Steven M Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 EDIT: http://stevenart.co.uk/art/sagebtb/ Hello and welcome to SAGE! This year is my first appearance and with it I bring you a game somewhat different from the norm - a Sonic-themed shoot-em-up. Many fangames at SAGE specialise in the level design that Sonic platformers are well known for (loop de loops, springs, spikes, multiple paths, etc) while still bringing something new to the table, and so I decided to try a similar approach with a different canvas - or more like banging a square peg into a round hole. This is the result of about a solid week of trial and error. The new feature for this game is that Sonic, being neither a spaceship nor able to shoot bullets, ditches the archetypical SHMUP template of 'ship shoots lots of bullets' in favour of 'ship charges forward and wraps around the level back to where it started'. It's a bit more complicated than that, though - you can still steer where Sonic runs and control where he lands, which is vital for platform-hopping and for teleporting right through enemy fire if you're clever enough about it. It also comes in very handy during the boss fight where it's deliberately slowed down enough for you to have better control over it... but I'll let you find that out for yourself! At the moment I have a demo consisting of two Acts of a level, a boss fight and a bonus stage – the game sadly isn't much to look at (the graphics are placeholders reminiscent of the arcade games of the 80’s) but there's more to BTB than meets the eye - hidden items abound, you’re ranked according to how many rings you acquire and how many badniks you bash, and there’s even a giant enemy crab! Dead serious, I'm afraid. There was a cheat code if you do really well (or don’t kill any enemies at all) but when the engine was tinkered with the effects of the code didn’t really work that well. Maybe next time. Feel free to leave critique and feedback. Do you find dashing through bullets ala Alien Soldier to be fair, or do you think players should be punished for even trying to touch bullets? Is the level design sufficient for a first level (easing the player into the game)? What’s your high score? What else would you add to the level? Do you think the game is too slow as is? Would you like to see more integration of Sonic design elements into the game (e.g floating platforms leading to hidden routes, spike bridges, destructible tunnels, shields, etc)? Do you in fact think it would work better as a Rocket Knight Adventures fangame? Let me know! http://stevenart.co.uk/art/sagebtb/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverbounD Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 This game is great! I love the NES feel. I tried it 5 times but kept getting the old Game Over You suck. Anyway though just by seeing what you've got here I'd also love to see a Sonic platformer made in this style. In fact meshing the shoot-em-up and platform parts together would kick ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven M Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 This game is great! I love the NES feel. I tried it 5 times but kept getting the old Game Over You suck. Anyway though just by seeing what you've got here I'd also love to see a Sonic platformer made in this style. In fact meshing the shoot-em-up and platform parts together would kick ass. Interesting idea, though it'd have to be a pretty simplistic style of platforming since I suck at actual 360 engines (e.g. not just fullcircle demos). But I'll definitely look into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicinos Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 The falling is a huge pain in the ass. Otherwise, this is a neat game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverbounD Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 None 360 would totally be fine. I'm thinking of a reimaging of Sonic and as an 8 bit NES platform hero. Much like SMB 1, Adventure Island, and Megaman. You've already got a killer sprite to start it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 You've already got a killer sprite to start it off. The sprite is from Sonic Pocket Adventures on the Neo Geo Pocket Colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverbounD Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 Maybe edited from but its not the SPA sprite out right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven M Posted August 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 The sprite is from Sonic Pocket Adventures on the Neo Geo Pocket Colour. Not really, but looking at it in comparison to the SPA sprite I can see where you're coming from. It's more inspired by a mixture of the Megaman sprite and Rlan's Mini Sonic sprite. Left: Mini Sonic (by Rlan). Middle: BTB Sonic (by StevenM). Right: SPA Sonic (ripped by Tails the Fox). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven M Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 IMPORTANT NOTE: You may have already downloaded this demo and found the in-game font doesn’t match that in the screenshots. To fix this, please download this font file and place it in your Fonts folder. The zip file has also been updated to include the font. I apologise for this fuckup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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