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[duckroll]

The pursuit of making games longer and longer to feed some misguided demand of length is what created the need for action games to have save slots, checkpoints, unlimited continues, infinite lives, etc. For many it has become more of a content experience than a challenging hobby where you don't mind replaying something to get better at it, and to more deeply appreciate the gameplay mechanics, level designs, and boss patterns.

While there is the reality of the mainstream market to be concerned about when making a retail game today, that definitely doesn't apply to a Kickstarter funded game targeting hardcore action fans of 16-bit games. So I really hope none of the guys developing this feels the pressure to make a really long game. Bad pacing kills action games! Say no to bloat!

 

[rjc571]

Obviously, game design has to compensate at some point. There shouldn't be long, easy sections in the first place.

But any challenge will become easy through experience and muscle memory if the player is forced to replay it over and over. I played Super Ghouls & Ghosts repeatedly when I was a kid and I can blow through most of the game with my eyes closed, does this mean that Super Ghouls & Ghosts is an easy game? No. This also raises a larger point -- difficulty is largely subjective! Which makes it pointless to label the effect that certain design decisions have on difficulty as universally "good" or "bad". The only way to analyze a game's difficulty is to look at the individual challenges that the game presents.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

While there is the reality of the mainstream market to be concerned about when making a retail game today, that definitely doesn't apply to a Kickstarter funded game targeting hardcore action fans of 16-bit games. So I really hope none of the guys developing this feels the pressure to make a really long game. Bad pacing kills action games! Say no to bloat!

Which is why Kickstarter could become a gamer's haven, with all sorts of great games being funded by the audience, through a middleman that isn't as laborious and crafty as a regular publisher. This kind of game just isn't going to be published that much anymore. Griptonite's developers got away with making old-school games because they published handheld titles, with lesser budgets and all. In this context, though, all people have to do to get their game is pledge and hope for the best.

So good.

 

[duckroll]

Personally, I'm not a fan of games that force you to play on hard. That forces you to take on completely new challenges, and my response to that is generally "fuck that," followed by me turning off the system. Besides, you can still slog through the game on hard, so it's not necessarily like you're earning the privilege to see the true final level. The 1CC approach, on the other hand is like "okay, you got through this... good job... but now you've gotta be PERFECT." That prompts me to put on sunglasses, grab a strong-as-fuck drink, and start crackin' skulls. And thinking back, it wasn't completing games on hard that was particularly satisfying back in the day -- it was when I got through an arcade game one a single quarter that gave me that feeling of improvement, and made me yell "FUCK YEAH."

I think that really depends on what the difficulty setting means. Having a true final level on hard is not forcing a player to play on hard, but rather communicating to the player that the full game is best experienced at a higher difficulty setting. I dislike difficulty settings which offer all the same conditions, but are just "harder" because enemies do more damage and you do less. That's boring.

The best difficulty settings are those where the actual design and patterns change with each one, and there is an expectation that a player who is tackling a harder mode has either cleared the previous ones and are familiar with what to expect, or a player is generally experienced in the genre enough to know what to expect from a harder challenge.

Having a true final stage be attached to a hard mode means that the stage in question can be designed singularly as a challenge of that caliber, without being designed to be scaled at all like the previous levels. So I think that makes sense. On another note, difficulty modes can also control the limit on lives and continues, so it might not be a case of being able to "slog" through it, because you actually have less chances to screw up on harder modes.

Edit: For further clarity, a good example of difficulty modes which actually present different enemy placements and patterns would the MM9/MM10 games on PSN/XBLA/WiiWare. They did a REALLY good job with those.

 

[Rubikant]

Personally, I'm not a fan of games that force you to play on hard. That forces you to take on completely new challenges, and my response to that is generally "fuck that," followed by me turning off the system. Besides, you can still slog through the game on hard, so it's not necessarily like you're earning the privilege to see the true final level. The 1CC approach, on the other hand is like "okay, you got through this... good job... but now you've gotta be PERFECT." That prompts me to put on sunglasses, grab a strong-as-fuck drink, and start crackin' skulls. And thinking back, it wasn't completing games on hard that was particularly satisfying back in the day -- it was when I got through an arcade game one a single quarter that gave me that feeling of improvement, and made me yell "FUCK YEAH."

tl;dr: I want to yell "FUCK YEAH"

Hard mode is not the solution we were thinking of. Sorry for any others that disappoints, but we are not planning on having multiple difficulties you pick from (unless there is enough outcry to change our minds I guess, but I really think what we do have planned is the better way to go). This discussion is close on some points for how we were hoping to approach this but not quite what we actually have in mind.

