Dev diary: iPhone/iPad 3D arena style 1v1 with spellcasters and RPG elements (WIP)

Heya all,

This is a (very) early WIP of an iPhone/iPad 3D action game with some RPG elements tossed in that I'm working on.
It started as me building a 3D engine to see what my new iPhone (and me) was capable of running, and then my son suggested making it a complete game.
So anyways, I'm mostly making this for him, follow this thread if you care

Note: I will update this post with the status of the game as often as possible.
If you are the impatient kind, then you might want to pass, as I am doing this in my spare time, therefore progress is and will be pretty slow.

iPad early video just so you get an idea of how the thing will present itself (but please, ignore those icons and button placement until i've actually 'worked' on them)

(or in case i fail at embedding)


What is done so far:
Well, not much... Only the classes/spells are done (reused from a game I made a while back) but will need tweaking.
Summoning/spellcasting mostly working (only it's not summoning/casting anything visually yet )
Network code is in progress, ty game center
HUD needs to be done, placement is wrong wrong wrong (and god damn it those spell icons are ugly...)
Still, I'm really just focusing on the modeling/texture painting (this is so hard...) and on the engine atm.


How the game will work:
The game concept, I actually already had made into a flash game a few years ago (top down 2D).
For the iOS though, I originally planned fights to happen in arenas and be very dynamic, much like in wow.
However, since my son and me loved MTG:Battlegrounds, I decided on making it similar to it regarding some game mechanics, such as the way summons are handled and arenas are "street fighter" style and split in two.
Having it "street fight style" also allows easier controls on an iOS device, a more detailed world, and removes the cost of fancy physics.

Each player will be able to summon forth powerful monsters and use various spells and abilities to defeat their enemy.
There will be 3 classes to chose from: mages, shadowknights, and enchanters.
You will be have to smartly build a spellbook from various spells (summons, buffs, and damage spells) before entering arenas and fight to the death.



The classes:
I know 3 classes seem like a few, but I won't add another class until i'm certain the thing is balanced and useful. What I have is "working" (well it was in my flash game), and still allows for a lot of customization.

Each class will have its limitations:

Mages will only be allowed to pick from a couple summon spells, but have access to just about all of the detrimental ones.
Enchanters will focus on creatures and buffs, and have few choice of damage spells
Shadowknights will be jacks of all..

Finally, each class will have a unique trait (something like counterspell for mages, unsummon for enchanters, and leech life for shadowknights)



Single/Multiplayer:

Single-player campaign will allow you to create an avatar, level stats and gear him up, build a powerful spellbook, and take him into multiplayer battles.
(I will certainly release multiplayer first though, since a worthy storyline takes time to build, and I don't really want to do a shallow story like the actual MTG:Battlegrounds game...)
Single-player vs CPU will come out first though, since I actually need this for testing the gameplay.

Multiplayer will be through game center and allow 1v1 fight (and maybe 2v2 if I manage to make it fun and not a total mess on screen) using your avatar from single player (or picking up a pre-made one if yours suck).



The Engine:

I'm still working on tweaking the engine, but on the iPad, FPS is currently at 60 until the 12th player model is on screen, then is goes in the 55s.
That was my goal (2 players, and a max of 10 summons), but since I want lots of fancy spell effects and possible 2v2 multiplayer, i'm not sure how it will turn out...
I also have yet to implement single player AI, sounds and spell effects, but It should still be really smooth on modern hardware...
Still, I'm working really hard (and having a lot of fun) making the thing look good (and smooth) on older hardware (iPhone 3G).
I might take advantage of openglES 2.0 for some "fancier" effects if it's really worth it, but that's really not planned atm.

Let me know if you have any suggestions, cool ideas, or whatever !
Just avoid harsh words

Note: The player model shown in the video/screenshots is not from me, but an old quake 2 one I picked up for testing purposes only.

/cheers

 

Vid should work now ^^

Well the game will be a bit like MTG:Battlegrounds in the way that the location is static and creatures respawn at a specific spawn point every time they hit your target (or another creature).
It is also be very "spell casting" oriented.

If can be very fast paced, but really depends on your playstyle.
The melee aspect of MTG was very limited, and here, the shadowknight (and only the shadowknight) will have "advanced" melee (although still limited compared to fighting games)

Balance is roughly rock/paper/scissors, but skill at building your spellbook and using your spells is king

 

oh I'm doing this all alone, so it will take some time before this is ready for "outside" testing ^^

On a more serious note though, I want to get all spells and summons done before I work on single player vs CPU, which is when i'll start asking for a good few beta testers who will hopefully help me make this very fun

 

Just to clarify, this is an arena style fighting game mainly focused on casting magic (summoned creatures, detrimental spells and buffs)

The RPG side will be for the single player campaign, where you will gain xp and as you level up, increase your stats and learn new spells.
This will be added last, as good single player takes time...

You will be able to use your avatar in multiplayer (which will only be arenas, 1v1 and maybe 2v2)