A new Studio Sporky project - our first game

Sporky

Well, sort of, Dragoon was going to be a game before it changed to being going to be a graphic novel. Mostly it's inspiration for some recordings as I do the soundtrack. 

 

Introducing The Sprinkles of Castle Despair. A rogue-lite semi-open-world metrovanioid with soft-toy dinosaurs on skateboards and BMXs. And ice-cream, and town council bureaucracy.

The game opens with Flatpack, our soft toy protagonasaurus (like a T-Rex but fuzzier), at the local skatepark. Easy tutorial level, introducing the Tony Hawk style skateboarding. But then Binbag, another soft toy protagonasaurus turns up on a BMX. Words are exchanged about whether its OK to ride a BMX around a skatepark, and they decide the only way to settle it is a stunt competition. At this point you get to choose BMX or skateboard, and a colour scheme for your dinosaur. They are ungendered and communicate in adorable growls and roars.

Anyways, whichever you choose the event is a tie, and Flatpack and Binbag make friends and stop for an ice-cream break, at which point the town council turn up to close the skate park, calling our heroes "scallywags", "ruffians", and so on. This does not go down well, and our fuzzy chums head off to the council offices which are in a nearby haunted castle, because of course they are.

The game then progresses. Mix of 3D hub areas with secrets to discover, and side-on platforming sections for the missions, each of which ends with a boss fight against one of the councillors. You can attack with a stunt, or by throwing ice-cream to give enemies brain freeze. Money is earned for each enemy defeated, and found in filing cabinets, biscuit kitties, and so on.

Each time you lose you're bumped back to the hub to spend your money st the ice-cream van. You plonk all your money on the counter, music starts (getting more frantic as it goes on), and you have two minutes to buy upgrades. Every time you buy something the other prices change (some up, some down) to add to the generally complicated nature. Any money you don't spend is lost.

Upgrades include electric motors for the BMX or skateboard so you can grind up the railings of the spiral staircases to access new areas (the Accounts department is particularly unpleasant), cosmetic items, bigger ice-cream cones, and ice-cream sandwiches, which unlock super-attacks. These involve other dinosaurs joining in; a pterodactyl who grabs a random enemy and flies off with them, a diplodocus who you can grind up his tail, over his back, and launch off his head to do a huge ground-slam attack. 

Each councillor you defeat sees the light and joins your cause as a playable character. Probably.

How hard is it to learn Unity? 

Brio

I know (edit: knew him 15 years ago) Tony Hawk. I'll warn him you're after his crown. 

bluecat

Hi sporky,is there any thing you can't do with computers?

Sporky

I've not done any of it yet! 

TTony

It's all been done before.

Come up with something original.

TheMarlin

Sod Unity, Unreal Engine is where the money is at, lean that, and you can sell your skills in your downtime 

Unity made a huge faux pas, so they’re not down with the cool kids no more.  

Sporky

TTony said:

It's all been done before.

Come up with something original.

If you think this is derivative (which is pretty fair comment) you'll hate the ending, where Flatpack and Binbag are sitting at the now-reopened skatepark, enjoying ice creams, when a gang of rollerbladers and scooter-ers appear from the next town, wanting to take over because their council just closed their skate park... 

Sporky

TheMarlin said:

Sod Unity, Unreal Engine is where the money is at, lean that, and you can sell your skills in your downtime 

Unity made a huge faux pas, so they’re not down with the cool kids no more.  

I was mostly hoping to come up with the original idea, do a few tunes for the soundtrack, and step 4 - profit. 

TheMarlin

I once owned the rights to ‘Mr T’ for games. I was working in a ‘double dragon’ style side scroller (with Hulk Hogan) where HH helps MrT clean up a bad neighbourhood. 

Bad guys has turned kids to drug dealers (and other crime), Mr T clean up for streets and whooped the bad guys.  Glasses of milk and gold chains were power ups. 

I’ve still got some of the concept art somewhere. 

Kittyfrisk

Ah pity the fool...

TTony

Sporky said:

TTony said:

It's all been done before.

Come up with something original.

If you think this is derivative (which is pretty fair comment) you'll hate the ending, where Flatpack and Binbag are sitting at the now-reopened skatepark, enjoying ice creams, when a gang of rollerbladers and scooter-ers appear from the next town, wanting to take over because their council just closed their skate park... 

I thought it was suitably mad rather than derivative (though if anything vaguely similar had been done before, it would have completely passed me by, such is my awareness of "popular culture". )

Sporky

Brio said:

I know (edit: knew him 15 years ago) Tony Hawk. I'll warn him you're after his crown. 

I intend to include "720 faceplant" as a running gag. 

PolarityMan

Im gonna wait for the DLC

Sporky

Ah - you're looking forward to exploring Councillor Herbert's domain, waste management... 

TTony

Sporky said:

Ah - you're looking forward to exploring Councillor Herbert's domain, waste management... 

Is Herbert the one that gets done for corruption when that service is privatised?

Sporky

Dude! Spoilers! 

TTony

Sporky said:

Dude! Spoilers! 

Arrghhhh!

Sorry, post edited!

PolarityMan

Well its partly that but was also gonna hold out to get the custom that comes with the DLC.

Sporky

Ah - but if you pre-order you get a soft toy, in-game decals for your board or BMX, and the Ankylosaurus weapon pack... 

TTony

Sporky said:

Ah - but if you pre-order you get a soft toy, in-game decals for your board or BMX, and the Ankylosaurus weapon pack... 

Have you cleared that giveaway offer with your commercials management?

Sporky

You didn't say no.