About this project
PLAYABLE DEMO AVAILABLE HERE
WE'RE NOW ON STEAM GREENLIGHT
STRETCH GOALS ANNOUNCED
Blood Alloy is a 2D Metroidvania that is currently being developed for Windows, Mac, and Ouya, with a very open eye to other consoles and handhelds. (No phones/mobile, unless they somehow release a phone with amazing dual thumbsticks in the near future.) You play as a young female amnesiac who, thanks to a software malfunction, regains consciousness in a high-tech laboratory. Upon discovering that your body is now almost wholly cybernetic, you break out of your stasis pod to escape, discover the secrets behind your identity, and wreck havoc upon your enemies.
Explore a world teetering on the brink of apocalypse. Upgrade your cybernetic body with power-ups, including those you literally rip from the smoking remains of your foes. Amass a growing arsenal of diverse weaponry, each with unique tactical uses. And as you explore the catacombs, skyways, and streets of a dystopian future you'll change the very destiny of humanity itself.
Drawing inspiration from the stamina-based combat mechanics of From Software's Dark Souls and Demon's Souls, Blood Alloy applies a similar stamina mechanic to gunplay - attacking, blocking, and dodging all draw from your character's cybernetic energy reserves. In the heat of battle, every action or inaction counts. Do you deplete your energy just to finish off that troublesome enemy with a few more clips, or do you save some so you can dodge out of the way of a counterattack? Do you weather the impact of bullets against your shield, or do you attempt a risky parry and riposte? Your playstyle is your own to customize.
Reconciling the ruthlessness and speed of Blood Alloy's enemies with the methodical, calculated pace of Dark Souls' combat has proven to be an incredibly fun task. We've given the player tools to adapt to a wide variety of combat scenarios. Various abilities you unlock throughout the campaign will give you superhero-like mobility, enabling you to virtually dance through the hailstorm of incoming fire and gain positional advantage over your foes.
Blood Alloy takes place in a dystopian, urban science-fiction future that draws inspiration from the works of Syd Mead, Bladerunner visionary. Cybernetically-augmented soldiers and military drones patrol the streets, enforcing martial law with an iron fist - literally. The oppressed live in absolute squalor, many of whom are forced to pay dues to feudal crime lords. If they exist at all, your friends are few and far between.
Blood Alloy's level structure draws heavy inspiration from Metroid, Turrican, and Dark Souls; it will feature non-linear exploration with optional pathways, hub areas, shortcut creation and discovery, and tons of secrets! We're also big believers in the power of "environmental storytelling" - giving each area and room a real, concrete sense of place and function within the game's universe.
- An enormous world to explore with a wide variety of environments: secret laboratories, fetid sewers, frozen meat-packing plants, roaring factories, and even abandoned space-stations
- Fast-paced combat that demands and rewards skill
- Dozens of powerful weapons to collect and use against your enemies
- Unique ability upgrades, each with uses in both combat and exploration
- Vicious bosses
- A gripping storyline that culminates in true, branching-path narrative choices at the end featuring unique objectives and areas to explore (Inspired by the narrative choices featured at the end of the original Deus Ex)
- Beautiful hand-drawn pixel art sprites and backgrounds
- Heart-pounding soundtrack by Goncalo "Shiryu" Lopes
Here's a sample selection of some of the excellent tracks done by our musician, Goncalo "Shiryu" Lopes.
500 Klicks to Algarve
Tau
Sigma
Metroid: Rich worlds, environmental storytelling, discovering secrets, gaining new abilities and weapons
Turrican: 360-degree aiming, level design that rewards exploration
Hotline Miami: Savage gunplay, ruthlessly aggressive enemies, pounding soundtrack
Demon's Souls/ Dark Souls: Stamina-based combat mechanics, cohesive world-building,
Vanquish: Extremely mobile main character, blisteringly fast-paced combat
Abuse: Dark atmosphere, terrifying enemies, simultaneous run-and-gun gameplay with 360 degree aiming
Deus Ex: Brilliant storyline, gameplay and narrative that completely branch for the last half-hour of gameplay depending on your choices
Legally speaking, Suppressive Fire Games LLC comprises one person - Frank Washburn.
That's me! I have a three year old corgi named Nellie. I got my start in the game industry doing Quality Assurance at Harmonix Music Sytems, creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, for almost five years. A 9-month stint as an acting Junior Designer got me the scripting chops and the experience needed to realize that creating new, unique gameplay experiences was the only thing worth living for. Soon after beating Hotline Miami, adrenaline still pumping in my veins, I started work on a game prototype that fused the mechanics of all of my favorite games together. One thing led to another, and here we are!
