Hey there everybody this is Tyler Troute from Implosion Games.
We are currently developing a parkour game that revolves around a city consumed in gangs.
These gangs specialize in parkour or free running (for the difference see the bottom)
We already have have our skill set and how each skill effects the game but one major difference
from parkour games in the past is our Style skill which helps with you leveling and give you
XP bonus’s for doing tricks or beating down enemy’s in interesting ways. Maybe while doing
a back flip you hit the enemy with a bar in the back of the head. This would give you 200 XP
for killing the enemy and a 500 XP style bonus. With a special feature like this we might have
you interested but we want to know. What else do YOU miss in a parkour game? I will go through
and pick some of the coolest yet do-able idea’s and try and implement them into the game.
-Thanks Implosion Games
Free running - Getting place to place in a interesting way, doing acrobatic tricks in between
Parkour - Getting from one place to another in the fastest way possible
All right cool I’l be happy for your info. Some of our moves will be unrealistic but games don’t have to be realistic… They only have to be believable.
The thing I like to see most in games like this is fluid motion. Mirrors’ Edge is a great example of this; I quickly learned to stop trying to figure things out, just trust the level designer, and run.
Once thing that would be really cool is if you could somehow make retrying a move more fluid. Right now in parkour games, if you fail, you have to stop, back up, rebuild your momentum, and try again, and that really kills the feel of the game.
It also gives a sense of realism to the game. If you fail at keeping your momentum up, it would make sense to lose it at some point. But I do get what you are saying.
Its free running, basically the world is your jungle gym. Do flips off things, jump over others. By definition parkour is the ART of getting from on place to another in the fastest way possible. Free running is the same but with acrobatic moves incorporated. All of which are in the city.
Mirrors edge is a good example of parkour. Prototype kind of has a free running aspect.
well ever watched top gun? what they show is not real areal combat, but most games like HAWKs or ACE COMBAT trying to do and show the same. Why? it is more fun, it makes money. So if you do your game according to definition - you are likely to fail. ME was quite boring except time trials for example. It needs more scripted events on the way ala COD:MW/MW2
Free roaming environments, with complex networks of interleaving paths that you can weave through at your own discretion. I’m a bit weary of combat, is it really necessary? That, and I would prefer a focus on player-skill development instead of a skill-unlock system.
A prince of persia-esque rewind feature could be good. I’m imagining levels where you have to run as fast as you can, so perfecting the timing of every jump and roll is required to get through the level, so a short rewind feature would be a good way to let you retry the last jump as many times as you want until you get it perfect.
It’s hard to explain, but my first instinct in a game is to stop and look around for the next destination; in Mirror’s Edge, the path reveals itself as you’re running, and if you stop, you’ll be unable to finish the level. I just have to keep running and trust that there will always be a path, which goes against my gaming instincts
And I agree with the rewind feature. That would be perfect for keeping the flow. I would recommend adding a bit of a slowdown after rewinding so you have time to assess the new situation (for an example of that sort of slowdown, see Metroid: Other M when you switch between first-person and third-person in mid-combat.)
You can always strive away from combat but if you do kill a enemy you will get a XP bonus.
You will also get a XP bonus for big jumps, stunt combos, or keeping good flow for a long
amount of time.
You seem to have some mechanics down already, so why don’t you give us a description of what you have already. Because a lot of us are telling you to stay away from combat and XP, but it seems that combat and XP is in anyway.
So what else is solid? 1st person? 3rd Person? Tricks? XP? Skill tree? Story? Setting?
What I didn’t like about Mirror’s Edge is it was so linear. It felt nothing more than a glorified linear obstacle course that was pretending it wasn’t.
I wanted it to be more free-roaming, like there’s more than one way to reach your destination.
