Steve Dixon of Purple Unicorn Software talks exclusively to RGC about his latest work-in-progress – Lucy the Ladybird:
I have played some interesting games made using Jonathan Cauldwell’s Arcade Game Designer (AGD) especially graphically but nothing much has really captured my imagination or done something I would say was new or creative, (the exception probably being the recent Land Of Mire Mare with its Ultimate ‘Sabre Man’ theme) so I decided to have a go myself and see what I could incorporate new into AGD.
Lucy The Ladybird is another game which I am hoping will be a little different from the usual platformers mostly in the way of the viewed perspective. The story will be something in the vein of Lucy the Ladybird being on the wall of a small derelict building soaking up the sun overseeing her new Larvae when the garden is invaded by the larger and aggressive invasive ladybird species Harlequin (Harmonia). Lucy’s own Larvae retreat up the wall and inside a near by air brick (wall vent) and Lucy must enter to rescue and find them all.
So what’s new? As players explore and search the vent system I want the perspective to be different as insects can after all fly or walk up walls, floors and even on ceilings so I am working on Lucy always being top down with the other creatures encountered either being the same perspective or side view L/R and U/D. This is strange at first as it is possible to be killed even though it looks as though Lucy is climbing along the back wall and and an insect is flying in front of her side view but so far it works (see images). Other features are plans for a Harlequin countdown timer during play which symbolises the invasion in the garden and when the counter reaches zero the larger Harmonia ladybirds reach the vent and start to appear in certain rooms on the game map with a ‘follow the players movement’ pattern which should add a little pressure similar to evil Otto in the arcade game Berzerk. There will also be collectables in the form of greenfly, a speed up award and a single mystery (?) item which has a random effect each time you collect it with around 10 possible outcomes including strange effects, bonus pts and death thus offering Lucy a wheel of fortune game of chance if she decides to collect it.
I will release more updates as progress is made.