Well, I'm back. I've been playing various games. I'm going to college in October (don't ask why, I don't know why they decided to set it up that way yet).

Anyway, how have you all been?

I've also been polishing up my game, Elemaiden. Here's a cross-post from a few forums:

Engine: Game Maker 8 (will be ported to ENIGMA when Josh@Dreamland makes a fully developed version available)

Project started: October 2009 (progress has halted for weeks on a few occasions, but I got back into it)

Genre: Danmaku shooter

Recommended system specs for the game as it is (to get 45-60 fps):

2.4 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent

512 MB RAM

64 MB VRAM, preferably GeForce 5xxx/Radeon 9xxx series or higher

Decent performance not guaranteed below these specs. The ENIGMA version will be way more efficient.

Development Team and Contributors:

Purianite (Scripting, soundtrack, some graphics)

Sour (Sprites for versions after this, as well as the first few)

Alex/Kuro Kitsune-chan (not sure what she wants to go by) (Storyline)

Ninji (Logo, scripting assistance, many of the sprites up to alpha 11)

rainbow_rena (Character art beyond this version)

Runi (HUD template)

Doomsday Houjuu (Story assistance, soundtrack assistance)

criss990 (Bullet pattern and story assistance)

Fusion? (Story assistance)

Full Throttle (Website work)

Storyline:

Centuries ago, the Demon Overlord Larevail plagued the land of Philestra. He wreaked havoc everywhere he went, causing pain and suffering to those around him. When all seemed lost, the Goddess of the Elemental Crystals sent her four guardians to save the land. Using the powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, they vanquished Larevail, and sealed him away. Peace returned to the land, and the Goddess turned the guardians into mortals so they could stay and protect the people of Philestra. They pass their powers onto their descendants, ensuring its safety for years to come. Now, after many years, the seal has weakened, and Larevail has broken free, though in a weaker state. He sends four of his minions to gather the Elemental Crystals so he can be restored to his former power. With the last of his strength, he possesses Seraphina Meiala, the queen of the most powerful kingdom in Philestra, and her two sisters, Serena and Soraya. With the crystals gone, and the continent in jeopardy, the Guardians of the Elemental Crystals awaken, previously unaware of the powers they hold. Amaira Barlow, Rhiannon Stellastira, Mairead Lucentis, and Amelia Bright must defeat the Demon, and restore balance to their land once again.

Characters:

Amaira Barlow

Age: 14

Height: 5'5"

Element: Earth

She is the youngest of the Guardians. She's overconfident, sassy, and always stands up for what she believes in.

She's high-spirited, and talkative, always either laughing of telling wild, random stories.

Putting everyone else before herself, she tries to cheer everyone up, even if she is feeling unwell herself.

She hates to show people her soft side, and refuses to cry in front of anyone.

Rhiannon Stellastira

Age: 21

Height: 6'0"

Element: Wind

The eldest Guardian. She is intelligent, mature, and very serious.

She is considered the “brainsâ€? of the group, always coming up with plans, and the quickest to react to danger.

She is somewhat anti-social, and can come off as a little rude, though it is not intentional.

She is painfully honest, and her bluntness often hurts others' feelings.

Mairead Lucentis

Age: 17

Height: 5'7"

Element: Fire

The most agile of the Guardians, Mairead is strong, fast, and a little rude.

She's quick to fight, and her back sass often gets her into trouble.

She'll say things that are harsh and hurtful, but she's secretly kind,

and will act so if the situation calls for it. When it comes to affairs of the heart,

Mairead becomes awkward and embarrassed, and she'll have angry outbursts, which she'll immediately regret.

She becomes this way whenever Rhiannon addresses her.

Amelia Bright

Age: 15

Height: 5'4"

Element: Water

Kind-hearted and empathetic, she is the sweetest one of the Guardians.

She is quick to cry, but is very forgiving, and strangers often try to take advantage of her kindness.

She is very shy, and does not talk as much as the others, fearing her soft voice will not be heard.

She is not physically strong, and nowhere near Rhiannon's intelligence, but she is a great spell caster.

She devotes all her free time to reading magic books, rather than school books.

She can also read people very easily, often discovering how they feel before they discover it themselves.

Screenshots:

More:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot4.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot5.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot6.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot7.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot8.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot9.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot10.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/screenshot11.png

Some graphics are placeholders, many will be redone by next release

Controls:

Z = Shoot (Q for autofire)

X = Spell Attack (clears screen and launches a powerful attack (currently brokenly powerful and needs rebalancing, or maybe not, let me know what you think)

C = Switch between primary and secondary characters

V = Charge attack (when the meter is 500 or higher)

Shift = Slow down (Your options will absorb bullets based on your difficulty level)

Arrows = Move (derp)

NOTE: Only stages 1 and 2 are completed.

Known bugs:

-Staying paused too long breaks the game and will give you errors, especially if you pause in certain areas.

-Some bullets and enemies disappear, starting with things that are colored teal, purple, blue and green, for some reason. This is both a problem with Game Maker that I have to find out how to fix (maybe a technical flaw of GM). Also more common on integrated graphics, which is why the graphics card might be to blame.

-You can bomb during Last Spells, and Vaida's lasers don't show up if you bomb in her third phase and get to her last spell while still bombing. That'll be fixed, spells will be stopped at the beginning of last spells, and they will be disabled.

-Spell bonuses aren't ready yet. I misunderstood how they worked when I first made them, and they're broken anyhow.

-Icaraine Imenai kills herself after phase 2 for some reason, I'm going to investigate that deeper with help.

-Stage 2's sky fortress is missing a wall around frame 9000, no clue if I'll fix that, because Burial Agent will be making a 3D model of the thing, with a new layout and more elaborate design.

-Vaida Blümchen's name doesn't show up correctly anymore for some reason. WHY!?

Latest version (0.1.11), September 15, 2010: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4083095/Elemaiden/ElemaidenAlpha11.zip

(16 MB download)