Vikings with guns. Emphasis on guns, part 2 – Gunnheim Development
Written by Petri Pekkarinen
In yesterday’s post I introduced a few key elements of gunplay in Gunnheim. Now we can take a brief look at the possibilites of future arsenal in the game.
It is still unclear how many different weapons, gadgets or powerups the final game will have. We have been drafting and testing with some very different gun mechanics. The final arsenal will depend how we will divide different types of weaponry. Only then we will have some scope for the amount of usable gear.
Testing out sniper projectiles with some deadly ricochet effect…
One likely solution by current design is the following:
- Basic weapons (class-specific default gun with unlimited ammo and no reload times)
- Pickable weapons (more powerful, either with limited ammo, one-shot with cooldown or one-use-only weapons of mass destruction)
- Other powerups (upgrades that affect the character or their default weapon: added lightning effect, Hammer of the Gods, etc.)
By dividing the weapons and powerups in categories like this we can more easily develop them in clear “content packs”. Don’t worry, we’re not planning a devilish DLC plan. We have just decided that it is much easier to test things in a very rough stage, discard anything that doesn’t work and then polish the best solutions into as near-final quality as possible. You will definitely get a decent amount of very different and truly awesome weapons once you get to play the final version.
ALTERNATE FIRE?
There has also been experimental alternate fire functions for the first default weapons. With one version of the Wolfsmiter the longer you hold the trigger the faster your fire-rate becomes, with the drawback being larger spread and hindered movement speed. The testing sessions have shown that while these mechanics may be fun, they will probably make an appearance in the form of even cooler pickable weapons.
HOW WILL IT ALL COME TOGETHER?
The problem with coming up with the craziest weapons is that every new mechanic that requires new properties from existing characters, weapons and projectiles can mess up the whole development schedule. That is something we are really trying to avoid, so that we can focus on making the core gameplay as good as possible at this point.
And with most games, you usually have only a handful of usable or balanced weapons, with only 1-2 absolute favorites. The other ones are maybe used in an absolute need or when the game rewards you for doing so. So for now we’re polishing the Berserker default weapon, the Wolfsmiter. After that next step is to decide which of our wacky pickable weapon designs are going to be implemented in the game.
We have also been experimenting with some extra gadgets for more efficient killing:
Laser sights do not only look cool but also make aiming easier when you’re playing with a controller.
We’ll keep you guys posted with any new weapon designs. And also remember to keep your ideas coming!
Until tomorrow,
-Petri