Monthly Archives: April 2016

BossKey Lawbreakers Press Event Studio Tour Recap

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

Lawbreakers Studio Tour 1

Hidden in historic, downtown Raleigh North Carolina lies a gem, a building that once contained a Justice of the Peace, now holds BossKey Studios, home to Cliff Bleszinsky and his team who are working on a revolutionary game called “LawBreakers.”   Though the headquarters is in one building, they remarked that the whole downtown area is their HQ, because they roam it, live it, and work together as a team, as a family, to produce a game that will without a doubt blow the lid off of the FPS genre.  It’s a pretty small production team, but everyone here is incredibly talented!  We got to have some one-on-one time with their Art Director, as well as a Roundtable discussion with Cliff himself [that we admittedly dominated most of the time asking questions instead of the others because. . .well, we had a need to get you guys some good and not generic press release information!]

Lawbreakers Studio Tour 2

We got to see everything: from the animation department, to spending quite a long time watching them shoot a test dummy into space with rockets, or blowing them to pieces, or my favorite part?  Zero-G blood spatter! When there is little to no gravity and a character dies, they spin and move in that area, in the direction they were killed. The ragdoll animations are amazing, but they did in-game confuse me a little, as sometimes I found myself unsure if someone was alive or dead.  But when they bleed in that space, the way the blood goes dribbling away from the body in the air was really awesome. This is a very mature game, from the language to the combat, and this definitely showed me that.

We also saw the progress on Lawbreakers insane animations, how the body moves in low gravity settings, and how they emulate that.  I really don’t get a lot of that stuff, as I don’t study animation, but I could see the little things, like even if the characters are floating, dashing, or spinning in the air from a thunderous explosion, you can still see what direction their gun is pointed, thanks to their animators’ hardcore attention to detail. Another really cool thing was seeing the art director show us how they highlight how a character is or is not visible in the light of the first area we were a part of.  The gleam of metal in the low light, or the rustle of cloth – it was quite fascinating. They showed me some things we can’t really talk about because it’s certainly something I have not seen from any shooter, but you’ll be able to see characters at interesting distances if you’re really paying attention; which is hard. Lawbreakers isn’t exactly an easy game to sit still in and sight see. Well not if you’re gunning to win.

LawBreakers Studio Tour 4

It felt like I was in a community where rubber chickens were hidden around every corner, or could be under any seat or desk! Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there, and worked closely together to make sure the product looked and functioned as well as it possibly could. One of the things I thought was kind of interesting was at least once a day, the team gets together and played five on five matches of Lawbreakers to see how it is going. This way everyone on the team can see what the others are working on and provide feedback on the overall feel. It’s pretty inspiring.  There was cool, nerdy stuff everywhere I looked, and people who had a genuine love of gaming, of their own product, and a bond with each other.  I haven’t seen anything like it in a studio in quite a while.

We also got some insight into the character creation process, and how important the symmetry between the sides is.  The characters have to feel the same, but apparently humans with horns are right out.  I wish I could talk about the upcoming class that’s going into the game, but rest assured, it won’t have just four or five. More will be rolled out in due time [“Soon”].  All told, it was a really fascinating experience, and it is my sincere and honest opinion that BossKey is going to be a rival for talented programming recruitment in the Southeast United States. Right now, the big dogs are really Epic [which Cliff worked at once], Hi-Rez, makers of SMITE, and the CityState Games up in West Virginia.  But while this is BossKey’s first game as a team, I know it’s going to be huge.  It’s going to stand out in the shooter market and BossKey will make their mark as a dev team, even if I didn’t get a cool hoodie (not for lack of trying). But it was really a lot of fun, and myself and Colton eagerly look forward to more from BossKey.

Ready to hear more about Lawbreakers? Check out my in-depth write-up on the experience.

What Makes Lawbreakers Special?

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

LawBreakers_PAXEast_TitansFaceOff

Recently, ColtronXL and I had the good fortune to go to BossKey Studios and be among the first people to really get our hands on their upcoming game, LawBreakers.  LawBreakers is Cliff Bleszinsky’s brainchild, a beautiful and unique shooter, based on a fictional earth where a calamitous event happened called The Shattering.  I don’t think I can go into much detail, but suffice to say, the Earth and Moon are never the same, even after the world rebuilds and recovers.  But LawBreakers is a symmetrical game, meaning you have two teams, and the “classes” function identically in every way on both sides. So the Titan on the Law side does the same thing as the Breaker side, but aesthetically they look different. It is my sincere feeling that this game is going to be far and away different from anything on the market for a bunch of reasons. One of the most important though: Not a 60 dollar game!  It is a multiplayer shooter, and is being marketed as such.  It’s not going to cost 60 bucks for you to play a multiplayer, and that’s fantastic.  It will [as of this writing] likely have microtransactions for skins and cosmetic items, but not for a pay to win system.  Buying the game gets you the characters, and new ones when they come out.

