Concepts: Items and Fodder

The last bits of concept art I wanted in place before I started further development were any key items/power-ups and some cannon fodder enemies that would reside in Russi's world. 

Below the cut I will show the concepts for each of these things and explain what their functionality will be/what role they will play in the game.

First is the Kismet Amulet, this is a relic worn by the ghostly antagonist I designed last semester (who I regret to say still doesn't have a name I'm totally happy with, though I've been referring to her as Elle in my head). The amulet features runes placed in reverse position, which is a bad omen. Russi will be collecting the shards of the amulet, and unknowingly helping the antagonist's plan, for reuniting the shards with the amulet will unleash the antagonist's true form so that she can take over the world. 

Next are the Crystal Shards, there are 7 of these jewels in assorted colours - they are the core collectable that Russi will be working towards and there will be one in each level. Alone they do nothing, but when paired with the Kismet Amulet they can reign chaos on the world. 

The primary collectable are called Juni (from the Arabic word for 'fairy', juniya) - they are tiny glowing orbs of light. If Russi collects 100 she will gain an extra life. 

The Carrot Cake is an invincibility power-up for Russi, when she collects this, she will be invincible for a short time, her movement will be slightly sped up in this time and she will be able to damage enemies by walking into them. 

The Boxing Glove is a power-up that upgrades Russi's punching power, when this item is collected a set of boxing gloves will appear on her ears and she will be able to unleash more powerful punches (pummel, uppercut) for a short time.  

Like the Boxing Glove, the Squeaky Hammer and Power Drill also give the same temporary buff to Russi's punching ability. With the Drill, the punch button can be held to unleash a drilling attack that will deal a short burst of consecutive hits. The Squeaky Hammer is more of a gag weapon, but holding down and releasing the button will allow for a heavy hammer swing that stuns an enemy. 

The Spiky Boots are the final power-up I designed, these act like the previous power-ups but are equipped to Russi's feet to power up her kicks (kangaroo kick, axe kick) for a short time instead. 

Lastly are the canon fodder enemies I designed, their look is inspired by conkers. They are called Kapin which comes from "chinkapin", the scientific name for a dwarf chestnut (which are not the same genus as a conker but shhhh) 

The decision to use conkers came pretty quickly, I knew I wanted a round fodder enemy so I worked with that so I doodled a few round things that came to mind and decided that I had a lot of room to work with conkers. (I was obviously hungry when doodling since the other things are food)... 

First is the Kapin, this is the very first enemy that will appear, as such it is the most basic. It has no attacks but will damage Russi if she approaches too closely. Punches and kicks both work on this enemy type. 

Next is the Winged Kapin, this enemy type will fly above the ground, making pummelling impossible. Russi has 2 options with this enemy type, she can perform an uppercut, which has enough range to strike the enemy from below. Alternatively she can jump into the air and perform an axe kick which will hit the Winged Kapin as she falls. 

The final enemy is the Spiked Kapin, Russi cannot pummel or uppercut this enemy type because they are close range moves, it will close its spiky shell too quickly and she will be damaged.  She won't be able to axe kick either, since she will fall onto the spiky leaf on its head and the shell on its back and take damage. Kangaroo kick must be used because 1. the move is activated from a short distance away and moves too quickly towards the target for it to use its protective shell, and 2. the move comes from the base of her feet, an area where she will be immune to damage from the spiked part of the enemy.

With the concept work done, I want to move on to the following things: 

- create a level white-block (a basic layout of the level, comprised of white boxes)

-  create a tile set (a set of sprites to represent the floors/platforms of the level, which can be slotted together like puzzle pieces)

- create animations for Russi (this will be the most time-consuming element of my work I feel, as such I want to start now so that I can dedicate as much time as possible)