Welcome back!

I wasn't able to put as much work as I wanted in the project this weekend, but I decided to present my progress to you anyway, and take this opportunity to talk a bit more about my vision for the game.

As you can see in the video attached to this post, part of the game will be played as a 2D platformer, with pretty classic controls. I am making all the assets on my own using a graphics vector editor (Inkscape). I'm still pretty new to this, so don't expect anything too fancy. For the moment I decided to get my animations running using rough shapes, so nothing you can see in the video is final. As you explore the environment, you'll encounter enemies roaming around, which you'll dispose of using a system similar to the one in Line Fencing.

So what is this all about?

The codename for this new project is 4 Monks. You play as a fighting monk whose 3 colleagues have been kidnapped by the emperor. After breaching the palace, your goal is to find them, free them and defeat the emperor with their help. All 4 monks have different skills in battle depending on the weapon they use, but also as you explore the palace. You'll need to make full use of those if you hope to reach the final boss.

For example, the first monk you'll be able to free uses the father of all shaolin weapons, the staff. First used to mostly defend one self against wild beasts and bandits (as well as to help walk around), it will be mostly a weapon for defense, allowing the monk wielding it to protect themselves and their colleagues. But the staff is not just for defense, it can also deliver powerful blows! Outside of battles, it can be used to reach places too high for a normal jump.

As a kung fu practitioner, I've wanted to make a game with shaolin kung fu for a while now. I can't pretend to be a scholar on the subject though, so the universe of the game will be inspired by rather than based on (I might not even keep the name).

What's next?

4 Monks will not be a very long game. I intend to make it as polished as possible, but I don't think it will be more than half an hour of gameplay (one at most). The goal here is first to finish something, and second to test the idea further, in a more fully fledged experience rather than a rushed out game jam demo. What I am going to do next depends a lot on how things go with this project. Either I'll be happy with the mechanics, and I'll try to expand them in a longer game, with RPG elements like equipment and leveling, but in a different setting (which I already have in mind: it involves dragons). Or I might just expand 4 Monks if I'm really satisfied with it. Or I might do something else entirely!

Between work, life and other projects I can't promise regular updates, but if you're interested in the game, feel free to follow me. I'll keep posting news on the Line Fencing page for a while, but as soon as I have something playable I'll create a new page for 4 Monks.

Be safe!