Hi folks, currently developing this game called Gangster Tactics : Pile them In. This is intended to be an isometric tactics turn-based RPG game which is mostly set in the fictional city called "Casa City" (Hope you Spanish fellas have your kick ). I intend to release this game in windows only for now, due to lack of required hardware and not because of elitist bullshit.
The setting of the entire game. Will change based on your actions and plot events.
You suddenly received word that your elder brother had died, killed in a gang fight in Casa City, your hometown. While you have no love lost for your black sheep of a brother, your mother plead that you at least come back to attend his funeral, as a close family member. Angered being burdened once again by your worthless brother, you packed and set for home. And unknowingly walk into maelstrom of rivalries, hatred and violence that will soon engulf Casa City.
And you, along with the people whom you gathered together will decide out of that chaos, the future and fate of Casa City.
The gameplay is, as above mentioned, tactic turn-based. The mechanics for this game is largely inspired by the best of the tactics RPG genre, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together . As you will see, most of the game UI design is also inspired by its UI due to its simplicity yet robust style. As they say, learn from the best ;D.
Showdown at Crazy Woods Bar between two rival gangs. Poor barkeep ;_;
Without further ado, here are some of the intended battlefield mechanics:-
- HP, SP and AP - It's too obvious what HP and SP are (SP replace MP in this game). AP stands for Adrenaline Points which you only get as you attack,get attacked by others, being bloodied, or defeating someone outright. Many powerful moves require AP to be used. Please note that in this game, the enemies also can use those moves with the same requirements, so take that information in stride.
- Positioning system - Position is king in the battlefield. If your men are facing the back of the enemy, they can dealt up to twice the usual amount of damage. Once again, do note this also apply for the enemies and they WILL attempt these maneuvers, even if you want to fight "fair" ::).
- No random number generator in battle - While random number generator have their uses, this feature is brought over from tabletop gaming in which it is used to randomize players' chance of success in an attempt to bridge the skill gap between a tabletop veteran and a rookie. After all, who want to play tabletop with a veteran where his victory is guaranteed 100% of the time? In a single player game, I found the main opinions is that the feature largely served unintended to annoy and frustrate players. Also make everyone use the save button more often. It also diminished the importance of skill in tactics game if used heavily. So, in this game, it won't be used in the battlefield and only be used in the strategic layer to handle random events.
We are reading Henry's personal files. Let's hope he don't find out
Let's talk about some mechanics that is shown on the image above.
- Equipments - Each character have four equipment slots which they can outfit with different stuff. Standard stuff. Let's move along.
- The smiley face at the bottom of the character showcase in front of a scale - This icon reflect the personality of the character in question. Based on the image, the smiley is smirking while giving us a finger salute. Therefore, the personality of the character is "a bit of dick". Personalities is crucial in assigning tasks in the strategic overlay to your gang members and when trying to reclass them so to speak, as some classes(stereotypes) require a certain personality to access it. Personalities can be changed through behaviors on the battlefield and for some, plot decisions.
- The number beside the character showcase - That is the number of lives the character have. If it falls to 0 in anyway, the character automatically died. If your main character died, it's game over for good (At least, until you reload the last save). As with Tactics Ogre, the number is reduced primarily by getting unconscious in battlefield and not received any appropriate medical aid in less than 3 turns.
- Stats - Some of these are explained below:
- Strength - Affects Physical Attack (Melee and Ranged). Used in some events and strategic activities.
- Constitution - Affects Physical Defense. Used in some events and strategic activities.
- Intelligence - Affects Special Attack. Used in some events and strategic activities.
- Willpower - Affects Special Defense. Used in some events and strategic activities.
- Agility - Affects Initiative. Used in some events and strategic activities.
You may start small. The intention is to fill this screen to the brim until scrollbars appear with your gang members. Let's hope they don't have expensive tastes.
The image above show the characters that belong to the player's gang. As with tactics ogre, you can switch to class list view to see how many people of each class do you have in your gang.
If you look closely, you will find Xbox button icons is shown on the UI.This game is intended to be play either with a controller using XBox mapping or via keyboard. The mapping can be changed via controls UI. Mouse controls will not be supported at least until a while after the game is completed and only if requested then.
From Provocateur to Drunkard. Henry's mom and dad will never be happy, will they :facepalm:
The picture shown above is the Class Change(Stereotype) UI. In this game, classes are referred to as "Stereotypes" which better reflect the tone of the game. In-game explanation is that most people change accordingly to what the society and largely what their friends expect from them. If they expect someone to constantly be strong and act like a idiot, the person will usually comply. Classes have their own stats, skill tree, requirements and effects. Also important is the fact that each class give different stat progression at each level-up.
Select the meat shields *ahem* valiant teammates to go with you into battle. Insurance will not be covered.
The Battle Placement UI. Subject to change but I like the design so far.
The smell of good old capitalism and plain human greed. Beats any belief every time.
This is the Strategic Overview UI. Let's talk about some of the elements here:
- Money - Self- explanatory. Require to buy anything.
- Fame - how much people have heard of you. This may both be good and bad, depending on the situation and the plot
- Street Cred - How much respect you have earned from the underworld and other gangs. Higher value give you access to black markets with rare items and special missions.
- Date - The passing of time. Usually irrelevant until you receive/start a time critical mission. May be used to set chances of random events (Still unsure should or not)
- Strategic Icons - The color shows whenever you can go to the location and access the activities there safely or about to start a fight/mission. Blue for safe, red for danger.
Since the battlefield main activity is obvious, let's talk about the planned activities in the strategic map.
I planned for quite a lot of stuff but most of them can easily be defined as:
- Investment - Invest in business and real estates. Choose between renters and staffs. Also many of your investment allow for more investment to improve on or buy stuff. After every mission completion, you will receive the fruits of the investment, be it good or bad. Random events may happen. The investment rewards will not be based on time/date but rather on number of missions completed to player visiting it to claim the reward.
- Assignment - Assign your gang members to do other stuff such as loan sharking on idiotic young people with low financial discipline and high ego. Assigned gang members may not participate on the next mission. Each assignments end after mission completion. Random events may happen.
- Renovation - Renovate your gang hideout with new rooms, new equipment and new decorations. Gain some bonus and more importantly, open access to some game features and stereotypes. One of it is to allow any gang member to be assigned to the room and after a mission completion, level up to 2 levels below the highest level character in the gang. The feature is intended because since I am not japanese, there will be no grinding. Every battle is important.
Scanlines for retro lovers. No scanlines for retro haters. Now everyone can be happy!
The Settings UI. Not to be confused with the Controls UI which is another UI. I would be grateful for suggestions of further settings people would like to have in an isometric tactics game.
Yes, you can save anytime you want! In battle, toilet and during intercourse, if you please!
The Save UI. Currently planned to have only 16 save slots due small part to lack of programming skill and more to unwillingness to commit further time on the feature.