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Spirit Seeker 2009 [Next Gen Compo]

Author:	s-m-r	Submitted:	23rd June, 2009	Favourites:	0
Genre:	Arcade	Downloads:	209
Rated:

Edited By s-m-r on 8/3/2009

SPIRIT SEEKER (2009)
*copyleft 2009, let-off studios*

Proud 2nd Place winner of the Summer 2009 Next Gen Competition!

version 1.1 (look in the bottom-right corner of the title screen to make sure you have the most recent version of the game)

HOW TO PLAY: this is a quick-to-learn arcade game, where the object is to destroy five of the obsidian pillars that gradually appear throughout the arena. collect good spirits by touching them, and avoid or destroy the evil ones. to gain more energy, touch the mentor's platform when it glows. do not dawdle; astute players will find the game easier, while those who take their time will see the difficulty accelerate quickly out of control.

TO MOVE: use the joypad or press the UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT ARROW keys to move the wizard apprentice in the arena.

TO SHOOT: the wizard apprentice must have at least 1 point of magical energy (displayed in the upper right corner of the screen). press Button 1 on the joypad or the SHIFT key on the keyboard. your wizard's apprentice will shoot in the direction they are facing: left, right, up, or down. attempting to shoot diagonally will not work.

be aware that each shot from the staff of haekon will lower the wizard apprentice's magical power correspondingly. if the magical energy ever reaches 0, the wizard apprentice cannot shoot. however, one can simply collect the glowing yellow spirits to gain more.

TO GAIN MAGICAL ENERGY: glowing yellow spirits will flit about the arena. touch them to collect them using the magical staff of haekon.

TO DEFEAT ENEMIES: there are two types of evil spirits one will see floating about the arena. the weakest are the cloud-like lost spirits, which you can banish with a single hit from a bolt of magical energy.

the second type, known as dark beasts, require several direct hits to banish. these will appear if the wizard's apprentice takes too long to destroy the obsidian pillars.

TO LOSE THE GAME: at the top of the screen can be seen the wizard apprentice's energy level. it will gradually disappear as time goes on. if there is no energy left, then the wizard apprentice will collapse from exhaustion, ending the game.

one can replenish their wizard apprentice's energy by touching the platform upon which the mentor stands, when available. it will be clear that this is possible: the mentor's platform will be surrounded by a nimbus of glowing energy.

there is a price for this boon: touching the platform will increase the wizard apprentice's energy, while depleting them of 100 points of magical energy.

TO WIN THE GAME: periodically, an obsidian pillar will emerge from the ground in the arena. the wizard apprentice must hit these with several direct hits from the staff of haekon. as soon as five pillars have been destroyed, the apprentice succeeds.

once one has completed the game, the challenge mode is available. at the title screen, you must simply do the right thing to activate it. starting the game once challenge mode is activated will introduce another level of difficulty to your quest to wield the staff of haekon.

ABOUT THIS GAME: spirit seeker is a game originally created by SlowMotionRiot Studios (now known as let-off studios) in 2006. it was the first game released by that game studio.

now, in 2009, let-off studios presents a complete remake of that game, with new gameplay elements, an immersive orchestral soundtrack, updated graphics, and special graphical- and sound-effects. it is the hope of let-off studios that everyone enjoys the classic arcade feel and simple game mechanics, and is impressed by the updated visuals, smoother coding, and evocative sounds.

this game was remade for the "Next Gen" competition at The Daily Click website: www.create-games.com

thanks to W3R3W00F for introducing this compo, and for continually extending the deadline so spirit seeker 2009 could be completed on time.

Review This Download

http://www.let-off.com/software/seeker09.zip (2.31 mkb )

Posted by UrbanMonk

23rd June, 2009

Niiiice Looking Graphics, at least from here anyway.

I'll have to play this later.

Posted by W3R3W00F

23rd June, 2009

Rated :

As it stands, it's a fun game.

While there's still time, I would suggest altering the gameplay abit and adding extra staves, abilities, character stats, and what not to the game.

