Tower of Disarray Tower of Disarray is a project I started back in the Summer of 2015. I put it on hold some time ago for multiple reasons, but now I want to pick it up again. My goal with this hack is to make something with original graphics, unique levels (no boring grasslands here, folks) and fun gameplay without any rediculous gimmicks. Get the demo here [Crashes in Snes9x for some reason, will be fixed next release. Sorry for the inconvenience] GOALS >32 Exits : [6/32] >Fully hand made GFX >Actually complete it IN THE WORKS <Atmosphere Acropolis> A long abandoned city suspended atop the clouds by mysterious forces. Overgrown with flora and severely overpopulated by birds, this locale is deceivingly dangerous. Plunging into the sea of clouds below is one of the tamer threats in this level. [CLICK TO VIEW ANIMATED] STORY A mysterious tower has appeared on the horizon, and with it comes chaotic events. The longer it stands, the more skewed reality becomes. Mario must journey to the tower and find a way to stop it before the entire world is flung into disarray! LEVELS <Shady Sawmill> A busy logging mill in the forest. Saws go in every which way, making this path a hazardous one, but ultimately the fastest. <Misty Mountaintops> The only way past the mountains is through them. The terrain is filled with nooks, holes, and caves, some more obvious than others. Rumour has it there's a secret mine so well hidden that those that originally dug it forgot where it was. <Impact Valley> The tower has gained enough power to rip the very moon from it's orbit. It's impact caused cataclysmic damage to the surrounding environment. With no time to waste going around, Mario must travel straight through the impact zone to reach his destination. >mfw imgur turns my .gif into a webm <In The Clouds> Mario must travel through the clouds. What he didn't expect were the gigantic droplets of water and variety of life living in this strange place. CLOSING And that's it. Feel free to let me know of any problems you see, or any ideas you have. Also, I need new music for Misty Mountaintops, the track I have is far too short and repetitive, so I'm open to suggestions for that. Thanks for taking the time to check out my hack. Expect a full release sometime during the Summer, if all goes well. | Tower of Disarray 5/?? levels done -HAHA Oh jeez- |
An 'A' press is an 'A' press Hella neat layout by Erik557 |
With regards to Misty Mountaintops, could you give us an SPC so we can get the general 'tone' you're looking for?
As for the hack itself, I love the visuals. The way the colours are done reminds me well of Steven Universe. But some of the level design ignites my nitpicking powers.
So, these levels seem very linear. And that's difficult to back up when Shady Sawmill has branching paths and Misty Mountaintops has loads of secret areas.
The thing with the former is that there's no situation where two paths feel, from a gameplay perspective, equal. Thusly, no major situations where the player has to think on their feet and choose between several seemingly equivalent options.
As far as Misty Mountaintops, I would go so far as to say that an uninformed player choice isn't really a choice at all. The small inlets where the wall becomes passable are very simple to miss when they're not in your way, which is great for hiding secrets mind, but it doesn't make the level anymore nonlinear in many cases. And throughout what wee see of the whole level, there are lots of first order optimal strategies with every obstacle, so the amount of actual thought that moves through the players head is minimal.
As said before, these are mostly minor nitpicky complaints. It really does look fantastic so far, and the visuals alone have me excited, save for some unfinished sprite GFX. I would recommend revisiting those Ninji GFX, though. Also, Shady Sawmill would probably look much better with a more yellow-orange sky. to compliment against the mostly purple foreground. I know that's not how naturalistic lighting works, but considering that this is the first level and bound to leave a strong impression on your player, some extra contrast would be stellar here.
I've become very grumpy these last few years, and have been biting my tongue here in SMWC's forums quite a bit. I just want to let you all know that if ever I come off as harsh, I still care about you all. You guys are great.
(Avatar by http://reyleias.tumblr.com/, butchered by me)