Enemy: An X-Com-inspired roguelike made from a mashup of classic games

[Quasitriangular]

I just posted a Kickstarter for an indie game I've been making at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1209639165/enemy. The quick summary is:

• Characters, items, and environments are an eclectic mashup of many classic games
• Everything is procedurally generated, including the storyline and final boss
• Detailed turn-based combat system, inspired by the 1994 classic, X-Com
• Realistic physics simulation allows for a rich variety of tactical options
• Permanent death ensures that combat is always tense

There's video at the site itself. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone has. Here's a few screens:

[TheIronSky]

Looks impressive thusfar. I quite like XCOM, and this seems like something that'd be right up my alley.

Not entirely sure where you're going with the "mashup of classic 8-bit era games" as the protagonists, but that doesn't really matter in the end, anyway. Combat looks fun, seems quite functional, destructible environments look nice and the presentation, overall, seems quite good. My only recommendation would be to tweak the usability a bit. The interface you've made, while seemingly entirely functional, reminds me more of the GUI used in Unity or Blender rather than the interface I would actually implement in the game (not that that's necessarily a bad thing - XCOM is pretty similar and I've played the hell out of that).

And what of the story? I understand that it's all procedurally-generated, but does that also explain why this cast of characters is involved? I'm curious as to why you chose these retro game heroes and how their stories get inter-related.

Still, this looks incredibly promising. Looking forwards to wherever you decide to take this project. Perhaps some unique enemies, different identifiable items, interesting encounters, hit point notifications and other role-playing features? Who knows. Looks quite good so far.

Kickstarter? Sure - I'll back this project. Best of luck!

[Quasitriangular]

Looks impressive thusfar. I quite like XCOM, and this seems like something that'd be right up my alley.

Not entirely sure where you're going with the "mashup of classic 8-bit era games" as the protagonists, but that doesn't really matter in the end, anyway. Combat looks fun, seems quite functional, destructible environments look nice and the presentation, overall, seems quite good. My only recommendation would be to tweak the usability a bit. The interface you've made, while seemingly entirely functional, reminds me more of the GUI used in Unity or Blender rather than the interface I would actually implement in the game (not that that's necessarily a bad thing - XCOM is pretty similar and I've played the hell out of that).

Thanks for all the feedback. The project began as a hobby that I got more and more serious about. I wanted to emphasize the simulation aspect of X-Com because for me one of the main things I loved about that game was how open all your choices felt and all the crazy events that the simulation could throw at you. The setting I just thought would give me an interesting set of environments, items, and skills to work with. I'm trying not to go too much into metahumor or anything like that. That's a good point on the UI, I'll see what I can do to tweak it.

And what of the story? I understand that it's all procedurally-generated, but does that also explain why this cast of characters is involved? I'm curious as to why you chose these retro game heroes and how their stories get inter-related.

The story is more of a premise to get the player on their way in the world and give them an end goal, along with a few little optional side notes you can find along the way if you explore. It itself is also a mashup of classic game plots, but it doesn't really explain why all the games exist in the same world; that's kind of like the initial narrative leap. I do want it to feel like each time you play, you are doing different things, and for genuinely different reasons, but the storyline probably won't be really complex.

Still, this looks incredibly promising. Looking forwards to wherever you decide to take this project. Perhaps some unique enemies, different identifiable items, interesting encounters, hit point notifications and other role-playing features? Who knows. Looks quite good so far.

Kickstarter? Sure - I'll back this project. Best of luck!

Thanks! I really appreciate it.