Author: Oneiric Worlds

Hello there,

This week-end I took part in the Ludum Dare contest, a video game creation challenge that lasts 72 hours. I haven’t been able to work for the whole duration, but I found some time to create a little game for the contest: “The Child Spirit”. The theme was “Growing, two button controls”. I made everything from scratch (except the soundscape) in more or less 25h.

Goal

The “Child Spirit” is a simple non linear runner game where you play a fox. You must find animals and get back the Forest Spirit who is leaving. The goal is more or less in line with the “growing” theme, as you’re supposed to grow a herd of the forest animals.

Controls

• Space or S : jump
• Return or D : switch direction

And here is the last demo of A Thief’s Melody, a 3D cartoon adventure/stealth game with a contemplative atmosphere, somewhere between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil”. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Beware: This is the alpha (=NOT FINAL) demo of November 2015. If you want to get the latest demo for sure, just check the official website.
Feedback & bug hunt: As usual, if you want to tell me what you think about the game, or if you find bugs, contact me at contact at oneiricworlds dot com
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook, twitter, or google+

Install Notes

• Linux

Under Linux, you have to change the execution rights on the game file:
chmod +x aThiefsMelody.*

• Mac OS

Haha… I didn’t test on Mac, because I don’t have a Mac. But the beauty of Unity is that I can release on Mac from a Windows system anyway.
So, if Mac users out there want to give it a try and tell me what’s wrong (or what’s right, hopefully 😉 ), you’re most welcome!

What’s new since the last demo?

You have to know the demo quests are more or less final at the moment. The next official demos (including this one) will only provide bug fixes and graphics/sound/music enhancement. I now focus my work on adding levels and quests for the final release, which won’t be visible in this demo (especially new content).

The main new things I’ve done since October 2015 are:

Content

• 1 new Boss : the Wind Guardian
• Prototype of the new Boss arena
• Upgrade of the hero design: now the character has a face and you can see the wind moving his hair and clothes. And his eyes blink too.
• Master Josh now tells you to look in the 1st tutorial
• More dialog lines for Tal and Iris
• Upgrade of the Bo Dojo graphics: water stains with moving plants behind, lights, lanterns, light rays and fireflies
• Update of the link messages HUD, now showing avatars and enabling a better browsing among messages.
• Graphical update of the Eagle level: texture variations and adding an eagle-shaped rock on top of the level.
• Adding small secret coves in the demo levels

Code & optimisation

• Fix of the mouse wheel controls on the map
• Fog issue fixes for various shaders
• Fix of the bug where the character jumps on the edge of a cliff and stays blocked in the walking animation preventing him to climb
• Lots of minor bug fixes

… And a lot of work for the Toulouse Game show too (banners/kakemono design, tee shirt, booth preparation, visit cards, …)

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions/problems:

• You can’t change the default controls (because of the newly supported joypads). I plan to add a configuration screen later. If you try to change the controls in the popup screen appearing at the start of the game, you might totally break joypad support.
• Joypads work, but the UI help is still designed for keyboard/mouse. So… just test buttons if you want to play on the joypad!
• Some shaders don’t work correctly on Linux and MacOS, among which the tree rendering.
• Environments are still a bit empty
• Some sounds must be re-designed
• The game lacks some music/sounds
• Some camera moves are a bit harsh/weird

Controls

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of A Thief’s Melody, a 3D cartoon adventure/stealth game with a contemplative atmosphere, somewhere between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil”. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Beware: This is the alpha (=NOT FINAL) demo of October 2015. If you want to get the latest demo for sure, just check the official website.
Feedback & bug hunt: As usual, if you want to tell me what you think about the game, or if you find bugs, contact me at contact at oneiricworlds dot com
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook, twitter, or google+

Install Notes

• Linux

Under Linux, you have to change the execution rights on the game file:
chmod +x aThiefsMelody.*

• Mac OS

Haha… I didn’t test on Mac, because I don’t have a Mac. But the beauty of Unity is that I can release on Mac from a Windows system anyway.
So, if Mac users out there want to give it a try and tell me what’s wrong (or what’s right, hopefully 😉 ), you’re most welcome!

What’s new since the last demo?

You have to know the demo quests are more or less final at the moment. The next official demos (including this one) will only provide bug fixes and graphics/sound/music enhancement. I now focus my work on adding levels and quests for the final release, which won’t be visible in this demo (especially new content).

