Hi Mega! GBA isn't an art style.

ActRaiser is a very overrated game. I'm not sure how it became a cult classic, since it's neither good nor influential. Your description of it makes it sound detailed and fleshed out… but it's more like, one of the most possibly bare-bones experiences you can find on the SNES.

Even as an early game on the system, it was still lacking in almost every way. The graphics were at least on par with other games, but the animations were stiff (a recurring trend in Quintet's games unfortunately). The music is the main good point, being made by Yuzo Koshiro, and it's hard to describe him as anything other than "a genius".

But the gameplay itself, both parts, is horrid. In the simulation mode you just repetitively clear out objects, signal a direction for roads to go in, and then aim the arrows in four directions. The leveling is undeniably forced, it doesn't even feel like an RPG (the game requires certain levels to access the later areas, so…).

The platforming mode has some of the worst controls in an SNES game. It's basically Castlevania-style jumping but without the context of being a strategic platformer with limited resources and interesting subweapons. In fact the platforming mode of ActRaiser has only one weapon, the sword, which has only one basic slash and that's it. There are some magic items but if you don't reserve them for bosses, then you're just wasting them.

Speaking of bosses, they're arguably the worst aspect of ActRaiser. You have to hope you're lucky enough to outlast them. Like the Minotaur guy, how does anyone reasonably avoid taking hits??? He throws his axe at the precise moment he falls, then immediately jumps, which means without EXACT timing you have to take a hit in order to hurt him most of the time. The last boss is a joke, with full health you can stand in place and rapid-fire the beam to kill him, lol

Now look, I know what you mean, by talking about it… but I think you can stand to be a bit more ambitious than imitating it or basing your core gameplay on it. You can do *better*, Mega. Believe in yourself.

Debatable. When people refer to a videogame system as an "art style", they're referring to the art styles one must adapt out of necessity to accommodate for the graphical limitations of the system. While these art styles might not have been preferable to the artists responsible at the time, many people have since decided that their nostalgic, minimalist and structured qualities are desirable enough for use in their own right.

Quit being so literal.

*shot*

By art style, I mean art spec. The technical limitations of the GBA are what defined it's 'style', with sprites, backgrounds and tiles being limited to certain dimensions and colors.

Next.

Objection!

Minecraft is an overrated game. Megaman was an overrated game (series). <insert any cult classic here> is an overrated game in the eyes of the non-fans. Personally, I don't enjoy the Actraiser games.

Which brings me to my main point:

I'm not copying the Actraiser games.

Quote:

Let me sum up the core gameplay in a word: Actraiser.

Quote:

I'm specifically taking the "RPG" and "Platformer" elements…

Note, core gameplay. Now this may be open to some debate, but this defines the mechanics of the game at it's lowest level. The easiest way to describe this is by using another game as a reference. Who cares of the old Actraiser games were horrible? I'm not making one.

I could have described the gameplay as being similar to "Gargoyles Quest" or I could have likewise said that "I'm making a game that's based on Zelda 2, with Final Fantasy style overworlds/towns". Does it matter?

Basically:

Quote:

Quit being so literal.

Ahh, seeing people so confident and invested brings a tear to my eye.

All the more fun to crush.

In all seriousness though, it'll be interesting to see a mix of GM, RM, and various programming languages like we've never seen before.

@mega, graphical specifications and style are things with two different connotations though

saying I'm being literal is a moot point, its validity has no bearing on what I've said

mega, it is objectively possible to define a game as "overrated". when you look at a game in the context of itself overall, compared to other games of the time and later, thinking of what the developers had intended with it, and based on its budget and development time, it is possible to say "okay look this game is just not very good". then you can consider the existing reviews of the game and personal opinions. it is furthermore possible to say "the general opinion of actraiser is higher than what it would logically be if the opinions were based solely on objective standards of quality" (opinions on games are not always logical though, and thus my statement of being unsure, as i do not understand the complex interaction that causes people to enjoy a game that is clearly worse than another available game, nor can anyone at this point except perhaps the most talented designers).

your statement also relies on the assumption that a non-fan is the one speaking. I love ActRaiser, and saying "non-fan" in that context is untrue.

i also did specifically mention "core gameplay" in my post. ActRaiser's mechanics can't possibly be described any lower than they currently are because the game is extremely basic. that's why I said the things i did.

anyway to quote a great man, "stop comparing cheese to lions", all I'm saying is that you are drawing an analogy from a game that is both A ) nothing like what your game will be, and B ) not very good on its own (which makes it bad for drawing comparison from, and causes only the most basic aspects of its design to be relevant, which could be seen as nothing more than coincidences brought about by entirely separated design processes)

if you are going to post a blog with such a trivial amount of information and only a vague comparison to another unrelated game, please don't complain about me being "literal" for trying to discern the value in what you've said. i am trying to offer feedback on your idea in its most unshaped form, which is difficult when you are criticizing the very comparison that you yourself made.

fool, how can you win if i'm getting first place? =3

why mention Actraiser, when what your really talking about it Zelda II =P

p.s. whose the jellyfish guy? funny that jelly's post is longer than this blog!

He amuses me too. :P

Reminds me of a philosophy student I knew who could rant on for hours about mere words I dropped into conversations, and why I shouldn't. Made for some enlightening arguments conversations.

You win for now, FamousJellyfish.

Zelda 2? Guess so. Why not Castlevania 2 while we're at it? Or one of the many 'clones'? :P