This game has been Greenlit by the Community!

[s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com]



A 2D side scrolling arcade shoot ‘em up, but turn based. An ultra-modern tactical UI, an 80’s arcade shooter theme, a sprinkle of physics, some smart level design inspired by classic shooters, a dark plot, some mild RPG-like progression, and you’ve got a tactical 2D shooter like no other. It’s about tactics, not reflex. Your move.

NOTE: This is pre-alpha. The video does not show final level design, it's simply there to show some of the game mechanics.


A ship severely damaged and broken on the surface of a strange and hostile planet. Laying in the fallen wreckage of the orbital facility that built it. A stolen pilot and limited means of repair. It’s time to get fixed, get flying, get shooting, and get even.

Make your way through multiple levels across four distinct themed chapters. Face challenges that wouldn’t be possible in any other type of shooter. Adopt new skills and tactics as the ship repairs, enemies diversify and the plot unfolds.


The main website for the game is here: http://sockthuggery.com/game/mighty-tactical-shooter

• Fight your way through multiple levels across four distinct themed chapters.
  
• Plot your movement and actions using a modern tactical interface.
  
• Use curved paths to concentrate fire where needed.
  
• Use gravity wells and bubbles to pull/push attack waves off of it’s normal trajectory... and into each other or another attack wave!
  
• Use a gravity bubble to push an obstacle up and out of your way, or into the enemies way.
  
• Join enemies together with a tractor beams, watch them dance out of control and cause explosive chaos.
  
• Bend shots around corners with gravity wells to hit otherwise unreachable vulnerable spots or switches.
  
• Place wormholes that teleport ships and shots into useful places.
  
• Scavenge tech and weapons from wrecked enemy ships.
  
• End of level bosses with a more tactical twist.
  
• Revel in the retro 1980’s theme, dark plot, and original music composed specifically for the game.
  
• Balance gun power, shield power and repairs during turn planning to reinforce your tactics. Want to bash something? Send more power to Shield Buddy! Need some overkill? Power up Gun Buddy! Need to repair? Stay out of trouble for a while and let Repair Buddy work.
  
• Follow drones! Reflecting lasers! Achievements! EVA!
  
• For Windows, Mac and Linux. Tablet support to come post launch.

How complete is it? It’s around 50% complete, all self-funded so far. The main focus so far has been on the design and implementation of the core mechanics and the general look and feel of the game. We’re very happy with progress so far.

We hope that a Kickstarter will raise the remainder so that we can fill out the content. More levels. More baddies and bosses. More refined gameplay. More polish. All the things needed to make a fully rounded game.

If the Kickstarter fails? It’ll still get made, it’ll just take longer as we’ll only be able to work on it part-time.

Why turn based? It allows for more tactical gameplay elements as it gives you time to plan and assess your actions without relying on pure reflex action.

Technically it’s simultaneous turn based (aka WeGo), as the enemy AI will be planning moves at the same time as you are planning yours, and they will both execute at the same time. This sounds way more complicated than it is! It just means that you’re not waiting for ‘the other player’ to finish their turn. You plan your turn, watch the outcome, plan your turn, watch the outcome, and so on without having to wait for ‘the other player’ as you would in a strictly turn based game.

Doesn’t all the stopping and starting ruin the zen flow of the shmup? The shmup scene is already well served by some great shmups. I wanted something intentionally (possibly irrationally and stubbornly) different. This game is for those who love the theme of shmups but prefer unhurried tactical gameplay.

With all that time to think won’t it be a bit soulless? The soul of a normal shmup is in the flow of reflex action. The core of this tactical shmup is, well, tactics.

Tactics alone would be a bit dry, which is why I’ve put a lot of effort into the story and to the three AI buddies that are embedded in the ships dashboard. Gun Buddy, Shield Buddy and Repair Buddy have their own personalities and special parts to play in the story and mechanics of the game.

Why physics and not just classic shooter non-physics? Slight differences in positioning and timing can lead to subtly (and not so subtly) different outcomes. This enhances the replayability of levels because even if you have a great overall strategy for the level you still need to manage the small side effects. This should help increase the depth of the game.

Story… there’s a story? The ship was never intended to fly alone, or operate in such damaged condition, or be flown by an untrained pilot. We’re well out of warranty here people. The ship is the last pre-production test unit before the production line was supposed to start churning out thousands of identical ships that would act in concert to take on the alien menace. Things go... somewhat awry. And they’re not getting better any time soon.

RPG-like progression? Over time and as resources become available you’ll be able to repair the various damaged subsystems of the ship. It’ll be your choice to spend your valuable repairs on your tactical interface, weapons, shield and repair systems. Even the buddies can have their AI parameters altered.

Why the 80’s arcade theme, isn’t retro a bit of a fad? There are passion and practical answers to this. Our first experiences of games were in the 80’s, so we have a strong nostalgic fondness for pixels big enough to hug.

While the game could easily have been 2.5D, 3D or high-res 2D graphics, the simple practical reason is time constraints. When you’re self-funding game development you have to keep a close eye on time.

The music doesn’t sound 80’s, how come? 80’s synth music is awesome! That said, it can be a little harsh on modern ears. We went for something that’s a lot more contemporary, but still had the style and a few of the sounds of old skool arcade games.

If you’re half done why isn’t there a demo? There is! You can get it from the Kickstarter page