So while we’re preparing for our next big vid snippet to show, we’ll talk about the handful of games that influenced Cryamore. So let’s get started, shall we…?

GAMEPLAY

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the central, bare-bones inspiration for this game. Top-down camera view, simple action-gameplay premise, and consisting of gaining new items to get to previously inaccessible areas. It works. Though we’re a bit more ambitious with the mechanic. More abilities (81) = more exploration and multiple ways to get something done. There’ll be no one correct way to advance through the game, but there will be a 100% perfect way to. It’s up to you, the player, to find that route.

Elemental Gimmick Gear, a more obscure Dreamcast title, had the same gameplay premise based off of Zelda. It was a beautiful game (hand-drawn graphics and hand-drawn sprites, but I’m getting ‘graphically’ sidetracked here. But back to gameplay). Instead of using an item to get to where you need to go, the game had specific elemental abilities. There were 4 different elemental abilities that you’d discover to have at your disposal (Fireball, Icebeam, Earthquake, and Plasma Beam) and they were very crucial to figuring out a puzzle. Also, E.G.G. wasn’t a modern-day Zelda, in that it did NOT hold your hand on where to go. It was pretty much “you’re here in the middle of the world, now go and explore anywhere”. We’re having multiple abilities within each elemental group and sticking to that exploration design, so the range/scope of figuring things out is more greater in Cryamore. 

Super Metroid. We all know of Samus’ (still) greatest adventure. The gameplay aspect and atmosphere of being alone is what sold Super Metroid the most. We’re paying homage in Cryamore in that Esmyrelda is an explorer, and in some areas she’ll have to go into dark caverns and gritty areas to get what she needs to do done. From our design premise, we’ll also have a horror element or two within the game, thanks to Metroid Fusion’s SA-X.

Secret of Mana. Even after all the subsequent Mana titles that released after this one, Secret of Mana still proved to have the most strategic battle system. It didn’t encourage button mashing. You had to zone in and well-place/time your attacks. If you screwed up, well, you have to recharge your strength to have another chance at a well-placed attack. Also, you can choose a weapon that would be your forte. In Cryamore, you won’t be able to choose the weapon anytime, only in the beginning of the game. So each gameplay variant will play differently based on your preference. 

Brave Fencer Musashi is another strong influence, in that the game will have its own time system. Like Musashi did in his adventure, Esmyrelda can gain fatigue based on how long she’s been outside adventuring, and she’ll let you know through her animated avatar icon and slower attacks. Musashi, also through the use of his sword Fusion, was able to gain certain abilities from enemies and use it to his advantage. In Cryamore, this is how new elemental abilities are learned, but through a much more intense process, where Esmy would have to extract the Cryamore energy from an enemy, then take back to an Elementalist in town to mix with different catalysts to make the new ability, kinda in the same way if Musashi found an item that needs appraised, he’d take it to an Appraiser. In BFM it was more directly based in the area you were in, but in Cryamore, you can find an ability in a new area that has something to do on the other side of the map.

Chrono Trigger, well, why not? There is a Time Element in Cryamore. It’ll be used to rewind time and solve puzzles based on it. Should make for a fun way of figuring things out, we suppose. And it’s Rob’s favorite game of all time. It was kinda necessary.

Azure Dreams. Many may not have played this one, but it was one of (probably is,) the first titles that introduced rebuilding a town. Ezio Auditore was not the first, peeps. In Azure Dreams, Koh would return from the Monster Tower and use his spoils to advance the town, opening/fixing previously rundown places. Dark Cloud could be another game with this idea, but we’re not going with that much as far as customization goes, but rebuilding a town will be a side quest in Cryamore. 

Legend of Mana. Other than the strong old-school action-adventure style and influence, as far as the direct look goes, we’re going for this feel in the visual department. Legend of Mana had lush, vibrant, and unique hand-drawn and hand-painted backgrounds with hand-drawn sprites. Elemental Gimmick Gear (mentioned above) had this as well. 

We’re hoping Cryamore will pay a nice homage to these great games that made yesteryear so awesome. =)