OVERVIEWXeno Crisis is a new, original title for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis and Dreamcast which will be released both as a physical cartridge and also as a downloadable ROM. At its core, it's an arena shooter for up to 2 players that takes inspiration from the likes of Smash TV, Aliens, Contra, Mercs, Granada, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbours, Chaos Engine, and Shock Troopers.
We want the game to look, feel and sound like the classic Mega Drive games of the '80s and '90s, but also add some new elements that weren't so common in games of that era, particularly procedural map generation and randomisation of gameplay elements. Achieving that classic look and feel is vitally important to us, which is why we've teamed up with legendary pixel artist Henk Nieborg, who previously worked on the Mega Drive title "The Misadventures Of Flink", developed by Psygnosis. We're also working with "Savaged Regime"; a highly renowned chip-tune artist that knows how to push the Mega Drive's YM2612 chip to the limit.
The game is currently at the prototype stage and we will be releasing the finished product in October 2018 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Mega Drive's launch in Japan. The game is being coded in both C and ASM using Stephane Dallongeville's SGDK (
https://github.com/Stephane-D/SGDK), with prototyping of gameplay elements being quickly trialled in our own custom engine (built in HAXE) on the PC before being ported over to the Mega Drive version.
GAMEPLAYThe focus of Xeno Crisis' gameplay is the intense combat which pits you (and optionally another player) against thousands of alien enemies - players take control of a male or female marine capable of moving and shooting in 8 directions, and they can also perform an evasive roll to get out of tricky situations. If things get really desperate then a grenade can be deployed, destroy anything nearby, giving the player a brief moment of respite.
Players have several weapons at their disposal, but ammo is limited so players must constantly be on the move, grabbing new weapons and extra ammo as they go. When a room has been cleared of all hostiles the player(s) can choose which exit to take, with the aim being to rescue any of the colony's inhabitants who might still be alive, and then progress to the area's boss. There are 5 areas in total, each with their own enemies, hazards, secrets and gameplay nuances.
Every few enemies killed will result in a set of dog-tags being dropped - these can be collected and exchanged for upgrades between areas.
Should the player run out of health they will be taken to the 'Continue' screen, where they can decide to continue the fight or start over - the player begins the game with 3 continues but more can be acquired between areas. If a player runs out of health in 2-player mode, that player will remain down until the end of the room, at which point they’ll be revived automatically.
FEATURES- Intense arena-based combat where the player must constantly be on their toes, prioritising which enemies to engage next, and ensuring they don't run out of ammo.
- Procedurally generated maps and rooms, so you never know what's coming up, and you have to adapt your tactics on a room-by-room basis.
- Optional 2-player co-operative play, so you can take the fight to the enemy with a friend - just make sure you share the ammo!
- 5 diverse areas to explore, each with their own obstacles and hazards, and secrets, including The Outpost and The Nest.
- Upgrade system which allows you to adapt the game to your style of play - are you a cautious player or more gung-ho?
- An arsenal of 9 different weapons to switch things up and turn the tables in your favour.
- 5 intimidating bosses, each of which will demand you to learn a different strategy to defeat them.
- Two modes of play; once you've completed the Arcade mode you can try your hand at the Infinite mode, where even veteran players will find a challenge.
- Two difficulty levels; "Rookie" and "Hardcorps". Playing on Rookie will mean easier progress, but you won't be able to see the "good" ending!
CONTROLSWe were determined to nail the gameplay and controls early on, and the Mega Drive's 3 button pad just doesn't work well for twin-stick shooters, so we needed to come up with an alternative. The 'lock' method in Granada (and Smash TV for that matter) worked really nicely though, and it also turned out that Shock Troopers used this method, so that gave us a lot more confidence that we were going down the right route. Smash TV was obviously designed as a twin-stick shooter, but we've designed Xeno Crisis to use the lock method from the outset and it works great. We also added the ability to alter your shot angle by 45 degrees by pushing 'A' or 'C' whilst firing - Skeleton Krew uses this system too, but you can comfortably play the game without using this system. There will of course be support for 6 buttons setup though, and even dual controller support similar to Smash TV on the NES.
Various screenshots, GIFs, spritesheets and artwork...
STATUSCurrently the project is at the prototype stage - we recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise awareness of the game and secure the funding to finish the remainder of the development, which we were fortunate to achieve in just 40 hours. The first area and its enemies are fully implemented, as are all of the weapons, and we are now adding the 2-player co-op mode which was our first stretch goal.
Henk is working on another tileset and Catherine is working on the intro, both of which are looking great. Working to the Mega Drive's restrictions is a challenge, but a fun one, and we're confident that we can deliver a quality product! If you have any questions at all then please ask, and feel free to head over to our Kickstarter where you can find more info on the project:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1676714319/xeno-crisis-a-new-game-for-the-sega-genesis-mega-dLINKSWebsite:
http://bitmapbureau.comTwitter:
https://twitter.com/BitmapBureauFacebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BitmapBureau/
Community
