Fighting Game

edited in Projects
For the last 4 days I have been working on a fighting game. At the moment its still stickmen, yet Ive got something going.
Here is the link to my dropbox if you are interested:
https://dropbox.com/s/xoucqiirngh4fgr/FightingGame%28v1%29.exe?dl=0

Controls:
Q = punch
W = kick
E = uppercut
arrow keys left and right to move
up to jump
W in the air is the air kick.

Just for fun I did an idle animation in Aseprite in the style I want my game to be in.
image

Any comments are welcome.
Player_idle_animation.gif
400 x 400 - 39K

Comments

  • Haha, nice start! The knockback on getting kicked is pretty cool.

    It looks like sometimes when a character gets hit, they somehow just keep floating into the air, and keep going indefinitely upwards, out of the screen. Which is pretty funny... but maybe accidents/bugs like these can spark potential mechanical directions? :D

    Is this just for fun, or is there some specific direction you're aiming to take it?
  • edited
    @Elyaradine, thanx for taking a look.

    I'll keep the possibilities in mind:)
    Edit:
    I saw what you are talking about, when I uppercut the ai and follow up with a normal kick on the ground, the ai just leaves upward:P

    I am wanting to make a proper fighting game eventually as it is my favorite genre. My dream is to make something special, something original and totally awesome. That is still a bit of a quest, yet doable I believe.
    I'm taking it one step at a time. When I have more that I am happy with, I'll consider how I may apply it to the world outside. At this moment, I'm just enjoying the process.
  • Watched @Elyaradine playing this. Looks like an awesome start!

    There's obviously quite a lot of work to do, but there's some nice touches (like the way characters rotate in the air as they start falling downwards, and that characters have frames for when they get hit).

    Are you thinking about changing to a new art style soon (like the image of the green fighter above) or are you going to be sticking to stick figures until you've got most of the frames playing for most of the behaviors you want?

    I love fighting games myself! I also like brawlers and the new kinds of brawler hybrids coming out these days.
  • This seems like a good start man, check out what Pieter and I are doing on here http://makegamessa.com/discussion/3735/shattered-realms-prototype#latest
    We can share notes!
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • edited
    Hey @Jurgen, glad to see there are some other people tackling this genre. Fighting games are also one of my favourite genres, but unfortunately the techniques, tips and tricks are not very well documented. And I really don't know why that is, I've scoured the internet, and nowhere have a found definitive guides to making fighting games or even just combat driven games.

    However, there are a few gems out there but unfortunately involves some leg work. I'm going to include some of the links I've found most useful. Some are just people talking mechanics, some are engines (you can learn a lot about someone's technique by studying their feature list :) and some glossaries of fighting game terms. They all add up to your knowledge and the pool of experience you can draw from.

    Shoryuken.com - Glossary: A comprehensive list of many of the fighting game terms used today.
    Universal Fighting Engine: It is an engine you can buy for Unity (I work in GameMaker) but I learned a lot from just going through there feature list and gaining insights into their way of thinking.
    How to Make Fighting Games - Mike Z: Great talk about Mike Z. It's some higher level stuff, and doesn't discuss mechanics specifically, but still really good. In fact just search "Skullgirls Mike Z" or just "Mike Z" in YouTube, he does some great in depth analysis on fighting games. Learned a lot from him.
    Aztez Dev Blog: Well worth checking out. The have some in depth discussions about the mechanics in their game, as well as analysis of other combat driven games. There's also a ton of great links to follow.
    Creating 2D Platformers: Though I'd lob this in here since you seemed to have some issues with collisions earlier ;) In fact I think @EvenGreenwood already linked this. Whatevs :)

    Hope these help. Can't wait to see how the prototype progresses.
    image
  • Oh yeah, I haven't used MUGEN before, but it's apparently a game engine that they made specifically for fighting games, and for people who're not very familiar with programming (so I think most of the changes you'd be able to make are to do with aesthetics and numbers), but perhaps that's something you want to take a look at.

