Carnage Heart
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| Carnage Heart | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Artdink |
| Release date(s) | December 8, 1995 (JP) January 31, 1997 (US) May 1997 (EU) |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle, programming sim |
| Mode(s) | single-player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E |
| Platform(s) | Sony PlayStation |
Carnage Heart is a video game for the PlayStation, developed by Artdink. Its gameplay is a mecha based turn based strategy game. You take the role of a commander in a war fought by robots. The most interesting part is that these robots, called Overkill Engines (OKEs), cannot be directly controlled in battle; you must program them beforehand to behave in a certain way under certain conditions using a flow diagram system. This makes for a unique battle system.
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[edit] Gameplay
The game features a fairly complex negotiation system as well that allows the player to purchase, research, or upgrade new equipment and parts. The OKEs themselves can be upgraded as well through this system, allowing for extended use of the same model for as long as possible. The various companies involved in the negotiation process can also provide valuable information about the purchases of the enemy, allowing the player to better plan for the next advancement in enemy technology.
The main focus of the game is really in the design and programing of the OKEs. The OKEs will only be ready to produce once they have a complete hardware and software profile. Both of these profiles are stored in the form of a 'card' that can be named as the player would like. It is possible for there to be a total of 28 'cards' but in reality the player may use only 25 as there are 3 pre-made 'cards' that can not be deleted.
Before a software profile can be created for a card there must be a hardware profile. The first choice a player must make in the hardware creation process is that of a body type and style. There are 4 styles of OKE bodies and 3 designs in each style to choose from. These styles include a two-legged type, a tank type, a multi-legged type, and a flying type. After a body has been selected the player then must choose a main weapon, sub-weapon, engine, CPU, fuel tank size, armor thickness, and any optional equipment. A paint scheme may also be applied here as well. The engine determines how much power you have, the body type determines how much of that power can be used to haul mass, and all other options are limited by this. Thick armor is very heavy and usually only found on the tank types, since they are very efficient at using engine power to haul mass, while the flying type OKE will require powerful engines just to fly with the thinnest armor in the game. Each component in the hardware profile adds a certain amount of complexity to the OKE, more complex OKEs will take longer to build and require more advanced factories to produce.
Once a hardware profile has been created the player must create a software profile. The player need not have any skill in programming, however, as the game requires no programming in the traditional sense. Instead the player is given a board, which varies in size depending on the CPU selected during the hardware design phase, on which to place chips to act as a set of instructions. These chips must be placed so as to form a flow chart, with control starting from the top-left of the board, following a path through the chips, and looping back to the top left upon leaving the board. Each chip that is available to the player performs a specific task, and many can be edited to allow more precise control over actions. Most of your time in the game is going to be spent creating a program and testing it through virtual battle, which is an absolute requirement before sending OKEs out into battle.
The action associated with a chip is performed when control flow reaches it; actions include simple movements, aim & fire operations, scan for enemy and/or friendly units, incoming projectile detection, random number generators (to give, for example, a 1 in 6 chance of jumping left), variable assignments/checks, and even rudimentary inter-OKE communications, effected by assigning a colour to a "channel" which can then be read by other friendly units.
After the OKEs have been set up properly, the player must turn their attention to the various bases they control. It is in these bases that the actual OKEs are created and are then formed into units, each consisting of 3 OKEs. OKEs are created in the factories on lines that may be upgraded. The number of lines a factory has depends on the size of the base that factory is in. Some OKE designs require the lines to upgraded in order to produce the advanced technology that the OKE employs. Sometimes you'll need advanced and powerful OKEs, sometimes it'll be more important to be able to produce a lot of OKEs quickly.
Once a player has created OKEs and formed them into units (with a maximum of 3 OKEs per unit, and little point intentionally forming a unit of less than 3), they may then assign a task to each unit; these include defending or capturing a base, patrolling, or moving to a specific location. When an enemy unit moves into the same space as one of the player's units, combat begins. The combat is carried out entirely based upon the software that was designed for each OKE during the programming phase.
The playing board itself varies in size depending on the mission. Each mission is the same, however, and only the strength of the opponent and the board itself will change. The mission is always to simply capture each enemy base on the map, and it becomes increasingly difficult as the game progresses.
[edit] Rarity
Carnage Heart has become one of the rarest of all U.S. PlayStation titles due to the limited numbers produced. The game was also plagued by poor sales and virtually no advertising. The bland graphics and steep challenge are the two reasons often given for the lack of success in the U.S. market. The rarity has not affected its online auction sale price, which is usually under US$20.
[edit] Sequels
Carnage Heart has three sequels in Japan:
- Carnage Heart EZ - The EZ stands for Easy Zapping! EZ is an improved version of the original Carnage Heart with additional programming options (macros) and tougher AI opponents.
- Carnage Heart Second Zeus (aka "Zeus: Carnage Heart Second") - A sequel with a storyline, significantly different from the original Carnage Heart.
- Carnage Heart Portable for the Sony PSP offers improved graphics, updated chips and interface, as well as new OKE types.
[edit] See also
- In Robot Odyssey, you advance through the game by solving various puzzles. The puzzles are solved by programming your robots to accomplish various tasks. This is done by wiring a synchronous digital circuit.
- Cognitoy's MindRover is a more recent game which is similar in spirit to Carnage Heart, but uses different programming concepts in its gameplay.
- ChipWits by Doug Sharp and Mike Johnston, a game for the Apple II, Macintosh, and Commodore 64 computers is similar in both theme and implementation, although the interface to program your robot differed.
[edit] External link
- Carnage Heart Depot - online community
