This is my idea for a video game starring Ashley 'n' pals. It is half-formed, Mario and the Music Box-level of uncharacteristic, and self-indulgent. I do not have the skills, means, or drive to make it real. You could call it a fantasy.
[commisioned artwork pending]
Anarchy! Acts of terrors! Crimes against the public! Noshi! When the island state of Scepter Island (better name pending) cannot avenge the affronts committed against itself and its people, it has on retainers a trio of the strongest operatives, a trio of men and women with the skill, smarts(?) and superhuman powers few other possess. They are the Whatever the game will be called
The Whatever I'm gonna call this idea eventually is an action-packed third-person shooter, pairing fast-paced runnin' and gunnin' (and puchin' and kickin') with a loving pastiche of the golden age of British spy-action television. The New Avengers (not the Marvel property!), The Professionals and The Protectors are all tremendous stylistic and storytelling inspirations.
Note 1: I almost called this "The Wahvengers" but that's fucking stupid.
Note 2: Ashley's design here as well as the characters of "Claudia", "Vanessa" and "Cocomin" are from Crazy Galaxy, an obscure April Fools event Nintendo posted.
General format
The Game is a linear, fast-paced story-driven action game starring three protagonists with distinct abilities. Players are taken through a strictly linear storyline. Gameplay frequently switch between protagonists as dictated by the plot progression. Beside character-game play, variety sequences involving vehicles are featured. A shared feature is that no matter who you're playing has, taking out enemies quickly and stylishly will fill a power meter that can be used to unleash devastating techniques.
The Game has unprecedented integration between its playable segments and story segments (I am hesitant to use the word "cinematic"). Transitions between gameplay and cutscene are brisk and seamless: the final shot landed on a boss character might instantly transition to a first person shot of the bullet hitting the boss, which then moves on to the plot-mandated cutscene. The intended ration is 20-30 minutes of action followed by 1-3 minutes of cutscenes.
As part of its inspiration, various old-timey stylistic cues are employed: cutscenes presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio, "book flipping" scene transitions, iris-outs and the like.
Our heroes
Ashley is riding the high life. Having sold the rights to her story to documentaries, blockbuster movies and flamethrowers, and hot-off recording an octuple-platinum album, she'll never have to work a day again in her life! And that's very good, because her new hobby is thrill-seeking. She is the strong, woman-of-few-words type but age has made her more sociable and good natured than she used to.
Ashley's gameplay is a lock-on shooter in the vein of games such as Dead to Rights and PN.03. She can shoot magic bolts (like she does in Game & Wario) at enemies. A snap-lock system allows her to target specific parts of an enemy such as their hands or shoulder. Each hand is mapped to a trigger, allowing for puzzles involving shooting enemies in specific orders, and rythmically tapping the fire buttons in precise patterns to unleash attack combos.
As a witch, Ashley can use a variety of magic spells and psychic powers to supplement her bread and butter offense. By trading part of her Power meter, Ashley can
-Either use telekinesis to ragdoll human-sized enemies for a one-hit kill, or throw large props at enemies.
-Charge a "multiblast" that will target every enemies on screen.
-Use her telekinesis to flick away thrown grenades, or unhook the grenade pin in enemy's holsters
Claudia's parents says their daughter was born with an Uzi in her hands. Since her youth, she has trained for operating a variety of hundred of weapons, ranging from small calibers to man-portable bullet bills, and is one of four person in the Mushroom Kingdom licensed to use a gatling gun on her private property. She is brash, impulsive, a bit of a woman-child and has little concerns for bruising the egos of those around her. One has to wonder why someone with her temperament would get so tight with Ashley, but they say being stranded in outer space has a way of forging the oddest bonds.
Lacking Ashley's supernatural powers, Claudia's gameplay is that of a more typical modern third-person shooter like Max Payne or Gears of War, with conventional aiming controls. She can take cover to reduce incoming fire, and shoot-dodge Max Payne style to dive out of dangerous situation.
Like Ashley, Claudia has various shooting abilities that can be activated by acquiring ressource from defeated enemies:
-Claudia can activate bullet time for as long as the bar is filled, giving her heightened reflexes.
-Claudia can infuse elements into her bullets, such as making them explode or set enemies on fire.
-Claudia can curve bullets, allowing her to hit enemies behind covers.
Claudia's can arm herself with some of the following weapons:
-The sci-fi guns she's shown holding in the Crazy Galaxy artwork
-Dual-wielded peanut popguns (from Donkey Kong 64)
-A SNES Super Scope
-A beanbag launcher (works like a shotgun)
-a bamboo LMG with half-of-a-watermelon mounted on top of it, in the imagery of a pan magazine. It shoots watermelon seeds.
