand out from the background.  More precisely, when you are outside.  Seems fine in the inside environment and when it receives the power up.  I really like that "shiny" feel.   If instead of a rock type material, the character is made of (or is partially covered with) metal.  That might work better when you are outside where the Sun's reflection is more apparent.  Of course, this is just one of those "subjective" aspects.

Please also post updates here (or at least when the game is finished). 

[blindskystudios]

At first sight, the game Journey came to mind - which isn't surprising as both have similar inspirations. . .

. . . The only thing that seems odd is the main character.  I'm not referring to the shape or style but mainly the visual aspect.  It doesn't seem to stand out from the background . . .

. . .Please also post updates here (or at least when the game is finished). 

Ah cheers very much, Journey and other games like it are always sort of in my subconscious. There's something special about that combination considered visuals, exploration and ancient mysteries, you know?

Funny you should mention the main character. He started out as a placeholder but I sort of grew attached and ended up animating the little fella. Plus playing as a stone totem works thematically. However there is a chance that he may end up being refreshed or completely replaced last minute, who knows! I may drop alternate designs here for wider consideration!

And yep, no worries, I'll be posting updates here and I'm sure we'll share download links when all is done and dusted.
   

[naezith]

Love all the details in that non-zoomed pixel art, looks fantastic, keep it up!

[blindskystudios]

Love all the details in that non-zoomed pixel art, looks fantastic, keep it up!

Cheers Naezith. Was just checking out Remnants of Naezith earlier on today. Looks incredible, the attention to detail on your animations is bonkers! Looking forward to getting my hands on it!!

[lobstersteve]

Looks interesting :O
Some cool pixel graphics going on. I'll keep an eye on this 

[whilefun]

This game is gorgeous! I love the high level of detail. And the moody lighting on the interior scenes. 

[chriswearly]

Ah this looks interesting. Looks like a mix of Okhlos and Heavier Than Air (both devlogs here), with some hints of Sword and Sorcery.

I'll keep my eye on this

[blindskystudios]

Ah this looks interesting. Looks like a mix of Okhlos and Heavier Than Air (both devlogs here), with some hints of Sword and Sorcery.

I'll keep my eye on this

Aahhh Heavier Than Air looks gorgeous!! And yep, Sword and Sorcery is a definite (and very obvious) influence on the look, this is my first attempt at pixel art so I've not really found my identity yet, it's very much an amalgamated style! Prior to this my main trade was pen n ink illustration (can be seen here if you're curious) 

[wuuthrer]

Totally keeping an eye on this!

[blindskystudios]

Cheers for the comments and alike!

Here's a little screen crop for ya while I work on more room interiors

[sidbarnhoorn]

Beautiful! Looking forward to seeing more. Good luck with the development! 

[Louard]

SOOO gorgeous!! I really love the art. The colours are just perfect!

[io3 creations]

I just remembered why I had a feeling THAT your game (and mainly the character) was reminding me of something.  There's a Flash game: "Gilmo: The Inner Self" that has a similar "stone block" type main characer.  Here's a walkthrough video 

[blindskystudios]

Cheers muchly for the kind words, helps keep me motivated!

Thought I'd talk briefly about some of the animation in Mandagon (partly because I spent waaaaay longer than I should have on some assets and felt the need to give them some air time!)

Alright so you've got the water prayer wheel - The water wheel itself is modeled in 3D, then animated within unity.

For the little splashes a collection of particle effects were added that rotate in unison with the wheel. And of course the running water and the prayer wheel are your standard sprite sheet animation.




The whole thing was almost a full days work, mostly trial and error to figure out the best way to get what I wanted! The flags are also 3D planes that use unity's built in cloth and wind effects. Yep, you guessed it, I'm resorting to 3D modeling and physics for aspects that are way beyond my current animation ability!

Another fun thing is unity's hinge physics - Put to work here on these happy little lanterns!



And lastly you'll see the usual sprite animation scattered about the map.



_____________________________________________________

I just remembered why I had a feeling THAT your game (and mainly the character) was reminding me of something.  There's a Flash game: "Gilmo: The Inner Self" that has a similar "stone block" type main characer.

Love the physics on that little guy in Gilmo!



 

[QOG]

I really like the art style, thanks for giving some background on it. It's a bit odd to see those rapidly-changing pixels on the sides of the water wheel though, are those intentional?
Also, why is that bell spinning so fast?

[TitoOliveira]

Really nice animations and overall art

[blindskystudios]

I really like the art style, thanks for giving some background on it. It's a bit odd to see those rapidly-changing pixels on the sides of the water wheel though, are those intentional?
Also, why is that bell spinning so fast?

Yes, not really intentional. Combination of choppy gif and choppy shader. Was trying out something that wouldn't have gradients to sit with the pixel art. I've been looking at it a little more, playing about with how it's shaded, it's softer now but I think it still looks ok next to the pixel stuff . . . What do you ya'll think? I'm much happier with the updated wheel (also ignore the weird artifacts in the new gif... just gif failing)

>--UPDATED--<



_____________________________________________________________________________________________

>--ORIGINAL--<

[io3 creations]

Love the physics on that little guy in Gilmo!

The power of box2d!   

I've been looking at it a little more, playing about with how it's shaded, it's softer now but I think it still looks ok next to the pixel stuff . . . What do you ya'll think? I'm much happier with the updated wheel

I also like the new one better.  It still has that pixel graphics feel but at the same time adds something unique with the 3d part.  Much like the flags. 

[tanis]

I love the overall feeling of the game. Graphics are so nice and in some way relaxing. I'm going to keep an eye on this