Terrahyru: A magical platformer (Concept Sharing)

[Gitu]

I currently have in plan a simple platformer game, with a pretty straightforward concept: Terrahyru

Terrahyru isn't just your stereotypical platformer game that you think would end up in "the noobyss"
(AKA the place where thousands of bland creations go; alt. name: noob abyss)

THE CONCEPT IS LIKE THIS:
You are in a typical world, but you need to collect "spell bubbles". What are spell bubbles? These are the core elements of the game; spell bubbles, when collected enough of the same kind, will grant you special powers tha you will use to help you with tricky obstacles.

Your primary spell (or starter spell) is telekinesis, this spell grants you the ability to move certain blocks in a specified range; of course blocks are strategically placed in a position that would require you to think in order to move the blocks in the correct order in order to move on to the next level.

The goal of the game is to the recollect all the pieces of the ancient spell (whose name I'm still working on), in different worlds.

What do you think? Opinions, suggestions, and constructive criticisms are welcome.

 

[Genetix]

So is there like a piece of the ancient spell at the end of stage or possible scattered around (which could be easier to miss) - does this have traditional 'stage' or is it maybe something a bit more open world and explorable like Metroid?

 

[RangerX]

It would say this idea fits more with a Metroidvania type of design yeah.

 

[Gitu]

It has the traditional "level by level" gameplay; and unusually, as opposed to many games where the piece is always hidden in the last level, I will really scatter the pieces along the levels, not just the last level of each world.

 

[RangerX]

Anyways, if ever you decide the player have to return with new levels in old levels, your challenge will be to actually make it worthwhile. Effective and fun backtracking is HARD to create, trust me.

 

[Gitu]

Oh it will be, but any tips on how to make it fun?

 

[RangerX]

I'd say the raw grand lines would be to prevent it from feeling like a chore. This basically means the reward absolutely need to be worth it. Also, it won't be tedious when it REALLY makes the level feel different than what it was the first time.

 

[Gitu]

Basically, make it worthwhile?

But I do need help with creating a telekinetic thunder line effect.

 

[Yal]

I'd say that it's fun to go back to an old level you had problems with and then completely steamroll it with your new skills, especially if your new skills are combat skills. You'll probably need to design your levels in a way that INTENDS the player to go back with their new dashes and projectiles for a different experience, though, and not just by placing blocks you'll need a new skill to break everywhere.

Another idea is to offer the player to buy powerups between stages using non-respawning currency items, so that they can get ONE ability of their choice every once in a while, but not BOTH - so even if you just replay the game you can get to a completely new bunch of secrets if you pick the other ability first.

 

[Gitu]

Actually...that's an amazing idea: finding out secrets in previous levels using spells discovered in later levels for a different experience or finding out some secret location only accessed but a different spell.

Plus, maybe at the start of the game there would only be one spell slot, and as you progress later on, you get another one, until you reach a maximum of 3, so they wouldn't discover secrets so easily.

AMAZING IDEAS! I already have a notepad file full of spell concepts.