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Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Printable Version

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Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Weltall - 3rd February 2021

Hello, and welcome to GANYMEDE.

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The Trailer!:


Full gameplay walkthrough (it's gonna spoil ya):


The original, music video-styled trailer (from 2017)



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Five Six Seven Eight (!) years in the making! Much more still to come. Chapter one is complete and ready for your enjoyment.

GANYMEDE is a Super Mario World hack. Though, at this point, it's more accurate to call GANYMEDE an original game which uses Super Mario World as an engine, because there is basically no visible trace of Mario left in here now. The basics of gameplay are quite similar, but there are a lot of additions and changes to be found. I wrote all of the words, I drew all of the graphics, and I designed and directed everything you see, play, smell and taste. 

This is the first chapter of what will be a much longer game. If you find Super Mario World to be of a reasonable level of challenge, you should not be terribly frustrated with GANYMEDE. It includes a short manual. 

If you take your time, you'll probably finish it in about an hour.

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This is the story of a boy who seeks adventure and fun. 

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Why do kids seek adventure and fun? Part of it is that kids are just naturally wired to do that. But, another part of it is contrast; the grass is always greener somewhere else. If life appears to suck, it is a natural instinct to dream of a place where it doesn't, and to want to go and find it. Even if it isn't real. 

For this boy, life could be better. This is not the first time noises from his parents' bedroom have roused him awake.

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It used to be that, at times, weird noises came from their room, but this noise is a lot more familiar and relatable, and his first thought is that he's glad they are shouting at each other, because that meant that, if he stayed out of the way, neither of them would shout at him. That's just how it was these days, and it just kept getting worse and worse. Now, he couldn't even take a nap and get away from it. 

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So, maybe, the boy thinks, he really ought to get away from it. 

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Before he has time to stop himself, he's already out and into the pouring rain. He doesn't have anywhere in mind, and it really doesn't matter, does it? He could go wherever he wanted, and no one would miss him. What's more, he wouldn't miss them, either. And so, he wandered, in search of nothing, until finally, the rain ceases and so do his wanderings. 

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He has made his way to the edge of the sea, and it makes him think of the painting above his bed, with its bad ass sailor holding his own in a hurricane against the worst Mother Nature had to throw at him. The boat docked nearby makes it almost seem like fate and Mother Nature appeared to not be in a fighting mood at the moment. And so, it was in no general direction that the boy sailed. 

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For a brief time, the clouds clear and reveal a dazzling night sky, full of stars and constellations. Miles from anywhere and going who knows where, such a sight could only be witnessed by an adventurous seafarer such as himself. He enjoys it as long as he can. 

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And that is not very long. Because, without warning, the storm reignites all around the boy and his boat. Thunder stomps the seas into churning chaos as the squall blows in every direction at once. The boat is tossed, turned, and tumbled before a bolt of lightning strikes, smashing it to a great many smithereens. 

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When he awakens, many hours have passed, and it is the blinding stare of the sun into which he opens his eyes. He doesn't know where he is, or how, exactly, he survived to ponder the question. Maybe it doesn't matter. What matters is that he's here, apparently to stay. 

A silhouette looms in the distance, which he recognizes as a lighthouse. It is tall and old, and looks like it has not been used in a long time. It is there he decides to go first. How cool it would be to live in a lighthouse! It's the adventure he was seeking, in any case. 

But the funny thing about adventure is that adventure is dangerous. No going to the fridge for a drink, no stopping in the convenience store for a hot dog. No warm bed to snuggle in at night, no fan to keep you cool. Living like a kid is one way to learn some adult lessons. It seems certain that, by the time he makes it to the lighthouse, he will be relieved to finally find safety and maybe he will be wondering if this wasn't a big mistake after all. 


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The real-life story of GANYMEDE:

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The year was 2013. My wife was then my fiancé, and we had just moved in together. A concurrent change in careers left me with a lot more free time (or, more to the point, I made my money tied to my desk now). This was a job that frequently left me with downtime. So, I decided to start hackin'. I had no plan or ambition, it was just cool that Lunar Magic let me make levels in a Mario game, because this was something I dreamt of doing since there was a Super Mario World. So, I made a bunch, pretty quickly, and had fun doing it. I thought I lost this first hack (eventually, I rediscovered it), so I just started a new one, armed with a greater skillset and more experience. As before, this was nothing but something to do, when I had nothing else to do. Within a few months, it sported about three dozen levels, some of which I was pretty proud of. And so, it finally occurred to me that this could be an actual hack people might enjoy. Over the next year, I began experimenting with custom graphics for the first time, constructing my own world map for the first time, and installing patches to alter the gameplay, and little by little, Thoughtful Mario World drifted further into what the kids call 'choconilla' territory. Still a Mario game, but starting to be something a little bit different.

