Hello everyone. This project, which I will refer to as PZG, is a collaborative effort which seeks to create an original Legend-of-Zelda-like Action RPG that will feature you favorite equines. The game will feature original graphics, code, music, and story. Our team currently consists of me, the Project Leader, Lead Designer, and the current Lead Programmer, Punky Pie, the Graphics Artist and Co-designer, and Belgerum, our Music Designer. We are seeking to introduce our project to you, and also to expand our team so that we might better make our dream a reality for the Brony Community and produce the best product possible. To give you a better idea and what we are trying to achieve, Punky Pie created these mockups for your viewing pleasure. As these are mockups, and not actual screenshots from the game, they may not reflect it with 100% accuracy, especially not the final version of the game. PZG seeks to emulate the general game play of the Legend of Zelda series and similar action RPGs. As such it will be an overhead game with a large focus on exploring monster infested dungeons that are connected by an overworld. Inside of the dungeons you will find items and spells that will increase your power and abilites, including allowing you to solve puzzles so you progress further into the dungeons. At the end of each dungeon a boss most be defeated in order to progress the story, trying to ultimately resolve the conflict within the game. Combat is mainly based using a sword, as well as using spells. The magic system differs from Zelda in that it can be recharged when low as well as be replenished by items which are dropped by defeated enemies and found elsewhere. Items can be switched by opening up a menu after they have been unlocked. The game is controlled entirely through the keyboard. A couple of demos can be found here and here. These are not completely up to date as some more work has been done since then. I don't want to spoil to much, so I can't tell everything we have planned. Anyway, in this game you play Twilight Sparkle. While her friends visit Braeburn in Appleloosa Twilight had to resume her magic studies with Celestia, and for some reason she is finding even basic spells to be hard. After she receives news that a dragon attacked Ponyville Twilight Sparkle goes out to deal with it, but after finding that the Elements are missing she begins to suspect that something worse might be going on behind the scenes... We haven't settled on a final title for the game yet, but the tentative title I have for PZG is The Servant of Discord. This game will feature the return of many of your favorite characters such as Derpy and Luna, as well as some original characters like a pegasus who is the captain of a skyship, and returning characters you probably weren't expecting. The game will feature many diverse locations throughout Equestria, including returning places such as Froggy Bog Bottom and the Everfree Forest, and new areas like the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale and the Changeling Lair. We are aspiring to make a full length game with a story to match. We are looking to expand are team so that this game may reach our full ambition. It would really suck for this project to just die, or even not reach what it could have been, so we need you help. We are currently looking specifically for programmers, level designers, pre-alpha testers, and a website manager, but if you believe you have any other useful skills and want to help feel free to tell me. Bellow are detailed descriptions of the forementioned roles and what skills we advice for such people to possess in order to make this game be successful. Programmers: We are looking for more programmers for our game. The game is being programmed in AS2 in Flash CS6 at the present, as like Florin behind The Binding of Isaac that's what I have to work with, but the development is still early enough that it might be possible to switch to something else if another programmer can make that possible. Programmers should be able to work collaboratively, including working with my poorly annotated code. I'm also looking for a new Lead Programmer to replace me both so that I can focus on other aspects of game development like writing, and so that we have a more competent Lead Programmer. A Lead Programmer should have significant experience with making code specifically for the use of others and for directing other coders. Level Designers: As this game is based upon the Legend of Zelda it will have dungeons that are similar to those in the 2D Zelda games. Level designers should have lots of expiriene with playing 2d Zelda games . It would be advised for level designers to have previous experience with game design. Level designers must be able to communicate a very detailed, room by room description of levels and how they operate to programmers. The lead level designer should have significant experience with making levels that are original, interesting, and most importantly, fun. It's also advised for the Lead Level Designer to have at least basic knowledge of Actionscript or other C based programming languages. Pre-Alpha Testers: Currently the game's testing is completely open, but we are probably going to have to restrict it soon to keep the game from getting spoiled. I'm probably going to first recruit people who have already been giving feedback to the demos for an official team of testers, but if your interested you can also apply. A tester should be able to play a game and find any bugs and give a detailed report of them. They should also be able to report any other problems they find, like balancing issues, and give other feedback. Webhost: It would be nice if you had a website to tease developmental progress and give other announcements, as well as just organize other information that would be useful for people interested in the project. So if you can find a host for such a website and manage it we would like that. If you feel like you can help out in any other way feel free to send me an email. For example, we will probably be interested in more artists, sound designers, and writers in future and we might let such people join the team now. Even if you don't think you can directly help with the project you are always free to spread the word and we will appreciate that! I'd prefer to be contacted by email. You can email me at roboiguana@gmail.com . Punky Pie can be contacted at punkypie8@gmail.com . Our DeviantArt's our http://punkypie8.deviantart.com/ and http://ganondox.deviantart.com/. Belgerum's youtube is http://www.youtube.com/user/Belgerum . Thanks for your time! Please share this!
