Welcome to the official forum thread of the Diamond Platformer Team!

Announcements:
The first battle has started! Click here for more information.
Department studios have been made! Please start work at your respective studios.
Designers' Studio
Sound Technicians' Studio
Coders' Studio


Current Tasks:

• Create a story.
  

• Decide what style of platformer best fits the story.
  

• Outline the story and determine how it will be integrated into the game.
  

Battles:
Battle 1, Nov. 7 at 3pm - Nov. 21 at 1pm EST
Character, history and type of platformer.

Battle 2
Vignette and base code.

Battle 3
A complete level.

Battle 4
Designing and coding a boss battle.

Final Battle
The whole platformer.


Links:
Diamond Platformer Team Studio
Designers' Studio
Sound Technicians' Studio
Coders' Studio
Battle 1 Information Project
Platformer Clash 2 Forum Thread
Platformer_Clash2 Profile Page


How to Apply:
To apply, go to our official studio, give a link to your best project, and tell us what job you want (find job descriptions and vacancies in the studio description).

Game Idea (suggestions welcome!):
A pirate themed platformer.

Story:
The player is a pirate who sailed under Davie Jones on the legendary ghost ship the Flying Dutchman. After being ordered to destroy an enemy ship, the player escapes from the Dutchman in a rowboat with a sack of gold. The player rows to the nearest port and buys a ship to be able to stop Jones. The shipbuilder tells the player that the only way to defeat Jones is to first go to the surrounding islands and destroy several talismans that are the source of Jones's power. The player spend a good portion of the game doing this. After all the talismans are destroyed, Jones sends the kraken, an enormous sea monster, to destroy the player's ship. After a penultimate boss battle with the kraken, the monster is defeated, but Jones destroys the player's ship. The player boards the Dutchman and enters a final battle with Jones. After Jones is defeated, the player uses the power of the ghost ship to raise both his own ship and the ship he destroyed at the beginning of the game. The game ends, but the player can still explore islands.

Gameplay:

• The gameplay will be mostly based around combat and exploration. On every island there will be enemies guarding the talismans, and there will also be hidden treasure that the player can use to upgrade the ship or buy new tools.
  

• The islands themselves will be relatively small levels, but each one will be distinct and offer different challenges to the player.
  

• The islands will be laid out in small groups, and islands must be completed one group at a time. The island levels and enemies will slowly get harder, and having a system like this will prevent players from going to islands that they are not ready for.
  

• Each island group will have a guardian that must be defeated to access those islands. The guardians may be sea monsters or other ships.
  

Levels:
Prologue - Player loads an artillery shell into a cannon and destroys an enemy ship.
gameplay type: procedural

Level 1: Escape - Player takes gold and escapes in rowboat.
gameplay type: stealth

Level 2: A New Ship - Player uses gold to buy a ship and is told how to defeat Davie Jones.
gameplay type: exploration

Guardian Levels - The first time a player sails to an island group, they will encounter a guardian (pirate ship, sea monster, etc.) that must be defeated.
gameplay type: combat

Island Levels - Player explores various islands, encountering minor enemies and collecting treasure.
gameplay type: exploration, combat

Penultimate Level: Battle with the Kraken - Player must defeat the sea monster sent by Davie Jones.
gameplay type: combat

Final Level: Battle on the Dutchman - Davie Jones destroys the player’s ship, so the player must fight him and his crew on his ship, the Flying Dutchman.
gameplay type: combat

Epilogue - Player uses the power of the Flying Dutchman to raise his ship and the ship he sunk at the beginning of the game.
gameplay type: procedural

Game Locations:

• The Flying Dutchman - Davie Jones’s ship, where the first and last levels take place
  

• Player’s Ship - upgradable, location of guardian levels
  

• Main Port - where the player buys and upgrades the ship
  

• Islands - small levels where the player must find and destroy Davie Jones’ talismans
  

Final Reflections:
This is an ambitious project. We will have to put in the effort if we want to succeed. Nevertheless, I believe that each one of you on this team has the ability make meaningful contributions. We have a full 3 months to finish this game, and if we work together, that is more than enough time. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Great ideas! I didn't know you were going to put so much thought into it :O I'm looking forward to making it

Well done! You are putting a lot of effort into this

I can code some platformer script if you guys want me to

I love this! I can make cool effects and a platformer script to help! (can we add a shop?)

Yea we should add a shop. For the shop lets do it where u can buy a Jack Sparrow skin.