The main new things I’ve done since July 2015 are:

Content

• 1 new boss: the Robot Kraken
• Chapter 2 is now fully playable, including 2 dojos, 2 missions and 1 additional quest. Not everything is perfect yet, but at least, it’s playable! It’s more or less 1h30 of gameplay.
• New chapter title screens
• More ill animals on Zephyr Island and Eagle Island
• Enemy state (KO) is now saved
• Finally a trailer for the game! Check it out on the official website.
• More cutscenes are skippable
• The map now has a legend
• 1 new level: the Governor’s villa, fully playable, but still lacks lot of graphics.
• Lots of new assets: spider webs, marble pilars, windows, carpets, furniture, cardboard boxes, shelves, chairs, tables, maple trees … and as usual, wood crates of course.
• The mouse is more sensitive now
• Shorter delay before magnetic gauntlet reloads
• Full new official website for the game with a clearer information display, in English and in French + updated portfolio
• The game should now be compatible with 20+ classical joypads, including Xbox 360 pads. Sadly, this new update removes the possibility to change controls, at least for this release. I’ll add a configuration screen later.
• New screenshot feature capturing images up to 12000 x 9000 px (just for me 😉 ). I use it to get graphical material for huge posters (yes I’m preparing for the Toulouse Game Show…)
• New option to invert the camera Y axis
• “New game” available from the in-game menu
• “A Thief Melody” becomes “A Thief’s Melody”, because it was a mistake from me… Thanks to everybody who notified me.

Code & optimisation

• Fix calling turtle in closed water zones
• Optimisation of the mines level
• Lots of bug fixes on the climbing system
• Bug fix of the hero walking on jars when attacking
• Better fog rendering in the main menu
• Fixes on available action during tutorials
• Lots lots lots of various bug fixes

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions/problems:

• You can’t change the default controls (because of the newly supported joypads). I plan to add a configuration screen later. If you try to change the controls in the popup screen appearing at the start of the game, you might totally break joypad support.
• Joypads work, but the UI help is still designed for keyboard/mouse. So… just test buttons if you want to play on the joypad!
• The mouse wheel behaves weirdly in the map. Prefer the keyboard or joypad for zoom.
• Some shaders don’t work correctly on Linux and MacOS, among which the tree rendering.
• Environments are still a bit empty
• Some sounds must be re-designed
• The game lacks some music/sounds
• Some camera moves are a bit harsh/weird

Controls

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of A Thief Melody, a 3D cartoon adventure/stealth game with a contemplative atmosphere, somewhere between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil”. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Survey: Don’t forget to complete the online survey after playing the game!
Bug hunt: As usual, contact me for bugs or any feedback.
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook, twitter, or google+

What’s new since the last demo?

You have to know the demo quests are more or less final at the moment. The next official demos (including this one) will only provide bug fixes and graphics/sound/music enhancement. I now focus my work on adding levels and quests for the final release, which won’t be visible in this demo (especially new content).

The main new things I’ve done since May 2015 are:

Content

• 1 new level: Pirate Island, and little evolution of the Slingshot Dojo.
• Rewritten climbing gameplay (after all the feedback I had! Thanks guys!). Now the hero use magnetic claws and has cool and smooth climbing moves
• Polish of the Thief Guild level: entrances for all the dojos, path and grass additionnal textures, torches, obelisks, trees, stairs …
• Chest redesign
• New gameplay mechanics for the pirate island: cannons, wood bridges, weight switches…
• New assets: palm trees, coconus trees, pirate crates, explosive plants, ivy plant, …
• New mini boss in the Pirate Island
• Vegetation shader with automatic color variation
• Multi texture auto uv mapping shader with smooth transitions for large funky terrains and floating islands
• Integration of the Aqualums Counsellor villa and the Pirate Island in the world map

Code & optimisation

• Better IHM while climbing
• Vegetation shader optimisation
• Vegetation meshes optimisation
• Big code cleaning/rewriting on the climbing system. Now the climbing system is more robust and enables to move almost everywhere.
• Lots of various bug fixes

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions:

• Environments are still a bit empty
• Some sounds must be re-designed
• The game lacks some music/sounds
• Some camera moves are a bit harsh/weird

Controls

• ZQSD or WASD: move the character. It’s both AZERTY and QWERTY compatible
• Space: jump and climb
• Shift: crouch, fall and block
• Mouse move: move the camera
• E: weapon selection menu
• Left click: main weapon (Bo) or contextual action
• Right click: secondary weapon
• Tab: inventory/map/missions

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of A Thief Melody, a 3D cartoon adventure/stealth game with a contemplative atmosphere, somewhere between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil”. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Survey: Don’t forget to complete the online survey after playing the game!
Bug hunt: As usual, contact me for bugs or any feedback.
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook!

