About This Game

Sisyphus Conviction:

The Greek Myth of Sisyphus now turned into a 2D Pixel-Art, incremental Clicker. Play as a condemned King who challenged Death several times, but finally paying for his sins against the Gods. Sent to one of the deepest points of the Underworld by Hades, The Erebus. Doomed to walk up a never-ending Mountain, dragging a giant rock attached to his chains for the Eternity.

Story Scope:

Would like to expand the Chronos character that appears at the end of my Demo. He's very relevant to my project, the personification of time. The message that I want to convey with this game is that we as humans are so busy chained to our monotonous routine, that we even forget about time. Chronos is here to be freed up while he grant us some permanent bonuses for our runs.

Introducing to my Game: The Kickstarter Souls.

A way to connect my game to all of you who really want to be part of it.

When you hover your mouse over them, their Name (Your Nickname) will appear. They are Lost Souls from the Underworld basically wandering and expecting Sisyphus to collect them. If you click on them they'll fade away into a mist, grant you a Strength Boost, probably a coin and a Soul will be added to your Bag of Souls. Certain amount of Souls will grant you special stuff, unique skins and boosts.

I can't express enough how thankful I am to anyone who decides to help my project. 

 Go get Your Soul from the Kickstarter Rewards searching for Sisyphus Conviction.

Soul Variants.

• White Soul (Common): The most basic representation for a shadow, but do not underestimate the power of a thousand memories from a past life. A soul that has loved, has laugh and cry. Could be anyone. This Soul will provide Sisyphus a Boost between 1 and 5 Strength Multiplier Points.

• Crimson Soul (Rare): A traveler Soul that likes the red color. Not anyone can stop at the end of their life and say that you've lived a full-filled life, to finally let go of your regrets and leave in peace. This Soul will provide Sisyphus a Boost between 10 and 15 Strength Multiplier Points.

White and Crimson Souls.

• Purple Soul (Epic): A Soul full of magic. They have lived a peaceful life, fully conscious of their wrongs. Knowing that in the end, nothing even matters anymore, but balancing their life with a strong fidelity to their own moral. This Soul will provide Sisyphus a Boost between 20 and 30 Strength Multiplier Points.

• Golden Soul (Legendary): A soul of a Hero. "I believe there’s a Hero in all of us that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams." -Aunt May from Spider-Man 2 (2004). This Soul will always provide Sisyphus a Boost of 50 Strength Multiplier Points. (Maximum Strength!)

Purple and Golden Souls.

• Secret Soul (Mythic) - {The Most Exclusive Skin for a Soul In Sisyphus Conviction}: A soul reserved for any Semi-God whose destiny is to reach the Top of Mount Olympus. When there was doubt, they faced it all and stood tall... and finally did everything their way. This Soul will always provide Sisyphus a Boost of 100 Strength Multiplier Points. (Overcoming the Maximum Strength Granted!)

Mythic soul.

And also thanks again to anyone who bought a Soul, you can't believe how helpful this is for me and The Game.

I have prepared a Special Surprise for the Epic, Legendary and Mythic Souls once Sisyphus Conviction is funded on Kickstarter

I know. This literally seems like I'm selling souls, but I guess it's for a good cause, so this small project can see the light of day. Let's take the Souls as a reminder of how one day everyone, even the one who is writing this, will be not longer here. Let's take as a fact the time is running out, but we don't have to pressure anything. While we are still alive we should honor our beloved ones that passed away just by retaining in our mind every moment and basically keep living... For them. The Souls and their names will be inside this Game forever, even once we are all gone (I hope).

All the available Souls in perspective.

About Sisyphus:

The ancient King of Ephyra, now Corinth. Lived a life full of Tyranny, he tricked Death provoking the anger of the Gods. He was finally doomed to an Eternal Punishment, he must walk up a hill chained to a Giant Boulder, but when he reaches the top, he's cursed to repeat the punishment every time.

King Sisyphus.

