The title of Midnight Munchies’ newest sport – ONE BTN BOSSES – is successfully all it is advisable learn about what to anticipate. It’s an outline of the problem, an evidence of the consumer expertise, and a promise of accessibility.
An authentic ONE BTN BOSSES demo was printed to Newgrounds and itch.io. Since then, the builders have partnered with Amongst Us creators Innersloth via their Outersloth funding initiative.
Midnight Munchies at the moment are capable of ship us the totally realized imaginative and prescient of that minimalistic boss rush title. The industrial launch of ONE BTN BOSSES will be discovered on Steam, right here and is launching on August 6.
We have been fortunate sufficient to listen to from the group at Midnight Munchies. Alongside some hands-on time with the sport forward of its launch subsequent month.
‘A One Dimensional Boss Battle’
In the event you’re not already conscious of ONE BTN BOSSES’ core gameplay, then our job of describing it to you is made all the simpler by the sport’s title. You’re a triangular spaceship, in a boss rush title, circling round a equally polygonal boss encounter whereas regularly firing.
Oh, and you may solely do one factor – press a single button which modifications your course.
The boss fights do turn out to be incrementally extra complicated, with differing projectiles and planes of motion to your three-sided ship. Nevertheless, whereas your engagement with the sport stays constant all through – via that one, single button – the sport transforms round you.
Brin Žvan is a Sport Designer at Midnight Munchies. They consider that – by limiting participant motion to at least one dimension – players can extra readily discover their errors, and enhance on their runs;
“It’s so much simpler for you the participant to see that – to identify the place the optimization can are available in. I feel that’s part of the enjoyable … that occurs in a microcosm of 5 minutes if you’re doing the identical combat again and again”
Brin Žvan, Sport Designer – Midnight Munchies
The “focus of the sport is the one-button gameplay,” Žvan detailed to us. Gamers can use their seemingly easy system of management to play via two distinct, but equally necessary sport modes. From the specifically designed, considerably linear, marketing campaign to the rouguelite ‘Rifts’ mode.
A ‘Handcrafted Marketing campaign’
The roughly four-hour marketing campaign – of which now we have solely skilled an introductory part – follows you, the participant, as you accompany Ace, an anthropomorphic cat. In your championing of Ace, you endeavor to unravel the company greed of the bosses. These bosses have seemingly cheated Ace out of their sincere paycheck – and we’re right here to assist them get it again!
The bosses are tackled on a considerably linear path, with some forks within the street to permit for a number of routes. Whereas the demo we engaged with had solely 4 obligatory boss fights, the third engagement was cut up in two – to sort out both ‘QU4D’ or ‘STAR’ earlier than continuing to ‘THE FUTURE’.
We’ve seen what can occur if you place gameplay on the forefront of your sport’s mission. Nintendo has struggled greater than others to craft participating narratives for almost forty years. As such, I didn’t anticipate Midnight Munchies’ gameplay focus to be levied by such a genuinely humorous and interesting narrative premise.
But, the Midnight Munchies group has admitted that the plot of ONE BTN BOSSES’ marketing campaign got here comparatively late into growth. Žvan states that; “It began out as a sport with out a story … however the extra we stored working with the sport, the extra we felt like it might be good if it had character to it.”
Whereas the time period ‘boss’ is ubiquitous within the business now, the truth that the title got here from our real-life counterparts has lengthy since been misplaced on many players. Nevertheless, it looks as if Midnight Munchies is gearing up to make use of ONE BTN BOSSES’ style to inform a story of capitalistic corruption and employee revolt.
I’m certain no one is anticipating a Pink Faction-like story when the sport is launched. Nevertheless, the real try and weave some form of participating narrative is one that’s a lot appreciated. Particularly when the gameplay loop of the title may stand so proudly with out one.
Roguelite R&D (‘Rifts and Developments’)
Persevering with with its company naming conventions – the roguelite R&D (‘Rifts and Developments’) mode is the second pillar of ONE BTN BOSSES’ gameplay bundle.
Nevertheless, it firmly establishes itself as a core side of the title. ONE BTN BOSSES’ ‘Rifts’ are usually not only a last-minute addendum to seize the booming roguelike indie scene.
Gamers accustomed to roguelike components will probably be accustomed to the upfront presentation of the mode. Hoever, Rifts are greater than only a enjoyable time-sink. Gamers can strategically problem tougher foes to earn extra elaborate upgrades to their ship, restricted to every run, or choose up well being and upgrades on choose tiles.
These power-ups – referred to as ‘Discoveries’ – alter and optimize your playstyle. From growing your most pace to altering your ship’s firing so to solely shoot medium-sized bullets.
Nevertheless, like the whole lot in ONE BTN BOSSES, Rifts have seemingly been meticulously balanced across the participant expertise. Rifts exist as concurrently an endgame area of infinite prospects and a coaching floor for marketing campaign development.
