Characters/Story
Neb - Protagonist
Emily - Damsel
Snails - Antagonist
Clouds - Antagonist
Character wise, Neb and Emily would work similarly to the Mario concept.
Games like Super Mario and Sonic CD both use the damsel in distress as drive for the protagonist to carry out their mission. More so in Super Mario where the main goal of the game is to save Princess Peach
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Mario wasn't the first to use this concept however.
The damsel in distress has been an age old concept since story telling.
Early human history sees Greek mythology were perhaps the earliest to use this concept.
It seems quite common, and I suppose is driven by mans desire to mate and show his bravery and strength to do so. It is always a romantic tail, you'd like to believe the man saves the girl and then they live happily ever after, etc, but in some ways it really is quite primitive. Even the definition of damsel in distress suggests this; ''A damsel refers to a young woman, and a damsel in distress is almost always a woman who is physically attractive'' (Website, http://dsegal900.hubpages.com/hub/Mythology-and-Archetypes-A-Damsel-in-Distress)
The concept resonates with both male and female of all ages, which I suspect is why it remains so popular today. Games are after all just another method of story telling, so it makes sense that this concept is used so frequently, more because you can virtually act upon it.
Sonic CD is another game which uses this concept.
Though there is no previous love interest between Sonic and Amy, Sonic is driven to save her out of obligation rather than procreation. These are only even short scenes, but they add that element of story telling which fuels the player with determination every few levels or so.
For example, in Mario you search a castle only to discover you're in the wrong one and have to back track to find the one containing Peach. Finding Peach is the main focus on Mario games as, besides being the princess, she is an active love interest to the protagonist.
In Sonic CD, however, Amy is rescued half way through, so this is more of a side element to promote the idea of a love interest, but it is not actually necessary for the story arc.
Game Play
In the Neb game, the damsel will be a necessary element as you have two antagonists, each with different objectives. The Snails abduct the damsel and the clouds are trying to destroy the planets atmosphere.
There are a few examples of games that work like this, one being Shadow the Hedgehog.
Shadow the Hedgehog works with a multiple ending chart, where you can either choose to follow dark, hero, or neutral mission paths within levels. For example, Sonic tells you to fight the aliens; this takes you to the hero side. Black Doom tells you to kill the human characters; this leads you to the dark side.
The Neb game would work on a similar concept, but rather than being straight up dark vs hero, it's save the planet or save the girl. I feel this would give the player more of a moral dilemma as Emily is a pure hearted character who you would naturally want to save, but then you can't let the planet be destroyed. Perhaps there would be a neutral path where you can save both, but I'm not sure how I would implement this alternative yet.
The 3D game I'm designing will definitely have this element, but as previously discussed, will be based on everyday situational dilemmas rather than extremities..
Sound
The sound for the Neb game would be composed with a 32bit sound as the graphics resemble sprites created for consoles in the 90's. I was always inspired by the music from Sonic the Hedgehog games and would like to compose something as catchy and tolerable in the long run as possible.
The Sonic game music was composed by various artists before switching to actual sounds in Sonic Adventure 1. Dream Come True is a Japanese pop group who composed the music for Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2. Each song suited the level design perfectly and were not necessarily based on the flow of a level (for example, Star Light Zone is a fast pace level, but as it's in space, the music is quite slow peaceful.. )
For Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Michael Jackson was said to have some involvment with the music composure, however Sega discredited MJ's involvment after aligations of child abuse, which resulted to Sega changing the music for Sonic 3, however note patterns from Sonic 3 games still contain MJ's music. This can be heard quite clearly on a number a tracks.
I also admire the music from the classic Super Mario games as they have that consistency players can tolerate when playing a level. It's not an easy thing to do, but if done right you can create some merable soundtracks that never get old.
To do this I would probably create a musical pattern on an instrument such as guitar or piano, then convert it to 8 or 32bit sound using options in the software (such as Logic or Garage Band) or download an external software to recreate the music such as 3xOsc.
Controls
(Recap: http://andysfmpblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/game-engine-research-continue.html)
While looking for tip to make a good ISO game I found this blog which explains the most important element to a successful game is the controls. It doesn't matter how good the graphics are or even how original the game play is, it's all about the controls.
This is demonstrated in games such as Angry Birds;
To play you simply have to drag backwards and release, now and then tap to activate the abilities of different birds. It uses the capabilities of the smart phones touch screen and can be picked up by anyone. Doodle Jump is another fine example;
It is controlled using the smart phones tilt mechanism and again can be picked up by pretty much anyone. I imagine these type of controls are signed in the game making software (duh), depending on which one of course.. For example; game maker masters edition allows you to export as an iso (for smart phones) so will have the options to assign the tilt controls or tap controls.
I think the Neb game would have controls similar to Doodle Jump, using either the tilt or even touch to keep the character afloat.
Bibliography:
Mario>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw4JccvxU-s
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2006/10/08/classic-nes-review-super-mario-bros.htm
http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/525243-super-mario-bros/reviews
http://www.ign.com/games/super-mario-bros/nes-6693
http://www.gamespot.com/classic-nes-series-super-mario-bros/
http://www.nintendolife.com/games/nes/super_mario_bros
Damsel>
http://www.shortstories.net/story-the-princess-and-the-dragon/
http://www.carolewilkinson.com.au/news/2013/07/22/dragons-slayers-and-princesses/
http://dsegal900.hubpages.com/hub/Mythology-and-Archetypes-A-Damsel-in-Distress
Sonic CD>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0--ri_4xPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJvaSbzxnbs
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sonic-cd-review/1900-6348147/
http://www.destructoid.com/review-sonic-cd-217985.phtml
http://www.soniczone0.com/games/soniccd/stagesandstory/
Shadow the Hedgehog>
http://www.ign.com/faqs/2006/shadow-the-hedgehog-walkthrough-673619
http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/11/18/shadow-the-hedgehog
http://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/shadow-the-hedgehog
http://www.gamespot.com/shadow-the-hedgehog/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIHMy73vDcU
Sonic music, etc>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUsW-ULVs0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei_Zn5lmweM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk3gFN15hx4
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL39E12FF44BF9BF69
http://info.sonicretro.org/History_of_Sonic_Music_20th_Anniversary_Edition
http://info.sonicretro.org/DREAMS_COME_TRUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwtaS4YQwqI
http://kotaku.com/5418198/yes-michael-jackson-did-work-on-sonic-the-hedgehog-3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbVM-l2Oku4
http://techcrunch.com/2009/12/03/confirmed-michael-jackson-composed-the-music-for-sonic-the-hedgehog-3/
http://info.sonicretro.org/Michael_Jackson_Involvement_with_Sonic_3
Music Makers>
http://www.magix.com/us/music-maker/detail/system-requirements/
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/32-bit-and-64-bit-explained.htm
http://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/plugins/3x%20OSC.htm
http://www.wildbunny.co.uk/blog/2012/05/15/composing-in-game-music/
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Video-Game-Music
http://www.retrocollect.com/News/make-your-own-video-game-music-with-fmdrive-ym2612-mega-drive-vsti-synth.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVv64hDG0X0
Controls>
http://www.reigndesign.com/blog/what-do-all-top-selling-iphone-games-have-in-common-its-the-controls-stupid/
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