Lab Zero (Skullgirls) announce Indivisible "Metroidvania” w/ Valkyrie Profile combat"

@MUWANdo said:
So, are you at all concerned by the Exist Archive announcement?
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We were a little at first, but after seeing the trailer, we feel like we're pretty distinct from it.

Basically, we're doubling down on the direction VP1's combat is going, while Exist Archive seems to be going in a more VP2 / standard JRPG battle. And we're going to have a greater focus on platforming than they seem to, also.

Also, we're likely to be done about two years after Exist Archive comes out. So, if anything, Exist Archive may increase demand for this sort of game.

Super ironic that they announced it when they did, though.
 
@Ravi is the core funding goal of Indivisible a larger or smaller project (in terms of amount of gameplay variables, budget, size of team) compared to the original Skullgirls release? Or is it incomparable?
 
AAK said:
@Ravi is the core funding goal of Indivisible a larger or smaller project (in terms of amount of gameplay variables, budget, size of team) compared to the original Skullgirls release? Or is it incomparable?
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Larger.

Pretty much double the budget and team size, if we're funded.
 
Ravidrath said:
Here's a look at one of the concept pieces that inspired the level that will be in the Indivisible playable prototype.

tumblr_nsout5OjWv1uzx2jzo1_1280.jpg


It's by Willy Hwang, the guy that did most of Skullgirls' environments.
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Sold.
 
I probably already posted in this thread but damn I'm excited for this one. I never played Skullgirls (sorry! I don't play fighters) but it looked like a very high quality effort made by people passionate with an eye for game design, so making a game influenced by one of my favorite franchises ever has put you right the fuck on the map for me :)
 
Ravidrath said:
Here's a look at one of the concept pieces that inspired the level that will be in the Indivisible playable prototype.

tumblr_nsout5OjWv1uzx2jzo1_1280.jpg


It's by Willy Hwang, the guy that did most of Skullgirls' environments.
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Wow, this is giving me classic RPG concept art vibes. And it's great! A lot of games go for the modern, sub modern or claylike fantasy animation, no offense to HM, so it's refreshing to see scenery which simply evokes fantasy.

Like the feeling of 'This is an RPG!'
 
Ravidrath said:
Here's a look at one of the concept pieces that inspired the level that will be in the Indivisible playable prototype.

tumblr_nsout5OjWv1uzx2jzo1_1280.jpg


It's by Willy Hwang, the guy that did most of Skullgirls' environments.
Click to expand...
The style is a little familiar to one other artist's work. It took me a bit, but then it hit me

Akihiko Yoshida (Final Fantasy Tactics, Bravely Default, etc.)
SZ2ksr6.jpg
dZqI8dw.jpg
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Nordicus said:
The style is a little familiar to one other artist's work. It took me a bit, but then it hit me

Akihiko Yoshida (Final Fantasy Tactics, Bravely Default, etc.)
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Haha, I'll have to pass that one on to Willy... pretty sure he will just blush and be like "No, no way!"

He has worked for Pixar, though.
 
I'm not a fan of fighting games, never really my style, but since I learned about you guys from GAF, I've seen a sincere dedication to your games, and honesty about your positions that I enjoy reading. This sounds right up my alley, so you can count on adding a new supporter when the campaign goes up.

Good luck guys.

Ps. I plan to get both exist archive and this. There's nothing wrong with more great options. They're also targeting very different feels from the way the descriptions for both games are.

Edit: haha, I'll sign up for updates on the dev blog. Nice timing
 
Sorry Rav, I'm not really feeling the design of that dude. Maybe it's the posture and I just needs to see it in motion along with the rest of the characters, but the nose, shoulderguard, and weapon make it weird for me. Of course, I still look forward to the game a whole bunch.
 
Ravidrath said:
There's going to be a lot more variety in the shapes and features of the characters, compared to Skullgirls.
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That sounds impressive because even under the umbrella of "sexy", Skullgirls in-game and extended cast had a lot more variety than you see in many games.

duckroll said:
Incarnations eh? *cough*
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I've never played VP but I'm assuming this is close in name to a concept from that series? Or like Suikoden?
 
