Ever play a video game where death is part of the strategy? One where death is less of a penalty and more of a helping hand in getting through a level? One where the gameplay mechanic is so original and works so organically that I can’t help to think has this ever been done before? A Single player Co-Op.
Capybara Games’ platformer/shooter Super Time Force, is one of a kind.
In a nut shell, you have thirty seconds to complete each level using one of four character classes as you fight your way to the “exit.” As you defeat enemies, you add time back to the countdown timer. This is where the strategy starts to kick in.
Now, you could try to run to the end of the level within the thirty seconds or you could kill everything that moves, it’s up to you. Whatever you choose, you have to utilize the right character class that matches your play style for the environment in hopes of reaching the end within the time limit and limiting the number of times you’re going to die. And believe me, you’re going to die. And your death is the hook of the game.
When you die, you either re-spawn at the beginning of the level or at a checkpoint. Checkpoints are created by dying.
Say what?
After you die and restart a level, you are in a race with your previous life to get farther than they got before they died and within a shorter amount of time. Doing so, creates a time paradox because you survived and broke the timeline. This lets you “save” your guy and creates a checkpoint. The interesting twist to this is that all the enemies that you killed prior to your own death still die. You can actually watch on screen as your “ghost” takes out the enemies.
Confused yet? At Pax Prime, we were lucky to talk with Dan Vader of Capybara Games to help us break it down.
BSR: Can you give us an overview of ‘Super Time Force’?
DV: So, you are basically an elite group of time traveling bad asses. Trying to make the world a better place by traveling back through history correcting its mistakes. The basics of the game are a side scrolling shoot em up run and gun but…when you die, every time you die, the level rewinds the time back to the beginning. Then you choose a character, and you get to play alongside your past self. So, everything that character did. Every enemy it killed. Every jump it made. That all happens again and again and again. Eventually, you build up an army of yourself fighting through the level. Every character has a special ability, that makes them unique, and they work really well in certain combinations. It’s very fast paced and action-y but there’s a tactical element as well.
BSR: How did you come up with this concept?
DV: It’s a small team of four guys making it. It’s a programmer, two artists and myself doing level design. The whole game started at a game jam. Kenneth Yeung, the lead programmer and twin brothers Mike Nguyen and Vic Nguyen, went to a game jam and built the prototype in two days They brought it back to the office and we all played it and were like ‘Holy Sh*t, this is so much fun’. So, it became the pet project of the studio and we were working on it just on Fridays.
BSR: Seriously, it took you only two days to come up with this?
DV: The basics of what you are seeing. Choosing a character, dying, time rewinding. Choosing a new character and all working together that was all built in two days. Working on it as a hobby in the studio where everyone was throwing ideas in the pot. We only recently decided ‘F*ck it’ lets start making this game for real. Now we are developing in earnest full time.
BSR: The idea is absolutely amazing, and the gameplay is a lot of fun.
DV: I actually muscled my way on the project because I thought it was so fun. I wasn’t originally on it, but I played it so many times that I was like ‘Can I write it?’…and now I’m here.
Super Time Force drops in 2013 on XBLA
http://www.supertimeforce.com
http://www.capybaragames.com