I love the shop idea from lucky989! And unless people have objections we are absolutely having a Jack Sparrow skin in it, thank you ipman55 for that awesome idea. Besides fun skins, we could also have upgrades in the shop for the player and the ship (more cannons, maybe a grappling hook, etc.).

TheGreenFlash wrote:

Game Idea (suggestions welcome!):
A pirate-themed platformer.

Story:
The player is a pirate who sailed under Davie Jones on the legendary ghost ship the Flying Dutchman. After being ordered to destroy an enemy ship, the player escapes from the Dutchman in a rowboat with a sack of gold. The player rows to the nearest port and buys a ship to be able to stop Jones. The shipbuilder tells the player that the only way to defeat Jones is to first go to the surrounding islands and destroy several talismans that are the source of Jones's power. The player spends a good portion of the game doing this. After all the talismans are destroyed, Jones sends the Kraken, an enormous sea monster, to destroy the player's ship. After a penultimate boss battle with the Kraken, the monster is defeated, but Jones destroys the player's ship. The player boards the Dutchman and enters a final battle with Jones. After Jones is defeated, the player uses the power of the ghost ship to raise both his own ship and the ship he destroyed at the beginning of the game. The game ends, but the player can still explore the islands.

Gameplay:

• The gameplay will be mostly based around combat and exploration. On every island, there will be enemies guarding the talismans, and there will also be a hidden treasure that the player can use to upgrade the ship or buy new tools.
  

• The islands themselves will be relatively small levels, but each one will be distinct and offer different challenges to the player.
  

• The islands will be laid out in small groups, and islands must be completed one group at a time. The island levels and enemies will slowly get harder, and having a system like this will prevent players from going to islands that they are not ready for.
  

• Each island group will have a guardian that must be defeated to access those islands. The guardians may be sea monsters or other ships.
  

Levels:
Prologue - Player loads an artillery shell into a cannon and destroys an enemy ship.
gameplay type: procedural

Level 1: Escape - Player takes gold and escapes in rowboat.
gameplay type: stealth

Level 2: A New Ship - Player uses gold to buy a ship and is told how to defeat Davie Jones.
gameplay type: exploration

Guardian Levels - The first time a player sails to an island group, they will encounter a guardian (pirate ship, sea monster, etc.) that must be defeated.
gameplay type: combat

Island Levels - Player explores various islands, encountering minor enemies and collecting treasure.
gameplay type: exploration, combat

Penultimate Level: Battle with the Kraken - Player must defeat the sea monster sent by Davie Jones.
gameplay type: combat

Final Level: Battle on the Dutchman - Davie Jones destroys the player’s ship, so the player must fight him and his crew on his ship, the Flying Dutchman.
gameplay type: combat

Epilogue - The player uses the power of the Flying Dutchman to raise his ship and the ship he sunk at the beginning of the game.
gameplay type: procedural

Game Locations:

• The Flying Dutchman - Davie Jones’s ship, where the first and last levels take place
  

• Player’s Ship - upgradable, location of guardian levels
  

• Main Port - where the player buys and upgrades the ship
  

• Islands - small levels where the player must find and destroy Davie Jones’ talismans
  

Final Reflections:
This is an ambitious project. We will have to put in the effort if we want to succeed. Nevertheless, I believe that each one of you on this team has the ability to make meaningful contributions. We have a full 3 months to finish this game, and if we work together, that is more than enough time. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

A cut scene should come when Jones sends the Kraken because Krakens are sea monsters, He might also have trouble sending the Kraken

IAMATP wrote:

TheGreenFlash wrote:

Game Idea (suggestions welcome!):
A pirate-themed platformer.

Story:
The player is a pirate who sailed under Davie Jones on the legendary ghost ship the Flying Dutchman. After being ordered to destroy an enemy ship, the player escapes from the Dutchman in a rowboat with a sack of gold. The player rows to the nearest port and buys a ship to be able to stop Jones. The shipbuilder tells the player that the only way to defeat Jones is to first go to the surrounding islands and destroy several talismans that are the source of Jones's power. The player spends a good portion of the game doing this. After all the talismans are destroyed, Jones sends the Kraken, an enormous sea monster, to destroy the player's ship. After a penultimate boss battle with the Kraken, the monster is defeated, but Jones destroys the player's ship. The player boards the Dutchman and enters a final battle with Jones. After Jones is defeated, the player uses the power of the ghost ship to raise both his own ship and the ship he destroyed at the beginning of the game. The game ends, but the player can still explore the islands.

Gameplay:

• The gameplay will be mostly based around combat and exploration. On every island, there will be enemies guarding the talismans, and there will also be a hidden treasure that the player can use to upgrade the ship or buy new tools.
  

