Story Mode

Story Mode is a special game mode that's available to players, meant to introduce players to the world of AURO. It is linear and non-random. It is a story-driven campaign of about 8 levels that ends in a final boss battle.

• The objective of the game is completion, not score. Score will gain you extra health instead.

• Levels are randomly generated, with a few exceptions, like level 3, 4 and the final boss level.

• General difficulty curve is easier than in the normal game.

General structure:

Opening Cutscene

Tutorial (optional)

Level 1 - Cellar

Level 2 - Cellar 2

Level 3 - Dungeon

Level 4 - Dungeon 2

Level 5 - Sewer

Level 6 - Sewer 2

Level 7 - Cave

Level 8 - Cave 2

Final Battle - Castle

==OPENING CUTSCENE STAGE DIRECTIONS

AURO Opening Cutscene Script

Setup: Straight up hex of tiles. King is at 8, 8. Purple pillars at 6,5 and 8,5 Blue pillars at 6,7 and 10, 7 Red pillars at 8,9 and 10, 9 Carpet decal has to be manually placed, I think. Pillars at 4, 9 and 14, 9 and 9, 14 and 14, 14. Teleporter at 11, 13. King is at 9, 7. Quillsh is at 5,10, offscreen.

Script:

-Pan down on scene while fading up slowly -Stop the pan once centered on point 9, 9 -Chaunko spawns at TELEPORTER, 11, 13. -Chaunko moves NORTH EAST once -Auro spawns in at TELEPORTER -Auro and Chaunko both move NORTH EAST, twice. -Auro then moves NORTH WEST, twice, to end up at 9, 9 -Dialogue begins. -Right before Quillsh speaks his first line, he needs to walk 3 tiles EAST. I added a comment to Configuration.hx for you at the point where this should happen in case you're not sure.

OPENING CUTSCENE

KING: *Sigh* Thank you, Chaunko. Where did you find him?

Chaunko: Caught 'im hidin' a bucket of dead squids in me barracks beddin' again, milord!

KING: Auro, you be a good boy now and treat Chaunko with a little respect.

~auro squeaks~

KING: Why, he most certainly is not! We do background checks on all the palace guards! Anyhow, nevermind all that. Auro, today is your 12th birthday. As is customary, the council requires that you perform a quest-

~auro squeaks~

KING: I know you don't want to, but the council is very clear on-

KING: Right. Well... perhaps we can figure something out.

QUILLSH: [enters from the right] Sire! Remember what we spoke about. There is simply no choice in the matter. It is absolutely essential that the Prince fulfills this quest!

KING: Err... right! *AHEM* Yes. Auro, your tutor is right.

~auro squeaks~

KING: Now, now, hold on. You won't have to "kill a dragon". Quillsh tells me that you've fallen way behind in your training, so, well... we made an "exception" to the sacred scrolls, just for you.

QUILLSH: Indeed. Auro, you must go down to the sewer and unclog the main drainage pipe. It appears that someone jammed it full of squid corpses. For most, it would be a simple task, but... well, hopefully you'll manage.

~auro squeaks~

QUILLSH: I am not a stoop, and you should be thankful that we don't send you to the den of a Troglotan Dragon!

KING: Quillsh, I don't think that will be necessary. *Ahem* Auro. I'm sorry, but you... you MUST do this. What if I were to take you for some Sugary Shrimp-O's afterwards?

~auro stands silently~

KING: There's a good boy. Now get down to those sewers and fix that pipe! It won't be so bad. It may even be fun!

- End Scene -

THRONE ROOM

At this point, you're given control and can move around in the throne room, which contains two jesters, the king, A little bird-boy, ADRIAN, some other kids and adults of the court, etc. and the guard, Chaunko. Most NPC's from both kickstarter and our normal roster will be found here. To the right there is a pathway. If you move towards a character, you speak to them. Here's what their responses would be.

KING: I'm sorry, Auro. Really, though, it will be easy.

CHAUNKO: Go on, get down to the sewers where ye belong. Exit's to the east.

JESTER1: You're gonna die down there, you know!

JESTER2: Troggles are going to eat your bones! Eat your bones! Eat your bones!

ADRIAN: Hey Auro! Need an adventuring buddy? I got an A on my last magic test, so maybe I- (Auro squeak) Oh, heh yeah, I guess I am kind of a loser."

KID 1: The Sewer, huh? Looks like YOU'll be the who eats doo doo for dinner!

TOWNSPERSON 1: Little brat...What?! Why you...Get back here!

When you move to the right, you'll find Quillsh.

QUILLSH: Auro - wait. I can't let you go yet. The truth is, you've been such a poor student that it's quite doubtful that you'll survive even this trivial task. Please take this sacred staff. Its magic will give you at least some fleeting chance to make it through. With it, I'll also be communicating with you remotely, guiding you as you go. Your behavior has been dreadful recently, Prince Auro, but nonetheless, your continued safety is of dire importance... To the Kingdom, that is. Go on, now."

