The Art of Dying - 8-Bit Platformer w/ Level Editor

DoorKnobHandle · Wed 18/12/2013 22:55:17

The Art of Dying

The Art of Dying is a really challenging platformer I've made in AGS. It features two difficulty levels (really hard and unbelievably really f*cking hard), a six level campaign and a full-featured level editor. So you can make your own levels, then share them and find others to download and try to beat yourself on the official level sharing platform: http://dkh.agser.me/die. The whole project is also open-source, so go ahead and take a look at the source - it's not in great state but it should be useful to some I guess! Gamepads and other external controllers are fully supported, although the controls work nicely on keyboard as well.

Download (Version 1.1)
Download the Source (Version 1.1)
(build with AGS 3.2.1, requires the joystick plugin found in the game archive)

I produced four development diary videos, so if you want to get a first impression before downloading anything, take a look:

The Art of Dying - Dev Diary Entry #1: Movement
[embed=640,390]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_WmTg8Az9k[/embed]

The Art of Dying - Dev Diary Entry #2: Attacking
[embed=640,390]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4ixRjp5w4[/embed]

The Art of Dying - Dev Diary Entry #3: Enemies
[embed=640,390]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kD2iZJ7qs4[/embed]

The Art of Dying - Dev Diary Entry #4: Editor
[embed=640,390]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_5ryKGxWkM[/embed]

Please let me know what you think! Refer to the readme-file for the credits and some important notes. You can rate the game over on the AGS gamepage. Have fun, prepare to die a lot and make sure to let me know if you managed to beat the game.

CHANGE LOG:

Version 1.1

- fixed a crash caused by level filenames shorter than 4 characters (plus file extension)
- fixed an issue when hitting ESCAPE while the save level dialog in the editor was open
- improved the way decorations are placed in the editor, now you left-click to place, right-click to remove and use the left/right arrow keys on the keyboard to cycle through the available types of decoration

Tamanegi · Thu 19/12/2013 01:51:46

Wow... I watched the dev diary just the day before it was released and I didn't imagine it to be so hard. It's the Mega Man effect, just without level checkpoints. You run, you jump, you run again, and then you jump into a projectile that would not have hit you and you think to yourself, "Why the hell did I jump there?" And then you start all over again, because it CAN'T be that hard, can it?

Level 1 no problem, level 2 was hard, level 3 even harder, level 4 seems impossible already. On easy.

It reminds me of the jump'n'runs that I played on my C64, complete with retro chiptune music. I love it! The only thing I miss is the ability to duck or drop through floors while decelerating.

arj0n · Thu 19/12/2013 07:11:37

Gratz dkh!

AprilSkies · Thu 19/12/2013 08:24:12

WOW Amazing!

miguel · Thu 19/12/2013 15:23:52

I can't unzip the file, I get : "This is the first disk of a backup set. Please insert the last disk of this set"

Happened twice...

selmiak · Thu 19/12/2013 15:45:16

great success!

arj0n · Thu 19/12/2013 15:50:17

Quote from: miguel on Thu 19/12/2013 15:23:52
I can't unzip the file, I get : "This is the first disk of a backup set. Please insert the last disk of this set"

Happened twice...

Checked both files and it did work fine for me (unzipped using 7zip)...

Billbis · Thu 19/12/2013 18:19:39

It works also for me.
The game is very polished! Congratulation for the released, DKH!
I am not that sure that my numerous dying are of great artistic interest.

miguel · Thu 19/12/2013 19:01:19

I must have screwed up with my default unzip software...I know I did it before.

EliasFrost · Thu 19/12/2013 19:49:50

This is amazing, I wish the controls in the menu would also allow the d-pad on the controller, but it's a minor issue. Other than that it's a really great game, amazingly balanced difficulty. Gratz!

kconan · Fri 20/12/2013 08:33:57

Holy cow this is awesome. Great job!

nihilyst · Fri 20/12/2013 11:04:37

I keep dying on stage 2 ^^
Well made and polished. Great work!

DoorKnobHandle · Fri 20/12/2013 11:13:10

Thanks for the feedback everybody, glad you're all enjoying the game from the sounds of it! Let me know if you've beaten it on hard mode, because I've yet to hear from anyone who did!

