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[chardish]

Introducing: Beatdown
a (prototype) 2D rhythm fighting game

screenshots, video, and demo all use placeholder artwork

What is Beatdown?
Beatdown is a 2D rhythm fighting game. Like fighting games, it's fast paced and requires quick thinking, and like rhythm action games, all actions correspond to the beat of the music.

So then I have to manually time my attacks to the beat of the song?
No. Like Rez, the game automatically times your attacks for you. Just hold down the button to attack before the beat hits, and when the beat hits, your character performs the selected attack. Think of it like holding down a fret button in a guitar game, except the game "strums" for you.

When both players attack, how does the game judge which attack wins?
Punches (X button) do low damage but have the highest priority. Rushups do medium damage and have medium priority. Kicks have low damage and low priority.

So why not always throw punches?
Slow down there, Professor Strategy! You have another tool at your disposal: parrying. When you parry, you choose one type of attack you want to try to parry: punch, kick, or rushup. If you guess wrong, you get hit for the full damage of the attack. If you guess correctly, you get maximum priority and a damage bonus on your next attack.

So I lose if I'm too predictable, and I win if I can correctly predict what my opponent's going to do?
You got it.

What's with the Street Fighter sprites?
Placeholders. I'm not an artist (though I am looking for one), so the Street Fighter animations are in the game while I can flesh out the rest of the programming.

What state is the game in? When will you release it, and for what platforms?
Beatdown is currently in pre-alpha. Most of the game logic is there, but it needs plenty of polish and balance. I hope to release it this year on the Xbox 360 Indie Games channel.

Can I try it?
Sure! Feedback or constructive criticism of any kind is welcome. This game requires two wired Xbox 360 controllers to play. If you do not have those, please do not download it as it's a 240 MB download and you won't be able to get past the title screen. There is no AI yet, so single player is basically fighting a dummy who will just stand there.

This game requires Windows, the .NET 3.5 Framework (pre-installed on Windows 7, or else available here), two wired Xbox 360 controllers, a display of at least 1280x720, and a decent computer.
If you've read the above warnings, click here (RAR, 240 MB) to download the pre-alpha.

This is my very first indie game! Suggestions of any kind are very, very welcome.

Thanks in advance! Hope you enjoy!

[J. R. Hill]

Wow, I am in love with this concept.

In fact, if you don't finish this game, I will probably steal it.

[CYS]

This is some really unique concept! Would look a lot better if some effects is added in when someone takes damage.

[godsavant]

Concur with the hitsparks suggestion, plus it could do with a slightly slower metronome (though I realize this might depend more on the song the players select) to avoid mashfests (rythm-based or otherwise)and a darker metronome needle; it's hard to squint at the blinding yellow intersection while keeping an eye on the enjoying the actual fighting.

[Ego_Shiner]

honestly, i like the concept but without more fleshing out it seems like a glorified rock paper scissors game

[Blackcorn]

This game requires two wired Xbox 360 controllers to play. If you do not have those, please do not download it as it's a 240 MB download and you won't be able to get past the title screen.

I feel so frustrated to not be able to test it without Xbox controllers... Is there any chance to be able to try it with some keyboard input in a next version?

[chardish]

Thanks for the feedback, all! Some responses:

I concur that there needs to be some effect when a player takes damage. However, all art in the game is currently placeholder - I'm trying not to put too much effort into the art until I get a real artist on this project. I've been borrowing Street Fighter sprites as placeholder art from this site, and there's not one for Ken taking damage, which I didn't realize until I already had Ken set up as the placeholder character. It wouldn't be hard for me to replace him with another character, but it would be time-consuming, and I'm not interested in refining artwork that will remain temporary.

@Godsavant: I plan on including a half-time option for beginners. I'm still trying to work out a good pace for "normal" play but I think the LCD Soundsystem song I'm using in the demo video is a tad too fast. The metronome, too, is placeholder art, but I think the final version will include a higher-contrast and wider needle for easier visibility.

@MrBackyard\\: Yes, it's a "glorified rock paper scissors game," but so are a lot of games (Pokemon, Starcraft, even Street Fighter come to mind...I'm sure there are other examples.) What makes RPS-based games interesting isn't the fact that they're RPS games in disguise, it's that they put different risks and rewards on making different choices. Pure rock-paper-scissors is boring because your choice is more or less arbitrary. However, in Beatdown, the choice you make has different payoffs and consequences. Punches are almost guaranteed to connect but put you in a worse position if the opponent predicts your punch and parries it. Kicks have a low chance of success but a considerable damage payoff if they connect. Rushups have a lower chance of failure than kicks but force you into an offensive posture.

@Blackcorn: You're not the first person to tell me that The game's being developed for X360, so I haven't added it in yet, but since there's interest in it I'll support keyboard controls in the next public build. Cheers!

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!