Beast Hour. №20. March 2023. Gamedesign
Raiders & Beasts!
Today we'd like to take a look at the genre of asymmetric PvP games and share our experience of developing Beast Hour.
All new – well forgotten old
This genre exists for a long time and a lot of games have been released. When Beast Hour development started, we tried to find as much information about the first asymmetric games as possible. Then Giants: Citizen Kabuto, released in 2000 by Planet Moon Studios, caught our eye. This game is quite unique, as there are three races involved in a single match: 5 Sea Ripers, 3 Meccaryn and 1 giant Kabuto.
Analyzing other games is necessary for understanding the genre and a great source of inspiration for development. That's why we tried to study everything that could be useful in any way, mostly such games as Dead by Daylight, Evolve, Last Year, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Deathgarden.
Not a DbD-clone
Of course, the main idea of "ones run away - others catch them" for us was Dead by Daylight, released in 2016 by Behavior Studios. It was one of the first internal projects independently created and published by this studio. The game quickly gained an audience and now it's considered the most popular asymmetrical horror game.
If Entity took Zelus into Dead by Daylight world, who would win?
It gave us a lot of ideas as we realized that players really like such games. But we didn't want to make another "DbD-clone". So, to the formula "1 immortal player against the opposing team" we've also added parkour elements and vertical gameplay. Thus, the first version of Beast Hour appeared. The game was: out of ten human Raiders random two turn into Beasts and hunt the remaining eight, trying to turn them into their pack's monsters.
Admittedly, it's problematic to find a perfect balance in games of this genre. An immortal boss-player is much stronger than any team member one-on-one, but a well-cooperated group drastically changes the balance in its favor. Plus, we didn't really like the idea of Beasts, one can do nothing against.
Main ideas
By trial and error approach, we came up with three main principles, on which Beast Hour development is based even today:
1. No allies game. Playing in teams, players would run together and enter team fights, so the whole point of parkour chases was lost. We wanted to focus on the dynamics of the game, which was only possible without teammates.
2. The option to fight back. Since now there are no allies, we gave the opportunity to freely choose the role and fight any player, whether it's Beast or Raider. By the way, the players who have previously tried Dead by Daylight, like this idea a lot. Survivors often say that they would like to have more opportunities to "mock" the killer.
3. Several bosses. The game involves three "bosses" at once, competing with each other for prey. It helps not only reinforce the ideas above, but also to create more "Beast after Raider" chases. It makes situations impossible where Raiders start to unintentionally team up against one Beast. Also the fights between monsters give a Raider more chances to survive.
On the whole, these principles gave the project its most important feature: the unique game experience of each match. Players decide whether to help or run, fight or flee, rely on cunning + agility or combat skills. This is what makes Beast Hour the game you want to play again and again.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading this article. We wanted to share our experience with asymmetric PvP development and perhaps answer some questions about Beast Hour genre. Share your opinion in the comments!
Make sure to check our regular livestreams at YouTube and Twitch channels, since it's a great opportunity for us to talk with you!
Follow Beast Hour on social media, wishlist on Steam and support on Patreon – it does help our small indie team to bring the game to a next level!
Beast Hour needs your help to prepare Italian and Korean translations! And if you know German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese or Portuguese – we have a bunch of texts waiting for you to proofread them! You can contact us via email: [email protected]
If you want to discuss any form of cooperation with us, use this email: [email protected]
The Beast will come!
Today we'd like to take a look at the genre of asymmetric PvP games and share our experience of developing Beast Hour.
All new – well forgotten old
This genre exists for a long time and a lot of games have been released. When Beast Hour development started, we tried to find as much information about the first asymmetric games as possible. Then Giants: Citizen Kabuto, released in 2000 by Planet Moon Studios, caught our eye. This game is quite unique, as there are three races involved in a single match: 5 Sea Ripers, 3 Meccaryn and 1 giant Kabuto.
Analyzing other games is necessary for understanding the genre and a great source of inspiration for development. That's why we tried to study everything that could be useful in any way, mostly such games as Dead by Daylight, Evolve, Last Year, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Deathgarden.
Not a DbD-clone
Of course, the main idea of "ones run away - others catch them" for us was Dead by Daylight, released in 2016 by Behavior Studios. It was one of the first internal projects independently created and published by this studio. The game quickly gained an audience and now it's considered the most popular asymmetrical horror game.
If Entity took Zelus into Dead by Daylight world, who would win?It gave us a lot of ideas as we realized that players really like such games. But we didn't want to make another "DbD-clone". So, to the formula "1 immortal player against the opposing team" we've also added parkour elements and vertical gameplay. Thus, the first version of Beast Hour appeared. The game was: out of ten human Raiders random two turn into Beasts and hunt the remaining eight, trying to turn them into their pack's monsters.
Admittedly, it's problematic to find a perfect balance in games of this genre. An immortal boss-player is much stronger than any team member one-on-one, but a well-cooperated group drastically changes the balance in its favor. Plus, we didn't really like the idea of Beasts, one can do nothing against.
Main ideas
By trial and error approach, we came up with three main principles, on which Beast Hour development is based even today:
1. No allies game. Playing in teams, players would run together and enter team fights, so the whole point of parkour chases was lost. We wanted to focus on the dynamics of the game, which was only possible without teammates.
2. The option to fight back. Since now there are no allies, we gave the opportunity to freely choose the role and fight any player, whether it's Beast or Raider. By the way, the players who have previously tried Dead by Daylight, like this idea a lot. Survivors often say that they would like to have more opportunities to "mock" the killer.
3. Several bosses. The game involves three "bosses" at once, competing with each other for prey. It helps not only reinforce the ideas above, but also to create more "Beast after Raider" chases. It makes situations impossible where Raiders start to unintentionally team up against one Beast. Also the fights between monsters give a Raider more chances to survive.
On the whole, these principles gave the project its most important feature: the unique game experience of each match. Players decide whether to help or run, fight or flee, rely on cunning + agility or combat skills. This is what makes Beast Hour the game you want to play again and again.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading this article. We wanted to share our experience with asymmetric PvP development and perhaps answer some questions about Beast Hour genre. Share your opinion in the comments!
Make sure to check our regular livestreams at YouTube and Twitch channels, since it's a great opportunity for us to talk with you!
Follow Beast Hour on social media, wishlist on Steam and support on Patreon – it does help our small indie team to bring the game to a next level!
Beast Hour needs your help to prepare Italian and Korean translations! And if you know German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese or Portuguese – we have a bunch of texts waiting for you to proofread them! You can contact us via email: [email protected]
If you want to discuss any form of cooperation with us, use this email: [email protected]
The Beast will come!