A link to the page of the game on itch.io: https://sverhdimon07.itch.io/lahmadju;
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«The relevance of the project»
Today, there are a large number of computer games in virtual reality format on the market. They are able to fill the experience of the average player with fresh sensations due to their original functionality: the possibility of bodily presence in the virtual world and interaction with its objects through the movements of your own body. Compared to desktop projects, such games usually provide a more simplified gameplay design, not as complex mechanics, and the core of their gameplay has less depth.
However, the fresh feel of the VR format alone is not enough to capture a player's attention for an extended period of time. To keep it, any project needs deep gameplay, action system and non-standard solutions at the level of gameplay design.
Today there are practically no VR games on the market with full-fledged action systems that would manipulate the player's attention as effectively and inventively as desktop classic action games. As time goes on, the VR gaming industry will see many more projects with gameplay design that is based on deep action systems, not just the target consumer's fresh experience with distinctive functionality.
«The proposed solution»
Our proposed solution to that request in the gaming industry, which was described earlier, is a VR game in the action-slasher genre with shooter elements, called "Lahmadju". The artistic vision of this project is based on the principles of gameplay design of classic desktop action games.
That's why our game attracts with its deep action mechanics and detailed gameplay direction. Those ideas set by its design are quite interesting to explore.
The gameplay of the project has a session-based and skill-dependent nature. It is assumed that the target audience for this game is avid hardcore gamers who enjoy honing their skills in spine-tingling and reactive gameplay.
As I said before, the main goal of our team in the development of this project was to implement the principles and ideas of classic action games in VR format, respectively, any emphasis on the story component should not be expected. Our project is a full-fledged arcade. However, visual component, virtual space detailing, audio accompaniment and behavior of environment objects - all these elements, which give the project a thick atmosphere and distinctive entourage, were carefully selected and manually added to the game in accordance with the creative vision.
The gameplay loop starts with the user having to familiarize himself with the tools he is given, i.e. the katana and the blaster, as well as with the information he can receive through the diegetic interface if he pays attention to the character's left hand during combat. The katana is the primary weapon that deals the maximum amount of damage, while the blaster is an additional weapon that deals low passive damage. Following the principles of classic action games, there is no tutorial as such. The player needs, roughly speaking, to press and probe the buttons himself and find those interesting features that are in the mechanics, but we intentionally do not tell the user about the completeness of its use.
Further, the user has one single path - the path to the arena, where the boss-fight will take place. The design of the main battle in the game is quite complex. Both the player and the boss have 3 global lives each and a current health bar. In order for the player to destroy one life of the boss, he needs to win 2 phases of the boss-fight in a row, i.e. destroy the first health bar of the boss in open and unrestrictive combat and destroy the second health bar of the boss in melee combat without using a blaster. In the second phases of the battle, the player's area of movement is greatly narrowed and the boss becomes more aggressive - this is done to test the player's understanding of the parry system. In case the player wins in 2 phases, one global life of the boss is destroyed and if the player had incomplete global life at that moment, it is increased by one.
In the case that the boss destroys the current health bar of the player, then the number of global lives of the player is reduced by one, and the global number of lives of the boss is increased by one.
That is, we created a system that allows the player to compete with the boss for an infinite amount of time, as the gameplay cycle may not end for a very long time.
«Reference projects»
When formalizing the artistic vision of the project, thinking through the logic of gameplay and designing the cor-mechanics of the project, our team researched quite a large number of reference games. I want to tell you more about some of them.
The first project, Furi, is a slasher with shooter elements. This project is a classic skill-dependent action game, so story and plot aspects play less important role here, unlike gameplay. The main design principle of this game: the more decisions a player makes per unit of time, the more mechanical involvement he experiences. The essence of the gameplay is that the player defeats bosses, battles with which are designed in detail. To each of them it is necessary to pick up a certain approach, since the phases, stages, dynamics - constantly changing. When studying this project, special attention was paid to the visual style, ways of damaging enemies, as well as the structure of the game cycle.
The second project, Blade and Sorcery, is a medieval fantasy action game with an emphasis on melee and ranged combat. Here the player is given the opportunity to choose his own style of combat, weapons and spells, the ability to block, parry, counterattack the blows of enemies, the ability to dynamically change his position during the battle. In addition, the game has elements of system gameplay, for example, the player has the ability to use magic to make his weapon fire, lightning and so on. In the design of the game is of great importance the interaction of the player with the physics engine, as well as a verified and realistic combat system that allows you to parry the attacks of opponents, which was realized thanks to an excellent system of tracking the position of the hands and weapons taken in the hands of the character.
The third project is Kingdom Come: Deliverance, a first-person action RPG game. The design of the game is heavily emphasized on history, additional quests, role-playing and non-linearity, which in our case did not suit us as VR-action developers. However, the elements of the combat system of this project aroused our genuine interest. Therefore, we paid special attention to studying the external elements of the combat system, such as a convenient informing the player target-lock (which in the VR format still could not be realized) and the system of attacking the enemy in specified directions to deepen the mechanics of parrying.
«Ideas for the further development of the project»
Our team has different ideas for further development of the project. First of all, we need to refine the basic logic of the boss-fight by adding new boss states, for example, the bullet-hell state, in which the player will need to dodge projectiles flying at him.
Next, a more elaborate progression system would need to be added to the project. For example, reward the player with new weapons that will differ from the standard one - not only in basic characteristics, but also in the area of application in the game cycle.
And the last thing that should be added to the project is new bosses, new locations, new entourage. In addition, the idea of adding a story justification to the gameplay is worth considering to make the project feel even more believable.
«Thank you for your attention»
In conclusion, I would like to say that video games are such a unique format of media art, incorporating many other formats. And to develop a game that harmoniously combines classic art forms without turning it all into incoherent chaos is the real deal, the real accomplishment. So, enjoy the development process, be curious, achieve creative challenges that are not possible in other formats, and, in general, move the industry forward.
That is it. Thank you for your attention and enjoy the game!