It was around this time that I was introduced to a band I've since come to call my favorite. They are The Shills, and one of their albums was an album with a story, my favorite kind. And this one really touched me. It was about a man who runs away, and leaves his entire world behind, sick of humanity and all the bullshit. He gets caught in a storm and wrecks on an island. As the album progresses, his feelings about his situation progress from satisfaction and happiness to the realization that the real problem was himself, and nowhere you could run would be far enough to get away from it. It turned out that I related to this story in a deep and profound way, and rather entirely by coincidence, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to adapt this story to my hack? I have always wanted to make a videogame, but even more, I have always wanted to tell a great story. I redesigned Mario into the Man on the Boat, and it's been a process in the years since to transform Thoughtful Mario World into Ganymede. 

So, originally, Ganymede was going to be, simply an adaptation, telling (roughly) the same story as the album, with a lot of extra detail in between the major plot points that existed as songs. But, then, a newer and bigger idea began to take hold. Instead of my Ganymede being a story about a man who runs away, it would be about a boy who runs away, not from the big bad world and its stupid people, but from the people who ought to love him and care for him most, because, instead, they are really screwed up, toxic people, so caught up in their own problems that they are unaware of how much it hurts their kid. This is Chapter One, as it now exists, and it ends on a cliffhanger as the kid finds himself trapped on an island with his regrets and no apparent way back home. The next several chapters will tell of what happens as the boy grows into a man, and comes to grips with the events of the night he ran away, all to culminate in a pair of climaxes: how the boy survived and made it back home, and how (or, if?!) the man comes to grips with his traumas and challenges afterwards. I say "if", because whether or not he actually does make it back and gains the wisdom he needs to finally be at peace, is entirely up to you.

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Made it all the way down here? Cool. Now download it and play, and let me know what you think.



RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Weltall - 3rd February 2021

btw Toven, this version is significantly updated and polished from the one I last gave you!


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Weltall - 23rd February 2021

It would mean a lot to me to get feedback from you fellows. You're the gamers I've been around longest on the internet, and I want to know if I'm making a good game here.


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 25th February 2021

Sorry Ry Ubbfrown I've been meaning to play this, but keep forgetting about it. It's difficult, because I'm so used to playing games on my couch (as opposed to my office) that it totally slips my mind. I'll set aside time this weekend to give it a whirl. Sincerely, it's super cool that you actually went and made a whole damn game. I watched the intro some months back of the parents fighting in the background, and it was honestly riveting.

I need to dig out my old USB SNES controller...


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 27th February 2021

This POS still works, but you have to press a bit hard on the direction pad.

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I just requested access for the google drive link. o7


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Weltall - 27th February 2021

I set the file to public (after not realizing it was restricted), so try it again. And enjoy yourself. I'd love to get your thoughts after you're done, strengths and weaknesses, that sort of thing.

Also, there's a counter called "DREAMS". Ganymede has no 'lives', and there is no significant penalty for dying. The Boy wakes up from a 'dream' every time he 'dies', so that functions like the death counter in some of the Zelda games. I'd like to know how many times you dream while playing, I'm recording the results to help with future difficulty balancing.

This version was from early January, so by this point, I've already made several major changes, with new levels and more of the story fleshed out (I've already, essentially, written all of it down). Next release will have a lot more content.


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 1st March 2021

Okay, I've played three levels so far. First, I loved the introduction. You're very talented at setting a mood, and that jumps out from the get-go. I was impressed by how 16-bit rain drops and scrolling blocks of text alone could give me the feels. The prelude is cinematic and tight, not dwelling too long on the Boy's life or meandering. We're put into the his head and thrust right into his adventure.

As I walked around the house, I found myself wanting to pick up and examine things, like a point-and-click adventure. This is probably a testament to your attention to detail. I got Earthbound vibes from visiting the corner store. I really liked how, as the main character travels from screen-to-screen, each one resembles a page, each with words stamped on the background. Like verses in a poem.

As I type this, I just realized that at no point are we ever given the main character's name (unless there was something subtle I missed). True to (what I think are) your intentions, you've created something very introspective, to the point where regardless of whether what we see is to be taken literally, the entire story takes place in the character's head.

