The Chaos Layer (Alpha)

<Spanyu> MarkeyJester just curious why you didn't post your thing on ssrg
<MarkeyJester> I didn't even think to bother
<MarkeyJester> Do you want me to?
<Spanyu> would be worth doing it since it does mention some important stuff
<DAGarden> I guess the explanation might be helpful, if anything.

 

Well, the game is definitely awesome for what it is. The art style is very distinct, even cute in a way, and the music is quite catchy. The voice samples used by the character are a nice touch as well, and the game itself is smooth and fast yet easy to get used to control-wise. Kinda makes me upset in a disappointed way that it won't be continued, at least by you. Still, it's an awesome work of art of a homebrew game given what little there is.

That aside, I'm actually quite interested in where you may take your knowledge next, Markey. I mean, it's pretty clear you've made the Genesis/Mega Drive your slave, if this plus all of your past creations are anything to go by (including all 4 Ring Ride hacks, The Naked Hedgehog, and probably several others I forgot). You've got the smarts to work almost anywhere in the video game development industry, the way I see it. It's just a matter of what you wanna do for a living. I won't force you to take any specific path. It's your life, do what you want with it, and don't let others get you discouraged from doing the things you like best, no matter what those things are. =)

 

Markey, I knew you were good. Heck, we all know that. But I had no clue you were THIS good. Words can not describe what you've put on the table. The smoothness, the music, the character, the abilities, the art, and all made entirely from scratch! The only disappointing thing about this whole project is that your giving up on it. I understand that we all move on, and I hope you go on and enjoy yourself doing what you want, but I think everyone would want you to come back to this at some point in the future.

P.S. Where can I get the soundtrack? I wuv it :3

 

I already seen this on retro so since it's on here now, I can say that for what it's worth for it being such a short experience in playing this, it's feels like a brand new game that I could play as if i just got it from the store or something but thats to be expected coming from you of course. Still it's a bit sadening that you won't be doing the whole megadrive stuff anymore but hey I can't force ya. it's your choice and I gotta respect that. and besides, Im pretty sure there are other things that you probably wanted to do that you have'nt or really have'nt had the chance to do. in any case, for a last potential homebrew/hack it's sure is a damn good one. Also a bit of some offtopic questions but considering that you wont be doing this stuff as much anymore, two question came to mind which are:

• would you still help others out when it comes to something hacking related?
• A bit of an out of the blue question but considering that I seen that you were part of team megamix on retro's wiki, will you still be working with the team or no?

 

I like it... NO! I LOVE IT!

It isn't complete, but I enjoyed this cool game. Nice soundtrack, nice art, everything is nice here. Brilliant job, Markey.

 

I love this game. All musics of this game are very awesome. There is music that made ​​me cry!

Bravo ! 

But, just a question, Dean Coward is your real name ?

 

Yes, that is my real name.

And yes, I'll still be around doing various minor stuff and helping...

Also, I've come to understand that a lot of people seem to really enjoy the music, so I'd like to point out the tracks without names in the brackets were made by myself, while the ones with names, were made by those individuals. And in all honesty and for what's there, I think they all did a wonderful job, and I think they should receive more credit then they're generally given. If you check on YouTube, sound cloud, and other various places, you can find their other works which are (as far as I'm concerned) far better than what's on the ROM.

Go check them out!

 

So I finally got around to playing this, and I have to say I was very impressed. The art, the music and the general presentation were all so professional that if that had been a finished game and I didn't know better, I'd have thought that a professional development team had worked on it. That said, it's a shame you won't be continuing with it, but reading your opening post made me think about a few things. You claim the reason for your lack of motivation is a lack of challenge, which is perfectly understandable given your knowledge, but it made me wonder, have you considered trying to move this same game to another platform which may not only provide a challenge but could also give you more reward for your time?

In the days where we have Steam and the PS4 pushing indie games as much as big releases, and considering you picked up a knowledge of programming in C through your hacking experience, have you thought of maybe programming the game for these platforms? I ask, because having seen Freedom Planet become available on Steam, and the recognition and praise the game has got, I can't help but feel that you could achieve that same level recognition and, with the right feedback and praise, you might even be able to get yourself a reputation that could help you make a move into the games development business on a full time basis, should you wish to pursue that in the future.

Just a few thoughts anyway, for a while I've thought you were a bit wasted on the Sonic community as such because I could see you were progressing way beyond that. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the best for your future endeavours.

(P.s. If you really want a challenge, try programming for the Saturn. No developer liked programming for that and I think it's still one of the worst consoles to develop for =P)

 

Since people are asking about music, here's a couple tracks I can confidently link;

Dreams (Title Screen) [Myself]



Sublunar Conflict [Tweaker]



As the other music.. I don't really have much of a lead to go on, but here's Gallium Grant's YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5uzpyQ9U_2aCNpX-zpW7KQ

 

Markey, this is fantastic.

If you ever DO feel like continuing this, I'm sure we'd all support you. You see, making games isn't about whether you can do something or not. If that's true, many great games wouldn't exist, because the developers wouldn't make it if they knew they could. Making games is about spreading what you can do. Just because people know you can do something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. This alpha is a display of true beauty, and hopefully someone picks it up to showcase what they can do. I'm glad we were able to see this, even if it doesn't make it past the early stages.