Pocket Boxer (name subject to change) is nearing completion and slated for a September release. In the interests of giving folk a chance to provide pre-release input I'll be posting weekly updates to this thread. Drawing inspiration from Nintendo's Punchout series, Pocket Boxer is an arcade style brawler focusing on quick reaction, counter attacks, and tactics.
If this title ends up being a let down in any way, I swear upon my grandmother's grave that I'll hang myself upside down in a public square and allow Bald Bull to use me as a punching bag.
I have Smack Boxing, Touch KO and Iron Fist Boxing. These are all decent titles in their own ways. Obviously your artwork is unique (can't wait to see it all together ), what else will make your game stand above the crowd? How close to completion is the game? Thanks, Richard
Pocket Boxer does not make any pretense of being realistic, nor is it designed for head-to-head play. The computer opponents are fierce and hulking, with tells that can be used to predict and react to their attacks. The opponents are fully differentiated and present unique challenges, and the game difficulty continues to ramp up as you defend your title. The game is 100% playable now with a mix of placeholder and final art/audio assets, but there's still much to be done.
I don't know about you, but most folk I know spend far more time playing games in bursts in settings where wrangling up a human opponent could be difficult. I think it's more important for the vs. computer experience to be enjoyable and challenging than to have multiplayer out of the gate. There are at least two good reasons to support multiplayer: to kick the tar our of your friends, and to get more challenge than can be gotten by playing against computer-controlled opponents with poor AI. I can assure you that the latter won't be an issue. And as far as competing with friends goes, there will still be plenty of ways to log bragging rights with leaderboards tracking quickest KOs, and stylish wins, and other achievements. There's a more fundamental reason not to focus on multiplayer in a game like this. It can be fun using your wits to destroy a computer opponent that is far more powerful than you. In contrast, when a game is designed with multiplayer in mind, the developer has to go to a lot of extra trouble to ensure that gameplay is balanced, which can lead to boring cookie-cutter opponents. As a comparison, Nintendo's Punchout series was always designed with a fun vs. computer experience in mind. They've finally introduced an optional player-vs-player mode in Wii Punchout, and I wouldn't rule out eventually doing something similar in the future if there's sufficient demand for it. Phil
I like Touch KO >_> Just got it today, it's a neat litttle game. I'm more excited about this though - Touch KO's gameplay is so simplistic it might as well be 2D, and the 3D graphics aren't exactly stunning to look at. This should be great!
Based on the art I'm REALLY glad you guys aren't going the 3D route. 3D is just too hard to make look good at this point. I'd rather see a fantastic looking 2D game than a game pushing it's 3D assets but still looks bleh. Best of luck guys, let's see a video!
I know what you mean. 2d assets can be just as expensive to produce for an animation-intensive game, but you have a lot more control over how they look and it's easier to do stylistic things. However it's worth pointing out that Pocket Boxer isn't strictly 2d. The ring and crowd environment are real-time rendered in 3d. There is subtle movement throughout the ring as you fight. It's eye candy that helps avoid the feeling that you're standing flat footed in the center of the ring. I'm aiming to have a video up by next week. Phil
Super Rasta Man! I could use suggestions for a better name for this particular opponent (shown half-size). Winner will get a promo code upon release of the app.
And on a more serious note, here is a crude mockup representing my current thoughts on a control scheme optimized for the ipod/iphone. The large triangles with boxing gloves indicate the touchable parts of the screen that allow you to throw left/right punches to the head/body of your opponent. The interior diamonds indicate the touchable parts of the screen that are used for defensive tactics: guard up, guard down, dodge left, dodge right. A swipe within the interior area would also allow a defensive action to be executed in a way that wouldn't depend on where the swipe started. Some open questions: - would anyone prefer using the accelerometer for this type of game? - do people prefer vertical or horizontal screen layout?
Name for Character: Barbados Slim! Open questions: - would anyone prefer using the accelerometer for this type of game? - do people prefer vertical or horizontal screen layout? I prefer having an option to either choose between the accelerometer or touch controls. Although, I will probably prefer the touch controls. And I like using the horizonital screen layout to play most games. In this game, it seems like using the vertical screen layout would limit the control area. But atleast when it is horizontal, it gives you a little more left to right area and the buttons can be a little bigger.
counterpunch connor i also really want this game. i'm loving the punch out vibe and the excellent artwork. i'm hoping to play it vertical with touch screen controls. if the accelerometer has to come into play, i would keep it to dodging only. having more options for controls never hurts though.