Matti · Fri 20/12/2013 16:46:38

Great work, dkh, this is really enjoyable!

I haven't even beaten the 2nd level on easy yet, but I'm already working on my third own level

. The editor is really easy to use.

I just wish there were checkpoints/spawning points. They would make longer levels less frustrating imo.

Construed · Fri 20/12/2013 18:29:40

Spectacular! Especially love the level editor idea!
I hope to see some more AGS based editors from you someday!

kaput · Fri 20/12/2013 19:25:24

There goes my productivity... Currently on level four, many deaths and some shouting and swearing later. It's really quite an addictive game.

selmiak · Fri 20/12/2013 21:06:57

currently climbing back up in the last level and totally no idea how

also I tried my PS2 controller. The analog stick is recognised perfectly but not the D-Pad. But for precise control I prefer the D-Pad, any idea on how to do that? Or is it impossible with the plugin?

Khris · Fri 20/12/2013 22:19:38

This is so cool, and I'd love to play it with my 360 pad. Doesn't work though. Weirdly, when it is connected, the game doesn't react to me pressing the down arrow key in the menu or any other key. Only the up arrow key works.
My older generic gamepad works fine though.

Just found a minor bug: when you walk off a platform, you can jump mid-air, then double jump.

Grundislav · Sat 21/12/2013 04:58:58

FINALLY!!! After screaming for hours I finally beat the game on hard mode.

DoorKnobHandle · Sat 21/12/2013 12:16:43

Congratulations! You are the first person to beat the game and get back to me! :-)

@Khris: Hmm weird, so the analog stick down doesn't register? Or the d-pad down? Or are you trying to use the keyboard in the menu with the controller plugged in? It's weird because The Art of Dying has been tested by me and some of my betatesters with the X-Box 360 controller and nobody had that issue! Interesting that you deem walking off a platform and still being able to jump once, then one more time a bug. That's the way I thought/think it should work! :p

Khris · Sat 21/12/2013 19:48:50

Were they using a wired controller maybe? This isn't game-specific btw, I noticed some time ago that my 360 pad wouldn't work with the agsjoy plugin in general. I wasn't sure whether I did something wrong though and was wondering why nobody mentioned/found out that a wireless 360 pad won't work. I'm going to try it in XP now.
In addition, if the pad is connected the game doesn't react to any keyboard keys except the up arrow key. Every other keyboard key does nothing, and I have to Alt-X out. But this is an AGS/plugin problem I guess.

Regarding the bug, just in case we're talking past each other, I'm talking about being able to jump while falling down after having walked off a platform. I'm not aware that this is standard for jump'n'run games...?

Otherwise, again, amazing job! I'm stuck in the last level and got to 500 deaths before I gave up

DoorKnobHandle · Sat 21/12/2013 20:08:01

Interesting, I indeed tested it with a wired controller! I guess I'll bother Wyz, the author of the plugin, about it. Let me know if using XP makes a difference.

About the bug, I definitely did this on purpose, thinking it feels natural. If I understand you right, you would prefer it if you walk off a platform, start falling naturally, then only be able to jump once? I initially had it like that and didn't like how limited and restricting it felt, especially when you meant to jump off a platform and walked off instead by 1px, then suddenly 'couldn't' double jump - that actually felt more like a bug to me! Hope that makes sense.

Thanks and good attempt at the last level haha!

Khris · Sat 21/12/2013 21:17:33

The pad did work in XP, although this time I got a DirectInput error claiming there was no mouse connected to my computer...

I could play fine though.

About the "bug": I see, actually I would have expected that you can't jump at all while falling until you're back on the ground again. Being able to do so does add to the game, but I don't think this was mentioned anywhere, and I was surprised when I accidentally discovered it because no other similar game allows for it, afaik.

DoorKnobHandle · Sat 21/12/2013 21:41:07

I just uploaded version 1.1, both for the game itself and the source. The changes don't matter if all you do is play the levels that come with it but are related to the in-game level editor.

