Climber/Runaway: Be like Indiana Jones


(...) kind of the concept of Tomb Raider 1 was just this idea that when I go to these sort of places, a coliseum, or Stonehenge, or any of these sort of ancient ruins, I personally have a terribly strange urge to climb all over them and see where I can get to. And I thought hey, if I want to do that, then maybe other people do (...).
Toby Gard, creator of Lara Croft
Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Assasin's Creed  - those are the names of game series which share not only common genre but also history - usually by stealing best ideas between themselves. Or we could also call it evolution.

2D Animation of first Prince of Persia (1989) game was done using technique called Rotoscope in which animators are using motion picture footage to create realistic movement. Besides graphics this game had a feeling of adventure movie.
First Tomb Raider (1996) has gone in the similar direction but this time in 3D.
Sixth instalment in the series, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2002), had a lot of bugs, clumsy controllers and stuff dropped by developers (partially created but cut out from the final version of the game). It wasn't a bad game, just poorly finished. It had nice story and amazing soundtrack (recorded live by the London Symphony Orchestra) but poor sales and negative reviews has led to the natural death of franchise (supported by poor reception of The Cradle of Life movie which was released in the same time).
Then Prince was back in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003). What was wrong with character controllers of the previous Tomb Raider game, here was done correctly.
The first reboot of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Legend (2006) generally was inspired by Sands of Time.
Assasin's Creed (2007) has started as a spin-off of Prince of Persia.
Uncharted (2007) perfected what was best in recent Tomb Raiders and added more features like combat borrowed from Gears of War.
And then second reboot of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2013) is generally stealing best ideas from Uncharted while still keeping feeling of Lara Croft adventures.

Those games belong to genre that hasn't got simple name (like for example First Person Shooter or Real Time Strategy). Usually they are labelled as Third Person Perspective 3D Adventure Puzzle Platformer games.

If we would like to count most important elements of that genre it would be:
  1. Third Person Perspective,
  2. narrative single player story about adventure,
  3. strong main character who overcomes obstacles (other examples in movies: Robin Hood, Indiana Jones, James Bond, John McClane),
  4. gameplay divided into three elements: exploration, fighting, action scenes (like jumping from the exploding train),
  5. main character is using acrobatics (climbing, jumping, sliding, hanging),
  6. main character has special move/weapon that can distinguish him/her from other games (like Prince's Dagger of Time or Lara's double pistols).
My plan is to create game that incorporates all of the above points. I split it into three projects:
  1. "Climber" will be a prototype of technical part of the game. It will feature third person camera, acrobatics and fighting moves.
  2. "Runaway" takes on the story part. In there I'm creating strong character and adventure for him.
  3. Last, unnamed yet, project will combine both into one game.
You could now think about some questions that you want to ask me. Below some are answered,

  • Why have you chosen this genre over others?
  • Because it is my favourite genre.

  • Isn't it too hard for you? Those games were created by professionals with long experience which you don't have.
  • True, but first of all too easy goal would not teach me anything. And second thing is that I'm not starting from nothing. I can use experience of others by using Assets Store in Unity or by searching stuff over net. Don't get me wrong - I'm not planning to steal ideas. I'm just planning to not invent a wheel.

  • When this game will be ready?
  • I will prepare schedule for each milestone soon. For now I can only say: be patient.

  • How much will this game cost?
  • I plan to distribute prototype for free. Cost of final game is not yet decided. For sure I want to make free demo. Cost of full version will not be high - but really this is too early for this question.

  • What the story will be about?
  • This I will reveal in the next post about project "Runaway".

If you have other questions please write them in comments.


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