The Tarnishing Of Juxtia: 2D Action-Adventure Game [2/18/19 Update: We're Back/Game's Future]

JacobV

Member
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Tarnishing of Juxtia is a 2D action-adventure game, set in the aftermath of a long, brutal war between two great and isolated kingdoms. The realm of Shadow God Drelium, after being decimated by the conflict, cast an unholy plague upon the realm of the goddess Juxtia. The sickness corrupted her people, twisting the specks that made up their very bodies and souls. The goddess, in desperation, forged together specks of dark and of light to create a warrior. One able to travel across the two realms, brave the horrors of the war, and challenge the God himself. That warrior is you.

~ The World ~




The war-torn realms of Juxtia and Drelium are haunted by the consequences of the past. Suffering and madness have choked out the previous beauty of the world, turning wonders into abominations and heroes into horrors. But fragments of long-lost glory still shine through in some places, for those diligent enough to search them out.

lake_mockup2.png

Not all the realm's inhabitants have been driven to madness; some retain their intelligence, and will even help the player on their quest. They also have their own tasks and journeys, which will occasionally overlap with the player's own goal. It's up to the player whether they help or hinder these other characters - or ignore them entirely.

The world itself is set to be enormous, spanning the breadth of the two kingdoms. Players will explore buried siege tunnels, vast wastelands of rubble and ruin from the war, ancient ossuaries, towering observatories, and more. Along the way, the world's nature will be revealed to the player, as will the truth of their own mission and origins.

~ Gameplay ~


One of the focuses of TToJ's development has been establishing a smooth, challenging combat system. A lot of time has been spent on balancing the player's animations, weapons, and movement, and though there's still plenty of polish to be done we feel their current state is a good baseline for development moving forward.

Enemy variety is also a focus, with the player facing off against a huge number of deadly and different foes. In the game's current state, the enemies already range from the fanatical cultist Hunters, to the mindlessly wandering Maggot Puppets, to the towering, immortal Stags who stalk through the fields.



Boss fights are also a focus, created to be especially cinematic, intense, and visually impressive high points of the game. They will challenge the player to the full extent of their abilities.



~ Music ~
Music is highly important to us, both as an atmospheric and storytelling tool. We've brought on composer
Mariano Parisella to compose the music for The Tarnishing of Juxtia, and so far his work has been fantastic. You can check out the game's main theme here:

The Tarnishing of Juxtia

~ The Team ~
Angelo (@Online Handle)

Project Lead
Head Programmer

Designer
Producer

@JacobV

Head Artist
Designer
Producer

Mariano (https://soundcloud.com/marioparmesan)
Music Composer

This game is still in development, with a very long way to go. More updates will be coming soon! Thank you for reading.
 
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Arashi

Member
Very nice drawing. Beatiful backgrounds. Very good combat animation. It already feels a lot like salt and sanctuary.

Not-so-good walking animation.
 
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Morendral

Member
The art it's really good, much better from before. There combat still looks a little too slow IMO. Glad you are making progress on it
 

Bearman_18

Fruit Stand Deadbeat
I love this sort of unorthodox pixel art you have going here! It looks very beautiful. Will certainly keep an eye on this project!

@Morendral I think the slowness seems realistic, myself. Though It might just be that the gif is slow.
Besides, It's nowhere near as slow as superhawt!
 

woodsmoke

Member
Some people hate pixels with angles, but I think they are acceptable, especially when you put a lot of love into you work like you have. Monster standing animation looks like its drunk/drugged/ghostly (which is cool). The main character also has no vertical movement (no bounce when running) from what I saw, which is maybe why the walking animation is not so good yet for this strong looking fighter.
 
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I love this sort of unorthodox pixel art you have going here! It looks very beautiful. Will certainly keep an eye on this project!

@Morendral I think the slowness seems realistic, myself. Though It might just be that the gif is slow.
Besides, It's nowhere near as slow as superhawt!
The gif is slow. We should have a video in the upcoming week which will include some combat.
 
N

nlolotte

Guest
Real nice looking game, looking forward to seeing more. Good job!
 

JacobV

Member
Development Update 1 - Combat, Playtesting, and Discord

Hello, we're back with an update on The Tarnishing of Juxtia's development! Over the past few months, we've been working at refactoring the combat, to bring it up to a more polished standard. This has included things like reanimating enemies, giving them more complex movesets, better AI, etc. It's getting close to what we want for the completed game; here's a video showing its state so far, along with a preview of the game's very first level, a buried shrine crawling with Hunters.


Playtesting

Though we are satisfied with how combat is progressing so far, we are not exactly what you could consider an unbiased party. For this reason, we are now looking for some people to playtest the game! Preferably, our ideal tester is someone who doesn't hold back with their criticism and is willing to give detailed feedback on the game and its systems. If you'd like to apply to become one, you can either message us over the forums or ask in our Discord server.

