Dust: An Elysian Tail
Oh hey, it's been a while.
So I was both excited for and had reservations about Dean Dodrill's Castlevania clone--I tried to deliberately avoid so much as even looking at the game before playing it myself, but since maintaining a cone of silence, as it were, is obnoxious, I'm afraid I found out who Dust actually is before I got any free time. [Sometimes I feel inclined to re-evaluate what I'm trying to accomplish if it means I don't get to do a whole lot of what I'd otherwise enjoy doing, but that's part of the trouble with being a "creative" type.]
Anyway, the game is so beautiful. I know that's not a particularly original comment, so I'll add my own flavour: I honestly wouldn't like Dodrill's style that much EXCEPT that his animations are a joy to watch [Dust himself has an awful design, but he's grown on me just from having such gorgeous animation cycles], and it's a nice appetizer while waiting for his insane "I'm gonna do the whole thing BY MYSELF" feature-length animated film. The cut scenes don't give a real feel for what he can do, unfortunately, but given the amount of time involved, I can't blame him for cutting corners.
The majority of his work--besides the invisible effort put into coding the game and etc.--is visible in Dust's walk-run*/fight animations and the level designs. The dialogue sequences and nearly every other character animation is that "moving pieces around in Flash like marionettes" look that too many recent cartoons overuse, but it actually kinda works in the game, since the alternative is static images and/or script-formatted dialogue boxes.
*I can't figure out if he's genuinely running or doing a kind of power-walk. Still strangely engrossing to watch, regardless.
What really hooked me is Dust's "Even the Flash can fly!" attack, which comprises about 90% of my fighting style when combined with Fidget's projectiles. kiken recommends I go back and play the Castlevania games, but unless they have the air-spinny attack, I actually don't think I'd enjoy them as much. It's weird how much that makes the game stand out--otherwise, Dust feels exactly like a game I must've played a million times before but can't remember where.
In short, I'm pretty sure Dust is the game I would've made if I'd thought to do it first. It integrates so many of the things I liked in similar games that I'd have a difficult time NOT copying this if I were to try myself. [I'd pretty much have to go with a different genre to avoid a direct rip-off.] About all I truly dislike is how clicking the right analogue stick brings up the map [annoying when using right analogue to dash] and that the key mini-game really doesn't add much but prolly added that much more to the development time. The "117%" completion rate for finding all the items, etc. feels arbitrary, too--why is it not 100%?--but that doesn't really affect gameplay, and I've even gotten over hating the Cirelian Trials now that I've managed the Legend Achievement.
I don't really know how to conclude this post. It feels like I always need some kind of "kicker" closing line, but I don't ever really know what that could be. Dust is a fun game you should be playing if you haven't already, and I guess I'm somehow sad that it's not a bit more casual--I'd replay Tetris more than I'd replay Dust, but part of that is the length [I finished Normal difficulty in 19.5 hours, would've been less if I didn't fight the Trials] plus that unless I get massive amnesia, I can't really solve the puzzles again--I already know where all the hidden bits are. Not sure about a good compromise for that short of making a shmup instead of a platformer, but my ideas aren't particularly solvent...
So I was both excited for and had reservations about Dean Dodrill's Castlevania clone--I tried to deliberately avoid so much as even looking at the game before playing it myself, but since maintaining a cone of silence, as it were, is obnoxious, I'm afraid I found out who Dust actually is before I got any free time. [Sometimes I feel inclined to re-evaluate what I'm trying to accomplish if it means I don't get to do a whole lot of what I'd otherwise enjoy doing, but that's part of the trouble with being a "creative" type.]
Anyway, the game is so beautiful. I know that's not a particularly original comment, so I'll add my own flavour: I honestly wouldn't like Dodrill's style that much EXCEPT that his animations are a joy to watch [Dust himself has an awful design, but he's grown on me just from having such gorgeous animation cycles], and it's a nice appetizer while waiting for his insane "I'm gonna do the whole thing BY MYSELF" feature-length animated film. The cut scenes don't give a real feel for what he can do, unfortunately, but given the amount of time involved, I can't blame him for cutting corners.
The majority of his work--besides the invisible effort put into coding the game and etc.--is visible in Dust's walk-run*/fight animations and the level designs. The dialogue sequences and nearly every other character animation is that "moving pieces around in Flash like marionettes" look that too many recent cartoons overuse, but it actually kinda works in the game, since the alternative is static images and/or script-formatted dialogue boxes.
*I can't figure out if he's genuinely running or doing a kind of power-walk. Still strangely engrossing to watch, regardless.
What really hooked me is Dust's "Even the Flash can fly!" attack, which comprises about 90% of my fighting style when combined with Fidget's projectiles. kiken recommends I go back and play the Castlevania games, but unless they have the air-spinny attack, I actually don't think I'd enjoy them as much. It's weird how much that makes the game stand out--otherwise, Dust feels exactly like a game I must've played a million times before but can't remember where.
In short, I'm pretty sure Dust is the game I would've made if I'd thought to do it first. It integrates so many of the things I liked in similar games that I'd have a difficult time NOT copying this if I were to try myself. [I'd pretty much have to go with a different genre to avoid a direct rip-off.] About all I truly dislike is how clicking the right analogue stick brings up the map [annoying when using right analogue to dash] and that the key mini-game really doesn't add much but prolly added that much more to the development time. The "117%" completion rate for finding all the items, etc. feels arbitrary, too--why is it not 100%?--but that doesn't really affect gameplay, and I've even gotten over hating the Cirelian Trials now that I've managed the Legend Achievement.
I don't really know how to conclude this post. It feels like I always need some kind of "kicker" closing line, but I don't ever really know what that could be. Dust is a fun game you should be playing if you haven't already, and I guess I'm somehow sad that it's not a bit more casual--I'd replay Tetris more than I'd replay Dust, but part of that is the length [I finished Normal difficulty in 19.5 hours, would've been less if I didn't fight the Trials] plus that unless I get massive amnesia, I can't really solve the puzzles again--I already know where all the hidden bits are. Not sure about a good compromise for that short of making a shmup instead of a platformer, but my ideas aren't particularly solvent...