Waluigi is desperate to make a new image for himself. Intending to show than he is more than a two-bit trickster, Walugi has attempted to reinvent himself as a suave James Bond-esque man of action and womanizer. Except he's awful at it.
Waluigi's gameplay is an old-school 3D beat em up modeled after games like God Hand and Fighting Force. By using a combination of two punching buttons and one kick, Waluigi can strings a number of combinations by mix-and-matching attack buttons. He can also clinch onto enemies for grappling and throwing techniques, and backfists.
Using the power meter, Waluigi can:
-Interupt any hits of his combo with a power tennis racket strike that will push the enemy back – and back into him should they hit any walls. Perfect for setting up combos!
-Trade his entire bar for a superpowered state where he is immune to damage and his attacks come out faster.
-Press the power button at specific points of his combo to activate an "Ex" version with a move, with increased damage and new properties!
Supporting cast
Vanessa is the mission control, responsible for client liaisons, communication and intel gathering. A very serious and irritable women, she has little patience for Waluigi's and Claudia's eccentricities … most of the time.
Cocomin has weirdness and chaos find her wherever she goes. Her unflappably friendly and polite demeanour makes it all the unfortunate that all of the episode's event somehow result in the destruction of her hard-earned food truck.
Scenarios
As part of its 60s-70s TV inspiration, the story is strictly episodic with all of the different chapters being standalone stories with different antagonists. There is a slight element of continuity through the trio's evolving relationship and the final chapter's story aims to provide a satisfying emotional torque despite the lack of overarching plot.
I do encourage you to tell me which premises sound more interesting, to know which ones I should develop into outlines.
Who Annihilates the Annihilators? : Scepter Island's 249th Mechanized Task Force has decided crime pays better, starting with the spectacular mid-air theft of a portable fusion reactor. When the getaway pilot double crosses them, it's a race between them and the gang to get it back.
Hexed: A bitter witch hatch a scheme to ruin Ashley's life, deeming her public persona an unforgivable perversion of the Dark Arts.
School of Hard Krocs : Eager to fill the power vacuum left by King K. Rool's absence, Mr. X converts the Krembling embassy into a hub for contraband and saboteurs.
Singularity: A deranged scientist believes that the next step in artificial intelligence can only come from the bonding of silicon and flesh. He plans to make Ashley, Claudia, and Walugi the next additions to his training data!
Crisis: During a training exercise, a lieutnant equipped with a prototype power armor ODs on combat psychoactives and goes AWOL, believing himself to be stalked by the "hell people". The gang must recover him before the enemy does.
Mob Justice: When the gang inadvertently busts a deal for contraband duriants, Don Pinioto of the local chapter of the Pianta Syndicate declares an all-out war.
The Crime we fight…: Chronogically the first case and a prequel to all the others. The islan'ds intelligence has got words of a malevolent scheme involving a death ray that can remotely detonate any Bob-ombs in an instant, and to investigate that, force Ashley and Claudia to work with one of their new contractor (Waluigi). How did they ever learn to get along?
Setting:
Sceptered Isle is a perpetually overcast island. Though modern technology like cell phones exist, fashion and automotive exteriors do not appear to have progressed past the 70s. Rusty steel mills abounds, as do abandoned airfields. In its capital, extensive reconstructions and patchworked roofs can be sighted, perhaps a dark scar of a conflict not too long past.
Other gameplay segments
Certain segments may involve pitched car chases. Claudia has upgraded her ol' jalopy above with a number of gadgets including a pair of .50 front mounted machine guns, tire spikes and an oil slicks dispenser. These segments play like a mix of the 2001 SpyHunter game and Full Auto, challenging players to reach the destination without being destroyed by enemy vehicles.
Waluigi may sometimes have to ride his motorcycle in similar events. He can punch out adversaries Road Rash-style or slide with his bike under obstacle.
Tone
While the premise and subject matter are certainly "edgier" than anything else associated with Wario and pals, shock value isn't the point of the exercise. Characters are always taken out non-lethally (fainted, frozen, reduce to a pile of ash with googly eyes on top, etc). Villains can express a killing intent, but they are neutralized before it happens. The focus is on witty exchanges and fun, straightforward action.
Other game features and modes
Each gameplay segment is closed off with an action game-style ranking, grading players on factors such as damage taken, completion time, etc.
Beside the lead story, other gameplay modes would include:
-A "challenge" mode inspired by Vanquish tactical challenge's mode, featuring a series of five increasingly difficult combat arenas for each characters.
-An "arcade" mode featuring a short (30-45 min) custom campaign for each characters, with limited tries and old-school points scoring. Scoring and completion time are uploaded on leadboards.
