New Graphics Coming To Level Up

The original Level Up! RPG is going to be slowly getting a graphical makeover over the course of the next few updates.  The new graphics offer a slightly different style than before, but it should still be cartoony and light-hearted in nature.

Before

After

The new graphics offer more character detail, while removing blurs and gradients from the background images.  This was done to reduce the file sizes on the graphics, making for smaller download packages.

Before

After

Anyway, there is a lot of work to be done, since there are tons of graphics assets in the game.  I plan on reworking one zone per update, and since there are 20 or so zones in the game, it will probably take me over a year to complete.  But I also plan on adding new features each update, so what this basically means is that there is a lot of goodness yet to come to Level Up!

Planned Engine Enhancements

As I mentioned in the last blog post, there are several new features and enhancements planned for the Level Up Engine.  Here is a list of things that are currently being worked on.  If you have suggestions for more features you would like to see added to the engine, please leave them in the comments below!

• Achievements - I am working on bringing achievements to the game.  They will work with each platforms respective game centers.  Just a fun addition that gives people more to do in the games.
• "Nightmare" Mode - The name of this mode can change depending on the game.  Basically you start from the beginning and you do not come back when you die.  See how far you can get.  There will be a global leaderboard to see who can make it the farthest. 
• Secondary Inventory - This is essentially a "belt" feature, but it can be called different things based on the game.  You will equip a belt item that allows you X number of additional inventory slots.  These slots appear on the screen at all times.  You can use it to store potions/ammo whatever, so they are available without having to open your inventory.
• Waypoints - There will be the ability to have waypoints at various points in the game.  When you unlock a waypoint, you can then travel back to that waypoint at any time in the game using some sort of teleporter item.  This will allow the player to travel back and forth between zones, instead of the current one-way only travel.  This adds new possibilities, such as:
• Quests - Now that you can travel backwards in the game, you can go back to an NPC and complete a quest.  There will be different quest types, such as beat some boss, kill so many rats, bring me some item, etc.  This alone can more than double the length of a game.
• Custom Items - I decided to change the way inventory/items are handled in the game.  Now in the future (as soon as I implement this), once you pick up an item, it is yours.  You can rename it, and change the description.  You will be able to find gems or scrolls or some type of item in the game that can make functional changes to the weapon.  Increase it's damage, add magic damage to it, etc.  At some point I may even implement an auction house feature that lets you sell/trade custom items with other players around the world, if there is interest in that sort of thing.  Could potentially be a big deal.

So these are the new features that I have in mind as of today.  Again, if you have more suggestions, just leave them in the comments.  My goal is to add as many features to the engine as possible, while still allowing the games to maintain their easy to pick up and play style, which is important for mobile devices. 

Welcome to Level Up Roleplays LLC

Today I am proud to announce the formation of Level Up Roleplays LLC, a new subsidiary company of Ape Apps founded with the sole purpose of creating and advancing games built using the mobile Level Up RPG game engine.

The Level Up engine was first released on November 11, 2012 and currently supports Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows 8/RT, Kindle, and HTML5.  As of now, the engine currently powers the original Level Up RPG, Deimos, and the newly released Ninja Level Up.

Over the next few months, you can expect to witness the rapid expansion of new features to the Level Up engine.  As a result, the original Level Up RPG game will receive constant updates, serving as a feature showcase for new engine advancements.  Our other games will receive updates too, but their features will remain in line with their stories.  Along the way, we will also be releasing brand new RPG games based on the evolving engine.  The current plan is for 3 new role playing games every year based on the evolving engine.  Our next post will highlight some of the planned updates to the engine.

So anyway, that is what is happening.  Level Up Roleplays is now it's own company, focused 100% on bringing out new and exciting RPG games based on the Level Up engine.  Stay tuned here for the latest news and information on all things Level Up!