Wheeler's Treasure - Piratey Platformer - 99 cents! [APPROVED]

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by TwoLivesLeft, Oct 20, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
?

Which new item sounds the most fun?

  1. Pirate Pistol

    6 vote(s)
    14.3%
  2. Peg Leg

    1 vote(s)
    2.4%
  3. Voodoo Doll

    11 vote(s)
    26.2%
  4. Pet Parrot

    11 vote(s)
    26.2%
  5. Sacrificial Rubber Chicken

    13 vote(s)
    31.0%
  1. #1 TwoLivesLeft, Oct 20, 2009
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2009
    Previewed on TouchArcade!

    [​IMG]
    Wheeler's Treasure
    Become a fan on Facebook or Follow on Twitter

    Gameplay Trailer


    Here's what the game's about!

    You have to travel as many Yarrds as you can!

    So, you're following a giant wooden wheel that's supposed to lead you to treasure. You roll through a randomly generated world fighting enemies and collecting loot. You can use the wheel to shield yourself from enemies, avoid hazards, swing, jump, and more. The wheel can be destroyed during the course of the game - but you can always pay for repairs with the loot you've collected!

    Items

    There are sixteen collectable items in the game and each one offers a unique ability, you can drag them onto your character in your equipment screen - permanently enhancing her abilities. Collect stylish hats, boots, eye patches and pocket watches, even fake beards, each one alters the gameplay!

    [​IMG]

    Here are a couple of the items you can find early on

    The Pirate Hook
    [​IMG]
    Use the Pirate Hook to hang on to and swing from the Wheel. Advanced uses include: grabbing onto the ledge of a pit to pull yourself out

    The Treasure Magnet
    [​IMG]
    Hold down the Treasure Magnet to pull nearby treasure towards you!

    Online Stuff

    We integrate OpenFeint for achievements and scores, though it's not just the standard dashboard. You'll see tombstones in the world where your friends and others have perished. Get past their tombstone and you know you've beaten their score. Here's an example!

    [​IMG]

    Thanks everyone!

    Wheeler's Treasure has been submitted to the App Store and is in review, so it'll be out soon!

    You can find more information at Two Lives Left.com, on our Facebook page and on our Twitter

    A couple of other features of interest
    • Unlock 3D scenes that begin to tell the story of Wheeler's Treasure
    • Randomly generated world, it gets harder the further you get!
    • Unlock new challenges by collecting map pieces
    • Completely procedural and physics driven character animation for the player character
    • Five beautiful piratey music tracks, two of which are entirely procedural, so they are actually sequenced as you are playing the game
     
  2. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    Wow this definitely looks interesting and I am always up for a good platfomer. Followed on twitter;)
     
  3. Cause007

    Cause007 Well-Known Member

    Aug 6, 2009
    98
    0
    0
    Looks cool, but I'd rather see a full "adventure" rather than a "go-as-long-as-you-can" game. The store adds depth to that type of game, but I'm getting bored with iPhone games that make you start over every playthrough.
     
  4. Enigmious

    Enigmious Well-Known Member

    Sep 29, 2009
    101
    0
    0
    I think the main issue with this is cost vs. return... I am sure every creator/designer/developer would love to do more adventure or story, but the reality is most likely a 1 dollar game (although i have no idea what this game's price is). It is pretty crazy what people are expecting from a 1 dollar game (although not to say what you are saying is a crazy request).

    Play mechanics like "go as long as you can" or "compare your best time/score/etc." are easier to create and require the least investment vs. the grim possibility of return on the current climate of the app store.

    This game has a great look to it... I hope it does well for you guys.
     
  5. Thanks for the interest! We've spent a long time trying to make this game as fun and as polished as we can. We hope you enjoy it when it comes out.

    Thanks for your reply! We completely understand where you're coming from. However we have tried to create an underlying atmosphere and character to the game for people to explore.


    Your treasure cave
    [​IMG]

    Your maps
    [​IMG]

    Viewing the unlocked scene: Windmill
    [​IMG]

    Tapping on an item in your inventory
    [​IMG]

    There is more than just one level to the game, you can unlock new challenges as you collect map pieces, some challenges are completable and some are endless adventures. Map pieces are like mini-quests and can be viewed from your treasure cave.

    We found, unfortunately, that very few people paid attention to these aspects of the game during playtesting. So we focused on making the game as fun as possible - but people who want to dig deeper, read and collect every little thing, still can. And we certainly try to make it very rewarding to those who do!

    Wow, you are spot on! We are a small group of three indie developers (hence the name Two Lives Left - one of us has no life :p). Thanks for the kind words, we really appreciate it.
     
  6. neon_guide

    neon_guide Active Member

    Jun 1, 2009
    40
    0
    0
    Looks really good, not seen anything like this before!

    How do the controls work, do you just flick your pirate around the screen to avoid things?
     
  7. Thanks for the kind words! We really appreciate it.

    The controls are like you say, you flick your finger anywhere on the screen in the direction you want to jump, the longer the flick the further the jump. The controls are very responsive so there's no delay to jumping. You can double jump but you'll have to find a decent pair of boots first, double jumping also lets you jump down to stomp things.

