MFGG Forums
Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - Printable Version

+- MFGG Forums (https://forums.mfgg.net)
+-- Forum: MFGG (https://forums.mfgg.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Developer Discussion (https://forums.mfgg.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=10)
+--- Thread: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories (/showthread.php?tid=1780)

Pages: 1 2 3 4


RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - JaberandCamgar - 06-19-2019

I wrote down some preliminary ideas for overworld and battle gimmicks recently. Mario and Luigi were pretty easy, since there are already many possibilities for them that have become well established. It was harder for Peach and Toadette, though, and I would greatly appreciate some feedback on what else I might give them. Here are some bullet points on each of the four heroes of this story:

MARIO
  • Type: Fire
  • Strong Stat: POW
  • Weak Stat: DEF
  • Overworld Gimmicks:
    • Hammer
    • Firebrand
    • Cappy — Can capture certain characters (but not enemies, as it might interfere with the battle system) such as Starlow or maybe even another party member for a gimmick that requires Mario, but can only be accessed by the ability of another character. It could also be used for inanimate overworld objects (like the Zipper or the giant power unit in the New Donk City Sewers). An example could be something like a crank-operated platform that can send all four characters across a large gap or elevate them.
    • Super Bell — Gives Mario his Cat Suit for about 30 seconds or so and lets him scale marked vertical surfaces and flutter briefly in the air. He could also deliver a powerful first attack, and the timer would pause during the ensuing battle.
  • Battle Gimmicks:
    • Hammer
    • Firebrand
    • Swing Bros — Can be used with any party member to implement a lateral attack. For example, in the battle with Wingo, a lateral attack is needed to knock her onto her stomach so that the party can attack her head.
  • Bros Attacks
    • Fire Flower
    • Jump Helmet
    • Bomb Derby
    • *Topspin — Function is mostly like Luiginary Wall.
  • Group Attacks
    • Mix Flower
LUIGI
  • Type: Thunder
  • Strong Stat: HP
  • Weak Stat: SPD
  • Overworld Gimmicks:
    • Hammer
    • Thunderhand
    • Poltergust — There could be certain areas that require Luigi to vacuum up ghosts or other entities as a puzzle. Could also be used to suck in objects in herd-to-reach places.
    • Cloud Walk — Luigi has always been depicted as a very light character, so I figured that he should have an ability that only he can do.
  • Battle Gimmicks:
    • Hammer
    • Thunderhand
    • Poltergust — Functions much like Bowser's Inhale as well as Luigi's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros.
  • Bros Attacks
    • Green Shell
    • *Thunderbolt[b] [/b]— This could be seen as a hybrid of Luiginary Flame and Thunder Bros
    • Snack Basket
    • Dropchopper
  • Group Attacks
    • Falling Star
PRINCESS PEACH
  • Type: Magic
  • Strong Stat: BP
  • Weak Stat: POW
  • Overworld Gimmicks
    • Float — Functions much like in Super Smash Bros. Can be used to cover gaps too wide for the Bros to Spin Jump over.
    • Parasol — Functions much like in Super Smash Bros. Can also be used to catch updrafts.
    • Memory Surge — Could be used to break boulders too dense for the Bros' hammers.
  • Battle Gimmicks
    • Parasol — Smack enemies with your umbrella (Do you think I should give her her own Hammer . . . or at least her Frying Pan?).
    • *Jinx — Magical discharge that does moderate damage and high possibly of Jinx or Stat Drop conditions.
    • *Memory Surge — Sends a shockwave at enemies and a high chance of inflicting Dizzy.
  • Bros Attacks (or should I say "Sis" attacks)
    • Psyche Bomb DDR style attack.
    • Starman — Functions similar to the Yoo Who Cannon
    • Super Heart — I figured it could function like the minigame "Ion the Prize" from Mario Party 8, Power Lift from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and Group Hug from Super Mario RPG. Could be useful if you are low on healing items.
    • *Subcon Squad — Can function like the Trampoline or the Magic Window.
  • Group Attacks
    • Copy Flower
    • Smash Egg
TOADETTE
  • Type: Ice, Poison
    • Toadette starts off as simply a Poison type (CPU Toad in Super Mario Kart), but becomes an Ice type as well after obtaining the Icyhand from Knucklotec.
  • Strong Stats: DEF, SPD
  • Weak Stats: HP, BP
  • Overworld Gimmicks
    • Dash — Can be used to complete timed puzzles. She does not slip on ice either.
    • *Icyhand — Can be used to form ice crystals in puzzles and can also create an icy surface across water, poison, or lava.
    • Headlamp — Can be used to provide light in dark places.
    • Pickaxe — Can be used to mine gems (or Rupees?) from walls in caves as well as reveal hidden areas.
  • Battle Abilities
    • Pickaxe — Can be used as an offensive weapon. However, it cannot be used to counter enemy attacks.
    • *Icyhand — Sprays an arctic blast. Can cause critical damage on some enemies.
    • *Spore Counter — Can be used to send the power of an enemy's attacks against it. The more damage Toadette takes, the more powerful it becomes. Remember Little Mac, Cloud, and Joker in Super Smash Bros. This ability is crucial to defeating Wart in the final battle.
  • Bros Attacks (or "Sis" attack)
    • Ice Flower
    • *Jukebox — Functions like the Jukebox Thing in Paper Mario: Sticker Star.
    • Super Crown — Having a lot of trouble figuring out how to incorporate Peachette as a battle gimmick, if at all. Thinking
    • *Poison Bubble — Functions much like Mix Flower and perhaps Fire Bros (3DS edition).
  • Group Attack
    • Rocket Racket — Functions like the Trio Racket from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Utilizes Starlow as the ball.
As this game incorporates attributes to characters, I knew I was going to need some items that would be tied to one of them. I can also have it that the Bros Attacks listed here are not restricted to that character — for example, when Peach and Toadette face Kamek in the Beanbean Kingdom's storage facility, they could use the Fire Flower, Green Shell, or the Dropchopper together (do you think I could have them use Bomb Derby as well, using the flat of Toadette's Pickaxe?). I would appreciate some suggestions and others' brainstorming ideas, too!



RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - JaberandCamgar - 06-22-2019

So I have come up with a synopsis for my story yesterday to make it quicker to read. I have managed to put the whole plot onto 11 pages. The storybook plot that I had before was 170 pages since it was going into all the nuances of the plot, such as extended character dialogue and interactions.

If you want to read just the overall plotline, this is a good place to start. Then, if you wish, you can go to my storybook plot to see all the little details within it.


.docx   Mario&Luigi_EclipsedMemories_Synopsis.docx (Size: 29.85 KB / Downloads: 2)



RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - JaberandCamgar - 06-23-2019

   

To celebrate having reached 1000 views, I put this visual stat concept together. The character sprites used were from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and can be found on The Spriter's Resource. I'd put something more visually appealing if I had any experience in the field, but I don't, and I still don't have a team. I did use MATLAB in my engineering courses and took a C++ class in community college, but that didn't go over well.

My sister said she would get me RPG Maker for my birthday, which is coming up in two weeks. Maybe I can get some experience using that. I would appreciate any suggestions or expertise on how I can attempt to start developing this . . .


RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - SilverVortex - 06-23-2019

you've put a lot of work and thought into all of this, i'm impressed!
also you've a nice sister which is also great


Sprite Sheet Concept Sketches - JaberandCamgar - 06-24-2019

I put up some very rough concept sketches for sprites on my DeviantArt account:

Peach Concept 01
Peach Concept 02
Peach Concept 03
Toadette Concept 01
Toadette Concept 02

This is just the beginning. Here are some other NPC's/enemies that would need sprites, too (in order of appearance in my story):
  • Mushroom King, Bowser and minions, Yoshis, Piantas, Nokis, Sprixies, Beanish (thought I probably could just take them from ML1DX), Princess Rosalina, Sapians (my race of toad men), Cheep Chomps, Bandits, Shroobs, Cat Bandit, Stuffwell, Pi'illos (including Eldream, Bedsmith, and my own Pi'illo character: Youmie), the Elite Trio, Prince Dreambert (though he is semi-playable), Goombella, Tostarenans, Gao, Nimbi, Clefts, Volbonans, Bonnetors, Snifit host, gameshow finale boss, ghosts, King Boo, Bowser Jr, Wingo, Star Gate, Star Spirits, the Legendary Seven, Dino Piranha, Princess Daisy, Mechabons, Tokotoko, Jaxi, Knucklotec,  the Broodals (including Madame Broode), Nerr T and his roommate Kino, Kamek, Mummipokey, Pokey Mummies, Queen Bean, Prince Peasley, Lady Lima, Beanish Guards, Subcon, Wart, Professor E. Gadd, King Osama, Osama's Commander (Peach would contact him whenever she used her Subcon Squad Special Attack), various 8-bits, Birdo trio, Cackletta and Fawful (on the first floor of the Boss Blitz Tower), other yet-to-be-determined nostalgia bosses (this will be a POLL), and finally . . . Wario and Waluigi (who make a cameo during the eclipse party - I don't see why not).
Now, there would most certainly need to be some original enemies put into the game, but for the moment, I want to try to get some of the familiar enemies taken care of.