CHANGE LOG:

Version 1.1

- fixed a crash caused by level filenames shorter than 4 characters (plus file extension)
- fixed an issue when hitting ESCAPE while the save level dialog in the editor was open
- improved the way decorations are placed in the editor, now you left-click to place, right-click to remove and use the left/right arrow keys on the keyboard to cycle through the available types of decoration

arj0n · Sat 21/12/2013 21:49:34

YES!
Thanx for fixing the deco cycle!

DoorKnobHandle · Sun 22/12/2013 00:26:49

My pleasure!

The Art of Dying was mentioned on PC Gamer: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/12/21/the-best-free-games-of-the-week-6/ (Thanks to the wonderful IndieStatik, who also covered my game: http://indiestatik.com/2013/12/18/art-dying/). IndieGames also covered TAoD: http://indiegames.com/2013/12/the_art_of_dying.html

There's also a nice Let's Play out there already:

[embed=640,390]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky01xU8NbJ0[/embed]

Andail · Sun 22/12/2013 16:21:05

I give you the first TAOD Mod

Oh and in my mod, Leia is a Jedi knight because she wields a light saber.

Only re-drew the player character. If people want to add more Star wars stuff that would be cool I guess.
http://www.esseb.com/andail/DAODleiaMod.rar

selmiak · Sun 22/12/2013 16:25:56

interesting, but download is crippeling around with 12 kb/s

DoorKnobHandle · Sun 22/12/2013 17:36:02

Excellent work Andail, very nice animations I have to say! You people NEED to check his mod out!

Nice touch with the lightsaber sound effects as well!

bicilotti · Sat 28/12/2013 22:51:59

I am really itching to play this now that I have AGS installed on my linux machine. But alas, I cannot (because of that pesky .dll). Do I have to wait until my next trip to an internet cafe or is there a way to work around this?

Crimson Wizard · Sat 28/12/2013 23:22:55

Quote from: bicilotti on Sat 28/12/2013 22:51:59
I am really itching to play this now that I have AGS installed on my linux machine. But alas, I cannot (because of that pesky .dll). Do I have to wait until my next trip to an internet cafe or is there a way to work around this?

Linux port should have built-in stubs for joystick plugin: they do nothing useful and tell that there are no joysticks installed.
Does not it work if you just run the game on Linux?

bicilotti · Sat 28/12/2013 23:29:06

AGS: Load game data
AGS: Built library path: ./libagsjoy.so
AGS: dlopen returned: ./libagsjoy.so: cannot open shared object file: No such fi
le or directory
AGS: Built library path: /home/f-a/media/games/ags/Engine/libagsjoy.so
AGS: dlopen returned: /home/f-a/media/games/ags/Engine/libagsjoy.so: cannot open
shared object file: No such file or directory
AGS: Plugin loading failed, trying built-in plugins...
AGS: No built-in plugin found. Plugin loading failed!
AGS: Placeholder functions for the plugin found.
Script link failed: Runtime error: unresolved import 'Joystick::GetAxis^1'

I call the game as ./ags -windowed -gfxfilter StdScale2 /home/someuser/games/aod/

find . -name *joy* does not find any .o

Crimson Wizard · Sat 28/12/2013 23:32:15

Hmm, it looks like not all plugin's functions were stubbed.
This should be fixed.

Quote from: bicilotti on Sat 28/12/2013 23:29:06
find . -name *joy* does not find any .o

There should not be any, those stubs are inside the engine itself.

Wyz · Sun 29/12/2013 02:02:09

Or better, the original author should port that plugin to linux. Oh wait, right.

The problems with the 360 controller not working also happened to a friend of mine but I was unable to find the exact source. It might be because I use the old skool joystick interface that comes with windows and maybe Microsoft does not play nice with its own standards. Maybe using Direct Input is a better idea (though it is not supported by (very) old versions of windows).
All in all it would be a huge rewrite so that will have to wait unfortunately.

I don't want to hijack this thread any further so let's continue in the module's thread.

Mehrdad · Thu 02/01/2014 17:31:46

Great work DKH
High fps is amazing.Is it possible add somethings to optimize engine for Cinematic Platformer genre like grab ledge,hanging...?

DoorKnobHandle · Thu 02/01/2014 23:49:55

Do you mean the AGS engine or my game code?

Mehrdad · Fri 03/01/2014 05:44:50

Quote from: DoorKnobHandle on Thu 02/01/2014 23:49:55
Do you mean the AGS engine or my game code?

