Tailchaser - a different take on the classic arcade shmup formula

Despite its simple premise, the genre of shoot'em ups - or shmups for short - used to be pretty varied. Nowadays the most popularity seems to be enjoyed by so-called bullet hell shooters, like the vastly en vogue Touhou series. But in about 40 years of video gaming, there have been countless different games with an emphasis on shooting things while dodging their shots in return.

In the past months, four tropers had come together to create a specimen that harkens back to the late 80s and early-to-mid 90s generation of arcade action and puts its own unique spin on it:

Tailchaser is an upcoming horizontally-scrolling space shooter that takes strong influence from one of the genre's most revered developers, Irem. While they are mostly known for the legendary R Type series, we take cues from two of their lesser-known games in particular, X-Multiply and Dragon Breed. Like R-Type, both games have a heavy focus on tactical defence rather than just all-out blowing up everything that moves, and so does our game.

The player will take control over a vessel that seems very poorly armed at first glance; the only weapon on board is a simple cutting laser that initially damages really nothing but small obstacles and the weakest of foes. However, the ship also has a tail-like appendage that has several uses and serves as the main means of wreaking havoc upon enemies as well as evading their onslaught. This tail can block and deflect enemy projectiles and with precise timing can throw a whole volley of shots right back at the attacker. If that isn't enough, the tail also has a nicely sharp and pointy end, perfect for dismantling slower and larger opponents from up close. That of course involves taking a risk and getting face-to-face with some fairly strong space monstrosities. Another function revolves around creating a forcefield that causes massive damage within a limited area, but takes a good while to set up. And yes, that seemingly useless laser beam will reveal its use within time, too.

The game's initial concept had been in my head for quite a few years, but I never got around to put it into practice. Thanks to this fine community I found a few people who shared my interest and joined the cause. Thanks goes to The Mike, Egregious One and Topographic Ocean. Together we founded Inefficient Ltd. back in October and since have been inefficiently dabbling in the murky depths of indie game design and development.

Tailchaser will be developed in Unity for Windows-PC first and foremost, versions for Linux and Mac will be considered once the the lead platform build is in a playable state. Graphically, we will focus mostly on handdrawn 2D sprites, with 3D elements used for parts of the background and particular objects that need 360° rotating or similar effects. We are going for a techno-organic sense of aesthetics that again takes cues from R-Type and similar games of its ilk, with a slow shift to increasingly surreal tones over the course of the game.

The music will be provided by the Spanish one-man project Serpentina and mixes psychedelic electronica and black metal with free jazz elements in the style of Naked City. Here is a sample.

Inefficient Ltd. will open an official domain further down the line. Until then, we have a small Facebook presence that shall be tended to with preview material soon.

edited 5th Jan '14 12:59:45 AM by TAPETRVE

Nice. I was getting sick of trying to convince friends there's more to shmups than bullet hell.

That's part of my motivation, too - in fact, I had to prepare my own teammates for the shocking reveal that we're not going to make a cutesy anime-style carpet fire party. That doesn't mean we're taking the easy way out, though. Difficulty will be there in spades.

The irony is, many bullet hell veterans don't want to play oldschool shmups because they look too easy. If only they knew how utterly devastated and humiliated their sorry arses would be by a game like R-Type, where unpredictability reigns and their fine motor skills are rendered completely worthless. That is not to knock the bullet hell subgenre; it's a completely different beast and has some very unique specimen of its own with games such as Ikaruga. But it's about time the classic formula gets some of its blood back.

edited 5th Jan '14 10:37:59 AM by TAPETRVE

Rather interesting.

I would like to play a game with this unique feature. I loved Gradius and R-Type when I younger. There were (and still are) quite difficult/challenging. Fine motor-skills and strategy (and some memorization) were the keys to my survival.

edited 5th Jan '14 12:39:18 PM by Delvarian

As a little look upon the two games that inspired the mechanics:

Here is X-Multiply. What looks like a cakewalk in this tool-assisted walkthrough is actually pretty damn challenging for anyone who plays the game in its natural state.

edited 5th Jan '14 3:13:49 PM by TAPETRVE

Oooh! I guess htat's where you got the tail mechanic from

Will there be co-op (2 players) as well?

