Aerdash

7 days out from launch

I'm soon gonna release the first version on itch.io. I am looking quite forward to finishing this project. And I might honestly keep working on it after I release the first version. https://gullmarc.itch.io/aerdash

Core game is basically done. The core game is to collect 1000 sun essence in 5 minutes, unlocking perks along the way to make it feel exponential. I got great feedback on how to make the game better, but it's a bigger time commitment than my deadline in 1 month, so I am just gonna do a few final things:

• Hands UI (this has been part of the core idea since when i first got the idea)
• Adding a few interactive objects into the map so it doesn't feel boring or empty
• 1-2 more perks

Title screen turned out exactly how I wanted it

Huge progress today. I am finally building a full game and story around the core.

Built a magna doodle UI for the perk menu!

Big changes

I have set up the windchime system, it's quite fun to play with, but I hate how the bells look. Instead of a windows xp background, it now looks like a cheap mobile game. I need to fix this, but I have no idea how. I might take some distance from it until I get a good idea on how to fix it.

I made some progress on the windchime UI:

New core gameplay idea

Different colored windchimes scattered throughout the world, with a spinning windchime UI on which color to collect next. Following the sequence builds combo multipliers, but higher combos have faster expiration timers. This means you can choose relaxed exploration at low multipliers, and pure adrenaline at high combos when you only have 3-4 seconds to find the next color.

Mockup:

Just added a perk system, in a similar way that Fallout New Vegas does it! I instantly knew I wanted it in my game as soon as I thought of the idea. I made a prototype of it today and I love it.

Finished the new grass, it has slightly less prominent tiling and more shadows.

Tiktok was actually a huge success. For a demo that took just 2 hours to build, people were surprisingly positive. I got >700 views, 21 likes, 4 positive comments, on what I consider to be a pretty shit prototype. I think there's something about the open world exploration people like.

Huge progress

Made huge progress today. I cloned the core movement engine, and built a basic meadow bliss scene. It's obviously scrappy as fuck, but for a prototype I've made a lot of progress. Recorded a short snippet and posted it on Tiktok.

I'm gonna do a lightweight 1-week expiri to test the core idea of Aerdash. I have 3 main questions that I need to answer:

• Is the core gameplay of bhopping and surfing around in a big, open landscape fun and satisfying?
• Can I get the basic feel and visuals of the game I want?
• Do other people think that the visuals are interesting and that the gameplay is fun?

But before jumping into that, I need to learn basic Unity. I'm gonna use Cursor for coding, I don't need to learn C#.

Once I feel comfortable with Unity, I will do a 1-week expiri, where I build a primitive sandbox that looks and feels somewhat close to what I am envisioning, then validate it with other people, first to friends then maybe release the demo on itch.io or something.

Okay there's no excuse as to why I haven't started on this yet. My plan is to do a bunch of expiris, then make a very makeshift prototype, then rebuild with real textures and polished movement.

Expiri

• Quake movement
• Import blender scene into unity

New Direction

I’ve changed the direction of the game a bit. I don’t want a combo system anymore. It just didn’t feel like it fits the vibe of the game.

Instead, I want the game to focus fully on movement and exploration. You’re in a massive, procedurally generated beach map. There are rare surreal structures scattered around. There’s no tutorial or UI.

The movement should feel like Quake or Apex, with bunny hopping, surfing, maybe tap-strafing. No speed limit. If you’re good, you can go insanely fast. Water slows you down unless you’re going fast enough to skim across it.

There are no enemies or timers. I still don’t know what kind of friction the game should have, but I want it to be something that makes the movement more interesting, not frustrating.

I’m open to having a skill tree or unlocks. Like in Hollow Knight, I'm thinking you unlock more complex movement techs over time, and you grow into it.

Main goal now is to make a demo where this core idea and movement feels good.

More inspiration

Okay here are some inspirations for the game: I love this tiktok audio, and I think if I learn how to replicate some of these sounds, I can use it as part of the combo sounds. Since this audio is so satisfying and fresh, I think it would make every combo very satisfying if done right.

Image inspirations