Indie Spotlight: RAPID - Mecha Combat Action
Aug 8, 2024
Contributed by Indie Developer Lev Ornstein
My passion for action games led me to move to Germany and study game design. Since I was a kid, I have always been passionate about video games, particularly third-person action games. These games usually feature high-octane gameplay and meaningful movement for the player. Naturally, Project RAPID is inspired by such games, with major inspirations being Armored Core, Vanquish, and Metal Gear Rising . My goal was to create a game that expands on action combat, featuring both ranged and melee gameplay, as well as player agency and variety through loadout customization and extensive cosmetic options.
Mecha Weapons and Animations
In RAPID, the player controls a mech with the ability to equip almost any available weapon to either the left, right, or both hands. The mecha genre is typically associated with a high level of player customization, and as a fan myself, it was a no-brainer to include a wide range of options for the player.However, this modular system comes with many challenges. Since we are piloting a mecha, the animations need to resemble something mechanical and robust while maintaining a humanoid shape. Cascadeur allows me to create animations and adjust curves for individual frames if necessary. For instance, while Bezier curves are popular among Cascadeur users, using linear interpolation between frames is crucial for achieving that authentic “mecha” feel.
Another challenge is animating a character according to the currently equipped weapon in individual arms, either separately or simultaneously. Inside Cascadeur, I animated both arms firing, but within Unreal Engine, the animation is split into two separate montages, each assigned to individual arms.
The primary reason I use Cascadeur is that it is an incredibly powerful tool, especially for an inexperienced animator like myself. Keyframe assistance and bone transform adjustments within the software are why I chose Cascadeur as the sole animation software for our game. Even without an auto-posting tool, Cascadeur allows me to create quality animations quickly and efficiently. Any indie developer greatly appreciates the tools that save time in the development process.
Future of RAPID Going into Production
Currently, the project is in the prototype phase, meaning the main gameplay loop is undergoing significant adjustments, the art direction is changing, and the lore is being rewritten frequently. As we move into pre-production and production stages, I will continue to use Cascadeur to animate not only the player-mech but also enemies that have their own skeleton and mesh components.Here is one of the walker enemies in a staggered state:
This is just one of many upcoming enemies utilizing a unique skeleton animated in Cascadeur. Moving forward, we plan to enhance RAPID's animation quality using Cascadeur, revisiting and refining old animations, and introducing new and dynamic ones to capture that fast-paced mecha feel. Our end goal is to create a replayable game where combat and movement flow are the main features.
We hope you enjoyed this game highlight. You can follow the development of the game on my YouTube channel.
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