Overmap Roaming

The idea of Equica being in the sky came from this game.

     Unicorn Quest will have two exploration screen types. There are overworlds (walk around, visit towns, and solve puzzles) and then there are overmaps (mario 3 style level select). I chose this in order to capture the size of Equica. It's a giant continent in the sky, not some place you can walk across in half an hour. It's full of diverse regions with dramatically different topographical features.


     It doesn't make sense for there to be an icy cavern next to a fiery mountain. Rather than making an entire world room by room, I can have a giant level select style map and add rooms to that as I develop the game, making it possible to increase or shrink the game's scope as I develop it. It also serves a world building purpose as it represents Clover's long journey from one place to another.

    It was originally going to be more like Zelda 2's map where enemies would pop up and secrets could be stumbled across. Right now I want to go with a more Mario style. where there are level select style maps of an area and you can move a tiny Clover sprite to where you ant to go while avoiding (or chasing) enemies wandering on the map. I'm actually still debating which is better.

     I like the idea of using your spells on the map (and even in the overworld) like HMs in Pokemon. So you can check something with the action button and an option to use a spell can come up and events can be triggered. I also like the idea of using key items here to make things happen, like having a flute that uncovers a secret area or teleports you to a hidden map screen.

I'll be implementing overmaps soon so I can see how it feels in action.