What is EvolverXNA?

rossscr1313@sbcglobal.net — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Well, there is alot to say, and I'm currently in the process of writing a design document to contain it all. However, here's a brief description:

EvolverXNA is an Action Platform game. Now, I know that we've been there and done that, but I want to revive this genre that seems to be reserved for handhelds, old consoles, and 'classic collections' cds. You know, take the greatness of the golden age of video games and modernize it with today's game technology.

However, that isn't the only thing cool about this game. The gameplay will be intuitive and innovative. Kind of how Gears of War took many aspects of Cliffy B's inspirational sources like Resident Evil 4 and feature film dramatic license among others, EvolverXNA will take the best aspects of retro and modern games alike, toss them in the blender and come out a well polished experience that hasn't yet been seen in too many games of the platform genre. Think Mega Man meets Crackdown. Metroid meets Mass Effect(although not to that extreme, really). Anyway, imagine if we took some of the features of a modern game like Crackdown or Mass Effect and applied them to a platform game. In most platform games, you have a little cute character of some sort that goes around, hopping on little enemies and collecting some sort of coins or gems and a ton of power-ups. The action is very limited, and your character doesn't really interact with the environment or enemies in any special way.

What I propose is to take the old formula of running and jumping and amplify it.

Imagine if you could get a running start, hop off the roof of a building, hurdling through the air; you land on the next platform, crouch down to gather some momentum, vault off of that platform and hurdle through the air, connecting with the wall of the next building, hopping off the side of it back in the direction you just came from, grabbing an enemy in mid-air, slamming it into the ground sending shards of concrete spraying across the screen, jumping off of it grabbing another nearby enemy and chucking him into the wall as you turn around to kick the head of the guy behind you, uppercut another in front of you, jumping up to catch him mid-flight slamming him into the ground and then unleashing some massive force or power that you built up from all of the action you just completed, sending the remainder of the enemies flying in all directions. While you try to see this in your mind, picture some combination of the Hulk running and jumping through the desert, Neo from the Matrix doing his little kung fu/bullet time thing, and Jean Grey from the X-Men going absolutely ballistic. That is what I would want for the feel of the gameplay.

Now, something that is absent from most platformers and not implimented very well in the ones that do use it, is an advancement or levelling up system. But, I'm not talking 'go kill bad guys, collect gold and XP, spend it however I want to make my character stronger.' I'm saying we do something like dynamically evolving your character based on how you play him. If you do alot of running and jumping, you get better at it. If you do alot of close combat brawling, you become better at it. If you do alot of ranged type attacks, you become a better shot and do more damage. In addition, there will be a mechanic that I call 'splicing.' Splicing is something that works similar to the card interactions in a game like Magic: The Gathering. Over the course of the game, you will develop different abilities. These abilities, taken on their own are pretty useful. However, when you combine them with one or more other abilities, they become cumulitavely more powerful. Remember in Metroid, when you collected the High Jump boots, a certain suit and that little thing that let you spark up when you did a flip in the air? well this is similar, except, you don't actually 'find' an item and equip it. These abilities will develop naturally as you play, and will dynamically interact with each other to produce different effects. You could possibly have a completely different character each time you begin a new game.

This leads me to the reason for the name. EvolverXNA stems from the fact that it will be creates using the XNA framework to play on Windows or Xbox 360, and that the central theme of the game is 'evolution.' Your experience with your character will evolve from the time you press start until you finish the game. The main character is always changing. Toward the end of the game, he will have become a completely different entity than he was in the beginning.

Another aspect of gameplay that features the evolution theme is the combat system. The way your character fights is a fluid and modular method of linking attacks and combos with your characters maneuvering and interacting with the enemies and the environment. Think Prince of Persia meets Killer Instinct on meth and steroids. Each button you press could be a different attack based on the situation, and linking those attacks together in different ways will net different results. On top of that, as you are fighting, your momentum builds up with the more damage you do and the number of attacks you've linked together. This causes you to move faster, hit harder, and become less vulnerable to damage. the better you fight, the harder it becomes to stop you, and you keep becoming more and more 'amped up' until you reach a peak limit and unleash a flurry of massive attacks that can be controlled by different combinations of button presses and the type of ablities you have gained, leading to a different finishing move each time that usually wipes out everything in sight. Needless to say, the action in this game would feel very intense.

Having said all that, I know that it is a tall order and it would take an immense team of developers to accomplish this feat. And, it probably won't become anything like what I've described. Especially when you factor in all the things that I want to accomplish with graphics and sound.
I envision a spectacular array of visual effects and stunning settings that are complimented by an adaptive soundtrack that intensifies with the action occuring in the game.

So, while this project will probably never get past the conceptual stage, this is the game that I dream of creating, and I welcome anyone and everyone with the talent and passion for creating innovative and awe inspiring experiences to post their interests or concerns. And don't worry, I can take the criticism. You won't hurt my feelings by telling me that I'm crazy and that I have no idea what I'm getting into. Trust me, I already realize this completely.

Yet, thanks for reading anyway. And I wish you all the best of luck with your own dream projects, and can't wait to hear about them in the future.

What is EvolverXNA?

rossscr1313@sbcglobal.net — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 06:00:00 GMT

EvolverXNA is a serious project that could possibly be entered into the BDP contest, if the right people are willing to join the team and make it a reality.