atte

[Release] Dog Cobbler and the Secret of the Kenkälusikka

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https://atteo.itch.io/dogcobbler

(no story slides or music but otherwise pretty complete thing jam deadline version)

 

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You play as a dog cobbler who has had enough of mangled shoes and is trying to find the fabled Kenkälusikka*, a mysterious instrument that is rumoured to solve all shoe fitting related problems.

 

So there won't be any actual shoehorn action in the gameplay, it's just the magical artifact you are searching. This is 2D platforming once again and the main element will be acquiring and using special shoes with different abilities. I hope to have something to show pretty soon because writing is difficult/boring

 

* Yes, it's shoehorn in Finnish. I find using my own language to make something sound mysterious pretty amusing. Only real example like this that I'm aware of is Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi (Steel Hand)

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Pretty uneventful graphics/resolution test. (That background is very Superfrog-gy... Well it's a big influence and I love drawing that kind of forest line)

dcTest1.png.8ce51de59d73448573c850d17e6fe636.png

 

I changed the backstory a bit and sketched it roughly here. (Though the story is there just for some flavour in the beginning).

backstory.thumb.png.68babde75fdad4b3403e2a05138bb941.png

 

And a title

title.png.438deaf4c5946ecf7d8a28d9073a8217.png

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Thanks! Recently I have been making NES style tilesets just for fun and practice so I was tempted to use that style here also. But I decided to use a bit higher resolution so I could have those kind of more illustration looking story sections in there.

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Using an existing platformer base I had and WIP/old/placeholder graphics I now have the Dog running around and 5 magic shoes (that do nothing special yet) to choose from.shoesWIP.gif.a810280ab657975b56363e9bbc298bb8.gif

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Here's 3 out of the 5 magical shoes now pretty functional.

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That is a very cool selection of abilities, especially love the steam hover/cleaning shoes.

What do the piano shoes do?

 

Also, the detail of the ears bending back during movement is just too cute.

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That princess Peach (well I guess she's called Toadstool in SMB2) style hover is very satisfying, more games should have that.

I try to have multiple uses for almost every shoe. With bombs you can jump in the air and destroy blocks and steam allows hovering and cleaning.

 

The hornshoe (love that stupid name) plays different notes in different altitudes. It's mainly for some puzzles but maybe it also scares/lures some obstacle too.

 

dcNotes.jpg.9d6812f47c2640e78cffdfe91440b0e4.jpg

 

Usually my games have been pretty linear and straightforward but I realized I have to actually try to design some interesting levels now where player must use this shoe-toolset in interesting ways.

 

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I now have all the shoes functional (the warp shoe looks really awkward in action without any effects). I mainly play with the curse shoes here, I added a fun changing sound and the ability to fast fall when pressing jump in the air. All the level stuff is of course placeholder but I have the whole game world connected now.

 

 

+ I endorse using your shoehorn as a relaxing fidget spinner and a finger strengthener.

 

hornSpin.gif.d874fd242057c889ac375065e34a62cf.gif

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Man that is sounding great! such a clever design idea! also the spinning gif whilst the video was playing was oddly mesmerizing and satisfying :lol: 

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Loving the UI for the map and shoe types, in addition to the mechanics looking ace.

 

I was listening to some LOFI BEATS TO STUDY BY and it synced with your shoehorn gif in a pleasing way.

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I often have Cryo Chamber's livestream on the background and it has a stupid  good description "24/7 Dark Ambient Music Livestream for Studying Lovecraftian Tomes"

 

I'm planning the overall progression and puzzles now, it's pretty tricky yet engrossing. I really haven't done stuff quite like this before.

Top secret censored material:

planning.thumb.jpg.33aa407f1f7de3df2c9f7332a31127d3.jpg

edit: WOoo, 420 posts B)

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I have now sketched all the rooms/screens/areas in Game Maker. Hard to say how well the progression and exploration works in the end but I feel like I could reshuffle the map forever so gotta move on. While it's a very rough version, this takes away some of the joy of discovering so I put it behind a spoiler cover.

 

Spoiler

worldComp2.thumb.png.c0c9b4fde719a730a6a204c5e767e7ba.png

 

There's no taking damage or dying but there is some sinister stuff.

curseSkull.gif.08c19eaa0d813ad5ca0cd5f1fed56582.gif

 

This is a very important detail also:

get.gif.90a4e3982c6b2e1f924238653bb74775.gif

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I just love your pixel art style and all the little details you have showed off so far. Looking great!

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Spent quite a while doing just graphics. While there is still much room for details and decorations (mainly in the underground areas), I think I'm happy with the art for now and can go back to gamemaker.

Last night I had a dream where my computer had started sharing screenshots in Wizard Jam slack automatically without me knowing :o... So here's some new art.

 

DC_places.thumb.png.45a7222b8f41a558631e259d845eb2b5.png

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I am always in awe of your artwork atte, and the mechanics seem super fun too! :tup:

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Great! For some reason it looks like one of those platformers developed exclusively for the PC. I guess a Keen-alike? 

 

I especially love that rock-like dino down in the screens!

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Thanks everyone! I was loosely inspired by Amiga stuff here but as Amiga was mostly an European thing (?) it's interesting to hear how it looks like to different people.
Putting the game together is going pretty well, don't want to show much because it's all about just exploring and solving light puzzles.
I should save this kind of stuff to next week, but I love tinkering with details like water drops (they give a bit of water to your steam shoes (<-completely pointlessB))) and magic markings here:

dropsAndSecretLetters.gif.6a254a906772b956931d4d636da35053.gif

 

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