I've been working on a SHMUP engine for some time and it is now relatively complete. All that's left is to make a game out of it, which is what I'm currently in the process of doing :). This involves scripting level sequences and creating enemy attack routines, etc.

I already have one pixel artist hard at work on the project, but am looking for another with a penchant for creating enemy crafts and particles (basically, the fun stuff!)

Here's some background on the game: you play as a thief who has just stolen a multi-billion dollar organic, polymorphic space craft. The problem is, the space craft isn't all too happy about it! POD is slightly different from most SHMUPS in that, while you still have the out-of-your-mind terrifying bullets-everywhere action sequences, you also have nice scripted dialogue and various scripted cutscenes that tell a wider story arc (I'll keep that quiet, for now).

So what is a polymorphic space craft? Not much. In fact, on its own - it's a sitting duck. It's only with its weapon modules activated that it's useful. You can have up to three weapon modules active at any one time. But the thing is: you can use energy collected from fallen foes to 'morph' these weapon modules and upgrade them in real-time, as you play! Which adds a nice amount of strategy to the game, as various weapons have different damage and recharge periods.






From a technical perspective, enemy sprites can be any size you want. The one you see on screen is 27x27 (the game engine automatically resizes it to 2x its original size). Each enemy sprite sheet can have up to 10 frames and these frames can be used however you like: you could have 3 frames for an IDLE animation (when the enemy is just gliding around) and 7 for an ATTACK animation, or some other allocation. You don't have to use all 10 frames (in fact, I recommend leaving 2 or 3 empty, just in case we add another sequence later on).

I'm happy for multiple artists to submit enemies. Everyone will be credited. The game is being released for free on: Windows, Mac and Linux platforms (I code it on a Mac and already have a Windows Build working). Just make sure that any contributions match the existing graphic style.

If you're interested, you can contact me on MSN: nial00@gmail.com, or AIM: oxygenexcess, or you can reply here!



Edited by Nial - 28 February 2008 at 9:46am