We have come quite a long way since the Alpha and we are really happy with how the game is shaping up. With Beta, corrections to the game will be much more graphical, as we tune and polish animations, trailshots and SFX, camera movement, and of course reduce as much as possible bugs that may arise.

Your feedback as players is what we are most looking forward to, so please share with us your likes and dislikes, don’t hesitate to come chat with us and let us know what’s on your mind!In the next few weeks we will be distributing Beta keys on our website, and we’ll have full game giveaways with partner sites.

You can of course pre-order the game to support our team, you will receive a free CD Key to share with someone, and will keep your player stats after release.

What’s coming next for Fray?

Although the game is feature complete, there is still a lot to do in terms of improvements.

Major changes will be eye candy, so look forward to new SFX, particles and animation tweaking.

We are also preparing a new environment that will be available in a few weeks, CronaMind Labs. This environment is a closed space, inside a CronaCorp facility, where you will get to hide and surprise your enemies in tight corridors and large experiment rooms.

We will also be correcting the last bugs in the game, so if you encounter anything problematic in the game, please let us know in our Forums.

So enjoy the Beta and remember:

Make war, not love.

To Purchase The Game, Go Here:

Support our game and the Brain Candy team by preordering Fray!

With this preorder, you will gain access to our weekly Alpha builds, our special community features and also receive a free copy of Fray, to share with a friend!

This is a limited time offer during our Alpha, so don’t miss out!

> Preorder Fray on Desura.

We have (finally) set a release date for Fray’s Pre-order Alpha. So set your calendars to stun to:

The game will be released on DESURA, and when pre-ordering Fray, you will get one free to share with a friend!

We wanted to work out as many bugs as possible before releasing Fray
for you to play, and we are confident that this version is good enough
to allow you to enjoy the game as it is (mostly) intended.What can you
expect in the Alpha:

• 2 two-player maps
• 2 Corporations (Aros and CronaCorp)
• 6 Classes (Assault, Sniper, Medic, Support, Tank and Shadow)
• Over 20 different Weapons and Equipments
• Our appreciation  – yay! o// -
• A damn good time!

The game will then be updated each week to include new maps, weapons, animations, textures and sounds as dev progresses.

What we would love is player feedback to balance the game the best way possible to make it a great multiplayer game!

So if you want to help us and our team in making Fray a great experience, sign up here and join the fun on February 8th!

See you soon and remember, Make War, Not Love!

In Fray, you control a squad of 4 combatants, to whom you will issue orders on the battlefield. You must choose these characters within a pool of 6 classes (Sniper, Assault, Medic, Tank, Support and Shadow) and each has its own specializations and weaponry.

Today we will be presenting the Tank and Medic classes, two dedicated roles that can change the tides on the battlefield.

“Save your teammates, ensure the victory.”

Armor: Light
Movement: Medium
Range: Medium

The Medic is a class that saves its teammates’ lives by healing them.

Its function is clearly defined as the one to count on when you are hit by a bullet, either by targeting a character using the V-Gun or by positioning a healing oasis for your team in the form of Healing turrets. The Medic is an important asset in the provision of the squad’s main resource: their lives.

Of course, the medic retains offensive abilities and is well versed in the use of small and medium arms fire.

Weapons examples:
HF-Smith - Hand machine gun, ultra-precise but short range. Entry-level weapon for Aros’ HF series, it has triple the shooting rate of an equivalent weapon from the start of the 21st century.

V-Gun - Aros looks after its image by looking after its soldiers. With the V-Gun, the battlefield medical corps can treat infantry from a distance using the V-Flow, a technology that modifies the target’s environment to induce healing, even if the target is wearing armor and clothing.

Sol.Zero - A double concentration of technologies in a single weapon. The barrel has a quantum propulsion device, in front of this is a particle speed reducer built around a chamber where the temperature reaches absolute zero. Once all of the particles and atoms have stopped, a quantum shock is triggered to transmit the effect in the target direction. The first obstacle encountered is instantly frozen, for as long as the shot is maintained. There is also a sphere on the back of the same propulsion device. In this sphere, there is a reproduction of solar reactions, and a device amplifies the resulting radiation and concentrates them in the barrel, where they are then projected as very high-energy solar radiation.

Equipment Examples:
Healing Crate – Restores health points to allies passing by the crate; self-destructs after a few uses.

Healing Turret – A deployable V-Flow turret that heals any friendly target that enters in its range.

“Always keep the objective in mind: to fight in the heat of battle, never looking back.”

Armor: Heavy
Movement: Medium
Range: Low

The Tank is a class specialized in short-range combat and capable of withstanding heavy attacks.

Depending on the situation, a tank may attack the opponent’s defensive position alone to destroy half of the squad using the Heavy quake, or support the rest of the squad by withstanding the damage for its teammates through the absorption aura or the anti-bullet gloves.

You may feel safe from the Tank when he is far away, but beware if he manages to get in range.

