Death, the grim reaper, abides in its lair, awaiting the end of time.
The robot, a machine built for theft, enters Death’s domain to complete its primary objective.
Become Death and chase the robot through a mythological multiverse to reclaim the stolen scythe.
Afterdeath was in development from late 2012 to early 2014 for the XBLIG store on the Xbox 360 console. Due to the upcoming release of the Xbox One and the cancellation of support for the XNA framework, this project was shelved in 2014 and development ceased. You can still play the last build of the prototype on PC, available free for download, provided that you have a compatible controller.
Gameplay Mechanics
Most platformers only let you move left or right and jump the same height with every press of the jump button.
Unlike most platformers, Afterdeath lets you choose the angle of each jump with the thumbstick. Angle to the side for short hops that won’t slow you down when you’re outrunning minotaurs or rivers of lava. Angle farther up to leap over towering obstacles and the resentful dead.
Precision control over jump angles gives you the power to make your own path through each afterlife. Rely on reflexes and rapid angle changes or approach levels as a puzzle of angles to be solved with foresight – choose your own path as you hunt for the scythe and recapture escaped souls.
Combined with wall-jumping, sprinting, and aerial maneuvering, the jump mechanics give you the fluid control over Death that you’ll need to adapt to the ever-changing worlds of Afterdeath. That means more ways to beat every level and more challenging skill moves to prove yourself.
Take the challenge further with the different movement mechanics of the unlockable characters. The All-Seeing Eye only moves by bouncing off floors, walls, and ceilings; doomed to follow each trajectory through the air. Dead Icarus can glide over great distances but is cursed to accelerate faster and faster into unknown danger. The Traveler may be slowed by a clunky environmental suit but it also allows for great jump distances after statically charging it by sliding down walls.
The World of Afterdeath
Every culture creates its own afterlife and sustains it with stories and myths until it begins to take on a life of its own. Afterdeath explores these afterlifes long after their cultures have died. Meanwhile, the resident souls of those afterlifes have spent millenia trapped in their endless labors, building new empires of the dead. When the robot steals Death’s scythe, it sends ripples through the afterlifes, leaving Death powerless and vulnerable to the vengeful souls whose lives it’s taken.
Journey from the caverns of the Greek underworld to the highest branches of the Norse world tree Yggdrasil to the uncertain depths of an Aztec maze. Whether it’s curiosity and exploration, risk-taking, or the speed of a psychedelic rollercoaster, each world is designed to emphasize a different gameplay theme. Afterdeath’s 26-track soundtrack was composed to bring the personality of each world to life and to synchronize the player with the rhythm of each level.
Features
Afterdeath was in development from late 2012 to early 2014 for the XBLIG store on the Xbox 360 console. Due to the upcoming release of the Xbox One and the cancellation of support for the XNA framework, this project was shelved in 2014 and development ceased. You can still play the last build of the prototype, available free for download. The original planned feature list is below with details on implementation in the prototype.
- 6 mythological worlds, from the Greek underworld and Valhalla to afterlifes for candy and nightmares, each requiring different tactics (4 available in prototype)
- 140 levels for Death to explore in search of the scythe (50+ available in prototype)
- ability to jump at any angle for finely-tuned jump arcs
- 6 unlockable characters with unusual movement capabilities and individual storylines (4 unlocked in prototype)
- 50 levels designed exclusively to challenge the abilities of unlockable characters (none in prototype)
- 26-track original soundtrack from composer Justin Aftab (you can listen to it on Bandcamp)
- 40 collectible souls of historic figures who escaped Death’s collection
- buried clues to more mysterious events
Let’s Play!
As a developer, there’s nothing more exciting than watching someone play your game. If you have a YouTube or Twitch channel, you can grab the latest development build.
Make videos of my game. Make money on those videos. Become rich and powerful. Buy a yacht.
Send me your video link so I can show everyone I know. Then they’ll buy my games so I can buy a yacht too and we can race them.
Box Quotes
- “I think when it comes down to it, it’s the fact that there’s interesting and ever-changing content in this game, so it kept me motivated to push through levels.” – @Radjor64
- “Holy crap, did I really play for over an hour?” – @elrobochanco
- “So you have like 1000 different ways to jump basically. And you have wall jumps too. So make that 2000 different ways you can jump.” – WhyBeAre