    The controls can also be set to inverted, which gives a more sling-shot feeling to the game (pull back to power up and let go to jump).

    The game fully encourages multi-touch, most items are designed to be held down with one finger while you are jumping with the other. For example, you can hold down the Voodoo Pocket Watch to slow down time in order to flick down and carefully stomp on an enemy's head.


    Voodoo Pocket Watch
    [​IMG]

    I'll post a video of the basic controls later today. I would love to get some feedback on the controls from the gamers here.
     
  8. What do you think?

    neon_guide: Here's a new video giving a better look at how the controls work.


    What do you guys think about this? We were trying to avoid the on-screen D-Pad approach that a lot of games use.
     
  9. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    I think it will work fine but I also think that the d-pad would also work just as fine
     
  10. arta

    arta Well-Known Member

    Feb 14, 2009
    6,902
    1
    36
    #10 arta, Oct 21, 2009
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2009
    So what's with the wheel then? I do understand the Ignite type controls but the resulting gameplay in the video is nothing but pure wtfness.

    Game does look good though.
     
  11. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    Flicking him to push the wheel?
     
  12. arta

    arta Well-Known Member

    Feb 14, 2009
    6,902
    1
    36
    The vid makes it look like he's just randomly being flicked around Knights Onrush style, and collecting items by luck. Sometimes he grabs the wheel, sometimes not.

    I know the game is actually a bit more structured than that (due to the dev's posts), but that's how it comes off. I'll see how other folks like it when someone tries it.
     
  13. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    Forgot to mention it but I'm in agreement with you on the WTF moment of what is the purpose of the wheel(on the basis of using or sometimes not)
     
  14. Explaining the wheel

    Sorry guys, I completely didn't explain the purpose of the wheel.

    The video about the controls doesn't include the wheel because it is from the introduction, at which point you haven't yet discovered the wheel. You've stolen Pirate Captain Wheeler's last treasure map, which leads you into the jungle and leaves you with its final cryptic instruction: "Follow the wheel."

    After that you enter the main adventure, where the wheel becomes the focus of the game. It's highly controllable, the reason the trailer video looks frantic is because much of it is taken from one of the hardest unlockable challenges in the game (Rush mode - where the game throws everything it can at you until you die... few people reach the end, makes for incredibly quick games unless you're very good).

    The wheel will roll along by itself, splashing into water, rolling over cliffs and pits, over breaking bridges, into lava, and so on. As the land gets steeper the wheel will roll faster and it's up to you to keep up.

    Because the wheel is constantly being broken apart by enemies and hazards, and repaired by you, the game rewards you the longer you can stay inside it while it's rolling. The game also rewards you for timing your jumps, grabbing onto the wheel at just the right moment to pull yourself out of a pit, and saving up your coins and gems for repairs.

    The game changes depending on what items you choose to equip. For example, the red dashed line jump indicator is given to you by wearing the eye patch, if you combine it with the voodoo pocket watch (which lets you slow down time), you can make the game be all about precision jumping. Whereas if you decide to use the cutlass and wooden bucket helmet instead, you can make the game be all about wading your way through hordes of enemies, slashing things and head-butting cannonballs out of the way.

    Does this explain it any better?
     
  15. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    Yes it does, though not as much as it would if you could possibly make a video with the wheel in action.
     
  16. #16 TwoLivesLeft, Oct 21, 2009
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2009
    I will absolutely do this and update soon.

    However, would you like to give it a go? If you PM me your UDID (I assume you know the drill for beta testing apps). We would love to hear what you think.

    (Alternatively if you do not want to PM you can email [email protected])
     
  17. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    sent my pm:)
     
  18. Prab

    Prab Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Dec 17, 2008
    3,549
    7
    0
    CS student
    SG
    wow.. I totally love your game. The clouds remind me of the clouds in Monkey Island :)

    The usable equipment also takes the platformer into a whole other level. Its a little like hook champ where you can buy stuff to enhance your capabilities.

    Cant wait to get my hands on the game and give the wheel a whirl :p

    Did you mention a price yet?
     
  19. Prab: Monkey Island is one of my favorite games ever and it was one of the inspirations for Wheeler's Treasure. Thank you for your comment, it's awesome to hear and really motivates us :). And as you point out there are definite similarities to HookChamp (I bought it just recently and love it).

    As for the price, we're happy to listen to recommendations from people on this forum. We are thinking to at least do some sort of $0.99 introductory sale to let people try it out, but we feel it's a $2.99 game. We have already started working on the first update, which is quite big and focuses on the Voodoo side of things.
     
  20. skyye06

    skyye06 Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2009
    5,396
    8
    0
    student
    Texas
    On the 99c intro, I recommend like a weekend intro sale but thats just coming from me but it's basically up to you.

    Now on to the game, only played for a little bit as i have to sleep soon. At first I thought it was pretty difficult flicking the character around and frustrating as I never had enough money to repair until I finally used the hook (forgot all about it), as it makes the game much easier. So far only got to 378. Can't say much how I feel about the game yet as I haven't played enough.

    One question though, am I able to dodge the cannon balls or will they always damage the wheel?
     

Share This Page