initial level design

I blocked out an initial layout for the whole game world so I could run through it and get a feel for its size.

The image shows the main path through the game's various zones. At the moment it just represents the shortest path from A to B but will eventually be weaved into a more complex network of intricate tunnels and caverns.

On previous projects I've often spent a lot of time recreating detailed level design sketches in the editor, only to find that the scale is way off throughout the whole level. One of the things I love about Unity is how easy it is to quickly chuck in a load of prefab shapes and copy and paste until I have a simple layout ready. Then with one click I'm swimming around in the game engine and very quickly getting an idea of whether it feels the right size or not.

The world of Luminesca is still in its early stages but it feels like a good size; it's big enough to give a sense of grandeur without being so big that it's unreasonable to try and fill it all with enough detail.

The next stage is to look at each zone individually and start implementing the main gameplay and story beats. I'll start with the mid-game section before book-ending it more simple and more complex versions of the gameplay.

end of the IndieGoGo campaign

Yesterday marked the deadline for supporting Luminesca on IndieGoGo and I'm pleased to announce that the project reached a total of:

$1,510

I'd like to say a huge "Thank you!" to everyone who donated to support the game, your generosity makes all the difference. While the result of the crowd-funding campaign was a long way off its ambitious goal the money raised will be a great help in supporting development for the near future.


what happens next?

This is really just the beginning for Luminesca.  The plan is to continue making the game and taking pre-orders to fund development along the way (this may take a little while to get up and running).

The preview demo we have been working on alongside the IndieGoGo campaign provides a good foundation to build upon with a set of fun mechanics and interesting characters. Behind the scenes I'm drawing up maps and plans for the game's full story mode which is now beginning production.

If you donated on IndieGoGo you will be contacted soon.

Check back here soon for more news, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or IndieDB for notifications.

update 006: control fixes

This is the last update before the IndieGoGo timer is up. If you want to donate and start playing the game, now's the time!

The update addresses some problems players reported with the controls for the game, and is automatically applied and playable now for anyone who has donated $5 or more.

• Removed the buoyancy effect that pulls you upwards all the time and replaced it with a simple floating animation which plays when you're not pressing any buttons.
• Replaced the brief pause when you take damage with a screen shake.
• Improved the tube worms' animation and allowed them to damage biting bugs and smash breakable blocks.
• Improved movable blocks physics stability and smoothed out movement.

Although this is the last update before we run out of time on IndieGoGo, the game is still in early stages, and there will be many more major improvements to come in the future. This is made possible thanks to the generosity of everyone who has donated so far and we hope this is just the beginning for Luminesca.

Thank you!