Small clip from my Zelda-styled game that I've been working on for quite some time, on and off.

Improved my old graphics. The sunbeams are still a work in progress, but eventually they'll animate and look like more than just rectangles. Still going for that Zelda feel!

I have several puzzle ideas in mind for this - two smaller ones are shown in the video.

Enjoy!

Kind of surprised this doesn't have more replies...

This game is a lot of fun, and it's a unique twist on the "controlling two characters at once" concept. The level design starts off simple for the first four or five levels to get the player used to the controls, but gradually ramps up and gets more difficult at a steady pace, all while introducing some very clever gimmicks (e.g. bouncy mushrooms, half-circle spiders, etc). It never feels unfair, and the shortness of the levels gives you a fair amount of time to practice, kind of like in Super Meat Boy.

Great work.

I found what I assume is a bug (and if not, it seems rather unusual). I hit the star and spawned the second, darker ball, and then ended up losing the main ball. I was able to continue playing with the second ball, but the "Click the player paddle to start" message popped up again.

Aside from that, it seems quite fun overall. I have a couple of small, almost nitpick-y suggestions.

-The "Lives:" text is slightly lower than the "Score:". Any chance you could put them on the same Y coordinate?

-Perhaps lighten the palette of the darker ball that I had previously mentioned (or if you're trying to keep that authentic GB feeling, change the palette to match the main ball). It's a bit hard to see on the background.

Hope that helps.

Couple of additional suggestions, if you weren't already planning on these:

-I'd despawn the rubble after a few seconds. The game starts to lag up once you get a whole bunch of it on the screen (i.e. once you blow up all of the blocks).

-Set a cooldown timer on the bombs (half a second between each, perhaps).

Looking good otherwise. The hidden areas are a really nice touch.

Thanks for the comment!

I'm shooting for about an hour long demo by the end of August, if all goes well. Still have a couple of major things to finish up (two bosses + about ten more rooms), but I'll definitely post something once all is said and done.

Hey there!

"Ruby Winds" is the name of a project I have been working on religiously since March or so. The gameplay is similar to Oracle of Seasons/Ages and Link's Awakening (the GB Zelda games), and most of my inspiration was pulled from that series. The player's main weapon is a bow, and it will be used to solve various puzzles/get through dungeons. As for the plot .. I won't delve into too many details, as I'd like to show off a demo in the near future.

Here is a video and a few screenshots/GIFs/songs I've composed for it. Note that everything (with the exception of the chest/mimic enemy) is drawn by me. I am by no means an artist, and at some point in the future I'll be looking to bring on a teammate to help redraw most of them.

---VIDEO:---

---SCREENSHOTS---

The Featherwood: this is the first area of the game. Most of the enemies are your standard fare - bats that fire sonar beams, rabbits, and a few more unique ones like rotating purple towers (not shown here).

Dialogue is treated just like in standard RPGs. Text displays letter-by-letter, and then you can progress through it at will. There are also commands for skipping text, going back, etc.

---GIFs:---

Automap: tracks your current location, marks completion percentage, and more.

Sprite: A dancing monkey NPC holding bullseyes.

---MUSIC:---

I have used FamiTracker and FL Studio for the compositions. Here are a few.

The Featherwood: the first area in the game.

Beryl Ruins: the first dungeon.

Nocking Point: the protag's home village.

Ricardo Fox: a character's theme.

That should be all for now. I have a lot of other things I'd like to show, but I'd rather they be experienced in-game.

Comments and thoughts are welcome. Enjoy!

. It's quite the feeling when you finally have something you can call "a game", haha. Inspired by Zelda, though I imagine that was obvious.

Also, I'd really like to pull in an actual artist at some point, because my "dev graphics" are pretty laughable.

I'll be posting regular updates on my Twitter, if this type of genre interests anyone.

One of the earliest games I played when I was a kid was Donkey Kong Country 2 .. guess my parents didn't care about starting me off with the prequel. It was such a beautiful experience - every level had a unique ambience to it, and Dave Wise's music has stuck with me since I first heard his tracks in-game. As I got older and started "analyzing" games in more detail, I realized that not only was DKC2 great aesthetically, but the level design was so, so smart. I've kind of followed the game's design philosophy in my own creations.

Honorable mentions also go out to Sonic 2, ActRaiser, and Super Castlevania IV, all of which I grew up early on and loved.

The jumping feels much better now. Loving the graphics you drew for the house as well - nice work so far.