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Thunderpunch Studios Looking for Writer(s) and Artist(s)

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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As a few of you know, I run an independent game studio called Thunderpunch Studios (you can check out our previous project here). Due to the size and complexity of that project, combined with my move to Iowa and having to set up a new business, we unfortunately had to put SODWA on hiatus. However, now that my new business is thriving and my free time has opened up, my lead programmer and I have begun to work on a much simpler project that still has massive commercial potential.

Because I know there are more than a few talented individuals in this community who share the same interests as myself (fighting games, comic books, etc), I figured TYM could be a great place to attract a like-minded writer or artist to join our small team.

I'll post a bit of information about our current project here, though please realize any images are more for organizational purposes and do not remotely represent final designs.

Our current design is still set in the SODWA universe, which is based heavily on an amalgamation of old Saturday morning cartoon series such as Thundercats, He-Man, and Voltron. There's magic, high technology, mutants, bounty hunters, undead, etc. The player is a Hunter, which is basically a combination bounty hunter/monster hunter/thug-for-hire. We're looking to make this a T-Rated tactical adventure that puts it just a bit out of the bounds of your average casual gamer.

The gameplay is centered around a match-3 mechanic, similar to Puzzle Quest or Candy Crush, though it gets a bit more in depth. Combat takes place between up to 6 characters in 3v3 scenarios, and there are distinctions between melee, ranged, and special attacks. Here is an early mock-up of what the battle screen might look like (please remember this is purely organization, and does not represent our desired fonts, art styles, or even the final placement of UI elements):




The goal is to match tiles to gain ability points or damage your opponents. By matching Strength, Skill, Tech, and Power tiles, characters gain access to their special abilities. By matching Melee and Ranged tiles, they are able to directly damage their opponents. Structure tiles may be used in a number of ways, from punching someone through a wall by combining them with Melee tiles, to having a power that allows a character to absorb solid matter into their body, thus healing them when they destroy Structure Tiles.

If you want a more in-depth view of the core concepts, you can check out our basic outline here.

Right now we're primarily looking for writers to help build the world and flesh out the narrative. We could also use artists capable of generating concept art and icon designs (such as tiles and buttons).

Like 99% of indie game projects this could end up going nowhere (though if we end up hitting even 1% of Candy Crush's revenue we'll be looking at a $2,940,602-a-year title [source]). Therefore this project is not for anyone looking to make a quick buck, but it is for people who want experience working with a solid team of mature and enthusiastic developers.

If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please contact me at [email protected] and I'll be happy to answer your questions and tell you more about the project. You can also feel free to post questions in this thread and I'll attempt to answer them here. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you!

-Brian Woody, Thunderpunch Studios
 
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RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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Just in case anyone interested doesn't feel like looking around through the SODWA Facebook profile, here is some concept art of characters that will most likely be appearing in our new game:








And finally, our main promo illustration by Transformers: Autocracy illustrator Livio Ramondelli:


All of these characters were designed for our previous project (which we hope to resurrect at some point), but since this project takes place in the same universe we're hoping to use a lot of these characters to begin establishing the mythology of the SODWA Universe.
 

TakeAChance

TYM White Knight
How would the story and mythos be integrated into your puzzle game? Would it be Fire Emblem esque and have the story elements take place inbetween each match?
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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How would the story and mythos be integrated into your puzzle game? Would it be Fire Emblem esque and have the story elements take place inbetween each match?
That kind of depends on what sort of budget we can put together. Ideally I'd like to have the narrative take place with comic-book-style cut-scenes, but worst case scenario it will be similar to Puzzle Quest (if you're not familiar, here is a good example:
But you're basically on the right track; it would play kind of like a classic RPG, where the player navigates an overworld and runs through dialogue and cut-scenes before initiating a battle sequence, though dialogue can still play out mid-battle.
 
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RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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Wow, lotta responses and questions. If you emailed me I'll try to get back to you tonight or early tomorrow. Thanks!
 

Doombawkz

Trust me, I'm a doctor
Sounds fun. I wish I could be a part of it haha. I'm pretty decent at RPG narrative but I dunno what I'd be working with.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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Sounds fun. I wish I could be a part of it haha. I'm pretty decent at RPG narrative but I dunno what I'd be working with.
You have any example work you could email me? As far as what you would be working with, the easiest way to explain it is as a more mature Puzzle Quest set in a world similar to He-Man and the Thundercats. Honestly, though, neither our lead programer or I are writers, so almost every aspect of the world is up for debate. That's a big aspect of why we're looking for a writer, to help us build the world the game will take place in.
 