Crocodile said:
I've never played VP but I'm assuming this is close in name to a concept from that series? Or like Suikoden?
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The party members other than the Valkyrie in VP games are all her Einherjar, and you collect them as you progress through the game.

Ravidrath said:
Go on.
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Btw, are there going to be more than 12 of them? Exist Archive is already a step down in terms of character variety compared to VP! :)

Also, regarding something from earlier....

Ravidrath said:
We were a little at first, but after seeing the trailer, we feel like we're pretty distinct from it.

Basically, we're doubling down on the direction VP1's combat is going, while Exist Archive seems to be going in a more VP2 / standard JRPG battle. And we're going to have a greater focus on platforming than they seem to, also.
Click to expand...

I don't think this is a case, since I've been following the announcements of the details pretty closely. It feels like to me that EA is very much attempting a modern VP 2.0 rather than expanding on stuff which was in VP2. The combat system in particular seems to be entirely about pre-setting moves and customization, and then executing them in combos with proper timing. There appears to be none of the strategic movement, party splitting, or breakable enemy parts depending on the direction of your attacks. Instead you set up attack sequences for each character in the menus, there's a full class system, etc.

The platforming also seems to be emphasized quite a bit when they talk about it, but we haven't actually seen much. There's going to be sliding, dashing, air dashing, and various stage gimmicks in the dungeons to facilitate action platforming mechanics.
 
duckroll said:
Btw, are there going to be more than 12 of them? Exist Archive is already a step down in terms of character variety compared to VP! :)

Also, regarding something from earlier....
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Yes, there will be more than 12 party members.

duckroll said:
I don't think this is a case, since I've been following the announcements of the details pretty closely. It feels like to me that EA is very much attempting a modern VP 2.0 rather than expanding on stuff which was in VP2. The combat system in particular seems to be entirely about pre-setting moves and customization, and then executing them in combos with proper timing. There appears to be none of the strategic movement, party splitting, or breakable enemy parts depending on the direction of your attacks. Instead you set up attack sequences for each character in the menus, there's a full class system, etc.

The platforming also seems to be emphasized quite a bit when they talk about it, but we haven't actually seen much. There's going to be sliding, dashing, air dashing, and various stage gimmicks in the dungeons to facilitate action platforming mechanics.
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Yeah, it looks like the action bar is also a timeline of sorts, and you tap out your order and it executes them all at once.

This is why I think it's more in the direction of standard JRPG battles, even though it's still kinda VP2-ish.
 
Ravidrath said:
Yeah, it looks like the action bar is also a timeline of sorts, and you tap out your order and it executes them all at once.

This is why I think it's more in the direction of standard JRPG battles, even though it's still kinda VP2-ish.
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I don't think that's how it plays at all. It should play exactly like VP1, where you tap and attacks are executed in real time. The action bar is an AP bar showing how it is being drained, since each attack has an AP cost. There is nothing at all about the game which looks like VP2 to me. It's all VP1.
 
duckroll said:
I don't think that's how it plays at all. It should play exactly like VP1, where you tap and attacks are executed in real time. The action bar is an AP bar showing how it is being drained, since each attack has an AP cost. There is nothing at all about the game which looks like VP2 to me. It's all VP1.
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The best part about VP2's battle system (for me) were how many skills and abilities there were. Does EA sound like it will have the same level of customization as VP2 as far as attacks/\abilities are concerned?
 
duckroll said:
I don't think that's how it plays at all. It should play exactly like VP1, where you tap and attacks are executed in real time. The action bar is an AP bar showing how it is being drained, since each attack has an AP cost. There is nothing at all about the game which looks like VP2 to me. It's all VP1.
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If that's the case, it strikes me as odd that they hide the character portraits / buttons while they're attacking. Because I think that creates a pretty big disconnect for something that's supposed to be dynamic and real-time.

But if you look at the trailer at 0:25, it shows the characters already on the action bar/timeline, and the bar drains as they act.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY76h0TiKNk&feature=youtu.be

So if it's real-time, why are the characters already on there?

And I feel this screenshot shows the same thing - everything is queued up in advance, and drains as it's acted on.

