Spunks Spooks: Archipelago Adventure (Fangame Inspired by Wario Land 4)

Kingboo83

Kingboo83

Wario Fan Supreme
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Hey, all. I'm currently working on a fangame using a modified version of Game Maker's Hello Engine, complete with a graphical overhaul, starring an adventurous boo as the main character. I intend to make it a pretty ambitious project, or at least, to the best of my abilities. Each level will be completely distinctive from each other, much like in WL 4, and level design itself will be my top priority. The gameplay functions more like a Mario game, but the atmosphere I'm trying to capture resembles that of a Wario Land title.

So far, I only have two levels finished (the tutorial and first level), of which I will have YouTube videos up soon. Feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated. I want to make this simply a fun romp for fans of platformers, and I'm more than accepting of advice from others.

The plot is minimalist in keeping up with the lighthearted tone—you play as Spunky Spooks, in search of treasure at the lost Riddle Islands, where mysterious worlds await, from gargantuan gardens, labyrinth libraries, flooded jungle ruins, and even a manic grocery store.

Here are some pics:

Title screen:
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Map of the beginning area:
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The Tutorial House!:
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Inside a room:
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Exploring the Tutorial House:
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Reaching the goal:
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Garden of Glory:
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Pushing the Push Block:
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Spinning wheel of platforms:
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In the vegetable patch:
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Oh, and here's full disclosure of credit to all sprite work and tilesets I've used thus far.

For these images in particular, credit goes to:

A.J. Nitro - Map Tiles (Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3)
Bluxxon, Carnegie - Toad Town Interiors (Bowser's Inside Story)
Mors - 3D World Blocks
Imaddo - Red Furniture
Alien - Goomba (Mario Party Advance)
Neoriceisgood - 100 Furniture Sprites
Toadgui - MLSS House Extras
Ken Martin - Custom Luigi's Mansion Stuff
Damarioman - Super Mario Bros. 3 Paper Mario's House
Phoenix-849 - Don't Let Him In
Pikafan8 - New Super Mario Bros. Inspired Custom Tileset
Fchez - Super Mario Bros. 3 Styled Kirby's Adventure Pack
A.J. Nitro - Mushroom Kingdom (Superstar Saga)
Jdaster64 - Hollijolli Village Outskirts (Partners in Time)
Knight Nappse - Knight Nappse Tileset 2.0

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! :gwatchkissy:
 
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Looks interesting. Didn't expect to see a Mario fan game inspired by the Wario Land series, especially one where Wario isn't the main protagonist.

That said, I hope you know what you're doing with that engine. It doesn't have a good reputation, and it needs a lot of fixing to get the physics to an acceptable level.
 
CM30 said:
Looks interesting. Didn't expect to see a Mario fan game inspired by the Wario Land series, especially one where Wario isn't the main protagonist.

That said, I hope you know what you're doing with that engine. It doesn't have a good reputation, and it needs a lot of fixing to get the physics to an acceptable level.
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Yeah, I figured this might look different. I think you best described it right there, but while it plays like Mario, there are some differences that might be noticed in the upcoming videos.

Can't say I didn't realize the engine was received poorly. I'm using version 6.0 because I've always made stuff with Game Maker 8 Pro, and I know the physics got massively altered since earlier versions. Would hate to have people rubbed the wrong way because I used HE, but I guess we'll see in time...
 
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I see. I've never felt like the physics hampered my experience when I've played projects made in version 6.0, but if it really bothers people, I may need to consider other alternatives. I'll keep that in mind.
 
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Just a Wario Fan said:
Very nice! I can see you put a lot of effort into it, something that's an important factor in all video games, fanmade or not.
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Thank you! I appreciate the comment, and yes, I've put a lot of heart and love into it.

While it is thematically similar to Mario, I am trying to differentiate the level design to fit the game's own identity, and as you can see, blocks (or presents here) are very sparse and only hold important items instead of coins, so the game is much more focused on platforming itself than covering bases with '?' blocks everywhere. Not to toot my own horn, because Mario games have some very great level design either way, but I'm trying to fill the void otherwise with unique ideas and gimmicks attributed to each level that doesn't halt the pace, much like in WL 4.
 
Thank you all for the support! I can attest the desire for more Wario Land-inspired fan projects!

Here's a bunch of new pics of the updated game, including new levels:

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Two new YouTube videos are out too, covering all 5 levels, tutorial, and the boss, so World 1 (or "Island 1", in this case) is complete!

Archipelago Adventure: Levels 1-3 + Tutorial (Ver. 1.0)

Archipelago Adventure: Levels 4-5 + Boss (Ver. 1.0)

If I hadn't been so busy over the years, I could've gotten a lot more done, but I'm happy with the steady progress thus far. Any feedback and/or constructive criticism is always appreciated. :gwdancing: Thanks again!
 
I love Boos so of course. Plus I love platformers so I'm stoked
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Since it has some ML SS enemies I got thinking if Boos friend dry bones was going to make an appearance?
I really like you put in the crazee daisies form paper mario. Love those guys, could never dodge their song.
Even to this day those cute little flowery things envoke a primorial fear.
 
DabbitDaMips said:
I love Boos so of course. Plus I love platformers so I'm stoked
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Since it has some ML SS enemies I got thinking if Boos friend dry bones was going to make an appearance?
I really like you put in the crazee daisies form paper mario. Love those guys, could never dodge their song.
Even to this day those cute little flowery things envoke a primorial fear.
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Awesome!

If I can get around to implementing multiplayer, Dry Bones was actually my go-to choice, instead of a palette swap Boo or something. Boo, Dry Bones, and Shy Guy have always been among my favorites. :) Nice to hear you've touched upon some of the references! Most of the enemy and NPC choices are derivative of past Mario (Wario included) universe mooks, with perhaps a little graphical tweak or retooling, which I hope can be unique to the game itself, even if not outright anything new (like the Gray Yoshi, an otherwise unheard of color swap, for example). For the most part, it's simple and not too stretched for ideas, I guess.
 
I'm right there with you, of the enemies that reoccur in almost every game my favorites are Boo, Dry bones, and Shy Guy as well. They just have so much character to them. LOL when i read that I thought "Mwario Mooks" and chuckles. You're doing a great job, definitely keep it passionate and do what you want to do with it but a multiplayer would be amazing. All in all this game being released would be amazing. Will play for sure. If you ever need a playtester I would be most happy to assist in anyway.

Kind of left field but that notion alone kind of makes me pine for a multiplayer ML SS.
 
Apologies for the wait, but I'm hoping to release the update come around the end of this month! I've been trying to polish up a lot of the project, and still working out a few kinks, but almost getting there now.
 
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