GYARU ULTIMATE REVENGE
OVERVIEW
Gyaru Ultimate Revenge.
A turn-based RPG by 20 students. Players are gyaru rebelling against a Japanese society obsessed with work, while the government enforces cameras, cops, and endless rules to turn everyone into salarymen.
My roles.
• Game Designer
• Combat Designer
Our intention.
2 main intentions
• Create a fast-paced, turn based RPG
• Establish a link between exploration and combat
Unique Selling Point
A fast-paced turn-based RPG.
We noticed that most games in the genre have slow and static combat, so we aimed to create a more dynamic and engaging battle system.
How the COMBAT works ?
A mix between billiards and Super Smash Bros. When it’s your turn, you can cast spells based on your available resources. The twist: you can chain spells mid-action to create powerful combos; making combat highly dynamic and reactive.
What make the combat more dynamic ?
Players can chain spells mid-action, but their number of spells per turn is limited. Enemies attack almost simultaneously, creating a fast-paced flow. The simple AI makes enemy behavior easy to predict, keeping the focus on timing and combos.
Link Exploration/Combat
The player drives a custom office chair with unique 3C mechanics, including a dash that echoes the combat spell system.
The same chair is used in both phases, reinforcing the game’s rebellious, anti-salaryman theme.
My Work
.Combat Design
I was in charge of the combat system, from defining spell archetypes to in-engine adjustments.
My responsibilities included player spells, the skill tree, and enemy AI.
Game Designer
One of my main missions was ensuring that the combat, exploration, and narrative all fit together cohesively. We faced many challenges early in production finding a theme that worked, but we finally nailed it!
To conclude
With a team of 20, I obviously learned a lot about management, communication, and the vision of the game through different disciplines.
As a designer, I also learned a lot about designing systems and features that cost the least possible for the programmers and artists. I managed to apply the "spiral design" method, which involves designing a feature with the "least possible," the "good enough," and the "best possible." This method allowed us to optimize the time required to design, program, implement, and tweak a new feature.
It was really enriching to work on such a big project with artists, programmers, and sound designers. To date, it’s my most polished game, and I’m really proud of the final result!
