Lab Zero (Skullgirls) announce Indivisible "Metroidvania w/ Valkyrie Profile combat"
- Thread starter HadesGigas
- Start date
Jawmuncher
Member
I'm all over this.
CommandThrower
Member
What's this? A brand new Lab Zero game?!
Seriously, though. I am super eager to hear more news. 'Love you guys!
Seriously, though. I am super eager to hear more news. 'Love you guys!
Messofanego
Banned
Very few games with indian (?) settings. The only one I know is that rpg, Unrest.
Very true, this is definitely one of the few to do it overtly
I know it's weird, petty, whatever, but man, I really hate hearing games described as "Game X you're probably nostalgic for + Game Y that appeals to a specific crowd". It's an instant turnoff, no matter the games involved. I understand the reasoning, but I can't help my negative gut reaction.
It remains to be seen how this particular combination will work out, but I will say this:
"Metroidbvania" is a word that I completely tune out these days, thanks to the efforts of indies to run it down into the same meaningless wasteland they're dragged "roguelike" into over the past few years. Maybe it means something significant here, but I won't hold my breath.
While I haven't beaten Valkyrie Profile yet (I started it for the first time recently and am currently about halfway through), the platforming elements so far have been thoroughly pointless, while the combat basically takes place in the pause menu, since turn-to-turn it has very nearly no decision-making involved. Incidentally, I think the most interesting part of the game is the time limit and the vignette structure that goes with it - which happens to be the bit of VP they're not using, apparently! Oh well.
But as always, I'll reserve real judgement until I play this game. It might be that this particular combination works out really well! I can at least see how Metroid trappings could potentially improve VP's platforming, and how the devs' previous experience could improve the VP combat (if anyone understands the importance of options and decisions, it's fighting game devs).
It's not like I don't have praise for what's been shown - if nothing else, the art looks pretty good, the music is likely to be quite good, and the character design is a huge step up from Skullgirls. I won't be backing, but I'll keep it on my radar, and I hope it turns out well.
It remains to be seen how this particular combination will work out, but I will say this:
"Metroidbvania" is a word that I completely tune out these days, thanks to the efforts of indies to run it down into the same meaningless wasteland they're dragged "roguelike" into over the past few years. Maybe it means something significant here, but I won't hold my breath.
While I haven't beaten Valkyrie Profile yet (I started it for the first time recently and am currently about halfway through), the platforming elements so far have been thoroughly pointless, while the combat basically takes place in the pause menu, since turn-to-turn it has very nearly no decision-making involved. Incidentally, I think the most interesting part of the game is the time limit and the vignette structure that goes with it - which happens to be the bit of VP they're not using, apparently! Oh well.
But as always, I'll reserve real judgement until I play this game. It might be that this particular combination works out really well! I can at least see how Metroid trappings could potentially improve VP's platforming, and how the devs' previous experience could improve the VP combat (if anyone understands the importance of options and decisions, it's fighting game devs).
It's not like I don't have praise for what's been shown - if nothing else, the art looks pretty good, the music is likely to be quite good, and the character design is a huge step up from Skullgirls. I won't be backing, but I'll keep it on my radar, and I hope it turns out well.
Can't wait for this, it looks awesome and I'm a huge fan of their artists so count me in. I was incredibly impressed with the Skullgirls campaign, easily one of the most professional and honest ones I've backed to date and the studio has some real class act people.
I really hope you guys do streams for this as those were amazing and for me inspirational. Looking forward to the campaign and I hope one tier has an art book attached to it, I'd pay for a physical art book when this is done.
I really hope you guys do streams for this as those were amazing and for me inspirational. Looking forward to the campaign and I hope one tier has an art book attached to it, I'd pay for a physical art book when this is done.
Boss Rush wouldn't be too hard, but a Rogue-like mode is a pretty substantial addition. It's not too far off from something we're already thinking about, though.
And I'll have to ask Mike about indievanias, but I don't think he's played all that many other than, like, Cave Story and Ori.
I know he's really excited to play Axiom Verge at some point, too.
Thanks, man - means a lot to us.
And we'll definitely start streaming things again if we get funded. The team enjoys doing it, but we decided to hold off on that on the playable prototype because we want the characters and monsters to be a bit of a surprise.
jediyoshi
Member
What is that reasoning? Because it sounds like your takeaway is pandering whereas at its most simple, it's a quick way to describe core mechanics. What could they have substituted in description genre wise that would get across the same mechanical messaging?
It's great to have a dev actually engaging with the community and clearing up stuff about an upcoming project. With a lot of the uncertainty these days about aspects of crowdfunded projects, it's fantastic to get a clearer understanding of what's going on.
As the #1 hater of the term "Metroidvania" on this forum, I'm happy to hear that this game sounds more like a sidescrolling RPG with a VP inspired combat system, rather than the usual types of "Metroidvania" which generally either meant Shitty Single Player Maple Story Clone or Yet Another Crappy Game By IGA. For pure sidescrolling action games, the only "Metroidvania" games I like are those which really aren't Metroidvanias at all. if they don't have a grindy leveling system or collectathon garbage, they're just Metroid inspired games!
Can I lobby for this game to drop the "Metroidvania" pitch and emphasize the "Valkyrie Profile" part instead? Please! Even the mention that the project was born from a request to make "something like Child of Light" sounds better as a first impression pitch!
As the #1 hater of the term "Metroidvania" on this forum, I'm happy to hear that this game sounds more like a sidescrolling RPG with a VP inspired combat system, rather than the usual types of "Metroidvania" which generally either meant Shitty Single Player Maple Story Clone or Yet Another Crappy Game By IGA. For pure sidescrolling action games, the only "Metroidvania" games I like are those which really aren't Metroidvanias at all. if they don't have a grindy leveling system or collectathon garbage, they're just Metroid inspired games!
