Some quick links for reference, and to keep it all separated from the wall 'o text. (Please read my wall 'o text if you will, though!)
Trailer- http://youtu.be/243nRZiShzQ
IndieDB Page- http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-bounty
Homepage- http://www.gwwentertainment.com/thebounty
Steam Greenlight- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=292630163
Game links! I'm using the itch.io links as they don't require client downloads or anything (ie Desura)
Shareware Demo- http://ludicrousda3ve.itch.io/the-bounty-shareware-edition
Full Version Purchase($5, 5% goes to charity)- http://ludicrousda3ve.itch.io/the-bounty
The game is currently available directly from my site Gaming World Wide, itch.io, Indiecity, and Desura. I'm shooting for Steam, and have tried contacting some others (such as Amaranthia), and will continue to do so.
The Bounty is a retro-inspired competitive RPG, with an East meets West approach, deviously combined with an arcade high score sensibility. An experience that will challenge your wits as you push to survive, uncover a multitude of secrets, and earn the high score.
Interact with players around the world- share your scores, and find out who is the best in official high score and specialized competitions.
The Bounty is unapologetically old school. No level grinding. No place to hide. Death is permanent. Even saving your game subtracts from your score. Your victory is in your own hands. Develop your own strategies, power your character the way you want to, and eventually conquer the game... if you can.
Remember- there is a secret, a trap, or a monster at every turn. Even some of the levels, creatures and treasures may not stay the same from play to play. Can you survive The Bounty?
FOR A CAUSE-
5% of all sales will be going towards one of GWW's favorite charities, Extra-Life. You can learn more about this charity at http://www.extra-life.org/, or more about our general charity/benefit work at http://www.gwwentertainment.com/about-us.
A bit more about the game!
The game's concept came directly as a result of working on a world record high score (I think it was Castlevania The Adventure:Rebirth?), and playing the classic "Rogue" in my off time. What resulted is a unique marriage of philosophies- it's not for everyone, but it stands tall. The game is minimal and lean; anything that didn't benefit the gameplay experience was looked at as extraneous, and cut or minimized. Everything from combat balance, to the scoring system, to secrets, to level design is dense, and painstakingly crafted. It's all a statement- whether you agree or disagree with it is your opinion. I respect it, either way.
Graphically. The monster sprites: I chose the artist because I loved his work. It's bold, aggressive, and a little weird. Some of the map tiles are derived from the middleware's assets- some redrawn, some simply edited and resampled at a lower resolution. It was not only a decision that complimented the game, but it was a cost effective one. Character sprites were done pixel by pixel to stay faithful to the style, but represent the people that they, well, represented.
Audio. The music was written by myself and/or my old bandmate. (look up Ununbiun sometime!) Riffs were rearranged, changed from metal to electronic, and fiddled with to give the short samples used. The SFX work is a combination of old school foley work and sine wave manipulation. It was rather fun trying to approximate that Genesis soundchip feel- especially garbling up the voice samples!
Engine. The million dollar question! It's really just a means to an end. RMVXAce was the one best suited for the game's needs. It is fairly heavily modified, of course. However, at a basic level, the tile-based mapping and the way that the engine handles switching and variables made it my choice.
So, if you're reading this, thanks. Check out the shareware (yes, shareware, I'm old-ish), see what you think. If you like it, you like it. If you don't, you don't. For those that stick around, there's a lesson in perserverance to be found... and a whole lot of fun. Please enjoy.
-Dave Vogt