Having played the three levels, I'm delighted that you've kept up the motif of showing words across the screen as the player explores each stage. You've struck a wonderful balance to make them both meaningful and non-intrusive. I don't find myself pausing and dwelling on the meaning of the passages, distracting me from the game; neither are they so banal that they're filler, nor so pretentious that I roll my eyes.

Great kudos for the level design, purely from an aesthetic viewpoint. Just as level 2 started, I literally paused and took a screen-cap because this stage is god damn gorgeous.

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This, even after I was already wowed by the autumnal bursts of flame in level 1. And, this adorable line deserves a shout-out.

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:3

Speaking of which, I like the idea of collecting water to gain more time to explore a level. I found that getting from start to finish isn't terribly difficult in itself, and the greater challenge lies in getting to every nook and cranny in the level. Some areas are far up in the air and only partially visible, others are walled off... I feel a little frustrated about being unable to access some of them, so I might just focus on finishing the game first, then going back to explore. I might learn a few new tactics along the way that I can use when I backtrack.

Take this feedback with a grain of salt, because I don't know if you should dumb down your game for lil' ol' me. Wink I can't imagine the difficulty in not only thinking up a level layout, but designing puzzles with the right level challenge between rubix cube and SQUARE BOX GO IN SQUARE HOLE.

Regarding water, it might be helpful to put in a little jingle or visual cue to know that the Boy has drank his water. I didn't know it had occurred until I looked up and saw that the numbers had changed in the HUD. A little signal would tie it together nicely. Also, all the water is consumed immediately, but is there a way to make it a little more gradual, so you can choose how much to consume?

Another thing is that the game told me that in order to drink water, I had to both hold down the shoulder buttons and press Up. But just holding down the shoulder buttons did it. I'm reasonably sure my controller isn't at fault, because pressing/releasing Up made the Boy tilt his head up and down. So it's not like it was stuck in that position.

One thing I noticed is that upon disembarking the ship and traversing the world, there aren't little markers, like you would normally see in a platforming hub world. I was curious about that. I know you're too meticulous for this to have been an oversight. It would seem a little tighter that way. Maybe you wanted to emphasize the wilderness of the island?

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I think a big part of it is the visual cue in the forest. I don't know the limitations of the engine, but is there a way to make the leaves in the trees part just-so, so you can see the character move through them? Again, I noticed you put in fine enough detail to, for instance, make the Boy's hair flap up and down with each jump, so it's hard to imagine this is an oversight.

I think I may have found a bug. In the Info box in level 2, it describes how to pick up an item and chuck it up in the air. However, the very last prompt is blank, and you have to click through that to get back to playing.

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I'll wrap up by saying that I love, love, LOVE the music of this game. It perfectly fits with the pensive tone of the world you created. Excellent job with the spooky green level; one rumbling note throughout sounds like the menacing growl of an unseen beast. Did you write all of the music to this game, too? Excluding the Aquatic Ambience track from Donkey Kong Country, I mean. I recognized that one. :)

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Ahh, demonic Charging Chuck!

Really superb work, Ryan. Congrats. Smile I'll keep playing and making notes. I won't post my dream count just yet... but when I do, know that I was handicapped by a crappy controller! You saw it yourself! Huh


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Weltall - 1st March 2021

I'm very happy that you're enjoying yourself so far, and personally satisfied that you are aware of and identified some of my design choices! The idea that you're 'playing' a storybook is absolutely intentional, and it's hard to explain without spoiling some of the endgame, but it's a metanarrative element as well. 
Quote:As I type this, I just realized that at no point are we ever given the main character's name (unless there was something subtle I missed). True to (what I think are) your intentions, you've created something very introspective, to the point where regardless of whether what we see is to be taken literally, the entire story takes place in the character's head.

None of the characters are ever really addressed by name at any point in the game, but they have official nicknames. Your player character is "The Boy on the Boat", and there are others later encountered, such as the Winter Shade, the Minotaur, and the Cupbearer, among others. 

As to whether or not to take it literally, all I can say is that whether or not this is true may become apparent later in the game. 
Quote:Speaking of which, I like the idea of collecting water to gain more time to explore a level. I found that getting from start to finish isn't terribly difficult in itself, and the greater challenge lies in getting to every nook and cranny in the level. Some areas are far up in the air and only partially visible, others are walled off... I feel a little frustrated about being unable to access some of them, so I might just focus on finishing the game first, then going back to explore. I might learn a few new tactics along the way that I can use when I backtrack.