Your game code.
Similar to some AGS platformer games like : 1213 series and Concurrence
I think it will be a big revolution for make serious platform game with your codes.

DoorKnobHandle · Fri 03/01/2014 11:34:43

Thanks! It shouldn't be too hard to implement ledge grabbing into my game. You could add a new invisible ledge marker to the editor that people could place over ever ledge that the player can hang from, then the game itself would read these, check if the player is in the air and close to one of them, if that is the case, snap the player onto the ledge and display a hanging animation.

Mehrdad · Fri 03/01/2014 14:49:07

Ok.I'll try it into your codes.Although I'm not sure for fine collision with detectors by AGS.Thanks anyway

Dualnames · Fri 03/01/2014 17:43:51

This is top notch stuff!!!!!!!!!

DoorKnobHandle · Fri 03/01/2014 20:24:04

Thanks! Is anybody working on a level by chance?

selmiak · Fri 03/01/2014 22:32:18

I started working on one but then got distracted by all kinds of things *cough*Heroines Quest*cough*

Peder 🚀 · Fri 03/01/2014 23:14:33

I'm working on some, but since I'm in Norway I don't have the levels available over here

. Will continue working on them once I go back

.

DoorKnobHandle · Sat 04/01/2014 17:10:48

Hah oh well. Please do get back to your levels when you can then, I really, really would hate to have put ALL that work into the level editor and then have people not use it at all, would be a big shame! :p

Matti · Sat 04/01/2014 18:03:14

No worries. I already made 3 levels and am working on another one

I tried to link them together but that doesn't seem to work. After finishing the first one the character is back at the starting point and falls through all floors and the level doesn't seem to be reset.

Also, is there a way to undo a link to the next level?

DoorKnobHandle · Sat 04/01/2014 18:08:26

To undo a link, just hit X in the editor and leave the field empty!

When the game bugs out like that, it means the link failed (I should've put in a proper error message haha). The issue is most likely that you're not adding the file extension ".lvl" at the end of your string that you input after hitting X in the editor!

arj0n · Sun 05/01/2014 19:53:42

Working on a mod plus plus a level pack (16 new levels).
All graphics/animations are 90% done now & 14 of the 16 new levels are done

WIP screen (*):

(*)this is not an actual level, just a quick 1screen to show some new graphic material...

DoorKnobHandle · Sun 05/01/2014 23:37:25

Looks absolutely amazing, arjon, can't wait to play it myself!

Peder 🚀 · Mon 06/01/2014 02:53:45

OMG arj0n! That looks amazing

. I can't wait to play neither!

.

bicilotti · Mon 06/01/2014 02:56:46

Quote from: Arj0n on Sun 05/01/2014 19:53:42
WIP screen (*):

This is awesome (and tempting me to reach a Win machine to play it

)

arj0n · Mon 06/01/2014 08:24:26

Thanx Peder.

Quote from: bicilotti on Mon 06/01/2014 02:56:46
This is awesome (and tempting me to reach a Win machine to play it )

Have you finished playing DKH's original levels already?
I hope to release the levelpack & mod within a week or two

bicilotti · Mon 06/01/2014 15:12:49

Quote from: Arj0n on Mon 06/01/2014 08:24:26
Have you finished playing DKH's original levels already?
I hope to release the levelpack & mod within a week or two

Linux port doesn't like the joystick plugin (as Crimson wrote in the thread, missing stubs in the engine apparently). I should really work it out myself but I am not acquainted to the codebase. Soooo I might cheat on free software for this one

arj0n · Tue 07/01/2014 20:35:04

Quote from: bicilotti on Mon 06/01/2014 15:12:49
This is tempting me to reach a Win machine to play it )

Tempting? Mamma Mia!! Mr. Bici, do you remember your own post-germittens words: 'whom I share the passion for retro stuff with'?
You HAVE TO have play this game. Plus my mod once it ready.

