Game News Vigilantes, a crime-themed turn-based tactical RPG, now on Kickstarter

[Infinitron]

Tags: Timeslip Softworks; Vigilantes

Vigilantes is an upcoming turn-based tactical RPG from Irish indie studio Timeslip Softworks inspired by Fallout and X-Com. The game's setting is modern day neo-noir. You play as Sam Contino, a vigilante who embarks on a crusade to take down the mobsters, survivalists and fanatics infesting Reiker City. The game has been in development since November 2014 and this year the developers published a succession of free alpha releases. Now they're ready to take things to the next level with a Kickstarter campaign. Here's the pitch video and overview:

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The city’s going to hell. On the streets and behind closed doors, the Mafia infiltrates and corrupts the civic power structure. Gun crazy paramilitary survivalists wreak havoc, while fever eyed Churchers roam, stealing anything that isn't bolted down, burning anything that is. I'm going to do something about that.

Inspired by the classic turn based RPGs of the 90s, like X-Com and Fallout, yet striking out in its own unique direction, Vigilantes is a crime themed, turn based tactical RPG with an old school heart, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Players assume the role of Sam Contino, an idealist dragged down the rabbit hole of vigilantism as he works to bring down the three gangs that dominate Reiker City: the mafia, survivalists, and Church of the Final Exodus.

Vigilantes has all the features you would expect from a turn based RPG, yet we feel it stands out from its peers in a number of areas:

• Avoids typical RPG settings, striking out in its own direction with gritty, neo noir.
• Melee combat is choreographed and fluid to an extent rarely seen in turn based games.
• Avoids the trend of simplifying character systems and gameplay. It's very much old school, with the best of modern design advances.
• Emphasis on atmosphere: memorable allies, deadly opponents, a declining city, all brought to life through quality writing, artwork and voice acting.
• Use surveillance to locate gang facilities and leadership. Randomly attacking footsoldiers won't get you anywhere.

There are many more details on the Kickstarter page, and numerous gameplay videos are available on Timeslip's YouTube channel. The game also has a Steam Greenlight page, so be sure to go over there and vote it up. You can secure a copy of Vigilantes on Kickstarter for just €8. Since much of the development is already done, the funding goal is just €5000 and the estimated release date is May 2017.

 

[Timeslip]

Thanks a lot for the mention Infinitron! If anyone has any questions about Vigilantes, or either of the campaigns, please leave a comment. I'd be happy to talk to you!

 

[Bumvelcrow]

Timeslip - Melee combat is choreographed and fluid. What does that mean? Takedown animations? That description sounds like the very opposite of turn-based. Perhaps you can elaborate. I like the sound of quality writing, but voice acting as well? Is it fully voice-acted? Surely for 8 euros compromises would have to be made on writing or voice acting.

Otherwise, it's nice to see something a bit different. Although my first reaction on seeing it was 'Shadowrun without the future tech'. Would that be the correct area?

 

[Timeslip]

Timeslip - Melee combat is choreographed and fluid. What does that mean? Takedown animations? That description sounds like the very opposite of turn-based. Perhaps you can elaborate.

Hey, thanks for the questions. From many turn based RPGs I've played, it struck me that melee attacks often tend to be a single animation per weapon type, often without precise timing between attack and evade and impact, and not much sense of impact. There are multiple attacks per weapon type in Vigilantes, with multiple associated and carefully timed impacts and evades, and the impact animations correspond carefully to the attack animations. Here's a video in case you'd like to check out the gameplay.

I like the sound of quality writing, but voice acting as well? Is it fully voice-acted? Surely for 8 euros compromises would have to be made on writing or voice acting.

There will be a voiced intro for each allied character, one for each gang, and a number of cutscenes narrated by the main character, and a number of sound bites for each character. Although I'd love to have it fully voice acted, we are a small studio, and it's beyond the scope of what we can do. Writing is being taken care of in house. Different people have very different opinions on what is good writing, so to some extent, quality is in the eye of the beholder. Here's a sample of the voice acting and writing, perhaps you will like it, perhaps not!

Otherwise, it's nice to see something a bit different. Although my first reaction on seeing it was 'Shadowrun without the future tech'. Would that be the correct area?

