Description:

Cosmo had the ability to jump incredible heights with QUANTUM LEAP, manipulate the electromagnetic field with VOLT SURGE, withstand any attack with a PLASMA BARRIER, and even manipulate gravity with ANTI-G.

That is, until he was captured by the tyrannical captain of The Cardinal, a massive cross-shaped labyrinth of a vessel known throughout the galaxy for wreaking havoc on any planet that had the misfortune of being its destination.

Navigate the challenges the ship presents, return all of Cosmo's former abilities, and finally survive the final fight with the captain’s secret weapon to Escape the Cardinal!

Modifications:

Platformer Physics have been changed to include:

variable jump height, increased fall speed after peak of jump, max fall speed, and other smaller tweaks to movement speed depending on weather you’re in the air, ground, or acid for a much smoother platforming experience

Four Unlockable Power Ups Including: Quantum Leap is a modified double jump which includes all the things in the first jump plus a smaller jump height, gravity increase, plus sound and visual effects

Plasma Barrier is a temporary shield with a cooldown that blocks all damage and allows the player to move normally through acid.

Volt Surge is a blast of electricity that allows players to attack and defeat enemies horizontally

Anti-G a temporary gravitational shift that reverses gravity for the player

Intro and Outro Comics that graphically depict the story of Cosmo and the Captain's catastrophic clash upon beginning and completing the main story of the game.

The Cardinal a large interconnected game world with FIVE distinct sections that can be completed in almost any order:

Control Core is the central section of the level through which the player will be backtracking the most. This was integral to design smoothly so it's easily navigable and the final goal, which is in the middle of this section, is clear.

Hover Hanger is a section with lots of verticality and flying enemies where the Quantum Leap ability is unlocked. Check points are placed at several points of this section making it easier for beginners.

Mech Maze is a section with doors, keys, and tight hallways where the Volt Surge ability is unlocked. 

Chemical  Chamber is a section with precision platforming and lots of acid to navigate where the Plasma Barrier ability is unlocked.

Levitation Laboratory is most often the final section players will complete and therefore the most difficult. It has a combination of all three prior sections requiring players to navigate moving platforms that can reset their progress. This is where the final ability, Anti-G, is unlocked.

12 Cardinal Coins (3 per main section) are placed in hard to reach locations throughout The Cardinal often requiring the player to make clever use of a combination of abilities they unlocked and backtrack to previous sections. They respawn upon death unless you get a checkpoint.

The Real Time Mini Map and World Map accessible through the pause menu displays if you have missed any coins in the location you are in as well as showing you where you are relative to the rest of The Cardinal. This comes in handy in getting your bearings in such a large space and tracking down any remaining Cardinal Coins.

After unlocking the Anti-G ability, players can access the Boss Battle located in the Control Core section. It is the ultimate test of the players skills requiring mastery of all four abilities to complete in a side scrolling section. This section is tough, so a progress indicator was implemented after you die to see how close you were to the end. original sprites and animations if applicable were created for the following: Cardinal mech boss; all abilities and related effects; the cardinal coin sprite and related effects; unique UI elements including the mini map, coin indicator, progress indicator, and pause menu map, the intro and outro comics; environmental decoration including section signs, cell numbers, and escape sign; main title text; 

original audio effects were created using the application Bfxr for the ability sound effects

Credits:

All the above Modifications were made by me, Langston Key.

Special thanks to Emma Brown for playtesting at every stage of this game's creation. Her help was integral to designing a smooth experience.

If the sprites, mechanics, or sfx weren’t mentioned above, they were part of the 2D Platformer asset pack utilized in the creation of this game made by Michigan State University.

The music used was found on OpenGameArt and are available to freely use by the following artists:

Title Screen Music - Through Space by: maxstack 

Comic Cutscene Music - Alone by Kim Lightyear

Boss Music - Great Boss by Spring Spring

To create the in game mini map, I used a modified version of this Code Monkey tutorial 

My process for creating the title screen lettering was heavily inspired by this Brandon Games Greer video

To create the progress indicator in the boss level, I enlisted the help of ChatGPT to debug some code and better understand how on earth UI screen scaling works.

This unity forum article was also helpful with that issue.

Bfxr was used to create the ability sound effects I created

I used Aseprite to create all the pixel art found in the game, and Krita for part of the title screen.

Thanks to Jackson Cartwright for a last minute playtest and suggesting the addition of a much needed indication of invincibility.