Weapon examples :
T-15T – Shotgun with aiming device. The weapon does not recoil and the large caliber shells inflict serious damage on the target.

HF-Rodriguez – Heavy machine gun with a very high rate of fire compared to the rest of the HF range, with several externally rotated barrels.

Dynamite Launcher – Used by minersto propel sticks of perforating dynamite onto huge rock masses. The weapon is shouldered and is as long as an arm, the user grips the large barrel directly, and 3 sticks of dynamite can be loaded in the independent chambers.

Special Aura:
Support Aura - The Tank absorbs x% of damage inflicted on allies.

Equipment examples:
Anti-Bullet Glove - The wearer can move while blocking all bullets fired in front of him. Nonetheless, he can only move slowly…

This concludes the second part of our “Meet your squad” articles. Next time, we will be presenting you with Shadow and the Support, so stay tuned !

And please, vote for us ! Cheers !

www.fray-game.com

In Fray, you control a squad of 4 combatants, to whom you will issue orders on the battlefield. You must choose these characters within a pool of 6 classes (Sniper, Assault, Medic, Tank, Support and Shadow) and each has its own specializations and weaponry.

Today we will be presenting the Assault and Sniper classes, each one very deadly on the battlefield, but with very different gameplay.

“Survey the battlefield, weapons in hand, bringing death upon your enemies.”

Armor: Heavy

Movement: Medium

Range: medium

The Assault is a class whose main strength is undeniably its impressive arsenal and its ability to shoot reflexively.

On the battlefield this character can efficiently handle any situation using a grenade launcher, a assault rifle or a powerful missile launcher, and can surprise any opposing group with his personal teleporter.

It is the only class to have reflexive firing, and can remain alert in order to shoot the first opponent entering its field of vision.
The Assault class is also fitted with a heavy armor, allowing it to go straight into the Fray, even under fire.

Weapons examples:

T-15T – Triple-barrel shotgun with aiming device. The weapon does not recoil, but the large calibre shell inflicts serious damage on the target.

HF-Grüber – Powerful and light assault rifle connected in real time to the intelligent dust network, optimising each shot. Second weapon in Aros’ HF series, developed by Erik Grüber.

HF-Rodriguez - Machine gun with a very high rate of fire compared to the HF range, with several externally rotated barrels.

Dynamite launcher – Used to propel sticks of perforating dynamite onto huge rock masses. The weapon is shouldered and is as long as an arm, the user grips the large barrel directly, and 3 sticks of dynamite can be loaded in the independent chambers.

Special Stance:

The shoot on sight stance is reserved for the “Assault” class and lets him shoot at the first enemy entering his field of vision with increased initiative. Nonetheless, the distance the character can move and his precision are reduced.

Equipment:

Teleporter: Teleports the bearer to a square near the target area.

“Death arises where his gaze meets.”

Armor: Light

Movement: Medium

Range: High

The Sniper is a class specialized in devastating, long-range shots.

It is rare to see a Sniper: his bullets strike you even when you feel safe. They can shoot whatever they can see, but their fragility means they have to remain concealed, or risk a quick death.

With the combined usage of their increased firing range and their unique equipment “Satellite Reconnaissance”, they can snipe an unsuspecting enemy before he even realizes he was being watched.

Weapon examples:

Granger 332 – Average caliber scoped rifle used for long-range shooting in combat. Fires bullets at high-velocity.

Granger 666 – Heavy caliber scoped rifle used for long-range shooting in combat. Fires bullets at high-velocity.

HF-Smith – Average caliber scoped rifle used for long-range shooting in combat. Fires bullets at high-velocity.

Equipment:

Satellite Reconnaissance - Removes the fog of war and eliminates invisibility within an area.




This concludes the first part of our “Meet your squad” articles. Next time, we will be presenting you with Medic and the Tank, so stay tuned !

www.fray-game.com

Interface Concept

The interface would naturally fit with the desired concept for Fray’s gaming experience. We thus started our design process by extracting all interface constraints based on our game design and desired game experience.
The interface should be able to withstand the following:

• Ensure that order definition during Planning Phase was fast and stressful, it is the moment of strategy and the interface should be a tool that allows players to optimize their choices. The Resolution Phase should in turn convey relevant information, players are watching the resolution of their choices and the interface must support them in taking knowledge of the different outcomes and in thinking about the next round of actions.
• Quick access to a wide variety of weapons, equipment and stances for each class to build a variety of efficient situations with each character, without stifling the battlefield’s visual space.
• Minimize the noise induced by irrelevant material so that players can think on the essential, and focuses on few elements to learn: character classes and their status.
• Allow to quickly establish a tactical reaction without slowing the game’s pace
• Be minimal to allow the player to take a look at the state of his squad and the possibilities offered by the current game situation
• And of course be consistent with game world’s context.

More after the Jump!

After defining the layout of the interface we started working on our brief for those who would accompany us on Interface’s Design: Olivier Blanc and Mikael Queric. Mikael works with us on User Experience’s definition since the beginning of the project, Olivier is involved in all aspects of graphics interface thinking and producing.