You're in the right area, but there are some differences. In Vigilantes, you can equip alll your team (not just the main character) and set stat points and perks for all characters. There's also crafting, and though it's been a while since I've played Shadowrun (a game I really enjoyed) it's likely Vigilantes will have a lot more weapons and items. No magic or rigged bots though. The character system is most like Fallout 1 & 2, and rather than having 2 actions per turn, you have AP points. Vigilantes is hearkening back more the the big turn based strategies of the 90's.

 

[Bumvelcrow]

Sounds interesting. From my point of view elaborate combat animations are not really something I look for in a turn-based game. In fact I'd say they distract from what in turn-based combat is generally a step back from the action to get a more strategic view. Looking at that combat video I'd say more stilted animation would be a better fit, and particularly the floating information text could rapidly get annoying. But as long as it's no too distracting or annoying then I don't think it's a problem, but I also don't think it's an asset.

Regarding voice acting - that's fine. I was just worried that with a limited budget having to commit to fully voiced would reduce the scope of the text. Voice flavour snippets is ideal to get the feel of the character.

You said the magic word - Fallout 1. You will earn many friends on the Codex! I'm definitely going to follow this game with interest.

 

[commie]

I think you'll find that VO is overrated in such games. Don't waste time on it. Game like Silent Storm would actually do without the cringy VO and if you have a choice of hammy 'Italianese' or silence, go with silence.

Also don't know about the 'modern neo-noir' setting. It already looks a bit goofy with 1930's style gangsters duking it out next to a modern car. Would prefer a proper 1930's type of setting or if you're going for a modern take then something more in the Max Payne style as that mixes ideas of cults and hidden societies with noir elements.

But otherwise, it looks promising. Being a big Silent Storm fan even the engine and fonts in places look a bit like it so that's always an extra point there.

 

[Timeslip]

Sounds interesting. From my point of view elaborate combat animations are not really something I look for in a turn-based game. In fact I'd say they distract from what in turn-based combat is generally a step back from the action to get a more strategic view. Looking at that combat video I'd say more stilted animation would be a better fit, and particularly the floating information text could rapidly get annoying. But as long as it's no too distracting or annoying then I don't think it's a problem, but I also don't think it's an asset.

Regarding voice acting - that's fine. I was just worried that with a limited budget having to commit to fully voiced would reduce the scope of the text. Voice flavour snippets is ideal to get the feel of the character.

You said the magic word - Fallout 1. You will earn many friends on the Codex! I'm definitely going to follow this game with interest.

Ah ok, good to know.

I'd expect around 10 - 15K words in the game, and trying to have that voiced would be a logistical nightmare. Alone, it would probably add 3 months of development time on to the game, and as you observed given limited funding it would likely hurt the overall quality of the voice acting and writing.

Yep, I grew up playing Xcom and Fallout. They are games that have made a huge impression on me, and are pretty much the reason Vigilantes exists!

 

[an Administrator]

It's in a modern setting so there will be lots of different weapons

 

[Timeslip]

I think you'll find that VO is overrated in such games. Don't waste time on it. Game like Silent Storm would actually do without the cringy VO and if you have a choice of hammy 'Italianese' or silence, go with silence.

I've heard a lot of terrible voice acting too, often from games with much bigger budgets, and you wonder why they bother : ) I agree that it's better to go with no VO than bad. There will be some VO in Vigilantes, but not full VO. Here's another sample for you, hope you like it.

Also don't know about the 'modern neo-noir' setting. It already looks a bit goofy with 1930's style gangsters duking it out next to a modern car. Would prefer a proper 1930's type of setting or if you're going for a modern take then something more in the Max Payne style as that mixes ideas of cults and hidden societies with noir elements.

But otherwise, it looks promising. Being a big Silent Storm fan even the engine and fonts in places look a bit like it so that's always an extra point there.

Yeah, perhaps you're right about presenting the mafia in a slightly antiquated way. The mafia are just one of the 3 organisations you will face. Want a cult style organisation... allow me to introduce the Church of the Final Exodus

There's also the survivalists, who are united by the idea that human civilization is circling the plug hole, and they are on an aggressive resource grab to set themselves up for when the lights go out. They are individually the toughest and best equipped enemies and more closely resemble and army than a gang.

 

[Timeslip]

It's in a modern setting so there will be lots of different weapons

Yeah, persianronin, there will be a decent selection items - I'd guess somewhere in the range of 70-80 items, including armour and crafting components.

