[Fighting Game] Kinetic Damage

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by KineticDamage, Jul 27, 2012.

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  1. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    #1 KineticDamage, Jul 27, 2012
    Last edited: May 30, 2013
    Dear Toucharcade,

    I'm Benjamin Marchand, the developer of the upcoming fighting game Kinetic Damage (iOS), and I'm very excited to announce the future release of this 4 years long indie project :)
    (long story short : this is a one-man-only development, which is why it took so much time).

    Here is the official trailer :



    Release date : Wednesday, 5th June 2013.


    Multiplayer coming very soon in a free update.

    [​IMG]

    Worth mentionning, Game has been tested on a 3GS, running at 30 fps : Link.


    Quick note about Controls, as they're often a subject of controversy for mobile fighting games : they are touch based, but I spent a lot of time to find the best possible and responsive UI without hiding the action. Result is that every tester, may he be initiated or not to mobile touch fighting games, reported it to be "clear and responsive".
    Plus, there will be no quarter-forward like movements. It's either, tap, double tap or hold.


    A glimpse at what kind of mindgames & strategy you'll have to deal with :



    Levels Ambience :



    How I tried to "humanize" the AI, with voice commentary :
    (make sure to activate subtitles with "CC" button, for written details about how AI "thinks")



    I'm maintaining a dev blog since 2009 about the project on Unity forums, which contains videos, pics, coding tips, etc ... so feel free to browse !

    And if you like this project, don't hesitate to show some love on Kinetic Damage's Facebook page !


    Thank you, now I'll get back to work :)
    Best regards
     
  2. Brrobotix

    Brrobotix Well-Known Member

    Oct 24, 2011
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    Under your bed
    this looks... really good. I'm not usually into fighting games but this one has my interest. I really like the art style, and the fighting styles looks really varied, which is nice. I'll be following it now, keep up the good work!
     
  3. skeletonlord

    skeletonlord Well-Known Member

    Apr 21, 2012
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    This actually looks pretty cool. I like the whole concept, it looks like a one to watch. Looking forward to future updates and announcements prior to the game.

    The release being in a couple of months is quite a way away, so you cannot be near completion yet.
     
  4. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    #4 KineticDamage, Jul 27, 2012
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2012
    Thank you guys !
    Actually, to be precise, here is what is left to implement :
    - Solo mode. This is the interface & events between fights, will be a event based gamedesign. I don't want it to be "just a succession of fights".
    - Multiplayer interface

    Everything else is functional, bug free, and smooth, but I want to reserve the full release announcement when I'll have finished the solo mode (so the preview is not cluttered into several pages).
    So it's not that far away :)

    I just felt it was time to at least announce the product, after all these years ;-)
     
  5. hiptanaka

    hiptanaka Well-Known Member

    Nov 7, 2009
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    This looks fantastic.
     
  6. AnarKitty

    AnarKitty Well-Known Member

    Oct 10, 2010
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    Minneapolis, USA
    What you've shown so far looks really impressive, and I love the plans you have for it. Looking forward to this one a lot! :)
     
  7. bigrand1

    bigrand1 Well-Known Member

    Apr 23, 2010
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    Geriatric Party Animal
    California, USA
    Whoa!!!! C'mon, man!!!! I want this, no, I NEED this NOW!!!! :D
     
  8. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    #8 KineticDamage, Jul 29, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2012
    I'm litterally working my ass off 12h / day, 7d / 7, to get it solid & ready asap :)
     
  9. bigrand1

    bigrand1 Well-Known Member

    Apr 23, 2010
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    Geriatric Party Animal
    California, USA
    Right-on! What's worth having is worth waiting for, bud! Just excited about your creation! Looks KILLER! :D Gonna seriously pay off IMO!
     
  10. Eoghann

    Eoghann Well-Known Member

    May 29, 2012
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    IT Guy/Graphic Designer/Gamer
    New York
    Subscribingggg!

