I was posting this as a response to If STS made another Legends game.... thread, but for some reason, it had to be "moderated", so I figured I would post it as a new thread, just to get some feedback on my battle concept.



I've often thought about developing a first-person sword based game styled as an RPG with questlines, crafting etc.

To me, combat systems are not as interactive as could be, so I was thinking of a system where a sword attack from an NPC would be a screen swipe, and the player would have a prediction period where they would see the attack incoming (perhaps 0.3 seconds) where a swipe could block/deflect the attack if the deflection angle is appropriate, then reverse the swipe to counter attack. If the attack is not blocked (collision angle of 90 degrees +/- 10) or deflected away from the avatar, it will land. Attacks that hit could be turned by armor if the deflection angle appropriate (< 15 degrees or > 165 degrees). In this type of system reaction time and angle recognition would be the keys to success.

For example (assuming you are Samurai Jack facing Aku), you are faced with two attacks and want to block, counter and block:

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In this example, both attacks will be blocked (because both attack intersection angles are +/- 10 of the 90 degree requirement for a block) and you countered with a swipe across the stomach.

An example of attack deflection and armor:

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In this case, armor deflected the first attack because the angle was acute enough for armor to deflect it. The second attack was deflected away from the body (see orange lines), and you scored a hit on the opponent.

As the game progresses, you would face dual-wielding opponents, sword and shield opponents, even multiple opponents. Attack chains would increase (i.e., 4 attacks from different angles, which need to be parried/countered) and reaction time would decrease. Obviously, you can earn new gear, but, unlike most RPG's, gear wouldn't make much of a difference to the unskilled.

  • Weapons would either add to swipe duration (length of sword stroke) or reduce opponent prediction time.
  • Armor would either reduce damage or deflect the blow if the attack lands at an acute/obtuse enough angle.
  • Shields would have offsetting properties (size and weight) which will increase your swipe thickness while reducing swipe duration (to account for shield weight).


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In this case, you have have a starter weapon with a short stroke, and a large, heavy shield, so swipe duration is very limited but if you intersect the attack, it guarantees a 90 degree block.

So, as you can probably guess, I've put some time into thinking out the battle system, but at this point in my life, I simply don't have the time to develop such a game. This would be thousands of hours of time, which I don't have, so, for enterprising developers out there, feel free to take my concept and run with it (though I would appreciate attestation for the battle concept).