This graphic brief included all the elements we were sensitive about regarding Fray’s references, and the feeling we wanted to have while playing. We have therefore produced a moodboard based on these references in order to communicate these intentions to Olivier and Mikael. The principle of Fray’s interface is centered around virtual reality and holographic representation of information to the user that accesses the fighting module, among these intentions the most important was thus to have no element that gave the sensation of a material interface, we therfore banned everything that was close to a texture, reflections, gradients, and effects like helmet’s curvature that we see in some FPS HUDs.
We first established a color scheme containing current visual references in science fiction in order to determine active elements color and inactive elements color. This color code established that opaque blue tones correspond to active but not selected elements and orange tones correspond to selected elements. This difference in color heat between interactions or information elements allows players to read information regarding current state on characters and squad by rapid visual scan on the screen rather than reading each interface elements, and rapidly attract attention when we want to communicate information. Keeping in mind that it is inappropriate to convey information only on the color (there are 10% of color-blinded people, some of them are players), shapes thus also vary slightly between active and selected elements.

Figure 1: Interface moodboard

The low-fidelity prototyping

In parallel of graphic research made by Olivier we had compiled a list of all the information and choices to provide the player during the Resolution and Definition Phases and actions that can be performed by a character. We started by grouping this information into logical groups by their location and format, this gave us a coherent architecture for a first concise version of the model.

Figure 2: PC mock-up

a) Squad Area
For us it was first important to guide Definition Phase activity using the following logic: the player gather information regarding his squad on the squad area where main information regarding each character is summarized. He must be able to easily select characters to plan orders and his characters’ positioning, encouraging the player to plan orders to each of them and finally guide him toward the end turn action. We had therefore grouped squad members in the same area, with same format and then placed a simple line joining all characters and the end turn button. Location and format then makes it possible to read the squad area as follows: “I can quickly see my four characters status, I have to manage them one after the other, then I have to end my turn.”

b) Characters Area
Selected character appears in the area reserved for this purpose on the left bottom side of the screen, from there we wanted to direct our focus on the character’s status and his available options:

• character class
• life points
• carried weapon and weapon menu
• carried equipment and equipment menu
• current stance
• carried bonus
• actions defined for this turn

The player can quickly read the status and possessions of a character, his place on the battlefield, and choose the best actions he thinks has to be taken this turn.

At the time we thought to start with Fray’s develoment for PS3 and Xbox 360, given the differences of interaction for a single game between a PC version (keyboard / mouse) and a console version (handle) we mocked-up several versions of the interface for the PS3, we were left with the following one, we then iterated on it for 5 months before making the final decision to develop Fray for the PC and Mac.

Figure 3: interface console version

The main differences in information location concerns Squad Area and the carried item with associated menus. For the console version, we wanted to open the items menus using the D-pad, it was therefore necessary to set these menus around the character to visually indicate which direction the player had to press in order to open the associated menu. A downward pressure would open the Weapon menu, a pressure to the left would have opened the Bonus menu, etc.
Character changing within the squad was more appropriate using the L1/R1 triggers, the characters were therefore read horizontally, and the end turn action came naturally after them, in the lower right side of the screen.

You can see the evolution of the console interface on the months before the Game Developer Conference, we made the final decision to develop for PC in December but we could not devote time to the implementation of this interface version before our return from San Francisco in March. It is from this date that the entire interface has been switched to PC version, with a vertical Squad Area and a horizontal Character Area on the bottom of the screen.

High-fidelity prototyping

High-fidelity prototyping consists in iteration around a prototype that is as close to the final version as possible. This process takes place in parallel with the low-fidelity prototyping and testing in Unity. While the functional part is tested, the High-Fidelity mock-up is designed and iterations are made based on internal playtests feedbacks made on the mock-ups you’ve seen before. Tests on low-fidelity interface allowed us to reduce graphic production period and to focus exclusively on the functional aspect, while High-fidelity focuses only on graphics research.

At first we had to think about the aesthetics of the interface based on the moodboard and the first low-fidelity mock up, Olivier gave us the following concepts. The mock-up he was given to work on is the one presented just above, the PS3 version, since this step took place in November 2010 before we decided to focus exclusively on PC.

Figure 4: First tracks for high-fidelity model

These interfaces were overloaded with decorative elements and went against our idea of minimalism, but the basic ideas met our expectations. After some discussion with Olivier in our office we arrived at a result corresponding more to the constraints that we set for ourselves:

Figure 5: Console Interface, first hi-fi mock up

This version of the menus, in the shape of large dogtags guiding the use of the D-pad, was way too much oriented towards a military style, rather than scifi/futuristic. Action bar was far too small to present a readable sequence of actions. Internal tests have shown that end turn action button wasn’t clearly identified due to its location in the decorative holder of the interface.