Golden Shop (Coming Soon):

A place to spend all your Underworld Gold. Can appear in specific places along your runs. There you can buy skins, permanent items, keys to unlock tiers from Chronos Ability Tree, temporal boosts and more.
 

You can add a New Original Skin on Kickstarter, with new colors, special things, particles and whatever you want to make it unique. Together we will choose the name that will be displayed at the Golden Shop.

Environmental Events (Coming Soon):

I have multiple Environmental Events planned, both visual and interactive. Rain of Ashes, lava cascades, flying monsters wandering in the Underworld, Souls coming from right and left or just staying still with other Souls resting in peace, probably rain or snow when you reach the surface and keep taking up height. The options are limitless.

Current Deities.

The Big Three: The most relevant Gods from the Greek Mythology.

After being eaten by and defeating Chronos they chained him deep down in the Tartarus and split the World. Zeus kept the Sky for himself, Poseidon the Sea and Hades the Underworld.

Zeus (God): 

The supreme God of the Greek Pantheon, God of Thunder and Sky. Father of almost everything back then, according to the Myth. His famous weapon is the Thunderbolt.

Zeus Golden Rain (In-Game Boost): 

Once, Zeus turned himself into a Rain made of Gold and fall down to Earth to well... Court a lady, of course. Actually, I remembered this Myth way too family friendly, it seems he fell right into her lap impregnating her. To be fair, every single deity mentioned below has some story that could be at least questionable nowdays, Poseidon having affairs with a virgin priestess, Hades marrying his niece, Chronos eating his children or Hermes having a kid with his "Technically" Great-Aunt; aphrodite.

Anyways, his rain is now coming down to the Hades, granting sisyphus 9 falling Underworld Coins for each time this Boost is activated.

How to Unlock Zeus Golden Rain:

Poseidon(God): 

God of the Seas, Storms, Earthquakes, Ships and Horses. His Mythical Weapon is a Trident.

Poseidon Loot (In-Game Boost):

A Ghost Trireme (Greek Ship) now run aground on the shores of the River Styx. The Ghost sailors are now cursed by Poseidon and anyone who dares touch the Ship. 

When this Boost is active, every time you take a step an Underworld Coin will come out of the Ground. There's Gold everywhere.

How to Unlock Poseidon Loot:

Hades (God):

God of the Dead and Lord of The Underworld. His face is printed on every Underworld Coin to remind the Souls where they belong now. 

You can see his Palace, his Statue and sometimes a fire lit far behind you on the top of a mountain at the Styx River.

He could be watching you right now. You'll never know while he's wearing his Invisibility Helmet.

Hades Palace.

Chronos (Titan):

Father of the Big Three: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. He ate all of his children alive trying to beat a prophecy where he was defeated by them. Eventually Zeus was also eaten, but with staggering power he liberated himself, his brothers and sisters from their father's guts. The Gods and Titans fought each other restlessly in a quarrel that rumbled the Universe on what would end with all The Titans, including Chronos chained and lock down for Eternity in the most deep and dark pit of The Underworld, The Tartarus.

Now Sisyphus is trying to release him, but why?

Hermes (God Not in-game yet):

The Herald of The Gods. Deity always related to trade, wealth, luck, travel and swiftness. With his Winged Hat and Sandals, serves as the personal messenger of Zeus

Coming Soon (In-Game Boost Concept):

I'm aware that Sisyphus moves slowly (I mean, he's dragging a big boulder with him). But for sake of the Gameplay I'd like to give Sisyphus a Boost of Movement, a boon from the God of Speed that allows him to walk or even run if you can stack it two times, helping with this a small frustration for the players due to repetitiveness. We should consider that we need new animations of walking and running for every skin. But let the "Me" of the future worry about that.

Well, that's all the deities that I was able to add from now. Of course a lot more of them will be added in the future.

Friendly reminder that you can add your favorite Greek deity or your name to a Soul once the Kickstarter Campaign is launched, in exchange of a small help for the Game.