I would REALLY like to get to turn these sketches into an actual animation! If there's anyone out there that is willing to help me on this, or if you know anyone that could, please feel free to speak up. If you like my selection of characters that I plan to put in, give this reply a 1-Up.



RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - strabiri - 06-24-2019

man, i wish i could think this much in 7 months or so


RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - VinnyVideo - 06-24-2019

I like how expressive your sketches are!

And I love the amount of detail you're putting into the story. Good stuff.


Items - JaberandCamgar - 06-24-2019

Here is my idea for a list of items that my quartet could utilize.
  • Mushrooms function the same way as before - restoring a certain amount of HP. However, I could also create Deluxe Mushrooms that restore HP by percentage:
    • Mushroom: Restores 25 HP
    • Super Mushroom: Restores 50 HP
    • Mushroom DX: Restores 25% HP
    • Super Mushroom DX: Restores 50% HP
    • MAX Mushroom DX: Restores 100% HP
  • Syrup Jars would also function the same way, and with Maple Syrup variation that restores BP by percentage:
    • Syrup: Restores 10 BP
    • Super Syrup: Restores 25 BP
    • Maple Syrup: Restores 50% BP
    • Deluxe Maple Syrup: Restores 100% BP
  • I need not repeat myself with Nuts:
    • Nut: Restores 25 HP to all
    • Super Nut: Restores 50 HP to all
    • Deluxe Nut: Restores 25% HP to all
    • Super Deluxe Nut: Restores 50% HP to all
    • MAX Deluxe Nut: Restores 100% HP to all
  • Having four members to play as, it would take too long to restore everyone's BP. I therefore plan on reintroducing the Mushroom Drop for this purpose. Similar to the Double 1-Up Mushroom from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam that the trio could use:
    • Mushroom Drop: Restores 10 BP to all
    • Super Drop: Restores 25 BP to all
    • Mushroom Drop DX: Restores 50% BP to all
    • MAX Drop DX: Restores 100% BP to all
  • However, for the same reason, a Double 1-Up Mushroom would be useful for a team of four heroes. So In addition to 1-Up Mushrooms, I also will bring back the Double 1-Up Mushroom.
    • 1-Up Mushroom: Revives a fallen partner with 50% HP
    • 1-Up Deluxe: Revives a fallen partner with 100% HP
    • Double 1-Up Mushroom: Revives two fallen partners with 50% HP
    • Double 1-Up Deluxe: Revives two fallen partners with 100% HP
  • Peppers can certainly be brought back with the same function
    • Cayenne Pepper: Increases POW by 50% for one turn
    • Jalapeño Pepper: Increases DEF by 50% for one turn
  • As my game has five different attributes, and each attribute has a condition associated with it (Burn, Shock, Jinx, Poison, Frozen), it is very possible for any member to develop one of them . . . or even multiple members. Therefore, in addition to the Refreshing Herb, I also was thinking of reintroducing the Refreshroom (from Partners in Time).
    • Refreshing Herb: Relieves conditions such as Poison or Burn
    • Refreshroom: Restores 30 HP and relieves conditions
  • Finally, I thought it would be interesting to insert onigiri into the mix as an HP filler-in. These rice-and-seaweed snacks can come in bundles of 1 through 10 in Item Blocks:
    • Onigiri: Restores 5 HP
Keep in mind, that my team doesn't travel together for the entire duration of the adventure - sometimes they have to split up, such as in the Inverted Pyramid. This doesn't have to be ALL of the items in the game. In fact, I was thinking of possible putting in the consideration for recipes like from the Paper Mario games into the equation (perhaps in Dire Dire Docks).

If you like my ideas for Items, feel free to 1-Up this post. Or if you have any additional ideas for Items, feel free to respond. I'll think of some gear ideas in a future post.