The following screen shows one of the many versions on which we had to discuss. In this one action sequence is more obvious, menu buttons are well suited with the game context, end turn button doesn’t match the minimalist aesthetic but this shape pushed its visibility to the extreme and has guided our thinking about the compromise we had to adopt.

Figure 6: Discussion Support Mock up

Here is the mock-up used during our GDC’s presentations, the ‘cubes” version of the game is the one on which we worked our gameplay and the interface mock-ups until mid February.

Figure 7: Hi-Fi Mock-up for the GDC

Following GDC’s presentations we came back with journalists feedbacks and a list of changes we kept for the time we came back to Paris, including switching to PC interface. Internal tests were again conducted and we made many changes to the menus associated with the Character Area.

Some difficulties we had were to present a homogeneous format for menus and buttons having slightly different modes of operation:

• Some menus can be opened to change item (change weapons …), others do not (bonus).
• Some items must be enabled to activate items on the field (equipment), others are always active and therefore do not need to be activated (stance).
• Some items present 2 firing modes (weapons) that must be switched quickly.

After some testing we came to a format that enables us to indicate the possibility of opening a menu, to activate an item, and easily switch between different modes of fire.

Figure 8: PC Version, Playtest Mock up

From this version we felt that we would have a problem with the end turn button due to the missing of visual guide to the action it triggers, no text, no icon. We still wanted to test this version during the playtest to assess whether this lack of guidance would actually generate strong misunderstanding or if having put the button following the process of characters selection would be sufficient to encourage its using.

Players

After performing many internal iterations, by following our game design evolution and keeping an eye on ergonomic criteria for Human-Computer Interface we launched a series of playtests in May. Those tests can reveal a great number of problems that may emerge in a player and would therefore be essential to resolve. Our playtests consisted in questionnaires, and completing two scenarios using think-aloud technique: on the first one players had to order movements and shots facing several constraints, in the second one each players faced another player in a fight (well, the days our network mode was operating anyway…). These playtests confirmed the attractive potential of Fray, and we identified a number of points on which we would have room for improvement.
The interface has been pretty well received but we still took in a number of criticism that left us with some space for improvement.

• Squad Area was considered useful but it lacked information, icons for classes weren’t easy to recognize on first glance and our choice to divide the action bar in 3-tiers was confusing for players. We thus reviewed the summarize character inserts in order to include health bars, action bar and the name of the class. Those elements are positioned in a fashion that mimics its position in the Character Area. Using a homogeneous format allows players to quickly understand what information is provided in relation to the Character Area.

• Players did not quickly locate the end turn button, nor did they identify the timer. If the time taken to identify the timer can be a problem, it really becomes a critical one in the case of the end turn button. This action is paramount in the game so there should be no doubt in how to end a Planning Phase. Placing it following the characters helped players to guess its function, we thus increased the guidance by adding a text and an icon. The timer was also slightly changed, but not much as we are sure that learning its location and function will be pretty fast.

• Squad Area is perceived as being too buoyant, it was our desire to stick to our references, but many returns regarding its aspect altering its function were made both while playtesting and presenting this mock-up around the web. We decided to anchor this area in a light block to give it an own integrity and linked it to the Character Area.

• Originally clicking on a menu would open a dropdown menu, but for space reasons, we then decided to open a pop up to focus attention on its contents. However, we found that this pop up was breaking the immersion in the game, and therefore the experience that we wanted to create. So we went back to the drawing board and chose to use a drop-down menu each time the Item Menu is opened.
• Testers who played against an opponent expressed the fear of opponents taking too much time to plan their orders. In addition we wanted to actually encourage players to give their orders as quickly as possible, in order to ensure a steady pace for each turn sequence. To this end, and as we discussed with Colin Northway when he visited us, we’ve added an initiative bonus for the entire squad if the player gives orders quickly, encouraging players to play quickly, and is positioned on the timer:

o    if a player finished giving his orders in the green zone then all of its characters will get an initiative bonus allowing the squad to be slightly faster than the opposing squads,
o    in the orange the bonus is decreasing,
o    in the red zone no bonus is awarded to the squad, he should had given his orders more quickly.

A feedback positioned near the corresponding chronometer zone will tell the player if he received this bonus. After testing it was obvious that this feature creates an interesting challenge, it speeds up the game pace and allows players to learn to be more effective and quick as the number of games played increases.

• Finally a feedback “your opponents are ready” is displayed when they finish their Planning Phase, to encourage to players to quickly finish their current phase.

