Game background
When Myth and me were done with Invasion we promised ourselves not to do a project like that again. Our being fed up with a project like that had several reasons. The main was that when we started working on Invasion we didn't really have a clue on what it was going to become. We had a vague idea of the kind of game we wanted to make but it wasn't clear cut. After some progress it evolved and evolved and finally ended up in what you know as the version you've all seen which we showcased on Clashflash.com since December 2006. The problem with this way of working was that because we didn't know where we were going we weren't able to prepare for it. So it became quite an inefficient project that in the end was very hard to balance. The amount of time it took to build that game wasn't comparable with the time it took to build a game like Tanx or Santa Rush and in the end those games were quite successful too.
When Invasion: Tactical Defense proved to be quite popular when submitted to Newgrounds.com in the fall of 2007 we had a change of hart. Ok, so the project wasn't structured and pretty nasty, it did end up with a game that was perceived as quite cool too a lot of people. So in a small matter of time we decided that we should really go for a sequel but this time with a more structured approach and a focus on the things that were good in Invasion. But before that we had some ideas for a few small games we wanted to make before starting with a large project again.
The project that I've been working on since October 2007 is one of those "small" projects. It started with Myth telling me in September that he wanted to make a quick and simple target shooting game. You know, like duck-hunt but than different. Thugs coming out of windows shooting at you and you having to fire back to defend yourself. At the end of September Myth showed me what he had and he asked me to work on the graphics but, he plead, I should keep it simple because this was a small project and we were going to start with Invasion II after this one. After having thought about the possibilities a bit, I played with the idea of making it a third person shooting game that allowed you to control a character you saw on screen instead of first person shooting. Myth and me talked about it and in the end it came up with a possible combination between both, allowing you to be able to shoot first person yourself and to let other characters help you. Great, so we had an idea about what the game was going to be like but we didn't have a clue about the setting. After a lot of doodling and playing around with possible settings (including evil robots from the future) we decided that the setting should be a World War II operation, and with us being Dutch and all what operation would be a better choice than Operation Market Garden.
Now at that point in time we already knew that the idea of making this game a snack between the meals was no longer valid. This game was going to be quite big and actually it also contained several of the same characteristics as Invasion. Parts of the game involve management operations on your defenses, both real-time and pre-mission tactical placement. But with one major extension being that you're now playing a main part in the battle yourself. From that point on project codename Invasion II a.k.a. Market Garden was born, which is what this preview will be all about.
Game preview
I will try and describe the game using several screen shots. Remember that the game is not fully completed yet, but we're getting close
. The main story of the game is focused on the WWII operation Market Garden. Your role in this operation will be that of a commander of the British 1st Airborne Division. Apart from being a commander you’re also providing your fellow soldiers with backup using a sniper rifle.
The first section I will focus on is the first screen you will get to see when you start your game. This screen will also be your main tactical map for every mission.
In the mission setup screen you will be provided with an overview of the play field on which you will battle in order to defend the bridge of Arnhem to be captured or destroyed by the German forces. The red line indicates the offense border. You will have to keep the German forces from passing that line. To do so you can build several (5) defense bunkers in which you can place soldiers that will help you defend the bridge. Each bunker will provide a defense stronghold that will take down approaching enemies. It’s up to you to decide how you will spend your resources (wood and sandbags) and whom of your soldiers you will place in the line of defense. Any soldier that you place will be under fire and, if things go wrong, can get killed.
The second section that will be discussed is one dedicated to yourself as a sniper. When you're in battle you will gain battle experience. You can use this experience to improve your sniping skills in several areas. Each area has its own set of positive effects on how effective you will be in battle. When you gain enough experience to "level up" you will be able to spend a SkillPoint on one of these skills.
Now every soldier that you can place on the map has his own identity and specialty. To find out what it is you can navigate to the Soldier Details Menu. This menu gives an overview of the character of the selected soldier through its background story. Furthermore the skills of the soldier are summed up. Every soldier has a main specialty or class that gives you information about the kind of weapon this soldier can handle. In the screen shot James' specialty is the machine gun. As you can see he's currently carrying a machine gun with 425 rounds of primary ammo. Apart from a primary weapon, every soldier can carry an additional secondary weapon.
Now when you've decided that soldiers have been placed in decent positions. It's time to start the real battle. The screen shot below gives an overview of the Command View during battle.
The command view allows you to overview your placed soldiers and check up on their status. It also allows you to do a checkup on the status of the bunkers you've placed. When bunkers get hit they get damaged. Bunkers can only take a certain amount of damage before they will collapse. As you can see in the screen shot, the stone wall that provides to of my soldiers with cover is halfway through the damage it can take. In the top-right section of the Command HUD you can see a schematic mini-map that indicates the position of your camera view with a white rectangle, the position of your soldiers as blue dots and the position of enemies spotted by your soldiers as red dots. During a mission your soldiers will give feedback on their status through taunting. As you can see Christian has just taken out an enemy and likes to tell everyone he did .
The second view you can switch to during combat is your sniper scope. When you switch to that view you will be able to take out the enemy yourself. The following screen shot shows the scope view with the corresponding HUD. In the snipe view you have the ability to zoom in and out on a target and when a bullet has been loaded into your rifle you can fire it.
Now there are a few more screens, but those I will keep to myself for now. I hope to have informed you well enough to get you anxious about this game. It's a big project, a lot bigger than Invasion, and I hope you guys will like it.
"The absence of rules is the enemy of art." ~Orson Wells
