Hey guys. I've been working on an action platformer, inspired by the modern Prince of Persia and Castlevania games. I'd be really grateful if you'd take a few minutes to try it out and tell me what you think, either on your PC, or on your XBox 360 if you have a Creator's Club membership.

The current build has maybe 5-10 minutes worth of gameplay in it, so I'm still primarily looking for general feedback - how do the controls feel, how does the art look, how is the audio, etc. Anything goes, though - if you have specific feedback about the level currently in the game, I'd be glad to hear it.

PC download:
http://luminance.org/inferus/setup.exe
Note: Requires a Direct3D 9-capable video card and an installation of .NET Framework 3.5.

Creators Club download thread (for XBox 360):
http://forums.xna.com/forums/t/35499.aspx

Keyboard Controls:
Left/Right : Move
Hold Left/Right (Towards Ledge) : Grip Ledge/Plate
Up : Mantle
Hold Down : Crouch
A : Jump
D : Punch Attack
F : Dagger Attack
Hold Left/Right (Towards Wall) + A : Wall Rebound
Left Shift : Backdash
F12 : Open Debug Menu
~ : Open/Close Level Editor

XBox 360 Controls:
Left/Right : Move
Hold Left/Right (Towards Ledge) : Grip Ledge/Plate
Up : Mantle
Hold Down : Crouch
A : Jump
X : Punch Attack
Y : Dagger Attack
Hold Left/Right (Towards Wall) + A : Wall Rebound
Left Trigger : Backdash
Right Bumper : Open Debug Menu

Here is a screenshot:


And here is some random youtube footage:

Note: The 360 version of this will definitely cost money, since XBLIG has no support for free games, and the PC version might eventually cost money as well. Is this compatible with the forum rules? I remember the old rules were very much anti-commercial but there isn't a rules thread now, so I'm unsure.

Nice graphics, did you pay someone to draw them?

I didn't notice any bizarre behaviour, except that I don't know if it's because of my obsolete computer but the game is rather slow

The sandbox level runs faster so I think it's due to my pc

Found a glitch, when you make a platform that moves diagonally and you're standing on it it works fine when going down/left right but when it's going up/left right it doesn't (the player character slides away from it)

Nice graphics, did you pay someone to draw them?

Yeah. Glad you like them!

I didn't notice any bizarre behaviour, except that I don't know if it's because of my obsolete computer but the game is rather slow

Out of curiosity, what kind of machine are you running? The processor and graphics card are the most important.

The sandbox level runs faster so I think it's due to my pc

Found a glitch, when you make a platform that moves diagonally and you're standing on it it works fine when going down/left right but when it's going up/left right it doesn't (the player character slides away from it)

Thanks, that's good to know - I don't think I had tested platforms that moved diagonally in a while. I'll probably be using them later on so I should make sure I fix it.

1 ghz athlon + geforce fx 5500

1 ghz athlon + geforce fx 5500

Ah, yes, that would probably be it. Surprised it ran at all.

It might run better for you if you go into the graphics options and lower the resolution, to like 800x600. You might also get a better framerate in fullscreen mode.

combat was kind of difficult. When I tried to crouch and hit the enemies, the attack button wouldn't respond at times. everything else was pretty solid so far. I really like what you've done in terms of animation and sound. looking forward to playing more of this.

Also when you use the "AttachTo" function in the editor you should code it so that it doesn't move the entity/geometry/whatever from where it is, for example if you place a switch on the top of a moving platform and "attach" it to the platform the switch will appear in another position

combat was kind of difficult. When I tried to crouch and hit the enemies, the attack button wouldn't respond at times. everything else was pretty solid so far. I really like what you've done in terms of animation and sound. looking forward to playing more of this.

If the combo meter at the top of the screen is red, that means your attacks are locked out because you missed the combo timer. I probably need to make this way more obvious. There's also a short delay before attacks are enabled again, which could do with some UI.

Were there specific things about the combat that felt difficult, or was it just the attacks? I know that right now it can be quite difficult to avoid enemies' attacks since they have a very short wind-up animation.

Did you find anything else confusing?

Also when you use the "AttachTo" function in the editor you should code it so that it doesn't move the entity/geometry/whatever from where it is, for example if you place a switch on the top of a moving platform and "attach" it to the platform the switch will appear in another position

Thanks, I think that used to work correctly but I probably broke it.

It's also possible to walk on the top of the monsters, it's probably a feature instead of a bug

Yeah, the combo meter was a bit confusing to me. I wasn't really sure what was going on with it.

It just seemed to me that the monsters attacked too quickly. Perhaps they should have a stunned state.

There's a new build up with an additional section of the aqueducts and a boss fight. Check it out and tell me what you think! Lots of stuff has changed; one particularly big change is that I added a slide attack that is useful for beginning combos against small enemies.

Here's a playthrough video, if you get stuck or just don't feel like downloading:

So, what was your role Hiret?

Very impressive looking, I am downloading it now and will make a write up of what I think afterwards.

That boss fight is gruelingly long, in my opinion. I guess it's not really THAT long(3minutes I guess so bad) but it felt like it took forever. I'll have to play it myself tomorrow morning to see if it's that long when you're actually playing it or if it's just because I'm watching a video of someone playing a game.

Some of my favorite boss fights in this type of game have been much longer - for example Eligor and Dracula in Order of Ecclesia - so I don't think 3 minutes is necessarily too long. But you may be right; the boss fight is rather simple and monotonous at present, not nearly on par with either of those examples. I was more afraid of the boss feeling like a pushover than I was of it being too hard/tedious so I leaned towards making her have a large health pool.

So, what was your role Hiret?

Very impressive looking, I am downloading it now and will make a write up of what I think afterwards.

Programming, writing, most of the level and game design, and bits of sound fx/art here and there. Everything else was done by my artist and sound designer.

Alright, after attempting the first level on a keyboard... I must admit this game is EXTREMELY difficult on a keyboard.

It's probably just me though; because I use the arrow keys over A and D.

Hopefully I can get my hands on a Xbox 360 controller, and give this game a real test.

Alright, after attempting the first level on a keyboard... I must admit this game is EXTREMELY difficult on a keyboard.

It's probably just me though; because I use the arrow keys over A and D.

Hopefully I can get my hands on a Xbox 360 controller, and give this game a real test.

If you didn't notice (it's not in the readme) you can use the arrow keys instead of WASD if you like. You can also use H and L instead of Q and E for Backflip and Slide.

Well, yes, I was using the arrow keys. I was referring more to the attack buttons.

Repelling wall to wall was also difficult for me, it felt somewhat clunky trying to do it on a keyboard.

As I said I will play again with a 360 controller, and see how I feel then.

I know my computer specs are way more than adequate to run this game.