What’s new since the last demo?

You have to know the demo quests are more or less final at the moment. The next official demos (including this one) will only provide bug fixes and graphics/sound/music enhancement. I now focus my work on adding levels and quests for the final release, which won’t be visible in this demo (especially new content).

The main new things I’ve done since December are:

Content

• 3 new levels: Desert pagoda, Aqualums counsellor villa, Water Dojo, and a prototype for the slingshot Dojo.
• 2 new bosses + physics optimisation: Sand and Water guardians
• new items: rocks, plants/vegetation, doors, windows, kitchen items, stained glass, ramps, lights…
• new title and logo
• updated design of the robots and the guild guys
• light rigs for new levels
• new climbing moves and new item: the magnetic gauntlet
• update of climbing tutorial
• update of vegetation shader for a better wind effect
• update of Zephyr Island
• update of the main character: assymetric hair, holster for the bo, magnetic gauntlet and graple armlet
• mini cutscenes for some of the switch mechanics
• music selection menu for the flute item

Code & optimisation

• upgrade to Unity 5
• upgrade to DirectX 11
• upgrade to deferred shading, which enables lots of active lights at the same time
• shader bug fixes among which reflected fog in water
• physics and clothes bug fixes
• creation of 2D and 3D noise texture for various effects (vegetation, smart auto uv mapping, …)
• better cutscene and dialogs coding
• big physics collision matrix optimisation
• big reflection optimisation by disabling shadows and point lights with forward rendering
• animation optimization for lianas, ropes and chains
• gameplay mechanics code factorisation
• update of all mechanics in Blender levels to take into account the code refactorisation
• draw call optimisation for new levels
• armature animation optimisation for pirates and guards
• new official landing page for the game
• lots lots lots of minor bug fixes.

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions:

• Environments are still a bit empty
• Some sounds must be re-designed
• The game lacks some music/sounds
• Some camera moves are a bit harsh

Controls

• ZQSD or WASD: move the character. It’s both AZERTY and QWERTY compatible
• Space: jump and climb
• Shift: crouch, fall and block
• Mouse move: move the camera
• E: weapon selection menu
• Left click: main weapon (Bo) or contextual action
• Right click: secondary weapon
• Tab: inventory/map/missions

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of World of Thieves, a 3D adventure/stealth game between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil“. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Survey: Don’t forget to complete the online survey after playing the game!
Bug hunt: As usual, contact me for bugs or any feedback.
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook!

MAC OS X and Linux are back

It’s been a while since I haven’t posted a release for MacOS and Linux, so here they are! I recently optimized the demo filesize, so I can post 3 downloads again.

• Linux

Under Linux, you have to change the execution rights on the game file:
chmod +x worldOfThieves.x86

If you use this 32-bit version of the game on a 64-bit operating system,
you may also have to install 32-bit libraries.
I was successful with the following commands:
On Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install ia-libs
On Fedora:
yum install libstdc++.x86
… which doesn’t seem to be the exact same thing. But it did the trick for me.

By the way, I noticed the game is really slow on my Linux systems. It was only playable with the lowest quality settings possible. Maybe this is due to my graphic drivers, but I’ll have to test further. It even crashed at the beginning of the pirate warehouse level. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you experiment such problems.

• Mac OS

Haha… I didn’t test on Mac, because I don’t have a Mac. But the beauty of Unity is that I can release on Mac from a Windows system anyway.
So, if Mac users out there want to give it a try and tell me what’s wrong (or what’s right, hopefully 😉 ), you’re most welcome!

What’s new since the last demo?

You have to know the demo quests are more or less final at the moment. The next official demos (including this one) will only provide bug fixes and graphics/sound/music enhancement. I now focus my work on adding levels and quests for the final release.

The main new things (most of which can’t be seen in the demo) are:

• new animals: geckos and fennec fox
• new characters: Turtle Master on Aqualums, Rodrig the retired pirate on Zephyr Island, both with full dialog tree and quests.
• new enemies: guards and robots (still prototype)
• new flower: lilypads
• optimisation on my tools for level edition
• automatic tests on very usual mistakes I tend to repeat on each release (systematic non-regression tests)
• more avatars/images completed
• dialogs can now use a dynamic camera
• sun lens flares
• use of real-time clothe animation for pirates headbands and guards hat
• heavy optimisation on grass rendering, ia code, dynamic loading zones
• optimized texture sizes, resulting in 50% smaller game files
• use of deferred rendering which slightly boosts the framerate
• trails appear when the player falls for a long time
• saving the game now displays a screenshot
• whole new level: mines, with a bunch of new textures and props, effects and gameplay items…
• new island (quite empty at the moment) with its own dynamic skybox/light rig
• design and integration of the 1st boss!
• map display can now manage multiple floor levels
• a few more props: bed, various jars, metal crates, books, plants at Iris’,
• new gameplay items: mine trolleys, lasers, energy-based switches, energy capsules, …
• bug fix on various shaders with depth-of-field effect
• bug fix on several enemy freezes
• various bug fixes on switchs/platforms dependency and state save (I bet there are still some of them in there…)
• lots lots lots of minor bug fixes.