Exist-Archive-The-Other-Side-of-the-Sky_2015_08-03-15_003.jpg
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Even though we have seen more of Exist Archive, I am still more excited for Indivisible.

What little we have seen of Indivisible is more interesting to me than everything we've see of EA.

The difference, though, is Vita support. So I have my fingers crossed.
 
Ravidrath said:
If that's the case, it strikes me as odd that they hide the character portraits / buttons while they're attacking. Because I think that creates a pretty big disconnect for something that's supposed to be dynamic and real-time.

But if you look at the trailer at 0:25, it shows the characters already on the action bar/timeline, and the bar drains as they act.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY76h0TiKNk&feature=youtu.be

So if it's real-time, why are the characters already on there?

And I feel this screenshot shows the same thing - everything is queued up in advance, and drains as it's acted on.
Click to expand...

In 0:25, if you look really closely, it starts with just the main character attacking, and you only see his portrait there. Immediately as his attack starts, the player taps the button of another character in the back which is when the portrait is added instantly. The reason why his attack is delayed is because he's running from the back. If you look at 0:42, you'll see one character doing a 3 attack combination, but each attack only shows up on the bar when it is triggered, not before. The screenshot you posted is a case of 4 attacks from all the party members being triggered immediately one after another, and you can see that multiple characters are clearly simultaneously attacking.

I agree the UI isn't the best, but it's definitely not a case of attacks being "queued" and then executed when you select "Go".

Skilletor said:
The best part about VP2's battle system (for me) were how many skills and abilities there were. Does EA sound like it will have the same level of customization as VP2 as far as attacks/\abilities are concerned?
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Maybe? It's hard to tell at the moment but the latest update from Famitsu goes into some detail regarding the class system skills, and party synergy. There's probably going to be quite a bit of variety like in any tri-Ace game. I made a thread about it, but then it died pretty quickly!
 
Lime said:
Sorry Rav, I'm not really feeling the design of that dude. Maybe it's the posture and I just needs to see it in motion along with the rest of the characters, but the nose, shoulderguard, and weapon make it weird for me. Of course, I still look forward to the game a whole bunch.
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I agree. I wanted to reply before he did, but I wasn't sure if that would've been rude.
 
Blasian Persuasion said:
I agree. I wanted to reply before he did, but I wasn't sure if that would've been rude.
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It's not "rude," haha.

We're going to have plenty of characters with a lot of variety. And I'd be surprised if everyone loves every single one of them.

Especially before they play with them, read their dialog, etc.
 
Ravidrath said:
It's not "rude," haha.

We're going to have plenty of characters with a lot of variety. And I'd be surprised if everyone loves every single one of them.

Especially before they play with them, read their dialog, etc.
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Exactly. No one is going to love every character. Also why a few negative opinions shouldn't ever be used as a base to change a design. Change something so that those few likes it and then the ones who liked the original design won't maybe like the new design etc. Not that anyone was calling for a re-design but you see that from time to time.
 
Neat art

I'm just waiting patiently until September. Skullgirls had great environmental/background art with lots of different locales, but Indivisble seems to be taking us to an entirely different level. I'm looking forward to seeing more characters besides the archers and more new SE Asia inspired backgrounds.
 
Ravidrath said:
The devblog is go!

First up, we're introducing Zebei, one of the characters in the playable prototype!

http://indivisiblegame.com/blog/introducing-zebei/
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Don't mind the char himself, but what's with the handles on the bow? Looks kinda weird, especially since they're nor identical, bottom one looks like it's meant to be held since it has bandages handle type things, other one looks a bit spiky to be a handle. Can he smack stuff with his bow with the red part?

Mostly the bow design is what's weird to me, the rest of the char seems fine, fairly cartoonish or old school anime, which Ajna looks like too so fitting there and the costume is a great fit, looking like a mongol/hun archer.
 
Pyros_Eien said:
Don't mind the char himself, but what's with the handles on the bow? Looks kinda weird, especially since they're nor identical, bottom one looks like it's meant to be held since it has bandages handle type things, other one looks a bit spiky to be a handle. Can he smack stuff with his bow with the red part?
Click to expand...