    This game has definitely grabbed my attention. Will keep a close watch on this. :)
     
  11. jjjmedia

    jjjmedia Well-Known Member

    May 27, 2009
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    This has been on my wish list for AGES, so I'm glad to see it's finally coming out! Almost there, man!
     
  12. arta

    arta Well-Known Member

    Feb 14, 2009
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    Combat looks refreahing for iOS, reminding me of Killer Instinct and Bloody Roar. Just wish the finishing combos had more visceral impact when you knock enemies down.
     
  13. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    Thanks :) What do you mean by more visceral impact ?

    (I purposedly avoided the gore/blood way of representing a fight, as I wanted to illustrate the competition/sport side of Martial Arts)
     
  14. arta

    arta Well-Known Member

    Feb 14, 2009
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    Not the lack of gore, that's perfectly fine. I mean the way enemies get knocked back but hardly fly anywhere, and land flatly with no bounce.

    Also I think it could use a few added sound effects (like footsteps as they walk forward), also, a few more grunt sounds as they perform moves (whether they connect or miss).
     
  15. Quantus

    Quantus Well-Known Member

    Aug 9, 2011
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    Not enough butt cheeks.
     
  16. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    #16 KineticDamage, Jul 30, 2012
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2012
    Thank you gents for your feedback, it doesn't fall on deaf ears.
    Right now, I really need to close the dev cycle so I will stick to the plan until release. But I'll keep in mind every suggestion for further evolutions.

    Also, some details were designed intentionally, I'll explain some decisions :

    If you watch carefully, they do fly pretty often (spinning when receiving a cr.FK for example, or a strong hit while jumping, or propelling after an uppercut, etc).
    But I see what you mean, some kind of overexaggerated physics, like in Dragon Ball animes / Marvel vs Capcom games ? It gives more "oomph" effect it's true, I can't deny that.
    But it was a design decision to not take that route, as more inertia would mean a slower pace :) I wanted it to be really fast paced, have the least possible idle time waiting for your target to recover.

    More sounds add to the ambience, for sure, and I'd like to make an audio ambience as rich as in Street Fighter 4 for example (SF4's SFX work is golden).
    I tried to add more sounds, but the needed RAM just skyrocketted (voices are 22khz 8-bit, but they already eat a lot), so I kept it to the essentials. I want the game to be playable on lower hardwares, and making tons of options for different hardwares would be a pain to manage.

    haha, yeah in the pure tradition of fighting games :p

    This is another fully conscious decision to not take the route of girls-in-bikini-delivering-ten-ton-punches ;)
    You can even see some light muscles on women arm models. Without making women look like men, I still wanted to stop giving the illusion that a woman fighter has the body of a ballet dancer. They're fighting, they're pro, they hit hard, so they're athletes.

    __________

    Ok maybe should I develop a little bit the intention behind this game :

    As a martial arts practicioner for 15+ years (8 years Judo, 1 y. karate, 1 y. Savate, 4 y. Taekwondo), and having tasted the thrill of real life competitions (taekwondo), I wanted to mix a bit of that reality with the fun of videogames. So that means taking a semi-realistic route for certain details, like weighted animations, semi-realistic models, not too exaggerated physics, or realistic timings (arming the strike -> launching the strike -> inertia -> recovery), in order to keep an link with how a real competition fight would look.

    Meanwhile, we all know that 100% realism is boring, so I had to "arcadize" that realism. All while respecting precise strike timing rules (frame data, for Street Fighter fans), so the game balance would not be compromised.

    And in the end, what you see is the final mix of it all, after working it out to not make it look like a weird patchwork of different ideas.
    If the game meets success, I'll make sure to keep it evolving (partly based on feedback), but right now, I just need to settle down and release it :)
     
  17. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    Hi guys :)
    Just some honest thought I'd like to share, as I've been reading a few mixed opinions about 3D models :

    - First, if it can reassure you, most beta testers who tried it on iPhone did say it "looked very good & polished". It can be explained by the fact that each video is basically "oversized", compared to how it is supposed to look on your phone screen.

