MSO's Weapon Teir Concept Art

[MetalShadowOverlord]

Hey guys! I came up with a weapon for Lunais to use during her adventures through time and, after receiving input and criticism from a multitude of other people, I thought, "Gee, maybe I should get some input from the people who are actually going to be playing the game".

Please pardon my craptacular art skills as I present to you...

...Well, I actually haven't come up with a name yet.


Version 1:



I colored this version with the colors of an actual gun in mind. I didn't like how it turned out, so I decided to add some darker colors.


Version 2:



I figured, since the raven head near the handle of the gun, aside from the big yellow circle, is most likely one of the first things people are going to see (at least when it comes to the picture), perhaps the darker colors I should use ought to match the colors of the head. I decided to keep the handle the same colors as before since i liked the idea of it having a wood handle. However, I decided to make one last version.


Version 3:



The only things really different between this one and Version 2 is the barrel being darker and the handle's colors now matching that of the rest of the gun.


Now then, you're all probably wondering by now what the bloody hell that yellow circle is. Well, that's the orb (yes, I know, big shock) and the reason it's placed where the chamber should be is because it is supposed to look like it's powering the gun. The raven head on the back is meant to signify that the gun is possibly a prototype for an imperial firearm, since they do use guns in the intro of the game. The charm on the handle contains both another reference to the empire (the feathers on the charm are ones that appear on the raven enemies in Lake Desolation) and a reference to an orb thought up by myself, Morningstar and Linestar (possibly a few others. Refer to the top post here for details: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=17&start=10 ).

So, tell me what you guys think. Do you like the idea? Which one is your favorite? If none, how do you think it should be colored? Is there part of the gun you think should be removed or maybe something should be added? Do you hate it altogether, think it's unfitting for a game like this, and think I should try designing something else? Lay it on me!

[Bodie]

This is really cool! I especially like that you got both a bird AND filigree into it! A man after my own heart <3

I like the last design, although I feel like the bright color of the orb could be used as an accent color throughout the gun. Also, I'm concerned that the feather charm, while really cool, might be too hard to see in game (pixellllls).

So how do you think it would work? Each orb has a melee, spell, and passive associated with it. Is the knife supposed to be for hitting things? Or perhaps when firing it "hurts enemies who touch it"? I personally like the idea of its melee attack being a weak bullet that travels the visible screen- perhaps tempered by a slow reuse speed. What about a spell? A SUPER BULLET? Like...Zelda's Super Smash from Smash Brothers? I can't think of a Passive that be in a gun theme, though. Hmmmm.

Also, I feel like the color of the orb is odd for a gun. The way the lore is, orbs are crystallized magic- so in this case the empire would temper crystallized...gun. MAGIC, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, OKAY O_O. So would yellow make sense? Maybe something more fire colored to symbolize the combustion of a bullet firing?

[ThatLlamaGirl]

As for the color of the orb, like Bodie suggested, it should represent the power it symbolizes. Maybe gunpowder? that's kinda boring/gray though. Gunmetal gray? UGH SO BORING

The passive spell might have something to do with the theme of bullets/ammo use? Reducing the cost of charge spells?

Did you envision Lunais actually HOLDING the gun to fire it? Because if so, the bit of filigree on the handle makes that impossible. However if it was just to hover around Lunais like the normal orbs do, then you could get a bit more creative with the handle

[MetalShadowOverlord]

Also, I'm concerned that the feather charm, while really cool, might be too hard to see in game (pixellllls).

Well, it's ok if it's not included. i mean, it's just there for decoration (and an inside joke) and doesn't really affect the gun in any way.

So how do you think it would work?

That...I'm sorta working on. The melee attack, I figured, would be Lunais swinging or throwing the gun (similar to how she "throws" the orbs when attacking enemies), cutting them with the bayonet. As for the spell, I've been at an impasse when it comes to ideas. I was thinking of one of two things:

- A charged shot that unleashes a stronger, magically enhanced bullet
or
- A shot that does normal/slightly higher damage than a normal shot, but pierces enemies.

The reason I say "either or" is because I feel that a stronger, piercing shot might be overpowered, but maybe that's just me. I was reluctant to suggest the first idea since it would, in my mind, seem too much like a copy of Lunais's default orbs, which already unleash a variety of charged attacks. As for the passive ability, I'm going to have to brainstorm some more on that one.