 

[Aenra]

Am getting old; saw 'Vigilantes', read 'Irish', went /Tiocfaidh ár lá
And then i see chinese girls and the religion trope.. again.. just me and obviously entirely subjective, but fer fuck's sake..

Anyway, best of luck to your campaign and the game itself mate. Unlike most, you worked enough for a demo of sorts to be available prior to taking people's money and that is to be commended. Props. And the voice acting is fine.

 

[himmy]

1. Loving the setting, but I'm a sucker for glazing noir over other settings, so it's really up my alley

2. The voice acting seems decent and, for some reason, it makes me want to replay Broken Sword. I was, however, very disappointed that it wasn't the same as your accent in the Kickstarter video. Now that would have made a great setting for an "ORPG".

3. Combat seems interesting, but I would need to try the demo first and actually get to see it in action to comment further.

4. The three quite different factions are intriguing, hopefully you can make something interesting out of it, cause "an idealist who gets dragged into conflict with the entire criminal underworld" doesn't seem very encouraging to me.

5. What are your influences in regards to the noir vibe of the game?

 

[Timeslip]

Anyway, best of luck to your campaign and the game itself mate. Unlike most, you worked enough for a demo of sorts to be available prior to taking people's money and that is to be commended. Props. And the voice acting is fine.

Thanks Aenra, glad you liked the voice acting.

 

[Neanderthal]

4. The three quite different factions are intriguing, hopefully you can make something interesting out of it, cause "an idealist who gets dragged into conflict with the entire criminal underworld" doesn't seem very encouraging to me.

You could make a real interesting situation out on a three way struggle an men in middle, Carlo Goldonis novel Servant of Two Masters did this, as did Dashiell Hammetts Red Harvest, Yojimbo movie that were inspired by both o these novels, an o course A Fistful of Dollars.

 

[himmy]

4. The three quite different factions are intriguing, hopefully you can make something interesting out of it, cause "an idealist who gets dragged into conflict with the entire criminal underworld" doesn't seem very encouraging to me.

You could make a real interesting situation out on a three way struggle an men in middle, Carlo Goldonis novel Servant of Two Masters did this, as did Dashiell Hammetts Red Harvest, Yojimbo movie that were inspired by both o these novels, an o course A Fistful of Dollars.

That's exactly what I'm saying, the factions seem interesting enough to give me hope for a plot that has otherwise only been described as "good guy goes against bad guys".

Also, not to be pedantic, but I'm pretty sure Servant of Two Masters is a play, not a novel.

 

[Timeslip]

2. The voice acting seems decent and, for some reason, it makes me want to replay Broken Sword. I was, however, very disappointed that it wasn't the same as your accent in the Kickstarter video. Now that would have made a great setting for an "ORPG".

Ha, the voice acting is mostly by Anthony Ingruber. He's really good to work with.

3. Combat seems interesting, but I would need to try the demo first and actually get to see it in action to comment further.

Sure, if you get the chance to try it, let me know how you get on. The demos are here if you want to check them out: http://www.indiedb.com/games/vigilantes/downloads

4. The three quite different factions are intriguing, hopefully you can make something interesting out of it, cause "an idealist who gets dragged into conflict with the entire criminal underworld" doesn't seem very encouraging to me.

Glad you like them. I'm sort of a sucker for the protagonist with idealist leanings. I'll do my best with it.

5. What are your influences in regards to the noir vibe of the game?

Olga, the artist, has taken care of the visual side. From the perspective of writing style, definitely Chandler. From a world building perspective, that's tricky. The ideas came together over many many months, and I couldn't really point to a single dominant influence. Sorry if this is a somewhat vague answer

 

[Neanderthal]

Dint know Servant were a play, just read paperback when I were a wee un, cheers for info himmy.

I like Chandlers description on an ideal protagonist as i've said afore:

“In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption. It may be pure tragedy, if it is high tragedy, and it may be pity and irony, and it may be the raucous laughter of the strong man. But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.

The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor -- by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. I do not care much about his private life; he is neither a eunuch nor a satyr; I think he might seduce a duchess and I am quite sure he would not spoil a virgin; if he is a man of honor in one thing, he is that in all things.