    - Although, I'm conscious that it could look better. As being alone to make everything (modelling, animations, conception, coding, QA, optimizations, etc), and having never been a real "pro" in 3D modelling (learned by myself), I really tried my best at giving you stylized, varied outfits & characters.
    Meanwhile, my working focus tended to go more on polishing animations than models, as motion is where the heat of the fight comes from. Now that animations are working visually, this leads me to next point :

    - My intention for models is to hire a pro modeler once released, if game brings enough revenue, and rework all the the models to have superior quality. If this happens, the models update will be free, completely replacing the old models. This would be one way to thank people for having purchased the game.

    _____

    That said, I'd like to thank everyone in this thread for their enthusiasm, plus everyone who is following this project since a long, or shorter time.
    I'm really making this game out of passion for fighting games and martial arts, by trying to build something different, exciting, and wish to share that vision with you all.

    Thank you, I'll update this thread as soon as the final elements come to completion (= in the coming month).

    Meanwhile, I wish you all a great summer time, with lots of sun, romance, sea, and ice creams :)
     
  18. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    I hope you all enjoyed the Olympic Games ! It was such a beautiful moment, I can't wait for the next :)

    As another way to understand what inspired the making of this game, please let me present you one of the Taekwondo matches that happened during the Olympics. It was the Gold final, Men +80kg, Gabon (Obame) vs Italia (Molfetta).

    And oh my god how beautiful a match it was ... Taekwondo at its finest : technical, furious, powerful and tactical.

    **
    Here is a direct link (french TV, but no commentary, just the raw match) :
    http://www.francetv.fr/sport/les-jeux-olympiques-2012/direct?v=1440&t=9300
    **

    And this is precisely the kind of moments that gave me the impulse to create Kinetic Damage. That moment in a fight, where the time around you just bends to a fraction of a second, and where you have to think about dozens of possibilities in order to hit your opponent.

    Establishing a tactic for the next 5 strikes, all while keeping the awareness on surprise opportunities, and a perfect flow of reactivity. That's what I love in competitive fighting games, and that's what I wanted to transmit in Kinetic Damage's gameplay.

    As a bonus, you will certainly find some kicks in the Gabon vs Italia match above that are clearly recognizable in that Kinetic Damage AI vs AI video I posted in the OP :)

    Hope you'll enjoy !
     
  19. MrMojoRisin

    MrMojoRisin Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    Will this be playabe on the iPhone 3GS? Also, how much is it going to cost, and will there be any IAP's? Thanks!
     
  20. KineticDamage

    KineticDamage Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    #20 KineticDamage, Aug 16, 2012
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2012
    I'm making every possible optimization to make it run on 3GS. I did put graphic options slider to reduce the amount of details, transparent textures (fillrate), and make it run smoother on old hardware. Didn't test it yet on 3GS, but I got one, so I'll proceed to tests pretty soon.

    There will be only one IAP : the full game. Initially, I'm planning to make it free with 2 martial arts, one level, and local multiplayer, while all the remaining features (7 levels, 6 martial arts, outfits, career mode, etc) will be purchasable via IAP in one unique package.

    The price is not determined yet, as all the features has not been announced yet, but you can expect it to be slightly lower than current fighting game "big boys" (Capcom, SNK,etc). Something like 3.99$ anyway.

    Those details are not set in stone, but you get the general idea :)

    edit : the only thing I need to test extensively with 3GS is the RAM consumption overall. There are quite a lot of animations to load (400-500 per char approximately), because I wanted to give varied movesets and smooth animations. 3GS got 256 RAM, and actually fights are not eating more than 20 MB, plus I made sure there's zero mem leak, but I have to consider that most gamers let all the other apps run in the background. I'll make some extensive tests anyway :)
     

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