This will cover all the programming stuff, pixel art animations, sound effects and work behind your idea.

The Underworld Biomes.

The Erebus:

A hell of a place. lava, magma, fire and almost molten rocks emanating a hot dense blur, any flesh would be calcinated instantly. But not a problem for a Soul that perceives the world differently, they have other things to worry about, like amending their sins.

Sisyphus Walking Through the Erebus

The Styx:

Boiling, troubled waters would suck down any Soul that falls into the river Styx, don't try to swim or you'll be lost forever, better call a boatman like Charon. 

In the background, tall basalt pillars grow higher each time lava strikes the cold underground streams, sending up plumes of steam. 

At the very top of the tallest basalt mountain stands the Palace of Lord Hades in all its dark splendor.

Basalt Pillars growing from the Styx. Have U ever seen a Temple Underground Before?

Greedy sailors have tried to escape the Underworld, but none have ever succeeded. The run aground triremes, laden with gold, have rotted into ghost ships. They have forgot a fatal truth, all coins belong to the one whose face is stamped upon them, no matter what.

Ancient Grounded Trireme.

The Acheron:

A site full of rock spikes and pain. The dampness from the Acheron River has formed this peculiar structures that could impale anyone who falls into them.

A cave of cult for the Hades and the Dead. Forgotten temples, now reduced to mere ruins and debris. But something never fading away is the fire from the Lord of The Underworld's torches, guiding the stranded souls back to their place of eternal rest.

The Greek Fire Never Ceases

The Acheron River is the closest place to the Surface, you can even hear the humans praying to their Gods. A few more steps and you'll be out there with them and feel the blinding light of the sun reaching your bare bones. Don't even try to contact with the humans when you're out there, they can't see you, even your own nature admits you don't belong there.

Temple in Ruins, Acheron Spikes in the Background

The Overworld (Coming Soon):

I have at least another 3 biomes planned for the Surface, they are just a concept, haven't draw anything yet, cause I wanted to search for some kind of funding before keep adding more complex things to my game. Besides, drawing biomes are very time consuming. Here are my ideas.

• Surface: Could be a forest, a mountain next to the ocean, or the place Sisyphus used to reign now in ruins, realizing he's been gone for many years, or decades.

• Cold Mountains: A slippery slope, desert, cold, inert. Not many Souls come this far, why would they? A disheartening place, even for a dead man.

• Olympus: There it is. The place of the Gods, but as soon as the doors to Heaven are opening, Sisyphus fades out. Not a place for mortals... Why if I'm so close to paradise they won't let me in? What is the point of all of this?

Extra Content Prepared Coming Soon:

• Currency

• Shop

• Bonus Power-Ups

• Challenges

• Meta-Progression

• Secret Places

• Multiple NPCs

• Minor Secrets

• Original Pixel Art 

• Original Soundtrack

• Lore and Story

Why I'm choosing Kickstarter to fund this game.

While writing this I'm a little bit sleepy and hungry. But I'd say it's just a hunch. I really think my project could get to the right people this way along connecting with them easier. If you have get this far, thanks for taking your time reading all of this and learning more about my project. 

Might need to wrap this fast, my cat came into the room meowing, probably wants me to feed him. His name is Douglas, he's so cute I'll definitely should add his name to a Soul so he can stay forever inside my game.

How it's made:

Made with Unreal Engine 5. Yes, I've heard before that using UE5 for a 2D pixel art game it's like using a backhoe to make a sand castle, but hey, I kinda like the Unreal Engine blueprints node system and I'm also using Aseprite (What a beautiful software for Pixel Art)

Blue Greek Fire from the Underworld.

About me:

My name is Diego. I've been playing videogames since I was 6 years old. When I first started to learn how to do games, I was a little bit afraid of losing all the magic by learning how everything is made from behind. Then I told myself recently that a magician doesn't lose the magic just by knowing some tricks, by the contrary, he now carries the responsibility of creating new magic and to share it with the world.

Here's an Underworld Coin for You :)