 

[Rubikant]

The pursuit of making games longer and longer to feed some misguided demand of length is what created the need for action games to have save slots, checkpoints, unlimited continues, infinite lives, etc. For many it has become more of a content experience than a challenging hobby where you don't mind replaying something to get better at it, and to more deeply appreciate the gameplay mechanics, level designs, and boss patterns.

While there is the reality of the mainstream market to be concerned about when making a retail game today, that definitely doesn't apply to a Kickstarter funded game targeting hardcore action fans of 16-bit games. So I really hope none of the guys developing this feels the pressure to make a really long game. Bad pacing kills action games! Say no to bloat!

I'll be honest, when Tain first asked about length, Kris and I got worried. We were thinking "oh crap, are we going to get reamed if we say we actually want the game to be about the same length as these past games for a skilled player? Will they understand that its really much longer than that at first because you die a lot? Will our backers get word that the game won't be a minimum 10 hours playthrough every time and cancel their pledge? So many reviewers slam games for their length..."

So if your attitude is prevalent in other fans, we are quite relieved that fans appreciate the value of a tight, crafted experience at every moment over just raw length.

 

[Demon Lizardman]

The sprites look alright, but the backgrounds and tiles look pretty bland and boring. It's still in it's beginning stages, so I'll have to wait. I will keep my eye on this though.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

So if your attitude is prevalent in other fans, we are quite relieved that fans appreciate the value of a tight, crafted experience at every moment over just raw length.

Reviews usually matter more when your game's being published through traditional means. But Kickstarter isn't a traditional means of getting a game published, so I'd say you should just listen to the fans for their feedback. I think most game reviewers don't have much of a critical faculty, and spend more time describing the game itself, much less spend time criticizing the issues a game might have. If you spend more time listening to the people backing the game (and us GAFfers, for that matter), then good results are likely to come.

 

[duckroll]

The sprites look alright, but the backgrounds and tiles look pretty bland and boring. It's still in it's beginning stages, so I'll have to wait. I will keep my eye on this though.

Yeah the backgrounds are kinda bad, but I don't know if anything in the video is final. Their tool set looks good, and backgrounds look easily replaceable in the engine. Would love to have less generic-Gamemaker looking background assets with symmetrical and blocky looking sprite work. More parallax would be nice too. I'm spoiled by WayForward's 2D stage art.

Maybe Rubikant can comment on this?

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Kris would have more to say on his current art asset output than Taron, lol.

 

[duckroll]

Kris would have more to say on his current art asset output than Taron, lol.

I would imagine they at least know what the other is doing or has planned, as opposed to being two people who don't talk to each other and make everything in the game independently!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Everyone has their methods—and their secrets!

Maybe they should speak first.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Yeah the backgrounds are kinda bad, but I don't know if anything in the video is final. Their tool set looks good, and backgrounds look easily replaceable in the engine. Would love to have less generic-Gamemaker looking background assets with symmetrical and blocky looking sprite work. More parallax would be nice too. I'm spoiled by WayForward's 2D stage art.

Maybe Rubikant can comment on this?

Lots of parallax would be fantastic. Honestly, that's the 2D visual trick that even makes today's kids say "wow." It just looks fuckin' cool.

 

[Ziophaelin]

The art is still in a very early state. One of the things we need funding to finish. What you see in the videos are fairly early still. The BGs are missing many details and refinements.

Thus far I have spent most of my time with the vast amount required to complete the hero. The hero is a complex sprite made often of multiple sections...

as someone jokingly pointed out earlier on another website "We made a big deal out of moving and attacking", the hero in those states and many others is split into multiple animations (torso/legs) so when walking or standing and the player chooses to attack, it happens smoothly in most of his states. Combine that with all the stuff he can "wear" for every frame that exists for him and it adds up pretty quick.

... so I guess that was a really long winded way of saying the Backgrounds haven't gotten as much attention as I would have liked yet. However, we are in a state where art is finally becoming a near full time focus. I hope that answers the question. Ultimately, I am going to go for brighter colors (as more typical with late 80s Capcom, think along the lines of Knights of the Round or a little more light hearted version of Magic Sword) and put a little bit of my own take on it.