TUTORIAL (Optional)

See Tutorial for more information.

Level 1 - Cellar 1

This level adds 2 Rats and 1 Slime.

At the start of the level, Quillsh says.

"Okay, Auro. Can you hear me? Ok, good. I'm communicating with you through the staff. You can do this, just take your time. Advance SLOWLY and think about your moves. Move to the right!"

Upon seeing the Slime:

"Ah, a Slime! These cute creatures will bounce you instead of damaging you. Also, if you hit them, they'll flatten, turning into a delightful little springboard!"

Upon seeing the warp gates:

"Ah! Those are the warp gates. If you can step onto one of those, you can warp down to the next stage."

Level 2 - Cellar 2

This level adds a bat and a rat.

"I should tell you about scoring. Each time you kill a monster, you gain 2 points. But, if you kill several monsters in quick succession, you'll gain bonus points, seen on the right. If you get 25 points, you'll get an extra point of health."

Upon seeing the Bat:

"Bats! These monsters are flying, so you can't hit them into the water with your normal attack. They can be killed by knocking them into air currents or flame, or by freezing them over water."

Level 3 - Dungeon 1

"You should be in the Dungeon now, where we keep our prisoners. Any people you meet down here are unlikely to be friendly towards you, so look out."

Adds: Rat, Foxy

Upon seeing the Foxy, she speaks to you (already implemented).

Level 4 - Dungeon 2

"In addition to the flying bats you saw earlier, there are also HEAVY monsters who can't be knocked back with your normal attack. To kill them, you'll need to slide them over floe, Explode them into water, or Gale them off the edge."

Adds: Foxy, Brute

Upon seeing the Brute: "Hey! You're the little twerp who set me up! Hold still while I pound you into CREAMED CORN!"

Level 5 - Sewer 1

"Alright! We're in the sewers now. One more warp should get you to the sewer pipe. Stay focused!"

Adds: Rat, Trickster

Upon seeing the Trickster: "Those devilish Tricksters will swap places with you if they get the chance. Be aware!"

Level 6 - Sewer 2

"Keep in mind that your abilities become much stronger when you synergize their effects with each other. Snowball a monster into a Current to make him bounce, for example."

Adds: Troggle

When you see the Troggle: "Oh my god it's a Troggle! Okay... don't panic! Keep in mind that Troggles are blind, and if I recall correctly, they have a charge ability that you can use against them. Just stay out of their way!"

At the end of the Sewers - you reach the famed drainage pipe. The Sewers are a randomly generated level, except for the end. Same effect happens - he goes to the next level. It's just a visual difference.

The cutscene doesn't begin until you've cleared all the monsters, and are at the right point.

Level 7 - Cave 1

Adds Skeleton, Lich

The screen fades up on the level, and the player doesn't yet have control.

QUILLSH: "Auro, are you alright? Oh, thank goodness! I hope you see why you can't just start hitting things like a child."

Auro squeaks

QUILLSH: "That was most certainly NOT fun. Auro, you could have been killed! As it is I'm not certain where you've landed. I'm going to try to create a series of portals to get you back, but it will take a few moments. Why don't you look around and see if there's another way back up to the sewers in the meantime?"

Level 8 - Cave 2

Adds Vargas

This level is an entirely hand-made level. It is totally un-populated the way in, but one of the hardest levels on the way back. Kind of a mini-boss stage.

At this point the player is free to roam about the empty level. When you reach Argo's chamber:

QUILLSH: "Blasted Butterbiscuits, Auro! This is the ancient throne room of the evil Prince Argo! You need to get out of there at once! Do not touch anything!"

Auro walks towards some of the TOYS and squeaks

QUILLSH: "Auro! You shouldn't be touching those. Those are no regular toys! I mean it, Auro, don't you-"

Auro tosses one of the toys and it shatters.

QUILLSH: "GRAHH! Did... did you just... you... Auro, do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

At this point, the screen starts shaking. In a flash of white, ARGO spawns, as well as a bunch of UNDEAD monsters behind him.

ARGO: "You... BROKE... my TOY? You BROKE my TOY?! You're gonna pay for that!"

Auro squeaks

ARGO: "No, it was NOT a stupid toy, actually! It was such a cool toy, in fact, that the only way I can even the score now is by breaking ALL of your crappy toys! Let's see how you like it, you little jerk!"

Auro squeaks, and at this point Argo vanishes.

QUILLSH: ".... I must to go inform the Royal Guard that ARGO has returned... I managed to set up those portals for you to get back. I don't know why I bothered. You've already doomed this Kingdom. I hope you understand that. See you on the surface."

From there, Auro is alone to fight the undead minions

Final Boss Level

The final boss level. Argo is at the top. You can walk up to him, but he can't be hurt or knocked back because he has a force field around himself. You have to close these four portals that are pumping out monsters. If you close two or more, Argo will start re-opening them. When he's re-opening them, his force field is down for a few turns. During this time, you can hit him back. If you hit him back, though, he puts his force field back up immediately. If you hit him back twice, he'll fly into the fire behind him and die.

