By TerryI’m sorry the site’s been so quiet lately – I’ve been frantically trying to finish up VVVVVV! Honestly, I can’t believe how big it’s gotten. This was supposed to be a throwaway one week thing. Been over a month now. I got a little carried away once I actually started designing levels! I’ve got nearly a hundred rooms created so far, and paper sketches for quite a lot more.
The last week or so has been really productive, and the end is in sight! As for exactly when? I’ve no idea. I want to be more or less finished before BIGJam (in two weeks!), but I never seem to manage to meet my self imposed deadlines. VVVVVV will be finished when it’s done!
I know I haven’t said a lot about it on the blog yet; I didn’t think it was going to get so big. Maybe it’s time I talked a bit about it.
The entire game is designed around one really simple mechanic, which you might have seen in the Bytejacker preview: Zero gravity jumping. Whenever you jump, you take off into the air and don’t stop until you hit a ceiling. Then you can walk around a bit, and jump back down.
The basic idea just came out of wanting to take this one idea and explore it a bit; any time I’ve seen gravity switching in platformers it’s always a powerup, or a switch, or some kind of mechanism for solving puzzles. In VVVVVV, it’s not a gimmick; it’s the basic mechanic – every single jump reverses your gravity. It’s the starting point.
That’s pretty much all it is, actually – which is why I wasn’t expecting it to grow into such a big project. I’m making an effort to keep the game focused on the level design – there is a basic plot in the game, but that’s not what I’m interested in here. Anyone expecting another storytelling experiment like Judith or Pathways is gonna be pretty disappointed!
The game is set in a big open world, with lots to explore. As well as that, the game has a number of smaller, linear levels set in this – the idea is that they contain gameplay elements not found anywhere else. As a result, you can tackle these “dungeons” in any order you find them in.
I’ve been working with Souleye for the game’s soundtrack! I’m biased, I’m sure, but I think his music is fantastic – I’ve had the song he wrote for the game on a loop ever since he sent it to me – it’s been very motivating 🙂
I’m dying to finish this up and finally let people play it! I’ll try to post more frequently from now on! 🙂
Looking awesome, Terry 🙂 keep pumping away at it! Can’t wait to play.
Amazing. :O
Oh, now I get it! The name makes much more sense when you’ve seen the levels! 😀
Looks awesome, and I’m envious of how productive you are!
So far, I had simply been taking your word for it that it was going to be good (because you’ve never let us down before) even though I knew basically nothing of the game. But NOW, I have every reason to be excited. This is gonna be epic!
100 rooms and more to come!? =0
Sir Cavanagh, you are INSANE! ^^
This is gonna be sooooo awesome! =D
I loved all of your games so far and I’m really excited for this one. Hopefully it will be “longer lasting” than your previous short games (even though I replayed them quite a bit).
Looking fantastic! I really appreciate the design-heavy approach to the content of this game and I’m excited to play this.
Can’t wait for it 🙂
I love your Style!
Awesome! I’ve been looking at those screenshots and imagining how to pass through them with zero-g. What are you supposed to do in that central hub?! Best of lucks finishing up the game 🙂
Looks outstanding, Terry! Can’t wait to give this game a go when you get it finished. I’ve loved every game you’ve done so far and this certainly looks to be no sort of an exception. ^_^ Best wishes on the rest of your work on VVVVVV! Any plans on coming up with another title… or does the up-down-up-down gravity switch-look of the current title suffice? ^_~
Thanks all 🙂
I know it’s a silly title, but I’m kinda attached to it now 😀
Looks great Terry, keep plugging away.
[…] Back in July, Terry said that VVVVVV wouldn’t be a “storytelling experiment” like Judith and Pathways: The entire game is designed around one really simple mechanic…Zero gravity jumping. Whenever you jump, you take off into the air and don’t stop until you hit a ceiling. Then you can walk around a bit, and jump back down. […]
Tried out the demo at work, which proved to be a grave mistake – I’m hooked!
I’ll most likely purchase the full game once I get my Mac.
JFE