Cthulhu, anyone? [Unnamed game]

[gammelfar]

Hi guys!

I wanted to make a game with Cthulhu and I got the idea that he should smash puny humans with a rolling elder sign.
It probably makes no sense but it's fun!

The game is a simple endless scroller where you can make Cthulhu fly up and down. You need to make him bounce the elder sign and kill as many innocent people as possible (what else did you expect?).

I'm not sure Apple will approve the game as there are old women and children among the victims but if they reject it i'll just change the graphics a bit

I have no idea what to call the game – except something with “Cthulhu” of course. Ideas are welcome!

The game is -almost- done... Here are some screenshots:

[MTDIII]

Honestly, I think you should just call it "Cthulhu, Anyone?" From the title of the thread, I thought that was the name of the game and it gave me a laugh. I would totally buy that game.

[undeadcow]

This looks like a potentially awesome game. I'd recommend spending a bit more time to make a level based traditional platformer. Regarding the name, I'm a dan of subtlety and suggest not using "cthulhu" anywhere in the title - it's too direct and could seem pretentious.

[Nullzone]

Originally Posted by undeadcow

<snip> ...and could seem pretentious.

Exactly that. I am a huge fan of the Mythos, saw Cthulhu in the title and jumped over here right away. And then I get ... this?
Artistic freedom is all fine and dandy, but still. My harsh but honest advise: go use something else.
Not to mention that the graphics look terrible just not good, and oudated. Giana Sisters was when, 1987? But back then that was the best our computers could do.

[gammelfar]

Thanks for the feedback!
The game is meant to be Cthulhu themed – that was my initial idea, so I probably keep him/it in the title. Perhaps I should call it ”8bit Cthulhu” not to offend Cthulhu believers with my simple graphics

[Nullzone]

It's not so much about the graphics. Ok, I don't get why people like 8bit-pixely stuff these days, but then that's just me maybe it's different when you grew up seeing the change from 4-color/monochrome to 16-color VGA.

For me, it's really about the game(play) itself.
I recommend to read this now: http://daily-steampunk.com/steampunk...ft-of-cthulhu/

Decided to skip some lengthy rambling about using Cthulhu just for Cthulhu's sake, etc.
I immensely enjoyed e.g. The Unspeakable Vault of Doom. If you want some inspiration how to do funny/parody Mythos, there ya go.

But well, it's your game, and if you have fun creating it, by all means go ahead! We "hardcore" "Mythos has to be dark and insanity-shattering" folks won't send some slobbering monstrosity from the farthest reaches of the cosmos after you ... maybe
(Yeah, that's my message, after putting some thought into it) .

As for game title: "Cthulhu, anyone?" actually sounds good to me. My suggestion is something along the lines of "8bit Elder Gods", leaves you room to add more of them, if you feel like it.

[gammelfar]

Ok, I have been thinking a bit about it and changed my mind - even though this by nature is a pretentious game - it should not be pretentious in an un-cool way.
So the title will not include "Cthulhu", I might be something along your suggestion, Nullzone:

Originally Posted by Nullzone

My suggestion is something along the lines of "8bit Elder Gods"

Gameplay video coming up shortly...

[gammelfar]

...and here we go:


Youtube link | Pop Up

[undeadcow]

Good choice on the name.

Originally Posted by Nullzone

...But well, it's your game, and if you have fun creating it, by all means go ahead! We "hardcore" "Mythos has to be dark and insanity-shattering" folks...

This is the point, a Cthulhu platformer could be "epic" despite cutesy pixel graphics and platforming if steeped in the right kind of atmosphere with decent level design. This shows potential but the gameplay seems to straightforward and casual with only apparent challenge being to keep the elder sign going. Adding some threat of well... platforms could potentially drastically improve the presentation.

[gammelfar]

The game is out now with the name "Elder Gods: 8bit Mayhem", so that's it for the name discussion
I added the Mayhem-part because it sounds cool.