Author | Lightnews

Aurora Storialis

@aurorastorialis.bsky.social

1K followers 170 following 210 posts

Game Dev Studio currently making Endless You, a Puzzle Platformer where respawning doesn't reset the level. Explore overgrown factories, abandoned by the aliens that once built them. https://aurorastorialis.itch.io/endless-you-early

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · Jun 9

🏳️‍🌈 Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈

Meet Wik (They/Them)! They're the star of our team's upcoming Puzzle Platformer, Endless You. Wik is a resourceful young linguist, determined to reunite the community they grew up with. Even if that means risking their life. (Post 1/3)

#pridemonth #indiegame #lgbtq

An alien squirrel, Wik (they/them), stands facing the viewer with hearts surrounding them. They have a mechanical collar covering their neck and mouth. A rainbow is displayed behind them. (Image drawn by KB)

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 23h

Here's #conceptart for our upcoming #indiegame, Endless You!

It's a view of the abandoned factories from the Ceyaquinn Village, our main character's home! They find safety high up in the trees.

Concept done by: @thesignpainty.bsky.social

A wooden village high up in the trees overlooks a landscape covered in tall, twisted buildings. The moon behind the tallest tower glows a bright purple.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 2d

Remember WarioLand? This offbeat platformer had you solving puzzles by giving Wario status ailments.

Our upcoming #indiegame Endless You is a darker take on the concept - dying to solve puzzles.

Get frozen, set on fire, electrocuted, crushed, vaporized, and so much more!

#gamedev #wario

The title "Warioland", surrounded by Warios suffering from different status ailments

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 4d

Endless You takes place inside 6 giant factories abandoned long ago by aliens. The machinery has been overtaken by plant life, and broken objects make the spaces quite dangerous.

We took inspiration from settings like The Last of Us and Metroid to shape these spaces.

#gamedev #indiegame

Broken bits of glass and metal, forming a spike hazard. Grass and vegetation grows in between the pieces

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 6d

🎃 Happy Halloween!

Endless You is a game that seamlessly combines charming cuteness with existential horror.

Our adorable main character, Wik, is able to revive from death, and use their previous body as a platform or weight to solve puzzles.

#indiegame #gamedev #existentialhorror

Wik's body, laying on the ground. They have yellow fir and light green hands and tail. They have X's on their eyes, signifying they have passed on.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 8d

But don't worry, our fully-functional, weird little alien language is still present in the game! You can find it describing collectibles, but Wik will translate it for you.

But are there secrets to unlock if you pick up through context what a few words mean? Perchance (End 🧵)

Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 8d

And that's how we learned that a player's mindset is important to keep pretty consistent in an experience! It can work against immersion to force them to change it too drastically

I ask you to consider "Steak and Strawberries" the next time you combine two elements you really enjoy in a game! (5/6)

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 8d

It's like steak and strawberries. You might enjoy a steak! You might also enjoy strawberries. But you'd be understandably upset if I served you a steak with strawberry jam on it.

So we made the tough decision to focus on just one of the two experiences. The Puzzle Platforming. (4/6)

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 8d

It was hard on people to enjoy both game sections at once. I could tell that it was taxing on them to switch mindsets. One section was learned completely intuitively, and the next needed paragraphs of reading to get a handle on.

Both valid experiences, but not complimentary ones. (3/6)

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 8d

Endless You is a Puzzle Platformer where you use your own dead body to solve puzzles. Kinda like a darker Wario Land.

It originally had a reoccurring section where you translate alien text. Kinda like in Heaven's Vault.

And some people enjoyed each section! A few enjoyed both! But... (2/6)

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 8d

In #gamedesign, knowing what kind of head space you're asking your players to be in is so important, but rarely considered.

Some games are best learned passively, while others require active learning. Both are good! But switching between these game styles can be disastrous. Here's how we learned 🧵

Our player character for the current version of Endless You, Wik! They're a yellow squirrel alien, with green hands and tail. They have a metal collar covering their mouth and neck.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 9d

How it started ........... How it's going

#gamedev #characterdesign

Our player character from the prototype of Endless You. A pixel art white little guy, with a red heart on their chest. They're standing on a white platform. The sprite was edited from a youtube tutorial done by Heartbeast.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 10d

In essence, your player is a character in your game. They have tactics, too! In the set of actions of your game, tactics are the actions the player leans towards.

When you invite the player to switch up their actions with a new problem, that's #storytelling! Done right, it's deep and personal.(2/2)

A rendered frame of Wik falling down. They're a squirrel-like alien with a yellow body and light green tail. They have a metal collar covering their neck and mouth.

Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 10d

You'd be surprised how well a background in script writing applies to #gamedev. And not just narrative design!

Characters in a story have tactics, ways they approach problems. When these tactics fail, they must adapt to overcome the problem. This is a basic building block of stories.(1/2)

A rendered frame of Wik jumping up. They're a squirrel-like alien with a yellow body and light green tail. They have a metal collar covering their neck and mouth.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 11d

🕊️ Level Design Stream

Going live with some #gamedev! Making some levels with electrical hazards for our #indiegame Endless You.

Come chill out: www.twitch.tv/queen_an

An in Birb form. She's wearing a Keaton Mask on her head

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 12d

🐿️ Character Design

Our main character for Endless You, Wik (they/them), is a squirrel-like alien living in another galaxy. This is their look, from concept art to current art.

More details in the alt text!

#gamedev #conceptart #indiegame

The first concept art piece for Wik. They have large, round eyes, a little button nose, and a big heart on their chest. Their hands end in three frills, and their tail has a bunch of spheres of various sizes attached.

A coloured and more detailed version of the previous art. Wik's skin is tones of green, and has blue hair and clothing. The large heart was inspired by the placeholder sprite from a Heartbeast youtube tutorial.

Wik as they appeared in early versions of the game. They are yellow with green hands and tail. They wear a red vest and shoes. A metal collar covers their mouth and neck, replacing the large heart. The collar is supposed to be a bracelet for a larger type of alien!

Wik's current design. With the same colour scheme as previous, as well as more rendering, their build is a little more square to accommodate technical needs of the game. They're looking ready for anything!

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 13d

🐿️ Endless You

Our #Indiegame may be 2D, but it has the depth of 3D light through an awesome feature in #godot. By combining different maps of a sprite, you can define how the light shines off of it.

1) In game result
2) visual texture
3) normal map
4) specular map

More detail in the alt texts!

This is how it looks in game, currently. A close up of a bunch of spiky debris light shines off the glass more than the purple material and the grass.

The base image of the spikes. Purple metal and glass stick up out of vegetation. It has a charming, cartoon look to it.

The normal map of the sprite. The combination of pinks and blues in the shape of the sprite define how the light will sit on the object.

The specular map for the sprite. A greyscale version of the spikes, which defines how bright the light will shine off of each portion. The bright white areas will shine brighter than the darker areas.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 13d

It would seem to me you have your priorities in order.

Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 14d

🐿️ Endless You 🐿️

We've been doing some #gamedev lighting tests for our upcoming #indiegame , and are loving the results!

The light reflecting off the broken glass is looking spicy!

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 15d

💡 Here's a Dynamic Lighting test for Endless You!

🐿️ It's the upcoming indie game where you solve puzzles by dying

🎤 All feedback is welcome!

Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 24d

🐿️ Indie Game Stream 🐿️

Going live to make levels for Wik to get through! Come see what tricks and traps await them. #indiegame #gamedev #leveldesign

www.twitch.tv/queen_an

Wik (They/Them), a squirrel alien, looks towards the viewer with open arms. They wear a metal collar around their neck and mouth. A rainbow is displayed behind them.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 25d

🎉 Next level design stream is now! Come join me :D

#gamedev #indiegame

Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 29d

🕊️ Level Design Stream 🕊️

It's time for another stream from An, as she continues to put together levels for the upcoming indie game, Endless You. Come chill and ask some questions! #indiegame

www.twitch.tv/queen_an

An in birb form, happy with her eyes closed.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · 29d

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · Oct 6

🐿️ Going Live!

Going to be adding platformer puzzles to this blank level! In Endless You, dying is how you solve puzzles. Find out how fire adds to the mix! #indiegame

www.twitch.tv/queen_an

Wik, our alien squirrel protagonist, stands at the ready for a level that hasn't quite been built yet.

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · Oct 3

🔥 Game Dev Time 🔥

We're making more platforming puzzles again today, this time centred around catching on fire. Come ask questions and learn about #gamedesign and #gamedev

www.twitch.tv/queen_an

An in birb form. She wears a Keaton Mask (From Majora's Mask) on the top of her head

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Aurora Storialis @aurorastorialis.bsky.social · Oct 2

🔴 Going Live 🔴

Going to be designing a few platforming puzzles for our upcoming #indiegame , Endless You! I will be sharing my process and answering any related questions, so come on down: www.twitch.tv/queen_an

An in birb form, wearing a Keaton Mask (from The Legend of Zelda) on the top of her head.

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