80% in 24 hours. Thank you!
almost 3 years ago – Sat, May 15, 2021 at 06:58:06 AM

Hey everyone,

Whoa, the first 24 hours have blown our minds! All your support has fueled our belief in Unsung Warriors more than ever and we're ready for the home stretch. Thanks for being part of this so far!

In the Shrine

As you may have noticed, the Shrine in our Prologue is a mythical place where things revolve around the progression of our campaign...

Or so was at least our narrative when we prepared it. What we didn't expect that y'all would be getting our campaign to a whopping 80% in one day, basically exposing all NPC's at once. So here they are, the merry bunch, all awaiting to hit 100%. But we promise you this: we do have a big celebration planned in the Shrine when we do get funded. You may even find some valuable items. So stick around!

Cavern of Names

Many of you also figured out already that backers get their names put up in the so-called Cavern of Names. The first section of the Cavern is already pretty full, but as it'll scale procedurally, it won't run out of space. Note to YouTubers/Streamers: we've made this game streamer-friendly, so you can show your audience that your name is in this game! 

Backers: if you haven't done so already, here you can find instructions here on how to get your name in the Cavern.

Zapling Bygone: Kickstarter by a fellow dev

Here's another campaign we would really like to see cross the finish line: Zapling Bygone, a Metroidvania with well-executed platforming elements and an interesting skull swapping mechanic. We've played the demo and are stoked for its release! Also, when a dev is making tweets like this to help other games get funded, you know you're funding someone with their heart in the right place. And lastly, the dev has indicated that he's considering VCS, so if you own one, this might be one to watch!

 Also know that Zapling and Einar are both fans of skulls/skeletons, and therefore get along greatly.

What else is to come?

We've got some more interesting updates planned. We've got our story consultant Alex scheduled to tell a bit more about the conception of the main story and lore. Also, when we get funded 🤞, we'll be announcing our first stretch goals. Lastly, we're brainstorming with a crafty friend, as she's trying to help us design and create a small additional physical reward (for both PC and VCS gamers). This last bit is still uncertain, but we'll keep you posted!

That's it for now. Know that you can still help by spreading the word! There are still many people who haven't played our Prologue, and usually, they're pretty enthusiastic when they've tried it. Also, a shout-out on social really helps. Lastly know that we appreciate any type of feedback.

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon

Funded!
almost 3 years ago – Sat, May 15, 2021 at 06:57:53 AM

Hi all,

Somewhere in 2017, we started with the development of Unsung Warriors. It was born out of the cooperation between an artist and a mathematician, sharing a passion for 2D action platformers. For four years we spent countless evenings trying to invent this fantasy world, bring it to life in a game engine and acquire feedback on the preliminary results. Now it seems that this was actually just the beginning, and Unsung Warriors is going to be a real video game. You all have brought us to this point, and for this, we would like to say from the bottom of our heart: thank you!

What's next?

With 30 days to go, this campaign is far from over. Based on the feedback of the community, we've determined the first two stretch goals. We're very excited to get them funded, as we believe they'll be a good addition to the game.

Arena Mode: Push your skills to the limit by going up against countless waves of enemies that will be set upon you in the arena. This mode is playable in single-player and in couch co-op mode. This goal actually cuts both ways. For us, it is a useful way to test enemies and balance the combat, and with this bit of extra budget, we can also transform them into a fun new game mode.

Extra playable (female) character. This goal has been much requested. We can relate to this, hence we put it up as our second stretch goal. More stretch goals are to be announced soon.

What about the Prologue?

Now that we are funded, the Shrine in the Prologue has been unlocked to its full potential. The tree has grown to its fullest and several NPC's are now celebrating the fulfillment of the prophecy: the Unsung Warriors will rise to save the world! You can see more in the video below, or just simply check it out yourself in the Prologue!

Also, if you've beaten the boss, a very powerful melee weapon will be waiting for you in the shrine. Another reason to boot up the Prologue and check it out yourself!

Shoutout to Lone Fungus

Speaking of celebrations: there's another game that is about to get funded, namely Lone Fungus. If you enjoy Unsung Warriors, you should definitely check this one out as well. It's a Metroidvania starring a mushroom, and it takes inspiration from great classics like Hollow Knight and Super Castlevania IV.

We've played the demo and you know it's good when a challenging subsection takes you 20 minutes, makes you die countless times but ultimately gives you that rewarding feeling. Our advice: check out the demo and pledge if you like it!

That's it for now. Next week we'll be featuring an article written by Alex, our story consultant, who will tell more about the conception of the story of Unsung Warriors. In the meantime, please keep spreading the word about our game! Lastly know that we appreciate any type of feedback.

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon

How Unsung Warriors is made - Animation
almost 3 years ago – Sat, May 15, 2021 at 06:57:08 AM

Hi All,

In today's update, we're going to talk about animations! Unsung Warriors uses a combination of traditional frame-by-frame animation and skeletal animation.

Frame by frame animation is widely known for being used in traditional 2D animated movies, where every frame is drawn by hand. A monumental task that is very time-consuming, but the organic feel is often very appealing compared to their computer-generated counterparts.

This was one of the first frame-by-frame animations I've made for the player's attack combo.

Skeletal animation is a technique that comes from 3D animation. The most common way to animate 3D characters is by creating a skeleton inside of a 3D model, where each bone of the skeleton moves a part of the 3d model.

In this example you can see the bones (green) being rotated to animate the arm

The upside of skeletal animation is that computers can calculate the positions and rotations of the bones automatically. Whereas frame-by-frame animation requires an artist to draw all the in-between frames by hand.

The same technique used in 3d animation can also be applied to 2D animation. Which is the method we use to animate our characters. Below you can see the bone structure of our main character Einar. 

Einar consists of multiple small images (hand, arm, head, sword, etc) that are connected to bones.  These bones can be moved around/rotated to create animation. And the in-between frames are calculated automatically. For a simple run/walk animation this is perfect, but sometimes a more dynamic approach is needed. Like for example in the attack animation shown above, where the character also turns around.

In those cases, we can switch the images on the fly. So we still have the benefits of being able to rotate bones as well as to switch between different images. This gives us the benefit of both animation techniques. Below you can see some of the hand and feet poses that are used in the game.

We also use an animation principle known as squash and stretch. This is a technique where you deform a character or object to give it a sense of weight or motion. We use this a lot in our animations. Below is an example of the foot deformation during the run animation.

Another trick that is used often in our game is scale. We often use scale to emphasize or clarify a certain action, for example in Einar's defensive pose. Where the shield size is bigger than it normally would be.

This is actually a trick I picked up from a Zack Snyder movie called 300 (he talks about this in his director's commentary). During the fight scenes, they would use smaller-sized shields.

Shoutout to Elementallis

A 2D Zelda-like where the elements are of critical importance. You will explore the world and complete the trials of its temples to be able to restore the elements. Then, you’ll be able to use the elements in fights, to solve puzzles or to progress on your adventure. Elementallis will be coming to Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5 and Xbox.

We are huge fans of Zelda-like games, and this looks like something right up our alley!

Check out the Elementallis campaign.

That's it for now. As always, don't hesitate to reach out with feedback and comments.

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon