It's been a busy couple months since I last wrote on this site, and this is an edit from a previous, more silly post. I've returned from Ghana a few months ago and have been in Ithaca focused on work, but I've made far too many excuses where this game is concerned. Now is the time for me to finish.
I've decided to get back on the horse, so-to-speak. This project has been a long-time coming, and I need to get on it now. The name of the game is project Sketch Fighter. As of right now, I've fully designed the engine (in C# Mono Framework) for the Tactical Mode grid, fleshed out the 1v1 Mode engine and designed the artistic media (includes the writing, artwork and music).
As of right now, though, I have little confidence in my GUI skills (hence the text-based screenshot down yonder). Therefore, I'm looking for someone with some C# GUI skills who can help me implement this idea fully and make a free game app.
Note: if you're reading from Reddit, read the mechanics and see if it's something on which you'd be on-board.
Step 1 – Designing a game & engine
concept
I've been fondling the idea of designing a fighting/strategy game for years on end before actually writing any sort of code for the thing. Right about now, I'm going for broke on Sketch Fighter (the name I've adopted for this project). Interestingly enough, the game-genre itself has evolved from a traditional fighter to something two-pronged.
In this game, you choose from a dynamic set of characters to form a team of three. Another player also chooses three, and the two teams battle each other for dominance.
Each player has certain stats that matter in both the Tactical Mode and the 1v1 Mode.
HP (Hit Points): hit points, your basic health measurement
VM (Vitality Meter): used for Bursts; starts empty and fills as you use attacks/get hit.
RM (Rush Meter): used for attacks; starts full and depletes as you use attacks, slowly refilling (at different rates, depending on your class)
GM (Guard Meter): used for guarding and Tactical Mode buffs; starts full and depletes as you guard attacks and use buffs (at different rates, depending on your class)
Here are all player's stats.
Tactical Mode
A standard match in Sketch Fighter begins in the Tactical Mode (in this section, I've completed all of the characters' stats and movesets) is a 2-D Final Fantasy Tactics-esque project, wherein you play as a three-person team against another human-controlled three-person team in a battle for dominance.
Tactical Mode Options
Melee - perform a basic physical strike. Some characters' melee attacks link to other melees or can be combo'd into other types of moves.
Guard - simple guard. While guarding, you lose far less HP than you ordinarily would but at the cost of GP.
Skill - any special skill that's not a melee.
Burst - any special skill that requires Vitality Meter.
Item - uh...use an item. (items have a limit to the number of times they can be used).
Undo - undo any move you've made. You cannot undo moves if you've already completed the max number of moves you can make or use a technique that depletes the moves you can make, so think carefully about where you're moving before making the move.
Rest - rest and recover an abundance of GM and RM. While resting, your are more vulnerable to opponent's attacks.
End - end your turn.
The special feature comes in the form of the Rush option (the section I haven't designed yet but will be using M.U.G.E.N. to design). When next to an opposing unit, use Rush to engage that opponent and enter the One-on-One Mode and duke it out Street Fighter style!
1v1 Mode
In 1v1 Mode, two players fight against each other on a horizontal plane in a 2D match. Each player has a unique move set, each with different impacts. If another allied unit is next to your unit currently in combat, he can tag in and the units will switch places in the Tactical Mode board.
Attack/Move Options
Basic Movement - basic movement options. Ever play a 2D fighting game? Yeah, that. Forward/Back on D-Pad to move. Down/Down-Back/Down-Forward on D-Pad to crouch. Hold Back on the D-Pad to guard mid/high/overhead attacks. Hold Down-Back on the D-Pad to guard low/mid/high attacks. Press up/up-forward/up-back to jump. Tap forward twice to perform a dash. Hold forward during the dash to continue into a run. Tap back twice to perform a back dash. Tap forward while recovering from a whiffed/blocked attack immediately before getting hit by an opponent's attack to perform a Saving Grace and maintain 15% of otherwise lost HP.
Normals - perform Normal attacks by pressing A (left punch), B (right punch), C (left kick) or D (right kick) on the gamepad. Pressing a directional button with a Normal will, in some cases output a different Normal. Normals (except Throws) consume Rush Meter. Some Normals can link into other Normals, Specials, etc.
