Godgear Ragdrahod - I'm making a mecha beat em up

[Squire Grooktook]

I hooked up with a Japanese artist to design some mecha and started working on a 2d side scrolling beat em up / fighter / character action game.



You play as a genetically engineered dragon girl and her giant mystical super robot knight versus the forces of evil magitech skynet. The story and setting is loosely based on a 2 year TTRPG campaign I was in.



This game is the result of all the ideas I've had brewing from the beat em ups, fighting games, and character action games I've been playing for the past decade. The Ninja Warriors Again also made me realize that having a strong core combat system and cast of enemy types is all you need to make a great game.



Selling points:

Simple controls with fighting game depth

5 buttons! JUMP to soar over attacks and hazards! DASH to abandon precision and rocket around enemies! SLASH to strike and combo! GUARD when your back is against the wall! And when your meter is full, press SUPER to unleash devastating signature moves!


Enemies share the same gameplay mechanics as you

With the exception of zako mooks, bosses and mid tier enemies can guard, dash, and combo just like you. These symmetrical enemy battles wouldn't be worth it without enemy ai that can take advantage of it, so prepare for footsies, mixups, and unpredictable duels!


Reactable attacks, unreactable movement

In some ways, this is the opposite of a traditional beltscroller. Both players and enemies alike have (just barely) reactable windups on their attacks, but absolutely furious mobility options means keeping track of where attacks come from requires sight reading and focus (not unlike a shmup). Which leads into...


Directional blocking

You can block anything, but you have to block in the direction of the attack. Both you and your enemies must use your mobility to constantly zip around and above each other to mix up and break each other's guard!


Clashing

Closely timed attacks deflect each other, but the right move can break through the stalemate: Ground attacks lose to aerials, aerials lose to anti-air, and anti-air loses to ground. Choose your attacks carefully, or use your mobility to dash behind foes and strike at blind spots!


Master unique handling and battle rhythm!

Dashing isn't just a speed boost, it has its own unique handling, timing, and physics that must be learned and controlled! Likewise attacks and combos all have fighting-game esque cancel rules and timings. The more you play, the more you'll go from clumsy to moving and fighting with blazing rocket speed!


Giant super robots!

A titanic clash of mystical god-machines! Wield the power of ultimate destruction and decide the destiny of worlds.


I'm making my waifu real

I NEED more small-breasted (non loli), wide-hipped, leggy heroines in games, and I NEED more highleg leotards. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

[BIL]

Very interested to see where this goes! The Ninja Warriors Again's controlled volatility and calculated player/enemy matchups with ZOE's explosive mobility instantly had my attention.

[Sumez]

"Ragdrahod"?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. My only complaint is aesthetically, the mech's lack of a tail and focus on feathers in the look makes it look a bit more bird than dragonlike. The gold horns and claws on the feet are good (they're not long/curvy enough to read as bird talons) but a tail would probably tie it better to the anime dragon girl whose head adornment and tail are by far her most distinguishing features. Kinda like how these look more distinctively beast-like with one:

https://twitter.com/onion88539913/statu ... 6494269440

https://twitter.com/onion88539913/statu ... 9051327488

[Squire Grooktook]

Very interested to see where this goes! The Ninja Warriors Again's controlled volatility and calculated player/enemy matchups with ZOE's explosive mobility instantly had my attention.

Thanks BIL <3

I'll hopefully be able to show off some combo mechanics and new mook enemy types soon. I've got a rough version of the KNIFE ARMY equivalent (needs some tuning up fufills the function of a 1 hp dumb fuck zako that none the less will knife you), and currently working on mook with guard stance ala Shinobi (mook tier enemies cannot block, but they can switch to stances to deflect attacks to the front with a heavy telegraph on the switch so that you don't get blueballed at random...I've found that while it's okay for midbosses and bosses to block and dodge, it's frustrating and feels lame for zakos and mooks to do so).

"Ragdrahod"?

Do you really wanna know?

Spoiler

RAGnarok
DRAgon
HOD <- okay this is just to end in a satisfying syllable but you could link it to the Sephirot sphere of Majesty if you want.