 

[Rubikant]

Reviews usually matter more when your game's being published through traditional means. But Kickstarter isn't a traditional means of getting a game published, so I'd say you should just listen to the fans for their feedback. I think most game reviewers don't have much of a critical faculty, and spend more time describing the game itself, much less spend time criticizing the issues a game might have. If you spend more time listening to the people backing the game (and us GAFfers, for that matter), then good results are likely to come.

Oh definitely, its all about the fans for us. But reviewers are not the only ones that bash a game for a short length without stopping to think that adding to the length would likely have added to the dull at the same time. I'm just relieved that is not the case with enthusiasts here.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I'm glad that Völgarr got the most attention initially. Having a well-fleshed-out character from the start isn't an advantage that gets much appreciation in the early stages of development, but it's essential to have something to base your game around. Like a character with great animation and mechanics.

 

[Dreamwriter]

This is exactly what you'll get if you have infinite lives in your game, though. There's no way around it -- infinite lives, checkpoints, etc are poison.

I recommend reading this review of Super Meat Boy and this review of VVVVVV to understand why. They do not belong in the type of game you seek to make, I believe.

Also, if you're seeking to make an arcade style game in particular, I also recommend reading this to help you further understand the essence of arcade gaming.

That VVVVVV article seems like the guy doesn't know what he's talking about. And not just counting the slurs which makes him sound like a 10 year old, but the actual content as well - like how he only played the game for a half hour but then has an entire article about how crappy the entire game is. I mean, you recommend reading that article to find out why those things are poison, but he never explains any "why", he just complains about the lack. He complains that indie games are mixing what he considers the worst of the retro games (the presentation) with what he considers the worst of modern games (infinite lives, checkpoints). But he never says what's so horrible about all that. He does have a valid argument about revealing the location of all the collectibles in an exploration-based game, but in this case I think it's justified because the exploration is really a small part of the game, and there are so many collectibles that without the locations it would be a boring, frustrating grind to find them all. It changes the activity from "What little spot in this huge world did I miss?" to "How the heck do I get to that thing?"

And he somehow likes the fact that the background graphics are drawn like they'd look like on a Commodore 64, but hates the fact that the character sprites are drawn like they'd look on a Commodore 64 (without a lot of advance trickery)...

 

[@MUWANdo]

I keep wanting to reply to individual posts but every time I refresh I see more and more of 'em... it never rains but it pours, eh?

 

[duckroll]

The art is still in a very early state. One of the things we need funding to finish. What you see in the videos are fairly early still. The BGs are missing many details and refinements.

Thus far I have spent most of my time with the vast amount required to complete the hero. The hero is a complex sprite made often of multiple sections...

as someone jokingly pointed out earlier on another website "We made a big deal out of moving and attacking", the hero in those states and many others is split into multiple animations (torso/legs) so when walking or standing and the player chooses to attack, it happens smoothly in most of his states. Combine that with all the stuff he can "wear" for every frame that exists for him and it adds up pretty quick.

... so I guess that was a really long winded way of saying the Backgrounds haven't gotten as much attention as I would have liked yet. However, we are in a state where art is finally becoming a near full time focus. I hope that answers the question. Ultimately, I am going to go for brighter colors (as more typical with late 80s Capcom, think along the lines of Knights of the Round or a little more light hearted version of Magic Sword) and put a little bit of my own take on it.

Nice to hear. It makes perfect sense that you would want to focus on the hero sprite and animations first to have something which can show off how the game plays in the pitch video. I'll say it paid off. Most people are probably aware enough that this is pretty early, so there isn't really a point being too hard on the backgrounds at this stage, especially since the game isn't funded yet.

 

[Grayman]

EXACTLY! I brought this up earlier (the gear thing being one of the motivations to go further back). The first part as well... Actually okay now I'm a little bummed in that it feels like some of you are stealing some of the thunder from our big plan... I wish we'd been able to reveal it initially, now its just gonna look like I'm stealing ideas from NeoGAF . Well, there's still a big element to it that no one has guessed yet.

can i throw in my guess for gear dependent sequence breaks making it a 30 min arcade game vs a x hour retries game or a zombified skin recolour on death?

 

[Ziophaelin]

Lots of parallax would be fantastic. Honestly, that's the 2D visual trick that even makes today's kids say "wow." It just looks fuckin' cool.

We definitely have lots of that. OOOooh and that reminds me... one other awesome graphical thing we do in Volgarr that you don't see often in these kinds of games...




... that is, unless you had a WHOLE lot of money to own a certain "gold" system that was $650 in 1991.

 

[@MUWANdo]

I mean, you recommend reading that article to find out why those things are poison, but he never explains any "why", he just complains about the lack. He complains that indie games are mixing what he considers the worst of the retro games (the presentation) with what he considers the worst of modern games (infinite lives, checkpoints). But he never says what's so horrible about all that.

He expects you to have read all his essays beforehand. No, I'm not joking.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

snip

To understand his arguments, you really need to read his theory articles that are on the same site. He's always expected the audience to have read his other articles and know what he's talking about. Another activity he recommends is reading a bunch of books from Nietzsche, Baudrillard, and other writers like Schopenhauer. The guy ain't easy to follow sometimes.

 

[Ingueferroque]

Back in the Amiga days (when games were TOUGH), I often imagined that the games I played would be many hours long, with oodles of content and levels hiding behind the countless Game Over screens I faced.

Obviously I was young and mostly sucked at the Games, so I often didn't get by the second or third level.

Now when I look at those very same Amiga games in longplay-mode on Youtube, I'm surprised to find out that those same games that I spent dozens of hours in, often only lasted 30, 45 and rarely around 90 minutes to complete. (No speed run, but tool assisted)

Game length is subjective I guess! I'd rather have a tough-as-nails game that challenges me and forces me to improve, rather than one that holds my hand and makes sure that I will see the end credits if I just put in enough time. If the gameplay is fun by itself, I will not mind having to replay the same scenario over and over.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I'm glad that Völgarr got the most attention initially. Having a well-fleshed-out character from the start isn't an advantage that gets much appreciation in the early stages of development, but it's essential to have something to base your game around. Like a character with great animation and mechanics.

Too true. One of my favorite things about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for example, is just how lavishly animated Alucard is, and how you always feel in control of him... thanks in part to the visual cues.

 

[Easy_D]

Ghouls and Ghost system would for the best if the game isn't long. It added a ton of replay value to those games. At least I thought so.

This, a second "lap" with different enemy placement and shit you wouldn't expect (Flying zombies was a big wtf moment for me)

 

[@MUWANdo]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of second loops and whatnot, provided the initial game isn't too long. (Gradius V has an awesome second loop but the game is so long that I just can't muster up the energy to play it.)

I'd also love to see an action/platformer game try some sort of rank system a la shmups, but maybe that's a little gimmicky, I don't know.

 

[ChosenPredator]

Too true. One of my favorite things about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for example, is just how lavishly animated Alucard is, and how you always feel in control of him... thanks in part to the visual cues.

So true I would love the same feeling of that for this game, very fluid animation.

 

[Rubikant]

EDIT: Nevermind totally misunderstood there.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I'd also love to see an action/platformer game try some sort of rank system a la shmups, but maybe that's a little gimmicky, I don't know.

Interesting idea, but potentially dangerous. If someone ranks up too much, it follows that enemies would either have way too much health and become boring, or deal way too much damage and become frustrating. It's not like a shmup -- most enemies would presumably take some time to deal with in this game, even without a rank system, so you'd get bogged down pretty quickly if a rank system were suddenly in place. Further, shmups with rank systems give you a reasonable ability to simply avoid enemies altogether, avoiding the rank increasing. In a game like this, doing so would be cowardice.

I ain't no bitch. I ain't no ho. I ain't runnin' from no fights.

This is a game where everything must die.

Point is, I'm not sure how it'd work.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

If said ranking system was as strict and ruthless as the system employed in, say, Battle Garegga, then the game would be more of an acquired taste than it should be. Something along the lines of DoDonPachi would be fine with me. Scoring systems are a better idea for this game than ranking systems, since there needs to be a balance between accessibility, set-piece galore, and an immersive underbelly for players to explore.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

If said ranking system was as strict and ruthless as the system employed in, say, Battle Garegga, then the game would be more of an acquired taste than it should be. Something along the lines of DoDonPachi would be fine with me. Scoring systems are a better idea for this game than ranking systems, since there needs to be a balance between accessibility, set-piece galore, and an immersive underbelly for players to explore.

I wouldn't mind a chain system. It takes a bit more ingenuity in the level design to make it so you can theoretically combo your way through an entire level, but if you want hardcore, that is it.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Usage of power-ups and some physics manipulation (on a basic level) could facilitate a chaining system of that sort, yes.

 

[Rubikant]

I wouldn't mind a chain system. It takes a bit more ingenuity in the level design to make it so you can theoretically combo your way through an entire level, but if you want hardcore, that is it.