• The islands themselves will be relatively small levels, but each one will be distinct and offer different challenges to the player.
  

• The islands will be laid out in small groups, and islands must be completed one group at a time. The island levels and enemies will slowly get harder, and having a system like this will prevent players from going to islands that they are not ready for.
  

• Each island group will have a guardian that must be defeated to access those islands. The guardians may be sea monsters or other ships.
  

Levels:
Prologue - Player loads an artillery shell into a cannon and destroys an enemy ship.
gameplay type: procedural

Level 1: Escape - Player takes gold and escapes in rowboat.
gameplay type: stealth

Level 2: A New Ship - Player uses gold to buy a ship and is told how to defeat Davie Jones.
gameplay type: exploration

Guardian Levels - The first time a player sails to an island group, they will encounter a guardian (pirate ship, sea monster, etc.) that must be defeated.
gameplay type: combat

Island Levels - Player explores various islands, encountering minor enemies and collecting treasure.
gameplay type: exploration, combat

Penultimate Level: Battle with the Kraken - Player must defeat the sea monster sent by Davie Jones.
gameplay type: combat

Final Level: Battle on the Dutchman - Davie Jones destroys the player’s ship, so the player must fight him and his crew on his ship, the Flying Dutchman.
gameplay type: combat

Epilogue - The player uses the power of the Flying Dutchman to raise his ship and the ship he sunk at the beginning of the game.
gameplay type: procedural

Game Locations:

• The Flying Dutchman - Davie Jones’s ship, where the first and last levels take place
  

• Player’s Ship - upgradable, location of guardian levels
  

• Main Port - where the player buys and upgrades the ship
  

• Islands - small levels where the player must find and destroy Davie Jones’ talismans
  

Final Reflections:
This is an ambitious project. We will have to put in the effort if we want to succeed. Nevertheless, I believe that each one of you on this team has the ability to make meaningful contributions. We have a full 3 months to finish this game, and if we work together, that is more than enough time. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

A cut scene should come when Jones sends the Kraken because Krakens are sea monsters, He might also have trouble sending the Kraken

Now, do you guys have some Idea what trouble he might have?

IAMATP wrote:

IAMATP wrote:

TheGreenFlash wrote:

…

A cut scene should come when Jones sends the Kraken because Krakens are sea monsters, He might also have trouble sending the Kraken

Now, do you guys have some Idea what trouble he might have?

Cutscenes would be a great way to convey the storyline. We could do this in several ways. For our animators, how comfortable are you making full, animated cutscenes? If anyone's played Poptropica, you'll remember they had a great way of doing cutscenes that used the gameplay graphics and programming along with speech bubbles while restricting player movement. Given our limited timeframe, this could also be good option. Thoughts?

TheGreenFlash wrote:

IAMATP wrote:

IAMATP wrote:

TheGreenFlash wrote:

…

A cut scene should come when Jones sends the Kraken because Krakens are sea monsters, He might also have trouble sending the Kraken

Now, do you guys have some Idea what trouble he might have?

Cutscenes would be a great way to convey the storyline. We could do this in several ways. For our animators, how comfortable are you making full, animated cutscenes? If anyone's played Poptropica, you'll remember they had a great way of doing cutscenes that used the gameplay graphics and programming along with speech bubbles while restricting player movement. Given our limited timeframe, this could also be good option. Thoughts?

I think cut scenes in the style of Poptropica would really cement the reality of this world we're trying to create. Separately animated cutscenes, although they can can turn out really cool and cinematic, can sometimes take away from the gaming experience by removing you from the world. So long as we make a robust enough system, I think cutscenes built into the gameplay would be the best option.

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

I'm sorry about this, but I will be able to go on Scratch only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, so I won't be coding until Tuesday after the contest starts

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

I personally would prefer pixel

MoonVirus wrote:

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

I personally would prefer pixel

Okay!

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

MoonVirus wrote:

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

I personally would prefer pixel

Okay!

I'd prefer Vector, just because it's more in my skill set.

NC9548 wrote:

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

MoonVirus wrote:

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

I personally would prefer pixel

Okay!

I'd prefer Vector

ummm. let's have a vote! maybe put it in the studio description?

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

Vector I think

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

Is the art going to be pixel or vector style?

I'd suggest Vector, but it's mostly up to our designers.

PixelPlayer2009 wrote:

I'm sorry about this, but I will be able to go on Scratch only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, so I won't be coding until Tuesday after the contest starts

Thanks for letting us know! It doesn't look like the first round will involve much coding (at least compared to later rounds), so we'll probably be good.