Small Updates Here and There
I will use this post to update on various new features, story beads and other newly designed material in the form of bullet points and diagrams.
Story & Characters:
Upon finding their mother stranded in a rocket at the top of the world, Ike can choose wether to save or abandon her.
Ike is tall, lean and strong. They wear old ripped jeans, boots, a bomber hat, a plaid shirt and a camo jacket. They are a confident leader.
Ike’s past is full of loneliness, because they could not connect with their peers at school and their parents never had time. This is why Ike spent much of their time going on adventures in the local countryside on their own, which shaped their character to be strong and self-reliant.
Otis is shy and insecure. He is short and weak and wears old dirty clothes that were passed down from his father.
Players can find story beads in every level, mostly with the help of rescued townspeople. The new story beads and all other major events at every stage of the game can be viewed in the picture below.
Gameplay:
The multiplayer mode will feature split screen.
The Nintendo Switch will support some motion controls.
The final part of the game will feature a mini game in which players are tasked with rotating the incoming sky islands in such a way that they correctly fit into the holes in the crater where they came from.
Debris in the sky is variable in its shape and size, which creates increasing complexity with different debris combinations as the game progresses.
Steering into debris with the kite causes the kite to lose health. The kite’s health depends on the amount of antigravity material collected.
When the kite’s health drops to 0, the level must be restarted. With every consecutive restart of a level, it becomes more likely to lose a townsperson upon steering into debris.
Platforming levels on the sky islands are made up of many different mechanics, hazards and collectibles
Mechanics:
Locked doors that can either be picked or need a key to be opened.
Digital panels and similar objects that can be hacked to create various results like:
opening automatic doors.
turning lights on or off.
Water that can be swum in, which can also float in the air to allow players to swim through it to reach higher platforms.
Air vents and other tight spaces that can be traversed with the remote controlled car.
Special walls that can be jumped off with the ninja claws or grappled onto with the grappling hook.
Secrets that can only be accessed with townspeople’s gifts, for example with keys to a locked door.
Buttons and switches that can have a variety of effects when stepped on, hit or otherwise interacted with, for example
Open doors.
Drain water.
Produce water.
Shortcuts that can be opened in a variety of ways and that allow players to return to a previously reached location in the level without having to replay difficult sections upon restarting a level.
Hub areas from which multiple sections of a level can be engaged one after the other.
Hazards:
Pitfalls.
Holes in the Ceiling.
Gravity anomalies that accelerate players either toward pitfalls or holes in the ceiling.
Fast moving or hazardous floating objects, that can do damage upon impact.
Electricity from bare-lying cables, which is especially dangerous in conjunction with water.
Flocks of floating paper or other light objects that obstruct areas from view.
Falling from great heights.
The rotation that some levels exhibit in the second half of the game, which displaces all objects that are unaffected by antigravity material and can thus move players from safe to hazardous areas without player movement.
Collectibles:
Antigravity material (Makes characters lighter, but might be a hazard when too much is collected. Option to dump currently collected material is available.)
Food, which heals a character and increases their health by 1 for the rest of the level. Ike’s base health is 4 while Otis’ health is 2. Characters lose health by running into hazards.
Previously mentioned power-up items.
Townspeople
Players can reach various achievements for accomplishments like finishing levels in both normal and rotated mode, finishing the game, completing NG+ and completely restoring the town, saving all townspeople, finishing a level without having taken damage, maximizing the amount of antigravity material the kite can hold, finishing the game in a set amount of time and many more.
Achievements unlock concept artwork and new outfits for the characters.
Controls (Nintendo Switch):
Left shoulder buttons L1 and L2
Flying sections
L1: Steer Down
L2: Steer Left
Platforming sections
L2: cycle through items anti-clockwise
final mini game
L2: turn sky island anti-clockwise
- Button
Open Inventory
Left analog stick
Flying sections
Alternative to steering with the shoulder buttons
Platforming sections
Moving around
final mini game
Alternative to turning islands with the shoulder buttons
D-pad
Flying sections
Alternative to steering with the shoulder buttons
Right shoulder buttons R1 and R2
Flying sections
R1: Steer Up
R2: Steer Right
Platforming sections
R2: cycle through items clockwise
final mini game
R2: turn sky island clockwise
+ Button
Open pause menu
A B X Y Buttons
Flying sections
A: mash to rapidly gain altitude
B: lower the horizontal speed of the kite briefly
X: zoom in.
Y: zoom out.
Platforming sections
A: use selected item
B: jump
X: switch between Ike and Otis
Y: (if playing Ike) take Otis by the hand (hold down)
final mini game
A: confirm choice and send sky island down to the surface
Right analog stick
Flying sections
Move third person camera around
Platforming sections
N.A. (the camera angle is set to one angle in sky island levels)
Motion Controls:
Flying sections
Shake Joy Cons to rapidly gain altitude.
Platforming sections
Use with various items (for example swing Joy Con to swing the baseball bat)
Mood & Aesthetics:
Dichotomy between early adventurous and positive vibe / late disastrous and pessimistic mood.
Through colors, environments, plot points.
Also large differences in music, from triumphant brass for flying sections over calm country instrumentals for early levels to ominous lack of music in later levels and many more.
Some environments trigger flashbacks that underline the mood of the current area with interactive cut scenes.
Marketing and Monetization:
Reveal trailer that showcases the unique setting, different game modes and skills, Ike’s character identity as a leader and hints at the more sinister parts of the game through showing the town’s crater at the end of the video.
Story trailer shows parts of some in game flashbacks to both tell stories about the happy and lonely moments of Ike’s prior life.
Box art also hints at the more miserable side of the game by focusing on Ike in the top right corner, but casting a shadow on their path below and giving some room to the destroyed part of earth in the bottom left corner. Below is a sketch of the layout of said box art.
The game will be available for a flat price in all major digital marketplaces.
Some additional costumes for the characters can be purchased.
Background themes for the main menu’s on PS4 and XBoxOne can be purchased.
Soundtrack will also be for sale.
Possibility for prequel graphic novel adaptation.
Flat price Expansions with new levels are planned.
Humble Bundle deal can be used to boost sales in later periods of the game’s life cycle.