It's meant to be a highly exaggerated / customized version of this:

mongolian_bow.jpg
 
Right I get the shortbow design, I just don't get why the extremities are 2 different looking pieces, and are over detailed, with the top one looking actually heavy which sounds like not the greatest idea on a short bow which entire point is its low weight and small size that lets you fire it from horse back, or I assume in this case while jumping and so on. Both sides look in fact metallic for some reason, weighting it further down.

If it was a longbow, I could see the bottom part being used by planting it in the ground to fire a larger shot(not realistic, but it'd make sense in a game), with the top part being used to make it easier to plant it and more stable, but since the bow is small, that's definitely not what's happening.

I think a simpler wooden design, with only colors so it's not too boring, would probably have looked better, though that's just my opinion.

Rest looks great, and I'm mostly nitpicking.
 
Scrooge McDuck said:
Ooo, the Southeast Asian inspiration is very obvious here (Angkor Wat?). If you don't mind answering, would SE Asia be the general aesthetics for the entire game, or would it go all around the world?
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The game will take place across the entire world.

Like how Ajna's home is inspired by SE Asia, there will be areas inspired by other regions and cultures.

For example, a region inspired by South America would likely have monsters, etc. drawing from Aztec, Mayan, Incan, etc. religion.

Generally, we're trying to stay away from some European and Japanese mythologies, just because those are already well-represented in games.
 
Ravidrath said:
The game will take place across the entire world.

Like how Ajna's home is inspired by SE Asia, there will be areas inspired by other regions and cultures.

For example, a region inspired by South America would likely have monsters, etc. drawing from Aztec, Mayan, Incan, etc. religion.

Generally, we're trying to stay away from some European and Japanese mythologies, just because those are already well-represented in games.
Click to expand...

It's good to see there will be a lot of variety in environment and aesthetic.
Though to be honest, I wouldn't raise an objection in case the game fully committed to SE Asia setting :p
 
Ravidrath said:
The game will take place across the entire world.

Like how Ajna's home is inspired by SE Asia, there will be areas inspired by other regions and cultures.

For example, a region inspired by South America would likely have monsters, etc. drawing from Aztec, Mayan, Incan, etc. religion.

Generally, we're trying to stay away from some European and Japanese mythologies, just because those are already well-represented in games.
Click to expand...

This is pretty cool! Can't wait to see more of your game!

So with the battle system being similar to Valkyrie Profile, will we be seeing a lot of different types of attacks being learned as we continue through the game? It would be cool to gain a unique skill for exploring certain areas.
 
Ravidrath said:
The game will take place across the entire world.

Like how Ajna's home is inspired by SE Asia, there will be areas inspired by other regions and cultures.

For example, a region inspired by South America would likely have monsters, etc. drawing from Aztec, Mayan, Incan, etc. religion.

Generally, we're trying to stay away from some European and Japanese mythologies, just because those are already well-represented in games.
Click to expand...

Not to mention Valkyrie Profile specifically use both of those settings. :P

Thank you for the answer. The settings seem refreshing, to be sure.
 
Ravidrath said:
The game will take place across the entire world.

Like how Ajna's home is inspired by SE Asia, there will be areas inspired by other regions and cultures.

For example, a region inspired by South America would likely have monsters, etc. drawing from Aztec, Mayan, Incan, etc. religion.

Generally, we're trying to stay away from some European and Japanese mythologies, just because those are already well-represented in games.
Click to expand...

That's really cool. Does that mean we could be seeing stuff inspired by religions/mythologies and architecture from the Middle East and other parts of Asia as well?
 
Ravidrath said:
The game will take place across the entire world.

Like how Ajna's home is inspired by SE Asia, there will be areas inspired by other regions and cultures.

For example, a region inspired by South America would likely have monsters, etc. drawing from Aztec, Mayan, Incan, etc. religion.

Generally, we're trying to stay away from some European and Japanese mythologies, just because those are already well-represented in games.
Click to expand...

Are we going to hit any of the regions of Africa (that's not Egypt) or the Caribbean on this globe-trotting adventure?
 
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