Hey there itch community, Resonance Games community and anyone else that happened to wander by!

First of all, happy holidays and a Happy New Year to each and every one of you. I sincerely hope that 2024 brings a wealth of new opportunities, excitement and fun to us all~

Today we're going to be doing another character spotlight... sort of... kind of... Well more of a look at a certain group of characters in the Rhythm in You universe. This will be similar to Elizabeth's (for that follow this link HERE), but should contain more design concepts since the character in question has an actual battle the player engages with!

NOTE: If you'd like to skip the narrative design and go straight to the combat design - I'll mark it down below.

NARRATIVE

If you haven't heard, Zephra is the main city in Rhythm in You . The entirety of the game, in fact, circles around its ancient structures and modern shambled-together-houses. It's a place of extensive history and of deep significance to the Resonance franchise, but it's also in sort of a rough spot. For several generations now, the city has been in recession: both physically and economically.

What was once a bustling hub of trade and progress has devolved into a solemn state of affairs overseen by a detached monarchy. The dangers of Amz (the world for which Zephra is located) threaten to encroach on the day-to-day lifestyles of its struggling inhabitants, and to make matters worse, the industry that once supported the city has all but crumbled.

That is all to say that the people of Zephra, a resilient folk to their credit, have hit hard times. And hard times often pushes people to do things they might not normally have resorted to. Thus, an unfortunate ecosystem of crime has arisen - and the factions taking the stage grow by the day.

In Rhythm in You this is reflected not only by the narratives of the citizenry throughout Zephra which the player will interact with, but also some of the "enemies" you may encounter - including our lovely Bandit, whose concept art you'll find above! While we only have the one bandit design for combat - we want to build out a small cast of crew which make up the "Zephra Brigands"; a motley crew who operate in South Eastern Zephra and are led by our very own favourite frog-of-a-rogue, Ooze (more HERE).

While there are other factions of bandits in Zephra, including the ruthless Zephra Talons and the violent gang led by Kid Candle, the Zephra Brigands are the highlight of this particular rhythm-rpg. While our Hero will be forced into combat with this group - it's a sad reality that neither side is truly opposed to the other.

Ooze and his gang, while criminals of a sort, are certainly not the worst that Zephra has to offer - and are more often than not enlistees of poor families and the downtrodden, hoping for a sense of community and survival. When our Hero meets Ooze, it's very much in a 'fighting for scraps' situation - perhaps these characters aren't all that different from one another at the end of the day?

COMBAT DESIGN

The Bandit in combat has a faster soul song than Ooze - who was originally our tutorial battle before the latest 0.9 build released (play it down below!). Because the bandit is a later fight - I wanted to amp it up a bit, increasing the BPM and aggressiveness of this new foe. His attacks come out more often, and he's more prone to chain his attacks if pushed too hard.

Like Ooze, the Bandit has a counter attack, which the player will have to identify to stave of some damage. Unlike Ooze, however, the bandit also teaches the player that forward and upward blocking may not always be able to save the day. His knife attack is both visually appealing as it is deadly, and the player will have to learn to roll backwards to avoid it!

The bandit's health pool reflects that of a more generic enemy who you may fight over and over throughout the game- 15 HP rather than Ooze's 30. He doesn't have any distinct phases either, being a straightforward start to finish fight.

In the future, we'll have enemies like the Bandit actually wander the overworld, chase the player a bit and perhaps even strike out to get a pre-battle advantage against you if you're hit (and you'll be able to do the same to them!) But for the moment, these enemies are static additions to showcase the unique battle system!

CONCLUSION

We look forward to fleshing out the Zephra Brigands and bringing a more dynamic enemy ai to Rhythm in You- and we can't wait to show you when we do! I think it's fair to say that even our simplest designed characters 'ooze' personality (pun slightly intended), and it can be difficult to make a 'grunt' style enemy in a game like this. Perhaps we'll give the other bandits bandanas to separate them! ;)

In the spirit of these character spotlights, here is a brief narrative excerpt for this motley crew. Enjoy!