LawBreakers_PAXEast_ZeroGBattle

The gameplay is what will really set it apart, though.  Pricing aside, this game is fast-paced, intense, and gravity-defying action.  We only got to play one mode so far, but the tag-line, “Pummel Gravity into Submission” could not be more appropriate.  The sensation of being in a very low-gravity [to no-gravity] area was real, and was more than just a gimmick. It’s an integral part of the game, and being able to manipulate a primal force like gravity was really insane!  I went into this having not seen the trailer; I didn’t want my thoughts to be tainted by any previous knowledge, but that’s okay because there’s virtually nothing known outside of what we saw.  It does have some things in common with current shooters, like being able to swap classes when you die, but we were seeing [and practicing it] swapping classes around as a whole team, such as one side having four Assassins and one Titan [tank] to sweep and just slice-and-dice us with ease.

LawBreakers_PAXEast_SurpriseAttack

What makes the Assassin unique, is it can swing through the air a’la Spiderman and leap down, slicing away, very swiftly taking down one, two, or more enemies.  That’s why a crew of them, lurking in the shadows is horrifying. But when one comes dashing at you [because they commit to a line of motion], you better know where your “kick” button is!   It reminds me of the kick from Bulletstorm, where you punt an opponent away from you pretty far, giving a chance at life.  Though my favorite class so far was the Skirmisher, because they have a really big Gatling gun, razor grenades, and a dive-bomb special that I received quite a few double/triple kills with!

Well enough rambling. How about I just break down the details of each available class so you can get a better feel for the game? Here’s a list of each class, who represents them [Law/Breaker], and a little something about them:

Titan: [Bomchelle/Chronos] Wielding the “Hammerhead” Ballistic weaponry, the Titan uses a Rocket Launcher and Lightning Rifle to do monstrous damage to anyone unfortunate enough to be near them. Their mobility move, “Pulverize,” can be charged, and leapt with to break the bones and morale of the enemy team. You do move quite a bit slower with it, so I tend to use it to surprise people from above. Between that, Neutron Mines, and the ability to go Berserk, the Titan is not to be trifled with.

Enforcer: [Axel/Kintaro] The Enforcer packs a weapon called the Aerator, which grows stronger as it lowers its ammo, and the Badger, a close-quarters style weapon. Enforcers can also create a field that manipulates the local gravity, increasing movement/firing speed/reload time of their team. It takes time to recharge, but it can really turn a fight around. The Electromag Charge can disrupt enemy systems, and the Bloodhound Launcher hurls a barrage of homing rockets onto a target!

Assassin: [Hellion/Kitsune] The Arc Blades are the primary weapon – a style of tanto or machete with a very fast attack speed relative to other classes. They combine that with a short-range shotgun, named Romerus, that can be overcharged for quick surprise kills. Assassins swing through the air like Spider-Man, leaping from buildings to secluded spots, and dashing around projectiles and attacks. Their Aux Blast can knock foes away, putting them into proper ganking position. Frenzy is their ultimate ability, increasing damage and regeneration, and getting kills prolongs this intense, PCP-style rage.

Vanguard [Maverick/Toska-9]: Probably my favorite gun in the game so far, the Hydra Gatling Cannon offers precision and a LOT of bullets at one time. For a gatling cannon, it is quite precise. The Vanguard’s suit utilizes Pulsar technology, firing a blast forward that propels the Vanguard backwards and away from harm [which can still be quite dangerous to nearby foes, or even yourself if used haphazardly!]. The Afterburner mobility skill will let them move into flight, but burns their fuel like Pulsar does. The Vanguard has Meteor Shells for grenades, lobbing a rain of death onto someone with a cluster of exploding projectiles.  Their ultimate ability is Starfall – leaping into the air, and crashing to the earth like it’s namesake, damaging anyone unlucky enough to be caught there. The resulting low gravity field makes using the Hydra on survivors easy pickings.

 LawBreakers_GDC_OverchargeMode

There’s another class being worked on, which is super secret, and super cool! But I can’t talk about it though. That’s one of the things I enjoyed!  Because now I am armed with knowledge of upcoming characters! And you aren’t!  Rest assured, the playerbase will love this when the time comes.

