ViolaE on NintendoDS (...possibly)

[LDAsh]

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It's more possible than it sounds. I've been into homebrew development for Gameboy Advance and NintendoDS for a while now, using flash carts to "upload" custom content onto GBA/NDS compatible cartridges to run on the handheld consoles. I've been doing plenty of graphics work but just recently I've been talking to a guy about creating a homebrew game and presenting a demo complete with in-game cinematic video. My idea is to redo what would have been the first full Violation Entertainment game, a futuristic 2D top-down shooter called Cobalt Maniacal, which I first started out in hmm I guess 2001. I still have a short "demo" of it on my hard drive actually but it never made it any further than the 1 room test, and I later created Arkannoyed as a cheaper and quicker alternative. The gameplay idea is perfectly ideal for the NintendoDS and its touchscreen and dual-screen features. The "maniacal" (a vehicle that would also be featured in Shadowing Hate) is a hover-tank type vehicle that is made of two parts, the lower engine/propulsion systems and the upper cockpit/weapons system that swivels on top of it. The PC version used cursor keys to navigate in 8 directions while the mouse controlled a crosshair that the upper part of the vehicle would always be aiming to, this is also the gameplay style for another 2D game project just before I made Arkannoyed which was a top-down military shooter called War Meat. It would work the same on the NDS, the D-Pad/crosspad navigates the lower part and the stylus controls the crosshair and aims the upper part of the vehicle, and it works very well because the graphics would also be separate objects in the game. It has the main fire button (which would be the L button on NDS) and the alternate-fire or weapon-swap button (the R button) and we'll figure out exactly what other buttons do, mostly the gameplay would be very automative, doors open automatically, objectives complete themselves automatically when you reach a location, destroy something or collect a number of something, such as hostages. The storyline plays out pretty much like Shadowing Hate except the "bad guys" force has already forcibly taken over some key "good guys" bases and it's up to Cobalt Maniacal to save the day. It never really got any deeper than that so there's plenty of room to make a good story out of it, which the video cinematics the NintendoDS is capable of (and which I've had 1st-hand experience with producing) can definitely help along. I think it would be great to have the pilot be able to leave the maniacal for certain missions, the gameplay would remain exactly the same except the player would die much more easily, but be able to access areas of a level that are impossible using the maniacal. Not wise to think too big before we have something playable. It might just be impossible to play on PC because NintendoDS emulation is way behind and even now barely functional, and I'd personally like to have a lot of special effects that would not be emu-friendly. The major limitation for me is that we will most likely not be able to implement any 3D, because I'd prefer to do the entire game in 3D but it will mostly likely end up fully 2D with forced top-down perspective. EVERYTHING needed for the demo version, graphically, is done already except the maniacal vehicle itself, which I will start on a high-poly 3D prerenderable as soon as some technical details are discussed. I think the NintendoDS game market is sorely lacking great new titles and it's a system that still has some life left in it, they are still selling the console worldwide. It would be important to get some kind of very fun multiplayer into the project also. I don't know how the violence in it would go, I'd like to keep it realistic in that way, that human beings will suffer great hurties from weapons and even the propulsion systems of your hover-tank, the original PC would have had frag-event with humans, and plenty of big explosions of course. It wouldn't be a ViolaE game without plenty of gore and explosions, but can easily be toned down if that's what it takes. I would assume that the nature and gameplay style of the game would already imply it's not suitable for children, so it we can have some blood-splatters and get away with a 13+ rating, I'd be very happy. Anyway, not to think too far ahead, there will be said violence in the demo version, I will make sure of it. A big part of it is to rescue hostages, human beings, and these can also be killed by enemies, and the player, so it's something that will feature in the homebrew demo. It comes from a big influence for this project, a game called Descent. Anyway, that's enough about this for now, I'm just so damn excited about it, it's really nothing more than an old 2D game project still but because it can fit in your pocket, it's much more than that, I miss the old days where just 2-3 people could make a great full game together, and if we can do a good enough job could possibly be the first commercial ViolaE title released, just never know.
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[LDAsh]

In my excitement I forgot to add that this little project idea is _completely_open_ to ANY ideas anyone else might have, might end up to hell with the whole Maniacal idea and we'll do something completely different, so if you want to lend a hand to the creation of this, go right ahead and spew your ideas out, here or in the private areas if you prefer. Another idea might be to do a side-scroller-shooter much like the old game Abuse, works a little the same style with independent movement/mouse-aiming using stylus/touchscreen for shooting.

[LDAsh]

Well this has all turned into what is now Ulterior Warzone using the RTS4DS engine. You can read a little more about it on the website:-
http://www.violationentertainment.com/g_uw.html
But there won't be much being released to the public until everything is together and ready for a release.