Dark Ninja - Galactic Games [SCRAPPED SOUNDTRACKS]

Welcome @YerAverageGamer!

While I won’t talk too much about any of the specific enemies (besides maybe the bosses), I can confirm one thing: one of the mini-bosses (who is the only one that appears on the tutorial and is a direct cause of most of the game’s events) has many abilities similar to what you are suggesting, and is the first one you will encounter.

By this point, it is obvious that everyone wants mini-bosses, so he would make it in no matter what.

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This isn’t the final version, but I made this mini-boss theme in about two hours:

Disturbing Enemy - Plays when encountering the Ifrit and Conjurer mini-bosses.

The Conjurer is the mini-boss I referenced in my last comment, and is part of the Oni class. The Ifrit is part of the Demon class.

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The music is coolio, also mini bosses means that there are actual bosses. Excited to see both.

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Yup, indeed. Three mini-bosses and 12 main bosses. That means that you would face a total 15 powerful enemies in the game.

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But… why? One would think there would certainly be more small bosses than beeg bosses :upside_down_face:

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The game was already pretty hard enough with just one enemy type. Like, literally when I just added the first enemy into the game, it took me 3 attempts to get to the end of the level without dying.

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I believe he’s asking why there are more bosses than mini bosses, and he is right to be a little concerned.
Your game will need a legitimate climax, and your boss:miniboss ratio seems a little strange for that purpose.
I understand if a game is hard, but, hopefully, you won’t be fighting all fifteen at once. So, as long as you have a difficulty build-up at the beginning of your game, a challenging game is more than welcome!

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Yeah, I get that it is a little strange. But no, you wouldn’t fight every single boss at once (unless you decide to do the Boss Rush mode after completing the base game). And I am planning on making the difficulty rise as the game progresses (as I said in a previous comment, you can’t beat the game in Casual Mode).

Thanks for your concerns, and I’ll try to heed your advice.

EDIT: Perhaps I should be a little bit more specific: by three mini-bosses and 12 main bosses, totalling to 15 powerful foes, I am talking about 15 UNIQUE powerful foes. What do I mean by that?

Every stage except for the Cavern of Chaos and Dungeon of Death with have one boss level, and every stage including the CoC and DoD will have an undetermined amount of mini-bosses in any of their levels. This means that you could encounter several mini-bosses (not within a single level, of course, that would be too hard), and just how many you run into will be entirely luck based. Hopefully that clears up any confusion @hihilogic and @DarkStar_Studios.

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I initially said that, once the demo for the game has opened, there would be only two items available for the player to utilize. However, I decided that there would be three items that players can find and use throughout gameplay. Currently, I have two of them finished. One of them is a healing item, the other protects the player from damage for 3 hits. I haven’t decided which item to add next, but I am looking at the Ultima Orb item I talked about a looooong while back.

TL;DR: It is a useful item to eliminate normal enemies and deal massive damage to mini-bosses and main bosses.

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That’s some really cool pixel art. Also, rainbow profile pic is perfect for June :upside_down_face:

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Love the new profile picture!

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I am still thinking of the next mini-boss. I already mentioned that two of the mini-bosses were going to be called the Conjurer and Ifrit. The next mini-boss is probably going to be based off of ancient folklore, but I am quite stuck on which one to choose, since I have found many. What do you guys think?

What Should the Third Mini-Boss Be Based On?
  • Gorgon - Monster similar to Medusa… because she is a Gorgon
  • Chimera - Fire-breathing monster
  • Manticore - Cannibalistic monster with exceptional speed
  • Minotaur - Half-man, half-bull, most famous for being in the labyrinth of King Minos
  • None of the Above - Maybe you have a monster to suggest… or you want original ideas?

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I was also thinking of the possibility of making two more mini-bosses, but those guys will be based on what my imagination can make.

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Flesh-eating cheetah is coolio :upside_down_face:

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I think sirens would be pretty unique:

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Sirens are most likely going to be a normal, non-powerful enemy. But thank you for the suggestion, I could do something like a “Queen Siren” for a mini-boss.

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Friendly Reminder - The Poll closes on Friday, June 18th, at 3 AM (oooo, scary). So far, there is a tie between the Gorgon and the Manticore. If the tie persists after the poll closes, a second poll will be made to decide between the two monsters.

Thank you to everyone who voted thus far!

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POLL CLOSED - Manticore Wins!

@MelloJello, @browngr, and @rcreger have spoken: they want the third mini-boss to be based off of the Manticore, a cannibalistic monster with the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion. This will surely be a tough monster for Dark Ninja and his friends to confront.

