| Skullgirls | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Reverge Labs |
| Publisher(s) | Autumn Games Konami |
| Director(s) | Alex Ahad (creative director) Cristina Vee (voice over director) |
| Designer(s) | Mike Zaimont (project lead and designer) Ian Cox Peter Bartholow |
| Programmer(s) | Mike Zaimont Ben Moise Emil Dotchevski |
| Artist(s) | Alex Ahad (art lead) Mariel Kinuko Cartwright (animation lead) Jonathan "Persona" Kim |
| Composer(s) | Michiru Yamane |
| Engine | Proprietary |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network), Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade) |
| Release date(s) | Early 2012[1] |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
Skullgirls is a fast-paced 2D fighting game being developed by Reverge Labs. Currently slated for a 2012 release for the PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network) and Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade), it is being published by co-published by Autumn Games and Konami.
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Skullgirls began its life as two separate projects. Tournament fighter Mike "Mike Z" Zaimont had begun working on a fighting game engine, while Alex Ahad had begun working on a world, story and characters for a fighting game. Some years later, mutual friends introduced them to one another, and their two personal projects were merged into Skullgirls.[2]
Zaimont, a tournament level fighting game enthusiast has teamed up with Richard Wyckoff and Emil Dotchevski, the founders of Reverge Labs, to bring Skullgirls to home consoles.
Set in Canopy Kingdom, characters are fighting for the opportunity to control the mysterious Skull Heart, an artifact with the ability to grant wishes, albeit at a substantial cost. The Skullgirl is a monster that haunts humanity: the result of those with an impure soul attempting to use the Heart.
Skullgirls is a 2D fighting game. The developers have stated on numerous occasions that their primary goal is to make Skullgirls great at the competitive level by addressing problems such as design and balance issues that other games in the genre suffer from.
One of the most important design decisions in Skullgirls is a unique infinite detection system.[3] This decision was made in order to make sure to maintain balance with each character. If the game detects that a player is performing a loop, the game will change the color of the hit sparks, and the opposing player can end the loop with a single button press. However, as long as the player is not performing a loop in their combo, they can continue to combo as long as they are able.
Before the beginning of the match, players are able to choose a "ratio" of characters. Players are able to choose from playing as one, two, or three characters. Single characters do more damage and have more HP, but lose the strategic advantages of character assists and the ability to regenerate health while offscreen. Teams with two or more characters have less HP and do less damage, but are able to take advantage of assists and different playstyles.
Skullgirls will feature an element that will be a first for fighting games. Players will be allowed to choose any one of a playable character's attacks to use as an an assist by simple input of the attack's motion in a game menu.[4] Each character also has their own preset assists to choose from. Players can choose any attack type with exception of super moves. These include: throws, normal attacks, dashes, and any special move.
In order to shift the game’s focus from executing difficult moves to fighting strategically, the game features simplified inputs.
For example, if a character has any moves that require to move the joystick in a 360° motion, the game will be able to recognize the motion, even if the input was not placed as fast as is required as in other similar fighting games. This makes executing these moves easier for the majority of unexperienced players, and allows them to potentially try out new characters that were beyond their skill level in other titles. This simplicity also prevents the character from jumping while performing the 360° motion, which is a common occurrence for many players.[5]
The game also uses an innovative input window system where the input windows are calculated and not arbitrarily defined. Adjacent directions are each given a 4 frame (4/60ths of a second) window with an additional 4 frames for directions not beside each other to account for the traverse, then an additional 2 frames for the attack command that activates the move. Mike Z has stated that this is based on empirical testing conducted from 1999 to 2006 (even before SkullGirls started development).[6]
Skullgirls allows players to build meter in the usual manner of hitting the opponent, as well as whiffing attacks. However, unlike other games in which any missed normal move results in gained meter, the player must be moving towards the opponent. If the player is moving backwards and attacking, meter will not be gained. Additionally, this only works if the player has less than one bar; in order to gain more than one bar players must connect with the opponent.
High/low unblockables are a common, extremely useful tactic in other tag style fighting games. In Skullgirls, however, after a character blocks a high or low hit, they are protected for a period of time from being hit by a low attack or an overhead, respectively. The protection window is small enough as to not have an effect on regular gameplay, but allows players who correctly guess the correct attack to defend themselves from what would otherwise be an unblockable attack.[5]
Skullgirls uses GGPO (Good Game, Peace Out) netcode.[7] It is one of the first dedicated console titles to be using the code.
