Completed The Uxie Caves

I made this short game for the Pokecommunity game jam last October and thought I'd share it around here.
It was made in less the month so it's far from perfect though I've made a few small updates, fixing a few bugs and making gameplay a little less frustrating.

So, the plot! It's a very simple premise where you play as an amnesiac trainer who recently lost their memory in an accident involving some psychic Pokémon. Therefore you have to enter some large caves to seek out Uxie, the legendary Pokémon of knowledge and memory. Your town is located nearby the caves but the caves themselves are large and hard to navigate.
Can you make it through the caves and get back your memory?
Features:
-A cave full of light-the-torch puzzles
-No antagonists,, just obstacles to overcome and some angry spirits
-Game takes place in a single large area rather than the typical journey.

Spoiler: Screenshots

Spoiler: Credits

-Pokemon Essentials created by, Maruno, Poccil and Flameguru and the other developers.
-Music files from Ruby & Sapphire from Joo *Johnnyz* Buaes
-Dark circle script made by mej71
-Hoenn Graphics from Curt's region starter kit by Curt200718
-Emerald trainer sprites ripped by Random Talking Bush
-Emerald Overworlds by Furs the Fox
-Lake guardians overworld sprites, from the Pokeanalyze & celebi23

Latest Download Link: here.


The game is a few hours long and it is currently complete though there may still be some bugs and things that I missed. I did this project by myself and I'm uncertain about a fair few things. I worry that the difficulty is too tough and that gameplay isn't varied enough and that progression might not feel rewarding enough, yet I'm also uncertain as to how to go about improving it. That aside, the one part am I confident in is the puzzles, I definitely prioritised them over a really strong plot (you might notice I introduce a lot of characters at the beginning of the game but they have a very limited impact afterwards) and they work, even if ultimately they are still quite simple. While the game is nominally complete, I'm not entirely satisfied with it so I might as some point update it with new content if I can ever figure out what I want to change.

Edit: Updated the game a bit with some updated overworlds, which are now all RSE style. Protagonists are now Brendan/May instead .

 

[Radical Raptr]

I really like this idea! The premise is focused, and the gameplays looks like a lot of fun, it's a series of puzzles to get past to the objective!

The mapping overall looks incredible, but a few areas look a little claustrophobic and you don't have different tiles for the mountains you can and can't walk on.

Another thing, I know its in stock essentials, but you really shouldn't be mixing RSE overworlds with FRLG overworlds.

But yeah, that aside this is a really good looking game, I would definitely want to try it when I get the chance! I really like that you incorporated the amnesia trope but introduced having Uxie be how you get your memories back, that was super clever!

 

[kirlial]

I really like this idea! The premise is focused, and the gameplays looks like a lot of fun, it's a series of puzzles to get past to the objective!

The mapping overall looks incredible, but a few areas look a little claustrophobic and you don't have different tiles for the mountains you can and can't walk on.

Another thing, I know its in stock essentials, but you really shouldn't be mixing RSE overworlds with FRLG overworlds.

But yeah, that aside this is a really good looking game, I would definitely want to try it when I get the chance! I really like that you incorporated the amnesia trope but introduced having Uxie be how you get your memories back, that was super clever!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad it sounds interesting! The lake sprites were some of the more forgettable legendaries so this game is at least partly an attempt to make Uxie have a little more of a story.

I'll definitely try and change most of the overworlds to the RSE style if that will make it look more consistent and I'll take another look at the mountain tiles as well.

 

[Djaco75]

Looks really good so far, Kirlial! I love the concept especially - it's something original, which I really like. A couple of things I believe that you could improve (if you really wanted to) were:

• I'm nitpicking here, but Trainer should have a capital T, as seen in the canon Pokemon games. Many people overlook this, but it' something I look for when playing.
• The tiles used to create that platform thing in the first screenshot look a little abnormal, more specifically the walkable tiles. It's another small issue, but it can really stick out to the player.

With that being said, the game looks really cool so far. I can't wait to play it!

 

[aiyinsi]

I started playing the game. I'll first list the negative and than the positive points.

The best way to discribe how I feel about your game: it is overwhelming

About the balancing issue you mentiond in you text: I feel like the start is a little to hard. I think with the high difficulty of the oponents more healing points are needed. I was fighting one-2 trainers in the beginning and ran back to the pc. I think once you managed to get into Uxie Cave it's ok.

Another way to solve this would be to not start out with the Uxie Cave but with a short lower level area. That way your Pokemon would be leveled a bit before going into the cave.

Too be fair the NPC says that I could go to Uxie Cave or first train a little and I actually were forced to train because the first trainer on the path to Uxie Cave wrecked me xD
But even in what I think the training area is the wild Pokemon start out higher level than your own starter. And it was more of an own adventure without goals than a little training area.

Actually I generally don't like is how big the area's are. I managed to get lost in the training area. It doesn't necessarily that the maps need to be smaller, but that they should mabe be more divided. So that there is a path rather than an area.

Which leads me to my next point: Please make escape ropes availlable ... even though there is a checkpoint in Uxie cave I find it annoying to go all the way back there.

I'm still in Uxie Cave and I think you've overdone it with candle puzzles. The first 2-3 rooms were quite cool ... but right now I'm at the room where you got to estinguish all the candles and really don't like searching candles any more.

One more thing about the torches: It would be nice if you'd make the upper tile passable so that one can go behind it.

little bugs:
-There is an old guy if you walk to the right of the village with whom I can't interact.
-Pokemon from 4th+ gen I think aren't centered in battle if your fighting against them.
-mabe insert a wait while the recovery melody plays in the pc.


But enough of slaughtering your game ... I actually like a lot of it.

Thank you for making my favorite Pokemon(Mareep) a starter. I love this Pokemon so much!