Introduction Animation - JaberandCamgar - 06-27-2019

So I found out about this 2D animation software called Pencil 2D, and I was hopeful that I could try to create some visual representations of maybe some scenes or animations that I might want to use in game. I haven't yet downloaded the program as of this posting, but I have already made some preparations for possible animations, specifically an opening animation when you start the program, and I'm sure that I could get to be really good at it if I practiced often.

This past week, I met someone at my internship that was quite knowledgeable in the Mario games. He understood the joke in the name of my autistic Toad, Nerr T, and told me that he liked the sound of my story. He told me that he had connections with Blizzard, and said that he might send it in to a few of them for some writing and story critique. It would be really cool to have some professional feedback. Hopefully, he won't forget about it. After all, I will be seeing him pretty often for the next month or so.

I really feel like this story is unique, and really captures Nintendo's style. The only portion that I feel is shaky would have to be my inclusion of Snifit or Whiffit! into the main plot. I have always been a fan of Mario, and remember playing the Nintendo 64 back when it was the main console in the late 1990's. For at least the past 10 years, I have buried myself in the nuances of the Mario series, and I feel like I know more tidbits of obscure Mario trivia than most other Mario fans. Knowledge of the Mario series to this degree is what I feel to be integral to making good references and Easter Eggs, and can really put a lot of perspective into the plot.

To finish off, I have also added a few new sprite sheet concept sketches:

Peach Sprite Concept 04
Toadette Sprite Concept 03

Will write more later.



Update Jul 2 2019 - JaberandCamgar - 07-02-2019

I drew my first picture with a conceptual user interface earlier this week. Obviously, the buttons to control the characters will remain unchanged: Mario uses (A), Luigi uses (B). Princess Peach would use (Y) and Toadette would use (X). Flipping between different overworld gimmicks usually was ®. But since there are now two sets of shoulder buttons, I thought of having both (L1) and (R1) being used to navigate abilities. I was also planning to have all of their abilities visible at that area of the screen. I remember it being a bit of a hassle to figure out how many times I needed to press ® in order to get the ability I wanted - whether it be the Spin Jump or the Hammer Drill or the Bros. Ball from Partners in Time.

An additional possibility for my game would be a leader option and a split-up option. To designate a companion as the leader, you could press and hold (L2) and then press the button of the corresponding character to place them in the front. Now with four players, the only button you would need to push would be that of the leader. The other three characters would jump automatically. This would be similar to the eggs (or other things) following Yoshi in pretty much all of the Yoshi games. A leader can be selected only if you have a party of three or four characters.

As for the split-up option, there will certainly have to be instances in where the characters would split up in order to fulfil certain tasks. I have them doing this very thing several times in my game's plot: on Star Hill when they are rescuing the Star Spirits from the nightmare chunks, and in the Inverted Pyramid when they need to activate four switches in four different areas of the structure at the same time. If I ever get around to designing overworld areas, I will make sure that there are plenty of places in where they would need to split up. Pressing (R2) and then pressing the buttons of the corresponding characters that you choose will split them into a smaller party. Pressing the character's button again can deselect them.

The (START) button can be used to exit the game to the main screen, while the (SELECT) button is used to open Stuffwell and handle all the player's stats, badges, and gear to use.

Anyway, here is my latest digitized drawing. I personally think this is my best one yet!

The Eclipse



RE: Update Jul 2 2019 - OssieTheOstrich - 07-03-2019

(07-02-2019, 09:04 PM)JaberandCamgar Wrote:
Anyway, here is my latest digitized drawing. I personally think this is my best one yet!

The Eclipse

The picture is pretty nice, though I'm a little uncomfortable with Nerr T and Toadette kissing while wearing swimsuits(?).

I would suggest you tone it down, maybe like change it to holding hands? And you might want to change their outfits to, to at least make it more "Nintendo" like? (By that I mean have something that won't have "E10+" rating.)

Oh and, are the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom looking at the eclipse? That is a really dangerous thing that they shouldn't do.