He is a relatively poor man, or he would not be a detective at all. He is a common man or he could not go among common people. He has a sense of character, or he would not know his job. He will take no man's money dishonestly and no man's insolence without due and dispassionate revenge. He is a lonely man and his pride is that you will treat him as a proud man or be very sorry you ever saw him. He talks as the man of his age talks -- that is, with rude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for sham, and a contempt for pettiness.

The story is the man's adventure in search of a hidden truth, and it would be no adventure if it did not happen to a man fit for adventure. He has a range of awareness that startles you, but it belongs to him by right, because it belongs to the world he lives in. If there were enough like him, the world would be a very safe place to live in, without becoming too dull to be worth living in. ”

 

[Timeslip]

I'm pretty excited for this game! But your campaign page is a bit slim on the details of how it plays

1. Is it a conventional RPG like Fallout or is there a strategic dimension? If so, is it a FFT/XCOM style split, picking missions on a strategic map and then go straight into tactical combat? Or is it JA2 style where your squad is exploring and interacting on the tactical layer?

Thanks for the questions. Before missions you can purchase, craft, sell, etc. In the full game, you will have a city map, which you have to run surveillance on it to locate criminal activity. Then, you can choose to launch a mission against a particular tile, which belongs to one of the three factions. The gangs also have facilities and leadership, which require higher surveillance levels to locate. To win, you need to weaken the gangs, destroy their leadership and facilities. In short though, it probably has most in common with the original X-Com.

2. Can you talk about how you're balancing melee and ranged in tactical combat, and how systems like cover, concealment, terrain, height etc interact?

Balancing is an iterative process, and not yet complete. It's guided by DPS calculations, and adjusted according to feel and feedback. Cover is similar to modern implementations, like XCom and Shadowrun, with half and full cover. There's no concealment, and there may not be. At the beginning of missions all enemies are aware of you, and the maps are smaller than similar games. There is no height, and it's unlikely there will be. Effectively, we have to be very focused about where we devote effort, as this is a big project for a small studio - if we reach too far, quality will suffer. I hope these factors don't put you off, and would hope you might consdier giving the demo a try, it will give you a much better feel for the game than I can : ) Demos are here if you are interested: http://www.indiedb.com/games/vigilantes/downloads

 

[Timeslip]

You could make a real interesting situation out on a three way struggle an men in middle, Carlo Goldonis novel Servant of Two Masters did this, as did Dashiell Hammetts Red Harvest, Yojimbo movie that were inspired by both o these novels, an o course A Fistful of Dollars.

That's exactly what I'm saying, the factions seem interesting enough to give me hope for a plot that has otherwise only been described as "good guy goes against bad guys".

Also, not to be pedantic, but I'm pretty sure Servant of Two Masters is a play, not a novel.

It's unlikely the gangs will contest one another. They are happy enough with maintaining a status quo, and with their own interests. Vigilantes isn't going to be super plot heavy - most of the emphasis is on character development, a number of cut scenes, and the encounters which you have before combat - these do help to give a better understanding of the world and its inhabitants. At a guess, it will likely weigh in at 10 - 15k words.

I'd be inclined toward the view that individuals who take the law into their own hands aren't strictly the "good guys" and are closer to anti-heroes. Maybe their actions cause a net benefit to society and perhaps they achieve the opposite. All of the allies you meet along the way have suffered trauma - some of them have adjusted to it more easily like Sam, some have not, like Elena Furey, who executes a survivalist in the second demo mission. Guess what I'm trying to say is that there's a spectrum among your allies, to begin with.

 

[Timeslip]

This sounds like an interesting mechanic, maybe you could explain a bit more about "surveillance"? Is it a resource, or an activity? If resource, what is the economy around it? If activity, does it relate to character skill? What sort of decisions guide where and when to surveil a particular block? Do enemy facilities and leadership change locations?

As a comparison, original X-COM/UFO had surveillance - your radar facilities and base locations (passive) and your interceptors (active). Active surveillance had a cost in terms of fuel and occupying interceptors which might be needed for combat. Passive surveillance also cost base maintenance etc and bases had to be defended. Governing all of this was the player's skill at resource management.

