Support NeoGAF

[trinest]

Wait so this is game like VVVVV or Super Meat Boy but with Survival Elements?

 

[More_Badass]

Wait so this is game like VVVVV or Super Meat Boy but with Survival Elements?

Not really, it's not a precision platformer. You're in a metroidvania style open world (interconnected areas) and need to hunt and explore and avoid/kill lizard predators while searching for shelters to return to when the rain comes. It's more of a stealth survival game, where you use your agility and environment to outwit and outmaneuver your enemies. There's a big focus on AI and animations. There's also multiplayer and challenge rooms.

 

[SapientWolf]

Not really, it's not a precision platformer. You're in a metroidvania style open world (interconnected areas) and need to hunt and explore and avoid/kill lizard predators while searching for shelters to return to when the rain comes. It's more of a stealth survival game, where you use your agility and environment to outwit and outmaneuver your enemies. There's a big focus on AI and animations. There's also multiplayer and challenge rooms.

I know that it's jumping to conclusions, but seeing multiplayer as a feature tends to give me more confidence that the basic mechanics are solid. Multiplayer just doesn't work if the combat isn't fun.

 

[bounchfx]

wow, backed!

 

[More_Badass]

I know that it's jumping to conclusions, but seeing multiplayer as a feature tends to give me more confidence that the basic mechanics are solid. Multiplayer just doesn't work if the combat isn't fun.

Here's how the core MP works

Players compete either in lethal combat or in competitive play (catching the most flies and staying alive) and the lizards hunt them as a "neutral" threat. If you hit the other player with a rock so that s/he is eaten by a lizard, you get a kill.

 

[More_Badass]

Some more clarification on the world structure and current content

Rain World's single player campaign structure is similar to a more open-world Metroidvania type game, with a large inter-connected game world. Right now we have a core of that to build from (maybe an hour or so of gameplay so far, but still has art assets that need to be finished and a lot of stuff that we want to change), plus about 15-20 custom levels that we use for multiplayer / sandbox challenges, etc.

 

[Dr. Buni]

The main character looks great, as does the game overall.

 

[More_Badass]

Q&A with Joar Jakobsson on Rain World. Talks about AI, development, and other aspects of the game
http://indiegameenthusiast.blogspot.com/2014/01/q-joar-jakobsson-on-rain-world.html

 

[More_Badass]

Found a really good article/interview about Rain World:
http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/22/rain-world-a-ray-of-indie-sunshine-in-a-murky-january-interview/

A lot of nice details about the art style and atmosphere

“I have always liked ugly environments,” Jakobsson told me when explaining the game’s dark visual style. “An abandoned building is a remnant of human activity and human thinking, and you get a different idea about who we are from just looking at what we’ve built than if you talk to any one of us. This might be the reason why the post-apocalyptic trope is so popular; wandering around the skeletons of human activity tells a slightly different story about us, and it’s always interesting to hear something new about yourself.

“What’s slightly different in Rain World is that it’s not really a human industrial environment, but rather just some kind of weird abstraction of an industrial environment. James [Primate], my partner on the project, described what this is supposed to accomplish very well – he said that the creature you play is a tool-using animal on the verge of making sense of this weird artificial environment around it. The same feeling as the protagonist has should be experienced by the player; you should be able to almost recognize objects, almost understand what these rooms and machines where intended to do.”

Also some more recent info on the world and enemies

The game world consists of many interconnected rooms, that you can move between metroidvania style. Some of these rooms are "swarm rooms", where the flies swarm and where you go to hunt. The swarm rooms can also be played as stand-alone challenges in custom mode. My idea has been that once you have traveled to a swarm room in world mode, it would be unlocked and appear in the menu of the custom mode game types.

Lizards come in a few breeds, identified by head colors. These all have different abilities and feats. Green is the "tank", big, slow, lazy, stupid, but takes a lot of abuse. Blue is the "ninja" lizard, smallest in the family, with the least health, but with the ability to climb on walls and in ceilings, and with a sticky tongue it can shoot at you. Then there are a few others, and then there's red. If you see red, run

 

[More_Badass]

New update:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rain-world/project-rain-world/posts/737473

1) Live Stream with the devs tomorrow at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 7pm CET
http://www.twitch.tv/rainworld

For the final few updates, we'll be hosting live stream pre-release parties: chat with Joar and James (and Michael!), ask questions about the game (or other things!), listen to the unreleased soundtrack, see rare pics and clips, etc.

2) About Rain World on consoles

We would like to! Currently we are doing some research into how best to make this happen. A key component of that will be reaching our current 50k goal, which will give us the resources to migrate Rain World into a development platform that works well with modern consoles. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

 

[tbm24]

Maybe it's because I currently have a headache, but looking at the gifs in the OP started to hurt my head pretty bad. Something about the visuals+animation is doing a number on my head.

