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[andyfromiowa]

omg I love the art, reminds me of early dos games, where do I subscribe? any demo out yet? don't overthink the mechanics too much, just try to finish  

Thanks! I just set up a landing page to subscribe for email updates.

I probably should have made that up a long time ago, but I haven't done much to market the game (unless you count this devlog).

I've released several demos, but they've all been in-person tests. I don't have a playable build online at the moment - but I will have a few available this fall. I will definitely try to finish and not get carried away with continuously adding content.

[andyfromiowa]

Introducing the Wraith

Wraiths cast magic attacks at fairly close range. The attack is loosely influenced by one of the homing magic attacks from Dark Souls. The blue orbs appear left to right and there's some delay between them seeking out the player. After they travel a short distance, they no longer seek and simply continue their trajectory until off screen.

They, along with their magic, can clip through walls – so their difficulty is directly tied to level layout and what other enemies that are present. Hitting them causes them to warp and randomly move away from the player before they fly back in and attack more.

I might tweak the distance to trigger the attack, but mostly this has worked out well.

[andyfromiowa]

This week, I revisited the “big skull” boss fight. I had been postponing animating the additional phases because the initial sprite work took a long time, but fortunately the new frames came together fairly quickly. Instead of making a lot of layers like the initial sprites– I was able to remove chunks of detail simultaneously on all layers and then go back and add the rougher elements underneath.

This is how the skull breaks down throughout the fight:

It was also interesting to revisit this fight now that the boomerang and flip attacks have been added. The fight is a lot more manageable now that there is a viable crowd control strategy. Also, the flip allows a 1 hit kill on skeletons, which makes it easier to keep up with the pace of spawns. It's still pretty challenging and probably need some slight tweaks – but in general, I think the experience is much improved.

[andyfromiowa]

I had a little time this evening, so I revamped a tile set and tried it as a closer background element for cave/tunnel areas. I don't mind floating platform ala Mario Bros. but I think this makes areas like the one below look more natural. Thoughts?

Before:



After:

[andyfromiowa]

Some exiting news! The minotaur boss fight is almost done. The minotaur, also known as “The Duke” in game, is a test of patience and precise attack timing. At times, the fight also requires dodging falling rocks from above.

The Duke is slow moving but has high stamina. He can thrust quickly and is dangerous at close range. Getting behind him takes precise timing, but it allows a few extra hits as he turns himself around.

The rocks above are placeholders (I reused some comet sprites) but as his health depletes, the Duke will start to stomp violently and shake loose falling rocks from above. He can damage directly while stomping, so it's particularly dangerous if he starts this attack with the player pinned near a wall.

Once I have a little more polish, I will have a demo available to try out this fight. I feel like the difficultly is tough but fair and not quite as difficult as the skeleton fight.

[andyfromiowa]

My day job has kept me busy lately - plus I've been working on a few things on the side. So, not much to show off development-wise at the moment.

I decided to make the game a bit more distinct and change the name to The Rise of Lazarus...I'm still deciding whether or not to keep the "the." Any thoughts?

Here is the new logo:

There's clearly still a lot of inspiration from the old Zelda games. I'm also working on a website for the game. I don't have much there yet, but RiseofLazarus.com has the logo and a basic landing page for now. An announcement about the new demo is coming soon!

[andyfromiowa]

Last week, I spent a few hours making this windmill. I started with a repeating brick pattern, and then went through and divided the sections with "wood" lines. I referenced a few photos of windmills from real life and video games as I worked. Once I had finished the structure, I went through each line of bricks and added some details and changes so the patterns had variations with the bricks and mortar. This animation was made in Photoshop, but it should look a touch neater in game.

I've also been working on improving my tree sprites. I watched several YouTube tutorials and eventually found one that clicked with my style and usual techniques.

Here's a before and after comparison:

Honestly, it might be a touch too detailed for the rest of the game. It also needs a little more variation with the leaves. Something is a little bit off, I think. But overall, I think it's a massive improvement and I'm happy with the result.

Outside of pixel art, I spent some time playing the early game areas and making small fixes to improve the experience. For example, the player can now "pray" at any altar as a way to regain health without dying and respawning (this will cause slain enemies to return, however). Also, holding down the attack button after death re-spawns Lazarus almost instantly - which should eliminate the frustration of waiting to revive.

[andyfromiowa]

Keep on Rolling

I've been debating adding a dodge roll mechanic for a while. Truthfully, I expected this game to be done more than a year ago – so the idea of adding new mechanics is a little painful because it extends the finish line of the project. Oddly, it was that very reason that I decided to go ahead with it. Since I've already invested this much time, and I feel like this is an overall improvement – I figure I should take the extra steps to make the end product better.

Here is the dodge roll in action:

I was able to get this added to the game in just a few hours. The “iframes” use the same counter variable that taking damage does. When the player takes a hit, there is a counter that resets to zero. Until it climbs back up to 100, the player is invincible. This provides a small buffer to prevent getting hit twice. For the roll, this counter is set to 95, giving just a small window where the same invincibility applies. Of course, fatal damage (like being crushed) still sends you to the grave.

Having a blast

I also added some new explosive elements. Some of these effects are a little over-the-top, but overall, I think this just makes things more fun. Explosives can be found in gunpowder barrels, a stationary cannon, and these new hatches that drop bombs:

[andyfromiowa]

I'm spending time this weekend working on some new art. Here's what I've put together so far. The game is set in a land where a holy war has killed most of the population. Some on the remaining people are now dealing with plague as well.