Speaking of which -

Discord Server

We now have a Discord Server for the game! This is going to be one of our main methods of communication with people interested in the game, and will be used for posting more frequent updates and some small teasers for future content. Right now you can go and check out a preview of the game's next enemy, which will be added in the next update. Take a look here -

https://discord.gg/PsrtrjE

Thanks for reading this development update! We'll be back soon with particle effect updates, more combat changes, and a new enemy.
 
Heeeeck yes! I cannot wait to see more.

@Siolfor the Jackal is right about the title, not that I have a better name or anything. (Though it looks like "Tarnishing" on it's own isn't a used game title, which is cool, but Tarnishing still isn't really very searchable since it's a word used in other places too). The title sounds cool but it's hard to say.
 

Carloskhard

Member
Those pixelart animations looks super cool! I really need to learn how to make those jaja
I agree that combat need more speed but overall game is lookinh great
 
Those pixelart animations looks super cool! I really need to learn how to make those jaja
I agree that combat need more speed but overall game is lookinh great
Thanks for the response!

Have you seen the video linked in the update? The GIFs are definitely slowed down.

Edit: Here's a link to the vid -
 

Kyon

Member
Mannnnnn this looks cool! Nice work.
Animations could use some work, they feel "floaty" as if they are on the moon or something haha.
It's not just the speed but idk, maybe they feel too smooth (and fake/floaty because of it) or something.

Will follow this project!
 

Micah_DS

Member
Animations could use some work, they feel "floaty" as if they are on the moon or something haha.
It's not just the speed but idk, maybe they feel too smooth (and fake/floaty because of it) or something.
I think it's because it's using skeletal style animation, which is a lot harder to make look natural than one might think. I'm not sure they could get much better results while using the skeletal style, but I don't think it's all that bad as it is anyway.
Truthfully, I've disliked this type of animation up until I saw this project, since this is the best skeletal animation I've seen and it's the only skeletal animation I would consider acceptable quality for a commercial IP. I do agree that it has that sort of 'moon movement' feeling, but it's still quite good. IMO, if they can improve it, great, if not, still great.

The game is looking and sounding fantastic so far!
 

Carloskhard

Member
Thanks for the response!

Have you seen the video linked in the update? The GIFs are definitely slowed down.

Edit: Here's a link to the vid -
Yes I saw that. I feel that the attacks of the enemies take too long so you can easily dodge them.Maybe I'm wrong, I should play it to see for myself. I come from a Dark Souls background so I'm used to fast combat and fast dodges
 
Yes I saw that. I feel that the attacks of the enemies take too long so you can easily dodge them.Maybe I'm wrong, I should play it to see for myself. I come from a Dark Souls background so I'm used to fast combat and fast dodges
The area is the beginning of the game, it's intentionally supposed to be easy. As the game progresses, the enemies will become faster with more unique skillsets.

Edit: if you are interested in playing a demo, you can just PM me or join the discord server for more info! https://discord.gg/VgT938
 
C

coryru

Guest
This looks really cool has a 2d dark souls feel to it. Great pixel art but I feel the choice to use skeletal animation kind of hold the project back. You could keep the aesthetic you have (and you should it's fantastic!) but I would suggest switching to a more conventional animation style. Cool stuff here I'm keeping my eye on this project for sure.
 
G

Guest User

Guest
I'm getting Witcher 3 and Dark Souls vibes from the combat and that's not a bad thing. Using skeletal animations for the Tarnishing of Juxtia is looking like a very fine choice and that's coming from someone who normally dislikes 2D skeletal animations. The animations are swift and telegraph very well. The graphics and composition fits together very well, I can't wait to see more of this project, keep up the hard work.
 

JacobV

Member
Thanks for all the great feedback, everyone! It's great to hear that there's an interest in our game, and your comments really give us motivation to continue.

Development Update 2 - New Enemy!

We promised a new enemy this update, so here you go - this is the Border Guard.



The remnants of Saint Tralium's legion, these fast and vicious knights stand as the last line of defense against the Hunters. Unfortunately, after decades of combat they no longer recognize friend from foe; which is bad news for the player.



The Guards employ a fighting style specifically trained to break through an opponent's shields. Trying to block their attacks will likely just get you killed.



These enemies will serve as the player's first real challenge, and are pretty hectic to fight; especially in groups! You can check out the full combat clip here:


That's about all for this update! We're going to be working on particles and level design next. Remember that playtesting is still open, so if you want to help out join our Discord and ask! You can do that here: https://discord.gg/PsrtrjE

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
 

JacobV

Member
Development Update 3 - Title, Particles, and First Boss In Progress
This update will be a bit smaller, as we've been working on mostly setup work for larger things in the future. One thing we can show off is the new title screen, with the new logo and background:



Along with the new title, we've been working on more particle effects, like damage FX for the Player and enemies. There's still a long way to go with the implementation, but it's off to a good start so far.




Finally, we have started work on creating Tarnishing of Juxtia's first boss, the Valley Lord. Once leader of the Border Knights and protector of the Valley, watching the fall of his realm has driven him to hateful madness. He waits now within the Border Keep, slaying all who seek access to the Great Bridge.

valleylord.gif

More info to be revealed soon! You can get bonus updates on this boss's development and more by checking out our Twitter or our Discord Server. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you next update!
 