Doombawkz

Trust me, I'm a doctor
Ah, sadly not due to NDAs and all, I can't really send any sample work out without the permission of the companies. :(
Which is bogus but its whatever. He-man and Thundercats... Those are some classics haha.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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Ah, sadly not due to NDAs and all, I can't really send any sample work out without the permission of the companies. :(
Which is bogus but its whatever. He-man and Thundercats... Those are some classics haha.
Well I've got a several emails and example work to go through, but depending on how that works out maybe we could bring you on for a trial period, if this is something you really want to be a part of. Can you at least tell me the kind of work you have done, even if you can't provide specific examples?
 

Doombawkz

Trust me, I'm a doctor
Well I've got a several emails and example work to go through, but depending on how that works out maybe we could bring you on for a trial period, if this is something you really want to be a part of. Can you at least tell me the kind of work you have done, even if you can't provide specific examples?
Don't worry too much about it. :)
Sounds interesting. Be sure to keep me posted.
 

BrobaChett

GODSTOMPER
Shout outs for using hero machine on some of your guys' stuff. I use this same program for a comic book I've been working on for the past 3 years lol. I hope everything works out for you guys in the writing department.
 

Zoidberg747

My blades will find your heart
Are you looking for people with experience? I write in my free time but I have never actually done it as a form of employment except for maybe one script for a movie that was never made lol
 

Espio

Kokomo
Lead Moderator
I am very interested and will be emailing you shorty :).

I can also send some of my recent book draft(s) if you're curious, this sounds like a blast.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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Shout outs for using hero machine on some of your guys' stuff. I use this same program for a comic book I've been working on for the past 3 years lol. I hope everything works out for you guys in the writing department.
Ha, thanks! We actually worked closely with Hero Machine creator Jeff Hebert to hold a character design contest, and might end up doing something similar for this project.

@Espio I'm a big fan of yours so I can't wait to check out your email.

@Zoidberg747 Experience isn't necessary, though if you have any example work you can send me it would be a huge help.
 

BrobaChett

GODSTOMPER
Ha, thanks! We actually worked closely with Hero Machine creator Jeff Hebert to hold a character design contest, and might end up doing something similar for this project..
That's really awesome, man! Hero Machine just keeps getting better and better every time I go back to it.

I have like over 80 plus characters I've created using that website and it's definitely super helpful when working with an artist for concept work.

I'd actually like to turn a lot of what i'm working with into a side scroller using OpenBOR and tell my stories that way.
 

Zoidberg747

My blades will find your heart
Ha, thanks! We actually worked closely with Hero Machine creator Jeff Hebert to hold a character design contest, and might end up doing something similar for this project.

@Espio I'm a big fan of yours so I can't wait to check out your email.

@Zoidberg747 Experience isn't necessary, though if you have any example work you can send me it would be a huge help.
The only thing I have is a movie script that I wrote for @AeroGrunt.

If you give me a general idea on what you would need written for the game, I could make a sample that might give you a better idea of how I write.
 

RoboCop

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The only thing I have is a movie script that I wrote for @AeroGrunt.

If you give me a general idea on what you would need written for the game, I could make a sample that might give you a better idea of how I write.
I got your email and will try to check out your example today. Thanks!
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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After going through all of the awesome stories that were sent to me, I've decided that @Espio is the best fit for the position. I want to thank everyone who submitted work; TYM has some very talented writers! We're still looking for artists, and if you're a writer and really want to help out, feel free to continue submitting examples. If anyone really stands out as being in synch with our goals for the project, I'll consider adding them as a second writer. Thanks!
 

ando1184

Noob
After going through all of the awesome stories that were sent to me, I've decided that @Espio is the best fit for the position. I want to thank everyone who submitted work; TYM has some very talented writers! We're still looking for artists, and if you're a writer and really want to help out, feel free to continue submitting examples. If anyone really stands out as being in synch with our goals for the project, I'll consider adding them as a second writer. Thanks!
Thanks for the opportunity, GL out there :)
 

Zoidberg747

My blades will find your heart
After going through all of the awesome stories that were sent to me, I've decided that @Espio is the best fit for the position. I want to thank everyone who submitted work; TYM has some very talented writers! We're still looking for artists, and if you're a writer and really want to help out, feel free to continue submitting examples. If anyone really stands out as being in synch with our goals for the project, I'll consider adding them as a second writer. Thanks!
Would it help to see something along the lines of your universe? Ive always wanted to write sci-fi/fantasy and might consider giving it a go for no other reason than to write something new.

Either way, excited to see finished product.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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Would it help to see something along the lines of your universe? Ive always wanted to write sci-fi/fantasy and might consider giving it a go for no other reason than to write something new.

Either way, excited to see finished product.
Couldn't hurt!
 

EGGXI

Scary Bat
This sounds awesome, I can't really apply but I do have one random question: Why is Prometheus in the avatar in the first image?
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
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This sounds awesome, I can't really apply but I do have one random question: Why is Prometheus in the avatar in the first image?
He's just a placeholder image, but he's a good representation of the type of character design I want in the game.