Figure 9: Incentive to play quickly through the timer

The action bar, which we still haven’t spoken much about, is located at the bottom of the screen. We didn’t have time to perform design work on this bar for playtests, it was only showing how many points were spent and reacting to the hovering of the cursor on each action carried out on the field in order to indicate how many action points were required for the player to validate an action.
We deliberately didn’t make the playtests with the final design and left the players with no explanation in order to see if they understood its value and what information they felt was needed in it. The main challenge was to provide easy reading of the sequence of actions planned by the player for each of its characters: a glance should allow to see that he’d asked a character to move and then to shoot, to the second one to move, to change stance, then shoot at an opponent, etc. …We therefore assigned a color to each type of action in the field: red for offensive action, green for healing, yellow for movement, orange for support and purple for information manipulation. Those colors are recalled on the cursor badges that indicate which is the default action when hovering an element on the battlefield. Following the playtest we’d adjusted the action bar with the following:

• a sense of continuity among actions with the “arrow” shape,
• increased visibility,
• recognition of the icons of actions taken,
• indication on which actions remains possible if the user validates the action he is about to perform.

We thus designed two prototypes that met these feedbacks:

• In the first one we wrapped the action bar around the character in order to save space and make it look circular gauge.
• In the second one we expanded the bar in the same horizontal format.

We liked the wrapped version, it was visually much more interesting and corresponding to our references, but we kept the second one for the reason that the action sequence readability was much easier, and it is paramount for us to privilege the understanding side of our interface design.

Figure 10: Action Bar Mockups

And now…

Our days have been busy with adjustments and implementations since the last playtests. The current version addresses the feedback we had, and will be the one you will use during alpha. But things are not done yet! During Alpha and subsequent Beta, your feedback on the gameplay and the interface will allow us to continue to polish the game until a satisfying and fun gaming experience is designed for you. In the meantime, we are going back to balancing!

We thank again all those who came to participate the playtests, their returns have shaped the Fray experience and we hope these efforts will give you all the fun we hope you to reach by playing Fray, our futuristic simultaneous squad tactics game.

Figure 11: Final Interface for Alpha

Bibliography

The articles and books that have served us during Interface Design:

Mesure de l’utilisabilité des interfaces (French)

Gamasutra : Usability Breakthroughs: Four Techniques To Improve Your Game

Tron Legacy Visual FX

Ergonomic Criteria for the Evaluation of Human-Computer Interface

Mark Coleran, Fake Interfaces Design in movies : Conference | Website

The Art of Game Design, Jesse Schell

TVTropes Video Game Interface Elements

Video Conference “Tricks on designing interface fitting your game design”

Before moving on, we would like to announce that we we will be in Cologne for the GamesCom, so if you are there and want to meet, tell us by mail or on twitter!

Unlike the AROS weapons (that we showed here), which had a military feel, here are weapons designed by the two other corporations that are present in Fray, MagTyde and Cronacorp.

The MagTyde weapons have an industrial purpose, such as for mining and terraforming, and have been modified to be used in combat.

Ultrasonic Pulser:

Used in mining complexes across the globe, Ultrasonic Pulsers alter the atomic structure of semi-dense materials, allowing workers to quickly shape rock and metals. The portable version of the pulser is less powerful than its industrial counterpart, but it is enough to destroy a human target.

Quake

Magtyde advertises this device with the catchphrase « The power of a seismic truck in the palm of your hand », the quake glove allows the player to propel a deadly shockwave all around the user, damaging any enemy surrounding him.

Mine Layer

Originally designed for rapid terrain survey, by propelling fist sized sonar beacons, the MagTyde Mine Layer was modified to carry high explosive charges that detonate when in close proximity with another human being.

Cronacorp is a privately owned scientific and advanced technologies company that works on cutting edge products for military and mainstream customers, such as transportation, wireless neural hubs, protection suits and even beauty products. Their weapons division, CronaLabs, however works only on the newest and deadliest products available to mankind.

Absolute Zero:

A particle moderator is placed around a chamber containing a liquid approaching 0°K, slowing matter down. It is then propelled from the chamber at the speed of sound, instantly freezing any element in its path.

Solar Ray:

A fusion reaction in the user’s backpack creates a miniature contained sun. With a complex system of mirrors and prisms, the photons generated by the reaction are gathered and shot out a frontal device, burning a target with intense energy.

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoyed these weapons, we still have quite a few more in store!  If that is the case, don’t forget to follow the game!

Cheers,

Brain Candy

www.fray-game.com

In the recent weeks we have gone a bit dark on the development, but it was for the best as it allowed us to refine our gameplay mechanics, redo some code and create more assets and props for the game. We have started unveiling our work through an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, in which we discuss the gameplay, how we intend to keep the game fast paced and our thoughts on Frozen Synapse.

I would also like to announce that Brain Candy has gotten a little bit bigger, with Lea joining us full time as game designer, as well as Abel (animation) and Sarah (3D Artist) reinforcing our graphics team as interns for the summer, bringing our merry little band up to 11 people.

In today’s news we will share with you some new screenshots of the game, our interview with RPS and the approach we have taken for level designing our Paris map.

Right now the game is still in pre-Alpha state, but we are slowly getting closer to a true Alpha. We are hoping to release a beta version around the end of September that will be fully playable, albeit not content complete. In any case, we are planning on some video releases in the newt few weeks, with gameplay demonstration and explanation, so that you can see what makes Fray tic.

Read the rest after the jump!

