The legend reports about the magical treasure of Itzamná – the well-known Mayan creator deity. The myth says that this treasure is guarded by Itzamná’s mighty eye. Its immeasurable value has tempted thousands of people to start a treasure hunt - none of them ended successfully... No one knows its exact location until one day, deep in the jungle, a mystical palace was discovered, a kind of royal temple, resembling a pyramid, an almost indescribable construction. It attracted many treasure hunters who strongly believed it to be the well-hidden location of Itzamná's treasure. They thought it would be a child's play to claim the treasure for themselves, but none of them ever returned...
We write the year 2010 when four independent teams started another attempt to find Itzamná’s lost treasure. Each expedition team suffers of major losses and only the team leaders manage to survive the permanently present dangers of the deep jungle. Completely exhausted they arrive the very same day on a hidden jungle glade and are stunned from the catching scenery in front of them: The mystical eye of Itzamná is glaring threateningly from the top of the most beautiful Mayan pyramid they have ever seen.
Game Mission
From now on every second counts: Everyone wants to be the first to reach the pyramid and experiencing the glory of finding the lost treasure! The treasure hunters do not know any mercy and use every chance to fight down their opponents.
However, they also face a common enemy: The guarding eye is periodically watching attentively over the ground and sports the slightest movement. Of course, the wild river does not help in advancing quickly and additionally makes standing still a real challenge.
Whoever manages to find the best trade‐off between speed, balance and cleverly making use of the given aids may outreach his competitors and reach the lost treasure.
Deliverables
This section covers the deliverables for the game class.
Our Alpha Release
Some final comments from Jay, Jez, and Vas (added by Bob):
The game is coming along really well!
Audio or shaking could be used to give advanced warning over when the eye will open and make it seem less random
The "reverse controls" powerup may ultimately just be annoying and could possibly be removed
To make the game more interesting for continued play, the difficulty could be increased as players by having the eye turn on more frequently or making the water more powerful
The following table lists all supported controls on the game pads and the keyboard. (Note: The keyboard only controls player number one!)
General Controls
Some final comments from Jay, Jez, and Vas (added by Bob):