---

Anyways, here's a little clip of the mod I'm working on:

The Art of Dying [MOD]: The Minion and the Pipe
[embed=640,390]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzE4X-uCmSA[/embed]

DoorKnobHandle · Tue 07/01/2014 20:37:42

That looks so freaking cool, Arjon, I'm really really happy you're making this! Can NOT wait to play your mod!

arj0n · Tue 07/01/2014 20:44:16

Well, thank you DKH, for making such game !WITH! a level editor.
Have had so much fun with it already

Hope to release this mod plus level pack within this month...

Matti · Sat 11/01/2014 21:29:16

Quote from: DoorKnobHandle on Sat 04/01/2014 18:08:26
When the game bugs out like that, it means the link failed (I should've put in a proper error message haha). The issue is most likely that you're not adding the file extension ".lvl" at the end of your string that you input after hitting X in the editor!

Thanks, that has been the problem.

I uploaded a little pack with 4 levels. It's nothing special, I made most of it without having played much before (which I regret now). I think it's rather easy, but see for yourself.

Get it here.

DoorKnobHandle · Sun 12/01/2014 12:44:50

They're awesome Matti! I haven't beaten them all yet (only the first two in fact), and they're quite challenging I would say. Also, they're pretty damn big! Nice work and thank you so much, you're the first person to release custom levels! Yay!

The Art of Dying is now also on GameJolt where it got an unbelievable 4.7 out of 5 rating so far! Also, here on the AGS Games Database, while we're still unrated by the panel, we now have the 5 necessary votes for a community rating and it's a very nice 4 cups out of 5. Especially awesome are the almost 90% visual quality and overall enjoyment, a big step up from the 70%-ish rating I got with KTX-1 in both those categories. Thanks for playing, voting and commenting everybody!

Snake · Mon 13/01/2014 23:55:27

JAN! I LOVE this game

I've spent the last few days playing it. I've been hollering, swearing and having a blast during it all. I love the music and the graphics and it controls very well! It feels and sounds much like an actual NES game, which gets it bonus points right away anyway. NES rocks the shit out of anything else, IMHO.

I am playing it with my NES USB controller and on the TV! AWESOME.

I can tell you, if it wasn't for gamepad support, I wouldn't be playing this game. Games like this NEED to be played like this. I say that because I know it would be too hard played with the keyboard... you need to have precise movements and reflexes, which, I feel, only a gamepad can allow you to do. This is one of the main reasons, I think, that my game (which will remain nameless) failed

I haven't played with the level editor yet, but I will eventually.

I really wish I could configure the NES controller to utilize the START and SELECT buttons, though. This isn't a big deal, but it IS a small pain when you're lazy to have to get up off the couch to press the ESC button to get back to the main screen or exit a menu.

This is a really great game over all. I can't find any more things to write about it, so I'll ramble on about it at the next band meeting

I'm glad you got it up on GameJolt! You've already got tons of people playing it. I've followed it so I can recieve any updates

DoorKnobHandle · Tue 14/01/2014 11:21:31

Thank you so much, Snake, I'm glad you're enjoying my game. Also, super awesome how your NES controller works with it. Thanks for following on GameJolt, I did indeed interest a couple people over there as well, which was nice. About the START and SELECT buttons, you could download the source of the game and hack that feature in yourself hehe. :p

Khris · Tue 14/01/2014 23:25:01

Or use JoyToKey

Snake · Wed 15/01/2014 17:21:52

Quote from: Khris on Tue 14/01/2014 23:25:01
Or use JoyToKey

You'd think, Khris, that you created JoyToKey the way you whore it out all the time

JoyToKey IS pretty "neat-o".

Khris · Wed 15/01/2014 18:07:35

I wish

It IS really neat though, and The Binding of Isaac even plainly says to use it if you want to play with a gamepad

selmiak · Wed 15/01/2014 23:48:42

added the mayhem levelpack

have fun

edit: only 3 levels, but hey, try to beat 'em!