----
I hope you enjoyed reading this! Or didn't hate it. Whatever. I'm very open to answering questions about WTF my thought process here was.
[commisioned artwork pending]
Anarchy! Acts of terrors! Crimes against the public! Noshi! When the island state of Scepter Island (better name pending) cannot avenge the affronts committed against itself and its people, it has on retainers a trio of the strongest operatives, a trio of men and women with the skill, smarts(?) and superhuman powers few other possess. They are the Whatever the game will be called
The Whatever I'm gonna call this idea eventually is an action-packed third-person shooter, pairing fast-paced runnin' and gunnin' (and puchin' and kickin') with a loving pastiche of the golden age of British spy-action television. The New Avengers (not the Marvel property!), The Professionals and The Protectors are all tremendous stylistic and storytelling inspirations.
Note 1: I almost called this "The Wahvengers" but that's fucking stupid.
Note 2: Ashley's design here as well as the characters of "Claudia", "Vanessa" and "Cocomin" are from Crazy Galaxy, an obscure April Fools event Nintendo posted.
General format
The Game is a linear, fast-paced story-driven action game starring three protagonists with distinct abilities. Players are taken through a strictly linear storyline. Gameplay frequently switch between protagonists as dictated by the plot progression. Beside character-game play, variety sequences involving vehicles are featured. A shared feature is that no matter who you're playing has, taking out enemies quickly and stylishly will fill a power meter that can be used to unleash devastating techniques.
The Game has unprecedented integration between its playable segments and story segments (I am hesitant to use the word "cinematic"). Transitions between gameplay and cutscene are brisk and seamless: the final shot landed on a boss character might instantly transition to a first person shot of the bullet hitting the boss, which then moves on to the plot-mandated cutscene. The intended ration is 20-30 minutes of action followed by 1-3 minutes of cutscenes.
As part of its inspiration, various old-timey stylistic cues are employed: cutscenes presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio, "book flipping" scene transitions, iris-outs and the like.
Our heroes
Ashley is riding the high life. Having sold the rights to her story to documentaries, blockbuster movies and flamethrowers, and hot-off recording an octuple-platinum album, she'll never have to work a day again in her life! And that's very good, because her new hobby is thrill-seeking. She is the strong, woman-of-few-words type but age has made her more sociable and good natured than she used to.
Ashley's gameplay is a lock-on shooter in the vein of games such as Dead to Rights and PN.03. She can shoot magic bolts (like she does in Game & Wario) at enemies. A snap-lock system allows her to target specific parts of an enemy such as their hands or shoulder. Each hand is mapped to a trigger, allowing for puzzles involving shooting enemies in specific orders, and rythmically tapping the fire buttons in precise patterns to unleash attack combos.
As a witch, Ashley can use a variety of magic spells and psychic powers to supplement her bread and butter offense. By trading part of her Power meter, Ashley can
-Either use telekinesis to ragdoll human-sized enemies for a one-hit kill, or throw large props at enemies.
-Charge a "multiblast" that will target every enemies on screen.
-Use her telekinesis to flick away thrown grenades, or unhook the grenade pin in enemy's holsters
Claudia's parents says their daughter was born with an Uzi in her hands. Since her youth, she has trained for operating a variety of hundred of weapons, ranging from small calibers to man-portable bullet bills, and is one of four person in the Mushroom Kingdom licensed to use a gatling gun on her private property. She is brash, impulsive, a bit of a woman-child and has little concerns for bruising the egos of those around her. One has to wonder why someone with her temperament would get so tight with Ashley, but they say being stranded in outer space has a way of forging the oddest bonds.
Lacking Ashley's supernatural powers, Claudia's gameplay is that of a more typical modern third-person shooter like Max Payne or Gears of War, with conventional aiming controls. She can take cover to reduce incoming fire, and shoot-dodge Max Payne style to dive out of dangerous situation.
Like Ashley, Claudia has various shooting abilities that can be activated by acquiring ressource from defeated enemies:
-Claudia can activate bullet time for as long as the bar is filled, giving her heightened reflexes.
-Claudia can infuse elements into her bullets, such as making them explode or set enemies on fire.
-Claudia can curve bullets, allowing her to hit enemies behind covers.
Claudia's can arm herself with some of the following weapons:
-The sci-fi guns she's shown holding in the Crazy Galaxy artwork
-Dual-wielded peanut popguns (from Donkey Kong 64)
-A SNES Super Scope
-A beanbag launcher (works like a shotgun)
-a bamboo LMG with half-of-a-watermelon mounted on top of it, in the imagery of a pan magazine. It shoots watermelon seeds.
