next »

[Cuervo77]

Thanks Nektonico. There is quite a bit more than just the initial outside area. It was just a bit easier to use the first areas to test a lot of things. The other videos posted show a bit of the inside tiles (where the majority of the game takes place) and a couple of other enemy types. A few of the other areas and a number of other enemies won't be shown for a little while now.

[fog]

I'm working on the art for an "Alien Breed" type of game called "Dysnomia". Should be out on XBIG in another month or so.

Nice.  I'll keep an eye out for that one.

Get them to slightly randomise the pitch of the footstep sample though please.  That's one of my pet hates

[Cuervo77]

I'll have to see what he's doing with the sound fx for the footsteps. I do know that it is changed depending on what type of surface the player is moving over. I believe Gareth has a section in his blog about the code as it pertains to the sound. I'm just the drawing guy, it went over my head..lol

http://fatsweb.blogspot.com/

[Impy_Wobbles]

Rambo III?

[superflat]

I take it you've played the original Commando?  Surely that was the one which started the genre!  Or at least, made it awesome, haha.

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

I think Commando etc are just variations on old vertical shmups. 8-way movement and the ability to backtrack and explore is an important part of the Alien Breed style experience.  Rooms and corridors make a big difference too.

[superflat]

Hehe Commando was 8-way!  I'll give you the non-linear aspect though.  But I think it has more in common with Alien Breed in play-style than a vertical shmup.

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

Hehe Commando was 8-way!  I'll give you the non-linear aspect though.  But I think it has more in common with Alien Breed in play-style than a vertical shmup.

The camera wasn't 8-way though, and that's more what I'm talking about

[moi]

Berzerk

[Nektonico]

How can this thread exist without mention to the NES game Guerilla War (eloquently named "Guevara" in japan, and in its arcade incarnation).





Play as either Ernesto Guevara or Fidel Castro (in 2 players coop mode) and overthrow the evil Batista regime. Free Cuba! Viva la revolución!

And as an easter egg:
http://www.biglionmusic.com/content/virt_-_guerilla_war_-_overthrow.mp3

[falsion]

How did this discussion go from topdown shooters like Alien Breed to linear scrolling arcade run and guns (such as Commando or Guerrilla War)? And I like how BOH was mentioned twice despite the fact that the topic creator said that he didn't like the game and that it wasn't the style of game he was talking about.

Anyway, I swear Mark Pay (creator of TSE) made a whole series of games like this back in the golden days of Klik. But I can't remember the name of them for the life of me.

[Nektonico]

How did this discussion go from topdown shooters like Alien Breed to linear scrolling arcade run and guns (such as Commando or Guerrilla War)? And I like how BOH was mentioned twice despite the fact that the topic creator said that he didn't like the game and that it wasn't the style of game he was talking about.

Anyway, I swear Mark Pay (creator of TSE) made a whole series of games like this back in the golden days of Klik. But I can't remember the name of them for the life of me.

Guerilla War isnt an arcade linear scrolling run and gun. It may not have an strictly top down perspective, but then again stuff like The Chaos Engine doesnt either, and i wouldnt doubt putting it in the same category as Alien Breed. Im not sure what you mean by scrolling, or linear either. They are all certailny listed in the "Big List Of Multidirectional Shooters" posted in the first page of this thread.

[falsion]

Guerilla War isnt an arcade linear scrolling run and gun. It may not have an strictly top down perspective, but then again stuff like The Chaos Engine doesnt either, and i wouldnt doubt putting it in the same category as Alien Breed. Im not sure what you mean by scrolling, or linear either. They are all certailny listed in the "Big List Of Multidirectional Shooters" posted in the first page of this thread.

Guerilla War only scrolls in one direction, up. And besides that it isn't the same type of game as Alien Breed. It's along the lines of Commando or Ikari Warriors. It's not the type of game the topic creator is looking for.

From my understanding, it's something more like this. Think about being able to move in any direction, kind of like a metroidvania type of game, except rather than being a platformer, it has a top down perspective and is a shooter.

Okay, maybe you won't find many games like that. But at the very least, whatever you suggest should be a game that scrolls freely in any direction and maybe involves top down shooting.

