Re: Possible Remake of Jungle Girl
MadHettie... as for you. Just of curiosity, how much % would you say it's finished in your oppinion? Also, shouldn't we all talk about the gameplay? It is known in the game industry that some graphics are damn good but the gameplay sucks so much that it becomes more frustrating than "satisfying". So the difficulty and the fact of randomness how often the same tentacle appears.
It's hard to really estimate the % completion of the attack animations since once I've got all 6 tentacles animated for the ordinary attacks (2 low, 2 mid and 2 high) I can show or hide layers to create the appropriate combinations. Then it's just a matter of tweaking things like the mouth (whether or not it's occupied) and the minor motions of her head being forced back or her body being lifted slightly. For those ordinary attacks, I'd guess I'm at about 70% completion, though I'm still new at creating sprite sheets for animations.
The special attacks (in which Jungle Girl is attacked by three of the same tentacle and changes to a suspended position) may require a slight alteration of game mechanics to keep it from becoming more trouble than it's worth. Here's what I propose:
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When the third tentacle of any type attacks Jungle Girl, the screen fades out and then fades in to a shot of JG already suspended. (I'm just not a good enough animator to make the transition look good on screen) During this animation, no new enemies will spawn. Perhaps it can even be a close-up or framed shot of JG, like a pseudo-Game Over. At the end of the animation, the screen fades out, then fades in to a normal view of the game screen, where we see JG pick herself up off the ground and continue walking. (unless that last animation finished off her health, in which case cue the Game Over animation)
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I've already got one of those three animations nearly complete (see p. 3); I just need to animate the hair.
Ending animations haven't been started, so if anyone has ideas for those that they'd like to see, I'll take them into consideration.
I also have yet to animate the motion of the approaching tentacles (which will take very little time considering they'll be maybe two or three frames per tentacle).
I've completed one of the three blocking stances. (to avoid the hanging tentacle, she will drop to one knee and cover her mouth; it's kinda cute!)
Oh! And I also changed the curve of the spine for the walk cycle. I should have that sprite sheet up soon.
As far as gameplay is concerned, I want it to play more or less like the original. I play Jungle Girl more often than Demon Girl because the gameplay is simpler. Sure, Demon Girl has better graphics and more attack animations, but I can easily play Jungle Girl with one hand. With my off hand, even!
Personally, I don't enjoy button-mashing to escape attacks, I just want to enjoy them in their entirety without being penalized for it. And I don't think Jungle Girl needs attacks like Demon Girl, especially since the tentacles will all be coming one at a time.
I kind of like the idea of health recovery items, though I don't consider them necessary. Since the tentacles stack, they would necessarily have to deal low individual damage.
