The Great Crusade

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Revision as of 19:45, 20 January 2016 by Wildweasel (talk) (Original chat log for reference)
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The Great Crusade: Fighting the Good Fight! is a semi-serious fighting game, 2D-style, with SF-style moves and Tekken-style combos with an emphasis on not being really complex.

Game System

This game controls primarily with the keyboard, with support for gamepads and joysticks. It is, first and foremost, designed with the keyboard in mind.

  • Combos should be easy to learn, but not so dumbed down like Tekken's 10-Hit Combos
  • No 360's, no 720's, no infinity-loops.
  • No silly unrealistic stuff. King of Fighters, yes. Marvel vs Capcom 2, no. Dragonball Z, no.
  • Defense: Hold Away to block high, Down-Away to block low. Doing so at the very last second does Garou-style Just Defended (we'll call it Timed Defense). It is possible to punch projectiles out of the air.
  • Projectile attacks should deplete just a mild amount (1/4?) of the special gauge, so players can't turtle behind them. They'll be a little more powerful anyway.

Controls

  • Arrow left/right: move left and right. Character will automatically face his/her opponent. Holding Away from opponent when attacked will Block the attack (to the best of your character's ability). Tapping Away from opponent at the precise moment of attack will Precise Defend the attack, absorbing the attack back into your health (to a certain degree of limit). Double-tapping Away will back-dash. Double-tapping Towards will start the character running - any Attack button or arrow key press will interrupt a run. For blocking, basic SNK-style rules apply - press Away to block high, Down-Away to block low. Some attacks may be blocked with Timed Defense; press Away at the exact instant of the attack to parry and regain a little health.
  • Arrow up: sidestep. Character dodges in place to avoid attacks. Will perform a rolling dodge if Left or Right are being held down when this key is pressed. Super Rolling Dodge will occur if Running forward.
  • Z: Punch. Performs basic upper-body moves such as punches, slaps, headbutts, elbows, etc. If holding Away from opponent, Strong Punch is used. If holding Towards opponent, Weak Punch is used. If no arrow key is pressed, Normal Punch is used.
  • X: Kick. Performs basic lower-body moves such as knee strikes, forward kicks, crescent kicks, roundhouse kicks, heel drops, etc. Similar function to Punch.
  • C: Weapon. Attacks with character's special weapons, such as knives, gun bashes, teddy bears, tea trays, riveters, etc. Similar function to Punch.
  • Space: Jump. Jumps in place for jumping attacks. To perform attacks such as flying kicks, character must start Running forward first before jumping and attacking. Jumping is much shorter than in contemporary fighting games - characters can only jump about 2 feet from the ground, which is not enough to get over an opponent (use Rolling Dodge instead).
  • 1: Taunt. Character will initiate a taunting gesture. Increases BOTH fighters' Special gauge.

Screen

  • Top corners: Health bar. Accompanied by character portraits and names. Takes the appearance of a flat colored bar with a white border. Health bar has two stages: armored, and unarmored. When Armored, character will not be staggered by weaker moves, but certain special attacks are locked out, and Special gauge builds at a lower rate. When Armored, health bar does not shorten when damaged, but changes color from green to yellow to red. When it reaches red, Unarmored stage begins, the health bar loses its white border with a breaking-glass effect (and accompanying "Armor Break!" message), and the bar begins depleting like a regular health bar. Character can be interrupted and potentially staggered/stunned by repeated weak attacks, but Special gauge builds faster and certain Special attacks can be used. Overall, Armored status represents the first 1/3 of a player's total health.
  • Bottom corners: Special bar. Depending on the character, this bar may be longer or shorter. It may have multiple segments (with some exceptions, one special move will use one segment of the bar). When a segment is full, a sound plays, and the bar flashes briefly to indicate this. When the bar is completely filled, a different sound plays and the bar changes color from blue to glowing yellow.