Here's a crude assembly of the new NPCs, medical tents, and plague victims:

The plague doctors have a small medical cabin – and here's a preview of the interior (minus the floor):

I was able to re-work a lot of assets to put this together quickly. The cabin exterior and interior were built off modified sprites from another cabin at the start of the game. I was also able to revisit the campfire animation to add this boiling beaker effect:

[andyfromiowa]

Despite the lack of updates, the game isn't dead – just progressing slowly. I've been chipping away at new content – including new enemies and level design. You might notice there are more small touches and background elements in these clips.

Preview of New Enemies:

My short term goal is accumulate some interesting video clips and edit it into a trailer. I hope to have that done  within a month. It's crazy how long this project has been going on. I originally estimated it at just a few months.  Well, life and work took precedence, but at least it's still moving forward (albeit slowly). Stay tuned for more!

[andyfromiowa]

I'm working on a trailer for the game. I started planning by making a list of enemies, areas, and ideas that I wanted to showcase. Then, I used my PC's game bar to record short clips and labeled and saved them in files. I did get a small amount of lag doing this (my laptop isn't cutting edge) but I think I'll have enough good footage to make it work.

I was able to make some decent pan shots by following an invisible object as the “camera.”  Here's a preview:

My goal is to have the trailer live by the end of the month. This will force me to implement some features I've been dreading – but I think it feel good to plow through, and I'm hoping the end result gets some attention for the game.

[andyfromiowa]

I previously shared the more detailed tree sprites, but I just got around to actually adding them to the game. I think it made a big difference. Here's the comparison:

It's nice that this trailer is forcing me to implement these little touches and not put them off. I'm working on some more visual improvements and slightly re-designing the forest level to be more vertical and varied. I'm slowly checking off my list of video clips. I'm sure when it comes time to edit, I might find there's footage that's missing or not quite right, but I'll cross that bridge later if necessary.

[andyfromiowa]

I missed my desired trailer deadline.

I'm trying not to beat myself up too much. After all - I'm trying to keep this creative pursuit fun and fulfilling.

Well, much like the main character, this game is back from dead! I have saved a lot of clips that I can potentially use in a trailer. I'm using the built-in screen recording software from Windows and I'm getting some lag in rooms with lots of objects and shaders. It runs fine without recording, but I suppose my laptop isn't quite up to the job.

I'm going to try to record some of the lagging clips at a lower resolution. After all, the pixel art is pretty low res.

Here's a sneak peak of the opening scene:

[andyfromiowa]

Teaser Trailer Update

The teaser video is 95% done. I have a few small things to fix: one being the moon's reflection being flipped. I can't believe I didn't notice that before. Also, I need to come up with a video thumbnail.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the video has shaped up. I've been using Davinci Resolve, which I highly recommend. The free version is substantial and it's a powerful, full featured non-linear editor.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality zooms and pans I was able to get through keyframes. I worried that the sprites would look blurry but the hard edges carried through. Here's a preview of those effects:

The teaser trailer will release on Halloween. So stay tuned in just a few days!


Addition:

The trailer is done! I've uploaded to YouTube and amended the first post of this blog. The video is scheduled to go premiere on Halloween. I will hold off adding another post here until then.

[andyfromiowa]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! To celebrate, here is the new Rise of Lazarus trailer. This has been a lot of fun to make. Let me know what you think!

[michaelplzno]

Hey, I added my name to your list. Keep it up!

[andyfromiowa]

Hey, I added my name to your list. Keep it up!

Thanks – apologies to you and anyone who may read this for the lack of updates. Obviously, things have fallen off a bit.

In wake of the nationwide pandemic, I've had the chance to revisit this game. I'm trying to map out a plan to actually get this done in a reasonable time – including cutting content. Regarding new content, here's something I made today:

She's waaaaay larger than anything else in the game. Hopefully she doesn't look too out of place. I have some sketches of how she'll move. I'm keeping it somewhat limited for animation sake. Stay tuned for more!

[Ramos]

You have here some attractive retro horror visuals sir !
Might I recommend some parallax backgrounds for more depth ?!

[andyfromiowa]

You have here some attractive retro horror visuals sir !
Might I recommend some parallax backgrounds for more depth ?!

Thanks - yeah, I'm using some parallax elements in outdoor areas but it might be interesting to experiment "inside" too. Maybe some foreground bricks that obstruct sight could be interesting... I appreciate the suggestion.

[andyfromiowa]

A Stunning Development

I know it's late in the game to be adding a new mechanic, but I've wanted gameplay to feel more “alive,” if that's the right word. When you get hit by an enemy, your character doesn't really react. Yes, health is a rare commodity but it needed something more dynamic. My solution was to add a stunning mechanic.

Most of the time, taking a hit results in damage and nothing more, but on occasion, the hit will stun the player, preventing movement for just a second, and triggering this animation:

Some enemies, like the giant skeleton below are more likely to cause this effect, but it can happen just about anywhere. I may add a few enemies that can stun the player without causing damage. It might be an interesting way to add difficulty to platforming sections. Plus, I have some early enemy designs that fell along the wayside that might work well for this. I know this is small touch, but I think it's one that's been a big improvement. Everything's just a bit more dynamic and "real."