User:Yamasztuka/sandbox

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Annalynn
Developer(s)Cruise Elroy
Publisher(s)Cruise Elroy
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
January 29, 2021
Steam Deck
August 5, 2022
Genre(s)Arcade game, Platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

Annalynn is an Arcade-style 2D platformer created by Cruise Elroy released on January 29th, 2021 for Microsoft Windows. It is uniquely styled like similar arcade games originating from the 1980's. The game stars the titular character Annalynn, as you explore five zones and eighteen levels to collect gems and kick snakes.[1]

Gameplay

Annalynn serves to iterate on popular gameplay loops introduced in 1980's Namco arcade titles, such as Pac-Man and Mappy. In each level, your primary goal is to collect all coins and rubies while avoiding contact with the four enemy snakes. When Annalynn has collected all such items, the level will progress. In addition to coins and rubies, the player can collect bonus items which are only available for a short period of time during each level. After dying three times the player will receive a game over, and have the option of continuing after inserting another credit.

There are four enemy snakes in each stage, named Randy, Handy, Candy, and Mike. Each snake will spawn through doors throughout the level, and will seek Annalynn in a different pattern. Although snakes Randy, Handy, and Candy all follow a set seeking pattern, the snake Mike does not have an easily predictable seeking pattern. Mike's erratic nature and unpredictability has caused many players to dislike the character.[2] By understanding the patterns of the snakes to predict their movements, the player can learn to avoid them easily. The snakes can seek Annalynn by moving through doors placed throughout the stage, jumping off ledges, or falling through pits. When Annalynn makes contact with a snake, the player will lose a life, and begin the stage again. However, if Annalynn collects a ruby, she will enter a state of invincibility where she can kick any of the snakes off the stage temporarily. During this period, each snake will cease their normal seeking pattern and instead slowly move away from Annalynn. After a short period, the snakes will reenter the stage.

Like most arcade games from the 1980's, Annalynn is score-based. Players compete to achieve a high score by obtaining points from collecting rubies, coins, & bonus items, and by kicking snakes in succession. Unlike most arcade games of this era, Annalynn does have a final boss and technical end to the game in its story mode. However, in random mode, players have the option of playing the game on an infinite loop.

There are six zones present in Annalynn, each with a distinct gimmick to challenge the player. They are:

  • Mineshaft - Takes place deep within a cave. The area is peppered with platforms, ledges, doors, and pits to challenge the player. As the starting area, each zone afterwards iterates on this formula.
  • Jungle - A jungle cave with climbable ropes, with waterfalls and flowers in the background. Annalynn can climb up ropes, adding verticality to the level structure. Snakes begin jumping off of ledges in this zone.
  • Lava Factory - An artificial factory with gears and flowing lava in the background. Lava geysers are placed throughout the stage, which both Annalynn and enemies can trigger by walking over.
  • Ice Grave - An ice cave with slippery floors. Certain areas of the ground floor in this area has ice physics, lessening the traction Annalynn has on the ground.
  • Venom Den - A desolate cave filled with bones and gems. Certain areas of the ground and platforms break after being walked over, and do not reappear.
  • Alien Ravine - A purple cave filled with white crystals and magenta moss. Jumping into pits here will send you into a corresponding pit on the ceiling, and vice versa. These pits function similar to portals.

Synopsis

Annalynn discovers a new cave rich with resources, and follows it deeper into the territory of the Venom Brood. These four snakes, Randy, Handy, Candy, and Mike, are protective of their cave and their riches, and will do anything in their power to stop her. Annalynn descends deep into the cave, through jungle, lava, and ice, before descending into the home of the Venom Brood. There, Annalynn must defeat the final boss, a large mechanical snake named the "SN-4K3" piloted by the Venom Brood. Upon destroying the SN-4K3, Annalynn boards a lift to return to the surface.

Development

Development of Annalynn would begin on January 28th, 2016 for fangame site Mario Fan Games Galaxy's Super Competition of 2016.[3] The contest challenged submissions to use original assets for their games, leading developer Cruise Elroy to create an original premise for their entry. Annalynn would begin development on the engine GameMaker: Studio entitled Minecade, and would feature a generic male miner and four enemy moles. However, citing Ms. Pac-Man as inspiration, Elroy would create a female lead and four simpler enemy snakes that would appear in the final game.[4] After two weeks of development, this release of Annalynn would be published on the site on February 12th, 2016, becoming the winning title of the competition.[3] Later, Annalynn would win the site's Game of the Month award in March of 2016.[5]

Following this 2016 release, Elroy would announce that he would begin work on a remake of Annalynn, promising improved graphics, music, and levels.[6] Subsequently, the game would see multiple changes over the next four years. Development would move to the engine GameMaker: Studio 2, sprites and physics would be redone, four additional zones and collectables would be added, and the music would be recomposed to mimic the sound of Namco's Waveform Sound Generator.[4] On August 17th, 2020, Annalynn would receive a public demo available for download during the Sonic Amateur Games Expo in 2020, giving the public their first view of the remake. The demo would contain the first six levels available in the final game, and would be met with success seeing over three thousand downloads and a five star rating.[7] On January 29th, 2021, Annalynn would be released on Steam and Itch.io for Microsoft Windows, celebrating the game's five year anniversary.[8]

Annalynn would see a number of updates after its initial release.

