Hellkite - Or, If I Had A Budget And A Team...

Hellkite, obviously and foremost inspired by the Devil May Cry series, originated in a particularly chuunibyou phase of my online existence, largely defined by concept fusion RP OCs — taking complementary or amusingly opposed powersets or themes from two or more series — in this case, Devil May Cry, Jet Set Radio, and Air Gear, to give credit where credit is due. Of course, thanks to my wonderfully rampant autism, once I had a character whose abilities were partly based off of a game with detailed and comprehensive combat documentation, I simply *had* to design an entire game around them. It became the vehicle for my annoyances with the series — I distinctly recall thinking that DmC:DMC had *some* good ideas that I could have directed a *lot* better. Admittedly, the resulting control scheme was and is crowded, but also allows for seamless fluidity with the driving design concept that nothing the player character does in a cutscene should be impossible in gameplay.

What follows is the control scheme as it was when I initially designed this concept, updated for readability. Controls are presented with the button layout of a typical desktop gaming controller (not naming any names here). When this was designed, I recall wishing there were back facing buttons, so if that gets more normalized expect these commands to float out a bit to ease the amount of multi-presses.



Controls:
X — Melee Attack
Y — Dash/Evade
LB — Context Actions (based on Directional pad selection)
A — Jump
B — Firearm Attack
Left stick — controls movement
L3 — resets camera
Right stick — controls camera
R3 — changes lock-on (alternate option, change lock-on by flicking right stick)
RB — locks on and can be set to toggle
RT — Cycles melee weapon(hold to choose with Directional Pad)
LT —  Cycles firearm(hold to choose with Directional Pad)
Select button — Taunt.  (hold for alternate)
Directional pad Left —  selects Eclipse (creates singularities that slow time and absorb projectiles in a radius, and can be repositioned and recharged with melee attacks that hit the center) Context Action
Directional pad Right — selects Baby-Doll (Clone effect a la doppelganger) Context Action
Directional pad Up — selects OverDrive context action
Directional pad Down — selects DevilOverDrive context action

Melee attack is bound by default to the left face button.
    Combos are performed by repeatedly pressing the button, with alternate variations used by delaying the next input. Some combos can be further linked by mashing (or, with accessibility mode on, holding) the button. Special attacks use lock-on+direction, and follow more or less the same rules as combos.
Firearm attack is bound by default to the right face button.
     While firearm attacks have no combos, they do also have special attacks usable with lock-on+direction input, some of which can be canceled into each other.
Dash/Evade is bound by default to the top face button.
    By pressing and releasing the Evade button, you can Rush, dashing a short distance in the direction you are currently attempting to move. If no direction is pressed, you will attempt a parry with a very small active window (3 frames). Rushing will interrupt combo chains.
    By pressing the Evade button while locked onto an enemy and moving away from them, you can Dodge, flipping backward. This has more I-frames and less startup than rushing, and can be chained three times (with the second and third allowing you to move in any direction but forward instead of only back) although doing so will result in an obligate taunt, resulting in a moment of vulnerability. Dodging will disjoint combo chains, allowing you to continue the combo from where you were interrupted by pressing the attack button during the Dodge animation. This does *not* reset the number of chained Dodges used, until the combo chain ends.
    By tapping the evade button while in the air and near a wall, you can Wall Trick, grabbing onto it. Jumps from this position are treated as if from the ground, but will not reset air actions. You may fire ranged weapons as though grounded during this technique.
     By holding the evade button near a wall (during Dodge, Wall Trick, or Rush) you can start Wall Running. Depending on the direction of your movement relative to the wall, you can run straight up, diagonally up and forward, or forward. You can attack with firearms while Wall Running, but anything heavier than handguns will end the Wall Run
    If you attempt to Rush while in midair, you will perform an Aerial Rush, dashing a shorter distance in the chosen direction. If no direction is pressed, you will stall in the air briefly by spinning, with a short parry window. (Resets air actions IFF it successfully parries something, but otherwise can only be used once and resets as an Air Action)
    If you attempt to Aerial Rush while near an enemy, you will instead perform an Enemy Rush, using the poor thing as a springboard to dash a short distance in midair. If  no direction is pressed, you will simply move away from the enemy. Unlike Aerial Rush which can only be used once and resets as an Air Action, Enemy Rush can be used so long as there is something to kick off of, and resets Air Actions.

    By Locking On and holding forward and pressing the Evade button while near an enemy or wall, you can perform a Downward Rush, dashing to the ground rapidly and stalling nearby enemies in midair.

Yes, I know, there’s a lot of evasion mechanics and options but they’re all very similar and should flow together. In theory. Now for the JUMPS

Jump is bound to the bottom face button. Jump height is effected by how long the button is held. Pressing in a direction will reduce overall height but allow lateral travel.
    By attempting to Jump towards a ledge, you will Leap farther forward with a notable reduction in height. This can also be forced by locking on and pressing back then forward before Jumping.
    While  near a wall midair, pressing the Jump button will let you Wall Kick, jumping off the wall to get higher. Can only be used once per jump and is mutually exclusive with Aerial Jump. Resets as an Air Action
    While in midair, pressing the Jump button again will result in an Aerial Jump. But…

    If you’re near an enemy midair, Jumping will result in an Enemy Jump, kicking off of the enemy to gain height. Resets Air Actions.

On the next post I will: Talk about mechanics (health and other resources), answer any questions I receive, and (if I have time which I almost certainly will) begin breaking down the starting weapon's move-set (I've got four melee weapons and four firearms already designed... for this character.)