Reverge Labs has announced that the game's music will consist of original compositions by Michiru Yamane,[8] who is perhaps most well known for her work on Konami's Castlevania series.
Voiced by: Christine Marie Cabanos
Filia was once just an average schoolgirl, but one day woke up without any memories and a second mouth on the back of her head. She is now playing host to a Parasite named Samson, an unruly mop of demonic hair with incredible power. With no memories or anyone to turn to for help, if she ever hopes to piece together her past and survive the inevitable clash with the Skullgirl, Filia will need to trust this mysterious being.
Voiced by: Cristina Vee
The biggest sensation in the Cirque des Cartes, Cerebella is a tumbling, soaring dynamo of star power: throughout the Canopy Kingdom, she’s admired for her enormous strength and alluring curves. Sadly, this acrobatic orphan only desires the attention of one man, mobster Vitale Medici, who took her in and became the closest thing to a father she’s ever known. While inherently good, Cerebella serves the mafia as a leg-breaker when not performing in the circus. Cerebella is the only person capable of controlling her powerful Living Weapon hat, Vice-Versa, so Vitale is stingy with his affections to keep her fighting in his corner.
Voiced by: Sarah Williams
Once a war orphan slave named Patricia, Peacock’s body was gruesomely mutilated by slave traders that captured her. She was rescued by Dr. Avian’s Anti-Skullgirls Labs, and rebuilt with a reality-defying arsenal of biomechanical weaponry: the Argus System augmented her body, and the Avery Unit gave her access to unprecedented weaponry. Alas, they couldn’t do anything for her mind: Peacock’s damaged psyche and abiding love of cartoons shaped her new “toys” into a terrifying gang of cronies, who she has no qualms using to paint the town red… with blood. Terrifying as she is, she may be the kingdom’s best bet against the Skullgirl.
Voiced by: Erin Fitzgerald
Few know the terrors of the Skullgirl as intimately as Parasoul does: seven years ago her own mother became the Skullgirl that nearly destroyed the world. This tragic past has made her fiercely protective of both her country and her family, and these two priorities frequently come into conflict. Parasoul is now the crown princess of the Canopy Kingdom and leader of its elite military squad, the Black Egrets. Wielding the living umbrella, Krieg, she fights with grace, poise and cunning to defend her family honor and destroy the Skull Heart so no one can repeat her mother’s terrible mistake.
Voiced by: Kimlinh Tran
A feline feral, Nadia Fortune is the last surviving member of the Fishbone Gang, a notorious band of otherwise Dagonian thieves. Their last mission ended in tragedy: a failed attempt to steal the mysterious Life Gem from Lorenzo Medici resulted in their grisly deaths. Before meeting her own doom, Ms. Fortune swallowed the Life Gem and managed to digest it. The Gem’s power permeated her entire body, making it truly undying… even after being cut into several pieces. Now hiding in the shadows of Little Innsmouth, Ms. Fortune plots to avenge her fallen comrades.
Once a normal schoolgirl named Carol, Painwheel was kidnapped by Valentine and delivered to the Anti-Skullgirls Labs’ secretive Lab Zero. There she was implanted with the synthetic Buer Drive and Gae Bolga parasites and infused with experimental Skullgirl blood, transforming her into the monster she is today. Violent and unstable as a result of these experiments, as a precaution she’s mentally controlled by Lab Zero’s powerful psychic director, Brain Drain. Fueled by rage, she draws her power from her pain and fury. Despite that, the soul of that scared young girl still lives on inside this monstrous body, desperately fighting off the onslaught of voices that would control her.
Valentine is the only survivor of the Last Hope, a group of special Anti-Skullgirl Lab operatives. Before meeting their end at the hands of the Skullgirl, the Last Hope worked for the mysterious Lab Zero and performed duties ranging from reconnaissance and sabotage to advanced research. Now Valentine dutifully serves the Skullgirl, carrying out her will from the shadows. She keeps to herself, so much of her true nature and personality are unknown.
An announcement has not been made in regards to the number of characters to be in the final release, although the website currently has eight character slots available. Many other characters have been shown in other forms of media, male as well as female.