 

[Messofanego]

This and Hyper Light Drifter, the animations are beautifully detailed. Played the prototype, and the slugcats feel alive. Also, kinda cool to play two of them co-op on the same keyboard.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Such a weird awesome looking game. The animation is mesmerizing.

 

[Doombear]

Reminder that the devs are live streaming a 'hangout' Q&A right now, with a new update video near the end.

www.twitch.tv/rainworld

 

[More_Badass]

Did anyone see the new gameplay trailer on the stream? So good

 

[More_Badass]

New Rain World gameplay - "Slugcat Life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvMZNVCmd_o

Shows how exploring the world works, general gameplay, some new creatures, and some weird organic environments. Also awesome lightning effects

 

[More_Badass]

Another update
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rain-world/project-rain-world/posts/738196
---
On environments:

As the search for food and shelter takes you farther from the familiarity of your home nest, these rooms begin to span different environments and terrains; from your earthy burrows far underground, to ancient industrial jungle, chimney-pipe canopy, shattered cityscapes, machinery, bogs, blight and beyond!

On new creatures:

Garbage worms

Not every creature in Rain World is your predator or prey. Sometimes you meet something that eats something other than you, and you eat something other than it. Always be cautious though ~ hunger has no law.

Stealth bugs

Rain World is harsh. If you aren't big and strong, you might find safety in numbers. Or sitting very still and adopting the exact color of the wall you are clinging to.

Something....

A brain... tree... that drips? It seems significant somehow. But not all of the mysteries of Rain World are there to be solved.

On building the world

Rain World isn't a typical side-scroller -in fact it hardly side-scrolls at all! Rather the game world is a vast network of an ancient transport system of interconnected tubes and rooms, offering tempting nests of flies to raid, lairs of dangerous creatures to confront or insights into the mysteries of Rain World.

 

[No Love]

Love this game and the art, the world, the atmosphere. Reminds me of Another World and Super Metroid.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

So good.

 

[More_Badass]

Less than a thousand till the project reaches its 50K goal

 

[More_Badass]

So close! Oh, and if anyone was interested, a $200 backer dropped out so there's one plushie tier left

 

[SapientWolf]

I ended up backing this because exploring a completely foreign world full of strange wildlife that may or may not be hostile to you is something that is still somewhat rare, despite the resurgence of games inspired by Super Metroid. The complex character interactions described in the blog sound like they would help flesh out the environment you inhabit and make it feel truly alive. The phenomenal animation and inclusion of multiplayer on top of that makes this a really easy decision for me. I hope the Kickstarter gets the final push it needs to put it over the top.

 

[More_Badass]

Hit their stretch goal!

New update, new gameplay

Rain World may be an homage to a decayed and broken world, but all hope is not lost. The next generation lives on, and with it the possibility of a brighter future. Slugcat pups are smart, opinionated, vulnerable and occasionally deadly.

 

[Graphics Horse]

new gameplay

Did slugcat just regurgitate some food?

 

[More_Badass]

Did slugcat just regurgitate some food?

Pups got to eat somehow
(Yes)

 

[Popnbake]

Rain World is set in an abandoned industrial environment scourged by a shattered eco-system. Bone-crushing intense rain pounds the surface regularly, making life as we know it almost impossible. The creatures in this world hibernate most of the time, but in the few brief dry periods they go out searching for food.

You are a lonely nomadic slugcat, both predator and prey in this land. You must hunt enough food to survive another cycle of hibernation.

The next generation lives on, and with it the possibility of a brighter future. Slugcat pups are smart, opinionated, vulnerable and occasionally deadly.

Did slugcat just regurgitate some food?

 

[KimonoNoNo]

Damn, this game looks charming as hell.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Awesome! I want this on Vita and that's more likely with this stretch goal reached.

 

[Rayven]

I'll never get sick of this style as long as it's done well.

 

[Alric]

I sort of hope they add an option for a physical boxed version of the game.

 

[∀ Narayan]

This looks really cool.

 

[Messofanego]

Did slugcat just regurgitate some food?

This is love.

 

[More_Badass]

This is love.

Oh, can you do a gif of the moment when the adult finds the pups and the green pup shelters and protects them?

 

[Messofanego]

Oh, can you do a gif of the moment when the adult finds the pups and the green pup shelters and protects them?

I'm not sure why they're hesitant, so is the adult not their parent? Are they orphans?

 

[More_Badass]

I'm not sure why they're hesitant, so is the adult not their parent? Are they orphans?

No, you just find them out in the world. They're fearful of you until you gain their trust

 

[Messofanego]

No, you just find them out in the world. They're fearful of you until you gain their trust

That's pretty awesome. And that there is no obvious UI to tell you that you've "gained +5 Trust - you can now carry pups on your back!".

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Speaking of, One Finger Death Punch is pretty much that.

Speaking of, why has no one made a really good NES Kung Fu or Vigilante Arcade clone yet?