Here are our first in game screenshots taken in our Pre Alpha build. Please bear in mind that quite a bit is still missing (Lightmapping, illuminated windows, props, new glow etc) and the interface shown is still a work in progress, but it will give you an idea of what we are aiming for.

We were happy to share some info about Fray with Rock Paper Shotgun last week, and it probably sheds a lot of light on what is to expect, so enjoy. You can find the original article here: LINK

RPS: Greetings! So, simultaneous turn-based strategy? You’d better explain how that works, before the heads of our readers cave in like rotten fruit.

Alexandre Avenard: Bonjour RPS! Simultaneous turn-based strategy… Quite a mouthful isn’t it?
In traditional turn-based games, players take turns to give orders to their squads, armies or characters, one after another. While this system works wonders in single player games, it can be a problem in a multiplayer context, where a game can drag on and on.

This is where we believe simultaneous turn-based strategy truly shines. By allowing every player to choose their actions at the same time, we can create a very dynamic strategy game, even with a high number of players, since you don’t have to wait for your opponents. Once everyone in the match has given their orders or a fixed timer has run out, you then witness how your actions pan out in a cinematic fashion. With this system in place, Fray is much more action oriented than traditional turn-based strategy games. You have to anticipate the enemy’s actions, put yourself in their shoes, and lay out traps and ambushes, with virtually no down time, rather than just reacting to their actions. It is a very different feeling that just has to be tried!

RPS: How tense is each turn’s time limit? Is it enough time for some chin-stroking and second-guessing, or do you often send off orders in a blind panic?

AA: We are aiming for a turn to last between 40 seconds and a minute. This is of course being playtested to know if it is the right amount of time. The whole point is to give players enough time to issue orders, while not letting them think on them for too long. We want Fray to be fast paced, we want players to be tense! Time taken to micro manage one character is less time for issuing orders for the other three, but sometimes he is the most important in a given situation… It is really a choice in the player’s hands, and they get to choose how to manage their time. Also, we have incentives to make people play faster than their opponents

RPS: Presumably if you’re asking players to send if orders quickly, you can’t have any wrestling with the UI. Do you guys have an innovative control scheme in place?

AA: David, our lead designer, used to work as a usability expert and designed interfaces for many different products. When working on Fray, he wanted to streamline the way orders are given and ease the players as much as possible, letting them focus more on the gameplay and have less fumbling around with different options. We looked at how interfaces in RTS’ are managed, since they also are fast paced, and created our own little melting pot that will allow players to issue orders swiftly and efficiently. The UI seen in the screenshots is still a work in progress but gives an idea of what we are aiming for, with rapid selection and recognition of each squad member and quick issuing of orders.

The gameplay is also tuned in this sense, taking cues from action games and FPS, focusing more on the strategy and the fighting, rather than micro-managing the team, which will take place outside of a match (assigning weapons, skills, equipment etc).

RPS: What did you guys think of (or learn from) Frozen Synapse?

AA: Frozen Synapse is an awesome title that we really recommend to RPS readers, paving the way back to great turn-based strategy games on PC. We discovered it a few months into our own development and we were surprised to see that Mode7 was designing a game with similar design principles to Fray. It really comforted us in our choice of simultaneous turn-based in a multiplayer situation, truly speeding up the pace of the game, creating new and intense situations, while retaining the core aspects of what makes turn-based games so successful.

Both games are however quite different in flavor, as we had decided on many different design choices in Fray prior to hearing about them, such as different character classes, a persistent evolution system for your team, more akin to an RPG, with XP, levels, weapon and equipment unlocks that allow players to fine-tune their team as they progress in the game, players will focus on one game at a time rather than multiple games at once as in Frozen Synapse, and our rounds are timed, forcing players to make quick decisions, similar to what they would do in an RTS or an action game.

Despite our differences, we believe that innovation in gameplay is the key and Frozen Synapse has proven to us that players are hungry for new ways to play strategy games. Being an independent developer allows us the freedom to take these chances with new forms of gameplay.

RPS: What would you say is the core of squad-base strategy? Why is it proving so hard for the games industry to recapture what made people fall in love with the classics- Jagged Alliance 2, X-Com, and so on?

AA: The major challenge for a player in a squad-based strategy game is to find out how to interact with several different characters, each with their own equipment or abilities, and create an effective strategy against opponents that possess similar or different squads.

To be successful, the player must create team-play between his different characters, using their unique qualities and the combat environment in order to anticipate or react in the best way possible to the enemy squads’ actions.

Traditionally, squad-based strategy games have used turn-based mechanics. The problem is that their design is very close to that of a board game, imposing gaps in the game’s rhythm in order to give your orders to each character, and let the enemies play.

In the era of X-Com and Jagged Alliance, this type of gameplay was common, it was the beginning of 3D on computers, and consoles were still a small market. But with increasing processing and graphical power, games became more and more fast paced, and technological evolution was pushed through real time games, where the majority of players have their interests.

