Prismal Helix

[King K. Azo]

Hey guys, I've been here for awhile, and people know I've been trying to make a game. So the best thing to do? Post a thread about it. 

 

Gameplay

 

[spoiler=Inputs]Prismal Helix will use a six button layout, similar to Street Fighter and Skullgirls. It's your standard six buttons, Light Punch (Jab), Medium Punch (Strong), Heavy Punch (Fierce), Light Kick (Short), Medium Kick (Forward), and Heavy Kick (Roundhouse). I'm using this because most games I've played used this system, and it's what I'm most comfortable with.

 

And of course, you can move back and forth, with crouching and jumping available.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Combos]Prismal Helix will use a magic series, with canceling possible. I'm sure you all know what this means, but to prove I know what I'm talking about, I'll explain what I mean. Or maybe I'll show I have no idea what I'm doing, who knows?

 

You'll be able to go from light to medium to heavy attacks, and able to interrupt the animations with special moves, and supers. Basically, you can cancel any move with a special move or a super, but a super can not be cancelled. You're stuck with all the ending lag. 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Mechanics]Things within the game to help you win! It's not cheating if it's programmed in, despite what scrubs would tell you!

 

Blocking

It feels silly mentioning that we have this, but apparently some indie fighters have auto blocking or no blocking at all, so I'll just make it clear that yes, you have to hold back away from the attack to block, and you have to crouch to block low attacks.

 

Running

Now, while most characters have this, there will be a few that can only dash. But for the most part, pressing forward twice and holding that direction will make your character break out into a run, useful for closing the distance.

 

Air Dashing

Again, most characters will be able to dash in the air once, either forwards or backwards. However, some characters will have the ever so popular eight way dash, and even multiple airdashes, while some have no airdash at all. Again, a great way to close the distance.

 

Back Dashing

If you press back twice rapidly in succession, your character will dash back, giving you more distance between you and your opponent.

 

Launchers

If you crouch while pressing forward and use a heavy punch or kick (depending on the character), you will launch your opponent into the air, where you can leap up to follow up with some aerial combat.

 

Ground Bounce

While performing an air combo, if you land a heavy punch or kick, depending on the character, you will bounce your opponent off of the ground, allowing you to extend your combos. You're allowed one aerial combo ground bounce per combo. Some moves, mostly supers and EX, will grant ground bounces, however, allowing you a few extra hits.

 

Wall Bounce

Some moves will allow you to bounce an opponent off of a wall, allowing you to extend your combos even further. You're allowed one wallbounce a combo.

 

Throws

By pressing a direction with the light punch and kick at the same time, you will throw your opponent. It's good for breaking guards and for getting out of the corner.

 

Super Moves

At the bottom of the screen, there will be a bar, the Super Meter,  divided into three sections. When one section is filled up, you can perform a super move by doing a motion + two buttons of different strength. Because it's divided into 3, you can store up to 3 supers at one time.

 

Hype Moves

On the edge of your Super Meter, there is another bar, called the Hype Gauge. It fills quickly by performing different combos, performing longer combos, defending against attacks, etc. Basically, it's rewarded for good play. When the bar is entirely filled up, you'll have access to you "Hype Move", a more powerful super move, like that of a Ultra Move from Street Fighter 4.

 

(This mechanic is under construction though, as I'm entertaining the idea of taking damage will very slowly fill this bar up as well. It seems like things would be hopeless of you ate a combo and then see your opponent gained a Hype Move while you got nothing)

 

Ultimate Move

When you fill both your Super Meter and Hype Meter to the max, you'll have access to your Ultimate Move, one final attack that does major damage. It will not be easy to combo into, but if you manage to combo into it, it will do massive damage. Of course, hitting it raw will also do major damage. 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Debated Mechanics]These are mechanics that have not been finalized for various reasons. Imagine this as pitching them to see which people like best.

 

2v2

This is the biggest one I'm debating right now, as I'm not sure at all. 2v2 would be harder to balance, but it could open up a lot more combo potential, and give some great story telling moments. However, again, it's much harder to balance, and 1v1 can still be a lot of fun. So... ehhhh?

 

EX Moves

By sacrificing half of one section of a Super Bar, you can perform an enhanced special move, the move gaining some new properties, like Super Armor, altered movement, greater damage, etc. If this was to be implemented, an EX move would be activated by using the light and medium buttons, while a Super Move would be done by a medium and heavy button.