As for the color of the orb, I did want to make it a red orb, but I saw during a livestream that she already had a red orb, which, while it was not used during the stream, was on fire, so I chose a different color. I guess you could say I was, and am, trying a bit too hard to be 100% original. I suppose could try giving it some different shades of red, as you suggested, or perhaps other colors altogether and see what looks good. I might just go with the same shade of red I used to color the raven's eyes.

The passive spell might have something to do with the theme of bullets/ammo use? Reducing the cost of charge spells?

Hmm, that's an idea. I'll think about it. I didn't really brainstorm on it's passive ability (to be honest, I forgot all about it), but I'll think of something.

Did you envision Lunais actually HOLDING the gun to fire it? Because if so, the bit of filigree on the handle makes that impossible. However if it was just to hover around Lunais like the normal orbs do, then you could get a bit more creative with the handle

Oh dear, you're right. I had intended for the gun, like her other weapons, to hover near/around Lunais, then, when she's ready to use it, she'd grab it out of the air and fire it (all she needs is shades and it would look badass as all hell). I suppose I could try redrawing the filigree so it's more, uh, hand-friendly, which shouldn't be too much trouble, but, hey, if worse comes to worse, it doesn't need to be included. After all, putting decorations on a weapon, especially a prototype, isn't exactly a priority when you're making them for war.

I'm still stuck on a name, though. Is there any particular theme to the orb names? I noticed that one orb (the orb that backers get) is called the Umbra Orb, which is Latin for shadow. Are all or most of the orbs named with Latin words?

Thanks for the feedback!

[Bodie]

Okay, so here are my suggestions:

- Name: ??? [Gun] Orb (I don't really have a naming scheme for the orbs yet, haha. Originally I was going to go with Greek Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos), but now there are more than 3 orbs (waaay more). I chose Umbra as a name simply because I like the word and like the idea of a shadow orb, haha. So, right now Orb names are pretty open ended, as I just use code names right now (ie: Blue, Blade, Iron, Flame, Royal, etc).

- Color: Crimson Red (The flame orb is orange red, you could go something deeper red. There's only so many colors in the rainbow, so we're going to have to some orbs that are similar in color)

- Idle State: Just an orb (This is based on the current orb orbits, I feel like two orbiting guns would be distracting. I'm totally open to different orbit types (ie: Just sits at your sides as a gun, if it ends up feeling better).

- Melee Attack: Lunais does a throw animation and the orb morphs, fires a shot, and recoil-spins a couple of times as it unmorphs. (I figure the bayonet at the end would cause the orb/gun to have a damage box with it, but the melee attack itself would have a very short range- probably half of the default orb? So if you're point blank, you'll get two hits: knife + bullet).

- Spell Attack: Powerful piercing shot in a narrow but long range. Most projectiles die off-screen, but this could go the whole way? Also, you don't need to worry about the spell being too powerful, as I've changed the charge system recently. Now, charging is almost instant, but spells cost MP. So, any powerful spell will simply cost a lot of MP.

Or we could just go with Lizzie's joke suggestion, lol:


- Passive Effect: Hmm, I'm not sure about this one. The way passives are working currently is that they can give you a stat boost, or a unique effect. Current stuff that is in game: Blade orb causes your current orbs to always have a damaging hit box (blades circling the orb) and Fire orb causes you to fire a small short ranged projectile after every melee attack. That's all that's in the game right now, but I'll be making more soon. If you're looking for ideas, I suggest looking at passive from any Soma-based Castlevania game. So many passives souls! XD

These are just my ideas, it's fun brainstorming I'm looking forward to hearing more from you~

[Charleon]

This is pretty inspiring to be sure! I don't know why but I got reminded of Final fantasy Unlimited's summoning ritual:
http://youtu.be/C809y3Vyr8E?t=1m12s
though instead of an "orb" he combines "soils" to summon a creature. Ehh.uhh.. not in the slightest related but it's one of the more epic moments of my childhood watching anime . INSPIRING!

Also I get a bit confused when talking about the effects. I get the melee/ranged magic attack.. but passive? does an equipped active orb also have a passive to them, or were you contemplating if the gun weapon for some reason would only be used as a passive effect? or could you use the gun orb as EITHER an active orb OR a passive orb?