You definitely might learn some new tactics at some point which might help you with these barriers...
Quote:Regarding water, it might be helpful to put in a little jingle or visual cue to know that the Boy has drank his water. I didn't know it had occurred until I looked up and saw that the numbers had changed in the HUD. A little signal would tie it together nicely. Also, all the water is consumed immediately, but is there a way to make it a little more gradual, so you can choose how much to consume?

1. That's a good idea I hadn't thought of.
2. That's also a good idea I hadn't thought of. I had help programming the new gameplay features, so I will get with this person and see if a gradual drinking mechanic is feasible. 

Quote:Another thing is that the game told me that in order to drink water, I had to both hold down the shoulder buttons and press Up. But just holding down the shoulder buttons did it. I'm reasonably sure my controller isn't at fault, because pressing/releasing Up made the Boy tilt his head up and down. So it's not like it was stuck in that position.

So, when I requested the drinking mechanic, I did specifically asked for the button combination to require the up button, and until now, I was not aware that the shoulder buttons alone did the trick. Probably it was just an error in the patch I was given, but tbh, I think I'll leave it as is and just change the info boxes. The shoulder buttons are mostly unused otherwise in this game. 
Quote:One thing I noticed is that upon disembarking the ship and traversing the world, there aren't little markers, like you would normally see in a platforming hub world. I was curious about that. I know you're too meticulous for this to have been an oversight. It would seem a little tighter that way. Maybe you wanted to emphasize the wilderness of the island?

There used to be markers, I eventually decided I liked it better without for aesthetic purposes. I'm instead using map features as level markers, and probably I'll add a feature which shows you all the valid ways you can move from wherever you're standing. 
Quote:I think a big part of it is the visual cue in the forest. I don't know the limitations of the engine, but is there a way to make the leaves in the trees part just-so, so you can see the character move through them? Again, I noticed you put in fine enough detail to, for instance, make the Boy's hair flap up and down with each jump, so it's hard to imagine this is an oversight.

This is an engine limitation, due to how paths work in the overworld map feature. You have either the regular sprite, or the one with just his head showing, which the original game used when you were in water. In general, the map is a lot more limited with sprites. Mario's player graphics in levels have several dozen different variations and like 80 individual tiles which can be rearranged in various ways. On the map, it's more like 12 total. 
Quote:I think I may have found a bug. In the Info box in level 2, it describes how to pick up an item and chuck it up in the air. However, the very last prompt is blank, and you have to click through that to get back to playing.

You sure did, thanks for spotting it. 
Quote:I'll wrap up by saying that I love, love, LOVE the music of this game. It perfectly fits with the pensive tone of the world you created. Excellent job with the spooky green level; one rumbling note throughout sounds like the menacing growl of an unseen beast. Did you write all of the music to this game, too? Excluding the Aquatic Ambience track from Donkey Kong Country, I mean. I recognized that one. :)

I didn't do any of the music, composing and writing music is absolutely not a talent I possess. Thankfully, there is a large music scene within the greater SMW romhacking community, so there are thousands of tracks which can be inserted, most taken from other games, some original compositions. I spent a lot of time finding tracks which fit the mood I'm trying to achieve. 
Quote:Really superb work, Ryan. Congrats. [Image: smile.gif] I'll keep playing and making notes. I won't post my dream count just yet... but when I do, know that I was handycapped by a crappy controller! You saw it yourself! [Image: huh.gif]

Thanks so much! I can't wait for this to be its own game someday. I would consider true success to be having people play it, love it, and devote lots of time trying to figure out the story and all of its symbolisms. 

I spent over a decade on Silent Hill communities mostly dissecting all the secrets and symbolism found within the second game's story and visuals, it's 20 years old, but still the most masterfully crafted story I've ever seen in a videogame. Ganymede is not a dark, depressing psychological horror tale, but I'm trying to come up with something that is on its level of quality and impact, where the game is telling you the story not just using words, but also in what you see and what you do.


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 3rd March 2021

rtan halp im stuck Ubbfrown How do I proceed from the top of the lighthouse? I can get into this room, but can't figure out the way forward. I can't backtrack either, I'm stuck at the top of the lighthouse in the hub world. Moving in any given direction doesn't work.

