Party Fighting Game – Released on PC 1/23/2018!
Available on itch.io, Humble, and Steam!
Website | Twitter | Soundtrack
Genre: Party Fighting Game
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
Timeline: About 2 years
Team: 3-person core team + 15 more collaborators
My Role: Co-Designer, Producer, Artist
Tools: HaxeFlixel, Photoshop, Aseprite, Google Docs/Sheets
Highlights:
• Designed 32 characters, 12 stages, 5 gameplay modes
• Collected data through playtesting to improve balance and inform new features
• Led communications with teams, publisher, players, etc.
• Made documents to organize bugs, feature requests, audio direction, etc.
OVERVIEW
Super Slime Arena is a multiplayer platform fighting game where all characters have just one attack and all attacks are one hit knockouts. Our goal was to create an accessible party fighting game to appeal to diverse audience with streamlined controls and simple, easy-to-understand characters.
It also supports virtually any type of game controller and any number of players. This decision was a reflection of our goal for accessibility, particularly for players with disabilities who might require a custom setup, and made our exhibitions stand out with a wide variety of gamepads, even oddities like DJ pads, fishing rods, and bongos.
I worked on SSA from concept to release, created all of the art assets, and exhibited it across America and Japan.
DESIGN PROCESS
• Defined core concept, art direction ideas, audience, platforms, etc.
• Explained goals and why we wanted to make it
• 1 character type
• 1 basic greybox stage
• Collected feedback
• Brainstormed new features
• Expanded design doc based on pitch and brainstorming
• Feature/asset sheet
• Bug/feedback
• Add features based on designs and data, for example: added ghost effect on KO that float up to show where you will spawn next
• Collect data on updated features, for example: switching to a random character on KO was fun but often disorientating
• Basic UI and controller support for 3+ players
• Multiple character types
• Prototype character switching mechanics
MORE INFORMATION
In Super Slime Arena, you play as 32 different types of slimes, each with a single attack and hitpoint, meaning all attacks are one-hit KOs. Getting knocked out will have you respawn as a new slime. True mastery demands understanding of each character’s abilities and interactions in over a thousand possible matchups across 5 game modes and 13 different stages! Check out some raw gameplay in the video below:
Super Slime Arena also has robust controller system allowing for native support ranging from guitar, fishing rod, and bongo controllers to nostalgic classics of the past and modern standbys. This was both a reflection of our goal for accessibility, particularly for players with disabilities who might require a custom setup, and proved to be attention-grabbing at conventions. The game also has no set limit on the number of players, further expanding player choice and potential for chaos!
As a game designer, I focused on creating interesting matchups with characters that each felt unique but also familiar and easy to understand, and game modes that offered variety while still fitting in with the core systems. Particular attention was given to the user interface to support large player numbers and keep players in the loop while constantly changing characters.
As an artist, I was inspired by Japanese console games of the 16-bit era, embracing a cute and colorful aesthetic to appeal to a wide audience. I focused on making our world and characters appealing, and easy to distinguish at a glance. Making them slimes also made much of the animation work relatively simple which let us make new characters quickly and left more time for adding polish to the environments, UI, and opening animation (see above!)
In 2018 I was privileged to be part of BitSummit in Kyoto where I showcased the game on stage with famous designers Suda51, Swery, Tak Fuji, and Koji Igarashi, pro fighting game player Kane Blueriver, and others!
Selected Exhibitions and Awards:
- Indie MEGABOOTH: GDC 2017, PAX West 2017, PAX East 2018
- DreamHack Atlanta – Best Multiplayer 2018
- BitSummit Kyoto Vol. 6 – Official Selection 2018
- GamePedia PAX Pick – PAX West 2017
- Boston Festival of Indie Games – Best Digital Multiplayer 2017
- Otakon 2017 – Fan’s Choice Award
- Play NYC – Official Selection