Waluigi is desperate to make a new image for himself. Intending to show than he is more than a two-bit trickster, Walugi has attempted to reinvent himself as a suave James Bond-esque man of action and womanizer. Except he's awful at it.
Waluigi's gameplay is an old-school 3D beat em up modeled after games like God Hand and Fighting Force. By using a combination of two punching buttons and one kick, Waluigi can strings a number of combinations by mix-and-matching attack buttons. He can also clinch onto enemies for grappling and throwing techniques, and backfists.
Using the power meter, Waluigi can:
-Interupt any hits of his combo with a power tennis racket strike that will push the enemy back – and back into him should they hit any walls. Perfect for setting up combos!
-Trade his entire bar for a superpowered state where he is immune to damage and his attacks come out faster.
-Press the power button at specific points of his combo to activate an "Ex" version with a move, with increased damage and new properties!
Supporting cast
Vanessa is the mission control, responsible for client liaisons, communication and intel gathering. A very serious and irritable women, she has little patience for Waluigi's and Claudia's eccentricities … most of the time.
Cocomin has weirdness and chaos find her wherever she goes. Her unflappably friendly and polite demeanour makes it all the unfortunate that all of the episode's event somehow result in the destruction of her hard-earned food truck.
Scenarios
As part of its 60s-70s TV inspiration, the story is strictly episodic with all of the different chapters being standalone stories with different antagonists. There is a slight element of continuity through the trio's evolving relationship and the final chapter's story aims to provide a satisfying emotional torque despite the lack of overarching plot.
I do encourage you to tell me which premises sound more interesting, to know which ones I should develop into outlines.
Who Annihilates the Annihilators? : Scepter Island's 249th Mechanized Task Force has decided crime pays better, starting with the spectacular mid-air theft of a portable fusion reactor. When the getaway pilot double crosses them, it's a race between them and the gang to get it back.
Hexed: A bitter witch hatch a scheme to ruin Ashley's life, deeming her public persona an unforgivable perversion of the Dark Arts.
School of Hard Krocs : Eager to fill the power vacuum left by King K. Rool's absence, Mr. X converts the Krembling embassy into a hub for contraband and saboteurs.
Singularity: A deranged scientist believes that the next step in artificial intelligence can only come from the bonding of silicon and flesh. He plans to make Ashley, Claudia, and Walugi the next additions to his training data!
Crisis: During a training exercise, a lieutnant equipped with a prototype power armor ODs on combat psychoactives and goes AWOL, believing himself to be stalked by the "hell people". The gang must recover him before the enemy does.
Mob Justice: When the gang inadvertently busts a deal for contraband duriants, Don Pinioto of the local chapter of the Pianta Syndicate declares an all-out war.
The Crime we fight…: Chronogically the first case and a prequel to all the others. The islan'ds intelligence has got words of a malevolent scheme involving a death ray that can remotely detonate any Bob-ombs in an instant, and to investigate that, force Ashley and Claudia to work with one of their new contractor (Waluigi). How did they ever learn to get along?
Setting:
Sceptered Isle is a perpetually overcast island. Though modern technology like cell phones exist, fashion and automotive exteriors do not appear to have progressed past the 70s. Rusty steel mills abounds, as do abandoned airfields. In its capital, extensive reconstructions and patchworked roofs can be sighted, perhaps a dark scar of a conflict not too long past.
Other gameplay segments
Certain segments may involve pitched car chases. Claudia has upgraded her ol' jalopy above with a number of gadgets including a pair of .50 front mounted machine guns, tire spikes and an oil slicks dispenser. These segments play like a mix of the 2001 SpyHunter game and Full Auto, challenging players to reach the destination without being destroyed by enemy vehicles.
Waluigi may sometimes have to ride his motorcycle in similar events. He can punch out adversaries Road Rash-style or slide with his bike under obstacle.
Tone
While the premise and subject matter are certainly "edgier" than anything else associated with Wario and pals, shock value isn't the point of the exercise. Characters are always taken out non-lethally (fainted, frozen, reduce to a pile of ash with googly eyes on top, etc). Villains can express a killing intent, but they are neutralized before it happens. The focus is on witty exchanges and fun, straightforward action.
Other game features and modes
Each gameplay segment is closed off with an action game-style ranking, grading players on factors such as damage taken, completion time, etc.
Beside the lead story, other gameplay modes would include:
-A "challenge" mode inspired by Vanquish tactical challenge's mode, featuring a series of five increasingly difficult combat arenas for each characters.
-An "arcade" mode featuring a short (30-45 min) custom campaign for each characters, with limited tries and old-school points scoring. Scoring and completion time are uploaded on leadboards.
----
I hope you enjoyed reading this! Or didn't hate it. Whatever. I'm very open to answering questions about WTF my thought process here was.