Greetings! First off, welcome to Everypony. I can see that you've joined with ambitious nature involving posting this to expand your team. That's no problem, really. I am Eight Star, (but you could probably tell that from my user name,) and as Everypony's Sorcerer in the Ever-Free, I thought I'd come and check this out. My first suggestion is to find someone willing to be the editor for the story. Many times has improper English quickly put an end to my play-time of an RPG. (After all, if it's an RPG, it should at least be grammar-checked.) That being said, my story editor is not available. Secondly, I "may" be interested in level design. I'm a long time GM for table-top RPs, and have a nack for puzzle-dungeons. Just as well, Eight Star lives in the Ever-Free Forest in a place he calls the "Chaos Sanctum," which is basically a massive underground complex that changes its own shape to its will. Anyway, I'm not experienced in programming that stuff... but I can do anything with RPGMaker, (which I understand is a completely different system.) If you had randomization in mind, you could make dungeon map "chunks" that the game could then slide together to make random maps with puzzles. Though, I guess since Link always had the same thing to go through, so would we. Well, best of luck on your project.
Yeah, randomization is not what I had in mind, Zelda level design is a bit different. I think it's similar to design in standard RPG dungeons, but it's quite a bit more complex than the dungeons I've seen in most other RPGs.
Not really. Zelda RPGs run screen by screen. I've seen a lot of games on Kongregate do a similar style, but made to be randomized. Of course, I'm thinking the original and the SNES versions. Am I about on? Though your graphics style looks blocky enough to be the Game Boy version. Except... in Zelda, they designed their characters for a very specific down-view... but Twilight is standing on a flat-ground view. Which does throw things a little.
This game is not designed to be randomized, it's traditional zelda. You can't have puzzles of the normal zelda level of complexity with randomized dungeons. This game is based around the SNES and GB(A) ones. The oracle games had fairly complicated dungeons, probably a little bit more complicated than I'm going for. The only other game I really have to compare with is the Mana series, and Zelda dungeons are a lot more complicated.
Huh, you really did get stuck on that "if you had randomization in mind" from my original response. So much you didn't really talk about the other bits. As for more complicated? Heh... if you say so. Back to what I said before the conversation got stuck... Editor, especially if you're the only writer. I can tell by your initial interest post that you should have one. As a GM I can offer creative dungeoneering... and as an artist, I stredd that you should know; perspective ought to apply to everything.
Well I'm not really looking for an editor right now as we don't even have any writing to edit. I mean I have a few explanatory design things written up and hidden from the private eye, but they aren't going to appear in the game, only what they describe. An editor would be useful later, but not now. First we need to make the actual game. Have you played the Oracle Zelda games? Most of the dungeons feature some sort of aspect that crosses the rooms, that's what I meant by more complexity than random level design allows. Anyway, the reason I want the head of level design to know AS is so that they know the basic mechanics of the game so they can know how to actually make the level design ideas work and possibly directly code them into the game if needs be.
Once again, caught in an if. Randomization is possible, that's why I said "dungeon chunks" to fit together. Not single rooms. It would be a series of switches and variables which would enevitably have to equal a certain value in order for the dungeon to be employed into the game itself. I know it would be work, and most games fail because designers are alergic to work. That's why I said "if you have randomization in mind," and why I used the word "if." Because I know it's possible, but I also know it would be a lot of work, and more of an undertaking than you obviously need. I hope that's cleared up, now. Anyway, the Zelda games I played were; "Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda II, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past," and a few of the 3D ones. A Link to the Past basically being the height of 2D Zelda-Series games, that's the one I reference. Even though I played it back when I was... 13... when SNES was newer and cooler. I understand how 2D dungeoneering words, from Zelda to Saga Frontier, there's a lot of puzzles within dungeons within puzzles to be explored and explained, and as long as your programming language can make games like Zelda possible, then that's about as much as is needed to know. Anyway, good luck on your project. It looks like you've got an... interesting idea to start with.
To get the idea of what the oracle game dungeons are like think of the dungeons from Ocarina of Time, but in the format of the dungeons in a link to the past. For example, there is a dungeon in Oracle of Ages where you can raise and lower the water level like the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time. Anyway, I don't want randomization, that's not what I'm going for. Knowing the technicality of how the game elements operate together is important for design as detailed room by room descriptions would ultimately be required. Anyway, if your still interested send me an email. The image for the contact section appears to be broken.
Still just switches and variables. Anyway, it sounds like you don't want someone like me. Also, I forgot to suggest a webhost. I find Tumblr to be a very easy way to get updates and words out.
Understanding the mechanics is more for placing enemies and crap like that, not just the triggers, which are indeed just switches and variables. I didn't say that, I said if you are interested send me an email because we can't do everything here in a forum comments section. We now have a google site, and we are going to get somesort of blog for updates, I guess tumblr would work.
This seems like an interesting project. I've played all of the 2D Zelda games, but I have no experience with making games, so I can't be of much help. Good luck with the project anyway, and sorry that I'm not much help.
