It’s time to start talking about SUPER SCORE, my new game that’s been under development for around 2 years. It has now finally been announced and I’m super excited about it.
First playtest trailer (showing pre-alpha gameplay footage)
In contrast to Project UCG (working title), my other game, SUPER SCORE is a competitive 3v3 game, both multiplayer and singleplayer. A 3v3 game where kills don’t win the match. The team scores by having a player reach the opposite teams base. Combat is a tool for offensive or defensive play.
There’s a lot to write about when it comes to making the game, so this post is mostly an introduction.
It’s a relatively small game that focuses on very simple objectives, but throws in elements that make the gameplay fun. Going from point A to point B is a very simple concept, but then you throw guns and gadgets into the mix, and all of a sudden, you have a very dynamic power struggle where combat serves as a tool rather than the objective. I love that idea!
There’s a lot of inspiration from other titles I draw from, but 2 big ones are The Finals with its alternative objectives and the game-show narrative, and Mirror’s Edge with parkour/movement and avoid combat philosophy. People who have seen the game have also called it “FPS Trackmania”, which I love!
Other than that, SUPER SCORE, is a fictional sport with an urban attitude in a sci-fi setting.
Some other special things about the game worth mentioning.
Godot Game Engine is at the core.
Before picking a game engine for my games, I did some research to find out what would be the best fit for my needs. I will be writing more about this in future posts. But in short, I wanted an engine that was powerful (enough), easy to work with on a small scale (fast iterations), open if I needed customization for special needs, supported enough for commercial use, and something without a lot of bloat.
Godot Game Engine basically ticked all boxes. It’s by no means a perfect engine (no engine is), but it had enough in it for me to feel confident about the choice, and whatever was missing I could add or modify to my needs due to the open-source nature of the software.
Scope for SUPER SCORE
As the game will initially launch in Early Access, the scope will at first be relatively small. Plan is the following:
- 3 maps
- Matchmaking multiplayer mode
- Singleplayer mode with bots
- Some initial weapons and items/gadgets
- A couple of initial unlockable cosmetics
- Train your character with singleplayer mini-games
Over time this will be expanded on with more things and modes. What’s important for me is the long term support and listening to player feedback leading up to the 1.0 release coming later, probably like a year after Early Access.
SUPER SCORE will have no microtransactions
The business model I opted for is the more traditional, pay once and get the full game. I do believe there is a free-to-play fatigue amongst players. Even though I know a lot of gamers still appreciate having the game for free. There’s pros and cons with every model. The free model requires such a massive player base in order to work. And from a player’s perspective, having 1 skin costing as much as an entire indie game didn’t sit right with me. So instead, let’s pack the game with value and have a fair and affordable price.
For long term support, the idea is to release bigger, high quality, DLC packs.
This might lead to a lower player base, but I’m ok with that. At this scale, I think the more traditional model makes more sense.
Coming soon to Steam Early Access
Steam is the primary focus, but I’m architecting the game for release on other platforms in the future. The goal is to have the game released (Early access) during the summer. And I’m having closed playtests to make sure I put the game in gamers’ hands pre-release.
Making games is hard, and there are a lot of moving parts and complexity involved. So I will be writing about each topic more indepth in separate posts. Stay tuned!
- Wishlist on Steam
- Join the Discord server
/Mike