The Heart Pumps Clay

The Heart Pumps Clay was my entry in the 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest.  I had been working on an early version of Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, which was a much shorter version that I was going to use to show the RPG Maker community how much I'd grown as a developer, then the IGMC came around and I thought, screw it, I'll just make a game for that.  Making The Heart Pumps Clay gave me the confidence to rework Jimmy into what it is today, so this was a huge stepping stone for me as a developer.

In a lot of ways, The Heart Pumps Clay is kind of a proto-Jimmy.  There's equipment that drastically changes your characters, an emphasis on a steal mechanic that operates very similarly to Jimmy's, and this was the first game where I actually did the sprite art.  It's rough, but some of it's actually a little charming--particularly some of the battle sprites.

In The Heart Pumps Clay, players take control over Mara, a swamp witch, her golem, Bud, and the aptly named Crow as they climb the Tree of Life in order to obtain the Source of All Things. Gameplay consists of fixed battles set at choke points on the map. However, after every battle, Bud will lose some of his max health, so it's up to the player to balance Bud's waning strength with their urge to open the many deliciously tempting treasure chests along the way.

Battles are the traditional rpg affair, but the unique cast provides an interesting party dynamic that slowly evolves over the course of the journey. Mara's spells can be devastating, but she has to shift between elements, which also synergizes in different ways with Bud. Bud is a tank and a physical powerhouse, and Crow is a thieving little rat with wings. Consumable items can be stolen or crafted during battle, but they're removed after each battle, so if the player wants a safety net, they better plan ahead. If they fail a battle, though, no problem: hp and mp are restored and the player is returned to the map as if nothing happened.

Features:
-Mostly original assets, including character portraits, battle animations, and enemy graphics.
-An original soundtrack.
-A vibrant cast of characters in a concise, well-presented story.
-Well-balanced battles with an emphasis on strategy.
-Character progression comes through a variety of equipment found throughout the Tree of Life, including equippable spells for Mara.
-About 1-2 hours of gameplay.

The soundtrack's available on bandcamp: https://kaseyozymy.bandcamp.com/album/the-heart-pumps-clay-soundtrack