When you're driven so mad that your feet turn digitigrade.

All jokes aside though, this game looks incredible, especially for an amateur project featuring 2D skeletal animation. That's the kind of thing that one would normally associate with shovelware mobile games, but by golly did you ever find a way to make it work!
 
T

tjheldna

Guest
Great work guys, characters and scenery is really cool. looking forward to see more.
 

JacobV

Member
Development Update 4: Cape Physics, New Roll, and Sound Design
This is going to be another small update, just to let you know we're still alive and working. The first boss is just about completed; We just need to add some final polish and he'll be ready to showcase! In the meantime, we've been working on a few smaller additions to improve the game's graphics and gameplay. We've retooled the dodge roll to make it slightly slower, so using it is more strategic and requires better timing; and, as an added bonus, it now looks much better. Another addition is physics-based capes. Though functionally useless, they do serve to make the player look far more stylish. This is especially exciting for me, because it means I no longer have to spend hours animating scraps of cloth. Hurray.





Finally, we have a new addition to the team - @Maxim Grachev has joined us as a paid Audio Designer. We're looking forward to showing off his work, and the finished boss, in our next update!
 

JacobV

Member
Development Update 6 - What's Next?
Now that Tralium's been completed, we are now moving into a brand new area of the game (And of development) - the Siege Tunnels. Once a sprawling labyrinth of passageways that served as a path of pilgrimage to a place of utmost holiness, it was discovered by Drelium's forces during the war and expanded to transport their massive Speckcraft war machines. His warriors still soullessly patrol down there in the dark, and though most of the machines now lie dormant, some still have enough life in their veins to uphold their grim duty.

Moving into this fresh new area gives us some really neat opportunities we're looking forward to experimenting with. Most exciting for me is the ability to try some new things with the game's art direction, namely improving colors and area design. We're also looking into improving our level design - adding new options for vertical movement/combat, giving the player more things to do and explore, and, of course, expanding the roster of enemies for them to fight. These are being carefully designed to operate together in interesting and exciting ways, giving us more options for placement and behavior. We're not just amping things up in the level design department, either. Two massive bosses are planned for this area, with fresh new mechanics and multi-phase fights. There's nothing to show of these yet, but we'll be providing more details soon...

Also getting overhauled is the game's magic system. Sorcery in the Twin Realms is referred to as Speckcraft, and comes in many forms. Unlike the game's Soulslike inspirations, magic is being designed to be accessible to all playstyles in the form of Casting Rings, which grant the player the ability to use these powerful spells. Here's the first one the player acquires, the Divine Spear -





We'll have some more substantial updates coming soon. Thanks for reading!
 

JacobV

Member
Development Update 7 - We're Back!



It's been a while, but we're back. Quite a bit has happened since our last update - a lot of it has been behind the scenes work, setting up plans for the game's future and where we're going to take things next. First, let's cover what's been changed and added -

Updated Player Sprites

As you may have noticed from the first GIF, the player's sprite has been given a fresh coat of paint, with new, more polished animations. Combat in general has been overhauled, from strong attack combos to new weapons to aerial attacks - all of which will be covered in more detail in a future update.

New Area Artwork

In addition to the new player, I've also been working on some new area art. I could type about it, but it's much more interesting to just show it -

ToJ - Tree.png

"I've heard that so much blood was spilled in the Tunnels, the leaves themselves were stained red. It doesn't sound possible, but does anyone have a better explanation?"

ToJ - Tunnel Backs.png

In addition to all these (Which were made for the Siege Tunnels, a topic we'll get into soon) there is also some revamped art for the Buried Shrine and the Valley on its way.

New Team Members

Recently, we welcomed a couple of new people onto the project as full team members.

@drowned is now helping us out with some programming, and also working wonders to get the project organized and on track.

Guff has also teamed up with us to help lessen the art load. There's quite a bit to be done for one person.

The Game's Future

Moving forward, our new plan is to completely finish and polish the Valley of Juxtia area, to be released as a playable demo. This demo will be used as the main focus of our Kickstarter campaign, which we're planning to launch as soon as we're ready. The Tarnishing of Juxtia is planned to be a huge game; the funds will be used to hire artists, programmers, and sound designers so we can make our plans a reality. While we're getting prepped, we are also bringing playtesters onto the team, so we can polish things to perfection and work out all the game's problems. You can help us with that by joining our Discord server and asking for the Playtester rank.



And that's all we have for today! Thanks for reading this decently lengthy update, we look forward to being able to show off more content soon.
 

Bearman_18

Fruit Stand Deadbeat
It's simply beautiful. I might be asking to play test soon. I like the new knight look, and the bloodstained trees are awesome! The combat looks fluid as well. The characters movement give him a lot of personality, like the way he dives into his thrusts. I want to criticize, but all I can offer is praise! Lol.
 
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