    http://elecbyte.com/mugendocs/mugen.html

    And loads of sprites to study too, if spriting is what you're interested in:
    http://network.mugenguild.com/guild/start.html
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • Thanx to all for the awesome feedback and support:D

    @EvanGreenwood wrote:
    Are you thinking about changing to a new art style soon (like the image of the green fighter above) or are you going to be sticking to stick figures until you've got most of the frames playing for most of the behaviors you want?
    I am planning to make skeletal figures of the two fighters in a size closer to what the green fighter in the first post is.
    That would be 200x200 pixels. If the skeletons are consistent enough and I am happy with the mechanics, I can start to flesh them out with detail.

    For example, here is a skeleton of a Necromancer I want in the game:
    image

    @dawidstrauss,thanks for the link. The game is really cool. As soon as I've got more to show, I'd gladly share what I know.

    @pieter, yeah, the reason why I started this project was because there wasn't any real fighting game help out there.
    Awesome, thanx for the links:)
    I'm pushing myself to get updates out as soon as possible, I'm amped to see where this goes as well.

    @Elyaradine, thanx man:) I'll check it out, I've been playing Street Fighter alpha 3 MAX on psp lately, trying to see through developers eyes.

    fightersgeneration.com is also full of sprite animations.
    Like this one:
    image
    sent-throw2.gif
    384 x 224 - 201K
  • @jurgen, I played a bit. Really cool with just the stickmen. I did encounter a funny bug, when I tried to uppercut and jump at the same time my character flew out of the screen and my opponent stood confused trying to find me.

    I like the art direction you are taking. It looks like a mix of sci-fi fantasy?

  • edited
    @petrc, thanx for the feedback. Bug added to the list:)
    Yeah, "ancient technology" is something that inspires me greatly. For the green character I took inspiration from Hellboy and Ironman. If all goes well, he'll have Green lantern like manifestation abilities.
  • Here is an idle animation for the generic player of my prototype's next update. The AI will have the same animations for now. I'm still figuring out what size to make the characters, I reckon twice the size of this animation would do, maybe only 1.5 times larger.

    image

    What I am wondering, would it be cooler to have the screen be like Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter and follow the jumping character or like Street Fighter where all the action can be seen by everyone?
    player_idle.gif
    200 x 200 - 14K
  • edited
    How high are you planning to have the jumps (and air moves)? I think the style of combat is the greatest determining factor in how the camera moves. (I personally do enjoy a lot of air combat, like in Guilty Gear, but it's not the move trivial thing to get feeling good when you're having to design it)

    (Once you've got some air combat down, you should be able to tell whether the camera movement is ideal or not, before that you've got the skeleton of the combat I'd expect you are just guessing).
    Thanked by 1Jurgen
  • Its going to take a certain amount of testing I realize. @EvanGreenwood, you are right, thanx:)
    Learning from other Fighting games is important, yet I believe what I want to achieve has to reflect the style and abilities of the game's characters perfectly. I really want to act the fighters. Their jump height will have to reflect natural ability in a stylized environment.
    My aim for the game is to be able to inflict realistic looking damage on the opponent. Their body design could also reflect more closely a believable "jumper" of sorts.
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
  • edited
    Cool! It sounds like you're going to have to do a bunch of prototyping with the new rough animations in to find the feeling you want (and I think generally this kind of explorative approach is a good way to find interesting results, rather than copying existing games).

    Looking forward to trying out the next playable with some of the changes you're planning!
    Thanked by 1Jurgen
  • edited
    The name of the game is "Battle for Ares". Combatants fight for domination over the alien planet Ares.

    I made these two backgrounds in Krita to get a feeling for what Ares would look like.

    image
    image

    Eventually I'd like to do the backgrounds in pixel-art with more detail and animations.
    bg_concept1.jpeg
    1024 x 680 - 39K
    bg_concept2.jpeg
    1024 x 680 - 36K
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
  • edited
    Ares reminds me a little of Prison Pit.

