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keybol
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« on: August 15, 2016, 11:04:26 PM »

Hey there, it's been a while since I made a somewhat bigger game. I released Kill the Plumber 8 months ago on Steam and App Store with redesigned graphics and a lot more content. We are very happy with that game and now I am developing another one.



Tower Fortress is an action platformer game where you must climb a tower. The tower shuffles its level design for anyone who dares to enter it, pitting them to various enemies and monsters. Fortunately an upgrade capsule is available for the player to use once they reach the end of each section.

The game will be available on PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices and will probably be available by end of 2016 or early 2017 as a paid game.

I will showcase an exclusive playable demo (which I have been doing crunch time for the past weeks) can be played at Asia All New Stars booth in Tokyo Game Show this September 2016 and hopefully a release version will be available to play at G-Star in South Korea come November 2016.

The game is heavily inspired by many games, classic ones and indie hits today. Most obvious is its Downwell nod. Other indie game influences are Nuclear Throne and Binding of Isaac. It also pays homage to classic games like Sonic, Metroid, Contra and Megaman.

Here is quick run on what it's about.




Features:
- 4 environments of the tower (Workers Den, Wizards Lab, Builders Gate and The Guard House)
- Randomized levels in each playthrough
- 16 different enemies
- 9 gun upgrades
- 25 character upgrades to choose from at end of each section.
- Permanent death to raise the stakes for the players.
- Boss fights
- Stunning pixel art graphics and animations by Dungeon Souls creator Mike Studios!
- Audio provided by Zach Striefel who worked on popular indie games like Epic Boss Fighter and Kill the Plumber.


Story:
There is a little background story in the game which is about Sara, the village alchemist / weapons forger and the ominous tower that sprouted one day in their town. On top of the tower emits a green smoke which made the town sick including Sara's parents who are the most affected since they live near the tower. Sara must reach the top of the tower and destroy the emitter.
 
Gameplay:
You play as Sara who can double jump and spin to attack her enemies. She can also shoot different guns using her arm buster. She also has the ability to wall slide and wall jump making the climb in the tower easier and dynamic.
The player can unlock chests randomly placed in the tower to change their weapons.



Each weapon has different benefits and weaknesses. Flamethrower lets you peak around with its enhanced lighting and can pass through walls but has limited reach. Lasers are very powerful but takes time to reload. There is also the T-Gun which helps you clear the enemies coming from above.
At the end of every level you will be asked to choose one of the 3 upgrade capsules which also serves as the exit point to the next level. It is designed that way so as not to break the immersion as you climb the tower.
Enemies behave differently and the player must figure out when and how they will appear and predict their movement and tricky attack patterns. The game pushes you to master every aspect of the game and adapt your play depending on the upgrades you were dealt.


There are traps and baits everywhere to keep players on their toes.

Enemies also have weak spots and dangerous spots so watch out where you hit them with your spin jump. Some can only be damaged with your guns.
 
Here are more enemies in the game. Can you guess their behaviors and weak spots?


Each environment also has different mechanics. Wizards Lab enables the player to transport to the other side of the screen. The Builders Lab auto scrolls up which makes the pace faster.
I will post here weekly for updates on the game. So far I have develop 3 of the environments and creating the level templates and its randomizers.
For now, here are some more screenshots!


Please follow me on Twitter @keybol and on Facebook fb.com/keybolgames
Thanks a lot for checking this thread!
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JeFawk
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« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2016, 01:17:28 AM »

Pretty interesting although I do find the walls where they have those lines to be bothersome for my eyes. Also not seeing much what's around makes me think that my big screen is kinda worthless :D
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keybol
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« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2016, 01:38:09 AM »

Pretty interesting although I do find the walls where they have those lines to be bothersome for my eyes. Also not seeing much what's around makes me think that my big screen is kinda worthless :D

Do you mean the lines in the background or the purple tiles. I had the same concern with the game being too dark but there are more light sources in the game plus there are upgrades and the flamethrower reveals more of the room. Not final though. We will see soon how much of the visual style changes.
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chriswearly
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« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2016, 02:52:04 AM »

just wanna say that the "tower fortress" text is ace! Really really good Smiley

And I see you're using a 6x6 for in-game stuff. Kinda funky with the sometimes-1-pixel strokes, but what can you do haha.
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keybol
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« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2016, 05:38:56 AM »

just wanna say that the "tower fortress" text is ace! Really really good Smiley

And I see you're using a 6x6 for in-game stuff. Kinda funky with the sometimes-1-pixel strokes, but what can you do haha.

Thanks! I use 16x16 up to 24x24. For UI I am not happy drawing 1 pixel strokes as sometimes one side of the ammo bar in UI appear thicker on mobile screens.
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keybol
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« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2016, 10:18:44 AM »

TouchArcade just posted a preview article about Tower Fortress. This really encourages me and boosts my morale.
http://toucharcade.com/2016/08/16/tower-fortress-upcoming/
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keybol
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« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2016, 09:51:54 PM »

Updated the darkness to show more of the awesome pixel art. I have also added 2 new enemies in the starting level for a more unified theme.
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keybol
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« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2016, 06:29:19 AM »

I have decided to create 4 bosses (one in each area) instead of just one boss at the end. Here is the pixel art for the first area boss, the Spider King! We would love to hear your suggestions for the other areas' bosses! Maybe you will see them get pixel art rendition and fight them in the game!
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keybol
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« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2016, 06:34:30 AM »

I wrote an article about designing game content
http://www.indiedb.com/games/tower-fortress/tutorials/designing-game-content-and-scrapping-what-doesnt-work
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keybol
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« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2016, 07:32:11 PM »

I have been very busy preparing for the event showcase of Tower Fortress for Tokyo Game Show next week meanwhile we have almost all of the soundtrack done. You can listen to them here https://soundcloud.com/zachstriefel/sets/tower-fortress-ost-sneak-peek
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Aloft
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« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2016, 08:03:04 PM »

Definitely has an original Metroid vibe going...
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keybol
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« Reply #11 on: September 22, 2016, 08:49:52 PM »

Thanks! I just came home from Tokyo Game Show! The audience loves playing Tower Fortress! Here are some pictures.






Here are a couple of videos.





« Last Edit: September 22, 2016, 08:57:24 PM by keybol » Logged
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