Specials - more unique techniques can be performed by pressing special inputs (e.g. Quarter Circle Forward or Quarter Circle Back) on the D-Pad plus an attack button. These are much more dynamic for each character but tend to consume more Rush Meter. Some specific specials can be cancelled into Bursts or Vitality Specials.
Bursts - powerful Specials that consume Vitality Meter. Most Bursts tend to consume 2 bars of Vitality Meter and are larger than life, though they leave a player vulnerable.
Vitality Bursts - unique Specials that utilize VM. Unlike EX moves of SF and KOF fame, each character has three sets of VBursts: Alpha (VM consuming but less massive Bursts that generally consume 1 bar of Vitality Meter), Beta (a new mechanic and an additional Vitality Burst) and Cetan (a single, powerful VBurst that consumes generally 3 bars of Vitality Meter).
For those who play fighting games, think of it this way:
Normals = Tekken style
Throws = Street Fighter 3rd Strike style
Specials = King of Fighters style
Just like any 2D fighter, you have different hit-sections, running (some characters only have dashes), Okemis (forward recovery, back recovery, delay recovery, attack recovery), and as mentioned before, each character has a unique array of mechanics, particularly in the Beta VBurst section.
Here's a bit of a move set - Floyd, the central character to be specific.
I've been fondling the idea of designing a fighting/strategy game for years on end before actually writing any sort of code for the thing. Right about now, I'm going for broke on Sketch Fighter (the name I've adopted for this project). Interestingly enough, the game-genre itself has evolved from a traditional fighter to something two-pronged.
In this game, you choose from a dynamic set of characters to form a team of three. Another player also chooses three, and the two teams battle each other for dominance.
 |
| As you can see, without a GUI, this looks...well, you be the judge. But, there's Goku! |
HP (Hit Points): hit points, your basic health measurement
VM (Vitality Meter): used for Bursts; starts empty and fills as you use attacks/get hit.
RM (Rush Meter): used for attacks; starts full and depletes as you use attacks, slowly refilling (at different rates, depending on your class)
GM (Guard Meter): used for guarding and Tactical Mode buffs; starts full and depletes as you guard attacks and use buffs (at different rates, depending on your class)
Here are all player's stats.
Tactical Mode
A standard match in Sketch Fighter begins in the Tactical Mode (in this section, I've completed all of the characters' stats and movesets) is a 2-D Final Fantasy Tactics-esque project, wherein you play as a three-person team against another human-controlled three-person team in a battle for dominance.
Tactical Mode Options
Melee - perform a basic physical strike. Some characters' melee attacks link to other melees or can be combo'd into other types of moves.
Guard - simple guard. While guarding, you lose far less HP than you ordinarily would but at the cost of GP.
Skill - any special skill that's not a melee.
Burst - any special skill that requires Vitality Meter.
Item - uh...use an item. (items have a limit to the number of times they can be used).
Undo - undo any move you've made. You cannot undo moves if you've already completed the max number of moves you can make or use a technique that depletes the moves you can make, so think carefully about where you're moving before making the move.
Rest - rest and recover an abundance of GM and RM. While resting, your are more vulnerable to opponent's attacks.
End - end your turn.
The special feature comes in the form of the Rush option (the section I haven't designed yet but will be using M.U.G.E.N. to design). When next to an opposing unit, use Rush to engage that opponent and enter the One-on-One Mode and duke it out Street Fighter style!
1v1 Mode
In 1v1 Mode, two players fight against each other on a horizontal plane in a 2D match. Each player has a unique move set, each with different impacts. If another allied unit is next to your unit currently in combat, he can tag in and the units will switch places in the Tactical Mode board.
Attack/Move Options
Basic Movement - basic movement options. Ever play a 2D fighting game? Yeah, that. Forward/Back on D-Pad to move. Down/Down-Back/Down-Forward on D-Pad to crouch. Hold Back on the D-Pad to guard mid/high/overhead attacks. Hold Down-Back on the D-Pad to guard low/mid/high attacks. Press up/up-forward/up-back to jump. Tap forward twice to perform a dash. Hold forward during the dash to continue into a run. Tap back twice to perform a back dash. Tap forward while recovering from a whiffed/blocked attack immediately before getting hit by an opponent's attack to perform a Saving Grace and maintain 15% of otherwise lost HP.