Can I lobby for this game to drop the "Metroidvania" pitch and emphasize the "Valkyrie Profile" part instead? Please! Even the mention that the project was born from a request to make "something like Child of Light" sounds better as a first impression pitch!
Yeah, reading the reactions / confusion about that, I'm wondering how we should recast the basic game description.
Like I said, though, it's just an elevator pitch. And everyone will get to actually play it and decide what it is or isn't before they have to contribute.
The problem with putting VP1 front and center, though, is that almost no one has played it. I mean, even reading this thread, you see how many people don't have any idea what VP1 combat even means or why it's a good fit for a fighting game dev.
Maybe the best thing to do would be to put a combat video up when we have something presentable-ish and maybe just limit it to Ajna and one of the monsters, so the playable prototype isn't completely spoiled.
We're still prototyping combat, so all of this could change.
VP1 combat is turn-based, but I think Mike wants to ATB-ify it somewhat.
Have you played Valdis Story?
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
The right people will know what you mean & everybody else will figure it out after they see a video.
Oh yeah, I totally agree that VP, especially the original VP, is too niche to really be a big communicative selling point. I was just speaking from a personal perspective of how seeing Metroidvania is a bit of a knee jerk reaction turn off, but understanding what the concept is going for suggests it's not going for what people typically throw Metroidvania around for anyway.
Nope.
Werewolf Jones
Member
Will there be multiple playable characters?
Yeah some videos of what combat could be sounds like a good idea at this point. Maybe some rewording about touching 'overworld' enemies starts a battle similar to Tales.
FWIW in my head I was thinking something like Summon Knight (2 minute drill/sword/magic demo) although now you are dealing with movement and physics.
Now I miss Freya after watching some vids again, remember watching someone else play this.
That's nice to hear. Hope Alex can jotted it all down and other devs team pulled it right. Best of luck to you guys.
Prototype Viktor
Member
Trick of perspective so doesn't count. Just like Peacock is the only playable character in Skullgirls
It's the gameplay mode that counts. I refused playing Mass Effect because of the walk gave me brain aneurisms
exaggeration
charlequin
Banned
Have you considered the possibility instead that there's nothing wrong with people using well-understood shortcuts to explain what their games are, and you're actually just way too negatively invested in something that actually doesn't matter?
"Nah, it's they who are wrong".
Look, I cant be the problem so it has to be everyone else.
Just to make this clear, has any further development on skullgirls characters done for now until this game is funded and done? It's probably been answered before, but couldn't seem to find one. I really like all of the additional characters in skullgirls and just wanted to know. I'm pretty hype for this new project
BabyFaceKillah
Member
need to see gameplay before i can get excited.
PandaPedinte
Member
Once Robo Fortune is released this month(?) along the PS4 and Vita versions I think they are done with the SG characters, maybe some minor content will still be released but I not sure.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Where'd y'all get the info that the game's set in India?
Thought I'd post some VP1 gameplay for folks like me who have never played it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoGECwz8p1A
I don't fully get the combat system yet (gonna start looking for the game, so trying to avoid spoilers n' such), but I wasn't expecting combos and stuff like guard crushing. I can definitely see Lab Zero making a deep combat system based on VP's.
That and the influences from South East Asian mythology/various other mythologies mixed in has me rather interested. You definitely don't see mythos taken from places like Indonesia or Native American culture in more well known games (at least not to my knowledge), one of the reasons I like SMT games.
Point is I'm backing the fuck out of this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoGECwz8p1A
I don't fully get the combat system yet (gonna start looking for the game, so trying to avoid spoilers n' such), but I wasn't expecting combos and stuff like guard crushing. I can definitely see Lab Zero making a deep combat system based on VP's.
That and the influences from South East Asian mythology/various other mythologies mixed in has me rather interested. You definitely don't see mythos taken from places like Indonesia or Native American culture in more well known games (at least not to my knowledge), one of the reasons I like SMT games.
Point is I'm backing the fuck out of this.
Riposte
Member
If anything, you just got the order backwards. It's, as far I can tell, Valkyrie Profile with Metroidvania maps or platforming. It's a JRPG, which is generally understood to be exclusive with a whole Metroidvania game, which are platformers/2D action games. What threw me off is that I was thinking in terms of Metroidvania games and "action/RPG".
I agree with everything duckroll has said on the matter of Metroidvania lol.
Not in India exactly, but the game will draw heavily from Southest Asian mythology according to Ravi.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Hey, this sounds promising.
Fuck yeahhhhhhhh
Love Deterrence
Member
Beautiful.
We'll see what happens.
Autumn wants to do more SG, they just weren't in a position to fund us yet and so we had to take on something else in the meantime.
But, like, if/when more SG happens, it'll be SG2. We're really at the limits of what the PS3 can do for us, memory-wise.
I recommend you give Valdis Story a try, its a good "Metroidvania"...j/k it feels like a side scrolling DmC with RPG leveling, it's pretty great.
I just got into skullgirls and absolutely love the art, I'm definetly backing this. I hope that you guys stick to you artistic vision for the main despite what the community says or feels(people already complaining about skirt and sandals smh). You guys/gals are awesome keep up the good work.
I wonder if you'll reuse the work from SG1 or start fresh and if you start fresh will make a significant change in artstyle.
War Machine
Member
DO NOT SELL THE IP
Karsticles
Member
Thanks for being open. I will support LabZero in all their endeavors.
BumblebeeCody
Member
Now that is awesome. Shame it's another backer campaign.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
I'll wait to see combat footage before I get hyped. A lot of supposed metroidlikes turn out to have stupifiyingly slow committed attacks, which I am not a fan of.