We have just released the first two of four planned teaser trailers for our game Comrade In Arms which will be a multiplayer side-scrolling shooter. Think Contra + Call of Duty + Bionic Commando + a little of our own special sauce!
Our game will be heavily teamwork dependent, based on a game mechanic we call authorization, where only one member of the squad of 4 may use their special abilities at a time.
A squad is comprised of 4 different members, the Chasseur, Traceur, Commando and Saboteur whom have unique abilities that complement each other. Your job as a team is to decide who gets to use their special ability and when.
The gameplay video was meant more as a level walkthrough and doesn’t have any gameplay elements in it yet. We are still working on getting enemies and A.I and hope to show you guys something soon. Thanks for the comments!
Chasseur Special: Grappling Hook Weapon Class: Medium
The Chasseur is skilled in tracking and traveling in all sorts of terrain. He is equally at home in the jungle, in the mountains or out at sea. He is always the first out of the blocks and eager for combat but always observant of the situation around him. His grappling hook allows him to reach places that are hard to get to and allows him tactical advantages in combat. The Chasseur is a fiery but good natured character that is always ready to lend a hand to him team mates.
Commando Special: Sniper Rifle Weapon Class: Large
The Commando is a highly trained ex-special forces soldier. The rigorous selection process of the special forces means that he is grizzled, tough and always ready for war. In any situation he is efficient and quick,and doesn’t talk much…but when he does, you better listen. Highly skilled in the use of firearms, he is an expert marksman and his sniper rifle allows him to pick out opponents from afar as well as provide recon for his team.
Traceur Special: Forcefield Weapon Class: Handgun
The Traceur is skilled in maneuvering the environment in a quick and stealthy manner, darting in and out in order to gather intelligence. Rather than go in guns ablaze, the Tracer surveys the surroundings and has the ability to read the situation and find out the best way to proceed…which usually ends in a kill. His forcefield protects him from any projectiles if he is ever compromised and needs to escape, or even provide cover for his team mates.
Saboteur Special: Laser guided RPG Weapon Class: Heavy
The Saboteur is trained in demolitions and explosives and has intimate knowledge of grenades, mortars, rockets and all sorts of explosive weapons. He lost his right arm while handling an IED and was fitted with a bionic arm, one that allows him to launch a laser guided rocket. The Saboteur has a morbid sense of humour and has a very matter of fact attitude towards war which helps him cope with the death and destruction he has caused.
We’ve decided to release some concept art of our weapons. We are trying to stay away from realism and the grittyness of many shooters and are going for a more whimsical approach, but yet keep the sense of power to our weapons and not the “pew pew” feeling you get with some cartoony guns.
Looks great technically and artistically, and sounds like you have some interesting mechanics planned.
How will players form strategies? If this is an online game will voice chat be supported?
I have to say I really liked the art style in the animated trailers. When I saw the camera pan in the very first shot of the first trailer I thought I was looking at the game. I would actually consider using that style of backgrounds (layering 2D images) instead of full 3D models. Think something like Braid. It looks much nicer in my opinion and it gives your game a unique style. Maybe the character models could still be 3D though (as long as you are consistent).
I have to say the Laser guided rocket looks like a cool weapon, sure to be a few puzzles solved with that thing. Progress looks good and I can’t wait to see more.
Thanks guys, glad you like it. I’ll be updating with some of the other classes’ authorized specials too, we’ve still got grappling hook, sniper and forcefield!
@Crowbarska: We will be using some of the 2D art for the backgrounds, sort of like a matte painting but yes I do agree that a game with that art style would be pretty cool.
It’ll be released in 2 flavours, one free-to-play lower res browser based version supported by microtransactions and Ads and a downloadable standalone for sale with higher resolution, extra visual accessories and a level editor where they can create and share levels.
Looks good, the leg animations of the run cycle are abit off though. There should be an extension of the foot out as they run; other why it looks kind of like running in place and not really running.
Yes, the run cycles… They are a remnant when we wanted that particular character(Traceur) to have a more ninja like run with the body leaned forwards and the legs moving more like they are now. We discovered that that sort of run had ramifications with our aiming system as well as looked strange if the character was aiming up so we opted for a more upright pose but forgot to change the animation from waist down. They were already in the pipeline for fixing, but the queue was long so will only be fixed till this week or so…hehehe.
And I love the artstyle…
They are a remnant when we wanted that particular character(Traceur) to have a more ninja like run with the body leaned forwards and the legs moving more like they are now. We discovered that that sort of run had ramifications with our aiming system as well as looked strange if the character was aiming up so we opted for a more upright pose but forgot to change the animation from waist down. They were already in the pipeline for fixing, but the queue was long so will only be fixed till this week or so…hehehe.
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