[Construct 2] City of Amber

[justabox21]

City of Amber will play very similarly to the games from the Souls series or Bloodborn. The combat is focused on a dodging, blocking and attacking system that all runs off of a stamina gauge and revolves around the use of guns and melee weapons. The world itself is a dark and dreary place full of monsters, puzzles and exploration. Lily can be upgraded by using EXP acquired through combat. Upgrades consist of learning new evasive maneuvers, increasing attack power, learning new melee combos, increasing firearms effectiveness and improving stamina.

Developer: LDC Studios
Official Website: Coming Soon!
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/City-of-Amber-108073936245507/?ref=hl

Genre: Action/ Horror
Players: 1-Player
Combat Style: Live Action
View Style: 3rd Person 'Faux 3D' - Side Scroller.
Platform: PC
Engine: Scirra's Construct 2
Minimum Requirements:
Pentium 4 or Equivalent
2.8 GHZ Processor (Single Core)
1 Gigabyte of Ram
128 Bit Video Card
Gamepad Controller/ Keyboard

-PLOT-
Lily Ridge is a 26 year old woman, looking at her 8th year of Military Police service. Recent developments have caused her to begin to have reservations about her life's choices, and she decides to take a much needed leave of absence. During this time off she plans to travel to California to meet with her sister, Abby, and discuss whether or not she should make this year her final year of service. Of course, things are never that simple. Lily's car doesn't make the cross-country trip, and Lily is left stranded in a remote location with no phone reception and no signs of passing help. She manages to find her way to the nearest town. This is where her story truly begins... Even with 8 years of war hardening experience, the things waiting in the shadows of this town will test her strength and her sanity far more than anything she has ever encountered. The world of war she plans to leave behind will be a day at the beach compared to the world of suffering she is about to enter. Welcome to Prosperity, the City of Amber.

-SCREENS-

-VIDEOS-
**Coming Soon**

[justabox21]

Not all locations in CoA are dark and dreary. Here's a nice highly detailed and well-lit interior of a manor! Sort of takes me back to RE's mansion.

[&&&&&&&&&&&&&]

good luck on your journey.

[justabox21]

Thank you! So far this game has a following that is far beyond anything i could have hoped for. I believe this will be the successful game i have been working toward!

[justabox21]

Here's another screenshot to oppose the last one that was posted:


Creepy basements and phonographs are still a thing!

[justabox21]

This is Abby, who is the sister of the main character, Lilly. Her role will be the equivalent to what Miki's was in Grave Prosperity.

[justabox21]

Here's a screen showing some action using the machete

[justabox21]

It's taken some time, but the opening to City of Amber is finally complete! This game contains more sensitive subjects than its predecessor, GP. There is extreme violence, mild (but tasteful) nudity, and controversial political views. Enjoy!

As a note: The political views presented in this game are not meant to be taken to heart, just used as a tool to better define our heroine...

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[justabox21]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to toss out some development notes and fun facts that compare and contrast GP: Redux and City of Amber today.

To start, Grave Prosperity was never presented with a story. It was meant to slowly unravel as the game progressed through its episodic play. Unfortunately that meant that nothing was known about the Protagonist either. It made it difficult to really care about Amber and what she was doing. With City of Amber I decided to make it in the exact opposite way.

This time you will know your character's past, her feelings on that past, and where she plans to take her future- all right out of the gate. Even her body is a representation of her history and character. From the battle scars that cover her back, to the large wings tattooed under them which represent her desire for freedom from her current life. Everything tells a story in this game. And the rather thickly laid on theme in the intro will have heavy influence over the creatures and horrors Lilly will encounter in Prosperity. There aren't just unexplainable nastys crawling around in the dark anymore. Now many of the monsters (and sometimes locations) will be a product of Lilly's own personal demons and faltering sanity.

There is a lot going into this on all fronts, and I am very excited about its completion!

[justabox21]

Here's a couple new screens to show some of the work that's been going on lately:

Sneaking up on the Caged Smiler


The outside of Prosperity's Asylum

[justabox21]

So up to this point I have shown some action and some visuals. Now lets's take a look at a little bit of horror! In this scene we are introduced to the Caged Smiler, and presented with the task of retrieving its keys:
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[justabox21]

Anybody recognize this horrible abomination? That's right... They're making a return, but this time with 100% LESS unfair teleporting murder-y-ness! Welcome back the Scavenger enemy type!

