🎮 Aurora is a hack and slash game developed for the Computer Games Development (DJCO) class of the Master in Informatics and Computer Engineering (MIEIC) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP).
A cloaked figure materializes, eager to create. Traversing the mythical tree of Yggdrasil, shelter of the nine worlds, Aurora harvests the land creatures’ soul essence, cleansing the soil with Kvöld, a scythe.
Aurora’s victory condition rests on defeating each of the nine worlds’ core titans and purging Yggdrasil of its corruption. Each level is comprised of two main mechanics: harvesting land spirits from minions summoned in a wave-like fashion whilst dodging the core’s wall of defenses manifested through flying projectiles or pulsing shockwaves. Collecting land spirits with her scythe is key to both character upgradability but also weakening of the core titan.
Purging each world activates one checkpoint out of a total of nine (one per world), although implementation-wise, it is likely the project will be downscaled.
We’re confident the diverse, charming and colorful level visuals and soundtrack as well as their narrative ties to norse mythology will drive players to keep exploring and purging the lands. Mechanically, Aurora gets increasingly difficult on each checkpoint yet it is a top priority ensuring the player feels gratified on each accomplishment.
This title features a satisfying alternative take on the origins of norse mythology, which we believe to be a somewhat uncommon storyline, supported by a determined mysterious female character.
Furthermore, a three-dimensional take on the bullet hell subgenre with melee and dodging mechanics feels appealing and noteworthy, as there’s a great ability to scale the difficulty levels from tame to mental while remaining enjoyable.
Anyone who wants to enjoy an immersive storyline with a mid-to-high difficulty curve, targeting a casual to hardcore gaming market.
Aurora’s target rating fits the ESRB category Everyone 10+ because of its mild cartoon violence. It won’t feature any suggestive themes, blood or provocative language.
Aurora could better be categorized as a mythical third-person hack and slash game because of its gameplay which emphasizes real-time hand-to-hand combat. The character charges through the land’s minions harvesting land spirits, upgrading her stats albeit after dying she resets all progress, fitting of a roguelike genre.
We intent to have a take on the bullet hell subgenre by mixing melee combat with overwhelming projectile dodging mechanics. It is also heavily based on a horde mode.
As of now, the main target platform is PC. Yet we intend a gamepad to be the preferred input device, having in mind possible future console scalability.
We aim to protect Aurora with GNU GPLv3, so that anyone can contribute to the project afterwards, yet only we own the rights to publish and commercialize it.
This selection feels right because it’s developed by students for a game development course at university (DJCO @ FEUP) and we wish anyone may use our project to learn something and contribute. Yet given we believe on Aurora’s potential, it is a possibility we fully release it on a bigger platform so the extra protection feels justified.
Every asset, including the soundtrack, is created by our development team, meaning no extra assets will be downloaded online.
The God of War franchise has always had a stunning tie between sublime storytelling and grotesque but satisfying gameplay. Whilst previous titles have tackled Greek mythology, the latest installment sees Kratos - the former Greek God of War - and his young son Atreus on a journey to fulfill his second wife’s promise to spread her ashes at the highest peak of the nine realms detailed in Norse mythology. This blend of rooted mythology and fresh nuances makes the world feel more cutting edge so we’ll also be having our very own twist on the norse world.
Indie Kickstarter success Jotun shines another light at norse mythology. The story follows Thora, a recently deceased viking who died an inglorious death and must prove herself to the Gods to enter Valhalla. The hand-drawn scenes provide yet another layer of immersion, alongside unlockable god powers and a fantastically chilling icelandic narration. The latter is definitely a powerful tool for storytelling we could use.
Hyper Light Drifter is an example of profound storytelling without resorting to any dialogs or words whatsoever. The story is conveyed through scripted flashbacks and the player’s actions. Given the enigmatic personality of Aurora, embracing this non-conventional approach could yield great results.
We believe bullet hell games like Ikaruga or Cuphead fit our theme pretty well. We intend to create a state of urgency and real meaning to Aurora’s quest. Given these games’ difficulty tier might be too hardcore, perhaps a toned down alternative could work. By making the core titan spit projectiles at higher and higher rates combined with the massive hordes of enemies, we hope to strike great balance between skill and difficulty.
Action shoot ’em up game Furi’s deranged boss battles serve as great inspiration, as they feature overwhelming projectile numbers and are set on a circular arena, a concept we’re also embracing.
Minions spawn on the central core in a wave-like fashion. This is similar to the behaviour seen on the horde modes present in the Call of Duty (Zombies mode) and Left 4 Dead franchises.
Aurora aims to take all these ideas into consideration on our quest to creating something really unique.
We hope the players immerse themselves in our storyline yet the narrative should be ambiguous enough so that the story can be interpreted differently, resulting on unique experiences. Moreover, Aurora’s gameplay should feel intuitive and satisfying.
- Carlos Miguel Freitas, @CarlosFr97
- João Conde, @joao-conde
- João Seixas, @j-seixas
- Miguel Mano Fernandes, @aquelemiguel
- Sofia Silva, @literallysofia
- Luís Correia, @luigicorreia
- Pedro Reis, @veryprofessionaldodo
- Vicente Espinha, @vicente-espinha
- Joana Cadeco
- Rita Ferreira