I was going to suggest Shadowgrounds, which I heard was inspired by Alien Breed. But the TC already said no to games that rotate the screen around the player or use mouselook. Not only that, but I played the demo a while back and I wasn't too impressed by it.

This may sound like a long shot, but the early GTA games (GTA 1 and 2) are technically topdown shooters and have a pretty big explorable game world. But then again, uh I dunno. That's probably not what you're looking for at all.

[soundofsatellites]

while gta 1 & 2 are technically topdown, I wouldn't call them shooters; they're more arcade for me. Not to mention that aiming isn't fixed and can be a little vexing at times. The older gtas really shine when riding a fast car really... it really makes me wonder why they ever change into the monstrous mess they are now... 

anyway, on topic, carnivac, from googling I can gather two things:
1) topdown shooters now are mostly done in 3D so forget about sexy pixels. I found these two being made completely in 2d, but haven't had the time to play them so they can be sh*t, sorry 'bout that 
*http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=37615 -this one looks cool, but the pixel art is kinda ripped from the chaos engine
*http://planetfunorb.com/2008/06/21/hostile-spawn-review/

2) people don't care about this type of games anymore, which is kinda sad, you know 

[falsion]

2) people don't care about this type of games anymore, which is kinda sad, you know 

:-(

I wish more top down shooters existed. Especially of the Alien Breed variety. I guess they got replaced by FPS games and 3D too soon before they had a chance to shine.

[Nektonico]

Guerilla War only scrolls in one direction, up. And besides that it isn't the same type of game as Alien Breed. It's along the lines of Commando or Ikari Warriors. It's not the type of game the topic creator is looking for.

From my understanding, it's something more like this. Think about being able to move in any direction, kind of like a metroidvania type of game, except rather than being a platformer, it has a top down perspective and is a shooter.

Okay, maybe you won't find many games like that. But at the very least, whatever you suggest should be a game that scrolls freely in any direction and maybe involves top down shooting.

Guerilla War for the NES actually scrolls in all directions at some points of the game. But i do agree it differs from something like Alien Breed greatly.

...



Rant: I do remember Contra 3 for the SNES had some stages with a top down perspective.

[fog]

I enjoyed Killzone on the PSP.  That felt like a game that would have been at home on the Amiga.

[MalcolmLittle]

Oh God, I had totally forgotten about Mageslayer. Man, I LOVED that game.

What I really liked about Alien Breed was the adventure/non-linear game play they added to the third game, Tower Assault. Exploration hadn't been done all that often in these types of shoot-'em-ups up. The quick off-screen respawn of the alien enemies in the first two games was also a real pain in the ass.

My only problem with the third Alien Breed was that they made the color palette all grayish brown. I mean, why?

[soundofsatellites]

Tower Assault wasn't the second one? I only played those two, and wait... yes I seem to have missed alien assault II! Shit man, I mean shit!

I honestly can't think what made them use the grayish palette... I remember those fraggin' facehuggers been really hard to spot in some places!

[andwan0]

This is awesome thread. I love top-down shooters (or top-down anything/driving/rpg, etc).

Original poster should collect all the top-down games and list them in a summary in the 1st post and make this a sticky

Here's a few top-down games of my liking/findings:

• Babo Violent 2: http://www.baboviolent.net/
• Carnage:
  
  
• CS2D: http://www.cs2d.com/
• Harmfulgame: http://www.indiedb.com/games/harmfulgame
• Kong game: http://www.konggame.co.uk/
• Geneshift: http://geneshift.net/
• Running with rifles: http://www.runningwithrifles.com/wp/
• Steel Storm:
  
  
• Skulltag Top-Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8xMTLMiCm4
• Zombie Grinder: http://store.steampowered.com/app/263920/
• Bolo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolo_%281987_video_game%29
• Alien Swarm: http://store.steampowered.com/app/630/
• Bloodmasters http://www.bloodmasters.com/
• RampageM: http://www.codeimp.com/rampagem/
• Relic Hunters: http://store.steampowered.com/app/382490/Relic_Hunters_Zero/
• Total Carnage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Carnage