[justabox21]

Since updates are few between because of the amount of work it takes to make content, I have decided to try something new!
I may start posting videos of some of the animation processes as they are being made. Just to show progress, and as something fun for people to follow along with if they want.
If you enjoy it then I'll make it a regular thing! Here's the first video:
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[justabox21]

Got another development video here. In order to have more organic-feeling enemies, they're gonna need more than one attack! So here's the Scavenger's secondary, ranged attack:
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[justabox21]

There are going to be lot's of strange transitions in City of Amber, as we travel through Lilly's guilt-ridden conscience. When the lights go out we can always expect to wake up in a new, worse place, than before. Remember GP: Redux's Asylum?
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[justabox21]

I love working on outdoor environments! Finally getting the outside of the Asylum up and running in-game:

[justabox21]

Wanted to show an image of the new quick menu system, and the new high-res look for the interior of the asylum. There won't be a separate pause menu for sorting through equipment like GP: Redux had. This time everything is live! Of course there will also be a quick-select button to automatically switch between using your melee weapons or firearms when you're in a pinch.
The asylum itself is nice and well-lit in this image to show off the improved resolution. When I add the shadows and faint lighting it will look a bit more sinister.

[justabox21]

Things on the development end are beginning to look a little familiar... I know we're all waiting to see how these nasty little guys are going to play out this time. So the next post is going to be a combat demonstration on the Scavenger! Let's see if I've learned anything this past year! 

[justabox21]

Alright, everybody, this is what many of you have been waiting for! This is the Alpha build for the Scavenger enemy-type. I'm sure this will exceed what you may have expected!
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[justabox21]

It's looking like a demo for City of Amber is finally on the horizon! Right now, as the game stands, the demo will be as long as (If not, longer than) GP: Redux Part 1!

[justabox21]

Got an update featuring a new monster!



He's probably friendly.

[justabox21]

Well, everyone.. I believe I've finally done it.
I may have just created the world's ugliest Muppet!
I call her "Grace," and she will be your designated stalker during your stay in City of Amber!
So... Have fun with that..


      - This thing is seriously grossing me out.

[&&&&&&&&&&&&&]

That is pretty creepy. :O

[justabox21]

The more I look at it, the more I see the off spring of Gary Busey and Alice Cooper. What was I thinking?!   :anski2:

[justabox21]

** STORY UPDATE **
So lately there has been a bit of a gap in the story of City of Amber that has been kind of blocking my progress in the development department. Finally I have found what I needed to fill that gap!

As we already know, Lilly has discovered disturbing information that has caused her to question her choices in life. This prompts her to take a leave of absence from the Military while she contemplates her future. During this leave she plans to visit her sister, Abby, who is basically Lilly's greatest emotional support, but on the way finds herself stranded in a mysterious town and swept away into a hellscape that preys on her past.
Now, these things are all well and good, but there still needed to be a stitching that could hold all of the chaos together without letting things spiral out of control and the story losing all sense of meaning. What I landed on is PTSD.

Lilly is not only going to be guilt-ridden, but she is also going to have a VERY terrible case of PTSD. This is going to be the driving force behind the transitions in horrors she experiences throughout the game. Certain things Lilly see's will cause fits of hallucinations and flashbacks that will transport her to different environments in order to progress the story.

I feel like this addition will help not only give more depth to Lilly's character, but it will also give more depth to the game's overall (Supernaturally Inflated) message. It's a story about the horrors of what war and a corrupt nation can do to even the strongest of soldiers' (Lilly's) minds, and the figurative and literal demons they must fight in order to overcome their past.
For me this has taken the story from an action-packed adventure to a bit of a sad and emotional trip into this character's psyche. But I think I prefer this approach because now I have something more real I can give the players to fight for, which is Lilly's own sanity, and eventually maintaining her bond with her sister, who will find herself trapped in the City of Amber at some point as well.