Prison City News

[h3]Settings & Story[/h3]


Following Hal Bruzer’s successful entry into Detroit Prison City, he finds himself situated among the rooftops. As he makes his way through the cityscape’s jungle of concrete, brick, and steel, he sees his eventual destination–the Detroit City Police (DCP) Headquarters–in the distance.


But waiting for him at the end of the Rooftops zone is the Hind D Warden! Armed with a forward nose gun, side missiles, and a dangerously skilled former military operative, this enemy will toy with Hal as it reigns fire (and grenades) from above!


[h3]Chain Walls and Security Eyes[/h3]

As Hal makes his way along the platforms and ladders, he’ll come across multiple chain walls that can be grabbed onto. Like the chain walls in the introductory mission on the train, Hal can move about the chain walls found throughout the Rooftops level.


However, there are some areas where Security Eyes are positioned. These “Eyes” will open when Hal gets too close, and they’ll spawn 8 smaller security spheres to contain any threats within them! Skilled players can either attack one security sphere at a time, or guide Hal’s chakram in a circular direction to dispatch multiple spheres in one throw!


[h3]Inspirations Taken[/h3]

In our previous post on Level Designs, lead game developer Programancer described Rooftops “to be very entry level.” With inspiration from bat skip in Castlevania, speedrunners can choose to “slide into a bullet to damage boost onto the platform and cut some time.”

Power Blade was also an influence in how the structure of Rooftops was designed–in Progamancer’s words, “where you can see a platform or area on a screen you can’t reach without navigating above or below.”

Also, don’t even think about making that jump, Hal!


Be sure to check back for more updates very soon!

You can wishlist Prison City and play the free demo available now!

Behind the locked warden door lies the preserved brain of an elite, criminal mastermind...who also happens to be a gamer!


[h3]Game, Set, PONG?![/h3]

That’s right! Pong. Hold on (quite literally) for dear life as you engage in the ultimate game of Pong. But this evil warden is neither a former military officer or a crazed gang leader on a menacing truck…This time, it’s someone–NO, something–even more sinister…

The brain of a gaming-obsessed criminal bent on always getting the highest score.

The Coolant Drive keeps the brain from overheating by creating an artificial polar vortex around itself, freezing its surroundings.



It's been said in the previous paragraph, but just in case you didn't already get the idea: If you happen to let go of the chain wall, or if you get hit by the energy ball and don't grab back on to the chain wall, you WILL fall into the bottomless pit below. And you WILL die. And you WILL use up one of Hal's Rests. And you WILL get frustrated being unable to grab back on to the chain wall.


[h3]Undying Skills[/h3]

Our intel is a bit dicey, but from what we’ve been able to gather, the Coolant Drive runs on the electrical nerve circuitry from the malevolent gamer’s brain within. While it’s active, the brain will automatically run calculations as it attempts to counter Hal’s returns.


Also, if you couldn’t already tell, you’ll want to enter this fight with your chakram fully upgraded to its maximum three icons in your inventory. With an upgraded chakram, you’ll be able to intercept the Coolant Drive’s serves and returns with a wider range. Use this to your advantage or, you know, just git gud with the normal chakram.

[h3]Only Babies Play on Easy and Modern[/h3]

We’d like to point out: If you challenge the Coolant Drive on multiple difficulties, you might wonder if the warden behaves differently depending on that setting. We’ll leave you to make a judgment call on that.

Some of our testers think so. They’re obviously pro gamers, too. All of them. For real, for real.

But we aren’t planning to preserve their brains………yet.


Anyway, we dare you to play this boss fight on Classic difficulty. You’ll have a great time.

FoR rEaL, fOr ReAl.


Thanks for checking out this update! We’ll have more to share with you next week as we get even closer to Prison City’s launch!

Wishlist Prison City and play the free demo available NOW!

Lead Developer Programancer breaks down how he went about designing the layouts of some of Prison City’s levels.

[h3]Rooftops[/h3]


When it comes to seeing the results, Programancer was content that Rooftops turned out as he intended.

Programancer: Rooftops by design is meant to be very entry level, and I put a lot of “first level” inspiration into it– the boss being a reflection of the first boss in Journey to Silius, the stage being inspired by a lot of Power Blade’s levels where you can see a platform or area in a screen you can’t reach without navigating above or below (the starting room requiring you to go up and around, and the contact room requiring you to go below and climb up).

Programancer: The first room is inspired by the bat skip in Castlevania, with the intention that speedrunners can coyote slide into a bullet to damage boost onto the platform and cut some time.


[h3]Freeway[/h3]

Programancer: Freeway was a bit difficult because I had to put in a lengthy stretch into a non-linear game- so I thought about ways to do that. Initially, it was just going to be a long freeway you walk along (boring), and then I thought about Mega Man 5’s Wave Man water bike segment and how cool it would be to have something like to start the level out with.

