Laying the Foundation

Welcome to another installment of theraje's Game Development. Today, we discuss what has been going on with my current project. If you have been following my blog, you know that I have put Dungeon3D, my 3D rogue-like project, on hold for now. In the meantime, I am working on a 2D project which I hope to have finished by the end of the year.

The project aims to be an action-adventure game in the vein of the 2D Castlevania games. This means that the perspective is side-view, and that the action style is part beat-'em-up, part platformer, and part exploration. The project, tentatively titled Mythic, will have a setting and story line based on a mix of different world mythologies, including European, Oriental, American, and African myths and legends. Gods and godesses, beasts, and heroes will interact with their counterparts from other myths, as you - the player - attempt to stay alive while meeting your own ends.

I officially began production on Mythic a couple days ago. Day One involved me getting the map/layer system set up and creating some basic tile graphics, while Day Two was spent mainly getting parallax scrolling working. Today (Day Three), I have gotten the tile engine working for the most part, and plan to take the rest of the day off (I haven't taken a real break since I started).

The tile engine as it stands is pretty straightforward. Maps are made of multiple layers, such as background layers, foreground layers, and the "primary" layer (the layer on which the player and other game entities reside). Each layer may be a different size to affect how it scrolls - smaller background layers scroll more slowly than larger foreground layers. This parallax scrolling effect gives the world a sense of depth, even though it is completely two-dimensional. Not a new technique by any means, but it adds a lot to the atmosphere!

For the curious, the game is being developed in C++ using the SFML library. The project will also support game controller input (I have an XBox 360-compatible controller that I'm using for testing), as well as keyboard input for those who prefer it for some strange reason.

Well, I hope that I've gotten you curious about Mythic. I will do everything I can to make sure the game works well and is an enjoyable endeavor for you. Stay tuned for more updates next week!