Multiplayer FPS with superheroes/villains

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2 comments, last by MetalTug 6 years, 9 months ago
I've considered the term "hero shooter", a game where you select from distinctive characters. The "hero" part of the hero shooter could take a new literal meaning. What if we took a comic book inspired world, and everything it entails, and turn it into a hero shooter? Granted, Overwatch is influenced by comic books, but it's not quite it because few characters have actual powers and most use guns (though some characters fit that too, as with comic books, which will be demonstrated here.)
The primary influences with this idea is Overwatch, and the now sadly cancelled City of Heroes.
Alright, now for the fun part.
Character Overview:
There are numerous characters in the game, falling under distinct classes. To keep things interesting, half the roster will be heroes and the other half will be villains. The type of heroes/villains varies, taking the influence further. You can find heroes that fall under the "boy scout" hero, others are more anti-heroic and conflicted, while there are those who are borderline evil except they fight for the good guys. Same deal with the villains, some being of the classic villainous archetype, some being the modern villainous archetype, and some being anti-villains.
There's also different factions in the game, adding more layers. For the heroes, the primary organization is the Paragon, but there is also the Virtue Corps. and the Street Soldiers, as an example. As for the villains, there's Dreaded as the main villain organization, but also the Black Mark and the Anarchists, among others.
There are multiple roles in the game:
  • Attacker - These characters specialize in using projectiles, and have good mobility options to get them in, or out, of a fight. Their goal is stay out of direct melee combat and instead fight at different ranges, depending on the character in question.
  • Fighter - Melee focused heroes, these guys get down and dirty with the enemy using their fighting skills and have good defense options. They also have an attack at range, but not it's not nearly as effective as an Attacker.
  • Tanker - The big guys with the large health pools who are there to protect their 'squishies'. They can take a lot of damage but often have poor ranged options even when compared to the Fighter.
  • Defender - Weaker in combat compared to the other three, their primary role is to provide buffs to their allies, debuffs to their enemy, and general utility to make their teammates lives easier. Not the flashiest characters, but their role is essential.
Characters
Here are some character ideas for the game. Obviously, there's more but this is just a sample of what I have in mind.
[spoiler]
  • Arsonist (Attacker/Villain) - A man who was mutated by genetic engineering, he gained the powers of fire, and joined up with Dreaded to act as a terrorist. He shoots fires in bursts, or has close range streams, and can use it to jet himself in other directions.
  • Blitzshot (Attacker/Hero) - An anti-heroine who takes fighting crime in her own hands. Using her dual handguns and gadgets, she keeps up with the best of them. Her gameplay revolves around utilizing her dual pistols to silence enemies, and her grappling hook to get to higher/farther places.
  • Chillout (Attacker/Villain) - An inventor who created a freeze gun, he takes part in villainy as a member of the Anarchists all over the world in pursuit of riches. He specializes in cryo-based attacks, with his gun shooting freeze blasts to freeze his opponents in place, and allowing him to ice skate across the map.
  • Whisper (Attacker/Hero) - A powerful female psychic who is one of the top brass of the Paragons. She utilizes psionic blasts, can reflect enemy attacks, and can project herself forward with telekinesis.

  • Liberty (Fighter/Hero) - The original superhero, and the founder/leader of the Paragons. He stands for truth, justice, and the dream, clad in stars-and-stripes armor with an eagle helmet. He carries a sword and shield, and can zoom in on others for deadly close range attacks, and then protect himself with the shield.
  • Reptile (Fighter/Villain) - A mutated lizard with the intelligence of a human. Feared and shunned, he became resentful of humanity and joined the Dreaded. He can crawl fast on the ground and on walls, and his claws will make quick work of enemies. He can also shoot venom from his eyes, and is able to shed his skin to undo all damage taken.
  • Swiftstrike (Fighter/Villain) - A femme fatale assassin who uses her skills for wealth, she stealthily infiltrates behind enemy lines and strikes from behind with her blades. She primarily operates as an extremely mobile flanker who can summon the shadows and blind enemies.
  • White Lotus (Fighter/Hero) - A young man from China that's a member of the Virtue Corps. who utilizes supernatural martial arts and is able to summon ki energy to make him stronger. He specializes in quick attacks, staggering opponents, and blasting them with ki.

