Here are some scenes from the Mana Temple level. I'm not quite done with the decorations in this room, but most of it is in place.

It's coming along nicely... except for a nasty bug where the player gets soft-locked in the falling state if they land in the water at the right velocity. On-ground detection has been a pain since day one of development. 🤪

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #leveldesign #madeinstencyl

Some scenes from Level 43 "Mana Temple", one of the larger levels.

These scenes are from the outdoor lead-up room that I just finished. The next part is an indoor room with a large generator. ⚡

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #leveldesign #madeinstencyl

I made a secret construction zone area. 🔨

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I finished Level 41: "Tower Ascent"! This is a very short level that presents a jumping challenge.

I checked my updated plan: it has 60 levels total. So how much is that? They vary so much in length that time may be a better gauge.

Knowing exactly where to go and what to do, I can beat the "shareware version" (first 12 levels) in an hour. The paid version quintuples that.

Five hours for the dev to finish the game sounds good?

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #leveldesign

Happy #screenshotsaturday! Here is Level 40, "Well Operations".

I've made quite a few of the "mini levels" lately. Next up, I'd like to work on one of the larger "main levels".

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #leveldesign

I like the way this hallway turned out. I don't always know how the lighting will look, since it is rendered in-game... and the view in Tiled looks like the other image.

The lighting routines don't support spotlights, but I can make spotlights by surrounding the lights on three sides with shadow boxes.

Actually... why haven't I just coded spotlights???

#leveldesign #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #madeinstencyl

Finished level 38! Marika finds a lab where Vallan scholars are trying to replicate the generator that is found in the ruins level.

Apparently they didn't do a good job. When Marika turns it on, it catches fire! 💥 Can she escape the lab before it grows out of control?

This level has a simple premise: run really fast! It was fun to make. It's tempting to make more "obstacle course levels", but I don't think the novelty would hold up.

#idosra #leveldesign #gamedev #indiedev #solodev

I finished a new level: "Cooling Towers"!

It took longer than I anticipated since I had both a SDD failure and cooling system failure on my computer. Fortunately I have good backups, but it still took time to order parts and put it all together.

Like many levels I've designed recently, this one is a secret level that branches off of an older one. It doesn't offer any special items, but it's worth a lot of EXP if completed with a decent rank.

#idosra #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #leveldesign

Some scenes from the 34 level, "Underground Labs", unofficially known as "Flying Spider Labs".

This is a secret level that introduces a variant of the mechanical spider that will curl into a ball, fling itself toward you, and explode if you get to close! 🕷️ 💥

#leveldesign #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra

The most expensive skill in the game: "Mana Key"! By the time the player has earned enough EXP to afford it, they've likely already defeated the final boss--so at this point I'm giving the player the debug controls as in-game abilities.

But this skill is also needed to get the true (and best!) ending.

#idosra #gamedev #indiedev #solodev

I finally finished Room 322, the interior room for the Water Ruins level I've been working on for the past week... and thus, the entire level! 🥳

It certainly is one of the more elaborate rooms in the entire game.

This level is more about exploration, with a lot of secret areas to find. The shortest path to completion leaves out about half of it, but taking the time to look around will net some powerful skill books and other goodies.

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #leveldesign

Taking a few days off to go camping (no wifi or cell service) was just what I needed. Now I'm back to work! Here are a few scenes from the interior part of the water ruins level.

I'm pretty happy with how it is coming out so far, but I'm sure adjustments will be needed.

I also need to iron out the water physics. There are a few underwater rooms, and I don't want to pull the rug out from under the player regarding controls.

#leveldesign #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra #madeinstencyl

@musicvsartstuff wrote some epic title music for #Idosra (formerly "Rogue of Vallas"), which I'm sharing here. I put together a draft of the rest of the title sequence. It includes some backstory that is in the manual, but nowhere in the actual game.

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madeinstencyl

Fun with cardioid equations ❤️

Heart pickups give HP, but if the player doesn't need as many as the heart provides, the extra HP are converted to points. As I've been making higher level hearts, I've been adding more intricate designs for the arrangement of bonus score labels.

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra

The water ruins level has been fun to work on, albeit very time consuming. This is a cave the player can find. I had a bit of a serendipitous moment when I realized I could use my lights system to make natural lights coming from cracks in the ceiling.

#leveldesign #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra

Water ruins scene with new waterfall tiles! The previous water tiles were just solid pale green squares with dithering to lower opacity.

#leveldesign #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #pixelart #idosra

Whatever could that be in this secret room???

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #leveldesign #idosra

The basics of the mana system are nearly complete. I made a clip to show how it affects player progression in Idosra/Rogue of Vallas.

The clip takes place in an earlier level where the player first encounters the "sentry sphere" as a regular opponent. It's a tough encounter at first. I made this first clip when I designed this level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57MdxAk5Usw

The player can go back and reply this level with new powers. It's quite a bit easier this time!

#gamedev #solodev #indiedev #idosra

Gotta go fast!

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra

Late-game mana opens up a lot of shortcuts and allows the player to reach previously inaccessible areas. Now I feel like I need to go back to earlier levels and add all kinds of secret places to find... maybe even Super Mario World-style secret exits.

#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #idosra