 

EX Supers

By using 2 bars of Super Meter and half an Hype Bar, you will get an enhanced version of your super move. You use all 3 strengths to activate this. Will I am entertaining the thought, it seems redundant, especially with all the Supers you already have.

 

Super Cancelling

Inspired by the Street Fighter EX series, the idea is that during a super, you can input the command for another super to interrupt the super and preform the second one, allowing for some flashy and damaging combo, as long as you have the meter for it. This is being debated because 1) if we have 2v2, then this would just be replaced with Delayed Super Combos, and 2) even if it stays 1v1, this maybe too... overwhelming with damage. We'll just have to test it to see how it works.

 

Delayed Super Combos

In typical 2v2 and 3v3 styled games, you can have someone activate their Super Move, and while the first character is attacking, you can input the second character's super, and they will jump on screen, doing their Super. It's a good way to get that extra damage you need to win, and to safely switch out characters.

 

Charging

By pressing the medium punch and medium kick buttons, your character will get in an anime power up pose and start screaming, and gain either Super Meter or Hype Meter. The reasoning of why this is under debate is because I'm not sure if it's even going to be useful. Standing still to gain meter and leaving yourself open just seems like a bad idea.

 

 

The Story

 

[spoiler=The Reason for One]While in most fighting games, the story doesn't really matter, I'm going to try to not make that the case here. After all, each character is more than an avatar. Their life experiences shape their fighting styles and their personality. I truly believe a player is more willing to play if they connect to a character, so the Story Mode is here for more than just casuals. It's planned to entertain the casual and subtly teach them how to play the game, while letting the hardcore learn about the characters they're playing and connect with them.

 

 

[spoiler=The Setting]The main setting is Resonance City, the capital of the unnamed country this game takes place in. It was built using both magic and science, so it's not too uncommon to see mages and elves walking besides robots. The city has a robot police force that answers to the RPC, which is basically like a subdivision of the government of the country. A lot of tournaments for fighters go on around here, whether they're legal or not.

 

The species that live in this world range from humans, to more mystical races, like elves, with 'kins', basically, a race of people that are a mix of human and an animal, and intelligent animals.

 

 

[spoiler=The Plot]1000 years ago, a race from a parallel dimension used advanced magic to open a small portal to come to this world and make a peace treaty that would allow their race to live in this dimension, due to the parallel dimension being a world with minimal resources and a near literal hellscape. They sent their 5 most powerful generals to make this deal, but after some foul play, the peace talks broke down, and the parallel world race decided to take the world by force. This lead to them being called 'Demons', despite them not being literal biblical demons.

 

The five generals, along with the help of an ancient evil plaguing the world, "The Dragon of Ruin" and some other people, planned to tear a large hole in the dimensions with an artifact known as the 'Prismal Helix'. However, heroes of the past united to take down the Demons, using their combined strength to turn all of them into stone. They then broke the Prismal Helix into pieces and scattered it, so no one could abuse its power.

 

However, now, the spell that turned the generals into stone is wearing off, and the demons managed to open a new portal. This time, they sent their powerful prince and princess, along with an extremely powerful warrior, to invade a world that had been in peace for 1000 years. Their mission is to find the Prismal Helix and rebuild it while finding the generals, and joining forces to take over the world.

 

 

The Characters

 

The characters are some of the most important part of a fighting game, are they not? Here, I'll will list the characters we have planned, along with some of their playstyle and their moves. However, as not every character has not been finished being designed yet, the info available for each character will vary greatly.

 

Also, before I forgot, special thanks to the author of Dragon Ball New Age, Malik Torihane, for doing these final designs for the characters.

 

(This info will be constantly updated. It's a lot to do. 2/14 complete, 5/14 shown)

 

[spoiler=Terro]

[spoiler=Picture]

 

Personality: Due to being raised by his old fashioned grandfather, Terro has a very old fashioned outlook on life. He believes in honor, and does his best to stay well mannered. He tries to treat everyone respectfully and equally. He is a very warm and outgoing person, but also due to being raised by his grandfather, he is a bit awkward around people. He tries his best anyways though. He doesn’t want to fight all his life, but he is unsure what someone like him could do.

 

History: Terro spent his entire life training in a dojo in the mountains, leaving only for tournaments and the like. He hasn’t had much happen, he has just learned and train all his life. One day, however, his grandfather told him it was time for him to get off the mountain and see the world, so now, he is travelling, trying to find his purpose.