Wait, nevermind. I just tried again, and I can climb down from the lighthouse in the hub map. I just wasn't pressing down hard enough on the controller. Headshake Okay, so I assume that, in Super Mario World tradition, I need to find an alternate exit on one of the existing levels to create a new path forward. The wings and firebreath will certainly help. I was wondering about that, because it seemed at first that the purpose of the lighthouse was purely to give you power-ups. So that clicks together.

BTW, I found an empty dialog box. This one doesn't show any text at all.

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I was curious about the paper with words nailed to the wall in this screen. Am I supposed to be able to read this?

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Here's a weird one... not sure if this is an emulator issue. But I booted up the game, and the progress percentage was 55.5%. At this point, I was at the top of the lighthouse. Then I told the emulator to reset the ROM. Once the game booted up, the progress was down to 44.4%, and it put me back at the bottom of the lighthouse. Curious, because this didn't happen if I just exited and re-opened the emulator... only when I simulated a reset. I'm using ZSNES, btw. Luckily, I just so happened to have accidentally saved a game state, a few minutes prior. That lighthouse level was rough.

Other observations:

I thought it was pretty neat that on the precipice of a new level (I think this was the lighthouse), to enter the next world, you literally jump and sink into the bed, explicitly symbolizing sleeping and dreaming. I believe that Hell World followed next. I saw that the Boy had then become a Man in the same house. I thought at first we might have shifted into playing his father, but given the text in the ensuing level, I don't think this is the case.

That reminds me: will there be a way to read all the text in full? Such as after beating the game? I think reading it in its entirety would give it a nice bird's eye view to help the player digest the storyline. This seems particularly helpful if you want them to noodle out subtext.

I'm not sure what the sequence of the lighthouse means yet. So we enter hell world, now as a man. It almost seems like the shadow world of the real world, with Silent Hill vibes. The red eyes reminded me of the portion in the PT demo (i.e. Silent Hills, before it was wantonly, cruelly, and callously scrapped). The Man goes through the same sequence of events as the Boy. Maybe the boy regrets his decision, and the memory of beginning of this journey is tormenting him? But why represent this as a man? I feel like the pieces of the puzzle are there in the lighthouse (i.e. the screenshot below), but I was too focused on the level to put them together. This is the kind of game that likely warrants multiple playthroughs to get the full picture.

I'm not asking for clues, just thinking out loud. Ubbsmile It might be interesting to you, as the creator. BTW, for some reason, I'm getting strong Final Fantasy vibes from this level. I really like this aesthetic.

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I wonder what is the symbolism of endless book cases?

Oh! Here's another question I had: what's with the food in the status bar? Is there a way to use that? And another suggestion: I didn't realize at first that when the character gets hit, he loses his water. Maybe you could also put in an audio/visual cue for that?


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 3rd March 2021

After playing a bit more, I've revised my theory. When you play the first level, the only way to get to the upper portion of it is to be an adult, and whap a block with your wings, which creates a ladder. Once you mount the top, you see words that are... a little more realistic. I don't recall the exact words, but the vibe goes from idealistic at the bottom of the level, where you start as a child, to more pragmatic at the top, which you can only access as an adult.

So when you enter Hell World, the reason you're an adult is because you've grown up. All throughout the first playthrough as a child (and this is affirmed in the original post), the Boy gradually goes from feeling elated at the idea of being alone in his own personal world, to realizing that since he's on his own, there's also no one to take care of him. He has to forage for his own food, for instance. He matures, and when the stunning realization hits him that he's trapped without a paddle... well, it feels like a nightmare. He's witnessing the loss of youth and innocence that we all do when we become adults, and start having to deal with adult anxieties, like getting a job, paying the bills, and putting food on the table.

ANYWAY, the other reason I wanted to post this is that when I got to this part, I can't get to the treasure chest. The moment I drop down to it, the game goes to a credits screen.

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I also noticed that in the flying animations, a couple of the frames look a little weird. Not sure if this shows up on your end. Like I said, I'm using ZSNES.

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Interesting that you have a character called the Cupbearer. I looked up Ganymede around when I started playing, and saw that it's the greek myth of a mortal man that was so beloved by the gods that he was taken up to Mount Olympus and made a cupbearer for the gods.

Per wikipedia, it's also a codeword for man/teen boy love  Hump

[EDIT] Well, shoot! I should have stayed until after the credits. Good thing it occurred to me to go back and try. I'm now on the hub world below the main one. Noice.


