Breakdown for each armor upgrade that can be crafted. This helped demonstrate the player's potential rewards and capabilities to my audience.
Collectibles and an outdated set of upgrades for the original sword design, which grew in strength instead of merely being replaced by another sword.
UI Element breakdown, showcasing the HUD design and various other spatial feedback methods, including conversation bubbles and button prompts.
A banner fades in and out showcasing each area's name. Egret features a subtle 'warp zone' touch by encouraging players to question whether or not they can leap over the edge, pictured above. Spoilers: you can, and it will skip the stage completely.
Chambers like this one are dead ends, but provide the player with rewards so their time was not wasted.
Sleeping turrets in this room awaken after defeating the level's boss, The Captain. They should have done their job right before their boss was beat down.
Portal Room. This becomes an iconic representation of the "exit room" in levels that allows you to continue on with the next level in the game.
Axis' room, early stages, with empty shelves that would be lined with collectibles found throughout the adventure.
Gilgamesh smashes through the entire stage in Airship Le'Roya, referencing Leeroy Jenkins.
The clouds part as Axis descends from one area to another. Many of the ships and islands were going to have original art, but the time constraints pushed the task onto the low priority backlog and never made it into the beta.
One of the earliest rooms built, the hut was going to be the start of the adventure after Axis crashes through the ceiling.
The Forsaken was a fun boss to design and implement. 5 components had to be moved around individually and in a set pattern, which tasks the player with dodging and countering in a timely manner. The swords caused most players some serious trouble earlier on in testing since they damaged the player regardless of their state.
The final boss, Grimnir, and his gateway room. The adventure leading Axis downward further and further into the abyss of the Nexus was a large part of the intended narrative well before this iteration of the game. Axis falls into this surreal area, fighting a mirrored version of himself, bombarded with comments and questions from an unknown source. My intent was for players to question who Grimnir is, who was speaking to Axis, and what it means in relation to the vertical narrative inherent in the game's mechanics. The name Axis, and his last name Kailash which is referenced in a dialogue with NPCs, say much about the nature of the game's mechanics and their representations.
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