 

Fighting Style: Terro is a shotoclone. His movements and attacks are slower, but he hits much harder than his fellow shotoclone, and he has more health. Is great on the ground, but is has minimal combos in the air.

 

Character Inspirations: Ryu (Street Fighter), Akira Yuki (Virtua Fighter), Yun (Street Fighter), Piccolo (Hyper Dragon Ball Z)

 

[spoiler=Movelist][spoiler=Special Moves]Earthquake Fist: (qcf+punch) He smashes his fist into the ground, causing a projectile to travel across the ground. Think Terry's Power Wave.

Stalagmite: (dp+p) He throws a fist into the sky, causing a stalagmite to shoot up from the ground. His anti-air.

Tetsuzankou: (qcb+k) He moves forwards, smashing his shoulder into his opponent. Has one hit of super armor in the heavy.

Rock Trap: (qcb+p) He points his fingers to the sky, causing a rock to levitate in the air. Can have up to five out at a time. Good for keeping opponents on the ground, or knocking them into the rocks for extra damage.

Axe Kick: (qcf+k) Terro swings his leg in a large arc, smashing it into the ground. Can hit grounded opponents to get that extra hit of damage in.

 

[spoiler=Super Moves]Richter Rush: (qcf+pp) Terro creates a giant wave of Earth, which he then rides across the stage to run over your opponent with. Causes a wallbounce.

Stalagmite Row: (qcf+kk) Terro summons a stalagmite, which hits you in the air, only to have you be hit by a second one. And then a third one.

Cavern Collapse: (down, down+pp) This takes any Rock Traps you have set up and sends them all flying at your opponent.

 

[spoiler=Hype Move]Seismic Crash: (qcb+pp) He hits you with a punch in gut, followed by a Tetsuzankou, and then a massive Stalagmite. Basically his own Shin Shoryuken.

 

[spoiler=Ultimate Move]Colossal Crusher: (qcb+kk) He hits you with a massive punch before summoning a giant golem to smash you into the earth.

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Nick Biri]

[spoiler=Picture]

 

Personality: Nick is a very cocky person, as his father was a very powerful fighter and he learned how to fight from him. As a kid, he was always told to be the best in anything he does, so he trained hard, and became a great fighter, with few that could match him.

He's won a few local tournaments, and is really only pushed by his best friend, who is a character that is just freakishly powerful, so he doesn't take losses to him seriously. He's spent a lot of his life being an overprotective brother for his little sister as well.

 

History: Nick has lived a semi-normal life, learning how to fight, being a big brother, and going to school. His skills in the tournament ring made him a local hero, and he has yet to figure out he’s a big fish in a little pond.

 

Fighting Style: He's a shotoclone, one that is very fast. He is able to run across the ground very fast as well as dash twice in the air for extra mobility, and even dash in all eight directions. One of his super moves is even planned to make him even faster for a limited time. In exchange though, his health is lower than others, not able to take as many hits.

 

Character Inspirations: Ken (Street Fighter), Captain Falcon (Smash Brothers), Gohan (Hyper Dragon Ball Z), Bang Shishigami (Blazblue)

 

[spoiler=Movelist][spoiler=Special Moves]Ion Blast: (qcf+punch) He throws out a punch, launching a projectile. Can be done twice in a row.

Jumping Grab: (dp+p) He leaps into the air, grabbing his opponent before electrocuting them and bouncing off of them. You can then airdash and do a combo off of it. His anti-air.

Rolling Thunder: (qcb+k) He spins in the air, advancing forwards and kicking the opponent. Think Batsu's Crescent Kick.

Divekick: (qcf+k)[Air only] He dives from the sky and kicks the opponent from the sky.

 

[spoiler=Super Moves]Catatumbo Barrage: (qcf+pp) He runs forwards, and if he connects with his opponent, he will unleash a combination of punches and kicks before knocking them away.

The Floor is Lightning!: (down, down+kk) Nick leaps to the far side of the screen, before dashing across the screen to the other side, covering the floor in an electric current. Must be blocked low or jumped over.

Lightning Strike: (qcf+kk)[Air Only] Nick does a dive kick, and when he connects, he does a quick combination of kicks before appearing above the opponent and crashing down on them.

 

[spoiler=Hype Move]Raiko Arashi: (down, down+pp) Nick powers up, his Hype Meter becoming a timer as it slowly drains. His run is replaced by a super dash that can pass through projectiles, and can go in all 8 directions, airdash 4 times and his attacks are powered up. He still can walk though, you have to double tap like a dash to make him do his super dash.