I spent quite some time trying to port every shader to DirectX 11, but I still have graphical artifacts despite the better overall performances.

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions:

• Environments are still a bit empty
• Some sounds must be re-designed
• The game lacks some music/sounds
• You won’t always know what switches activate especially in the Bo Trial Dungeon)… Try to understand 🙂
• Some pirates may not be as aggressive as before in the pirate warehouse level.

Controls

• ZQSD or WASD: move the character. It’s both AZERTY and QWERTY compatible
• Space: jump and climb
• Shift: crouch, fall and block
• Mouse move: move the camera
• E: weapon selection menu
• Left click: main weapon (Bo) or contextual action
• Right click: secondary weapon
• Tab: inventory/map/missions

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of World of Thieves, a 3D adventure/stealth game between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil“. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Survey: Don’t forget to complete the online survey after playing the game!
Bug hunt: As usual, contact me for bugs or any feedback.
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook!

No MAC OS or Linux ?

The demo filesize is getting bigger and bigger on every new release. That’s why I only share the Windows demo on this post. If you’re really interested in Linux/MacOS demos, send me a mail/comment/contact form/whatever to tell me. But the final release will be on Windows, MacOS and Linux.

What’s new since the last demo?

The main new things are:

• A few concepts/tries for a villa design (new level) (not in the demo)
• Better HUD effects and lighting for pickable items
• 3 new aquatic animals (not in the demo)
• 1 “boss theme” music (not in the demo)
• 1 new level in the thief Guild (that was quite long…)
• New props: jars, rocks, decals, water particles …
• Lia’s quest is now only available after the pirate level
• Enemies and breakable items now generate power ups.
• A few additional dialog lines
• Better map display with local and global/world view, taking into acount map items.
• Lots of bug fixes:input priority fix while on the turtle back, recoding of switch mechanics enabling the activation of various gameplay blocks (platforms, doors, …) with multiple links, bug fix of annoying auto-slide when trying to climb on a wall edge, smoother transition from slide to jump, better scene bounds computation for nav graph generation, …

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions:

• A little display bug when you get the package from Reno, near the end of the demo
• Some of the enemies might get “stuck” on a wall in the dungeon of the “Bo Trial”
• Environments are still a bit empty
• Some sounds must be re-designed
• You won’t always know what switches activate especially in the Bo Trial Dungeon)… Try to understand 🙂

Controls

• ZQSD or WASD: move the character. It’s both AZERTY and QWERTY compatible
• Space: jump and climb
• Shift: crouch, fall and block
• Mouse move: move the camera
• E: weapon selection menu
• Left click: main weapon (Bo) or contextual action
• Right click: secondary weapon
• Tab: inventory/map/missions

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of World of Thieves, a 3D adventure/stealth game between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil“. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Survey: Don’t forget to complete the online survey after playing the game!
Bug hunt: As usual, contact me for bugs or any feedback.
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe, or follow me on facebook!

Beware!

If you complete Lia’s quest, this will take you to the end of the demo. You may want to wander around and find other quests before completing this one.

Furthermore, demo filesize is getting bigger and bigger on every new release. That’s why I only share the Windows demo on this post. If you’re really interested in Linux/MacOS demos, send me a mail/comment/contact form/whatever to tell me.

What’s new since the last demo?

The main new things are:

