ABANDON WEST
ABANDON WEST is a 2D turn-based roguelike.
You play a cowboy brought back from the dead by a shady mortician.
Your mission ? Find the man who shot you and pay him back.
In this unforgiving Wild West, you'll need to gather clues to find your killer, but each encounter could be fatal... Will you trust or shoot first?
Balancing macabre humor with an offbeat tone, ABANDON WEST is still in development.
On this project, I'm in charge of Combat design, Programming on Unity, and all animations. Working with two 2D artists, one UX designer, one narrative designer and one producer, we plan to publish the game on Steam in a few months' time.
Western Roguelike
To reach the West's end and find your killer, you have to keep on going for 10 days without dying, and gather enough clues about your target.
But the reaper is waiting for you at every step...
Death by starvation, shot to death, death by cactus poisoning, death by stupidity (forgetting to reload your gun), the list goes on and on, so all you have to do is choose your punishment.
Fight
In ABANDON WEST, combat is designed to be fast and deadly, like a cowboy duel.
Both player and enemy have only 2 HP, and limited bullet and hideout reserves.
Fighting is turn-based, ending with the death of one of the two participants.
Each turn is composed of 3 periods, each of which opposes one player action and one enemy action.
Possible actions are: shoot, reload, hide, use an artifact, or wait.
Detailed fight example :
A) Selecting player actions
1) Probable futures: at the end of the turn, enemy will choose one of the two lines and do its actions from left to right.
2) Action bubbles: player place his actions in them, adapting as best he can to the different probable futures.
At the end of the turn, they will be played at the same time as the enemy's ones.
3) Barrel: turns clockwise.
The top bullet is fired.
4) Artifacts: objects with passive effects, or activable in action bubbles.
B) Three-step resolution (probable future chosen : 1st line)
1) Player hides (rock).
Enemy hides (cactus).
2) Player hide (crate).
Enemy fires into the crate.
3) Player shoots and hits enemy.
Enemy reloads and is hit.
As both player and enemy have only
2 HP, he has only one left.
Special case :
If player and enemy hide behind the same object, a fight ensues, with a 50/50 outcome.
The loser suffers 1 wound.
Weapons
Revolver is the basic weapon. It has a 6 bullet barrel and must be reloaded after each shot. It has 100% accuracy.
Winchester has 12 bullets in its magazine and reloads automatically after each shot.
Its only drawback is its 50% accuracy.
Shotgun can fire up to two shots without reloading. It can carry 4 bullets and is 90% accurate.
Bullets and Artifacts
In addition to the three weapons, bullets and artifacts add depth to the combat gameplay and give players more strategic options.
Bullets can only be equipped between battles and are single-use.
Artifacts can be single-use or give a durable passive effect.
Knockout bullet : If hit while enemy is reloading, cancels reload.
Pocket Bible : Dodge the bullet that will kill you. This bullet equips your barrel.
Fire bullet : One shot any flammable hideouts (cactus, crates, barrels…).
Talisman of ashes : When a hideout is destroyed by fire (exemple by fire bullet), recover 1 HP.
Time bullet : Stops the current turn. The following actions are not played.
Cactus teddy : Reinforce cactus (+3 HP max). Useless against fire bullets.
Different builds emerge from the association of certain bullets or artifacts with particular weapons. It's up to the player to find and exploit them.
For example, if the player has a stock of yoyo bullets and a Winchester (automatic reload), he can shoot continuously as long as he doesn't miss his target.
Finding an artifact that increases his accuracy or one that prevents the enemy from hiding would enable him to complete his build.
Yoyo bullet : Returns to the barrel every time it hits the opponent.
Lead seal : Bourrique is very slow.
Greatly increases precision.
Dynamite : Destroys all hideouts.