Hey, hi everyone. We here at IronRaven decided to make a metroidvania, in the style of Dieselpunk and the 20s, art deco, art nouveau and so on. Tell me, what is the most important thing for you in metroidvanias, besides their appearance?
Hey, hi everyone. We here at IronRaven decided to make a metroidvania, in the style of Dieselpunk and the 20s, art deco, art nouveau and so on. Tell me, what is the most important thing for you in metroidvanias, besides their appearance?
Too many metroidvanias have abilities that work more like keys - they open a door that gives access to a new area of the game. A better ability is something that changes how the game fundementally plays, or makes old areas feel fresh.
Starting the game with sufficient movement is a big one. Hollow Knight starts with too few movement abilities, and the beginning is slow.
Isn’t “abilities unlock areas” like… The whole point of the “metroid-” part?
I’m honestly asking about your opinion. I don’t think there’s a… concrete definition?
Absolutely. What I’m talking about is something like Bloodstained, where honestly the upgrades simply meant you now get to proceed to the next linear area in the game, where the area now can use the ability you unlocked, but lots of older areas have no use of it.
An example of a “key” like ability in Hollow Knight is the rocket dash. It’s only ever used to bypass an obstacle you normally wouldn’t be able to cross, but at the other side of the obstacle, you have no more use of that skill. I suppose it can be used in rare instances to travel around the map faster, but only if there’s a straight path.
Oh, we have a small but diverse plan from the very beginning. Firstly, we are planning a metroidvania shooter, which immediately imposes faster mechanics. And we are also planning interesting buffs and debuffs with consumables 👀👀 I wonder if it will be possible to immediately add movement, but maintain balance?