[ThatLlamaGirl]

Also I get a bit confused when talking about the effects. I get the melee/ranged magic attack.. but passive? does an equipped active orb also have a passive to them, or were you contemplating if the gun weapon for some reason would only be used as a passive effect? or could you use the gun orb as EITHER an active orb OR a passive orb?

Each orb has three effects: melee, spell, and passive. You can have the same orb in all three slots, or you can mix it up for all three slots. For example:

Melee: Royal
Passive: Blade
Spell: Iron

This would result in short range standard bap bap bap attacks when you tap the attack button like it was in the demo, but there will be blades around the orb from the blade orb's passive effect. Also, the charge spell, instead of the blue fireball projectile, would be the GIANT HAMMER attack instead with more damage but less range. Currently there's no limit to this, so you could have any combination of these orbs. Royal, Royal, Blade. Blade, Iron, Fire. Fire, Fire, Fire. Etc.

[MetalShadowOverlord]

- Name: ??? [Gun] Orb (I don't really have a naming scheme for the orbs yet, haha. So, right now Orb names are pretty open ended, as I just use code names right now (ie: Blue, Blade, Iron, Flame, Royal, etc).

Well, I did have one idea for a name. Since i thought the names were based on Latin words, I looked up what the word "cannon" was in that language, since a gun is just a hand-held cannon. As a result, the original names I came up with were "Tormento Orb" or "Resilio Orb". Either one would make sense especially how tormento sounds like torment, which gives it a sinister feel, and resilio means "recoil", which would make sense given the idea you proposed for the melee attack.

I wasn't really satisfied with the names. What do you think of them? If neither sound appealing, I'm fine with just "Gun Orb". XD

- Color: Crimson Red (The flame orb is orange red, you could go something deeper red. There's only so many colors in the rainbow, so we're going to have to some orbs that are similar in color)

Alrighty, how do these look?

Version 4:



Here, I used the same shade of red I used to color the raven's eyes.


Version 5:



I used "True Red" this time.

I'll get to working on the handle next time and see what I can come up with.

- Idle State: Just an orb (This is based on the current orb orbits, I feel like two orbiting guns would be distracting. I'm totally open to different orbit types (ie: Just sits at your sides as a gun, if it ends up feeling better).

Well, I pictured Lunais only having one gun and it floating behind her similar to how the staff does ( http://www.timespinnergame.com/images/s ... rchant.png ).

- Melee Attack: Lunais does a throw animation and the orb morphs, fires a shot, and recoil-spins a couple of times as it unmorphs. (I figure the bayonet at the end would cause the orb/gun to have a damage box with it, but the melee attack itself would have a very short range- probably half of the default orb? So if you're point blank, you'll get two hits: knife + bullet).

THAT sounds awesome! All of that sounds really cool!

- Spell Attack: Powerful piercing shot in a narrow but long range. Most projectiles die off-screen, but this could go the whole way? Also, you don't need to worry about the spell being too powerful, as I've changed the charge system recently. Now, charging is almost instant, but spells cost MP. So, any powerful spell will simply cost a lot of MP.

Or we could just go with Lizzie's joke suggestion, lol:


Broken image. :c

Yeah, if the gun did do a piercing shot, I figured the shot would die as soon as it goes off-screen. I suppose it'd be similar to how the Spur works in Cave Story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXXg6jrFQZs (Skip to 8:03) I kind of imagined the piercing shot being similar to the level 1 charge - a single, thin beam.

- Passive Effect: If you're looking for ideas, I suggest looking at passive from any Soma-based Castlevania game. So many passives souls! XD

Time to dust off the GBA and play some Aria of Sorrow.

[ThatLlamaGirl]

I like the red, I think it stands out without being too weird. But I feel like the red needs to be an accent color somewhere else on the gun just to make it a little more cohesive.

Personally I think a gun floating along behind Lunais would look silly, but maybe not.

Also, the joke suggestion re-uploaded to photo bucket just for you:

[MetalShadowOverlord]

I like the red, I think it stands out without being too weird. But I feel like the red needs to be an accent color somewhere else on the gun just to make it a little more cohesive.

Um...I just know I'm going to sound really stupid asking this, but what do you mean by "accent colors"?

Personally I think a gun floating along behind Lunais would look silly, but maybe not.

Well, I am open to the idea Bodie had about it just being a normal looking orb that morphs into a gun when used if the gun floating behind Lunais does look right.