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Weltall - 8th March 2021

Quote:I was curious about the paper with words nailed to the wall in this screen. Am I supposed to be able to read this?

Maybe some day, for now, it's just a decoration. 
Quote:Here's a weird one... not sure if this is an emulator issue. But I booted up the game, and the progress percentage was 55.5%. At this point, I was at the top of the lighthouse. Then I told the emulator to reset the ROM. Once the game booted up, the progress was down to 44.4%, and it put me back at the bottom of the lighthouse. Curious, because this didn't happen if I just exited and re-opened the emulator... only when I simulated a reset. I'm using ZSNES, btw. Luckily, I just so happened to have accidentally saved a game state, a few minutes prior. That lighthouse level was rough.

I'm not sure how to explain this one. The game saves automatically any time you move on the map. It could be a ZSNES thing, it's not something I've ever encountered myself, and I'm not sure if ZSNES writes its save files differently in some way (fwiw the hacking community has completely disavowed this emulator in favor of SNES9X and other, newer emus).
Quote:That reminds me: will there be a way to read all the text in full? Such as after beating the game? I think reading it in its entirety would give it a nice bird's eye view to help the player digest the storyline. This seems particularly helpful if you want them to noodle out subtext.

That's a really fantastic idea and it never occurred to me. I will absolutely have to find a way to make this happen.
Quote:I'm not sure what the sequence of the lighthouse means yet. So we enter hell world, now as a man. It almost seems like the shadow world of the real world, with Silent Hill vibes. The red eyes reminded me of the portion in the PT demo (i.e. Silent Hills, before it was wantonly, cruelly, and callously scrapped). The Man goes through the same sequence of events as the Boy. Maybe the boy regrets his decision, and the memory of beginning of this journey is tormenting him? But why represent this as a man? I feel like the pieces of the puzzle are there in the lighthouse (i.e. the screenshot below), but I was too focused on the level to put them together. This is the kind of game that likely warrants multiple playthroughs to get the full picture.

I'm not asking for clues, just thinking out loud. [Image: ubbsmile.gif] It might be interesting to you, as the creator. BTW, for some reason, I'm getting strong Final Fantasy vibes from this level. I really like this aesthetic.

Well, I will not give you clues, though I will again say, your feedback is evidence that I'm succeeding at conveying the ideas I hope to convey. All I will say is that you are definitely not playing as his dad, nor will you at any point. 
Quote:Oh! Here's another question I had: what's with the food in the status bar? Is there a way to use that? And another suggestion: I didn't realize at first that when the character gets hit, he loses his water. Maybe you could also put in an audio/visual cue for that?

Food is a mechanic which is not yet implemented, it will affect a number of different things, such as your ability to successfully attack enemies, gaining health and the speed at which your water decreases. 
Quote:ANYWAY, the other reason I wanted to post this is that when I got to this part, I can't get to the treasure chest. The moment I drop down to it, the game goes to a credits screen.
Heh yeah, you can even not actually bother with the key technically, I made it this way so that you knew you were completing the level, but that it would not actually make the game trigger the end level sequence right there (so the credits can roll).

As for the flying graphics, I am unsure I will actually keep the ability to cape fly at this point, so it's a thing I did not bother repairing. If it stays, I'll make it right. 
Quote:Interesting that you have a character called the Cupbearer. I looked up Ganymede around when I started playing, and saw that it's the greek myth of a mortal man that was so beloved by the gods that he was taken up to Mount Olympus and made a cupbearer for the gods.
:D:D:D:D:D:D

I see you've found one of the two hidden exits, you'll know you found everything when it shows you have 100 percent completion!


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 9th March 2021

Quote:That's a really fantastic idea and it never occurred to me. I will absolutely have to find a way to make this happen.


Cool

The only wrinkle I can think of is how to convey them. It's a brilliant game design to tell a story, and let it unfold progressively based on what new paths you can take. See above, with reaching new heights (literally and figuratively) of maturity and becoming pragmatic. Just dumping all that in a text file would lose something. But I'll leave that to you, Mr. Game Designer. Wink

I haven't played much recently (been too consumed by a playthrough of Mario Galaxy), but I did play through this level.

[Image: 7gf2h4p.png]

I'm hoping there's a different exit I can take to explore more of this new hub world. The exit at the end simply takes me back to the main hub. But I only played through once; haven't gotten to explore much yet. Great Silent Hill-esque background music for this level.