    (I don't think you're going for a Prison Pit aesthetic, as much as I'd love that personally, Prison Pit really isn't for everyone).
  • @EvanGreenwood, thanx:D Come to think of it, I had this random idea of putting a clown named Bobo in the game who could rip the opponents arms or legs off and beat them with it. I still have to figure out the level of gore.
    Seeing Prison Pit reminded me that violence, for me, could be funny especially when its cartoony overblown and way more than necessary.
    I have the idea of putting a "killing blow" technique in the game, if their is at least one dark-funny-ish character, that might be cool.
  • edited
    Here is the link to my next update:)
    https://dropbox.com/s/mupvybo4e9cyqnl/BattleForAres%28prototype%20b%29.exe?dl=0

    Keys:
    left and right keys to move
    up key for jump
    down key for duck
    punch = Q
    kick = W
    air kick = W in air
    uppercut = E
    sweep = back,W
    maddening touch = back, back, down
    Restart game = Enter

    The AI doesn't uppercut, air kick, maddening touch or sweep, it only kicks, punches, moves and jumps for now.
    Again, any comments welcome.
  • Here is a gif of the latest prototype for those interested;)
    image
    BattleforAres-prototype(b).gif
    1024 x 641 - 3M
  • Good to see all the progress that's been made :)

    I'm a big fan of air control, being able to change your trajectory in the air can give some great fake-out opportunities. Love the new animations too, especially the maddening touch one.

    One thing you could consider adding (that gives a lot of impact) is hitstop. Hitstop happens every time an attack lands and it basically freezes both characters' animations and movement for anything from 5-30 frames (Light - Heavy Attack). It really helps to convey the feeling that your attack just connected. And if you want that little bit of extra awesome sauce, add screen shake when the Heavier attacks land. Screen shake is your friend :)

    I picked up a few little bugs (though I'm sure you're aware of most of them).
    * Jumping Kick does not connect if the opponent is jumping as well.
    * Jumping kick does not connect on an opponent standing on the ground.
    * Ground attacks do not hit/juggle airborne opponents (either jumping or falling).
    * Holding forward or backward to walk makes me invulnerable to attack knockback (I just walk through attacks).
    * On simultaneous attacks, the knockback only occurs once the animations for both characters have finished (not when the attacks hit).
    Thanked by 2Jurgen Elyaradine
  • edited
    @pieter, awesome, thanx for the feedback.
    I'll try add the hitstop for the next update, cool. Yeah screenshake.
    Another thing I need to work on for the next update is, when executing a punch or kick one has to be positioned at a certain distance. When the player kicks the AI for example, if the AI is closer that the kick hitbox normally nothing happens. I also have to make the being uppercut sprite, more realistic.

    Also, I want to implement:
    - For maddening touch:
    When it happens to the player, one has to implement a "focus technique" by combo for example ,up,up,down,block. A sigil appears above the players head signifying mad state and focus regained state transition.
    - Either grappling or a throw mechanic.
    - Environmental techniques such as breaking the ground up in a shockwave towards the opponent. Specific to each battle area, looking different for what type of floor it is.
  • edited
    Here is a video about "what makes a fighting game worth playing".
    https://youtu.be/0U6ahedifJE


  • @Jurgen I love that stun -> uppercut -> air kick combo. That looks fun!!! (Also nice background!)
    Thanked by 1Jurgen
  • Hey hey!

    Another GM user! :D *hugs you slightly too long*

    I gave this a play and it was cool! :D I didn't read the above feedback, so I'm just giving my thoughts :).

    The simple hit animations are pretty cool and work nicely for giving feedback on when you hit and get hit. Getting moved back is cool too :).

    A basic health bar for each character would be cool, if just to give me a reason to stick around for longer and dispatch the other enemy.