The biggest problem with today’s gaming industry in regards to squad-based strategy, is that real-time is not the right fit for the genre (although Dawn of War 2 would say otherwise), and they are traditionally turn-based, a genre which scares the big majors, as it is considered too niche.

That doesn’t mean that the genre is necessarily dying, new titles come out each year, but its public is unfortunately limited, mostly because most gamers don’t even know of the genre, having discovered gaming in the past ten years. Gamers must therefore count on independent studios to satisfy their tactical needs, to challenge their reflection after a fast paced action game, where twitch mechanics rule. With Fray we hope to introduce FPS gamers to strategy games, with an action packed game that also requires some thought.

RPS: Your favourite squad-based strategy game! GO!

AA: The team will answer in unison: XCOM!!!

Although I personally have a soft spot for Final Fantasy Tactics, but shhh! That’s heresy here!

RPS: I saw in a preview that you guys said you wanted to use Fray to, in part, show that Unity can be used to create indie games with near next-gen graphics. How’s that working out for you?

AA: Unity is an awesome engine, quite underestimated by a lot of people. With the pro version, you have access to many of the tools that would be available only in top-end game engines such as the Unreal Engine 3 or the CryEngine 2.

Maybe not that high standard from the get go, but with a good programing team, you can get close to their quality. Since in Fray, the game camera can get very close to characters and the environment during the cinematic resolution phase, we wanted to have the best graphics possible with our small team of 10 people. Thanks to our programmers, we managed to create many different shaders to enhance the visuals of Fray, such as global illumination, ambient occlusion, custom glow, depth of field etc. Combine that with the Beast light mapping engine (used in Mirror’s Edge) available in Unity and you get quite a pretty game!

Of course, it is not simple, it requires many hours of work, tuning and tweaking everything, creating all the art assets and building the levels, but with commitment, Unity is one of the best engines out there, and definitely the one that has the most bang for your buck.

RPS: Thanks for your time.

I would like to go over how we designed our Paris level, the one you can see in our screenshots. We wanted to redesign the infamous Champs Elysées, famous Parisian street, to be the setting of some of our maps. But designing such a huge portion of a city (0.25 Km²) was a huge task for a small indie team, we couldn’t afford to create specific assets for each building, so we needed to come up with a plan.

The solution we found was to build the buildings using blocks, all using the same base size 3x3x3 and a combination of these (6x3x3, 6x6x3, etc.). Our 3D artists created over 200 of such blocks, ranging from shops, doorways, windows, to roofs and balconies, and by combining them we are able to create many different looks, all the while remaining flexible and fast.

Once our Game Designers have finished creating the blocking for the level, we then import the basic shapes into Unity and then design the buildings around the specific shapes. This allows us to combine Game Design and Graphic Design.

Once the blocks for each building are set, we combine them to reduce the draw calls and import them into Maya or 3DSmax to give them a final cleaning and polish.

Then once back into Unity, we then lay down the props, add textures and lighting in order to obtain the final look in the game.

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoyed it! If that is the case, don’t forget to follow the game!

Cheers,

Brain Candy

We have taken the past few months to work in depth on the gameplay and graphics, fine tuning everything so that the game experience will be as smooth as possible. We will be unveiling our work in the upcoming weeks (after the E3 chatter calms down a bit), with new screenshots showing our progression, presenting our Paris environment (we have come a long way since our GDC tech demo), but more importantly, we will focus on the gameplay of Fray, explaining how a turn in Fray takes place, what kind of orders can be issued, the arsenal at your disposal and how to set up a team.

For now I would like to talk about creating advertisements for our Paris level.

The level’s setting is in a dystopian Paris, where a civil uprising has gotten out of hand. Unable to maintain order on the streets, the local government has purchased the services of worldwide paramilitary corporation AROS to assist them in quelling the riots. But the situation has gotten out of hand, and a military coup has allowed the corporation to set its roots in downtown Paris. Now, the riots have transformed into a full resistance and players get to relive this experience on the tense streets.

When imagining this environment, we wanted a recognizable area of Paris (without sticking to the cliché of the Eiffel tower), that also fit our gameplay needs. We decided to set the scene on the Champs Elysées, a very famous and touristic zone of Paris, but completely revamped to fit in with Aros’ military domination and the expected look and feel of a sci-fi game.

Since the area is a commercial/touristic zone, we wanted to emphasize on the advertising and luminous billboards that surround the area, having the zone almost exclusively lit by these ads. We wanted them to be a cross between current real life advertisements (beauty care, fashion, perfume, food/beverage …) and more advanced stuff, from Cronacorp’s Cronalabs and other high tech products. We are still creating new advertisements (specifically animated ads), but here are some of a few we want to include in the game.

Also, as the zone is a militarized zone, we wanted to have some AROS propaganda and some resistance messages and Tags around the area, to liven the place up, and create a historical setting.

AROS Propaganda

Aros Recrutement

I hope you enjoyed these, we will be showing more very soon!

