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Get hype, everyone.
Get hype, everyone.
THIS is my Quest. My beloved child. My fruit of my own creativity and crazy-intense passion for both ZQuest and ZScript-- still in its budding phase, but matured enough to warrant an official Project Thread, at long freaking last.
Stay up to date with my project by visiting this Thread whenever you see me post here! Occasional screenshots, even-more-occasional videos, and plenty of long-winded ranty posts in true Schwa fashion await you in the coming days.
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Quest info, Story, and Gameplay synapsis: (warning, maybe spoilers)
I'll say right now, in case you couldn't tell from the video, that this Quest is not for the faint of heart, in more ways than one. It is not only very psychologically disturbing in an inspired Shin Megami Tensei, play-off-your-own-fears fashion, it also aims to play unlike anything Zelda Classic has ever offered you before. Thanks to hundreds-- maybe at some point thousands-- of scripts, the entire game engine has been hacked and rewritten. Enemy knockback physics? Link damage physics? Item physics? Yes. Everything. Every. Thing.
You may ask, why do I go through with such an ambitious thing when I could much more easily make the ordinary ZC physics work? Really it's because I love ZScript to death. Much as I love being the center of attention, I honestly don't aim to "please" anyone with this insane game. I'm making it because I like to. Because scripting is fun. It is my stress outlet, and the psychological elements in the storyline are also a stress outlet, sorta my way to vent my own nightmares a little while doing something appealing to my inner geek, you know? The upside is that people can play it and hopefully enjoy it when it's finished, because it's a ZC quest in addition to my own little therapeutic-ish hobby. :)
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ANYWAY. The plot for the game. I allow it to be vague on purpose, at least at first, leaving the player just as bewildered as Felix is. But what you know (from the video, and in general if you play more than 20 or 30 minutes in) is that Felix is an "ordinary boy from our world", who's suddenly woken up in a freakish other-reality made up of all our own, manifested nightmares and demons.
In TTGL fashion, "your enemy is the universe itself". The main villain IS the world you're in, and it is actively trying to kill you as you play-- the very scenery will even distort at will and suddenly grow new hazards to unexpectedly ensnare you in some places on the overworld, IWBTG style only slightly less extreme. It is also why, in the video, "hordes of enemies" come to kill Felix in an organized fashion when they are attracted by Mage's slaphazard job on teleporting him; all living creatures (presumably) besides Mage (and who knows? maybe Mage is really a bad guy too) and Felix himself are mindless, soulless puppets of this nightmare-dimension, and Felix is a little ant being tortured and toyed with by the world's countless, metaphorical claws and limbs, fighting for his practically hopeless survival.
Fortunately, there's a high kicker in Felix's hand of cards: when he was sucked here, he suddenly became a super badass, for some reason. The moment he picked up the sword teleported to him by Mage, he immediately felt "like he's been a master swordsman for over a hundred years", and any other item or weapon he'll pick up throughout the whole game, he'll also instinctively master on the spot. When he kills bosses or minibosses, his power increases further and he (invisibly) gains higher Max HP and permanently deals more damage with all attacks, Defense goes up against attacks, etc. (So, this game does have some RPG elements, such as numerical damage values and the Status Conditions like Poison, Stun, Jinx, etc. that you've seen in the video... "leveling up" is done simply by making progress through the story; the farther you get in the game, the more superior you will become to places and foes you've already "beaten", it is automatic and this system eliminates level-grinding, I'm proud to say.) He has no idea why he's suddenly got superhero powers, though, and the farther he gets through the game, the more he begins to doubt that he was really who he thought he was his whole life... especially when his w ...... :D
Felix's goal is ultimately to return home to the life he's always had. But the tainted universe he's a prisoner of will never let him leave without consuming his soul. So, he has no choice but to destroy it, or die. And to destroy the universe that traps him, there are specific locations in this world that seem to be thick knots or welts on the universe's membrane of corruption (which is my fancy way of saying EIGHT DUNGEONS), and Mage believes they are the world's weak points that can be attacked for Massive Damage (which is my fancy way of saying BEAT BOSSES OF EIGHT DUNGEONS), disrupting/rupturing the membrane and eventually exposing the Heart, which can then be destroyed (which is my fancy way of saying BEAT LEVEL NINE AND WIN THE GAME). It gets more complicated though (naturally!), as it turns out there is more than one membrane to breach (which is my fancy way of saying there will be a Light World and a Dark World, maybe even a Super Dark World as a third layer but I haven't decided-- definitely at least two layers though), and thus, more than "eight dungeons", as the first membrane must be breached in order to start attacking the second, which it protects. But no more than sixteen main dungeons (eight for Light, eight for Dark), or seventeen if I'm counting the "Level 9" or "Heart". Maybe less if I decide enough is enough. And the second layer is an enormous jump from gameplay when the player will get there for the first time-- all the rules of the game will be suddenly changed when the player finds out what's waiting for him there. As it is, Felix can't even survive in the second layer without becoming instantly liquified and absorbed by the evil world-- he will need "special protection", which is of major relevance to the plot, so I will not say what it is, just that if you're thinking it's a simple Varia Suit gimmick then you're way way off (though there will be such a gimmick for the volcanic level that is Light World Level 3 >;P which is a totally different topic).
Enemies in this game are smart. I've successfully programmed in intelligent AI that knows how to chase Felix or how to run away from him, the enemies don't stick to just random movement all the time. If there are 5 or 6 Moblins on the screen, instead of just 1 or 2, they will carefully try to surround him on all sides, while some move in for melee attacks and others stay back and throw spears. Blue Octoroks have a special, charged-up Artillery Attack where they spit four, giant, Stun-inflicting rocks in two volleys, instead of just one, and they will only use this attack if they are far away and have time to charge it up. Some enemies actively try to dodge your attacks, and some still even try to dodge and then counterattack your blind spot! Some enemies (will) carry various melee weapons as well and attack different than usual; can you imagine fighting a Lynel wielding a giant Halberd which he can perform cleaving, two-tile swipe attacks with, similar to your own Sword's abilities, while furthermore actively trying to get into your melee range and avoid or deflect your projectiles? And some enemies, perhaps the nastiest types of all, actively help their allies by healing off the damage you do or buffing them with attack, defense or speed bonuses-- the red cross on these guys's robes isn't just for show and you will IMMMEDIATELY be like "uuuuggggggghhhhhhh" when you see them present in a dungeon room, ready to assist their cohorts.
I could go on, and I will. Later. For now, I can summarize my quest by saying it will be the most dynamic, non-conventional thing you have ever experienced in Zelda Classic (or your Monopoly money back). ;3 If you're aching for a quest that demands your full undivided attention as well as one that will utterly sweep you off your feet, and don't mind utterly taxing difficulty-- but one that demands heavy skill-based gameplay and NOT cheap tactics, then you can look no further than here. ^_~ If you prefer more easy-going quests that you can play at your own pace, or quests where you already know what the Sword, what the Arrows, what Octoroks or basically what everything ever already does, without the challenge of re-learning a brand new Zelda Classic, this one may not be for you-- but you're certainly welcome to see if I can't convert you to my side, bwahaha~
I hope this project thread gets as much love as I have for the child of my creative drive.
"FELIX : Courage Saga!".
Face Your Fears.
(3/13 edit: Added some description on the gameplay, and what I plan/hope to do with it and what direction to take it. I was pressed for time at the moment of making the thread because Starbucks was closing, hehe.)
Edited by Schwa, 13 March 2013 - 10:52 PM.