I know its not really the same thing you meant there but I really enjoyed the chain/combo system in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Great platformer most people never got to try.

 

[@MUWANdo]

Shinobi 3DS had a ranking system, is there something different about the version used in shmups that you are specifically thinking of?

"Ranking" is a term used to describe the dynamically adjusting difficulty levels present in a lot of modern shmups. Basically, the game keeps track of your progress in real time using a bunch of invisible metrics and adjusts the difficulty according to the skill of the player; players who die a lot, make extensive use of bombs or other last-resort-style powerups, etc will rank down, while players who score well, hoards lots of lives, avoid being hit, etc will rank up and be faced with more difficult enemies. When done well, it adds another layer of strategy to the scoring system and forced the players to really test the limits of their abilities. (When done poorly, you get Battle Garegga, hah)

 

[Rubikant]

"Ranking" is a term used to describe the dynamically adjusting difficulty levels present in a lot of modern shmups. Basically, the game keeps track of your progress in real time using a bunch of invisible metrics and adjusts the difficulty according to the skill of the player; players who die a lot, make extensive use of bombs or other last-resort-style powerups, etc will rank down, while players who score well, hoards lots of lives, avoid being hit, etc will rank up and be faced with more difficult enemies. When done well, it adds another layer of strategy to the scoring system and forced the players to really test the limits of their abilities. (When done poorly, you get Battle Garegga, hah)

Interesting, I mostly played the older ones, most modern one would be Ikaruga I guess, hadn't run across that mechanic.

 

[Demon Lizardman]

They should get the guy who does the background for the metal slugs games. Now those are some detailed and beautiful backgrounds. I guess I shouldn't expect much from few developers, but I expect something nice to look at while playing this game.

 

[@MUWANdo]

Interesting, I mostly played the older ones, most modern one would be Ikaruga I guess, hadn't run across that mechanic.

Really? The magic system in Shinobi functions reminded me of something out of a modern Cave game, I figured you guys were all over that stuff.

 

[Rubikant]

Really? The magic system in Shinobi functions reminded me of something out of a modern Cave game, I figured you guys were all over that stuff.

Huh, no, we just took the old Shinobi 3 magic mechanic and modified it in what seemed the most sensible ways, and further modified it after we tried it in the game for a while.

 

[JEKKI]

heyyyyyyy this looks pretty coooooool~!!!

I got 10 bucks!

 

[Ziophaelin]

heyyyyyyy this looks pretty coooooool~!!!

I got 10 bucks!

OM NOM nom... I eats your $10.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Any thoughts on a tie-in to The Lost Vikings? lolol

 

[@MUWANdo]

Any thoughts on a tie-in to The Lost Vikings? lolol

Blizzard stopped looking for 'em 20 years ago, that's why they're so vulgar.

 

[Risette]

"Ranking" is a term used to describe the dynamically adjusting difficulty levels present in a lot of modern shmups. Basically, the game keeps track of your progress in real time using a bunch of invisible metrics and adjusts the difficulty according to the skill of the player; players who die a lot, make extensive use of bombs or other last-resort-style powerups, etc will rank down, while players who score well, hoards lots of lives, avoid being hit, etc will rank up and be faced with more difficult enemies. When done well, it adds another layer of strategy to the scoring system and forced the players to really test the limits of their abilities. (When done poorly, you get Battle Garegga, hah)

Battle Garegga is good man! Yagawa/Raizing rank hell is definitely is acquired taste, but it puts an interesting spin on his games and gives them a definite unique trait that really no other shooters can claim to have. Powerups actually make the rank go up btw, in Yagawa's stuff. So does holding down/spamming the fire button.

Though something like Pink Sweets is definitely ranking done poorly, what was Yagawa thinking... that game is most certainly a thing. In any case, I'd say that a sidescrolling character action game definitely doesn't want extreme rank systems. A more moderate ranking system would be cool, though. Rank modifying powerups/weapons/armor could add a cool risk/reward dynamic. I've only played a few credits of Daimakaimura, but I remember some chests actually powering your character down temporarily. Instead of that, weapons that modify rank depending on the power they provide could be a different way of handling the whole "mystery box" dynamic.

I wouldn't mind a chain system. It takes a bit more ingenuity in the level design to make it so you can theoretically combo your way through an entire level, but if you want hardcore, that is it.