  • Version 1.1 - Regular update, released on February 3rd, 2021. Along with general bug fixes, added cutscene skipping, volume control, and an adjustment to the speedrun timer.[9]
  • Version 1.2 - Regular update, released on April 17th, 2021. Along with general bug fixes, added a radar for off-screen enemies in practice mode, an extras menu, in-game achievements independent of Steam, and a records menu.[10]
  • Version 1.3 - Major update, released on June 24th, 2021. Along with general bug fixes added a Random Mode, where players explore all eighteen levels in a random order on an endless loop, bonus minecart levels, three additional power-ups, and a new sixth area.[11] Although the name of this sixth area is corrupt in game, it has been decoded to the phrase "Alien Ravine".[12]
  • Version 1.4 - Regular update, released on November 24th, 2021. Along with general bug fixes, added new palettes, a standalone minecart stage, and support for GameMaker: Studio 2's Yoyo Compiler.[13]
  • Version 1.5 - Major update, released on April 18th, 2022. Along with general bug fixes, added an Arcade Mode optimized for physical arcade cabinets, a two player swap mode, and a cheats menu.[14]

Annalynn would be verified for the Steam Deck on August 5th, 2022.[15]

Reception and Legacy

Annalynn received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[16] Annalynn has received over 250 user reviews on Steam, and has been rated "Very Positive".[1]

On November 11th, 2022, the game would receive a line of merchandise from merchandising company The Yetee.[17]

Annalynn would foster a successful speedrunning community. Over a dozen players would submit runs, lowering the fastest completion time to 10m:15s:950ms as of June 27th, 2021.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Annalynn". Steam. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  2. ^ "Mike% - Annalynn - Speedrun.com". www.speedrun.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-07. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2022-12-05 suggested (help)
  3. ^ a b "Mario Fan Games Galaxy - Super Competition #1-2016". phpbb.mfgg.net. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  4. ^ a b @itsCruiseElroy (February 12, 2021). "Five years ago today marks the release of the very first version of Annalynn, or Annalynn '16, as I like to call it! Now, with the release of the remake, I'd like to take a look back on how this character of mine has grown over the years. A thread." (Tweet) – via Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08.
  5. ^ "Mario Fan Games Galaxy - March 2016 Game of the Month". phpbb.mfgg.net. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  6. ^ "Annalynn - Mario Fan Games Galaxy Wiki". wiki.mfgg.net. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  7. ^ "Annalynn (SAGE 2020 Demo)". Sonic Fan Games HQ. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  8. ^ @itsCruiseElroy (January 31, 2022). "There was a game jam event back in 2016 that I wanted to make something for, which was when I made what I consider the "prototype" version. The 2021 version was made as a way for me to want to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the prototype!" (Tweet) – via Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08.
  9. ^ "Steam :: Annalynn :: Version 1.1 Now Available!". store.steampowered.com. 2021-02-03. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  10. ^ "Steam :: Annalynn :: Version 1.2 Now Available!". store.steampowered.com. 2021-04-17. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  11. ^ "Steam :: Annalynn :: Version 1.3 Now Available!". store.steampowered.com. 2021-06-24. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  12. ^ Jenuki. Alien Ravine. (Image) Archived from the original on 2022-12-08.
  13. ^ "Steam :: Annalynn :: Version 1.4 Now Available!". store.steampowered.com. 2021-11-24. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  14. ^ "Steam :: Annalynn :: Version 1.5 Now Available!". store.steampowered.com. 2022-04-18. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  15. ^ @itsCruiseElroy (August 5, 2022). "Big news!! Annalynn is now verified for the Steam Deck! Hope anyone who has one is able to enjoy the game on it :)" (Tweet) – via Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05.
  16. ^ "Annalynn". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  17. ^ @itsCruiseElroy (November 11, 2022). "Very excited to announce that the first batch of official Annalynn merchandise is HERE, thanks to @theyetee! Head over to https://theyetee.com/collections/annalynn to pick up your own t-shirt and sticker pack!" (Tweet) – via Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07.
  18. ^ "Annalynn - Speedrun.com". Speedrun.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  19. ^ Elomavi. "Annalynn Any% in 10m 15s 950ms by Elomavi". Speedrun.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
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