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. My only complaint is aesthetically, the mech's lack of a tail and focus on feathers in the look makes it look a bit more bird than dragonlike. The gold horns and claws on the feet are good (they're not long/curvy enough to read as bird talons) but a tail would probably tie it better to the anime dragon girl whose head adornment and tail are by far her most distinguishing features. Kinda like how these look more distinctively beast-like with one:

https://twitter.com/onion88539913/statu ... 6494269440

https://twitter.com/onion88539913/statu ... 9051327488

I did think of a tail! Something like Genesic GaoGaiGar. There's still a minor possibility of tweaking the upgraded forms sprite to include something like that, but a lot of design decisions for the mechs are being made solely on "my sprite artist might go insane if I ask him to animate this"

The motif for Ragdrahod started out as "Divine" + "Dragon" + "Knight", so the idea was a knightly frame, with angelic wings and a heroic look, and a Yuusha style chest piece (but a dragon instead of a lion).

Early on I was thinking of a "feathered serpent" aztec motif, which - despite me not mentioning it to either artist as far as I remember - sorta made it into the sprite via the very eagle like wing design on the sprite.

[Lander]

Nice, looking forward to seeing it develop further. I've been playing a certain bancho-themed puncher lately that has a nice implementation of universal player / enemy mechanics, and really appreciating the fighter-style footsies that arise from enemies being able to match the player's tech.

I NEED more small-breasted (non loli), wide-hipped, leggy heroines in games, and I NEED more highleg leotards. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

I'll leave character commentary to the experts since I'm pretty orthogonal to waifu culture, but creativity-wise, ain't that ever the truth build it and they will come, as goes the saying.

"Ragdrahod"?

Sounds like a Norsemanteau to me:

Code: Select all

RAGnarök
YggDRAsil
      HÖÐr

EDIT: Well, I was close tragic murder-archery by proxy seems decently on-theme for rule of cool naming.
Digging a little deeper, it seems Hodr can be translated from old norse as warrior, and Hod can be war or slaughter. Food for thought, perhaps.

[Ebbo]

More Ninja Warriors inspired action? I'll take it.

Are you developing this concurrently with Aeon Zenith? I don't remember seeing updates on that for a while. Either way, good luck!

[Squire Grooktook]

Digging a little deeper, it seems Hodr can be translated from old norse as warrior, and Hod can be war or slaughter. Food for thought, perhaps.

Completely intentional and planned nothing to see here folks!

Are you developing this concurrently with Aeon Zenith? I don't remember seeing updates on that for a while. Either way, good luck!

I was originally going to do so concurrently yeah, but after getting absorbed in this, I decided to put it on hold and finish it after this.

Basically I realized that I was just under too much stress to develop a game like a shmup during my last year of college...spending 10's of hours obsessively tweaking a single 2 second enemy wave, only to put it all on hold when an assignment or exam would come up and completely lose all flow and energy. Kinda nightmare.

Part of why Ninja Warriors inspired me so much was because it's kind of the opposite of a shmup in terms of design process: moment to moment level design is just enemy wave spawning with not a ton of intricacy put into their positioning or timing, but absolutely everything put into the core fighting mechanics and enemy AI. I figured a game like that would be more satisfying to work on in such a stressful time, letting me just continuously polish the core till it was diamond hard, and then being able to design stages more leisurely.

But yes, Aeon Zenith still has an absolutely special place in my heart and I yearn to finish it. I absolutely will return to it.

[BIL]

Thanks BIL <3

I'll hopefully be able to show off some combo mechanics and new mook enemy types soon. I've got a rough version of the KNIFE ARMY equivalent (needs some tuning up fufills the function of a 1 hp dumb fuck zako that none the less will knife you)

In my most recent TNWA runs, something really leapt out, re Natsume's use of Knifeh Boi: he's not so much a single enemy, as a collective. Common design practice; but in TNWA's specific context, more like Zako Voltron. One's a joke, appropriately satisfying to scruff n' chuck. Let two or three overlap (as is their wont; "get in KNOIFE range; wait; STAB"), and you're facing a one-shot knockdown machine (three overlapped stabs = 3hit budget vanished), one that can strike high+low simultaneously, or stutter-fire straight through your vital counter-scruff.

