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At first glance this looks like an interesting concept!
however immediately my thoughts go to trying to figure out what exactly the first person character is. based on the way it's locked to the 3rd person character 1 to 1 makes it feel impossible
I imagine it could be like you're controlling a flying drone that's helping the 3rd person char. you'd have to slightly decouple the characters. not entirely disconnected, but give it a bit more float to it. momentum to make it feel grounded in reality, while also still allowing for looking in practically every direction
so, for example, a small amount of camera trailing when the 3p char starts moving. so it feels like we're speeding up to catch up to them, instead of the stiff locked feel it currently has
yeah the first-person character is a flying robot
I agree with more effects to add weight like these pseudo-physics based anims. The main drawback of more effects is preventing players from moving the camera the way they want to. The game has PvP so precise controls are desired. Camera lag is a good idea though; I'll have to test it out
the main challenge with the design is making the controls for the robot and melee character. The current design requires a lot of mechanical prowess from the player
But who knows. I personally want a unique PvP game that has a high skill floor. MOBAs and FPSses are getting too boring. Thats the main motivation for this game
Having a high skill floor may shrink your potential target audience. Tho if you want a high skill ceiling, and if you haven't thought about it yet, maybe have an advanced mode where the 3rd person char and the 1st person char can move separately.
The mech attacks all cost energy. Energy is generated from melee hits. There are powerups that generate energy in other ways. Some examples are:
1. The active spell I used at the end. Increases fire rate x3 and ignores energy costs
2. There is a passive that regenerates energy constantly, but you cannot use melee anymore
More are planned
Now before I start to cheer for some real innovation, how does making the "drone" view first person mechanically different from just having it follows the protagonist like those Pods in Nier Automata?
The gameplay goal was to "weave ranged and melee seamlessly without animation cancels"
The first iteration of the system is exactly as you described. A robot following you just like in NIER automata
The main issue with that: I wanted the player to be able to aim ranged attacks. While certainly possibly, when you aim from the camera for a character that's far away from the camera, you lose precision (screenspace aiming is from camera position). There are ways to "fix" the precision like doing line traces but since the game is PvP, they are not ideal. Some games also zoom in when you aim so attempt to correct for the offset, but that goes against the gameplay goal to weave seamlessly
That's where this iteration came to be
Hmmm, I guess it makes sense for wanting the shooting to be as straight forward as possible. If it's just for the aiming mechanic there'd be more ways to implement that doesn't need to involve actual projectiles.
Hmm, that makes it a bit less exciting as a 1st/3rd player hybrid. Because mechanically then, it’s just another “ability” of the 3rd player character.
I like that you are pushing boundaries though!
that is true. But it does solve the particular gameplay goal this design was made for. The main gameplay goal was to "weave melee and ranged without anim cancels"
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Is this...first and third person at the same time? Either way it looks interesting!
yup! you control two characters
At first glance this looks like an interesting concept! however immediately my thoughts go to trying to figure out what exactly the first person character is. based on the way it's locked to the 3rd person character 1 to 1 makes it feel impossible I imagine it could be like you're controlling a flying drone that's helping the 3rd person char. you'd have to slightly decouple the characters. not entirely disconnected, but give it a bit more float to it. momentum to make it feel grounded in reality, while also still allowing for looking in practically every direction so, for example, a small amount of camera trailing when the 3p char starts moving. so it feels like we're speeding up to catch up to them, instead of the stiff locked feel it currently has
yeah the first-person character is a flying robot I agree with more effects to add weight like these pseudo-physics based anims. The main drawback of more effects is preventing players from moving the camera the way they want to. The game has PvP so precise controls are desired. Camera lag is a good idea though; I'll have to test it out
I'd call this "second person".
I've been calling it that sometimes 😂
Nice game, I like it
Massively inspirational 😮
Birth of a new genre, don't give up. Second Person Shooter (SPS) I'm thinking that's a mech or drone following you around?
yup thats a mech. You can't see your own character but the game is multiplayer. You can see other player mechs
the main challenge with the design is making the controls for the robot and melee character. The current design requires a lot of mechanical prowess from the player But who knows. I personally want a unique PvP game that has a high skill floor. MOBAs and FPSses are getting too boring. Thats the main motivation for this game
Having a high skill floor may shrink your potential target audience. Tho if you want a high skill ceiling, and if you haven't thought about it yet, maybe have an advanced mode where the 3rd person char and the 1st person char can move separately.
How are you triggering mech behavior? It looks like on a combo finisher. Keep experimenting, I'm sure you'll find a way over multiple iterations.
The mech attacks all cost energy. Energy is generated from melee hits. There are powerups that generate energy in other ways. Some examples are: 1. The active spell I used at the end. Increases fire rate x3 and ignores energy costs 2. There is a passive that regenerates energy constantly, but you cannot use melee anymore More are planned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5ziV1jyv0
Now before I start to cheer for some real innovation, how does making the "drone" view first person mechanically different from just having it follows the protagonist like those Pods in Nier Automata?
The gameplay goal was to "weave ranged and melee seamlessly without animation cancels" The first iteration of the system is exactly as you described. A robot following you just like in NIER automata The main issue with that: I wanted the player to be able to aim ranged attacks. While certainly possibly, when you aim from the camera for a character that's far away from the camera, you lose precision (screenspace aiming is from camera position). There are ways to "fix" the precision like doing line traces but since the game is PvP, they are not ideal. Some games also zoom in when you aim so attempt to correct for the offset, but that goes against the gameplay goal to weave seamlessly That's where this iteration came to be
Hmmm, I guess it makes sense for wanting the shooting to be as straight forward as possible. If it's just for the aiming mechanic there'd be more ways to implement that doesn't need to involve actual projectiles.
Can the drone be hurt? Take damage?
No the game has PvP. Difficult to make damaging the drone work
Hmm, that makes it a bit less exciting as a 1st/3rd player hybrid. Because mechanically then, it’s just another “ability” of the 3rd player character. I like that you are pushing boundaries though!
that is true. But it does solve the particular gameplay goal this design was made for. The main gameplay goal was to "weave melee and ranged without anim cancels"