 

[spoiler=Ultimate Move]Berserker Bolt: (qcf+kk) Rushing forwards, Nick will do a fast combination of punches and kicks before calling down a bolt of lightning to strike the opponent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Kalpana]

[spoiler=Picture]

 

Personality: Kalpana has a strong sense of justice, to the point she dresses up in a costume to fight crime and against the corrupt government of Resonance City. She’s a kind girl, and almost like something of an older sister to Terro. She uses her bright smile and bright personality to bring hope to everyone.

 

History: Kalpana had a semi-normal childhood, her parents raising her and teaching her self-defense. Her father, however, was friends with a strange man on the mountains, and he would take her there to both test her skills and meet his old friend, as well as send her there during the summer for training. There, she met a little kid named Terro, and the two became close friends, almost like brother and sister.

 

When she was 16, her parents were murdered by a police bot going rogue. She realized the police force wasn’t going to take responsibility, instead sweeping the incident under the rug. Angered by this corruption, she became a vigilante, one fighting to protect the people of the city.

 

Fighting Style: Kalpana has no projectiles, but she makes up for it by being very agile, able to move around gracefully in both the air and the ground. She has the ability to chain some of her special moves together (commonly known as a rekka), with each path giving her a different way to attack. Fighting her is guesswork on what she’ll do next.

 

Character Inspirations: Ms. Fortune (Skullgirls), Karin (Street Fighter), Tien (Hyper Dragon Ball Z)

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=A.R.C.]

[spoiler=Picture]

 

Personality: A.R.C. at first glance seems to be only a mindless machine, following orders given to him. However, he seems to possess a working understanding in the differences between right and wrong, much to the chagrin of his superiors. He also is able to disobey a direct order, and does so when he believes something is a higher priority over his current mission, or when his mission is wrong.

 

History: A.R.C. was a prototype for a robot police force. His ability to do things normal people couldn’t and the ability to keep going into late hours, along with no paycheck, made him an ideal policeman. He was soon replicated, and Resonance City had a robot police force. However, they soon realized that he seemed to disobey orders at seemingly random times. That coupled with advancements in technology, A.R.C. was put into storage, where he remained until the force needed him to capture a dangerous criminal.

 

Fighting Style: A.R.C. is a large and slow character with great reach. He uses boxing moves, with a command grab. He can armor through many attacks, but his combos are not as long because of this.

 

Character Inspirations: Big Band (Skullgirls), Iron Tager (Blazblue), Cody (Street Fighter)

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Ragnar]

[spoiler=Picture]

 

Personality:

 

History:

 

Fighting Style: His playstyle will involve a mix of projectiles and hard hitting moves, and the ability to fly for a short period of time.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Rou]

[spoiler=Picture]

 

Personality: Rou is a bit rough around the edges. Due to growing up with only her one friend, Quick, she tends to show off her more tomboyish side to the world. She always picks fights first, then asks questions later. She has a softer side, the side that loves to learn and loves to bake for her Quick. She rarely shows this side, for the world that was her childhood was cold and heartless, which made her grow up faster than she should.

 

History:

 

Fighting Style: She is the grappler of the game. She will be agile movement wise, although her attacks will be slower.

 

 

 

If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read all this, and thanks in advance for any comments or advice you may have.

[mitchermitcher]

A bit too busy(lazy) to comment on the story/plot/anything like that much but the blatantly DBZ artstyle, while it won't get you sued, might also turn some people away from the game. Not because they're DBZ haters(sure they exist) but because it looks too inspired by DBZ. Might be something to worry about if you're willing to change it.

 

Anyway on to the actual meat:

 

Don't Super Bars and Hype Bars fill up pretty similarly? Assuming Supers fill up the standard way then the only difference is that getting hit/combo'd doesn't increase it. One way to make them different is to have one (probably the Hype one) carry over between rounds. It makes a difference whether your bars carry over so having both could be neat.

 

While I'm not a fan of games having too many mechanics in favor of just good old decently designed character movesets, I like the idea of EX Moves. My favorite fightan(Melty Blood) has them and they're generally better than Supers due to being more versatile and functional. If you do go with this though, you can't cram in too many supers on one character.

 

The rest I have no real interest in. Charging is more there to incentivize the other player to not leave you open for too long, which already doesn't happen much but it discourages stalling in the corner without having a projectile to fire(which is a risk) so if it's not completely useless as a mechanic.