[IDEA][GAME] Roarin'

[ThePortalGuru]

Roarin'

Summary

Essentially, Roarin' is a platformer/brawler set in an unnamed fictional city towards the end of the 1920s. Much of the style is inspired by the Roarin' 20s and the musical genre of electroswing. You play as Giorgio, an private investigator who happens to start the game in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The economy's in bit of a downturn, and jobs are beginning to drop at a harrowing rate. A prominent gang - run by a gypsy, a mysterious masked man in a top hat, and a classy looking gentleman sporting a fedora and a green three-piece suit - has seized this opportunity to hire some new recruits to serve as goons for their criminal operations. Unfortunately, the game starts off in a bar that happens to be getting robbed by said goons. Fisticuffs ensue.

Acrobatics

In some ways, this is a standard platformer. You can run, jump, climb ladders, etc. But there are some ways in which this game differs. I'll elaborate by listing some of the features (taken from the rough design document).

A. Wall Scurrying - While clinging to a wall, the player can temporarily climb a little bit higher
B. Wall Jumping - The player can jump in the opposite direction while against a wall
C. Sliding - The player can slide at any time while running and gain a small speed boost. Sliding can also be used to get underneath narrow crevices
D. Slide Jumping - Jumping out of a slide will retain momentum, as a well as giving a small speed boost
E. Swinging - The wider the swing of the object/rope, the greater the momentum. Depending on where the player jumps off, it can either be a high jump or a low jump
F. Hurdling - If a player is close enough to an enemy or obstacle 3/4 its height or lower, they will hurdle over it, giving the player a boost in speed, while retaining momentum
G. Flipping - Occasionally, when dismounting a swingable object, the character will go into a falling animation, and will be able to control the angle of the character with the left and right arrow keys. Landing a flip accurately will give a small amount of XP to the player. Failure will temporarily stun the player.
H. Tripping - with hurdling, slide jumping, and dashing, there's a slight chance that the player will trip and fall over. The odds of tripping can be reduced as ACROBATICS skill increases.

Combat

Here's a current list of some of the stuff I have down so far in terms of combat:
A=Attack
S=Strong attack
K=Kick
J=Jump
Commas mean the buttons are pressed at separate times.

FISTICUFFS UNDER OVERHAUL

That's about all I have for the time being, but there's still many ideas I've had that still need to be added, like:

-Enemy patterns
-Swordplay and guns
-Moving train brawlin'
-Bosses

I just felt I had to get this down in a permanent location.

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

i like the summary but i find it the gameplay doesn't go well with it at all, and rather bland to boot.
i'm saying this because i really like the summary.

[tsr moderation staff]

i slightly agree with chris. playing as a PI going through crazy train robbing scenarios and stuff seems cool and the platforming sounds cool and fluid (although its sounding like a momentum game like sonic or fancy pants which doesn't seem like it would fit) and the combat sound p. lame.

[ThePortalGuru]

Thanks for the input, guys! Yeah, the platforming is intentionally like that, because I really wanted the character to be able to maneuver quickly and classy-like during combat. Also, the parts with tall buildings, rafters, and long stretches make that kind of acrobatic gameplay necessary.

Regarding the combat, it may seem bland now, (and of course, I'd love any and all criticism about the moveset and how it can be improved) but one of the key parts of performing the attacks is combining it with acrobatic moves to pull off some cool stuff. For instance, you could hurdle over one enemy, fly-kick into the next one, and transition into a slide to take the third one from behind. The moves are also going to fluidly go between one another. At the height of an uppercut, for instance, you could either bring your knee up to send the enemy flying, or clasp your hands together to slam the enemy to the ground. I want the fisticuffs especially to feel both authentic and satisfying.

Please, any more comments would be welcome as I work on the swordplay and gunfighting elements of combat.

[ThePortalGuru]

You know, actually, I'm pretty dissatisfied with the movelist myself. I don't really think is has an authentic '20s flavor. They weren't doing flying kicks or fancy uppercuts back then. I need to do me some studying on the rules of ol' fisticuffs.

[tsr moderation staff]

i would go for a system centred around counters and dodging and stuff without a lot of theatrics.

[ThePortalGuru]

i would go for a system centred around counters and dodging and stuff without a lot of theatrics.

Yeah, I was thinking more of Arkham-Asylum-like combat would be perfect. Some left hooks, right hooks, low blows, jaw punches. I think I ultimately want some smooth bare-knuckle boxing. Countering is something I had planned from the very beginning, though.