Aeon Datablade / イオンデータブレード

Aeon Datablade is a 2d masocore platformer, inspired by games like Sonic, Smash Bros and Celeste.

After 20 years of game design, I've decided to return to the basics. This time there's no enemies, bosses, weapons, inventory systems, shops, or cutscenes.

This time it's just you vs. the environment. This game will teach you all its intricate moves before throwing you into some insane levels. Get ready.

Gameplay

In Aeon Datablade, you have three powerful strike attacks you can use to fly freely. You can quickly gain a lot of momentum, but you can also turn midair at any time, allowing for unmatched maneuverability.

The levels are designed to allow for multiple solutions depending on your playing ability. (Future updates will include unlockable story content on the harder routes.)

How to Play (Basics)

You move and aim with WASD / arrow keys. You can aim in eight directions while midair. 

You have two action buttons - hover and strike. Holding down hover allows you to charge up a strike attack. Once charged, pressing strike will send you flying. You can strike three times before you need to land.

Controls

WASD / arrow keys - move/aim 
Z - hover 
X - strike
Esc - pause/exit

Navigation

To complete each level, simply reach the far right edge of the level.

The game uses a mimimum color palette for each world - the brightest blocks are deadly, second brightest are springs to bounce on, and least brightest are the ground blocks. 

Also, be sure to grab the yellow star block in each level!

How to Strike

Horizontal movement is the most straightforward. Aim left in midair to strike left, and right in midair to strike right. Repeat as desired to increase speed.

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Vertical movement may require some practive and intuition. This is because your strike inverts if you're ascending.

If you're falling, down means down and up means up.
But if you're ascending, up means down and down means up.

Therefore...
To go downwards, aim down while falling, or up while ascending. 
To go upwards, aim up while falling, and down while ascending.

Basically, left, right, and down all work normal, but up is weird. It's tricky to explain, but easy to get ahold of with practice!

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Hover Tips - Holding down hover can limit your launch speed, allowing for precise jumps. This can be helpful for navigating tight chambers with no floor to land on. Release hover before striking for a stronger dash. 

Remember, you cannot strike unless you hold hover midair to charge it up first. You need both techniques, like yin and yang, in order to have full control in the air.

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Jump Types ~ These are ways to fly from a flat plane, or a deep crevasse:

Down+X Jump - aim down as you ascend and strike to fly upwards. This can be easy to perform when you have no place to fall from. You can repeat to increase velocity. 

You'll be using this one a lot. Alternatively...

Up+X Jump - aim up as you fall and strike to fly upwards. This can be a great rescue technique. Repeat to fly down again, or aim down and strike to continue upwards.

And finally...

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Diagonal Dash - diagonal moves can be tricky to get used to if you aren't used to vertical movements yet. When used correctly they can be very powerful, as you can charge up your speed exponentially faster.

Downward diagonal dashes while falling can send you in all directions, and reach far away places quickly!

It is a delicate move to master, but you may be able to access some hard-to-reach areas this way. It may also lead to...

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Wall Skip - You can even go through walls if you're moving fast enough! This requires patience to execute, and room to build lots of momentum, so this may not always line up for you as expected. Try to only use it as a last resort (or as a speedrunning tactic).

Note: A joystick is recommended, but WASD / arrow keys on a keyboard should work fine. I recommend just playing around with the controls until you get an intuitive feel for how to play.

Backstory

In March 2005 I set out to make a Jumper clone called Alteration, since I love "Jumper Two" by Maddy Thorson. Unfortunately I lost the original source code due to a thunderstorm, and only a short demo of the game survives.

Now it's many years later, and Maddy has managed to bring the Jumper formula to a wider audience with the Celeste series, which I think is great. Though I still think of this as more of a Jumper clone lol. Thank you Maddy for being an inspiration all these years!

This game is dedicated to Akira Toriyama. Rest in radiance, sensei.