  • Brute Force (Tanker/Villain) - A hulking behemoth of a man who values his strength above all else, and is a member of the criminal organization known as the Black Mark. He, in many ways, plays like a slower but amped-up Fighter, focusing on powerful melee attacks, has an ability to charge forward, and can also clap his hands to create sonic blasts.
  • Gearshift (Tanker/Hero) - A prototype robot with sentience, he protects the innocent as a member of the Paragon. With an arm-mounted laser blaster and an energy shield, foes should think twice about approaching him, and he serves a good protector to his teammates.
  • Killer Bee (Tanker/Hero) - A large yet sexy woman with the power to control bees, she is a member of the Paragon. She summons bees to attack nearby enemies, and can have them chase an enemy down. Her wings allow her to fly in different directions. She has the ability to self-heal as well.
  • Psycho (Tanker/Villain) - A large cyborg with a few screws loose (no pun intended), he lives to kill others after an freak accident turned him into what he is today. He fires rockets that are good for crowd-control, and can deploy a turret to guard an area. Additionally, he can make a charged laser shot for massive damage, albeit need precision to be effective.

  • Amp (Defender/Hero) - A member of the Street Soldiers, this young man helps the innocent by quite literally skating into action. Equipped with hover skates, and his trusty sonic gun, he forces his enemies to face the music. He has different abilities based on what song is playing, such as one that heals others, one that increases damage, and one that makes him and his allies resistant to crowd control.
  • Ezra (Defender/Villain) - A vampire who is a member of Dreaded, he feeds of the life force of others. His gameplay revolves around stealing the life force of his enemies, and then using it to heal his allies or himself. He shoots plasma blasts that deal damage and it's stored into a "bank" that he draws upon, and he can turn himself into a bat for a few seconds to get further and higher.
  • Lilith (Defender/Hero) - A magician/sorceress who also works as a member of the Paragon. She casts spells that heals her teammates and powers their abilities. She also casts attack spells to hurt the enemy, and can cast a spell on herself to drastically lower the damage taken for a brief period.
  • Zodiac (Defender/Villain) - A man with the power to manipulate time, he uses it for criminal purposes, but that doesn't mean he can't help his teammates. His main mode of attack is a pistol, nothing special, that's where his abilities lie. He reverses the damage effects on his allies, and he has a healing factor from time being reversed, and is also able to set a spawn point for him to return to immediately should he die. He can also use his abilities to resurrect a single teammate from the grave.

[/spoiler]

Plot

[spoiler]

The setting takes place in an alternate history where superheroes have existed since the early 20th century. The most famous superhero is Liberty, a super soldier from the US government commissioned to help stop the Axis Powers in World War II. He became a symbol of hope and courage, and was a founder of the organization known as the Paragon, a league of superheroes dedicated to protecting the innocent. To this day, thanks to his slowed aging he remains young, and he is still the proud leader of the Paragon.

The modern story takes place in the 2020s, which features highly advanced technology as a result of increased scientific development over the decades that passed. For centuries there have been secret magic users who guard the world from extraterrestrial threats. People born with psychic abilities have emerged, and there are also those born with superpowers as a result of a genetic mutation. While there are those who keep the world safe, others wish to use their abilities to inflict harm on others.

The primary antagonistic faction is the Dreaded, a collection of supervillains with an unknown motive, other than a desire to carry out injustice across the world. With a collection of various other factions in the mix, and the evil-doers growing stronger by the day, it's anyone's guess as to what happens in the future.

[/spoiler]

Gameplay

The gameplay revolves around 8 against 8 combat on various maps that involve both open spaces and linear areas. There's no regenerating health (except for the characters who can self heal) but there are health packs for a quick refill and a recharging station to fill your health all the way. Each character has a primary attack, several abilities, and an Ultimate.

There are multiple modes, such as:

[spoiler]

War - Each team fights to control simultaneous objectives on the map, first capturing each objective, then they must try to keep a lock on it for a period of time before a meter fills. The first one to fill the meter all the way wins.

Rescue - One team has a hostage that the other team is trying to rescue. The attacking team must break through the defensive barrier to rescue the hostage and bring him back to their base in order to win.

Deathmatch - Straightforward enough, two teams try to rack up the most kills on the other in order to win.

VIP - A variation of the Payload gametype from Overwatch. One player is randomly given a VIP, a character who isn't part of the official roster, that the other teammates must protect. They have to get the VIP to the other end of the map. The VIP has zero ranged options, but a single successful hit at close range deals massive damage. Also, the VIP has regenerating health to make life easier. Finally, the VIP has five lives, and getting killed five times will win the game for the defending team.

[/spoiler]

So what are your thoughts? I'm welcome to any feedback you have.

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Wow this is a cool sounding game!

This is very ambitious, and is sounding to be an excellent game.  What I would recommend is to start making a 2D version, or even a card game, to maybe help spread awareness of the amazing characters and world you've built.  This is an amazing start though!

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