GDC 2010 Highlights
I just got back from the Game Developer's Conference and like usual; it was amazing! As far as Aztez is concerned, I had some very relevant and insightful conversations with some very talented people and I want to share them with you.
It turns out that there is no known doctrine for the creation of beat-em-up games. I had a really great conversation with David Sirlin (please investigate his body of work! He has a lot of really interesting things to say about competitive gameplay and is also a talented designer) about what a beat-em-up looks like under the hood and how fighting games and beat-em-ups are very close relatives. I expressed to him my deep concern that legitimate reference material on the creation of deep combat systems does not appear to exist and he reassured me by saying that most of the designers out there who have made seminal beat-em-ups did the exact same thing I am doing now; intuitively reverse engineering the good combat that has come before them. It's a bummer that there is no reading material on the subject, but that's all the more reason to continue doing what I am doing and to keep exposing it publicly.
Introducing: The Eagle Warrior
The other legendary warrior society one could enter upon successfully taking 4 captives was based on the mystical and divine eagle. The eagle had a very important place in Aztec society as both a majestic flying creature and as a herald of a new age; the ancient Mexica were told by their patron deities to build Tenochtitlan where they saw an eagle devouring a serpent atop a cactus. Truthfully, we do not know how the Eagle warriors differed functionally from the Jaguar warriors, but we know they were equally prestigious and most likely represented a tactical identity. The Eagle warrior was as glorified as the Jaguars and were just as frightening to behold to the common warrior.
The Eagle warriors will fulfill the same need as the Jaguar warriors do in terms of distinction, but will be slightly different threats. The carry different weapons and will fight a little differently from each other, but they will present a similar challenge and both will be far more rewarding to destroy then common and noble warriors.
Introducing: The Jaguar Warrior
When an Aztec noble warrior stepped his game up and took 4 captives, he was then inducted into one of two very special warrior societies. One of these two societies was based on the fierce and powerful jaguar, a highly revered and respected beast (I'll tell you about the other society real soon). Jaguar warriors were some of the most famous warriors in all of Aztec culture; they are celebrated countless times in art and in story and they maintained an inspiring position on and off the battlefield.
When these guys appear things will start to get serious. We will be using these decorated warriors to indicate stiffer competition, which is a classic trick typically done with palette swaps. The idea here is to be able to look at an enemy (in spite of the aesthetic similarity they all bear) and know what you're up against, which is essentially what the Aztecs did with their warriors as a way to trumpet the caliber of their military might.
Introducing: The Noble
Once a young combatant has taken his first captive and proven himself worthy of the warrior life path, he is inducted into the ranks of the noble class. He now has access to higher education, specialized war training, and will have front line position in the ritualized warfare the Aztecs practiced amongst themselves. It is at this point in the life of a budding career warrior that he will begin to form a battle identity and as his exploits increase, so will his formal decoration.
If this guy looks familiar it's because you've seen him in the concept art and in the technical demos. That's right; this is what you'll look like as you start out in the world of Aztez. Just like the noble warrior creates an identity for himself as he continues to fight, so shall you...I'll tell you how later. :)
Introducing: The Common Warrior
After demonstrating his resolve on the battlefield by serving as a porter, the young man was given a weapon and a shield and charged with one singular task; taking an enemy captive. At this point he has had a good amount of formal training and fully understands the importance of his role as a warrior, as is now intensely focused on bringing in that first captive and becoming a man. This is where it all began for the career warrior; if he proved himself here he would formally advance into a life of nobility.
Let's be perfectly honest here; this is about as green as it gets for a man who was allowed to carry a weapon. These were young men with something to prove and this was their undoing as often as it was their success. In the context of the game, they're the perfect meat to grind; unremarkable, plentiful, and vivacious. There is some value in playing with your food and I intend to make that point with these characters. ;)
Aztez On Facebook
Just in case Facebook is your preferred contact point for the games you can't stop thinking about, go ahead and take advantage of our Aztez page on Facebook! We've added a button on the sidebar at the top (you can't miss it, it's the only blue object on the site) so you can jump to it from here with the swiftness of a thousand peregrine falcons.
Introducing: The Porter
When a young man makes his decision to pursue the path of the warrior, he must first prove that he can keep his wits about him in an actual battle by serving as a porter. The porter was responsible for carrying weapons of war around to wherever they were needed and making sure that the warrior ranks stayed supplied. Mobility was his weapon and the importance of his position was undeniable.
It's hard to say at this point how often you'll see this character during gameplay, but know this; his appearance will mean great things for those swift and brutal enough to get to him before he fulfills his responsibilities and disappears...
Introducing: The Commoner
The common man of Tenochtitlan, while most likely born into the lower class, would still learn to farm, be trained in the ways of good citizenship, and be introduced to warfare at a school built specifically for the lower classes. Around the age of 15, he could either continue his education and learn to be an administrator, civic worker, or even a priest (if they were pious enough), or they could attend military school and begin their life as a warrior.