As with so much of TNWA's crowd effect, it's judiciously blind "die is cast" RNG, backed up by rock-solid enemy design and placement. They don't actively phalanx this way, but there's an excellent chance they will, if you're not careful! There's several waves that pair a single strong enemy with three infinitely-respawning KAs - st4's opening Gold Katana comes to mind - where it's like the bastards are springing up under your feet; a compelling way of making the game's basic bitch zako 1) satisfying to mow down en masse, yet 2) insidiously dangerous, if you don't (say, while tunnel-visioned on an ostensibly higher-priority target).

Hardest working zako in the biz



(Deep Lore™ modular plugin: It really is just one dude in a sensory deprivation tank, nano-xeroxed and 3D polymer-printed to hell and back more men than guns )

currently working on mook with guard stance ala Shinobi (mook tier enemies cannot block, but they can switch to stances to deflect attacks to the front with a heavy telegraph on the switch so that you don't get blueballed at random...I've found that while it's okay for midbosses and bosses to block and dodge, it's frustrating and feels lame for zakos and mooks to do so).

I know I mentioned it to you before in the scrolling action thread, but (armchair designer alert!) guarding and Shinobi always makes me think of a guard break :3 Metered or not, just something for shattering stubborn roadblocks in one almighty "GTFO." Total genre shifts, but both Metal Slug and RE4 make notably good use of shield-equipped zako, along with cathartic means of obliterating the fuck out of them (pelt 'em with a grenade in Slug, when time precludes the similarly visceral option of getting in close and KNOIFIN'; put a magnum round straight through the fucker in RE4)

Spoiler

Turn that "nyah nyah, blocking u~" into FUCK I'VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

[Squire Grooktook]

In my most recent TNWA runs, something really leapt out, re Natsume's use of Knifeh Boi: he's not so much a single enemy, as a collective.

Haha, I thought of something similar...less an encroaching fighter, more of a horde of dynamically roving living landmines that can be maneuvered around fairly easily yet are still ready to painfully explode (read: stab) at a moments notice.

Funny you should mention, because I was toying with trying out something like a "group ai" controller. IE if there are 3 !not-KA's on screen, the game will command one to charge in and another to stay back in case the player tries to dash past the attacker (and thus inadvertently leaving himself sandwhiched between the two!). I'm still fooling around with the fine tuning of AI so we'll see how it plays out

I know I mentioned it to you before in the scrolling action thread, but (armchair designer alert!) guarding and Shinobi always makes me think of a guard break :3 Metered or not, just something for shattering stubborn roadblocks in one almighty "GTFO." Total genre shifts, but both Metal Slug and RE4 make notably good use of shield-equipped zako, along with cathartic means of obliterating the fuck out of them (pelt 'em with a grenade in Slug, when time precludes the similarly visceral option of getting in close and KNOIFIN'; put a magnum round straight through the fucker in RE4)

It's one of the last few things on the prototype list before core gameplay is all rounded out, but a mechanic I've toyed with along those lines is something like ZOE's burst attacks mixed with (xbox) Ninja Gaiden 2's "block reset" mechanic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjMtojQ2TJU

TL:DR: in NG2 you can hold guard to block indefinitely with only grapples capable of hurting you (and hurt they will), but certain ultra heavy attacks will break Ryu's guard, sending him reeling. If this happens you either have to dash cancel the animation, or release and press the guard button again on reaction before the followup attack hits. It's an ingenious subtle little mechanic for adding some additional reactive elements to enemy block strings and also making brutal meaty hits feel appropriately powerful and terrifying.

I was thinking something like that could maybe work here! A "ultra heavy" attack. Keeping with the "symmetrical" theme for bosses/midbosses, Zakos would get destroyed outright while both player and rival-type bosses would have a saving throw to reblock. It could also work as a bypass to the clash mechanic: a slow, heavy attack that nonetheless cuts right through all other attacks.