...and here we have Dragon Breed, which comes pretty close to what we are doing with Tailchaser. The major difference between our game and the Irem classics is that in both these games, the tail/tentacle is a passive element that basically grants you invincibility, whereas in Tailchaser, the tail does not shield you on its own, but must be actively employed as a weapon.

Multiplayer is an option we have not considered yet, as it is very hard to implement in a game that requires physical interaction with enemy fire.

edited 5th Jan '14 3:20:28 PM by TAPETRVE

On Hardcoregaming101, someone asked why we wouldn't just follow the popular bullet hell route with our game. Here is the answer:

edited 7th Jan '14 5:13:27 AM by TAPETRVE

Spoiler alert :P

Now where the fuck do I donate?

edited 7th Jan '14 6:59:17 PM by Schitzo

We're aiming for a funding plan via the GOG.com indie program, but depending on the outcome, we might opt for Crowdfunding solution instead; I'd really prefer to make that a last resort, though.

Oh this a trooper project? Colour me interested.

Oh and now I have a reason to post this disgustingly cute picture[1]◊

edited 9th Jan '14 8:29:16 AM by joeyjojo

Sorry, matey. No furry fanservice included .

Albeit we might make an easteregg somewhere in a level.

OMG, a Troper videogame project. And it's a shmup with a unique mechanic! Go for it!

Now, where can I donate for the game?

Hehe.

Dog girls.

...On another note though, as my first post in this thread, it's encouraging to see the enthusiasm.

edited 9th Jan '14 7:20:04 PM by TheMike

Just for the ref, we're still looking for one or two visual artists.

Here's a quick summary of the design doc. No workflow, just the essentials. Replete with unprofessional bullshittery, because why the fuck not .

Quick newsflash: We welcome indie developer Chloe Sagal into our ranks; she will helm our team as a producer. We also have a chance to acquire the voice talent of one mighty David Tibet, so all ye nightmare fetishists may be in for a treat, if everything goes according to plan.

edited 25th Jan '14 4:37:02 PM by TAPETRVE

Your project looks like it's off to a good start . Keep it up, you have my fullest support!

(Still have 2 semesters before I graduate from DigiPen, maybe I could provide assistance once I do)

Good start, indeed. Today the pre-alpha phase has officially started.

Time for a little update: Sadly the project has been very much put on ice since March, because all of us were too busy with life, job and studies, and as a consequence some of us - read: all (ex-) tropers but me - had to leave the team. My dear friend and staff member Chloe Sagal has meanwhile released a little game of her own, as you might already know. Life has been very hard for her in the past weeks, so we are currently focusing on helping her regain a foothold. We have been debating flying her over to my place in Germany, where she could recover and at the same time work directly with me. If everything goes well, we'll pick up development again, soon.

Oh, and as a little appetizer - this will most probably be the official credits theme of our game, again courtesy of Bostonian psychedelic metal project Serpentina.

edited 31st May '14 5:00:49 PM by TAPETRVE

Contrary to my expectations, things have gone considerably worse. Two weeks ago, Chloe Sagal had been found hung in her room; she was saved in time and is now recovering back to health, but I won't be able to work with her for a while. Since she needs to be rehoused, and the money made with her last game doesn't suffice in any way as a livelihood, I've been running a relief effort to help her with her imminent needs, including a small fundraiser (link below). If anyone wants to contribute, I'd be very happy for any amount; there have been several generous tropers joining the effort so far. Feel free to ask, if you have any questions, and to share the fundraiser page around. Thank you in advance .

http://www.gofundme.com/EffinSaveChloe

Damn, my condolences. I'll give you guys my support as soon as I can

Thanks. It's been going pretty well until now; we have made around $1500, and next month I'm expecting some more donations, so I'm confident we'll reach or even surpass the goal. By then she should also be well enough for moving house.