I hope you didn’t miss our shenanigans too much, and if you did, well… We are back with a vengeance!
We have just returned from our trip to the USA to present Fray for the first time, to the press and other nice people. And their reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, confirming that we are on the right track in creating a great strategy game!

So here is the first part of our GDC tour debrief, full of joy and worries, as we travelled from the West Coast to the East with Fray in our luggage.

Before leaving for San Francisco, we had worked on a tech demo that would showcase how we modified and pushed the Unity Engine to fit our view for the game, adding a new Ambient Occlusion system, Volumetric Fog and Screen Space Global Illumination, just to mention a few. It was tough to cram everything in there and we had quite a few sleepless nights, but it was worth it.

Raw output from Unity 3

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion

Screen Space Global Illumination

Final Output in Fray

Laptops packed, Press Kits printed, DVD’s burned and our pockets full of candy, we were off to San Francisco, giddy as schoolgirls. Well, sleepy schoolgirls anyway.

Max sleeping at the boarding gate.

After an 11:30 hour flight (not so long if you sleep ¾ of the way!), a few movies, bad in-flight food and good hard liquor, we were finally there! US of A! Land of huge cars, oversized hamburgers and Homeland Security! <3

San Francisco!

Time to check in to our hotel room, have a huge breakfast and we were ready to roll! The game still needed some work to look as planned, so we decided to grab a huge American breakfast before getting back to work. We invested our hotel room with all our tech, using the 40″ flat screen as a secondary monitor and turning the place into a secondary office. I think we scared the housekeeping ladies a bit.

Nice and greasy american breakfast. Yum!

After a few more hours of coding, we were finally ready. The demo was complete, and we were anxious to show the game to the world for the first time. When you have spent such a long time working on something internally, even though you think that you have something cool, there is always the risk that you are just too deep inside it to realize that you are doing something wrong, and this would be our undoing… Luckily, this wasn’t the case.

Hard at work in our hotel room.

But things just had to go wrong before we would realize this.

You have probably heard of Murphy’s Law. It is typically stated as: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. Well our first day of presentation was exactly that.

We arrived at Triplepoint at 8:00 AM, to prepare for our first 9AM appointment with Shacknews.

Triplepoint, our PR partner, has an office on 1^st Street in San Francisco, just a 5 minute walk from the Moscone Center, where the GDC was held, and was perfect to present the game. They had prepared a room just for us, with a TV, a few seats, some coffee and of course, candy. All we had to do was come in and hook up our laptop to the TV. Easy, eh?

Our presentation room at Triplepoint SF

That is when things started to go awry. When we plugged in the laptop with the demo, a spark flew from the power adapter and fried it. This was 15 minutes before our first interview and we had about 40 minutes of battery (our Clevo laptop is a power hungry beast of a computer)… OK, that’s enough for 2 interviews. Sam (our PR Rep) tells us they have a great gaming PC they can lend us, so we are a bit less worried, but when they actually show us the machine, with parts over 3 years old (core2duo, 2gigs of ram and a 8800GT), we knew that wouldn’t work out with our uncompressed textures and un-optimized geometry.

Sam, our PR rep (right) and myself (left) enjoying some fresh air

We first set out to rent a computer, but with the GDC show there, every gaming PC had been rented out long ago… Only solution, go buy a new one. So while I was doing an interview with the AFP without having an actual game to show, David (our lead GD) and Max (lead 3D) went to Best Buy to try to get a new PC.

They had to go to 3 Best Buys and finally found an OK gaming rig, if you changed the graphics card. They bought a GTX460 to put in the computer, as the one onboard had only 256 megs of RAM (my 5 year old laptop has more than that…) they come back half an hour before our IGN meeting and we decide to plug it in… Nothing. We check the power supply… 250W. Thanks HP! My electric toothbrush has more power than that piece of junk. Oh and to make matters more fun, the USB drive on which we had our source code was not recognized by the computer, and we had to send 8 gigs of data over Wifi… Fun times!

Robert about as low as our morale at this point.

So they were off, again, to buy a new power supply, while we were presenting the game at 5fps on a shitty piece of hardware.

So the first day was fun… But once we got the computer together, we had a solid framerate and managed to show the tech demo at a solid 40FPS.

We were able to present the game to IGN, PC Gamer, @Gamer, Gamespot, Games Are Evil just to name a few.

Everything ended up well and we treated ourselves to a HUGE dinner at Lorrie’s Diner, and acted like tourists discovering the tableside jukebox.

Brain Candy team enjoying a fine selection of 60′s music.

You can read some preview impressions here on Gamespot: http://gdc.gamespot.com/story/6301736/fray-first-look-preview or here at Shacknews: http://www.shacknews.com/article/67778/fray-first-look-preview

This concludes part 1 of our GDC trip round up, next time, we will discuss the rest of our San Francisco stay, and our trip to New York.

Take care !

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Don’t forget to follow us on our website for insider updates, goodies and future beta invitations:

www.fray-game.com