RE: Ostrich 101 - JaberandCamgar - 07-03-2019

First off, let me just say that that is not the Toad that is with Toadette in this picture, as Toad has a red cap (at least in most games). I am in total agreement with Koichi Hayashida on this, as I am convinced that Toad and Toadette are siblings (in accordance with the Prima guides for Mario Kart), and would therefore not be romantically involved. If you had read my story, you would know that that is really Nerr T, my autistic Toad, that is with her. I have a whole relationship development between these two during the course of the adventure. Everything in the picture is in accordance with what I wrote down in my Word document script. As to why I have them in swimsuits, here's a tidbit from my story to give you some context:
  • "The Toad Town square had turned on their recreational fountain jets, and there were many Toads splashing about in the water. Within the fray were Nerr T and Toadette in their swimsuits. They seemed to be having a ton of fun together such as deflecting the water jets into each other's faces. Toadette would also use her Icyhand powers to make snow cones - or at least a couple of snowballs to throw at him."  [p167-20190615]
  • "And then it happened! The light level dropped drastically and abruptly down to mid-twilight levels in a matter of seconds! There . . . in the sky, was the black disk of the Moon! The Sun's corona as bright as a full Moon. Everyone was screaming in ecstasy at the rarity of the event. They looked in awe at the orange-red effect of a 360-degree sunset! Toadette and Nerr T were watching the event together, still in their swimsuits; and when totality hit, she turned and kissed him passionately on the lips again." [p168-20190615]
Additionally, I have made several references throughout the document that shows that Toadette is Toad's little sister:
  • "Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and my big brother Toad all went to a place called the Sprixie Kingdom, where they encountered these Bells," Toadette told [Starlow]. "I recently got to try it myself! It's super fun and adorable, too!" [p33-20190615]
  • Toadette took Nerr T's hand and the two of them walked up to the King. "Neither of you were the Toad that accompanied Mario the last time he was here." He commented. ¶ "That would be my big brother!" Toadette said gaily. ¶ "Really now?" Osama complimented. "Who might you be, precious?" ¶ "I'm Toadette! It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty!" and she curtseyed. The King of Subcon chuckled at her enthusiasm. [p141-20190615]
  • "That's enough with the sarcasm, you jerk!" Toadette shouted. ¶ "Ah, you must be Toad's bratty little sister!" Wart sneered. "If it weren't for those braids of yours, I'd never be able to tell the two of you apart!" Toadette scowled at him. She had only just met the frog and she already hated his guts. [p145-20190615]
  • "Goodness me!" Wart said, pulling himself back together. He stared at her with antipathy. "You pack quite a punch for a bratty little sister! I didn't even know you toddlers could do that!" ¶ "I am not a toddler!" Toadette shouted in rage. [p155-20190615]
  • "I [Toadette] certainly do get along with lots of Toads, and certainly with my brother, the one and only Toad! But I've never felt anything more than that . . . I'd say that Toad would be the only one that I have had the greatest affection for, and that's simply because he's my brother!" [p165-20190615]
Hopefully, this will provide you with enough context to understand. I have been striving to keep the romance between Nerr T and Toadette at the mildest level possible while still being able to show some affection. I'm constantly reminded of the relationship development between Buddy the Elf and Jovia in the Christmas movie Elf. As the nature is very similar, and even though the movie is rated PG, the rating description says only "Some rude humor and language." I would like to figure out what the boundary is between an E and E10 rating with respect to romance.

Anyway, about your comment on totality, none of them are actually in danger during this time, as it is actually safe to look up at a total solar eclipse. It is the sun's photosphere that emits the star's blindingly bright light. Totality is when the moon's disk is completely covering the sun's photosphere, and therefore blocking all of that blinding light from reaching your location. The sun's corona is only about as bright as a full moon, which of course is safe to look at without protection. The danger of a solar eclipse is at the moment when the photosphere begins to show itself again and creating the diamond-ring effect with the corona. It is at this point when it becomes imperative to avert your eyes to avoid being blinded.

I say all this from experience, as I got to travel south to Sweetwater, Tennessee to see the total solar eclipse in 2017. I suffered no eye damage. I would suggest, however, that when you use eclipse goggles to look at partiality, you only glance at it for a second or two before looking away, as my eyes did start to hurt a little bit after several glances. On the sheet of paper where I drew the eclipse scene, I have another drawing above it with Nerr T and Toadette wearing eclipse goggles looking at partiality. The document also stresses this:
  • Once partiality began, they dried themselves off and headed over to the festival, where they obtained a pair of eclipse goggles to view the spectacle with. Bowser and Bowser Jr were there, too, having obtained goggles themselves. [p167-20190615]
If there are any other questions, please feel free to respond. If you like what I have quoted from my Word document, feel free to leave a 1-Up.



RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - OssieTheOstrich - 07-04-2019

I had actually realised that the Toad in your picture was Nerr T after making my post, but I forgot to edit it.

