58 replies to this topic

[icymx]

Welcome to Earth is a platformer I've been working on for the past few months. By the time I've finished making it, it will have 60-80 levels spread across 6-8 worlds (ten levels in each). 

Story: The game follows the story of a young alien from the Moon, who lands on Earth after accidentally hitching a ride on a NASA spaceship. The game is about the alien trying to find the spaceship that will take him back so he can be reunited with his race. The story is illustrated in cutscenes that show at various intervals.

Information:
Category: Platformer
File Size: 9.8MB (newest version)
GM Version: GM8
Vista Compatible: yes
Changes Screen Resolution: no
Download Link: HERE

Screenshots:

Download:

Download Version 0.8

Comments are welcome. Enjoy!

Edited by icymx, 17 March 2013 - 04:14 AM.

[MMEntertainment]

Gameplay looks good, but it's the graphics I'm worried about. I'm not very good with graphics either, so don't take it personally. But I'd recommend touching up the alien a bit. Or, if you can't touch him up, animate him. (blink, yawn) Good luck!

[icymx]

@MMEntertainment thanks for the reply. I'm not great with graphics, however I thought they looked okay. The alien has a walking animation but nothing else, because he hardly ever stands still so there'd be no point in making one for the "idle" position. Do you think he would look better if he had a shadow of some kind, or more shading?

[Pixelade]

Hmm yes. Some shading would be nice. I would also suggest looking up on some pixel art tutorials. They really do wonders! To save you some time, here's a website of 30 excellent pixel art tutorials: tutorials

I'd like to advertise my game because it doesn't get any replies but.... It's illegal I think

[MMEntertainment]

Yes, maybe add some shaders. Another thing you may want to add is some iconic landmarks in your backgrouds, just to show that it's earth and maybe symbolize where you are. Maybe add the Eiffel Tower, an American flag, etc.... Also, the red enemies.... This should be earth, so maybe you should make them into people. Or some type of tank/vehicle. You need to make the levels LOOK like Earth. Other than that, it's a fun game! I like it a lot!

[BenLap]

The graphics are quite cute, but could definitely be worked on. MMEntertainment's idea about adding some known landmarks to the background would make an awesome addition.

You should implement some story elements that could shed some light as to why the player can fall down faster on a whim. Also, the gravity feels awkwardly weak; you can exploit this "feature" and add a story element that explains why.

I should note that I'm thankful that the rockets don't blow up in the poor alien's face when they are primed before launch. On numerous occasions I landed on them and said "whew."

The game is simple and plays well. I like it. Keep it up, icymx.

[icymx]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

@Pixelade those tutorials really helped. Thanks for the link.

@MMEntertainment good idea. I'll add famous landmarks in the next few updates. I'll also change the enemies to something more familiar, such as a tiger or something.

@BenLap based on input from my friends, as well as others on the GMC, I've decided to increase the gravity so it is more "realistic". I'm glad you liked the game.

[orange08]

Pretty decent. I got stuck on the boss, though. His behavior is very unpredictable, he changes direction without even needing to slow down. One thing I disliked about the controls was that you cannot fall faster downwards while you are still jumping upwards.

[icymx]

@orange08 woo, you commented on my game! (yay?)
Yep, I'm working on making the boss's actions more predictable. There used to be a healthbar during the bossfight too, but it somehow disappeared with the update I think
Either that or the computers at school didn't show it for some reason when I was showing some of my friends... During the bossfight, can you see healthbars above the player and boss?

[lemon405]

nice game!

[icymx]

@lemon405 thanks! Do you have any feedback?

[TheUltimate]

Alrighty, here's some stuff I wrote down as I played the game.

- Music and sound effects are great, especially the second world.
- The ground tiles are nice, but like others have said, the rest of the graphics need more work. They don't have to be terribly elaborate. All you need is a distinct, consistent style. Keep making things like moving clouds and rain, though. The little details you add do a lot more for the game than you think.
- I like how the rockets circle around and follow you.
- An "end of level" arrow or finish line would do wonders. If I hadn't read your post or decided to jump off the side of the screen, I would have thought there was only one level.
- Going left and right is a little slow considering the size of the levels. There’s a strange delay with the fast falling, almost as if it’s a gravity increase or something instead of the standard ground stomp move, and it's throwing my timing off. It might be easier to use when there’s an animation for it though.
- I suddenly have health when I’m fighting the boss? You know, I would have loved to have it when I was trying to dodge all those rockets... Speaking of rockets, it’d be cool if there was some exhaust coming out of it about half a second before launching so it’s easier to time your jumps.

The game has a lot of polish, but it needs to be harder. Remove the one-hit deaths, paste the story in, make more levels, and I can see this going a long way.

Hope that helps!

[icymx]

@TheUltimate wow, thanks for the feedback!

- Music and sound effects are great, especially the second world.

Thanks! Being able to compose your own music really helps, and for the sound effects, SFXr, combined with FL Studio for reverb, were all I used.

- The ground tiles are nice, but like others have said, the rest of the graphics need more work. They don't have to be terribly elaborate. All you need is a distinct, consistent style. Keep making things like moving clouds and rain, though. The little details you add do a lot more for the game than you think.

Thanks! What do you have in mind for the other graphics?