I think the story is mysterious and does really make one curious what happend in the past. It's different from most other Pokemon games in that I really am interested in the plot.

I love the idea and the realization of the memories.

Also how that woman in the cave(I'm really bad with names) when you need surf talks makes a step and then continues talking really makes the scene so much better.

There are so many textes of NPCs that refer to the story and aren't just some random ramble. Also that you have 3 options to interact with most people.


I probably forgot a lot and I haven't seen all either. But I wanted to give you some feedback from my first impresion. From what I can tell this is definitely a game you can be proud of having made.

leilou

 

[kirlial]

I started playing the game. I'll first list the negative and than the positive points.

The best way to discribe how I feel about your game: it is overwhelming

About the balancing issue you mentiond in you text: I feel like the start is a little to hard. I think with the high difficulty of the oponents more healing points are needed. I was fighting one-2 trainers in the beginning and ran back to the pc. I think once you managed to get into Uxie Cave it's ok.

Another way to solve this would be to not start out with the Uxie Cave but with a short lower level area. That way your Pokemon would be leveled a bit before going into the cave.

Too be fair the NPC says that I could go to Uxie Cave or first train a little and I actually were forced to train because the first trainer on the path to Uxie Cave wrecked me xD
But even in what I think the training area is the wild Pokemon start out higher level than your own starter. And it was more of an own adventure without goals than a little training area.

Actually I generally don't like is how big the area's are. I managed to get lost in the training area. It doesn't necessarily that the maps need to be smaller, but that they should mabe be more divided. So that there is a path rather than an area.

Which leads me to my next point: Please make escape ropes availlable ... even though there is a checkpoint in Uxie cave I find it annoying to go all the way back there.

I'm still in Uxie Cave and I think you've overdone it with candle puzzles. The first 2-3 rooms were quite cool ... but right now I'm at the room where you got to estinguish all the candles and really don't like searching candles any more.

One more thing about the torches: It would be nice if you'd make the upper tile passable so that one can go behind it.

little bugs:
-There is an old guy if you walk to the right of the village with whom I can't interact.
-Pokemon from 4th+ gen I think aren't centered in battle if your fighting against them.
-mabe insert a wait while the recovery melody plays in the pc.


But enough of slaughtering your game ... I actually like a lot of it.

Thank you for making my favorite Pokemon(Mareep) a starter. I love this Pokemon so much!

I think the story is mysterious and does really make one curious what happend in the past. It's different from most other Pokemon games in that I really am interested in the plot.

I love the idea and the realization of the memories.

Also how that woman in the cave(I'm really bad with names) when you need surf talks makes a step and then continues talking really makes the scene so much better.

There are so many textes of NPCs that refer to the story and aren't just some random ramble. Also that you have 3 options to interact with most people.


I probably forgot a lot and I haven't seen all either. But I wanted to give you some feedback from my first impresion. From what I can tell this is definitely a game you can be proud of having made.

leilou

Thanks for the feedback and for trying out the game! It's definitely intended that you train your team up before going straight to the caves, that's to encourage you to catch some more so you don't go straight into them with only one or two Pokemon as the variety available in there is somewhat limited. Even so, I'll try to add more healing spots if I can.

I'll to add a little more structure to the forest to make it more rewarding to properly explore and perhaps make it a bit more linear. (I hadn't realised it would be very confusing to navigate.)

In regards to escape ropes, I'd like to include them, I was actually having a little trouble getting them to work given the cave stretches across multiple maps, but I haven't really tried getting them to work much, so I'll see if I can add them.

I'll reassure you that you're almost done with the puzzles, and the game itself, though you'll soon meet the tougher battles that I was most worried were too difficult. I guess the sheer number of puzzles without any real pauses save for the short task of acquiring surf is perhaps too much, though I did try to keep them all a little varied, (hence the room you have to darken rather than illuminate).

Thanks for all the feedback, it really appreciated! I'm glad you like the NPCs with their great amounts of dialogue. I've always liked mareep as well.

 

[aiyinsi]

I'm through the game. At least I think so ... got my memories back at least :D But I was really disappointed in it ending so suddenly ... in fangames I somehow tend to start getting my team together like 1 or 2 maps before the final boss. And I really hoped that the adventure would continue after the cave. Like the policeman on the right going away and maby another incident happend and you need to prevent that from ever happening again ... I really want to go on playing ...

I really liked the room before Uxie though ... it was a really cool effect.

The fights you thought would be too hart were ok because I had the money to buy all these super potions

well that said ... I found a few bugs ... or mabe I just didn't get it :
-in the moss cave you need strengh ... but when I try to use it the game tells me to obtain a badge first ... but I didn't find a gym(I even went back to the house that wants to become a gym ...)
-I was able to select a fainted Pokémon when trying to use a potion. It didn't do anything ... but my battle turn was over and I lost the battle :'(

some tileset stuff:
-on the whitty bluffs you use the same mountain tiles as for the podium in featherstone ... they are passable and allow the player to walk up the mountain
-in the house tileset the priority of the plant(the 2 tile high little tree) is not set ... so you are able to walk over it

all in all I really like your game ... the only thing is ... it was too short :(

 

[kirlial]

I'm through the game...

Yeah, that's the end. It's underwhelming I know. Mesprit will appear in the forest if you light all the torches in there after meeting Uxie. (More torches to light, because there clearly isn't enough already...) I added that as a little extra. I was thinking of extending the game by adding another section where you can find azelf past the policeman as well to complete the set. Still, it's a short game, congrats on completing it!

Yeah, all those things you mentioned sound like bugs, I'll make sure to remove them all. Thanks for pointing them out!

​

 

[Violet]

This game is pretty awesome not gonna lie