Blunt Blade

Blunt Blade is a small proof of concept prototype made in 21 days for a university project. The game is inspired by others such as Hotline Miami and Katana Zero. The theme of the university project was that the game was only to have two actions a player can perform.

Action 1: Move

Omnidirectional movement is the action (game verb) that players will have to traverse across levels, evade enemies, arrive at points of interest, track and follow projectiles fired by enemies. As shown in the image, players will utilise the conventional “WASD” input to move in eight axis of direction.

Original Action 2: Deflect

Deflect is the action (game verb) that involves the player deflecting projectiles back at enemies. Show in this image, the player will be able to reflect bullets in eight different axis (the same as movement). 

The grey box in front of the stick figure person indicates the area where an oncoming projectile can be reflected.

The orientation of the bullet in front of the grey box indicates the direction where the reflected projectile will travel; the bullet will rotate itself to face the enemy it has come from and rush back to it.

Modified Action 2: 

There is a fatal design flaw in the gameplay that contradicts how I want my player to feel and act when they play Blunt Blade. Playtests showed that the current game loop is to corral and herd enemies into one of the orthogonal directions the player can deflect in. Not only is the disconnect between omnidirectional movement and orthogonal actions disorienting, but this actively goes against the “empowering” feeling I want to give my players. In order to successfully complete a room, players must dodge, evade, and run away from constant danger. The only weapons they have in their arsenal is their ability to parry, play around dynamic environmental elements (explosive barrels), and the ability to “deflect” status effects from the player to enemies. 

I believe that to resolve this issue, that I need to double back on how on the decision of how the player is meant to attack enemies. The player should be able to “slash” at enemies to whilst having the ability to “parry” bullets when slashing at the correct time (similar to Katana Zero’s gameplay). This would allow for more aggressive gameplay, effectively turning the tables as the hunted becoming the hunter,  which is more inline with the design philosophy.

The Binding of Issac Rebirth (2014) by Edmund McMillen is a top-down action rogue-like with tight movement controls and unique power-ups that I will attempt to emulate within my game. The level layout of the game, being box rooms within a set grid, is what I would like to reflect in my own game as it is a simple means of traversal. However, in recognition of the small scope and limited time of the project, there will be no randomly generated configurations of the rooms. Instead, there will be a preconfigured route that branches outwards, allowing me to coordinate the players experience but provide space for the player to choose their own path.

Katana Zero (2019) by Akisoft is  a side-scroller, platforming fighting game where you play as a samurai mercenary in a modern neo-noir setting. The gameplay is very similar to what I have envisioned, going through room after room, mowing down enemy after enemy to progress forward. Similar to my idea, the player using their sword to deflect bullets back at their enemies, however, in my game I will be removing the functionality of slicing enemies to deal damage; hence the name ‘Blunt Blade’. 

I do not claim to own or have created the following creative works used in this project or tutorials followed.