Either way, thanks for the clarification.


Toadette's Spelling Exploration (Eclipsed Memories pseudo-sequel) - JaberandCamgar - 07-13-2019

Recently, I have had another interesting game idea in my mind that builds upon my Mario & Luigi story. Basically, it's a sequel to Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and a pseudo-sequel to Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories starring Toadette. It would also be an interesting attempt at edutainment, as my tentative title is presently Toadette's Spelling Exploration. Here's my plot:
  • Wingo is after the super-shiny "Orthocrystal." Spelling is required to access it, and Wingo is illiterate, so she decides to search out her adversary, Captain Toad, to try to access it for her, as he was always good at solving puzzles. Flying over to Toad Town, she searches the hamlet only to find that the Captain wasn't there. But she soon encounters her other adversary, Toadette, walking home from her Music Room - close enough! Concealed, she stalks the Toad back to her home and waits for an ample opportunity to snatch her away. Soon Wingo notices Toadette's boyfriend, Nerr T, approaching with a bouquet of flowers. A ransom! Nerr T had just finished his semester at Sarasacademy (as depicted from the events of Eclipsed Memories) and was going to spend some quality time with Toadette. When Toadette comes out to greet him, Wingo reveals herself, knocks Toadette over, then grabs Nerr T and carries him off. Toadette then darts inside her home, changes into her explorer outfit, and runs in pursuit, beginning the story.
  • Wingo has a niece named Avia that resents her aunt's actions. Toadette meets her at the close of Episode 1, when Avia rescues Toadette from a collapsing cavern complex or castle (where the final boss of the Episode was fought) and becomes her guide and companion for Episode 2. She would only be about a third the size of Wingo. This Episode could end with Toadette fighting Wingo and unwittingly unveiling the crystal, which Wingo then grabs and flies away. This causes all written letters in the Mushroom Kingdom to become horribly scrambled, wreaking havoc everywhere. Wingo also finds out about how her niece was involved and takes Avia away.
  • Episode 3 would start with Nerr T escaping the enclosure (a playable character, in other words) that Wingo had concealed him in, as she was not aware that Nerr T was also smart enough to solve the puzzles within. He meets up with Toadette soon after Wingo takes the crystal and adventures with her in pursuit of the giant bird to rescue Avia (Nerr T could think "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I said 'I need to find some more activities for Toadette and me to do' . . ."). Toadette reaches the place where Avia is being held, but finds that it was all a trap and ends up being abducted herself by a concealed Wingo. Nerr T then follows after his girlfriend and fights Wingo himself. Three hits jar Toadette free, but Wingo still is active. The two Toads then engage Wingo in a final encounter (pick your character) and defeat her, taking back the Orthocrystal and putting everything back to normal.
This game idea is inspired by an edutainment game that I remember playing when I was young called Yobi's Basic Spelling Tricks or Spelling Jungle. The puzzles were quite challenging, which is why my father also had fun playing it. Some of the spelling gimmicks could be in the form of Shy Guys with a letter on their robes that would need to be defeated in the right order so as to spell out a particular word, and Toadette would be awarded with a Super Gem (a similar gimmick can also be found in Word Rescue). This concept can easily be applied to Japanese as well, such as writing out a particular kanji in kana (either hiragana or katakana).

Also, I had another idea (very, very preliminary at the moment) for a possible Partners in Time sequel. I have nothing of particular value to share except that the Bros could ride Yoshis and having an encounter between Baby Bowser and Bowser Jr.
By the way, if I haven't been posting lately, it's because I've been drawing a lot. I am putting together some sketches to put into my Word document as accompanying illustrations. Hopefully, I can get it all put together in the near future. I will post an update when that happens. If you think this edutainment game could work, feel free to leave a 1-Up.



First Illustrated Edition - JaberandCamgar - 07-22-2019

My first illustrated edition is more or less finished. This is the commented edition as there are a lot of additional thoughts that I had for the game besides what I wrote down. Feel free to share this, and let me know whether you can reply to my comments or not. I'd love to get some feedback for my pictures as well as my story.