That would get a fave from me.

Posted by Solgryn

23rd June, 2009

Rated :

This isnt challenging at all, it was quite boring. But the graphics are really nice =D I like your style. But really, too easy

Posted by s-m-r

23rd June, 2009

Hey, thanks for the feedback, folks! Some responses are in order.

Had I time, I'd experiment with all sorts of additions; W3R3W00F, all of yours would be great! I actually envision an expansion on this concept for a sequel, very similar to Gauntlet or possibly even Xybots, with even more arcade action and variables. But this time of the year and this month in particular are very busy for me, so I wanted to finish what I had started up to this point and make sure it was submitted for the Compo. If things are sorted quicker than I anticipate, then I'll be sure to revisit it; I just can't guarantee any changes at this time.

Regarding the difficulty: Solgryn, glad to hear you were able to cruise through the game without much of a problem! I was able to zip through it myself--even the challenge mode--but I always remember hearing that it's always easier for the developer than the typical player, and I didn't want to make it even more difficult. Perhaps I can go in and make some minor adjustments to the internal timers and what not. Perhaps I'll have it finished prior to the Compo deadline.

Thanks again for the feedback; please, keep it coming.

Posted by DMT

23rd June, 2009

Rated :

Maybe you should add more enemies, more often... And how do you activate Challenge Mode? Press right? I ask because I want to play Challenge Mode before I review it.

The graphics are pretty good, though.

Posted by s-m-r

23rd June, 2009

Oh, you'll figure out how to activate challenge mode on your own. I don't want to give it away. Think about the instructions.

And feedback has been persuasive enough that I think I will amp up the difficulty a bit; after my evening obligations tonight, I'll do some tweaking. Details on the update will be forthcoming.

And I'm happy to hear that folks are pleased with the graphics. While I still may be a novice coder, pixel art is one aspect in which I feel I've made a lot of progress in the past few years.

Posted by s-m-r

24th June, 2009

EDIT: I've now updated the game to version 1.1 (the EXE name is the same, but on the title screen, you'll see the version number listed in the bottom-right corner). Some minor spawning issues have been sorted, as well as the difficulty being increased across the board.

...Good luck with Challenge Mode!

Posted by s-m-r

29th June, 2009

I'm still looking for feedback, folks, so if you can make some comments about Spirit Seeker '09 and what I can do to improve future versions (or this budding idea of a sequel!), please make note of it here.

Also, I'm looking for things I did right when updating from the original. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Posted by s-m-r

3rd July, 2009

Thanks to the folks who are voting for Spirit Seeker '09 as the Game of the Month! It's very flattering.

Although I was pressed for time, I worked diligently on this project and am quite happy with the outcome. Glad to hear some folks think the game is worth their time. Quite a pleasant surprise...!

Posted by erghhhhx

4th July, 2009

Rated :

Lil too confusing, but still a decent game.

Posted by s-m-r

6th July, 2009

@ Toxic Avenger: let me know what you thought was confusing, and I'll see what I can do in terms of future updates.

Posted by Jack Zhou

13th July, 2009

Rated :

A little bland, to be honest, suffers from lack of variety. You collect yellow things and kill pillars that come every once a minute or something. It just feels like you're running around catching yellow things the entire game. Consider adding small critters or something to pass the time. =\

Posted by s-m-r

14th July, 2009

Thanks for the honest feedback, Jack Zhou. You can only polish a turd so much, you know.

And my free time has been limited due to personal and day-job commitments.

Still, I think of this as a sizable improvement over the original, which was similarly repetitive. The look and feel of the game in general received a major overhaul (and the most effort). I was wary of adding too many things to the gameplay that were different or improvements over the original.

But I definitely want to incorporate all the suggestions I've seen in the above comments for the sequel...

Thanks for your feedback, everyone--keep it coming, please!

Author

s-m-r
Slow-Motion Riot

Registered
04/06/2006
Points
1078

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