Well, here it is: The first prototype. I've uploaded it to my personal site, which you can find right here.
If you have the time, please try it out and give any feedback. Send it around to friends as well, post about it, if possible. This prototype is meant for everyone to see, and I'd love to see many people try it out.
And although I haven't had any questions yet that have been frequently asked, here's a short FAQ to explain the concept...
What does this prototype contain?
- One arena
- One song that lasts about 90 seconds
- Special attacks when you attack at the right moment
- Laughable programmer art
- No working AI yet
- No chance of dying
What do the colors on the timeline mean?
The special attacks that you will unleash when you time your attack.
Green is the most standard special attack. You'll instantly move to your target and kill him.
Purple is similar to green, except that you inflict more attacks on a single target.
Blue has you killing everyone in front of you with a single attack.
Yellow is a tornado attack. Hold down the left mouse button when you start this attack and move around to kill everyone near you.
What's the purpose of releasing this prototype?
The main purpose of this prototype is simple: Feedback. I seriously believe that I have an interesting game concept in my mind here, and it's something that I want to develop. However, ideas are a dime a dozen, and I want some constructive feedback for the idea. Therefore, I've put this prototype together to show it you people. Try it out, it only lasts for about 90 seconds, but gives you a good glimpse into the mindset that I have for this game.
Second, I will also admit that I would like to gather some interest in the game. I'm, most of all, a programmer and could really use some help in different areas, like level design, sound design and especially character design. Ognjen Popovic has already done me a great service by product some concept art, and Morten Claussen helped me with creating a nice tune for the prototype, but I will likely require more help. If you think that you could help out with the game, and interested in doing so, please visit the 'help' page.
Finally, I just want to release something, and see what other people think about it. I suppose this one ties in with my first point, but I've been working this game out for some time now, and it's just exhilarating to have something out there, to show, to be able to point out to people and say "Hey, why don't you try this out?".
Is the gameplay in the prototype everything that the game will be?
Of course not. I have ideas for more things: Mini-challenges, combo points, arena's with specific goals, different enemies with a varying amount of intelligence... but I prefer to get the core gameplay right before I start coding on the rest.
Do you intend to update the prototype?
In time, yes. When I have new features to implement, I'd like to update the prototype accordingly and upload it for more feedback.
