#bramblelash

[wrennpenn]

Some of my lecturers are developing a super cute game called BrambleLash, I had to doodle one of the playable characters

[listoriented]

Bramblelash

L.O. goes video

Bramblelash is a multiplayer battle game made by a small company from Perth, Australia, which is the city I lived in until recently. I had my friend Camden over to help me play it. Camden is a talented digital artist [you can see his work here]; like me, he also recently moved away from Perth. We ended up recording ourselves discussing it, some of which I compiled into the above video. It is good to try new things. (But apologies re: the sound quality and the haphazard nature of the production and conversation. Also if anyone can recommend a good open-source video editor, please, by all means, get in touch. I found Open Shot quite frustrating to use). There’s a small write-up below, in keeping with tradition. I should also add, by way of disclaimer, that I went to school with one of the creators of the game, and although we moved in different circles at said school and have pretty much not seen each other since, any judgement I make about it is tainted by association and definitely not to be trusted.

When/Where/Why: I bought Bramblelash in October last year, sometime after it launched, for $7.50 (it currently retails for $10), I guess because I knew of the game through fb or twitter or Perth gaming circles and wanted to support it and try it out. Time: 3 hours. What/Who: It’s a top-down fixed-screen battle game. Each player controls a single character/avatar. Each character is defenceless on its own, but can form a lash either by coming together with another player or binding to an inanimate stump, depending on the game mode and parameters. The lash kills whatever enemy creeps or other characters (again, depending on mode) it comes in contact with. It’s by ByteSprite [official site], at least one half of who is from Perth (but actually it occurs to me that perhaps they are both from Perth, I mean I’ve never asked), making this the third Australian-made game that we’ve covered.  Notes: It’s a modest dosage of fun. Camden and I spend a lot of the above video making small criticisms, but mostly it executes smoothly around its core design/innovation, without getting carried away. It looks nice, sparkly enviro touches and all - although we had some functional problems with the visual design - and it sounds airy and pleasant. I think we got decent mileage out of it, for something so narrowly focused, and for a game which is probably better suited to four players (particularly in its battle mode). Decent pick-up-n-play couchy multiplayer is perhaps a rarer commodity than you’d expect (or perhaps, like Bramblelash, such games by their very nature don’t all that often permeate the global zeitgeist, given their limited scope/ situational utility, and so even if there are lots of them it is hard to just know about them, maybe). To that end Bramblelash is a welcome game to have in the list, and it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine situations where I’d install it again.  Unfortunately we also found it to be, well, unwinnable, owing to a bug in the Story mode’s final boss. Ah well.  up next is Breach & Clear

[fanduco-blog]

A tale of fun, co-operation and betrayal in Bramblelash.

Bramblelash Genre: Party Platform: PC Release Date: April 2016 Website | Press Site | Trailer

Form connections and co-operate to destroy your enemies in Bramblelash. Then, if you want, betray your friends and form new alliances for the win.

Created during a 48-hour game jam, Bramblelash is a party game where players take control of enchanted plant sprites and work together to drive slimey invaders from their forest. Players do so by forming a natural tether - a lash - and coordinate to destroy their enemies by clotheslining them.

The concept lends itself to an engaging party game, and plenty of gamers agree. Bramblelash was quickly greenlit on Steam, and the game is expected to be out in April this year. We have a chat with developers ByteSprite to find out more about what we can expect.

Q. What makes Bramblelash special in the party game genre?  

BrambleLash is a game about connection, co-operation and betrayal. The entire game revolves around players' ability to form a tether between each other, and coordinate to use it to destroy their enemies. What makes BrambleLash special is that success entirely hinges on the player's ability to work together with a partner. It also features a dynamic team swapping system that allows players to trade partners and work against each other when playing with more than two people.

Q. What are your goals when designing Bramblelash’s play experience?

We wished to create a game that forged connections and encouraged communication between players both in-game and out. We had seen very few games in the multiplayer space that actually required co-operation for success; most times players work toward the same goal, but one can contribute far more than the others.

Our goal is to create an experience that fosters bonds between players, while allowing them to be broken apart by betrayal, creating those kinds of "Oh Snap!" moments that we love in multiplayer gaming.  

Q. Why make it multiplayer only?

There will in fact be options for playing single player in Adventure mode in the final release; we're busy working on them at the moment!

That said, yes, the game is designed as a multiplayer experience at its core. This relates back to our reason for creating it in the first place; to create connections and encourage communication and social interaction. As such, it is very suited to local, party based play.

We also wanted to create a game that can be played between more hardcore gamers and their less gaming focused friends or family, allowing people of a range of different levels of skill to help each other out and feel like they are all always contributing.

Q. Any features in the game that make it easy for Let’s Players, bloggers or streamers to showcase the game?

The final version of BrambleLash will be able to be played online, which will allow Let's Players, bloggers or streamers to play and connect with friends more easily. We're also looking into ways in which we can allow one player who owns BrambleLash to invite friends to play online without them necessarily having to have purchased the game themselves. This may be as simple as making multiple-copy versions of the game available cheaply, or a more technical solution.

Q. Any parts of the game that shouldn’t be missed?

Getting four friends organised to play a game together (even online) can sometimes be difficult, but it is absolutely worth it in BrambleLash. The ability to swap teams really shines when there are four people involved, with allegiances and rivalries being formed and broken by both betrayal and "accidentally" destroying your teammates. The potential for trolling your friends is very high!

Q. What do you normally look for when deciding to provide information/game codes to social influencers?

We're very happy to talk to anyone who is interested in the game and would like more information. Ultimately, we're first and foremost concerned with their enthusiasm in both BrambleLash itself and co-operative, multiplayer and party games. While numbers such as follower counts and engagement is important, we're mostly interested in an audience who will genuinely enjoy and get excited about the game. In a sense, quality over quantity.

Q. What is your policy on Youtubers/Streamers monetising videos of their playthroughs of your game?

Go wild! Seriously, we're not going to police how people film and display playthroughs of our game. If they can make money from it, that's great :) You can find a bunch of information and media to start you off in our presskit.

Q. Are there any community members/fans or content you would like to give a shoutout to?

We got greenlit on Steam Greenlight recently, so a massive thanks to everyone who voted and shared. Also, we recently demoed at PAX Australia and are really grateful to everyone who stopped by and gave BrambleLash a spin. Player feedback is so important to us and has dictated the entire game's design, so we're always happy to hear it (positive or negative!).

Q. Anything else you’d like to share about your game?

All things going well, BrambleLash should be out around the end of April 2016, for PC, Mac and Linux (plus more platforms to be confirmed!). As I mentioned before, we're always really interested in what people have to say about the game, so drop us a tweet at @bytespritegames or an email at [email protected].

[oneangrygamer]

ByteSprite Seeks To Get BrambleLash Through Steam Greenlight

ByteSprite Seeks To Get BrambleLash Through Steam Greenlight | #IndieGame

For those that like multiplayer or cooperative games that take skill and team work, you might find ByteSprite’s BrambleLash to be an interesting game. However, the game hasn’t landed yet and seeks votes on Steam Greenlight to come to fruition. (more…)

View On WordPress