Here's an indie game of sorts! [b][size=150]Scaling Snake Cavern[/size][/b] [img]https://i.imgur.com/YUB5ZlO.gif[/img] [url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6LuAe4T9UvcYjZqUEtBVXdGTTA/view?usp=sharing][size=150][b]Download[/b][/size][/url] [size=150][b]Controls[/b][/size] This game is compatible with XINPUT controllers (i.e. Xbox controllers for the most part) and is best played with them, but can also be played with the keyboard. Select/Guard: A Button / J Key Cancel: X Button / K key Switch Characters: Pause Button / Enter Key Control Stick/WASD/Arrow Keys to navigate the menus. [size=150][b]What's going on here?[/b][/size] I've been wanting to make a Paper Mario-styled indie game for a very long time, and I figured that I'd use Syaxamaphone's Super Competition as motivation to start the thing. I've always had a love for Paper Mario's small-numbers turn-based combat. The math-obsessed part of me is delighted to figure out exactly how to conserve as many resources as possible in each battle, and the cackling mad scientist bit loves messing around with the badges. This is the start of an engine intended to expand upon that concept. [size=150][b]So what's in the download link, then?[/b][/size] Scaling Snake Cavern is my entry to the recent Super Competition. It's an 'endless' 'roguelike' where one engages in turn-based battles with randomly generated opponents. It's 'endless' because there is technically no end, but the player has no way of acquiring more stat-restoration items (so demise is inevitable) and there's no more new content after the 15th floor. It's a 'roguelike' because the endless encounters are generated randomly, but the player can't actually level up or make any meaningful choices outside of the turn-based battles. Note that there [i]is[/i] a mechanic where one regenerates MP after defeating tough enemies, but no similar mechanic exists for HP. Use that mana. If you want a goal to aim for, try to get past floor 15. Oh, and Focus doesn't really have anything explaining what it does. It increases the damage of your next attack by 1. Think Charge from Thousand Year Door, but slightly less useless. [size=150][b]The topic starts off with "Arcane Ascent", not "Scaling Snake Cavern". Stop trying to pull the wool over my eyes![/b][/size] Scaling Snake Cavern is the playable demo you can play right now. Arcane Ascent is the big project. I would like to finish Magikoopa Security Force before dedicating to a proper indie project, as I've been working on [i]that[/i] game on-and-off for quite a few years now. In this context, 'On-and-off' means 'short periods of maniacal hyperproductivity cut by long periods of burnout'. Once I've gotten that to a state of relative completion (which is a bit more content than what you'd think, people-who've-actually-played-the-last-demo) I intend to move on to this. ..And I'm not entirely sure whether it's within the rules to hawk one of my own games within one of my own topics, but I would sincerely appreciate it if more people would try out [url=http://phpbb.mfgg.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19338]Magikoopa Security Force[/url]. I would like to end up with something with gameplay as unique and polished as an official Mario spinoff, and balancing a vaguely genre-defying strategy game while making it fun to play is extremely difficult without feedback. [size=150][b]Stop talking about the other game. This is Arcane Ascent. What's Arcane Ascent.[/b][/size] I don't like promising prime real estate in the form of castles in the sky, so here's the rough plan. Arcane Ascent is a game about modularity. Given a good assortment of enemies, attacks, and abilities, one can create an innumerable amount of matchups to ensure a game stays fresh for a very long time. More specifically, Arcane Ascent is a roguelite about wizards, as spellcasters tend to be the most interesting characters in these sorts of games. Wizards can always be subdivided and subdivided into various schools of magic and archetypes. Each school of magic comes with an assortment of Runes, unlocking themed attacks and passive abilities to put points into, similar to the badge system in Paper Mario. The player picks a primary school, secondary school, and a familiar (little magical animal that they're bonded with (they're partners, folks)) and heads into a towering magical tower filled with shifting environments. The tower is 100 floors tall, divided into groups of 10 floors called Tiers. The first floor in each tier is a shop where one can exchange currency won from battles for healing items (Potions), single-use versions of the regular attacks (Scrolls), and permanent upgrades from the various magic schools normally obtained through leveling up (Rune Stones). The tier then picks three themes, one primary, and two secondary, and populates the next 8 floors with a mixture of enemies from those themes, with the stage background (and potentially music) coming from the primary theme. The final floor of the tier is a boss fight pulled from the primary theme. Player gets to pick another familiar to add to the group, then moves on to the next tier. One of the core ideas to the game's engine (and ensuing design) izzat every script can be reused for players and enemies alike. There is no distinction between 'player attacks' and 'enemy attacks'. Most scripts are written in a way that accounts for any possible character using them. All that's necessary to add an enemy is to get a few sprites together, list their stats, and assign a couple of attacks to 'em. The more content in the game, the easier it is to add content in the game. All the stuff mentioned so far is already functional and modular in the current demo. Great game for mod support, if I get around to it. I have quite a collection of schools, familiars, attacks, passives, and enemies planned already [size=50]time magic and portal magic is gonna be real quirky[/size], but again, don't want to advertise castles in the sky. This isn't a kickstarter. Still gotta finish MSF. I've personally produced all of the sprites but the background/tiles (which are a free-to-use background by Luis Zuno) and the potion icon in the wheel (done by a friend). It shows. The music is Creative Commons music from Songs from an Unmade World by Visager. Fonts are all Creative Commons fonts, with attributions and links to them in a .txt file in the download. The sound effects were created partially with SFXR and partially by me making noises into a microphone and modifying them with Audacity.

I'm excited to see more work from you. Going to check this out soon! Will give my thoughts.

I had fun. It's nice to see the Paper Mario-like RPG battles, since the Action Command makes the action more engaging than it would be if you used a strictly turn-based style. The wizard character looks a bit like a Magikoopa - or maybe a cross between Magikoopas and the Koopas that [ispoiler]appear once you finish the Special World (although if a game has been out for over 25 years, it probably doesn't count as a spoiler anymore)[/ispoiler].

On a quick playthrough, I've only gotten to level 12. Wanted to give my thoughts. The gameplay: I like it, but I feel it's very strict. I'm all for these types of games (even if it turns out to be the final version of Magikoopa Security Force). Nothing to really complain here, but I did find myself not getting past level 12 due to lack of life and no potions. I am amazed at how each spell does have meaningful use. I didn't really find myself using the stun on the pet--but remember I didn't get to beating it so this might change. The effects and graphics: I actually really like what you did here. I think it could be "flashier", with different types of effects. Things simplified like "red fire", "blue focus", or "purple poison" really do well with the theme, so don't get me wrong--What I want is just to see more stuff! :D The music and SFX: The results screen's music and simplicity really puts a smile on my face. :laugh: I'm not sure what it is, it just makes me happy. Overall it's definitely awesome, yet I would consider this the proof of concept than a full game, or a "tidbit" of a game.