Ricochet

"Crafted by developers, enjoyed by players."

Ricochet is a publication that explores combat design in games 🎮 Est. Oct 2024.

Previously The Indie Vault.

[Ricochet @rricochets]

First article for Ricochet is finally out; the importance of a singular mechanic in combat design. Let me know what you guys think!

#1 Snipers: Levelling The Playing Field With Bullet Trails
https://t.co/0zwUBL8BcL

[Ricochet @rricochets]

Looking for some game recommendations that will prevent me from touching grass the next 3 months

[Ricochet @rricochets]

Have you guys played any games that have used AI to improve the immersiveness of gameplay? I only know of Rain World but there should be others out there, let me know if you guys know any!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

I've recently been trying out @PlayTheBazaar and it's actually been really fun. As someone who started off playing Hearthstone, and tried a couple more card games like Gwent, LoR, Slay the Spire, The Bazaar seems to have a pretty good concept. Going to need to play more!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game i agree, but there are so many genres and mechanics which are all wonderfully intriguing and engaging, so i personally don't think a game needs to support everything. excelling in what it was set out to do is a job well done, and as long as people have fun playing i'm content!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game Agreed, Hearthstone had way too much RNG over the years, I migrated to the Battlegrounds mode after awhile given the rise of the auto chess genre and quite liked it (too bad I can't run auto battlers in real life table top card games hahaha)

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game that makes a lot of sense, thanks a lot ben, for your time and insight! i'll ger cracking on brainstorming, but i also wish you success on manacaster 🫡

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game That's cool! What are some of your favourite card games from the past? I used to play Duel Masters and Yu-Gi-Oh growing up and was really into it, and I've been playing Hearthstone since it's launch over 10 years ago! Wonder if I could draw some inspiration from them...

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game That's an interesting perspective, I never thought of it that way! So I assume I would start from a mechanic that I really like, and then expand outwards to see how it fits into a larger picture?

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@LunesisStudios hahaha an impossible mode would be fun for sadists like me...

[Ricochet @rricochets]

Has it ever occurred to you how important headshots are in FPS games? It's something that I always felt makes or breaks the game!

#2: The Most Important Mechanic in Shooting Games
https://t.co/2Ho9vUymjc

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game do you mind sharing how you drew inspiration for manacaster? the game looks well thought out, and i love the art btw!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@ManacasterBen @manacaster_game hey ben, thanks for this; i chanced upon this thread and it's wild how relevant it is to my current situation. a friend and i are exploring building a board game/table top card game and were a little stumped at where to begin, so this was insightful!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@EteriuGame Very true! I was just thinking, what goes on during the conceptualising process of whether certain resources ultimately gets included in? Sometimes I feel games include mana/energy/stamina bars simply because it's something that is included in games within the genre..

[Ricochet @rricochets]

What do you guys think of mana/energy/stamina bars used in combat? Are cooldowns for skills sufficient that having another resource doesn't really make for a better game design philosophy? Interested to hear what devs have to say on this!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@Hypnos3GG That's nice! Yup it's nice to simply talk about these game related topics, always fun :) looking forward to your other videos!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@LunesisStudios More along the lines of Dark Souls action!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@Dantixgamer Whew 5 times, I should give it a go then! Have you given Black Myth Wukong a go?

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@manacaster_game I wonder why 😎

[Ricochet @rricochets]

Do you guys prefer combat that is mindless and easy, or ones that require you to think and strategise? I personally like games that have higher skill caps, rather than vigorous button mashing!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@manacaster_game An old school one, nice! I've never personally played it before, but combo based fights are always really satisfying, and I like that it increases the skill cap a little!

[Ricochet @rricochets]

I'm always amazed by how good combat design is pretty much like a well choreographed dance, with every swing, dodge and parry done to perfection. Does any game immediately come to mind?

[Ricochet @rricochets]

@rogue_command Cool, it's been awhile since I've played an RTS, but I'll give it a go when it's released!