Okay, it’s been a while since our last update, and I think it’s finally time to reveal something about the combat in Prisonscape. First of all, I’m gonna say it: I’m VERY excited about how the battle mechanics worked out, and I think this combat system will be a great fusion of the best features from the RPG classics and the new ideas we came up with.
Second, this kind of environment turned out to be very challenging, mainly because you’re working in a realistic world where fights should have consequences and you really cannot use such elements as magic or healing potions. Even weapons are very limited to the shoddy shivs you can make inside the joint.
We came up with something to replace magic and I think I’ve never seen it used in any other RPG’s (please correct me if I’m wrong) – you can use your intelligence. For example, you can mock your enemies to make them angrier, which again lowers their defenses a bit (but in return, raises their damage because they are ENRAGED of your mean words). You can observe the enemy to find weak spots or you can just punch and kick them until they are unconscious or dead. You can even talk them to give up the fight, only to hit them with cheap shot short time after!
Weapons are of course very effective and deadly once you get hold of them. They also break easily and can be found and confiscated by the CO’s. Once you get that very sharp and deadly shiv, take good care of it and use it only when in dire need of. There are many items that you can use as or shape into weapons and you can find these materials around the prison.
Drugs also have a special use in the game. Each drug will have some positive and some negative effects. For example, morphine/heroin can give you temporary health but makes your attacks slower and also lowers your defense. Speed gives you… well, speed and better reflexes, but might increase your heart rate, make you dizzy and give you blurred vision, thus lowering your attack power.The next blog post will be also be about fighting. Next time I will write more about the actual mechanics, UI, quick time events and combo hits. Until then!
