KNOCKOUT LEAGUE - IRON MAIDEN DEEP DIVE
DESIGN PROBLEM
Pacing When Both Gloves are Shredded: I expected most players would only occasionally get one glove shredded and play more carefully with the remaining one. They could be still active in the fight or at least wouldn’t be without both gloves for long.
I was so wrong. Due to muscle memory from the rest of the game, many playtesters shredded both of their gloves immediately once the fight started. This left them confused and un-engaged while Iron Maiden continued her normal slow pace of attacks.
SOLUTION: I still liked the idea that careless play could lead to lasting penalties but the problem was how Iron Maiden responded. After some prototyping, her “Blood in the Water” mode was born. When a player loses both of their gloves, Iron Maiden gains new moves and attacks non-stop at ~3x her normal rate, all while laughing maniacally.
This became a standout moment for our players while also letting us express more character personality. We also fudged glove regeneration times in the player's favor and prevented the "Blood in the Water" mode from triggering at all if players were close to getting a glove back - all to minimize player frustrations.
A side benefit of her “Blood in the Water” mode was letting her fight more offensively. Since losing both gloves had clear cause and effect and lead to a cool gameplay moment, I could comfortably grant the shredding property to more of her moves.
UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCE
Fight Structure Rigidity Undermined High Score Chart: Her pacing and mechanics were fun but they worked against our scoring system, which is based on factors like punch power and variety. How can players switch up their punches when the game encourages using specific ones? How will any top scores be different from each other?
SOLUTION - MORE FREE FORM AND RISKY MOMENTS: We created a mechanic called “Big Finish” mode where players can freely wail on their opponent. It’s a cathartic moment, but it’s also the last chance to boost your multiplier with varied punches in a fight where those opportunities are rare. This feature was originally intended to only be on Iron Maiden, but it was received so well in playtests that we added it to all the characters.
We also introduced “Mini Finish” moments directly in the player’s path of her fight to give players a few seconds of free form combo time as a stress relief and an extra guaranteed chance to optimize in our score system.
We also gave high-skilled players a Mini Finish if they parried her. However, not all of her attacks can be parried, as certain ones can rip your gloves. This introduced an element of risk to this strategy that allowed for more variance in high scores.
Finally, we increased the role of her “peekaboo” attacks. These had an interrupt point that rewarded quick reactions with free hits. But hitting her mask triggered a counter that shredded both gloves. I also made a variation where she’s never open, so players couldn’t have certainty an interrupt would be available.
All of the work we put into making her fun to play also made her fun to watch. This was most evident at PSX 2017, where crowds shadowboxed along with her Spot Defense mechanic while waiting their turn to fight Iron Maiden themselves.
Video/GIF Credit: Braddy Boy Blue - SHE’S WEARING ARMOUR?! | Knockout League - The Iron Maiden (HTC Vive)