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[Soulliard]

I'd like to finish more of the characters before moving on to too many new ones, but there does seem to be a lot of interest in the Spelunker, especially since version 1.0 of Spelunky was just released. So here's a thread. One problem with working on him now, though, is that there might be more material to draw on from the XBLA release, which we wouldn't be able to include. Just something to keep in mind.

I see the Spelunker as a well-rounded character, able to fight well in a variety of situations.

Stats: The Spelunker is a balanced character with a wide variety of equipment. He has an attack for almost any situation, as well as pretty good mobility and the ability to climb walls with his climbing gloves.



Idle -Veo
Walking -Veo
Jumping -Veo
Whip -ArdentSideburn
Machete -ArdentSideburn
Cape -ArdentSideburn

Movelist:
A   Whip   A quick attack with good reach but low damage.

^A  Bow and Arrow The Spelunker shoots an arrow in a high arc. It is chargeable to give it more range.

>A   Machete   A strong, short-ranged attack. Somewhat slow. Leaves Spelunker vulnerable if he misses.

vA   Mattock   Spelunker strikes the ground with his mattack, creating a small shock wave that hurts enemies on both sides.

vA (air)   Spike Boots   A crushing attack aimed downwards and slightly forward.
Special Attacks

S   Shotgun   Fires a powerful blast of bullets. Has less spread than other characters' shotguns.

^S   Cape   Spelunker pulls out his cape and delivers a powerful uppercut while leaping straight into the air. After the attack, his cape slows the speed of his descent.

vS   Web Cannon   Leaves a web upon impact, which slows enemies trying to move through it. It disappears after a short time. It also traps projectiles, which disappear shortly afterwords.

>S   Bomb   Spelunker tosses a bomb in front of him. It explodes shortly afterwords.

[Rumrusher]

I think his vS should be his bomb/rope since he does swap between them ingame and you really select the bomb activate it then toss( and forgetting to do any of those steps would lead to a quick death) and >S could be his web cannon.

[Contrary]

Hey that looks great. Perfect. But maybe >B and vB could be switched (like Rumrusher said)? It doesn't really fir into your basic movelist as well, but it's more intuitive.
Maybe vB could spawn random Spelunky items. That randomness could represent the roguelikeness of Spelunky.
Another small thing- I don't really like shotgun. We alreay have two shotgunners. I realize how iconic his shotgun is for players, but maybe pistol or bow would work out, too?

Edit: Are you going to give him other abilities, like ledge/wall hang?

[Codestar]

Possible workings of a spelunker base?

[Contrary]

Wow that's amazing.

[Soulliard]

I think his vS should be his bomb/rope since he does swap between them ingame and you really select the bomb activate it then toss( and forgetting to do any of those steps would lead to a quick death) and >S could be his web cannon.

That's not as well-suited for a fighting game, I don't think.

Hey that looks great. Perfect. But maybe >B and vB could be switched (like Rumrusher said)? It doesn't really fir into your basic movelist as well, but it's more intuitive.

That's what I was thinking originally, too. 

Maybe vB could spawn random Spelunky items. That randomness could represent the roguelikeness of Spelunky.

I don't think that really fits the nature of the attack. When you want to make things go boom, it's not fun to end up with a rock.

Another small thing- I don't really like shotgun. We alreay have two shotgunners. I realize how iconic his shotgun is for players, but maybe pistol or bow would work out, too?

If I were to get rid of a shotgun, it would be Iji's.

Edit: Are you going to give him other abilities, like ledge/wall hang?

He'll be able to wall jump.

That looks excellent. It really captures Spelunky's feel.

[godsavant]

Although the stance on that sprite is quite nice, it doesn't really lend itself to quick animations, as he would have to turn his body before attacking with the whip. I changed it around a bit:

[Left is original stance, right is my newer stance]


Edit: Also, if the Bomb is going to be one of the moves, here's Yigguth's bomb sprite from the Items thread:

[ChevyRay]

The design is great so far! I love the crisp clarity of the hat + hair. But the greyness in his hair makes him look a bit too old, whereas I get younger vibes from the spelunker in-game.

I'm not too sure if I like the whip in there, it seems to be throwing off the balance of the picture to me, making his mid-section too busy. Altogether I think just maybe a bit too many greys and not enough reddish+browns, though. That whole game is so golden/red/brown, so it'd be nice to have the character reflect that color scheme as much as possible.

I'm so glad the Spelunker is gonna be a playable!

EDIT: the whip issue will probably be null with a nice smooth idle animation, now that I think about it.

EDIT2: Also, souillard, can you break up your move list a bit, I'm having a bit trouble reading it :/ (I have trouble reading stacked lines in certain situations)

[godsavant]

So which stance do we go with? Left or right?

EDIT:

I made a few changes according to the color scheme. Is this better?

[Contrary]

Man that's nice. Very stylish. I can't wait to see how he plays.

I think that left looks more dramatic (maybe that's not the right word) but the one on the right looks like it' flow into other animations better.

[godsavant]

I think that left looks more dramatic (maybe that's not the right word) but the one on the right looks like it' flow into other animations better.

I believe the word is "dynamic"?

[William Broom]

This is looking good. The only suggestion I have to make is that his recovery move could be his rope rather than his jetpack. It would act in the same way as Trilby and Liero's ropes. The advantage of this would be more authenticity - the rope is one of his staple items so it seems a shame for him not to have in IB. It also might help to balance him a bit because jetpack and cape together sound like they would make an awesome recovery.

On the other hand, this might make him a little less interesting because he has functionally the same move as two other characters.

[Bremze]

I agree that the recovery move should be a rope but ,if possible, it should have a twist to make it different from similar moves. The rope could stay on the stage for a few seconds and maybe be used by other characters or something.

[Soulliard]

His rope doesn't really work like a grappling hook. It hangs off a wall, like a ladder (I don't want to have to program ladders  )

I think the Jetpack is still pretty iconic, though. With the possible exception of the Shotgun, it's the best common item in the game.

It might be too powerful when combined with the cape, but the cape doesn't have to improve the Spelunker's recovery, and it could even be replaced.

[poorwill]

He really ought to have his sticky bomb in effect for added hilarity.  It would enable the sticky-bombed opponent to exact a little payback if they stand near the Spelunker when it goes off.  Maybe he could also delay the throw by holding the button down before he lets go?

[BoydTheMilkman]

Work in progress.

[Demon Lizardman]

Woah, that looks awesome.

[ChevyRay]

So which stance do we go with? Left or right?

EDIT:

I made a few changes according to the color scheme. Is this better?

I like the colors better now. And I do like your stance on the right more, as well.

[godsavant]

As for his web, I believe he should only be able to have two or three webs on-screen at any time, and must wait for them to disappear before firing more. Also, the webs should be stackable, increasing the slowing effect with each additional web. This should prevent it from being as spammable as Liero's fan.

Work in progress.

Gonna work on this, too.

[BoydTheMilkman]