    I think a general thing you can work on in a few areas in control input responsiveness :). I think it's super important to have the players' inputs be represented! Places you can make the controls more responsive:
    - When moving and I press an attack button, I want the attack to take preference over the movement - attacking feels more important than movement :)
    - When landing, I want to be able to move - I don't want to wait for the land animation to end. As much as waiting for a land animation to end makes sense, it feels kinda restrictive. Allowing the player to move on the ground while they're landing might look weird, but it's a lesser evil than stopping movement, I think :).
    - 'Input buffering' - this is technically more tricky than the above 2, but fighting games often have really high input requirements. You want to input a lot of things to control your avatar. SO! I think a cool thing to add is 'input buffering': if the player presses an input but they can't execute in the game (because another attack is taking place or whatever) then you should store if for a short period. If that period ends and the action still can't be completed, cool. But if the action that was stopping the input from resulting in game's action is over, you should automatically execute the new action. This sounds game breaking, but it usually occurs over the course of 0.05 and 0.5 seconds and can make the game feel much more responsive. (I almost certainly explained this clumsily, so here's a helpful secondary video of a similar thing in League of Legends to explain).

    Keep up the cool work - keen to see some crazy combos :D.
    Thanked by 1Jurgen
  • edited
    @Bensonace,thanx for the feedback.
    I've started implementing the input buffering and things are going well:) All suggested improvements have been added to my list of "to do".

    Here is an image of a combatant I'm conceptualizing.
    image
    Character_concept1.jpg
    591 x 662 - 168K
    Thanked by 1Boysano
  • Here is a Robot/Guardian combatant concept.
    image
    Since the beginning of the project, I've been wanting to incorporate some sort of robot into the game.
    The Sentinel from Xmen: Children of the Atom has inspired me greatly.
    Character_concept2.jpg
    472 x 596 - 38K
    Thanked by 2SUGBOERIE petrc
  • Here is another concept image. I want to put an animal-like character in the game. It could be nice to have different types of anatomy present.
    image
    Character_concept3.jpg
    472 x 436 - 87K
    Thanked by 2SUGBOERIE petrc
  • For this character concept the story, for now, goes:
    An astronaut, exploring deep space, encountered an anomaly.All contact was lost with the astronaut. He was thought to be dead. Something is keeping him alive, barely.Something sinister,something powerful.
    image
    Character_concept4.jpg
    354 x 625 - 137K
    Thanked by 2petrc mikethetike
  • So. It seems I kicked my opponent into outer space? XD
  • @SubiyaCryolite, yeah:P I redid the AI yesterday.
    It works as follows for those interested:
    When the player is on the ground, if the AI is far from the player it shall walk closer until it is in attacking range. Then, if the player is not in its maddened state, the AI shall, depending on the player's attack count (which may be starting at 0, be from 1 to 9), choose one of two attacks to perform whilst the player attack count is a certain number.
    This process is also influenced by an alarm[AI_ACTIONS] that is set smaller when the challenge level is set higher.
    The challenge level may be set from 0 to 9. When higher than 9 it is set to 0 again.
    The higher the challenge level, the faster the AI takes to make its decisions.

    If the player is in the air and the AI is close to it, only when its y is higher or equal to the player's y, then it will attempt to air kick the player.

    If the player is in its maddened state, then the AI will walk against the player and perform and uppercut. As soon as the uppercut has connected the AI jumps towards the player mid-air and does an air kick to the player.

    I have also added screen-shake for when either the AI or player hits the ground after a successful air kick. Two health bars have also been implemented.
    Thanked by 2pieter EvanGreenwood
  • I implemented my first throw:) There is still a lot to sort out, yet I'm starting to understand the mechanic better.
    Here is a gif of it in action.
    image
    BattleForAres(throw).gif
    800 x 600 - 3M
  • edited
    He is an Orekian and part of a group of space merchants. He has the ability to change into a larger and stronger form, yet only for a limited amount of time. He seeks to rule Ares as to have the power to save his home-world.

    image
    Orekian_idle.gif
    400 x 400 - 64K
  • Here is a concept for how the Orekian looks when he transformed.The way he'll transform is magical of sorts. His people worship their sun as they are in symbiosis with it. Id like to have his powers sun-related somehow:)
    image
    Nova_transform.jpg
    591 x 663 - 223K
  • Here is another combatant concept image, his name is Ruin. In my mind, he shall be the darkest of all the characters. I'm thinking of giving Ruin powers of shadow and dark magic. He'll act as the necromancer I mentioned in an earlier post.

    image
    FaceofRuin..jpeg
    472 x 586 - 19K
  • Here is a concept for Volka. She is designed machine consciousness that is able to create various holographic-type manifestations.
    image
    Volka.jpg
    354 x 573 - 82K
  • Very cool :)
    I like the feel of the movement and fighting in the prototype.

