Ly and the Ludivs

[purplelum]

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking about making a fan game where Ly is the playable character for a few years now. With the knowledge I've gained from creating other games in the past I feel ready to tackle a challenge like this and make this fan game become a reality. However, I'm well aware that I'm not able do this on my own and I want to look for teammates who want to help shape this game into something that all Ly fans can enjoy.

What will the game be about?
Currently there is nothing solid yet and the game can be shaped into any direction, but my initial vision for the game is a 2D platformer game that is heavily inspired by and builds on the environments and lore of Rayman 2. I am a huge fan of the magical fairy lore of the Rayman games and I would like to give that a prominent place in the game. The one thing set in stone is that Ly will be the main character and the story of the game will revolve around her as opposed to Rayman. I am really open to suggestions from whoever will be involved in creating the game as I want this to be something we can all be proud of.

My current aim is to create a vertical slice of the 2D platformer featuring Ly in about a year. I think it would be possible to create something small-scoped with just one world in that time frame with a relatively simple art style, and I want to see if this works out first before committing to a full game. Small steps first.

What are the tools of the trade?
Because I'm most versed in Unity when it comes to game engines, I plan to use that for this game too. I've briefly worked with the LDtk level editor before and I think that can be a great tool to collaboratively build levels. For audio I plan to use FMOD as middleware. For collaboration the main platform would be Discord, and there is GitHub to share code and something to share assets and documentation.

Why do I think that this is possible and won't end up on the pile of unfinished fan games?
I am a composer for games and technical audio designer for games by profession, and I am in the process of making my second (firt to be paid) commercial indie game. I've worked on lots of smaller games for game jams too, see my portfolio for those. I also have experience leading a team and keeping an eye on deadlines at New Dawn Games, where we're developing the well-known fan game Rayman 2: Redreamed. In short, I do have the know-how to make games, and in this project I want to spend time on programming, music and audio design. What I'm less good at is art (I did simple pixel art for my own game, but that's about it), writing (conceptualizing and world building is fun, but that's usually where I get stuck), sound effects, and anything else that I haven't thought of so far.

Furthermore, I think a team can do more than one person and is especially useful in the conceptualizing phase to make something bigger than one person would be able to do. With this project I want to give something to the Rayan community and make something that I can be proud of, and I hope to share those values with other prospective team members as well.

What first?
Thanks for reading through my big pile of text. Basically the first phase in this project is looking for potentially interested people to join the project to help out with anything regarding the game, but especially with art and narrative design. I want to fully start working on this game in September, but we can definitely conceptualize it more before that. Let me know if that is you and share some of your work if you want to help out! Thanks so much in advance!

- Danae


tl;dr: I'm looking for teammates to make a 2D platformer with Ly as the main character. Nothing is set in stone yet, you can help shape the game in any form. I'm good at programming, music and audio design, I'm looking for other people who share being a big fan of Ly and magical fairy lore and want to help with art, story, or other things regarding the game. Let me know if you wanna help!

[EdgyRabbid]

Hello! I’m interested! I’m mostly good at story telling and lore stuff!

[purplelum]

Idea A I have for the story is the time period between the start of the Robo-Pirate invasion and Ly getting captured and brought to the Fairy Glade, which partly happens during the start of Rayman 2.

The village of Prhys on the outskirts of the Great Forest in Glade of Dreams has always been a peaceful place, especially thanks to Ly, its guardian fairy. On one unfortunate day the Robo-Pirates invaded the Glade, choosing Prhys as one of their first targets. Ly bravely fights against the Pirates, being able to fend off most of the attack for the time being. Ly sees her best course of action is to cross the Great Forest to the Fairy Council to call for an emergency meeting and inform the rebellion about the attacks.

Upon reaching the Fairy Council however, Ly finds that the Pirates are already inside and she figures that they're probably headed for the Heart of the World. She swiftly makes her way inside, fighting off Pirates and freeing the fairies and teensies they've locked up on their way, but she is unable to reach the Heart before the Pirates manage to lethally damage it. With the explosion her powers are severely weakened, and with the little strength she has left, she manages to contact Rayman and tell him the bad news.

Witnessing Rayman's capture and Globox's escape from the ambush telepathically, Ly devises a plan to save Rayman with the help of Globox. She manages to track him down in the Woods of Light, where he reunites with some of his babies, and together they refine the plans of Rayman's rescue. Ly manages to converge her energy to make a Silver Lum to aid Rayman in the escape.

It doesn't take long before they get ambushed by Admiral Razorbeard himself and his elite squad of Ninja-Pirates. Ly manages to fend them off until Globox gets purposefully captured, but the weakening of her powers takes its toll on her abilities. After having defeated the Ninja-Pirates, Razorbeard has a surprise for her in stock, and Ly has to surrender. While the Pirates take her for imprisonment to the Fairy Glade, she contemplates the happenings, and despite having been captured, she has accomplished a fighting chance for Rayman.

[boomboleros7]

Hello purplelum!
Glad to speak with a member of Rayman 2: Redreamed team! I enjoyed the first images and music you shared!

That's a pretty nice story draft.
I like fairy characters in Rayman series and my main contribution to Rayman community is writing articles on French RayWiki, so I know official lore pretty well. And I've written some stories on Rayman universe for myself (not really fanfics, a lot of messed up texts which aren't meant to be shared. Among them, there are some ideas for the mysterious People of Prhys).