Today, I suddenly realized something about Wingo that made me feel really uncomfortable . . . as I was writing the story, all the way back to my handwritten script, I had been referring to the bird as female:
  • In the next few moments, the party beholds Wingo descending down on them. What was she doing working with Bowser? After defeating her, the group returns to the crash site and repairs the Odyssey at last. (Handwritten Script − p13)
  • ". . . Thanks for giving us the heads-up, missy! Why don't you go slow 'em down for us!" (20190706 − p61)
  • Wingo's beady eyes focused on Toadette menacingly, as though she were considering snatching her right then and carrying her away in her talons. ¶ "Dear me, she's bigger than I thought," Peach said. ¶ "Wait, Toadette. You know this Roc?" Starlow asked. ¶ "Like, yeah!" Toadette answered ferociously. "She's carried Captain Toad and me off quite a number of times. She likes shiny things! She must have seen us with King Boo's Crown and decided to inform Bowser of it. Why would she? Does she know what Bowser is up to?" . . . "Well that settles it!" [Toadette] said, her eyes were ablaze with determination. "Let's show this giant chicken what we're made of! Show me some drumstick, Wingo!" and they all charged at her. (20190706 − p62)
And to be perfectly honest, I have felt that the villain better fits as female, but apparently, Shinya Hiratake had referred to Wingo as male. Huh? Whoops! Now I don't know what to think of the creature's gender. I think it might have been the bright red eyelashes that threw me off, as it reminded me of makeup. I had even been having Avia, the new character of the same species as Wingo from my Captain Toad Treasure Tracker spinoff that assists Toadette in rescuing Nerr T, referring to the entity as "Aunt Wingo." But then again . . . women don't wear turbans (and bath towel turbans don't count).
I still haven't gotten RPG maker from my sister yet. Otherwise I might try to put together some kind of demo for you. At some point, I need to collaborate with her to download it and try it out, though my experience in programming is essentially zilch. I might also want to try to get a desktop computer to do it on like my sister does, as I don't know if my laptop would be able to handle it, especially since I have had it for nearly three years.

I will try to keep you updated.



RE: Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories - VinnyVideo - 07-22-2019

Don't worry too much about getting just the right hardware. Obviously, you'll need a program for making your game. However, you don't need a super-powerful computer to make games with RPG Maker, GM, Clickteam, Godot, or whatever tool you use. People have made some pretty impressive fangames on PCs running Windows 98, after all!

So if your computer can run a modern version of Windows (or whatever your preferred OS is), it should be able to run the tools typically used for making 2-D fangames.


Wart's Expanded Backstory and Demise - JaberandCamgar - 08-01-2019

First off, let me just mention that today is Herman Melville's 200th birthday (Aug 1 1819). I suppose my story does have a Moby Dick type moment, as when they are heading for Yoshi's Peak in pursuit of the Sapian agents that kidnapped the Mushroom King, they have to circle the island in a boat . . . and as they are paddling, a Mega Cheep Chomp ambushes then and swallows them and their boat in one gulp. I decided that it would be in the creature's stomach where the Brothers remember their hand abilities so as to give some light. I then refer to another book, Pinocchio, as to how they manage to avoid digestion: by lighting a fire using Mario's Firebrand and hoping that the giant fish would regurgitate them, which is exactly what happens.

Anyway, with that out of the way, let me tell about what else has been on my mind regarding my story. I came up with an interesting way to give Wart some background information. I had already mentioned that "[Wart's] origin may be similar to that of Antasma" (Illustrated Edition p 136), but I have recently come up with an interesting expansion to that which ties in to the qualities shown in Super Mario Bros 2. As any devoted Mario fan like me knows, Wart hates vegetables; and I now can give a coherent reason why: Vegetables cause Wart's nightmare energy to dispel if ingested. Wart likes being a nightmare, and will do whatever it takes to avoid losing it. After the final battle, when the Legendary turn on him (and I knew this would be the only way for Mario and his friends to defeat the frog), they knew just how much to engorge him to dispel every last trace of nightmare energy from his being. Therefore, this is why he explodes in a burst of dark matter at the very end of the story. Don't worry, this is not the big spoiler . . . and neither is the following.

It is at this moment that I put in one of the best ideas that I had for the story, perhaps even better than Mario capturing Starlow! I came up with what I feel to be a very funny and inventive way to eliminate Wart once and for all: When the dust settles, the quartet of heroes discover that the whole time Wart was just an ordinary frog - completely harmless with a body hardly an inch long! King Osama was right; Wart's origin was similar to that of Antasma! But that's not the funniest part; the funniest part is what I had the team do to Wart now that he was just a tiny frog. Actually, it was just one member, Toadette, that dealt with Wart in perhaps the simplest way possible . . . she ate him! . . . No chewing; just popping the slippery amphibian into her mouth and swallowing him alive! And thus was the ironic end of one of the most threatening villains they'd ever known!