- I like how the rockets circle around and follow you.

Thanks :3

- An "end of level" arrow or finish line would do wonders. If I hadn't read your post or decided to jump off the side of the screen, I would have thought there was only one level.

Hadn't considered that; good idea.

- Going left and right is a little slow considering the size of the levels. There’s a strange delay with the fast falling, almost as if it’s a gravity increase or something instead of the standard ground stomp move, and it's throwing my timing off. It might be easier to use when there’s an animation for it though.

Yep, the physics are kind of messed up at the moment. I'm working on an update with better physics - 6 times more gravity (the game used to be set on the moon, but when I changed it I left the gravity as is to save myself from having to modify the levels, but now it's on Earth I might as well change the gravity to Earth gravity). There's also twice the horizontal move speed, improved fastfall, etc etc
So basically everything you mentioned.

- I suddenly have health when I’m fighting the boss? You know, I would have loved to have it when I was trying to dodge all those rockets... Speaking of rockets, it’d be cool if there was some exhaust coming out of it about half a second before launching so it’s easier to time your jumps.

Hmmm... I guess I'll put a healthbar in the normal levels, and make them harder. Then I could add items that refill your health etc. and if you die, you go back to the start of the world you're in... Sound good to you?

The game has a lot of polish, but it needs to be harder. Remove the one-hit deaths, paste the story in, make more levels, and I can see this going a long way.

I've been working on a cutscene for a while now, and when it's done I'll add it to the game. I'll also need to program a scrolling textbox or the like, rather than the default GM one. I'm glad you liked the game!

[TheUltimate]

"Thanks! Being able to compose your own music really helps, and for the sound effects, SFXr, combined with FL Studio for reverb, were all I used."
You made the music yourself? Wow.

"What do you have in mind for the other graphics?"
Check out Hellscape by Viloen, or heck, check out Dual Personality. Each character you run into is completely different and everything's animated.
Not only are landmarks a good idea, but the backgrounds should be as non-generic as possible. The first world has hills, but is he in China, Germany, or the US? That kind of thing.

"I guess I'll put a healthbar in the normal levels, and make them harder. Then I could add items that refill your health etc. and if you die, you go back to the start of the world you're in... Sound good to you?"
If "start of the world" means "most recent checkpoint," then yes. Definitely.

[icymx]

"Thanks! Being able to compose your own music really helps, and for the sound effects, SFXr, combined with FL Studio for reverb, were all I used."
You made the music yourself? Wow.

Yup. I've only been composing for about a year though, and in my opinion the music's not fantastic...

"What do you have in mind for the other graphics?"
Check out Hellscape by Viloen, or heck, check out Dual Personality. Each character you run into is completely different and everything's animated.
Not only are landmarks a good idea, but the backgrounds should be as non-generic as possible. The first world has hills, but is he in China, Germany, or the US? That kind of thing.

Good idea. One issue that I've run into, however, is that the game only really should take place in one country. You see, the four worlds go as follows:
World 1: Grassy area
World 2: Forest
World 3: Mountain
World 4: Icy Mountain-top with a yeti as the final boss.
These areas sort of go together, so if the player was to see the Eiffel Tower, and then two levels later the Statue of Liberty, they'd get quite confused. Do you have any ideas for making the game interesting, while keeping it consistent?

"I guess I'll put a healthbar in the normal levels, and make them harder. Then I could add items that refill your health etc. and if you die, you go back to the start of the world you're in... Sound good to you?"
If "start of the world" means "most recent checkpoint," then yes. Definitely.

Well no, I actually meant the start of that world, meaning that there'd only really be four "death checkpoints" in the game. But that's a good idea to make the player go back to the last checkpoint they passed. Thanks!

[lemon405]

Your game is nice, but it's a bit hard to me lol
Did you make other games?
cheer!

[icymx]

@lemon405 thanks :3
Yep, I've made heaps of other games but only one other has actually been released. If you think Welcome to Earth is hard, just check out my other game

Edited by icymx, 18 August 2012 - 07:56 AM.

[lemon405]

@lemon405 thanks :3
Yep, I've made heaps of other games but only one other has actually been released. If you think Welcome to Earth is hard, just check out my other game

Thank you XD
I really like your other game Capsule of Light

[icymx]

Version 0.6 Released!
I have just completed version 0.6 of the game! Download it HERE.

Changes:

• The physics have been given a COMPLETE overhaul, and the levels redesigned accordingly
• Springs have been added to accommodate for the fact that due to the increased gravity, the player can't jump as high
• Level 11 has been created, and Level 10 has been given various touchups
• The player now has a gradient fill, to make it fit better with the other sprites
• The background in World 1 has been given a more distinct gradient
• The clouds have been redrawn to have an outline
• The healthbars now show up in the bossfight
• The bossfight physics have also changed, and the player has been given more health
• The game's code has been cleaned up, so now it is more efficient
• Key configuration #2 now works during the bossfight
• The shortcut where pressing Q and E lets you skip levels has been removed
• Various bugfixes

As you can see, quite a lot has been done. I hope you enjoy the update!

[lemon405]

0.6 graphics are nice, but I can't load and see options
thought:
1.you can try 2.5D to make it look better
2.please fix load button and options button..
3.you can try to change message box theme
cheer! I like your game:)