February 13, 2013 at 9:01 amWhelp, The Naked Alien is done! I’ve sent out emails to sponsors, so now we play the waiting game.
I’m starting to think about what to make next. I’ve had a pixel adventure itch lately, and I found an old RPG storyline sitting on my computer that seems like it would be fun. So, I made a character, and realized he really could be William if I wanted to do an RPG with that character set.
What do you guys think of a pixel WaS from William’s perspective? Maybe top-down oldschool zelda type gameplay.
In the last few years there have been a lot of Flash games. Most of them were just developers jumping on the bandwagon – retro is the in style so let’s do that. It’s not that the retro style is necessarily bad, it’s just in too many of these games there was no consistency between the visual style, audio, subject and game-play. A few nailed it and had more success because of the extra effort they put in.
So, do I think this is a good idea? Well, done properly it could be a very enjoyable game. I really like the idea that each WaS game is different to any that came before it in the series. But also remember the Zelda series were not RPGs, they were really adventure games. A true RPG does not care about statistics and gear but about choices and consequences. That means a non-linear story which can be a lot of work.
Both adventure games and RPGs generally have the character armed with a weapon. That doesn’t really make sense to me for WaS. Could you make a game like this without William or Sly needing a weapon? A challenge to be sure, but a constraint like that could be the differentiating factor.
Could make so there’s parts where they travel together and also parts where they split up. For example William has to go into go do something (I can’t think of something for him to do right now) and Sly has to go chase after a mole in his tunnels or something.
Hey! I became a fan over a year ago, the first time i played W&S 2, and that’s why I feel like I should leave a comment about this. The idea of every W&S game changing it’s graphic style sounds cool at first, but when I think about it, what really got me stuck into playing and replaying W&S 2 for about a year was the amazing music and artwork. It creates this great atmosphere that, personally, I haven’t experienced with any other flash game. Just an opinion, since you asked. Anxious for The Naked Alien! Keep up the good work :)
After seeing the beautiful artwork of W&S 2, I think I’d be really sad if you switched to a pixelated version, even though I love pixelated games. Just thought I’d add my $0.02.
Yeah, I think I’m gonna go ahead with the adventure game idea I had from a while ago. You guys are right, I think people would be disappointed with a pixel WaS.
I’m not gonna rule out doing a pixel adventure with William sometime in the future, though. I think that’d be different enough where it wouldn’t cause a disturbance in the force. ^^ I’d probably call it something different too, like “William’s Story”, to make a clear line.
I like the beauty of William and Sly 1/2 and I think there are enough pixelated games out there. But W&S should bring in some adventure elements, but don’t lose the relaxation or the calmness of it.
It’s not the gameplay that gets me in William and Sly. It’s the background. I’m not knocking your ability to make enjoyable games (Azurefish had me in stitches, because I can’t catch the little bastards when I’m fishing), but a pixilated William and Sly 3 might feel a little banal. That is, it might take away from what makes the first and second special.
That might just be coming from somebody that’s not a huge fan of pixilated games. Except Super Mario Rampage. There’s something about slaughtering Goombas with a SPAS-12 that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.
Yeah, one of the cool things about W&S is that there’s not really anything you can get to improve yourself (well wings but that’s one thing and the other things in W&S 2, but those are one off things and you do interesting things to get them) you just go and experience.
After playing both WaS games multiple times, I can agree with many others that would not enjoy a WaS pixel game as much as an art based one, however, I wouldn’t rule it out.
I don’t know what backstory you may have for William, but it occurred to me that you may be able to make “action-puzzle” pixel games that revolve around William, possibly before or after he met Sly. Alternatively, games that focus on Sly would continue to have the art style. Both game types can take longer or shorter times to make, depending on how you work them. An excellent Pixel game you might try relating to what I meant by “action-puzzle” is a game called Seedling. If you have time, check it out. For completion, it’s anywhere from 2.5-4 hours long.
Yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinking! A Zelda type game. :)