    Suggestions:
    1) Remove (or greatly reduce) the pause in movement when you land on the ground while holding down left/right.
    2) Make the other attack buttons also kick in the air. (Until you add other air attacks.)

  • @Dipso, thanx for the feedback:)
    I'm re-creating the prototype sprites today for practice purposes and to get more frames in. Higher quality sprites shall make it easier to do input buffering and combos.I am also optimizing my existing code and adding to it.
    Looking forward to the next update.
  • edited
    I need some input please. What I would like to know is:
    1.What type of combat moves would you like to see in Battle for Ares?
    2.Do you have any fighting styles you like more than others (eg Ninjutsu, Taekwondo etc), this applies to the style itself and your way of playing fighting games.(eg. do you jump a lot, use super moves frequently etc?)

    Understanding what you like, will aid me in developing suitable fighting styles as basis for each character and also how they are played.
    Any info will be helpful:)
  • edited
    It's a little hard to answer your question about what styles I enjoy. Are you thinking about making this feel like a conventional fighter (like Guilty Gear or Street Fighter) ?

    I ask because if I say "I enjoy Potemkin from Guilty Gear, and Chip from Guilty Gear Xrd", that's only accurate information if you are developing a conventional fighter, one where all the actions are based on existing fighting game actions.

    Where for me personally, what I really want are characters that don't feel like games I've already played, but feel intuitive to play with.

    I do feel more excited about grappling characters (in terms of martial arts fighting styles), but there's almost no grappling in a fighting game that I've actually enjoyed (the exceptions being: Iron Tager from Blaz Blue had some grappling moves I enjoyed, and I enjoyed Hazama from Blaz Blue being able to grab people from far away, but I don't think I've enjoyed any of the grappling in any other fighting game franchise, I especially don't like how "grapplers" in Street Fighter play, which to me just feels like difficult-to-execute close range special moves, full disclosure: I haven't played Killer Instinct or Skull Girls).
    Thanked by 2Jurgen pieter
  • @EvanGreenwood. thanx for the input:) I am in a process of learning from any fighting game I can. My approach to making Battle for Ares is to keep what works and re-invent or apply differently what doesn't. Through playing other fighting games I focus more on what I enjoy about the game than anything else.
    In effect, my aim was to make a conventional fighter up to a few days ago until I realized I have a great opportunity to make something different as it is my first fighter.

    I've started studying known unarmed martial art forms to get a better idea for fighting structure. From there I plan to exaggerate and adapt certain techniques in accordance with the anatomy of the fighters.

    For myself, I like ranged combat quite a bit and combos when things get tough.
    Grappling is cool, especially when there are options available, such as cancelling and countering.

    I am excited to implement a system in the game that:
    - allows the fighter to parry attacks into grapples.
    - opens possible executions from set grapple, such as throws.
  • I do think trying to implement conventional fighting game combat is still a very difficult and interesting challenge. You can learn a TON by just trying to implement fun comboing mechanics or good feeling hits.

    I'm personally a bit of a explorative player, I like finding new things in games. So I tend to enjoy trying weird fighting games, like Nidhog, rather than playing the next iteration of an existing fighter (like trying Street Fighter 5 after already having played Street Fighter 4).

    So certainly don't cater your game to me :) ... but at the same time, it is worth thinking about what experience your game can offer that other fighter's don't already, because it'll be difficult to compete with existing fighting games on budget.
    Thanked by 1Jurgen
Sign In or Register to comment.