Normals - perform Normal attacks by pressing A (left punch), B (right punch), C (left kick) or D (right kick) on the gamepad. Pressing a directional button with a Normal will, in some cases output a different Normal. Normals (except Throws) consume Rush Meter. Some Normals can link into other Normals, Specials, etc.
Specials - more unique techniques can be performed by pressing special inputs (e.g. Quarter Circle Forward or Quarter Circle Back) on the D-Pad plus an attack button. These are much more dynamic for each character but tend to consume more Rush Meter. Some specific specials can be cancelled into Bursts or Vitality Specials.
Bursts - powerful Specials that consume Vitality Meter. Most Bursts tend to consume 2 bars of Vitality Meter and are larger than life, though they leave a player vulnerable.
Vitality Bursts - unique Specials that utilize VM. Unlike EX moves of SF and KOF fame, each character has three sets of VBursts: Alpha (VM consuming but less massive Bursts that generally consume 1 bar of Vitality Meter), Beta (a new mechanic and an additional Vitality Burst) and Cetan (a single, powerful VBurst that consumes generally 3 bars of Vitality Meter).
For those who play fighting games, think of it this way:
Normals = Tekken style
Throws = Street Fighter 3rd Strike style
Specials = King of Fighters style
Just like any 2D fighter, you have different hit-sections, running (some characters only have dashes), Okemis (forward recovery, back recovery, delay recovery, attack recovery), and as mentioned before, each character has a unique array of mechanics, particularly in the Beta VBurst section.
Here's a bit of a move set - Floyd, the central character to be specific.
 |
| (Standing) C |
 |
| (Standing) B |
 |
| (Standing) D |
 |
| (Standing) Forward + A |
 |
| (Standing) Forward + B (and a random strand of hair) |
 |
| (Standing) A |
 |
| Dashing forward/back ... pretty wonky right now, but whatevs. |
Anyhow, next I turn them into sprites and M.U.G.E.N-ify them.
Writing
The plot is quite simple. I plan on adding more as it goes on, but I kind of want it to be campy. This is going to be the intro blurb to the game itself.
120 AF (After Fall - somewhere around 2163 AD)
Post-World War III, the seed of a new, wiser generation of civilization has formed. Hard work is prioritized over greed. Racism has been deemed illegal, and nationalism is discouraged over global community. Fresh water is brought in from aquifers deep underground various places of the world (I have my friend Lonnie Gardner to thank for that idea). Decades of aeration and sound landscaping has allowed for a return to agriculture. The center of this great society, called Squallhaven (or Sqvalhagren, the haven from the squalls in Nordespeak) has become synonymous with security, safety and society. However, much is going on underneath what was once the rubble of the Old World. Three players till tell the story of this massive vehicle's undercarriage.
Floyd Tiryaki (the dude with the electricity in his hands) - a Squallhaven immigrant who is hunting government men for unknown misdeeds.
Terrence Lee (the guy behind him with the burning arm) - a special agent of Geiger, the official national security force of Squallhaven, whose job it is to undermine any anti-societal/Anarchic movements in the land, of which there are quite a few.
Isabelle DesMarais - leader of a criminal organization simply called the Underground, rife with coyotes, identity thievery, weapons smuggling, and murder.
unbeknownst to all, events surrounding these three players will shape the country in ways no one could see coming. How, you ask? You'll just have to play the game.
---
The land of Squallhaven is based in present-day Iceland, which was relatively untouched after the nukes fell. I'm still doing quite a bit of research on Icelandic weather patterns, nuclear fallout and its affects on the landscape at specific impact points, namely Western Europe, the Americas, North/South Asia, and East Asia.
Artwork
See all my previous posts. There's a ton of it.
Music
I'm using all original tracks for this game. Here's a sample of my musical stylings.
That's what I have thus far. Everything else is in the air at the moment, so I'm holding off on any other posts until I move on from this one.
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