I can't create this game all by myself, however. If that were possible, I'd hide under a rock for a decade and just make it slowly, steadily, and surely in my spare time. Sadly, I don't have the time and resources to do that. Instead, I have a small team of talented, dedicated Independent Contractors who I need to pay for their work. Which brings us to....
The lion's share (75%) of the funding will go to paying my Independent contractors - the rest of the game's Team!
Ryan McCorkle - Ryan's amazing concept art and mech designs have shaped Blood Alloy from its original inception. He's also been invaluable in getting Suppressive Fire Games' online presence established. I immediately knew we'd work well together when I saw some drawings of the mechs from the old PC game Heavy Gear in his online portfolio. He's a big nerd and is currently educating me in the glory of tabletop gaming.
Kahlief Steele - Hailing from Arkansas, Kahlief battles his way through cowherds and poor internet connectivity to passionately devote his hours to Blood Alloy. He's an incredible pixel artist, and looks really funny wearing a red cowboy hat. But then again, who doesnt?
Justine Shephard - Originally from SoCal, now living in New Orleans, Justine is solely responsible for our main character's design and the bulk of her animations. When the team was still young, I convinced Justine to join on to the project by promising her that I'd have fireworks in the game's credits next to her name. Help me keep that promise! Otherwise she might stab me!
Patrick Benjamin - Pat likes dinosaurs and giant robots. He also does incredible concept art and helps flesh out the innards of each level with clutter and machinery. His favorite dinosaur is the T. Rex, which, if you ask me, is a pretty boring choice.
Nick Kallman - One of my former co-workers at Harmonix Music Systems, Nick is an audio professional who's proven his undeniable mastery of "boom"s "pew pew"s and "pshhheeww"s. His beard is magnificent, rivaling that of Rasputin himself.
Kareem Shuman - Kareem is the very first Blood Alloy team member. He's stuck by the project for a long, long time, providing prototype sound effects when the game was just stick figures. He just got married and spent a month in Japan, for which I hate him out of jealousy.
Goncalo "Shiryu" Lopes - Goncalo happens to be one of the most talented, nicest, most generous musicians I've ever had the pleasure of working with. So far he's absolutely refused all mention of payment for his work - ridiculous, especially in this day and age. I'd love to get enough funding to properly express my thanks unto him. His beats are killer!
About 8% of the funds will go to paying for legal fees, software licenses, and marketing fees (like getting a small table at the Indie Megabooth at PAX East).
And finally, a minority share of the funding will go to feeding me ramen noodles and caffeine and helping me pay rent so I can give this amazing project the attention it deserves. I'm bracing myself for the probability of having to maintain a second part-time job in addition to creating this game - our Kickstarter minimum goal is really a raw, MINIMUM estimate required to make this game happen. Your generosity and help in surpassing this goal makes me that much more able to sleep and eat non-ramen things - for which I am eternally grateful. And of course, that also translates into a better, more fleshed-out final product.
United by a love of giant robots and pixel art, we've come together to create a true 2D, action-oriented Metroidvania with a world worth exploring.
Blood Alloy began as a portfolio-booster for me as I started creating a 2D sidescrolling melee combat system in Javascript. It's clearly gone through a lot of changes and growth since then, but it's gotten to the point that it has grown into a fully-fledged game concept. As a game company that's literally just been formed, Suppressive Fire Games LLC has no product catalog or all-star team members like Chris Avellone or Chris Roberts to entice publishers and investors. (Though I'm LOVING the fact that those guys and Kickstarter are revitalizing old genres and franchises with Star Citizen and Torment:Tides of Numenera.) And sadly enough, without any funding, I COULD make this game - but ultimately it would just take many years, and ultimately be a game about colored squares. I can't draw or animate to save my life. (Nothing against Mike Bithell - that guy's game about colored squares is freakin' awesome. Thomas Was Alone. Check it out.) But point being is that to bring this game to its full artistic and creative potential requires money, and game industry publishers are generally becoming more and more risk-averse. I don't want to have to wait until the year 2020 to bring this game to you guys - and in order to get this done on an acceptable timeline, I need funding.
Risks and challenges
We've got the passion, talent, and guts needed to bring this project across the finish line. But there are always unknowns when scoping out a game, and ultimately, we're going to hold ourselves to a very strict standard of quality. So ultimately, our biggest challenges focus around time management and money. Without reaching at least our minimum Kickstarter goal, we won't be able to spend the dedicated time, effort, and attention to release a high-quality frame on a development cycle shorter than 1.5 years.
With our team's level of experience, we're confident that with enough funding, we'll be able to make a fully-fledged game that meets both a high bar of quality and avoids feature-creep. We just need your help!
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Funding period
- (30 days)