• New GUI/HUD design for the Link menu
• 3 new menu items for collectibles in the Link menu: flowers, animals and paintings (not all in the demo)
• 6 animals to cure (only 1 in the demo)
• Better weapon control explanation in the Link menu
• Better item pictures in the Link menu
• Apples can now be stored and used from the item wheel menu
• Better visual effects on bomb explosion (not in the demo)
• Better visual effects on Bo mega attack charge
• New item: magnetic arrow/bow
• Enemies sometimes drop items
• 3 new characters: Lia, Garnet and Iris
• 1 new place: Aqualums (not playable in the demo, but you can see it). See the dedicated post here.
• 1 place re-design: Zephyr Island (formerly Tera) including huge windmills, beaches and stone houses
• Skybox re-design with dawn and dusk variations and better clouds
• Sun and cloud color variations following day/night cycle
• New animated banner for the website
• New presentation cutscene on Eagle Islands
• New cutscene on Aqualums Island
• Most of the cutscenes can now be skipped (mouse click)
• 3 new musics: 2 for Aqualums, 1 for Eagle Islands
• Better audio mixing and mastering of musics
• New credits screen
• New sidequests: collecting flowers and curing animals (partially in the demo)
• Lots of bug fixes: character now disappears when the camera is too close, no aiming animation for range weapons if no ammo, swinging lanterns can now be parented to moving platforms, giant windmills still turn when looked at from far away, better scene structure for dynamic loading, and many other things you won’t even notice 😉

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions:

• The color of the slingshot target is not always accurate depending on what you aim.
• Completing Lia’s quest directly leads to the end of the demo. You may want to postpone this one.
• Environments are still a bit empty.

Controls

• ZQSD or WASD: move the character. It’s both AZERTY and QWERTY compatible
• Space: jump and climb
• Shift: crouch and block
• Mouse move: move the camera
• E: weapon selection menu
• Left click: main weapon (Bo) or contextual action
• Right click: secondary weapon
• Tab: inventory/map/missions

Have fun! Peace!

And here is the last demo of World of Thieves, a 3D adventure/stealth game between “Zelda” and “Beyond Good and Evil“. Don’t hesitate to test/share/reblog/comment/like if you want to help me!

Survey: Don’t forget to complete the online survey after playing the game!
Bug hunt: As usual, contact me for bugs or any feedback.
Get all the news: if you don’t want to miss anything, subscribe!

Install Notes

• Linux

Under Linux, you have to change the execution rights on the game file:
chmod +x worldOfThieves.x86

If you use this 32-bit version of the game on a 64-bit operating system,
you may also have to install 32-bit libraries.
I was successful with the following commands:
On Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install ia-libs
On Fedora:
yum install libstdc++.x86
… which doesn’t seem to be the exact same thing. But it did the trick for me.

By the way, I noticed the game is really slow on my Linux systems. It was only playable with the lowest quality settings possible. Maybe this is due to my graphic drivers, but I’ll have to test further. It even crashed at the beginning of the pirate warehouse level. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you experiment such problems.

• Mac OS

Haha… I didn’t test on Mac, because I don’t have a Mac. But the beauty of Unity is that I can release on Mac from a Windows system anyway.
So, if Mac users out there want to give it a try and tell me what’s wrong (or what’s right, hopefully 😉 ), you’re most welcome!

What’s new since the last demo?

A lot less than for the last demo, since it’s been only 1 month since then. And it’s still a lot of “core invisible thankless” stuff:

• different font for dialogs and HUD/GUI
• slow motion to accentuate the character KO/game over
• big jump landing animation
• turtle travelling (see the detailed last post) with various feedback effects (not in the demo)
• cyclic/infinite map (not in the demo)
• floating barrels and crates that can be crashed by the turtle (not in the demo)
• new barrel design
• moving platforms (not in the demo)
• better visual feedback when curing animals (not in the demo)
• recoding/debugging of the slide movement on slopes when the character can’t climb (I bet you didn’t even notice that the character could slide, did you?)
• lots of bug fixes on the climbing and graple aiming algorithm
• bug fix on the water splashes when the character falls into water
• bombs can hit the player (not in the demo)
• lots of optimisations on animals and pirates reducing the computation time by 70%
• other optimisation on various objects, making the game running smoother
• lots lots lots of “minor” bug fixes:  music volume transitions, avoid sound saturation, avoid slow camera moves when fastest render quality is selectionned, fixed locally inverted image on several graphical effects under Linux, better state transitions for the player, better gamepad compatibility during weapon selection, switch activation from slingshot, many other fixes…

What’s broken ?

You didn’t expect everything to work perfectly, did you? I’m aware of a few bugs/regressions:

• The inventory is not fully functionnal yet: you have to use the keyboard to change the current page (missions/inventory/map) but the mouse to select items inside each page. And sometimes the current page changes when you click somewhere else.
• The color of the slingshot target is not always accurate depending on what you aim.

Controls

• ZQSD or WASD: move the character. It’s both AZERTY and QWERTY compatible
• Space: jump and climb
• Shift: crouch and block
• Mouse move: move the camera
• E: weapon selection menu(useless in this demo)
• Left click: main weapon (Bo) or contextual action
• Right click: secondary weapon
• Tab: inventory/map/missions

Have fun! Peace!