We have been solely capable of interact with a single ground of the R&D mode. Nevertheless, it has been confirmed that the mode is 5 flooring lengthy as “everyone is aware of that, after the fifth ground, there isn’t any R&D division.” On the finish of this boss rush roguelite mode, your amassed rating will then be uploaded to a leaderboard.
Accessibility ‘By no means Felt Like a Concession’
Even earlier than talking with Midnight Munchies, their deal with accessibility is obvious earlier than even booting up the sport. ONE BTN BOSSES is a promise of accessibility. Not solely via its single-input gameplay however via its presentation of the boss rush and roguelike genres to a brand new viewers.
With just one button to press, Midnight Munchies have stripped away the complexities of boss fights. As such, they’re capable of current a concentrated expertise with successfully no barrier to entry. The place Pokemon could possibly be seen as an entry-level Function Enjoying Sport, ONE BTN BOSSES presents boss fights and roguelikes to novices.
Accessibility has remained comparatively low on the checklist of priorities for a lot of builders. In distinction, Midnight Munchies has been centered on making a title that’s open to anybody all in favour of it;
“[Accessibility] was extra seen to us as a design problem. It’s additionally one thing, for us as a group, that we realized over the time that we have been making the sport how huge of an affect these types of issues will be.”
Brin Žvan, Sport Designer – Midnight Munchies
Nevertheless, accessibility doesn’t finish with players’ bodily engagement with the title and its genres. Whereas they inhabit the world of ONE BTN BOSSES, players will work together with agendered characters, whereas occupying the position of a minimalistic triangle. Any participant, no matter talent stage or private identification, can interact totally with Midnight Munchies’ sport techniques.
It’s ‘a Little Little bit of a Rhythm Sport’
Music may not be one thing that each title wants. Nevertheless, in the event you have been to mute ONE BTN BOSSES’ synthwave soundtrack it might be dearly missed. Past that, it might be proven how integral it’s to the gameplay expertise.
Composer James Evans’ has labored prolifically with the Midnight Munchies group earlier than, on titles resembling FWD and /Tilt/. In ONE BTN BOSSES, this collaboration bore fruit via the creation of the sport’s distinctive visible and audio spectacle.
Žvan conceded that the core identification of ONE BTN BOSSES is its tight and accessible gameplay. Nevertheless, they proudly said that the soundtrack of the title works in tandem with the visible results and its boss-rush style. He detailed that: “I feel ONE BTN BOSSES is a bit of little bit of a rhythm sport. Partially due to the music – as a result of it’s only a banger soundtrack – and partially due to the truth that it performs like a rhythm sport in its meta loop.”
Thumping basslines intensify the tempo of boss assaults, and ringing church-like bells create an ethereal environment. All whereas hundreds of projectiles head your method. Even the restricted soundtrack of the demo is transformative. There’s little question it’ll probably be enormously expanded upon within the title’s full launch.
‘A Sport That’s Very Straightforward to Add Content material To’
It’s considerably untimely to be wanting post-launch for ONE BTN BOSSES. Nevertheless, Midnight Munchies is worked up about what the long run may maintain for his or her multi-layered minimalist magnum opus.
Žvan couldn’t decide to post-launch assist for the title, however was extraordinarily optimistic concerning the potential for added content material. They teased that; “We wish to do a number of issues, however my mouth will keep sealed for now – it’s a sport that’s very simple to consider new permutations for … it looks like a sport that’s very simple so as to add content material to.”
Midnight Munchies has additionally expressed its need to increase ONE BTN BOSSES’ attain to as many gamers as attainable. Whereas that need has been molded into the sport’s accessibility, the group additionally has one eye on porting the title to as many platforms as they will. With its minimal user-input requirement and pixel-art aesthetic, ONE BTN BOSSES could possibly be on as many gadgets as DOOM;
“We had our musician, in some unspecified time in the future, run the prototype on a wise fridge … however for actual, we need to put it on consoles as effectively … it’s nonetheless one thing that’s within the dialog – we need to do it, however we simply have to determine learn how to do it.”
Brin Žvan, Sport Designer – Midnight Munchies
The quantity of content material we’ve had our fingers on with ONE BTN BOSSES may have lasted us hours if we have been eager to interact with the sport’s gameplay loop of regularly enhancing our scores. But the promise of a extra rounded-out expertise – with seemingly greater than 5 instances the content material – is an immense draw in the direction of the total launch.
With haphazard core gameplay, a group should pull off some growth wizardry to maneuver their title from a muddling mess to a masterpiece. Nevertheless, Midnight Munchies has not solely introduced a tightly wound gameplay expertise however has additionally expressed an earned confidence of their gameplay techniques. Past that, ONE BTN BOSSES’ narrative marketing campaign has – in below quarter-hour of play – enticed me extra to a future launch than many different titles in latest instances.
ONE BTN BOSSES will be discovered on Steam, right here – and is launching on the platform on August 6.
