RPP 1, Game 3 – Cake Fighter X
Created Wednesday, October 23rd, 2012 | Added Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012

Class:
Rapid Prototype Production (RPP) 1

Game:
Cake Fighter X

Assignment:
You will be split into teams of 4-5 consisting of producers, programmers, and artists. In two weeks, create a game with emergent gameplay.

Description:
In a world with no morals… A world where people are pit against each other for sport… A world where the acquisition of delicious baked goods is the difference between life and death… There is… Cake Fighter X!

Cake Fighter X is an online multiplayer third-person action puzzler with a 3D pixelated art style. Players are dropped into an arena where they must obtain as many slices of cake as possible before time runs out. The player with the most cake at the end wins.

In order to get to the slices of cake, which usually appear in hard to reach locations, players must use different types of blocks to climb, jump, and blast their way to victory. There are four different kinds of blocks…

  • Normal blocks – have no special effect or ability
  • Bomb blocks – explode, blowing away nearby blocks and players after a few seconds, and then disappear
  • Tornado blocks – continually suck in nearby blocks and players for a few seconds and then disappear
  • Trampoline blocks – bounce players up very high when jumped on

Players have an inventory of four blocks at a time.  Whenever a player uses a block, another random block appears in the empty inventory slot.  Once a player chooses a block to use, the character holds onto the block until the player decides to either place it or throw it.  Placing a block leaves it floating in midair in front of the player while throwing it tosses it far in front of the player (placed blocks are not affected by gravity, but thrown blocks are).  Blocks already in the arena can also be picked up and placed/thrown again.  Players can reach the slices of cake using the different types of blocks as platforms to jump off of and/or by using each block’s abilities to help themselves navigate the arena and/or hinder other players.

We never made a web-friendly build of the game, but you can download it here.  There’s no installation required.  Just unzip the .zip and launch the .exe.  Once you get past the title screen (by pressing G), one person can press the “Start Server” button, then all of the other players can press the “Refresh Hosts” button.  A third button should pop up listing the game the first player is hosting.  Click on that to join.  Note that all players must be connected to a local network/the Internet in order to play with others.

This game is played online, so theoretically, if someone is hosting a game halfway across the world, you should be able to play with them 😀

Controls:

  • G to start the game at the title screen.
  • WASD to move (forward, side step left, backwards, side step right respectively).
  • Spacebar to jump.
  • Mouse to turn the character/aim the camera.
  • Left click to throw a block.
  • Right click to place a block in midair.  Also picks up blocks that are already in the arena.
  • 1,2,3,4 to choose a block to use.  1 will equip the leftmost block while 4 equips the rightmost block.
  • Press Alt and F4 together to quit the game.

Credits:
Artist – Adam Grayson
Producer – Eric Elzy
Programmers – Roman Hong and Chris Sosa