To end this, I thought I'd ask whether anyone has read any of my story as of late. I still haven't been able to talk to anybody about the final battle, as no one has read it yet. I had also considered making a Facebook page on this story along with other Mario game ideas that I have come up with (such as a Treasure Tracker prequel about how the Toad Brigade first came to be) so that I can get find some more feedback and maybe even start a development team (though I should probably wait until after I graduate UMBC before getting seriously involved in this).

Give me a 1-Up if you think Wart's demise is a stroke of genius and feel free to share this. Feel free to also leave a 1-Up if you think I should create a Facebook page on this as well.



A couple updates - JaberandCamgar - 09-16-2019

If I haven't posted anything lately, it's because I've been running out of subject matter. However, I have come up with a few add-on ideas over the past month.

I thought it would be interesting to bring back Perry for Peach to use as a gimmick and weapon in battle. Let's say he hasn't yet found the old man and is still sticking around with the Princess. Second, I was considering Polterpup as Luigi's companion, and he could ghost Luigi through certain walls where none of the others can.

And finally, as another crossover idea, I could give Nerr T a Pichu (named Sparky?), given to him by a passing Trainer, and when the quartet goes to visit him to get the parchment deciphered, they are additionally greeted by the Pokémon who electrocutes Luigi upon reaching him. I might even incorporate the Pichu as an attack when you play as Nerr T in Subspace.


In pace requiescat - JaberandCamgar - 10-02-2019

Just in time for Halloween, AlphaDream has marked its epitaph on a file for bankruptcy, and I am very sad Sad. Anyway, I also wanted to say that I am posting my idea on fanfiction.net (same username), releasing it chapter by chapter.

Perhaps in Honor of the company, I could purchase all the M&L games I'm missing. I have only played "Partners in Time" and "Bowser's Inside Story."

In pace requiescat...


Tomato Adventure - JaberandCamgar - 10-16-2019

Thinking about the possibility of inserting Tomato Adventure related elements in homage to AlphaDream, I came up with a couple of ideas:
  • Remembering how earlier Bros Attacks always seemed to end up being much weaker than later ones (Green Shell is very much weaker than Falling Star), I figured that they should be able to power up like the Gimmicks in Tomato Adventure could. The item used to power up a Bros Attack I have tentatively named a "Mini Star," and there would only be one of this type of item (rather than three).
  • As I was writing this post, I came up with another idea: in Tomato Adventure, Gimmicks had a certain number of uses and only reset when all uses for all equipped Gimmicks had been depleted. This was to ensure that the player alternated between Gimmicks rather than favoring one of them. I believe I've found an interesting way to make a hybrid of this with what has already been established: The player would be limited to, let's say, three uses per Bros Attack while Syrup Jars would restore a certain number of uses to all of them. Then, to maximize the effect of the Syrup Jar, the player would have to alternate between Bros Attacks. For example, if the player wanted to use a Super Syrup Jar to restore two uses to all Attacks and the max number of uses is three, they would have to have all their Bros Attacks down to no more than one use left to get their money's worth.
  • For a puzzle homage, I recalled this one puzzle in Gimmick Palace that could work for the Brothers to use. In the palace, all three of DeMille's companions, Aretha, Sofubi, and Rereku assist him in one way or another. Rereku (named "LELK" in Poemato's walkthrough in the above link) could burrow underground, as he was a mole, and there happened to be a maze on the first floor of the complex that could only be passed by such. This burrowing is directly comparable to the Brothers' Hammer Drill technique, and I could always look for a way to insert this exact puzzle somewhere in my story (maybe in the Toadwood Forest).
  • Finally, I decided that I wanted to create an extended arrangement and medley of the battle theme with the title theme as the battle theme for my game. I have been trying to find some musical ideas for it . . . though I've never felt confident with composing. I've tried with a classical style rondo, but it came out terrible in my opinion.
Before I go, I'd like to say that I am currently posting my story onto fanfiction.net (same username). I posted chapter 10 earlier today and have 10 more chapters left (I split chapter 6 up into two separate chapters, bringing the number to 20). I have also contacted the Game Developers Club at UMBC talking to them on how I might try to begin developing this idea.



This forum uses Lukasz Tkacz MyBB addons.