Demon Front (pretty good Metal Slug clone by IGS, the Taiwanese arcade developer & manufacturer that made the PGM hardware that Cave used for Daioujou, Ketsui, and Espgaluda!) actually has chaining, which works better than you'd expect.

 

[Ziophaelin]

Any thoughts on a tie-in to The Lost Vikings? lolol

I love that game now... when i first got it when I was a kid it pissed me off to no end. I didn't really "get it". Awesome game.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Blizzard stopped looking for 'em 20 years ago, that's why they're so vulgar.

Too bad, I guess. We still have our own Völgarr viking!

 

[OnceLostHorizon]

Ok, couple other thoughts/wishes on gameplay elements that I don't think have really been elaborated on yet.

The shield..please make it actually useable, I hate games where you have a shield and can't actually use it. I want a block button that actually holds the shield up so I can block, both missile and melee attacks, with a cool "thud" sound when you block something. Maybe the shield can degrade, and break after 2 hits or something. This way you have to choose when to use it, and you'll have replacements placed around randomly (kinda like the weapons in Rastan).

As for the armor, I don't want it to go away when you get hit like in Ghouls n' Ghosts..I want to slowly build it up so it looks cooler and cooler, perhaps a system like in King of Dragons where you get a cooler looking sword, shield, and helmet as you progress. Also may be too overzealous, but I loved the game Blades of Vengeance on the Genesis, specifically the modest inventory system and the ability to save up to buy a nice set of armor and new abilities halfway through the game. This could require the player to play extremely well in order to save up the required "score", or "gold" or whatever you want to call it. Game would be completely playable without buying any upgrades but it would be a cool change if you were able to play well enough up until that point.

I'd have a lot of wishes for more rpg elements, but I understand that's not really the type of game you're trying to make here. (Maybe in the future? Symphony of the Night Viking-style would rock).

Last thought..it'd be sweet to add that 80's sword & sorcery vibe anywhere you can..your concept art already has that going so keep it up! Think D&D, Hero Quest, old Conan movies, Frank Frazetta art. At least that's how I see it going, lol.

 

[Rubikant]

Ok, couple other thoughts/wishes on gameplay elements that I don't think have really been elaborated on yet.

The shield..please make it actually useable, I hate games where you have a shield and can't actually use it. I want a block button that actually holds the shield up so I can block, both missile and melee attacks, with a cool "thud" sound when you block something. Maybe the shield can degrade, and break after 2 hits or something. This way you have to choose when to use it, and you'll have replacements placed around randomly (kinda like the weapons in Rastan).

I realized in horror soon after the page went live that in the final cut of the video I had only 1 place where it showed the shield blocking an attack and it was so quick I doubted anyone would even notice it (its just before getting whacked in the back of the head at the end of the section that talks about the gear mechanic).

But yes you block with the shield (not by pressing a button though, but by merely having the shield in the right place, meaning you can't block and attack at the same time as the shield moves to the side during the attack animation - the game only has 2 action buttons, attack and jump, and 2 extra buttons, pause/menu and something else that doesn't directly affect the hero).

The basic wooden shield, which you always start a new life with, can block up to 3 hits and then is destroyed (upon the 3rd hit). The damage to the shield is visibly shown so you know how many hits you have left before it will be lost. If you are hit without blocking and don't have any other defensive gear though, the shield is immediately lost.

EDIT: As for your other points, I'm sorry to tell you this as I hate disappointing people, but we specifically and purposefully left out any kind of RPG-like elements for this game. Partially because we are a little tired of them honestly, they are a bit overused these days, feels like every genre is X + RPG elements, and in our last job every project the publishers always wanted us to wedge in RPG elements. The only one we managed to avoid that in was Shinobi 3DS. Like that game, for Volgarr we wanted to have a more "pure" experience. That said, several of the other games on "the list" have RPG elements aplenty, including a design we have for a game based heavily on Hero Quest actually.

 

[Ziophaelin]

G'night gaffers. I need my beauty rest and more time to push coarse hairs out of my face to shave in the morning.

See you guys tomorrow for some more interesting debates and waffles.

 

[Dreamwriter]

G'night gaffers. I need my beauty rest and more time to push coarse hairs out of my face to shave in the morning.

See you guys tomorrow for some more interesting debates and waffles.

Personally, I think pancakes make for a better gameplay element. While sure the pits in the waffle hold more syrup, the waffle's more toasted outer surface resists being soaked in butter and syrup, while pancakes can soak things up like a sponge. And pancakes are more aerodynamically sound.