What do you think of allowing the flames to light up the cave as you shoot them? Or would you prefer to keep it dark, to keep the alternate exits (should they exist) more hidden?

[Image: gGZo4fd.png]

This looks like it says "Where enenses nor friendc abound". Ubbsmile

Random thought: I notice that being small gives the advantage that you can jump higher. I'll have to keep that in mind.


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - etoven - 9th March 2021

(23rd February 2021, 9:15 PM)Weltall Wrote: It would mean a lot to me to get feedback from you fellows. You're the gamers I've been around longest on the internet, and I want to know if I'm making a good game here.

Sorry, I missed this even though the server is sitting right next to me, and all the forum notifications flow threw my mailbox.
Can you hit me up with that fat DL link?


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - etoven - 9th March 2021

Never mind. I see you posted it.. I will check it out.


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 16th March 2021

I got a chance to play another level. But before I did that, I went back to the first secret level, to see if there was a secret exit in there that would keep me along the path of the secret hub world. Having exhaustively searched it, I think I can conclude that no such secret exit exists. I went back to the second level in the main hub, and found that there's another hidden exit that takes you to a credits screen. Upon its conclusion, going through to unlock the treasure chest brings me to the second level in the secret hub. I think I see the pattern now...

I suppose it follows that if the first secret level is icy cold, the second will be firey hot. You put a few nice sleights-of-hand in here, where the character must jump down to a platform below, whose ground is not visible, except for flames rising up from it, precisely where you have to land, causing the player to doubt whether they'll be jumping to their death.

I was delighted to see this little guy appear. I forgot about the doofy lava dragons in SMW :3

[Image: vgcJ3ry.png]

I like the design of these demons. They look a bit like gargoyles, or even resemble those bird statues in Super Metroid.

[Image: S9vcVMi.png]

For some reason, in a couple spots where I fell into the lava, instead of showing the normal death animation, the screen just freezes for a few seconds before putting me back at the start of the level. Here's one of them.

[Image: 56PKabf.png]

It was a pretty tough level. Shut up, I know I died a lot of times. Ubbfrown It's this damn controller. I keep losing my temper and explaining to the screen that when I push a button, it needs to take the appropriate action. Pretty much standard Beanjo spazzing out, ngl


RE: Ganymede (my 2D platformer with a big story) - Sacred Jellybean - 17th March 2021

I forgot to mention that I noticed and appreciated that the background music for Boiling Blood is the same as a level in Donkey Kong Country 3, one which has a very similar, firey inferno backdrop/theme. I always liked that level/music.

So, I see the ROM says I've completed it 100%, which is a shame, because I was looking forward to more of the secret levels. (I forgot that you already stated above that there were only 2 hidden exits Ubbsmile) There's a whole castle section to explore. I also noticed that Boiling Blood has no "lyrics" to it (that's the handiest word I can think of). All just flames and hellish caves. Why wouldn't there be lyrics? This is what I transcribed from the penultimate level, "Imagine That":

Imagine that you ever thought
That you finally had found
The peace and quiet you long sought
Where friends nor enemies abound

Imagine that you tripped and fell
Broke your ankle, leg, or back ...
So peaceful, so quiet, so long and farewell...
So cold, so alone, until it all fades to black

The coldness is the man's dying body, is hell his fate? Seems pretty cruel. Of course, I may be looking too far into this. I'm assuming the game is incomplete. Maybe the words for the last level just haven't been written yet?

Guess I'm done, then. Ubbsmile It took me quite a bit more than an hour... I feel like that would be a speed run, tbh. But maybe I'm just t3h suXX0rz. 60 dreams, yikes! And that doesn't even cover the times when I used save states. Huh

Wait, so where are the other characters? Winter Shade, the Minotaur, and the Cupbearer, among others. I assumed they would be in this build.

I saw that the name of the Shills album is also Ganymede. Seems like a confusing title, given the greek story that is its namesake. Or at least, the summary I read. I'll have to look more into that. I feel like there are more clues (such as the level names), and more in the words in each stage, but it's rather cumbersome to go back and transcribe them all. Hint, hint. Ubbsmile

The track listing and lyrics for the album weren't easy to find, but it looks like they roughly correlate to the sequence of the game, including that the story concludes with fire and death.

The Departure
The Storm
Segue I
The Island
Segue II
To Stay
Janus
Further
Maybe I'll Stay Around
The Nightmare
Segue III
To Leave
Segue IV
The Fire
Realization