Physics Fighter (experiment)

edited in Projects
This is super early in development, I started it this afternoon, and it might not go much further. But I thought I'd share (as I was having quite a lot of fun working on it today).

It's an attempt at making a fighting game driven by Unity physics. I didn't manage to make it feel reliable (like any competitive fighting game should be). It felt like a huge amount of time could go into just trying to make things behave sort of the same every time they're triggered, but maybe that's the wrong approach anyway.

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Here's the build if anyone is interested. There is no sound at all, and there's bad bits of design (like not being able to jump off another player).

http://www.callofthevoid.com/Builds/Yojimbrawl_Physics_8hours.zip

[Edit] AD and "T"... AND LeftRight and "," ... And Enter to restart level. Escape to Quit.

Comments

  • If you decide not to continue the project, would you consider sharing the source? I'd love to see how you implemented this
  • @evangreenwood your physics prowess is constantly astounding me, you've had tons of experience in it, (insert endless list of physics based stuff you guys've made) so inspire, much wow :)

    But really, so much to learn from your joints and addforces :)
  • @evangreenwood this looks awesome! great job :D

    I gave it a try and I am not sure if I am missing something but I can't get either character to swing their swords :(
  • @blacksheepZA - think its T for the left player and . for the right?
  • edited
    Sorry! Forgot to mention the completely unexplained controls! (last night at 6 in the morning)... Sorry!

    AD and "T"... AND LeftRight and "," ... And Enter to restart level.
    Thanked by 2blacksheepZA Fengol
  • Really cool man, kinda reminds me of the game toribash, great fun
  • edited
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    Added a simple kick to the game. Left player uses the "Y" key, Right player uses the "."

    The experiment here is trying have a less lethal option that offers more utility. The shoes now block the sword, which is mostly because of Kill Bill Volume 2, but also because it gives the players a few more options.

    http://www.callofthevoid.com/Builds/Yojimbrawl_Physics_Day2.zip
  • edited
    It's the small details here that are particularly impressive to me. In animation one, after the KO kick... note how the right hand character goes into a tip toe stance. Not knowing martial arts at all, this is either intentional or not, butit does seem familiar having watched Kill Bill and countless other Kung Fu/Martial Art movies. Bruce Lee tip toeing etc. It is really believable. I believe my character KNOWS his martial art stuff. This then carries further in capturing my interest as I seem to get the opportunity to be able to control a believable martial arts expert, even though as a player I might know little about the art. It is a feeling of empowerment. Like when Neo uploads Kung Fu into his brain and suddenly can act as an expert. I might be reading too much into this, but it is interesting to note the level of detail in movement and how it makes me "feel" as a player. Suspension of disbelief etc. Well done, this is fantastic stuff. The realistic movement certainly is a great start. It would be cool to see where this mechanic goes in supporting a greater game where other mechanics start feeding back into the pleasure loop.

    Also noted: The belt colours. The black belt does not always beat the brown belt... interesting. I love a good underdog win... maybe the brown belt has more motivation because he is holding an ancestral sword? :P

    Edit: Also noticed the defeated player crumbling.... It would be cool if the limb severance could be localised to the area where damage was inflicted, rather than the whole character crumbling to the ground.
  • @EvanGreenwood I see a lot of that cricket game you did for a jam in this. Nice iteration on a previous prototype. Is this also 1 button?
  • @FanieG With the addition of a kick it is up to 4 buttons each :) ...This wasn't an exercise in minimalist controls (like in "Criquette"), but a test to see if I could get make a fighting game with physics driven animations (and to get experience in that direction).
  • I know the idea here is just to get a feel for the combat but I can't help but think where it could possibly go as a more fleshed out experience. Being physics based should give it unique properties over traditional fighting games that is more behind-the-curtains stat based (allows for combos). At the moment death arrives quickly and as such it might work well in a setup similar to Nidhogg where frequent respawns are par for the course but I don't think it will do the physics justice.

    Balance is important here as falling over happens often and could be more central to the gameplay. Perhaps the opponent should be worked off balance before it is safe (because of momentum) to deal a weapon blow. I feel there has to be more investment before a kill is granted.

    I also tried to see how high I can jump using only the momentum of my sword. Imagine swinging a great sword that could pull you across the screen. The weapon becomes a means of traversal as well. Even vertically. Like Legend of Kage.

    Excited to see where this might go.
  • No Blood O_O How am I supposed to be completely immersed in this experience knowing that the characters are full of air. Looks great though!
  • @bevis Very good point! That'll be the next thing I add!
  • This looks so dope! Busy downloading now!
  • I spent some time in the lab, and was very surprised to find you could actually pull of some manoeuvres quite reliably. I'm really keen to try this against another human opponent (or even a very basic AI).

    My signature moves are the flying kick into slash combo, and the wiffed kick into uppercut (height varied based on timing). I even managed a wall jump of sorts, though this was very unreliable.

    The mid game felt really important, as this was the distance you could jump into strike range, so being able to finely adjust your position would be really advantageous. I would love to see some more movement options, like a single tap for a small forwards hop, and a double tap is the leap there is now, just so you could position yourself better before leaping in for a strike.

    Also the characters didn't turn around to face each other (after freakishly high wiffed uppercut) after switching sides.
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
  • You missed out on naming this Experimental F-ysics Fighters. Just saying.
  • How about "PhysX Fighters"... Albeit a joke only Unity developers are likely to get.

    ("Physics Fighter" is really just a working title that describes the aim of the project)
    Thanked by 1mikethetike
  • How about 'Kung-Fools'? If you're going for a slightly comical feel? (I know it's not technically unarmed combat based)
    Thanked by 1Eagan
  • edited
    @EvanGreenwood I downloaded it today. I really like it. I actually found myself doing a sort of duel/stand off between the two fighters. Id bring them both to the middle of the screen and hold the sword swing button for both of them. They'd take their sword ready stance & pay each other respect according to the warriors code. And then, at the appointed time, I'd release both keys & see who came out victorious. Then the winner would tower over his fallen foe and do the captain morgan on his remains.

    It was quite a cool experience.
  • edited
    @Eagan Thanks for sharing!! It might be even better with another person!
  • @EvanGreenwood Whoa! You must be some kind of gaming GURU lol
    But yes with a friend it'd be better. But that duel mode/move/whatever it is is a sign of respect for your opponent. Its saying "Yea, we are about fight and it will be messy but hey, we're still people and we show respect. I think something that id like to see more of in fighting games is way that the fighters actually shoe respect to each other. Id like to see a fighting game that doesn't just demand that you beat the living daylights out of your opponent. In UFC 2010 my brother & I would walk to the center of the octagon and manually bump fists as a sign of respect. Maybe showing respect could influence the crowd's view of your character, perhaps in a street fight they'll jump in & give you a hand. Im not entirely sure how one could implement something like a respect code.in fighting games but I think its something that could be cool, maybe...
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
  • @Eagan Agreed. Although I'm unlikely to add an "honour" system to this prototype, having some system for "honour" was one of the ideas we wanted to incorporate into a fighting game. A parallel prototype might explore an honour system.
    Thanked by 1Eagan
  • @EvanGreenwood, I know you were looking for examples of physics type games, came across this one and thought it might interest you.

    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
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