Most of the time you see this character in the game he will be in the background, making the environments feel alive with their animated presence. But what about the rest of the time? Well sometimes these guys stumble onto a battlefield, and the fact of that matter is that they have as much blood to offer as anyone else...
Behind The Scenes: Bridge To Tenochtitlan
Like I did in the Behind The Scenes: Marketplace post, I just want to pull the camera out again so you can see the Bridge environment in a different light. I think this environment ended up strangely photogenic, despite the fact that it is long and way less populated than the Marketplace. It had a lot to do with the fact that I managed to find a comfortable space in between function and composition and it didn't end up needing a ton of decorative objects. As always, this is a work in progress and will get a lot more love as the project continues.
The Tlacopan Causeway
I am absolutely delighted to share with you a new environment I have created in which to spill copious amounts of blood within. This is a (liberal) recreation of one of Tenochtitlan's many causeways. It was created using a small handful of the structural building blocks I created for the Marketplace, but with mostly brand new assets. I want to use this environment to create the breathtaking sensation of what it must have been like to approach the legendary city. Use the left and right arrow keys to run and press the up button to jump.
As with the Marketplace, this environment is still very much a work in progress but the basic idea is definitely in place. That's not to say it didn't get some lovin'!
Inspiration Highlight: Hyde SB
I am honored to share with you some art I have recently discovered by a San Fransisco artist that goes by the alias Hyde SB. What's incredibly interesting about a specific series of images they have created is that there is this strange hybridization of Mesoamerican and Oriental imagery running them. In the image I have posted here you see what appears to be an indigenous Mexican face emerging from within a dragon of some kind. And while dragons like this were far more prevalent in Oriental artwork, it is presented in these images in a very Mesoamerican way. I realize I might be totally off base here, but it doesn't really matter because personally, it definitely invokes Aztec warrior imagery, who were purported to stuff their heads inside the heads of more intimidating creatures as a warfare aesthetic. In any case, it's incredibly inspiring.
You can check out more of it here. If you find a better gallery hook me up!
Conservative Texture File Usage
I though I'd elaborate on a good point that Matthew Davey brought up in the comments section of my "Creating Structures In Aztez" post. When referring to to the way I created one single texture and then used it on many different objects he said:
"It should probably also be noted how fantastic this approach is from a technical standpoint as it cuts the number of textures being used down completely."
This was intentional on my part, and for good reason. Whenever the game engine loads up an environment it has to "dig up" all these different assets out of the games files and then display them: 3d models, materials, textures, animations, etc. The basic idea here is that the less assets there are to dig up the quicker loading is going to be and the smaller your games overall file size will be (in software development, the overall size of a collection of files is sometimes called a "footprint"). Allow me to visually elaborate why this is so efficient in the context of Aztez.
What Is Aztlan?
When most Americans and Europeans use the word "Aztec" they are referring to the predominant group of indigenous people that occupied central Mexico in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Well it turns out this is actually an unusual misnomer. The group commonly referred to as the Aztecs was actually comprised of three different tribes: the Mexica (who occupied Tenochtitlan), the Acolhuas (who occupied Texcoco) and the Tepanecs (who occupied Tlacopan). Often times this is referred to as the "Triple Alliance". The main unifying factor between all of the ethnic groups of the time and area, both inside and outside of the Triple Alliance, were that they all spoke the Nahuatl language.
Why All The Sacrifice?
A fundamental belief in Aztec culture was that the sun moved through the sky on a divine engine powered by blood. Many of the gods in their mythos fought and killed each other to keep the sun moving and the Aztec people felt the need to contribute to this by following suit and providing their own blood. This is why human sacrifice was so incredibly important to them; spilling massive amounts of blood on a regular basis was their way of maintaining the benefits derived from the sun. This core belief affected many facets of Aztec life:
Inspiration Highlight: Xolo Sacred Dance
As far as I can tell, Xolo Sacred Dance is a San Francisco based performance troupe; unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of information about the group on the internet. Luckily, a photographer name Tristan Savatier immortalized them in photographs during a Dia De Los Muertos performance in San Francisco back in 2007. It's only too perfect that his photos were taken in high-contrast black and white.
You can check out the rest of his Xolo Sacred Dance gallery here.
It's important to keep in mind that most of what the world (outside of Mexico) understands about the Aztecs came from the Spanish conquistadors, who viewed their entire civilization as a conquest. And while it's good that they went through the effort of recording what they learned about the indigenous people, there is an enormous difference between recording something for the sake of scientific posterity and celebrating it. Performance groups like this make me happy because clearly they are operating from a position of respect and awe and love. I just feel like it's important to have both when trying to understand older civilizations.
Aztez On Twitter
- Working on combat systems today! #unity3d #gizmos http://t.co/9RWeStQz2 weeks ago
- Curious where exactly Aztez is being made? Why, in this office right here! http://t.co/B9WtEbps2 weeks ago
- @biphenyl Haha! Me too. ;)3 weeks ago
- @sonicblastoise *tips cap*3 weeks ago
- @cSchons Awesome! Hope you enjoy. :)3 weeks ago
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