Final Reel Video

Crisis of the Super-Verse is a 2.5D fighting game that breaks away from many of the design conventions of the genre, using systems recreated from the ground up. The player takes the role of one of five different superheroes, inspired by thorough research of the superhero genre over the decades.

Vertical Slice Pitch Presentation

Team Size: 11
Dev Cycle: 1 year
Engine: Unity3D
Personal Roles: Lead Designer, Narrative Designer

Twin Stick Control Scheme

The melee combat uses a very different controls system then those seen in previous games within the fighting genre. The player chooses between performing either punches or kicks by holding the right (punches) or left (kicks) bumpers. The player then flicks the right joystick to initiate the attack. Flicking toward the opponent performs a light version of the attack, while flicking away from the opponent performs the heavy version. Light attacks are quicker while heavy is slower, but does greater damage and knock-back. The joystick flick can also be aimed in a low, middle or high fashion. These attacks will aim the knock-back that is performed on the enemy if the attack hits. In total their are 6 variationof a punch, and 6 variations of a kick.

Tug-Of-War Health System

This game also uses a very different health system. When damage is being done to the opponent, the Player will gain control of the”Combat Compass” (yellow) When a player has control of the compass it will rotate to aim at the opponent, and begin to slide towards the opponents side of the screen. At any point the other player can gain control of the compass and push it back in the other direction.

If the compass moves all the way to one side of the screen, its will do damage to a player’s “resolve meter.” The player’s resolve is represented by the portrait of their character. When their resolve is receiving damage, the portrait will fade. Unlike the rest of the health system, this damage is permanent. If the resolve is depleted completely, then that player has lost the match. Matches are composed of only the one round.

“Pow” Mode and Special abilities

Pow Mode

Pow mode is accomplished by pressing L3 and R3 at the same time (clicking in both joysticks.) Being in Pow mode will amplify the player’s characters stats for a duration. Each character’s Pow mode effects different stats. Some of the the stats that can be amplified by being in Pow mode are damage, knock back, hit stun, movement speed, or jump height.

Special Abilities

All the different characters initiate their special abilities though the same aiming system. This is accomplished by holding down the left trigger, then aiming the right joy stick. This will cause a reticle to appear that orbits the player, to use in aiming the special ability. Some characters have a limited range in which they can aim this reticle. The player then initiates the ability by pressing the right trigger. Each of these special abilities is radically different for each character but always uses this same system.

Comic Book Aesthetic and Systems

Comic Panels/Gutters

Each of the stages is separated into several segments designed to be reminiscent of comic books panels. A player can either use their melee attacks to break these panels, or hit through the gutters by an opponent.

Speech Bubble Taunts

A player can use the taunt by pressing L3 (the left stick in). This will play a taunt sound effect unique to each character, and generate a speech bubble decal. This decal is randomly chosen from a list of possible speech bubbles. Some of the speech bubbles available are also unique to who the character is fighting, revealing some of the interrelations that exist between the different characters.

Motion Lines

To add an extra level to the comic book aspect aesthetic and atmosphere of the game, the characters attacks generate special line renderings on the appendages, having the appearance of motion lines. Motion lines are used in comic books to depict movement and emphasizes the action, and our game uses them to the same effect.