LawBreakers_GDC_BlindFire

There’s another game mechanic I really loved, and that was blindfire.  When someone is chasing you and shooting you, you don’t have time to spin around and start pulling that trigger. Especially if you have an objective in hand! So what do you do?  Whip your gun over your shoulder and blind fire! It’s really hard to get kills that way [but Coltron managed one, and I was super jealous of it!], but it will probably get people to take evasive maneuvers and get off your back for a bit.   Each class is unique, and each version of a character [both sides] looks aesthetically different and pleasing.  That leads me to my last thought: Visuals. Oh my Lanta this game is gorgeous!  It’s not “Green and Brown the game” where everything is gritty, monocolored, and boring.  It’s vivid, bright, and has a very diverse color palette.

LawBreakers_GDC_MaverickCronos

The worst part of LawBreakers?  I DO NOT HAVE THIS GAME RIGHT NOW.  I’m not a big shooter fan, but it brought out the competitive side of me [which isn’t buried very far…]. Coltron and I were privileged to be a part of the group that played this early and got to experience what will be a game-changing shooter.  I did ask Cliff in a round-table what he thinks of people thinking he’s washed up, or doesn’t have it anymore, and his response was “Thanks”.  It motivates him and it shows.  I was blown away by how deep this game was, how fast, how intense it is!  But the Alpha invites will hopefully be going out soon!  We’ll be doing our best to be there, and we hope to see you there too!

Want more on BossKey Studios? I share my thoughts on the design team in our studio tour recap.

OnRPG’s Kicktracker Report #15 – April 2016

OnRPG’s Kicktracker Report returns for April 2016. Get the latest overview on our favorite picks on Kickstarter and keep up to date on major news from previously crowdsourced games with your host, Mikedot.

Chronicles of Elyria
https://chroniclesofelyria.com/
http://www.onrpg.com/games/chronicles-of-elyria/

One Tower (Successful)
http://www.onrpg.com/games/one-tower/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skyreacher/one-tower

Dragon of Legends (Successful)
http://www.onrpg.com/games/dragon-of-legends/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thrivegames/dol

Failure (Unsuccessful)
http://www.onrpg.com/games/failure/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dreamharvest/failure-a-neon-infused-cyberpunk-strategy-game

The Wild Eight
http://www.onrpg.com/games/the-wild-eight/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2130955486/the-wild-eight-an-eerie-survival-adventure

Blast Brawl 2
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1100064962/blast-brawl-2

Wrack: Starfall
http://www.onrpg.com/games/wrack-starfall/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2134746636/wrack-starfall-fps-video-game


OnRPG’s team believes strongly that the only true innovation in online gaming is set to come from the wild wildness of indie game developers. Do your part to support a project you truly believe has potential to make that change happen!

SMITE Grim Weaver Patch 3.7 Notes

Hirez Studio at last provides the SMITE visual rework to match last year’s Arachne skill rework in patch 3.7 – Grim Weaver. The skins are the big story to be told here as some of the most impressive looking skins arrive, building on the ongoing Escape the Underworld Event!

SMITE Ararchne Rework

Beyond the amazing skins revealed including Arachne’s and Nox’s Escape the Underworld skins, there’s also quite a few balance patch notes arriving with 3.7.

After some serious dominance in the ranged carry roll in SPL, Throwing Dagger is getting a power reduction and slight cost increase.

Jing Wei is receiving serious buffs across the board. More ulti damage, more ulti landing range, and huge attack speed buffs. She’s going to be a monster late game.

Nox and Ah Puch also have absorbed some of the power of the Underworld. While no where near the level of the Jing Wei buffs, they should certainly see more playtime, particularly with Ah Puch’s buff to countering healers with the fleeting breath changes.

He Bo also sees a passive buff, not that anyone but hardcore He Bo players will likely notice.

SMITE-Underworld-Nox

For full details on balance changes and card art for the new skins, check out the official patch notes here.

Grand Ages: Medieval is Out Now on Mac

Grand Ages: Medieval is Out Now on Mac

Mac users – the time has come for epic battles, cunning diplomacy and relentless conquest.

Kalypso Media is proud to announce that Grand Ages: Medieval is out now for Mac via Steam and the Mac App Store, giving grand strategy fans on the opportunity to lead their people to greatness. Following the hugely successful launches on Windows PC and PlayStation®4, Grand Ages: Medieval on Mac will test players’ strategic minds as they advance through the decades by utilizing construction, research, expansion and conquest in a massive playable arena extending from Scandinavia and North Africa; to Portugal, the Caucasus and the Middle East.