[Pre-Alpha Peek] The Adventures of Clark Doud?

I Got Tired of Waiting for a new Dark Cloud

So, I think most of the Fans of the Dark Cloud series are tired of waiting for a third installment (That is to say: Seriously where the hell is it?). So in the mean time I've decided to throw all my love for the series into making a Fan-game, because (You guessed it) They Should Have Made A Sequel.

So this audacious blend of (almost) copyright infringement and big talk isn't about taking on the gigantic task of filling the shoes of Dark Cloud, this is about giving myself something to play with until they make a sequel (...hopefully). Without further ado lets get into the meaty bit, what I've got so far:

The Adventures of Clark Doud: A Fan Game

Clark Doud - Check out my sexy sun-through-window shizzle

So far so good, some background on the game: This isn't a full Dark Cloud style game, the goal is to create a Dark Cloud Dungeon Generator fully equipped with the absolutely fantastic Dark Cloud Weapon System. To clarify: There will be no Georama or main storyline (Perhaps some whimsical "where the hell is Dark Cloud 3" banter between you and the dungeon guide but that's about it). I'm taking my favourite thing about DC and making a game based on it. 

At this point I've been working on this project for a week and its almost alpha (Unitys ability to rapidly prototype is insane if you know what you're doing). Let me be clear, when i say "Alpha" I mean the original game development meaning: "Can be played for the express purpose of revealing game breaking bugs". At this point a few of the key systems that make up a Dark cloud game are in place. 

Dungeon Generation

Clark Doud - To me this is the real cool stuff: customizable-random dungeon generation

Dungeon generation is working fantastically with a good range of customization options, from difficulty to size to room density and brightness. The dungeons you see here were generated randomly based on an island joining algorithm I wrote and some simple parameters. The dungeon generation system also handles filling the level with monsters (as you'd expect) but at this time doesn't place chests/items or bonus floor doors. The level style resembles a concrete laboratory type setting but is purely placeholder graphics until I can get hold of some more interesting scenery pieces. If you've got any ideas for style (Steampunk castle? Underwater utopia? Abandoned sweet factory?) let me know in the comments and i'll probably work it in.

Monsters

Clark Doud - A match made in Disused-Robotic-Golem heaven

The selection of active mobs is limited at the moment, only one "type" of monster (If you've played DC then you'll know what i mean by that) is available at the moment and that is the Golem. I've got some robotic-looking mannequin models here obeying the Golem logic. 

Combat

Clark Doud - There are currently only a couple different combos. Dodge rolls and blocking are basic too.

There are a couple of different combos, a running set of spinning slashes and a standing set of slashes with a few different ways of transitioning between them. Blocking has been implemented but the Dark Cloud enemy Target-Lock hasn't been scripted yet. If you haven't noticed already, I don't have a model for Clark, the main character, yet so I've rigged Toan from DC1 and used Mecanim (Unity's built in animation package) to re-target the animations to his skeleton until I can get hold of an interesting looking character. Obviously since this is a fan project the budget is tiny and there isn't a commercial goal of any kind, so in the end it isn't really illegal for me to keep using Toan but i'd rather have a unique model if i can get the opportunity. 

Soon[TM] 

Clark Doud - There's more to come!

Like the caption says there is more to come, obviously I don't want to just copy what has been done in the DC series without trying to expand on it. So far a shield-upgrade system (twinned with Dark Clouds beautiful weapon upgrade system), considerably more dynamic combat (more mobility), and possibly even a true-to-DC-style skill system. 

Those Tight Trousers Look So Fine

Clark Doud - If you haven't noticed, the shield isn't exactly an original creation.

This is just a pre-alpha look see at what I've gotten done in just under a week of work. I've got a lot of free time at the moment so you can expect to see big progress leaps in the coming days and weeks. The goal is to have the fully playable Beta version on this site very Soon[TM]. I'm just a small-time indie dev with no real hits, but if anyone is interested in knowing a little bit more about the more technical side of things you can let me know in the comments and i'll be sure to include more of that info in my next post. 

Until next time guys.

~Tick