Dev Dispatch #07: The Malice Shotgun Design
By Mihai Necula, Producer
Hello, Nyan Army!
As you know, Nyan Heroes will be a PVP Battle Royale. As such, weapons & gunplay will play a critical role in how gameplay will feel.
Gunplay First
Success in Nekovia hinges on the players’ abilities to shoot. Nyan Heroes is a shooter game, and the main means of dealing with damage are guns.
We want our players to be able to master their weapons, and for the weapon to become part of their on-battlefield expression. Each player will need to learn and adapt to the following unique variables of each weapon and use physics to their advantage (because each weapon will be effective in its own way & situation):
- Bullet speed
- Bullet trajectory & drop
- Recoil
- Damage
- Bullets Spread
We are also considering that being higher leveled or having “better” Mech abilities should not equate automatically to a win if gunplay skills are significantly inferior.
In order to encourage gunplay further we are looking at developing critical hit areas that have a damage multiplier embedded in them. This way we will reward a player’s effort to aim and be as efficient as possible in their damage-dealing quest.
These are ideas that we will carefully approach and continuously fine-tune. We want to ensure players will have a rewarding and fun experience while using our weapons.
Malice Shotgun
As mentioned before, we want each weapon to feel viable in the right situation. An example of this could be that in a space with corridors that are tight and have many turns, you might want to use your Malice Shotgun for the best bang for your buck or your deadly Prophecy carbine in a more open space at medium range.
The Prophecy has been visually detailed by Tore Blystad, our Creative Director in Dev Dispatch #06. You can read more about how that will dominate the battlefield there!
This is a short exploration of the weapons and gunplay design in Nekovia. We hope that weapon variation, together with our other gameplay and level design elements, will safeguard us from the perils of a boring “meta” option. We want every weapon present within the player inventory to be usable and recognizable, with the long-term objective being to keep things fresh and energized.
Weapon Customization
It is important to give our players the ability to make their weapons feel their own. This will be accomplished by allowing our players to apply different skins and weapon attachments. In our current vision, weapon attachments are seen as weapon upgrades that can be applied by the player to add an extra layer of depth and personalization to the combat system, but they should never feel like a necessary step to be able to win.
We are in the early stages of development for this feature, but rest assured, there is more to come.
Meow!
Mihai Necula, Producer
About Nyan Heroes
Nyan Heroes is a free-to-play hero shooter that combines fast-paced, competitive gameplay with a real-world impact. Developed by a remote team of seasoned game developers and powered by Unreal Engine 5 and blockchain technology, Nyan Heroes pays homage to cats and offers a AAA multiplayer experience with epic mech character classes, thrilling cat-like movements, and unique gameplay abilities.
Learn More: nyanheroes.com