This is one of the areas that needs attention. It's not enabled in the demo, and since it wasn't needed, it hasn't received as much attention as other parts of the game. So it's not tied down, and subject to change, but I can tell you about how it currently works. Surveillance is an activity, it costs you time, and surveillance level of a tile degrades over time. Time is important, because the gangs are gaining numbers and better equipment over time. The amount of intel you can gain in a surveillance operation is linked to the surveillance skill. At present facilities can't move, and some leaders can. Gangs will likely be able to build more and upgrade facilities for greater bonuses. How many is unknown right now, and it's unknown whether they will be able to recruit or promote leaders - these may be linked into difficulty level.

 

[norolim]

This sounds promising. The original X-com is still one of my favourite games (I replay it every couple of years), so I like where you're going as far as mechanics are concerned. I also like noir a lot, but I'm wondering how far you're going with it. Is it just the style of the visual presentation or do you also want it present in the story and character motivations? For example, you don't usually see church and military/paramilitary organisations serve as the antagonists in noir. The system (if that's what those organisations represent in your game) was often portrayed as corrupt or at least apathetic to the protagonist's struggle, but not directly hostile. It also usually occupied the background.

So in that light, I'd be interested to know why the protagonists are in a struggle against those organisations. In other words, what are their motivations, what are they fighting for and against in general and what are they trying to achieve?

 

[Timeslip]

This sounds promising. The original X-com is still one of my favourite games (I replay it every couple of years), so I like where you're going as far as mechanics are concerned. I also like noir a lot, but I'm wondering how far you're going with it. Is it just the style of the visual presentation or do you also want it present in the story and character motivations? For example, you don't usually see church and military/paramilitary organisations serve as the antagonists in noir. The system (if that's what those organisations represent in your game) was often portrayed as corrupt or at least apathetic to the protagonist's struggle, but not directly hostile. It also usually occupied the background.

Hey, Norolim, glad you like the general direction. The Church is effectively a cult. They have a legitimate wing, which is involved in recruiting members and procuring donations. On the other side, they have a prisoner and drug rehabilitation centre, which provides the raw recruits for the less legitimate side of their operations, which focuses on theft, mugging, and the sale of a drug called Elysium. Local government in Reiker tend towards being inept or corrupt, which against the background of global economic decline, accounts for the severe issue with crime Reiker is experiencing. Hope this provides you with a better indication of the world.

So in that light, I'd be interested to know why the protagonists are in a struggle against those organisations. In other words, what are their motivations, what are they fighting for and against in general and what are they trying to achieve?

The reasons allies join you varies. Sam's an idealist, he accepts society isn't all it could be, but given all possible forms human civilization could have taken he feels we've done all right and values human achievement. He views the gangs as undermining all the good things and replacing them with misery. So, Sam primarily fights for ideas. Other characters have different motivations: because they have sworn to protect their fellow, revenge, and even morbid curiosity are some of the reasons these individuals have chosen to fight.

 

[Infinitron]

On the other side, they have a...drug rehabilitation centre, which provides the raw recruits for the less legitimate side of their operations, which focuses on... the sale of a drug called Elysium.

Wait, do they sell the same drug that they rehabilitate people from? How insidious.

 

[Timeslip]

So here's the thing. Even if it's not in the demo, the strategic layer seems like an essential part of the game that provides context and meaning to the tactical combat (esp. since there's no exploration/interaction), so you really really ought to talk about it in your pitch, even if it's mostly aspirational and subject to change. That above paragraph needs to be expanded on and put on your campaign page somewhere, because there are too many juicy titbits.

Ok, so the trade off is time vs. intel, and the conversion rate is surveillance skill. What is intel used for? If surveillance is a character skill, do multiple characters surveil in multiple locations?

How is activity in each area determined? Does each faction have their own objective, which influences where and how they operate? Are factions in conflict, and gain/lose territory even without the player's intervention? Will player intervention weaken the target faction while strengthening rival factions?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look at filling out the surveillance section a little.

Intel (which I might also have called surveillance level) is the amount of knowledge you have of criminal activity in a given city tile, which in increased by surveillance operations.

The gangs initially start out with a number of city tiles in which they have a presence. This increases over time. It's unclear right now if they can expand to other tiles, or move back into tiles once their presence in that tile has been removed. Likely this will be tied into difficulty level. No, they won't contest one another. They have their own rackets, and are generating enormous amounts of money, and don't want to threaten the status quo. So, player interaction will only weaken gangs.

 

[Timeslip]

Wait, do they sell the same drug that they rehabilitate people from? How insidious.

Yep. Though they may appear to be a cult, the reality is closer to them being a business.