The famous 90's beat'em up genre is the main inspiration for SATURDAY TWELVE. Our idea is to bring all the action of a genuine side-scrolling 'beat'em up' (also known as brawler) combined with 3D graphics and the Unreal Engine resources.
We are heavily inspired by blockbusters like Capcom's Final Fight™ or SEGA's Streets of Rage™ amongst other famous games that made our childhood really fun and worthy. Personally, I've spent tons of coins at arcade places when I was a kid and I have very good memories. That's what we want to give to people: that nostalgic feeling of playing a classic. At the same time we want to offer something new, and the most important: show that the classic side-scrolling beat'em up has it's place in the 21st century and is far away from being a dead or outdated genre.
The game will feature a very interesting melee combat system, with fast and simple controls and a random combo system. So even if you press the same buttons for a combo, the moves will be always different. The classic special attacks are also included and they will be useful once you see yourself surrounded by large groups of enemies that has no other goal than seeing you in pieces. A great variety of weapons like knives, baseball bats, pipes, katanas and even throwable objects like tires, barrels and grenades (!) will also be available to spice things up.
You'll be able to choose between 3 main characters (each character with different moves, strenghts and weaknesses) and then, you will start your journey trying to cross a city infested with hundreds of criminals, street gangs, evil cops and professional killers hired specially to hunt you. Ah. And the infamous bosses at the end of the levels, of course.
Classic movies such as Warriors are also an inspiration. We thought about aliens, mutants and zombies, but in the end, street gangs are a kind of copyright in this genre and also very fun, since we can make enemies with a lot of personality. Furthermore, this will reinforce our intention to pay tribute to the several beat'em up games that came before Saturday Twelve.
PLAYABLE CHARACTERS
We are planning to make 3 playable characters by now, but that number may increase depending on how the project goes. We can also make 3 playable characters and unlockable characters.
So far we have 2 characters planned: Roxy (a female street punk and former member of the gang you are supposed to fight against in this game) and Tyrone (a retired cop).
- Roxy is the fastest of the playable ones, but also the weakest. She knows muay thai and is a specialist when it comes to inflict pain on others.
- Tyrone is a 40-50 years old retired cop and runs a boxing gym. He's the strongest but also the slower.
- The third character should be balanced between speed and strenght.
As said above, they'll have a great variety of moves, a random combo system and other moves like flying kicks, sprint attacks, spin attacks etc. We are also considering a counter attack system, where your char would block the enemy's attack and imediatelly counter attack, leaving him vulnerable to combos.
We are also planning a kind of 'damage' system, where your char would look more and more 'messy' as the game goes on and you lose lives. After losing a couple of lives you'd notice your char bleeding with a black eye and broken nose. Also their stances and the way they walk would change.
Below, some images of Roxy, one of the playable chars:
Damage system:
ENEMIES
We will make several different classes for the enemies, with different AIs for each one of them. From your everyday streetgang thug that will use nothing but his hands and feet to hurt you, to skilled enemies that can block your attacks and use weapons. Their health and looks will be also different.
Every class will feature a random color system. So even if they look the same, their clothes will be different from each other and you'll rarely see two of them alike. Their names will also be randomly generated. The only exception here are the bosses. They'll always have the same looks, colors and names.
To increase the immersion, all of the chars (playable and AI controlled) will talk. They'll talk to each other, curse each other during the fights and even compliment the player or praise themselves for a nice combo or attack they performed. If they're hurt they might complain about it too.
Below, images of some enemies:
EXTRA MODES, SHOP, UNLOCKABLES...
The game will feature an Arcade Mode, that will work like any brawler game. While playing the Arcade Mode, you'll be able to collect money from enemies you defeat to buy food and increase your health, buy extra moves or update the moves you already have, and even buy extra lives and continues; after you finish your game, the spare money can be used in a Shop. This Shop will feature tons of things: from new costumes to extra characters. Other modes will be a Boss Mode and Survival Mode (both needs to be unlocked).
PRODUCTION
We've been working on Saturday Twelve for almost a year, but there's still much to be done. We have a playable game by now, enemies with average AI and a working system for the HUD (similar to the brawler games, displaying the enemy's health).
We have Roxy modeled, rigged and we are starting her animations. As for the enemies, so far we have two different enemies of the same class, and we are working on a 3rd one. We also have 6 levels pretty much done (out of the 21 levels we are planning to make).
Most of this time we had only 2 people working on the project (one making the scripts and 3D models, and the other working on the level designs, textures, kismet and the art related to the game). We also have very nice people aiding us with the ambient sounds (Thx a LOT NexPhase!) and other things. We also hired professionals for some tasks, like songs and voice acting. A while ago an animator joined our team and also a friend is backing us up with game content ideas and plots.
Some extra images featuring some gameplay:
[UPDATE]
Gameplay video. We are still working on everything so this video is just to give you guys an idea. As we include more significant content, we will post more videos.
I made a thread a long time ago showing the 1st street level, but I thought it would be cool to start a new one and tell you guys about the game as a whole. We are rly interested in the UDK community's opinion. Any feedback will be appreciated!
If you like this project, don't forget to visit us at IndieDB.com, and add us on Facebook. =)
Blazing AVA, HQ textures, character design, fighting combat, and gameplay will sure very well. This project reminds me of a number of cult retro movies a lot. *tic!*
) and the visualized damage system.
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