Having worked on the game for several years we constantly struggled with what the game was. To its core it was a procedurally generated adventure game without permadeath, but the procedural elements always clashed with the Metroidvania themes, and I didn’t know how to design around that. The story & progression slowly became much more linear as a result of being unsure how to tackle an open & randomized world. Taking out the procedural parts felt like it defeated the purpose of what the game was, so as it shifted towards a more linear adventure, the procedural map stayed but simply got more and more constricted, until the proceduralness of it didn’t really mean anything — it was just… there. And this is a LOT of overhead for basically no payoff. Why make a procedural game at all if you don’t really get the benefits of it being procedural?Here's what we originally had to say about the game:
Skytorn is under development by a team of talented individuals (Skytorn) whose previous works include Celeste, TowerFall, Out There Somewhere, and Aquaria. The game takes place in a world that has been torn asunder by some great calamity, and mankind now lives aboard airships as they scour the lands for artifacts and other survivors. The player takes on the role of an explorer named Névoa as she sets out across a procedurally generated world made of floating islands, armed with only her shovel (might be a trend here), which serves dual roles as a digging implement and a weapon. Névoa is quite nimble, digging her way down into the world, air dashing, ledge grabbing, wall sliding, and clobbering enemies with her spade. The digging implement is also upgradeable, making it easier to take down groups of enemies, or adding secondary effects such as spitting a fireball or draining a foe's life force on contact.
The game had been planned for release on PC, Mac, Linux, and PS4.
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