Still, it's a maybe for now until I finish testing

[BIL]

I know I mentioned it to you before in the scrolling action thread, but (armchair designer alert!) guarding and Shinobi always makes me think of a guard break :3 Metered or not, just something for shattering stubborn roadblocks in one almighty "GTFO." Total genre shifts, but both Metal Slug and RE4 make notably good use of shield-equipped zako, along with cathartic means of obliterating the fuck out of them (pelt 'em with a grenade in Slug, when time precludes the similarly visceral option of getting in close and KNOIFIN'; put a magnum round straight through the fucker in RE4)

It's one of the last few things on the prototype list before core gameplay is all rounded out, but a mechanic I've toyed with along those lines is something like ZOE's burst attacks mixed with (xbox) Ninja Gaiden 2's "block reset" mechanic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjMtojQ2TJU

TL:DR: in NG2 you can hold guard to block indefinitely with only grapples capable of hurting you (and hurt they will), but certain ultra heavy attacks will break Ryu's guard, sending him reeling. If this happens you either have to dash cancel the animation, or release and press the guard button again on reaction before the followup attack hits. It's an ingenious subtle little mechanic for adding some additional reactive elements to enemy block strings and also making brutal meaty hits feel appropriately powerful and terrifying.

Player-side, that kind of recoverability really completes a combat system, imo - much more organic and visceral than a binary [win/lose] state. While TNWA doesn't have player-targeting guard breaks (just grapples, ala NGII), I'm reminded of the way its block will come out next-frame, if you press and hold [ATK] during hitstun. So it's not a big deal if you've eaten a jab with more incoming, as long as you're quick and decisive. EG, don't panic and start mashing out attacks while already under fire, you're gonna eat their fists and soon enough the floor. Put up yer dukes and judiciously regain your momentum.

WTF these dudes wildin OwO Nah it's cool >¦3

JUDO, EH?! /Volgin (you gotta be standing, though! stand = 3jab budget, kneelers get NOTHIN )

Despite technically being a defensive asset, I think it's also a good way to encourage aggressive, risk-taking play; I'm a lot more likely to get up in dangerous enemy's faces if I know I've got some recourse, however slim, of regaining control, should they tag me. Can't be too easy to escape consequences, of course, but something always beats flat nothing.

I was thinking something like that could maybe work here! A "ultra heavy" attack. Keeping with the "symmetrical" theme for bosses/midbosses, Zakos would get destroyed outright while both player and rival-type bosses would have a saving throw to reblock. It could also work as a bypass to the clash mechanic: a slow, heavy attack that nonetheless cuts right through all other attacks.



Still, it's a maybe for now until I finish testing

Team Galapagos Muteki-Ryuu, an august omen A perpetual dream to get a sidescrolling brawler with SamSho-destructive hitfreeze... TNWA+OA get really goddamn close, but by their nature, tend to prioritise crowd-scythers over sheer obliterative power ala SamSho.

That sounds cool! Whether or not you end up pursuing it in this project, that's the ethos I was thinking of; a short burst of targeted overwhelming force. In terms of rationing - so it doen't get spammy, or obviate other options - I always think of Vanquish's melee attacks; especially the Shotgun's brutal charge-twat. A problem solver not to be invoked lightly; you won't be seeing it again for a while once it's used, that almighty thermonuclear bitch-slap putting you in Overheat state. An ace to keep around, for when you need an an artfully-deployed big twatting bang, making stubborn turtlers its natural prey.

Giving ranking foes a fighter-styled guard break animation, with the player needing to follow up, definitely makes sense; zako have a vital role as popcorn, lest dread EuroShump badness ensue. Officer corps should be trickier and more impactful to put down.

ITS WAY PAST YOUR BEDTIME MOTHERFUCKER (■｀w´■)

It's almost like TNWA's recharging bomb, despite one being targeted and the other fullscreen. Actually, now I say this, TNWA even has an Overheat-esque penalty, with a charged bomb safely stocked, but a recharging one (and your super attacks) lost if you're knocked down. Use n' lose it now, and face a tricky reacquisition, or soldier through, and know it's guaranteed for later? Always good when a game keeps you thinking on your feet, especially combined with the streamlined immediacy of classically arcade-based action.