Sunsorrow: A Dying Earth Action/Adventure RPG

[pauljessup]

My thought for this was- if the NES had dynamic lighting, what would it look like? Since it used 8x8 tiles, and since it would probably do tile based light, I came up with this. I based some of it on how some old NES games did line of sight/field of view (examples above in the Ultima games for the NES screenshots I posted earlier).

[ejmr]

My thought for this was- if the NES had dynamic lighting, what would it look like?

The earliest NES game I remember with anything close to dynamic lighting was Dragon Warrior. A torch would illuminate a five-by-five area and gradually shrink. But the lighting was all or nothing; a tile was fully illuminated or completely black. And unrealistically the light didn’t take into account the actual map so it would light up areas through solid walls. Dead simple to implement, but not impressive or anything.

In contrast, your approach looks much better. It evokes the visual aesthetics of Ultima: Quest of the Avatar, which I loved. So really I just wanted to say great work. I think there’s a good chance I’m going to love this game.

[pauljessup]

Avatar was a huge influence! I loved that game on the NES, it was a huge part of my childhood!

That's awesome that you saw that. And yeah DW's basic lighting was basic, but it was cool for the time

[ejmr]

Avatar was a huge influence! I loved that game on the NES, it was a huge part of my childhood!

Same here. The idea of playing a character who strives to be an ethical and moral leader for all, as opposed to going out and killing Big Evil Monsters, makes Avatar stand out from most RPGs to this day, despite the fact the game is nearly two decades old. That concept was fascinating to me as a child; I played Avatar after Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy, and that difference in gameplay left a big impression on me. Do you plan to do anything similar?

[pauljessup]

I probably won't with this game, since the actual gameplay will be more zelda/secret of mana in influence (mostly because that's simpler- you press a button, you hit, or the enemy hits you). But the plot will definitely be different and complex- it won't be about saving the world. It will be about saving your brother from despair. It's more a complex personal drama than OMG THE WORLD IS ENDING QUICK! KILL THINGS!

That said, I have this idea in my head for my next game. I like the idea of the ethical decisions in Avatar, and I also like the idea of a game that doesn't focus on the main character enacting violence. I'm toying with an idea of a pacifist character, and maybe a different way of playing a game or telling a story.

That will be in the future, maybe a year from now. It's still just a vague sketch in my head, I need to work it out better.

[pauljessup]

I won't be posting any more updates of this game here.

[Davidobot]

I won't be posting any more updates of this game here.

Why not? :O

[CMFIend420]

...and, a new screenshot, this time showing off the new sprite art, and the sophistication of the engine's shadow casting.

-snip-

Looks nice, I like it alot. A mix of Zelda and Silent Hill sounds whacky and interesting. Good luck, RPG's can be really fun!

[Sebas]

Hi, where I can get it?; The DropBox's links give me an 404 error.

[pauljessup]

The love file has been taken down because it's OLD OLD OLD and we probably won't be releasing the Love file after this, since it's going to become a commercial adventure.

The demo is still a little bit aways off as well.