Plot

The year is 1947. Contrary to history, German scientists Einstein and Von Braun have failed to defect to the States, the Manhattan Project was never started. In 1945, Imperial Japan surrendered to the United States and joined the Allies. Germany defeats Russia with their newly-developed advanced rocketry. The conflict only escalates, as Germany turns its eyes to the rest of Europe.

The conflict has spread, and our cast of characters each have their own motivations - some deal with the immediate conflict, others want to settle other disputes, and others still just want to escape the country while they still can.

Characters

  • Adolf Hitler - The game's main antagonist and final boss, fights in a huge Dieselpunk-esque robot with mounted machine guns.
  • Arkhov - Russian weapons-dealer, formerly a Commissar in the Red Army before Germany's nuclear attack.
  • Aurel Mazare - Romanian farmer whose farm was destroyed in a battle. With nothing left to lose, he takes up his farming tools and bullwhip and seeks revenge. (May or may not be a distant relative to the Belmonts.)
  • Buck Stronghammer - Super-heroic mechanized soldier with rocket engines strapped to most of his limbs, in the finest tradition of Commando Cody or The Rocketeer.
  • Dalia Soviente - Spanish archaeologist and explorer who discovers an artifact that grants its wearer limited immortality. She is shot down over German airspace, and the artifact is taken from her, leaving her no choice but to fight through Germany to get it back.
  • Elisa Celiante - 13-year-old French girl and messenger for the French Resistance who really doesn't know how to fight at all, so primarily throws rocks, dirt, and stuff from her messenger bag.
  • Gilbert Volkenheim - a German colonel who is having second thoughts about where his loyalties lie. To be loosely based on the German officer who planned Operation Valkyrie.
  • Lady Helen - An elderly Dame Commander of the British Navy, Helen "helps the lads out" by dragging her little butler through the front lines, slapping any soldier in her way, and dumping hot tea on everyone.
  • Kaigo Tadashii - A pilot with the Imperial Japanese air force.
  • Kyle Rickert - A Private in the USMC who wears way too much gear.
  • Luciano Marconi - An Italian "triple-crosser" who plays all the ends towards the middle for his own gain. He plays the part of the dandy.
  • Mad Jack - Based on the Scottish soldier, Mad Jack Churchill, who marched into battle equipped with a longbow, a claymore, and a set of bagpipes.
  • Malcolm Casey - A Gunnery Sergeant with the USMC and the man who trained Kyle.
  • Steel Rose - A female worker from an aircraft factory, moonlighting as a professional wrestler. She resembles the Rosie the Riveter archetype with a bit of the famous "We Can Do It!" poster for good measure.