-RULES FOR PORTALS

Portals can produce any monster (although we should have a isPortalMonster quality in actor set to true by default, just in case there are some we want to disable).

Only one portal should spawn at once. Order of portal monster spawning should be decided up front. A random sequence, like 3142, and then the four spawn one at a time in that order. Then a new sequence is created.

If a portal has an actor on it, its turn is skipped and it goes to the next portal.

Default spawn rate is once every 4 turns. That is, ONE portal spawns a monster every 4 game turns.

Portal covers must stay adjacent to portals.

KING: "Auro! Help! He's smashing everything!"

ARGO: "Well, well, look who it is! The little JERK who thinks it's cool to break the toys of the great Prince Argo!?"

KING: "Argo! What do you want? Just leave us alone, please!!!"

ARGO: "No! I want to all of this punk's toys lying in shambles on the floor. In fact, I'm just going to trash this entire stupid castle once and for all."

KING: "Auro! You've got to stop him! He opened up those... those portals, and there's monsters coming out of them! You've gotta close those, quickly!"

ARGO: "Hahahaha! Monsters, it's feeding time, let's go, go, go!"

The the battle begins. The player has to hit the lids next to the portals to close them. Once two or more are closed, the game pauses, and this happens:

ARGO: "Grr! Stop closing my portals, you doof! That's very annoying!"

Argo then casts a spell which opens one portal back up, putting the lid on an an adjacent free tile. At this point, Chaunko speaks to you.

CHAUNKO: "His shield! It's down! The little creep can't cast two spells at once! Get him now, Auro!"

Once Argo is pushed back into the fire, the final cutscene begins.

FINAL CUTSCENE

When you knock Argo into the fire, the screen fades to white. After a few moments, it fades back up on the throne room, which contains the same people from the opening cutscene.

QUILLSH: Welcome, everyone. Auro, I appreciate you coming on time. Today is a very special day.

KING: The entire Kingdom has you to thank, Auro. You've saved us all! You've more than earned your Royal Garb.

QUILLSH: Indeed. And while you haven't actually fulfilled the quest given to you - that sewer pipe is actually in worse condition now than it was before...

CHAUNKO: Oh, don't ye worry about that! I'll go down and fix that right this minute!

Auro Squeaks a couple of times

KING: What? No, no. Chaunko should do it. You're a hero, Auro, you don't need to-

Auro Squeaks more

KING: Well, if you insist, of course... I'm proud of you, son. I think we all feel that you'll make a great King someday - right, Quillsh?

QUILLSH: Mmm, it's... I'm glad you're alright. You've still got a long way to go, though. Your training will begin tomorrow.

Auro bounces in place, then squeaks

KING: Alright, you're dismissed.

Auro moves two tiles down.

QUILLSH: Auro, wait.

Auro moves one tile back up

QUILLSH: I should tell you... When I battled Argo nearly 100 years ago, I wasn't able to do what you did today. I feel... Well... *ahem* - what I'm trying to say is... I'm proud of you, Auro. You've done well. I'm sure you'll do great in your training.

Monster Dialogues

Level 1 has just 2 Rats and a Foxie. When you first see the Foxie, she says, "Well well, look what we have here - another monster-fur wearing twerp!" Then Quillsh says, "Auro! Don't let that... hooligan throw rocks at you. She can only throw them in a straight line - use that to your advantage!"

Level 2 adds a Brute. When you see him, the Brute says "Hey, you! You're the prissy boy who FRAMED me! You're goin' in the drink, kid!" Then Quillsh says "Careful, Auro. That Brute is too heavy to be knocked back by your normal attack. Either avoid him, or find some other way of dispatching him."

Level 3 adds a Slime. When you see him, Quillsh says "Disgusting! Don't let that slimy thing push you around! Also, you should know that there's some way to flatten these creatures, turning them into bouncy spring-traps."

Level 4 adds a Troggle. When you see him, Quillsh says "Gah! Auro! Don't look. It's... it's a troggle. They can charge and deal two damage to your Barrier! Don't let them eat your bones, Auro!"

On the way back on Level 4, a Lich is added. When you see him, Quillsh says "Oh my... a vile Lich! These creatures can harm you just from being anywhere near you! You'll want to dispose of them quickly, but keep in mind that they're flying!"

Level 6 adds a Bat. When you see him, Quillsh says "Ah, more flying monsters! These are quick-moving monsters who can move twice in a turn. They can only bite you on their first move, though, so if you keep your distance you should be OK."

Level 7 adds 2 Dolls. When you see her, Quillsh says "Grah! Argo's devilish toys have come to life! As far as I know, these things can't be killed, they can only be disabled. Further, if they get behind you they'll deal double damage. Please be careful!"