I already talked about how incredible it was to see my game on the front page of GameJolt, so I won’t waste a bunch of time repeating what I wrote earlier. But I want to thank you all again for your support and interest in my game. It has been almost a week, and it’s still incredible.

So, the inspiration for The Ballad of Lone Phoenix comes from a lot of different places. Since it seems people seem to love “Top 10/Top 5” countdowns, here are the Top 5 Inspirations for The Ballad of Lone Phoenix:

5: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

The reason this is #5 on the list is that it’s about as much comparison as it is inspiration. I’ve spent quite a bit of time analyzing how the designers of Link’s Awakening used the small monochrome screen of the GameBoy. The tilesets and character sprites in that game are amazing, and so I figure if I can do something that is even close to being as good, I’ll have a great looking game. So it’s not that Link’s Awakening is inspiring me a whole lot, it’s that I stick the two games side by side and try my best to make Lone Phoenix look as good as Link’s Awakening does. If I can even get close, I’ll be happy.
Interesting note: I made sure that the overworld for Lone Phoenix is exactly the same size as the overworld for Link’s Awakening

4: Classic Cowboy Music on Pandora

While working on Lone Phoenix, I like to try and get into a western mood by using Pandora to listen to classic cowboy songs (Artists like: Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Marty Robbins and others). I should admit, at first the music was kind of annoying, but I stuck with it and slowly began to actually enjoy the songs. I can’t point to anything specific, but I’m sure the many hours of epic gunfighter ballads and prairie trailsongs have influenced the game in a great way.
Interesting Note: My favorite classic western songs include “Cool Water” by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers
“Big Iron” by Marty Robins
“The Ecstasy of Gold” by Ennio Morricone (and basically anything from the Ennio Morricone Spaghetti western soundtracks)

3: Bonanza TV show

I wasn’t around when Bonanza first aired, but a classic TV show like Bonanza transcends age barriers. My dad is a big western fan, so I grew up around a bunch of old western movies and shows. I never really cared much for them. But Bonanza is a different story. It has a charm and personality that a lot of TV shows even today don’t match. It has the action packed shootouts you would expect, but it sprinkles in lighthearted antics that keep the show from become another mundane western. I want to try for the same balance of action and lighthearted fun in Lone Phoenix.
Interesting Note: My favorite Bonanza episode is “Hoss and the Leprechauns” which is about as crazy as a western with leprechauns sounds.

2: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

If you’re a Legend of Zelda fan, it may not be a surprise that a game about repeating the same day over and over again to save the world is inspired by a game about repeating the same days over and over again to save the world. But it goes deeper than that: Majora’s Mask is probably my favorite Legend of Zelda game, so a lot of my base gaming DNA has been shaped by Majora’s Mask. I honestly don’t think I would be making this game if I hadn’t played Majora’s Mask.
Interesting Note: When I first played Majora’s Mask, I stopped playing after getting stuck during the first 30 minutes and came back a couple weeks later to give it another shot… I’m glad I did

1: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I kind of like to play Skyrim. I bought it almost exactly 3 years ago and have since put in 600 hours. So I think it’s safe to say Skyrim has shaped my perception of what an open world game should be. It’s kind of weird to say that a modern 3d AAA game has a huge influence on my 2d indie gameboy-style game. But it’s true. While I want to keep a retro feeling in the back of the players’ mind, I’m using a lot of the modern design philosophies I see and enjoy in Skyrim. Don’t expect to see a 2d Skyrim when you play the game, but you can expect to see a lot of tiny glimpses of Skyrim throughout the game.
Interesting note: In The Ballad of Lone Phoenix, you can sit on benches, chairs, couches, etc… That was one of the earliest features I put in the game because being able to sit down in Skyrim was so neat to me. I was amazed that in a game with swords and dragons, you can sit down and simply watch townspeople go about their business.

So there you have it, my Top 5 biggest inspirations for The Ballad of Lone Phoenix.

Short, but semi-important note:

Starting this Monday I’ll be doing updates on Monday and Friday instead of Saturday. I feel like once a week isn’t enough.
On Mondays, I’ll be looking ahead and talking about what needs to be done and my future plans.
On Fridays, I’ll be looking back and talking about what I’ve done so far, and where I came from. The format won’t be too strict, but I’ll try to keep Mondays focused on the future and Fridays perched toward the past.

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of this huge post,
God bless

		
			I always love chatting with people here on GameJolt.
So at any time please feel free to comment. 
You can do things like: 
- Ask me questions about the game or other stuff,
- Tell my your favorite western movie/song/TV show/game,
- Tell me about how I'm wrong to have Skyrim above Majora's Mask,
- Or criticize my grammar.