Original chat log for reference

(1:50:20 PM) Me: I realize there are too many female exploitation fighters out there already (Dead or Alive) but I want a new fighter where most of the characters are female and are not overly sexualized
(1:50:43 PM) Sotenga: And aside from Mai, I don't really get that impression from any KoF character.
(1:51:15 PM) Me: And more variety, too. A beefy mid-30's pro-wrestler, a panicky 13-something that mainly attacks with slaps, low-kicks or other improvised attacks...
(1:51:24 PM) Me: Hell, the latter one would be cool to see anyway
(1:51:40 PM) Sotenga: Eh... I don't usually go for kid designs like that. lol
(1:51:51 PM) Me: As long as they don't make her irritating it'd be fun
(1:51:57 PM) Sotenga: However, the premise of making someone intentionally bad at fighting is interesting. lol
(1:52:05 PM) Sotenga: Especially if she beats the demigod of a final boss.
(1:52:07 PM) Me: You mean aside from Dan? =P
(1:52:11 PM) Sotenga: Hooray from human error.
(1:52:18 PM) Sotenga: Dan is just... Dan. He simply is. :-D
(1:52:48 PM) Me: Hell, there's only been one fighter so far where you can play as an elderly lady, and even then she hardly counts from what I can tell
(1:53:00 PM) Sotenga: Power Instinct?
(1:53:42 PM) Me: I want to see a proper-looking old Victorian lady, big puffy dress and everything, and her attacks mainly involve (again) lots of slaps and "lady-like" violence
(1:54:01 PM) Sotenga: Hah, that would be awesome.
(1:54:11 PM) Sotenga: ... and you meant Power Instinct with your earlier example, right?
(1:54:14 PM) Me: Yeah
(1:54:37 PM) Me: I've always wanted to design a fighting game anyway
(1:54:42 PM) Sotenga: Dude, I'm up for that!
(1:54:50 PM) Sotenga: I'd love to help with either character or sound design.
(1:55:29 PM) Me: Probably a 2D or 2D-with-3D-graphics, with controls being a cross between SF-style stick twiddles and Tekken-style combos, but they'd be easier to learn
(1:55:50 PM) Sotenga: Yes, no fucking overly complex button inputs like for King's throws.
(1:56:10 PM) Me: And it'd probably have a sense of humor.
(1:56:36 PM) Me: Leaning...oh, somewhere around La Pucelle
(1:57:05 PM) Me: A somewhat-serious story taken with a pound of salt
(1:57:13 PM) Me: Hell...I'll start up a design document now
(1:57:17 PM) Sotenga: Yes!
(1:57:29 PM) Sotenga: Great to have a sense of humor. What do you get when everyone's trying to be serious anyway?
(1:58:51 PM) Me: What was your email address?
(1:59:00 PM) Sotenga: [striderhiryu37@gmail.com](mailto:striderhiryu37@gmail.com)
(1:59:13 PM) Sotenga: Okay, first off, no karate uniforms. We need to defy convention here.
(1:59:17 PM) Me: Yes
(1:59:30 PM) Sotenga: UNLESS... it's an incredibly tattered uniform that shows a broken old man too set in his ways.
(1:59:30 PM) Me: No karate outfits, no schoolgirl uniforms...
(1:59:52 PM) Sotenga: Military?
(2:00:15 PM) Me: Maybe, not we'll try not to go too close to the Ralf/Clark archetype
(2:00:24 PM) Me: maybe a drill instructor or gunnery sarge or something
(2:00:30 PM) Sotenga: Yeah... we already have enough of that in XII. :p
(2:00:49 PM) Sotenga: Yes, we need to think of conventional archetypes and draw out ideas semi-related but different from them.
(2:01:05 PM) Sotenga: Like the pro wrestler type...
(2:01:19 PM) Sotenga: Instead of having him as a roided beefcake in a speedo, let's have a technical pro wrestler...
(2:01:21 PM) Sotenga: Like Ric Flair!
(2:01:36 PM) Me: I was thinking our pro-wrestler would be female.
(2:01:40 PM) Sotenga: Oh, good idea!
(2:01:43 PM) Me: R. Mika style
(2:01:59 PM) Sotenga: Erm... but not R. Mika. From what I gather, she's not too popular, at least not on HG101.
(2:02:10 PM) Me: Yeah, probably more Rumble Roses-ish
(2:02:21 PM) Me: Gimmicky costume or something, lots of grapple and throw moves
(2:02:23 PM) Sotenga: Aye. Have an outfit that's somewhat suggestive but doesn't make her a total slut.
(2:02:47 PM) Me: I've sent an invitation to the design document to your email