 

[Muppet of a Man]

This game has an amazing aesthetic feel and animation quality to it. It's funny how sometimes a 2d platformer can feel incredibly interactive, moreso than many more-complicated 3d games.

 

[More_Badass]

This game has an amazing aesthetic feel and animation quality to it. It's funny how sometimes a 2d platformer can feel incredibly interactive, moreso than many more-complicated 3d games.

Have you tried the early movement prototype demo?

 

[charsace]

I've been following this guy's thread on tigsource. Beautiful looking game.

 

[Twinduct]

Thanks for the updates More_Badass

On topic, the game looks great. The animation and the AI behavior seems out of this world.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Have you tried the early movement prototype demo?

No, I have not. I'm actually just going by what I'm seeing in the gifs in this thread. It just gives me reminiscent vibes of Flashback, Another World, and Prince of Persia, as well as a number of Metroidvania games.

 

[Angelus Errare]

That's pretty awesome. And that there is no obvious UI to tell you that you've "gained +5 Trust - you can now carry pups on your back!".

So many RPGs would be better without UI prompts telling you your morality changes. I never understood why this is even shown in RPGs. It almost completely ruins the point of a morality system.

 

[More_Badass]

No, I have not. I'm actually just going by what I'm seeing in the gifs in this thread. It just gives me reminiscent vibes of Flashback, Another World, and Prince of Persia, as well as a number of Metroidvania games.

Here's the download if you're interested.
.rar
There are no enemies and you can't balance on poles, but you can climb around and see how the slugcat moves and animates.
Player 1 controls are Arrows for movement, K to jump. Player 2 controls are ESDF for movement, Q to jump

 

[Theecliff]

Hit their stretch goal!

New update, new gameplay

That's absolutely adorable. The animation in this game is incredible.

 

[More_Badass]

Great info from the recent Twitch stream:
(Take all with a grain of salt, because stuff could change)

• The devs talked about stretch goals and how they wanted to stay true to their vision and not add features just for the sake of adding features.
  
• The current plan is that all sandbox challenge maps are areas found throughout the world. Finding them unlocks the maps in the challenge mode
  
• The slugcat can't defend itself without rocks and spears. It's all about evasion and using the environment. But you can jump on their heads to stun them, maybe even knock them off a ledge
  
• Pups don't grow up
  
• There will be no in-game map. You have to remember how to get around. (Cats can't read maps)
  
• The world is handmade, not procedural. But the plants and how and where they're placed is done procedurally.
  
• The shelters are safe zones, with massive sliding doors to block out the flooding rain. You can be crushed to death by the doors
  
• One area/level has you dropping from a ceiling vent into a pit with four red lizards. And then it's all just pure instinct and adapting on the fly
  
• The whole world will be open from the start. There are no skills to unlock or learn; it's all about just getting better at playing, learning little tricks and maneuvers. It's very possible to stumble into a hard area early on and get destroyed if you're not ready/skilled enough
  
• If the pups see you kill another pup, they will become aggressive towards you. Especially the green one.
  
• Lizards live in dens they return to when the rain come. Some have eggs. The idea is that if you can bring an egg back to your shelter, you'll unlock that color lizard in the sandbox/challenge modes. But lizards won't be happy if you take their eggs
  
• There will be a hunger meter/bar
  
• Those weird red bubbles from the Kickstarter trailer are actually living creatures. They can catch flies by absorbing them and then retreat back into their holes.
  
• Once you clear a swarm room (a room filled with flies) by eating all the flies, they're gone forever. This is an organic way to make the player explore more and travel further from their shelter
  
• You have a ton of freedom in multiplayer, more than slugcat deathmatch or co-op fights against lizards. One example was creating a competitive free-for-all match where killing lizards rewards points.
  
• You can play through the single player campaign cooperatively.
  
• If you miss a spear throw, smarter lizards like the yellow and blue ones will track down your spear and remove it from the area, depriving you of your weapon.
  
• White lizards are really dangerous, as they can just blend in, causing you to lose track, and then surprise you with their tongues
  
• If a lizard is rushing at you to attack, you can spear its jaws open to stop it from biting you. You can even spear lizards to walls.

 

[Messofanego]

[*]If the pups see you kill another pup, they will become aggressive towards you. Especially the green one.

So I should kill the green pup first

Very cool details.

 

[Rei_Toei]

Music is pretty cool too. Hope they can get it on (some) consoles/handhelds. One of the most intriguing games in development gameplay-wise together with Below, imo.

 

[popyea]

Already backed. Was wondering if there was a thread here. I got such strange feelings from this game. The combination of it's elements just affected me somehow. Really excited for it!

 

[Rei_Toei]

In the pups trailer there's a moment where the adult slugcat throws the yellow one in the air and when it lands, it looks a little bit as if like they give each other a paw bump .