DoorKnobHandle · Thu 16/01/2014 15:28:59

Oh! Awesome, nice work, selmiak! I'm enjoying your levels - quite difficult too haha! Nice work, I'm glad that we have two additional level packs including a total of seven community-made levels for The Art of Dying available on http://dkh.agser.me/die

Stupot · Thu 16/01/2014 19:41:25

I've added a level, called Get Me Out Of Here. I've no idea how easy or difficult others will find it, but it's definitely doable. :-)

selmiak · Thu 16/01/2014 20:26:33

@Stupot: Beaten it, though I had problems getting out of the hole in front of the green door. But a fun level once you got the timing with the green key.
@Matti: Great levels, the last one was the hardest and thus the best! Especially the stupid bot around the blue switch did get on my nerves big time

Stupot · Thu 16/01/2014 21:07:31

Blimey, that was quick. You're good. There's a knack to jumping out of those holes, as I'm sure you discovered

I've been trying your one. I'm still struggling to get up those pillars on the first level.

DoorKnobHandle · Fri 17/01/2014 05:35:51

Ha, nice work Stupot. Enjoyed playing your level although I haven't quite beaten it yet!

abstauber · Tue 25/02/2014 19:17:08

I'm still fighting with the original levels

But way more important: thanks a million for releasing the source. This is quite educating and a pleasure to read!

Awesome work and thanks for teaching me/us to code a bit better in the future

DoorKnobHandle · Wed 26/02/2014 15:21:44

Thanks abstauber! I'm glad the source is proving useful for some!

selmiak · Tue 08/04/2014 22:07:06

DO PLAY A MAZE - ZING!
a new levelpack filled with 3 hardcore thrilling action levels that take you to the edge!
Or are just fun to play!

DoorKnobHandle · Wed 09/04/2014 15:31:38

Awesome work, selmiak. Quite a challenge I'd say, but not as extreme as some of the other user-made levels! I almost got the first level on my first try but died right in front of the open door haha. Good ideas too! Thanks!

selmiak · Wed 09/04/2014 22:33:00

glad you like it dkh. After noone said that he had beaten my other levels I tamed it down a bit, it's easy to go crazy with this leveleditor and overdo it with enemies but still make a doable possible level. I have some ideas for really totally mean levels, maybe I'll make another levelpack sometime in the future. Thanks for the game and especially the editor

Any hints on how to climb up in the last original level? I have absolutely no clue

I didn't have a look at the sourcecode yet, but anyways, I have a theoretical idea: Would it be possible to encode some additional tiles as bitmaps and attach them to a level file? So that the player wouldn't have to download a recompiled full game everytime someone pixels up an additional tile or 2. Of course the player would have to download the new gamefile that can read these bitmaps but then no more new versions for additional tiles. New enemies would also be nice but harder to translate between data and game. Sounds easy in theory, does't it?

DoorKnobHandle · Fri 11/04/2014 20:43:02

About climbing up in the last level: it's hard but can be done. You definitely need the shield though, as it's ALMOST impossible without (only did it once myself). With shield you are bound to lose that early but using the invincibility time it gives you afterwards can secure you the rest of the way up. Additional tiles could be loaded from outside the game for sure! Enemies would be much harder because you'd need some sort of file/script format to define their behavior.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Fri 18/04/2014 09:10:09

I can't believe I missed this. This looks awesome. Great job, DKH

Crimson Wizard · Fri 11/08/2017 15:33:04

Could someone help me with the game download? Links are dead (both game's and source code).

Scorpiorus · Fri 11/08/2017 17:03:59

I've seen it on Game Jolt with the source code included:
http://gamejolt.com/games/the-art-of-dying/21047

Tycho Magnetic Anomaly · Fri 11/08/2017 19:16:28

Hi .. i only spotted this game now, and i am so overwhelmingly impressed with what you have done. I was convinced AGS could not do a slick platformer and you have proved me so wrong. In particular its the smooth, slick movements, seamless transitions between sequences.

What projects are you working on at the moment? Are you the same guy from the dev streams? .. Would you consider looking at a plat former idea I have, in particular how viable it would be to do in AGS, and lastly would you be interested in getting involved in anyway at some point in the not so distant future? Your attention to detail on the movement has really blown me away.

bx83 · Mon 26/02/2018 21:56:59

Hey - just wondering if anyone is still alive up there? Downloads are dead, get a 404 - any mirrors?
I'm really looking forward to that source code

EDIT
You can get it and the game from:
https://gamejolt.com/games/the-art-of-dying/21047

Olleh19 · Thu 28/03/2019 22:15:49

Does the game work with the latest AGS? Looks really cool!