(2:02:54 PM) Sotenga: Awesome!
(2:03:01 PM) Me: I'm doing this on Google Docs which means we'll be able to edit it together
(2:03:02 PM) Sotenga: ... am I supposed to do anything with it yet? lol
(2:03:13 PM) Me: just slap down your ideas or something
(2:03:14 PM) Sotenga: Ah, I gotcha. It's a notepad where we plop down our concepts.
(2:03:24 PM) Sotenga: Sounds great! Now...
(2:03:40 PM) Sotenga: Let's think of our de facto main character. No shoto uniform.
(2:04:09 PM) Sotenga: High school uniform, no... something that says "I can kick your ass but I don't look like a typical fighter."
(2:04:13 PM) Me: I'm thinking controls should be similar to your basic shoto but we'll remove his projectile attack
(2:04:21 PM) Sotenga: We need an unlikely hero of sorts.
(2:04:23 PM) Me: make it a forward lunge instead
(2:04:30 PM) Sotenga: Remove projectile?! Hmm... I might be able to manage with that.
(2:04:36 PM) Sotenga: Wait, wait, idea!
(2:04:49 PM) Sotenga: Maybe we should make this a semi-realistic fighter like Daraku Tenshi. Ever play that one?
(2:05:05 PM) Me: Played it, briefly...I could never defeat the computer because I didn't know anybody's moves
(2:05:13 PM) Sotenga: Ah, I know where you can get a movelist
(2:05:14 PM) Sotenga: !!
(2:05:33 PM) Me: For some reason I'd always pick Yujren(?) and got stuck against her twin
(2:05:37 PM) Sotenga: lol
(2:05:43 PM) Sotenga: I always picked Haiji or Roche.
(2:05:49 PM) Me: The voice didn't help either..."YUJREN! VERSUS! YUJRAN!:
(2:06:11 PM) Sotenga: Nope. Twas confusing. lol
(2:06:16 PM) Sotenga: But should we make our fighter like that?
(2:06:33 PM) Me: Yeah
(2:06:43 PM) Me: As in, no projectiles (not out of thin air anyway)?
(2:06:51 PM) Sotenga: DT was technically somewhat unfinished, so... yes
(2:06:57 PM) Sotenga: We'll make the "finished version!" lol
(2:07:03 PM) Sotenga: Naw, we'll make it semi-similar but even better.
(2:07:11 PM) Sotenga: So, if there's any projectiles, they need to be realistic.
(2:07:16 PM) Me: Like guns?
(2:07:17 PM) Sotenga: Guns are only for bosses. lol
(2:07:24 PM) Sotenga: That'd be too damn cheap otherwise.
(2:07:27 PM) Me: I was thinking of equipping atleast one character with a bazooka
(2:07:36 PM) Sotenga: Hmm... perhaps, but they'd have to be REALLY slow.
(2:07:54 PM) Me: Your basic projectile response speed, but the character would be left open for a while while they frantically reload the thing
(2:08:32 PM) Sotenga: Yes... would that be our military character?
(2:08:39 PM) Me: Yeah.
(2:08:52 PM) Sotenga: Or perhaps a high-profile criminal who has access to military technology, like Clarence Boddicker from Robocop?
(2:09:11 PM) Me: Never seen it, amazingly.
(2:09:15 PM) Sotenga: Change that. :-D
(2:10:08 PM) Sotenga: But let's see... main character style... hmm...
(2:10:18 PM) Sotenga: Well, maybe we shouldn't have a main one?
(2:10:25 PM) Me: Depends on the plot, really
(2:11:02 PM) Sotenga: Hmm... maybe I could try to think of a plot...
(2:11:11 PM) Sotenga: But the question is, how serious or goofy do we want to make it?
(2:11:48 PM) Me: The plot should be serious but how it unfolds shouldn't necessarily be deadpan
(2:11:53 PM) Me: trying to think of a close analog...
(2:12:07 PM) Sotenga: Hmmmmmmmmmmmm... maybe... I dunno, Bleach? Bad idea?
(2:12:12 PM) Me: Never seen it.
(2:12:20 PM) Sotenga: Maybe Cowboy Bebop? Spike's a smartass and Ed's a hyperactive hacker.
(2:12:30 PM) Me: Probably.
(2:12:44 PM) Sotenga: I gotcha. Lemme see... okay, does starting with someone's death sound too cliche?
(2:13:20 PM) Me: That brings to mind a dispute over a dead relative's will, but that means we'd have to make all the characters related...I don't want that, makes it too hard to differentiate
(2:13:33 PM) Sotenga: Aye. Should we focus more on plot or characters for now?
(2:13:40 PM) Sotenga: And could you copy this chat log into the Google Doc? :-D
(2:13:43 PM) Me: More on plot..
(2:13:46 PM) Me: I could, yeah
(2:13:50 PM) Sotenga: Schweet.