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Christopher quietly slunk over to Erik, a stillness had overtaken the hideout ever since the boss got back- and he wasn't about to threaten that.

"Boss say anything to ya?" Chris's voice was barely a mumble; best to avoid the chance of their boss catching onto their conversation.

"Uhhh... Naw. He just came in a bit ago - all puffed up, you know how he gets - and quite a few knicks an' bangers." Erik responded, glancing over towards the room the boss had just entered but five minutes prior.

"Fight?"

"Uhhh... dunno. Didn' look like he'd fallen, that's for sure."

"Well if he got into a scuff and came back all the better..."

"Didn't say he was for the better." Erik interrupted.

Chris's eyes narrowed on the big man. "You said a few knicks and bangers ya oaf."

"Hey now, 'aint no reason for name callin'." Erik unconsciously brought his hand to his beard - clearly stressed as he turned away from the smaller Brigand.

"Oh you know wha-..." a short pause and reflection before Chris continued. "Fine. I take it back - but you said a few knicks and bangers."

"Yuh, but that's just cause the boss is so tough. Had a couple of deeper cuts it looked like - some bandaged, others not."

"Shit."

"Yuh."

The two men stood in silence several moments longer, unveiling to them a muttered conversation being had in the adjacent room.

Then a loud BANG!

The two Brigands jumped - the startling noise smashing through the quiet of the room like a brick through a window.

Chris didn't wanna say anything. He looked at Erik. Erik looked back. Both men were silent.

A second later and another individual joined them from where their boss had went. Whispy white hair and a narrow face that looked as though he'd chewed a lemon. He strolled over with an air of unearned calmness.

Chris was the first to break. "Price, what the hell's happened?"

The man's frown did nothing to help Price's signature look of disdain. "Boss got into a fight. Didn't go well. Apparently."

"Didn't go well? He came back didn't he- what about the other guy?" Chris said as Erik nodded his agreement.

"Shit, Chris, I dunno - go ask him yourself. Said the other guy just upped and left."

Erik was the next to frown. "But the boss is tough - who'd have beaten him?"

Price looked as though he was an inch from snapping at the larger man. "Dunno Erik, maybe ol' man Detrinn got off his throne and came into town to kick the boss' ass- he didn't say."
He let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged towards his brothers-in-arms.
"You know how that croaker can get - he..."

"Shouldn't say that around the boss, Price." Chris nervously looked over towards the door.

"Shut up. He's in a mood- he can't hear us and even if he could he doesn't care. He was half mumbling to himself - kept saying it was impossible; that nobody moved like that. Take it as you will, gentlemen." Price began to turn and walk towards the exit.

"You not staying around?" Erik looked over at the gaunt bandit.

"You want to be around that?" He half-turned, pointing towards the opposite room. "Nah, I'm taking the rest of the day. Have fun, kids."

Price didn't bother smothering the sound of the door on his way out. The other two men jumped again.

"Maybe he has a point..." Erik's voice seemed uncertain.

Chris nodded slowly. "Grab a drink? My treat." - the offer lit a light behind the large man's eyes.

Christopher and Erik turned to follow Price's example.

"BOYS!" a croaky yell. "GET IN HERE!" The voice made the men jump for the third time that evening.

A simple look between them was all that was needed to exchange their nerves.

"Ya, boss, comin'!" Erik boomed out as Chris let out a long sigh.

"Gonna be a long night, bud." A hand patted Erik's back as the two went through the door.

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Honestly thought this spotlight would be shorter than the last, but here we are! Thanks so much for reading, and be sure to stay tuned to all things Resonance Games through any one of our social media platforms (find them HERE)

Again, a warm Happy New Year to you all, and to all a good night! (or day...)

-Kurin Laing, Resonance Games Designer and Founder