Programancer: And once that was set up, I thought it would be cool to do something different for the part after that, as well, so I took inspiration from Mega Man X’s intro stage with the freeway chunks dropping down after beating an enemy.

[h3]Cold Storage[/h3]


When it came to Cold Storage, like Rooftops, this level also turned out to be what Programancer intended.

Programancer: Cold Storage’s premise was just “ a level themed around a giant central area that you have to vertically climb,” and then the grinders were a good fit for the auxiliary rooms leading up.

Programancer: The grinders on this level were an idea from Retroware’s president, and I implemented them into the route pretty early in the design.


Be on the lookout for more updates very soon! We have more in store to share as we get closer to Prison City’s launch!

Wishlist Prison City and play the free demo available NOW!

As the Techno-Terrorists spread their forces across Detroit Prison City, you’ll want to get acquainted with some of the different types that will stand in your way!

[h3]Grenaders[/h3]
Armed with guns and grenades, these enemies will not hesitate to fire several rounds or lob a grenade in Hal’s direction. Most of the time, you’ll find these enemies positioned near ledges, so time your jumps right to avoid a barrage of bullets! Green Grenaders are the standard types, red ones are Heavy Grenaders that fire more projectiles than standard types, and those with a shield are Shieldnaders, who, unlike their counterparts, do not use guns and instead throw even more grenades with a single throw!

Standard:

Heavy Grenader:

Shieldnader:


[h3]Gizmo-Rollers[/h3]
Along the Freeway level, you’ll find a whole company of Techno-Terrorists specially armed for mobile combat. Unlike their non-mobile counterparts, Gizmo-Rollers do not utilize grenades and, instead, fire energized rounds at Hal. Gizmo-Rollers can approach Hal from either the left or right as he races across the Freeway, so pay attention to which side they appear from!


[h3]Gang of Athletes[/h3]
Escaped criminals loyal to Sim Sanders and his mechanized Jumbotron guard the Stadium level! Footballers charge at Hal and can only be dispatched by sliding into them. Basketballers and Dodgeballers can throw either solid balls (Basketballers) or energized spheres (Dodgeballers) that can ricochet off walls and surfaces. Hockeymen set up and hit pucks that slide on flat surfaces toward Hal.

Here’s a Basketballer:


Followed by a Footballer:


And here’s a Dodgeballer (similar pose to the Basketballer, but notice the different sport ball held by the sprite):


And finally, we have the Hockeyman:


[h3]Mobsters[/h3]
Mobsters are another subset of the Techno-Terrorists who appear on the Rooftops level, as well as inside the Cold Storage zone. Similar to standard Grenaders, Mobsters carry rifles with them and can fire single shots at Hal. Unlike Grenaders, however, Mobsters neither lob grenades nor remain stationary.


That’s all we have for this update! Check back for more soon!

Wishlist Prison City and play the free demo NOW!

Lead Developer Programancer recently sat down for a press interview to discuss Prison City!

[h3]Question 1: So what I want to know from you, the developer, is what makes Prison City stand out. What feature or detail makes it unique?[/h3]

Programancer: Prison City is on the surface a tough-but-fair NES style approach-a-thon action platformer, but one of its defining features is that the experience and difficulty can be customized almost completely. If you want an easier experience, you can adjust damage, turn off losing a life from falling in pits, even turn on infinite lives- something I'm sure many people wish they could do in games of this genre back in the late 80s and early 90s. If you want a more difficulty experience, you can make hits deal more damage, reduce your starting health and lives.

Thrill seekers can crank the amount of damage they take to maximum and try to beat the game without taking damage on just one life! It's this custom-tailored experience that I think sets it apart from a lot of games in this genre. There's a suggested way of playing, and then there's giving the player the freedom to experience it how they'd like. I want everybody to be able to experience the game from start to finish, because we have some cool stuff that is only available once the game is completed the first time!


[h3]Question 2: Can you also tell me what was the inspiration for Prison City?[/h3]

Programancer: There are a number of things that inspired Prison City, but the easiest answer is that I like to make games that invoke memories I had playing the NES and SNES in my youth- games like Power Blade, Street Fighter 2010, and Shatterhand come to mind as direct inspirations for Prison City, with tons of little references and nods sprinkled throughout that may have helped shape its design.


[h3]Question 3: What kind of experience do you want to deliver to your audience or what emotions do you want to evoke in anyone who plays Prison City?[/h3]

Programancer: Honestly any time I can remind players of how games used to be, and I can bring an experience that gives them the same sort of feeling I had in my childhood playing games- then I feel like I've succeeded. Prison City has a very straightforward approach to its design that I hope feels familiar but satisfying to complete. If they play even one level and have a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction from beating the boss, mission accomplished.


Check back here for more updates soon!

Wishlist Prison City and play the free demo NOW!