The Ooze That Binds
Submission for the Shadowdark 8-bit Game Jam
My plans were interrupted when Baron de Ropp dropped his Shadowdark 8-bit Game Jam. I read about the concept, and accepted the challenge.
Below I’ll just break down my thought process, what I created, and what I might do differently next time.
Game Jam: https://itch.io/jam/8-bit-shadowdark-game-jam
My Submission: The Ooze That Binds
Inspiration
The challenge was to take three randomly assigned NES games and use them as inspiration for an adventure.
My three inspirations were:
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
After Burner II
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
My first impression was that I was excited about TMNT. I grew up with that as a child and my brain started buzzing. But, I had to look up the other two games. I watched some quick youtube videos of gameplay footage and read the summary of the games.
Brainstorming
I started out with a lot of ideas. But a few things stood out. I wanted to create a 16 page zine that players could feel the different dynamics and see where the inspiration came from.
I decided on two regions, one for Princess Tomato, and the other for TMNT. But where did After Burner fit? I originally decided these would be two planes of existence separated by shadowdark and that crafts were created that could traverse the planes.
Result
The Ooze That Binds is a 16-page zine filled with:
An original setting
Lore
New mechanics: Craft combat
New mechanics: Janken (rock, paper, scissors)
Hand drawn art scanned and digitally colored.
The main thing is that I had so much fun making it. In my spare time I was trying to determine how craft combat would work, or how ooze and shadowdark fit together. Ultimately, I am proud of what I created.
What I’d Change
If I could start over, I would slow down. I think my project is a little ambitious, and if I could go back I would tighten the scope of what I was creating. Instead of creating a world, maybe I would just focus on a few rooms of a dungeon.
But… creating worlds is fun. Whether it wins or not, I’m proud of what I learned in my process and stretched both my digital art skills as well as my layout design.
Feedback
If you get a chance, download The Ooze That Binds and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear what your feedback or how you would have used the titles I was given.