I don't really have programming skills and never worked on a fangame before, but there's a first time for everything.
So, you tell me if I can help you.

[RabbidLover]

Hello! I’d like to help with the project! Are you looking for voice actors?

[purplelum]

Small update: I've joined forces with boomboleros7 to come up with an interesting concept for the game based on our initial ideas. We're currently leaning towards something that plays either just before or during the events of Rayman 2.

Hello! I’d like to help with the project! Are you looking for voice actors?

Hi, not at the moment, as I'm still conceptualizing the game and I wouldn't know which characters need voices at all at this point. I think I'll make a casting call in the future when the game is more solidified.

[Hugo]

I'm glad you have the experience necessary to make this game. That's a rare thing and very cool.

You've been crystal clear about the fact that it is early days and there is still a lot of freedom to shape the game. But I still have to say that the only thing established so far that is genuinely new is Ly being playable, and in practical terms even that might not feel much different to playing any other 2D action hero.

Since you're not competing with the best 2D action games out there, your project, no matter how small the scope, will really benefit from having something novel about it, even if that is a little quirk that changes the experience of this established genre.

That also goes for the story, too. Is it Rayman 2.2, or an interesting take on ideas of "piracy", or a different view of/a different kind of heroism? How do Ly's strengths as a character flow into the gameplay?

I think it is worth really challenging yourself in this way right now before committing to this, and it does not mean you need to be overly ambitious with the scope.

[purplelum]

Those are very interesting points and I agree that it's good to think about something novel for the game, especially because Ly is a totally different character than Rayman. She probably has different powers than Rayman, for example we could do something with her telekinesis powers gameplay-wise.

Story wise I think despite that we're leaning towards the happenings of Rayman 2, that we still can tell a different and interesting story while staying true to the original story, world and lore. This is what we're currently exploring.

[Hugo]

The idea of using her telekinesis powers sounds awesome. Even a simple implementation could be really fun.

I would advise thinking of story as a story you want to tell outside of Rayman, with Ly and Rayman 2's world being the "suitable vehicle" for it. I can say from experience that, when this approach is not taken, it is hard to implant anything new into the existing universe. You constantly find yourself asking, is this "Rayman" enough?

Sorry I can't get more engaged but supporting you guys and really excited to play your game.

[purplelum]

Thank you, your feedback is really appreciated!

[hoodlumsworld]

Small update: I've joined forces with boomboleros7 to come up with an interesting concept for the game based on our initial ideas. We're currently leaning towards something that plays either just before or during the events of Rayman 2.

This sounds like a really solid collab, I can't wait.

[purplelum]

Update on the project!

Now that Rayman Alive is passed and the demo for Rayman 2: Redreamed has been released, I am able to spend more time on this project! So far we have been brainstorming about the story, and we decided on the following:

Ly and the Ludivs follows Ly on her journey of being the guardian fairy of Prhys and helping Rayman and the rebellion during the invasion of the Robo-Pirates. The story of the game is set before and during the events of Rayman 2: The Great Escape. The main story of the game is based on Ly's role as the guardian fairy of Prhys and her role of providing Rayman with new powers by creating Silver Lums. The Ludivs will play a central part in the story as they are rescued from cages by Ly and help her collect energy and make the Silver Lums.

In September i want to get the basic gameplay stuff done, like the moveset, interacting, and attacking, and an easy way to build levels (I'll be using LDtk for that). Also we're going to flesh out the story and the level structure some more and get a start on concept art with the help of a concept artist. I'm at this point still looking for artists to help out for the actual game, for characters, backgrounds, and animations. Based on if there are more people interested to join I will dcide on a general art style for the game. If the animo is low, I am thinking of going for a more pixel art look that is reminiscent of Rayman for GBC and Rayman 3 for GBA, because I am the most confident of being able to contribute myself in such a style.

Let me know your thoughts, and I hope I have something visual to show soon!

[purplelum]

I've properly started development this weekend and I'm happy to share the progress so far! Basic movement and jumping are in, as well as collecting various kinds of Lums with particles and sound effects. There are also trampoline mushrooms! I've used some (hopefully temporary) pixel art drawn by myself, since I've decided to go full pixel art for the main gameplay with crisper graphics for visual novel-like cutscenes, pretty much how the early Shantae games work. I'm still looking for help with art at the moment!

[Hugo]

Beautiful! Thanks for the update Purplelum!

I love the look you're going for and the sound effects. Even at this earliest stage of development I feel like I want to try it out, so that's gotta be a good sign! At the same time, anything you can do to stand out from other platformers, even something small, will make your game extra special. Looking forward to the next update.

[purplelum]

Hi again everyone,

After some thourough reflection on the projects I've been working on, both inside and outside of the Rayman community, and how that relates to my current mental health, I have unfortunaltely decided to cancel Ly and the Ludivs. I currently need my energy to rekindle and refocus on other projects, and organizing this project was something that I couldn't tackle in retrospect. My sincere apologies to anyone who was looking forward to the progress of the game. I hope to see you around in the Rayman community!

[Master]

Considering what you've stated in the OP, I will say it looks like you definitely do have your hands full with other projects, at the end of the day your own wellbeing should take priority, you don't owe anyone this, it's a passion project first and foremost. If it's mentally affecting you then calling it off is a sensible choice.

At the very least hopefully this project has served as a learning experience that'll help you in the future. I wish you the best of luck with all your other endeavours, and who knows, maybe you'll find the chance or inspiration from this for something else in the future?