@ManiacPumpkin, @_GAMOOG, and @hihilogic, I thank you guys for participating in the poll as well! Sorry that your choices didn’t win, but your participation was appreciated nonetheless.

@00T_Free, I appreciate your Siren suggestion. Once again, while a “Siren” may be used as a default enemy for the Banshee class, I will consider adding a Siren Queen as another mini-boss.

As a thanks to everyone who participated in the vote, I think I’ll share the sprite art for the Conjurer mini-boss, as well as dialogue in one of the cutscenes.


Conjurer

pixil-frame-0 (17)
Strengths: Nearly every element with the exception of Earth, Air, and Nature. Also capable of corrupting weakened allies to make them stronger.
Weaknesses: Afraid of bird-like creatures, especially Griffins. Also very vulnerable to heavy attacks and finishers.


Dialogue

"Hello there, little one! What’s wrong? Where are your parents? It is too dangerous for someone like you to be wandering around here. You’ve lost them? Don’t worry, don’t cry. We’ll help you find your parents. I promise. Oh, don’t worry about him. He is not a monster. He is friendly. He’s… well, we are still trying to figure out who he is. He doesn’t talk, which makes things more complicated. Anyways, look, I think I can see other people over there. They’re your parents? Great, then let’s go and reunite your family. They will be relieved to hear that you are safe. What is your name, little child? Sarah. That’s a nice name. My name is Polly."

~ Polly the Ice Bard

Just for the record, mini-bosses cannot be killed by falling out of the world.

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Love where this project is going, the dedication is insane! Keep up the amazing work!

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Player Controls - Boss Exclusive Mechanics
These controls are exclusive to boss fights only. Standard levels and mini-boss fights do not allow these controls.

W or Uarrow when against a wall - Wall Jump
S or Darrow - Dodge
I or U when next to a stunned boss - Rapid Fire Attack (requires energy and ammo)
Hold H or G - Siphon Energy

So, I know that you may be asking some questions, so I will try to answer some basic ones that I know some of you will definitely ask.

Why are all of these controls boss-exclusive only?
  • Due to the way that the terrain is randomly generated, wall jumps are not only difficult to perform, but they are also a little pointless. While each stage will have their own unique mechanics, such as falling hazards and no bottomless pits, wall jumping would not really have a good purpose. On the other hand, on boss levels, it is a mechanic that will be useful in dodging the bosses attacks or getting onto the high ground. Because we all know that it is over when we have the high ground.
  • The basic enemies in the game are very predictable and overall do not have crazy attacks. As a result, simply jumping out of the way or backing off is enough to avoid getting seriously hurt. Bosses are different: their attacks can be unpredictable, chaotic, and very powerful. A dodge basically makes your character leap out of the way and temporarily make them invulnerable until their dodge. Think of it like the dash from Just Shapes and Beats.
  • Rapid Fire Attack has a similar excuse to dodging: the basic enemies in the game are just not that dangerous to require such a powerful move. Sure, there are plenty of them that will make this game difficult (that’s why I added a Heavy Attack and Finisher), but a Rapid Fire Attack is not really necessary to defeat enemies that have just 3 or 5 HP. But bosses obviously have more than that (I am planning on giving the first boss of the game 100 health, then up the ante from there).
  • Finally, Siphon Energy. This is basically a move that sacrifices your health and ammo in exchange for energy. This has a high-risk, high-reward potential. On one hand, you can get a single bar of energy to perform a Heavy Attack, the aforementioned Rapid Fire Attack, and the Finisher (granted that your energy meter is completely full). But on the other hand, you lose a big portion of your health and all of your ammo, meaning you are a couple of steps closer to death and you’ll need to get up close and personal with the boss instead of attacking from a distance. This is a sacrifice that, again, does not seem necessary in a less intense experience.
What happens if I attempt these controls outside of a boss battle?

I did some thinking and decided to allow some of these controls to be used in Rush levels (Rush is basically an X-Yard-esque gamemode, where waves of enemies try to ruin your day, with the final wave containing a mini-boss). The controls that I am allowing are Wall Jump, Dodge, and Rapid Fire Attack, but not Siphon Energy.
Outside of boss battles and Rush levels, attempting to Dodge Wall Jump, or Siphon Energy will result in nothing in particular happening. Meanwhile, the Rapid Fire Attack controls will be used as an Interact option instead, allowing you to read signs, talk to NPCs, or flip switches.

Anything worth noting about boss battles?

I might talk a little bit more in-depth about boss battles after the next teaser I make, which hopefully will be a frame for one of the game’s cutscenes (still taking place in the game’s opening).

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

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mumble mumble mumble

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