The Pharoah's Curse
The Pharoah's Curse was created as my final project for a freshman core class. I designed, wrote, drew, and coded it all as a solo project in GB Studio and Adobe Photoshop.
You're an explorer, here in Egypt to find a enter a newly discovered tomb for your rich sponsor! However, what you find inside may be more than sand, treasures, and an ancient mummified king... you might find yourself..... under The Pharaoh's Curse!!
Starting to design
I started out by sketching a few basic designs for protagonists, and I was reminded of the curse of Tutankhamun and thought that it would be a great game idea. I threw around a few game plotlines before figuring out the game would revolve around finding 4 canopic jars. I then created a few possible game titles and title cards, and some possible backgrounds and settings for within the game to make digitally later.
The Player Character
While working, I had my older sister regularly take a look at my images to check that the shapes I was trying to pull off were effective. To the side is an example of some of the edits I made with her suggestions, regarding facial hair, limb shape/placement, and line definition.
The Villain
Again, for my Anubis character, I had my sister look at my designs and tell me what she thought of them. She thought of making a hybrid of the two, as it would read more like Anubis with the squared-off head, but would be easier to see with darker eyes. I was reminded while showing her that you need to look at them rather zoomed out because the player isn’t gonna see them in HD. I do feel a little constrained by the size limit, as I feel some shapes would be better understood in higher definition, but I just have to exaggerate some features to make sure they are taken correctly.
Background and Sprites
I asked my sister and friend to help me brainstorm some objects, animals, or decorations I could add to some of my scenes, as they felt really empty. My sister helped me come up with the idea of a large statue akin to those found outside Abu Simbel. It also fits really well into one of my puzzles for this room. Along with a few other pieces, like another style of table and chair, I managed to pack this room a little more. After implementing all this, I created a prototype full game and had a friend play it on itch. He helped point out many bugs, most due to oversights with variables, and also let me know about clue/puzzle placements and some triggers which he just thought bothersome or in the way while he played. I managed to change around a few gameplay issues, and added some easter eggs here and there by his request, along with some ideas regarding the ending sequence.
