Knockin’Dead is a mix between a management and a typical survival horror game. The player’s mission is all about managing the survivors trapped inside, in the middle of an undead invasion. Take the right decisions in a restricted time, so the characters can complete their goals before the doors give way and the dead get in - hat’s the challenge Knockin’Dead offers!
A prototype of Knockin’Dead, using the Ogre3D engine, is currently under development by the Walls May Pulse! collective, as an end of study project for the school SupInfoGame.
For more information, don't hesitate to contact us at the following address : contact@knockindead.com
After a few months without news, here is a quick message to let you know that Knockin'Dead is available for download as a prototype :
You will hear again from us soon, and this time with a whole new website ! ;)
Okay, so we've been all very very busy these past few months, and there had been no one in here to update the English version of the website. So let me give some news of Knockin'Dead!
There are so many things to say. First, everything is going rather well. Thanks to our team's competent members we have not been experiencing so many technical problems, and none of the bugs filling our Mantis tracker seems completely irreparable. We've got less than a month left, and I can say we're working almost day and night, including holidays and weekends - and now we know what "crunch time" means. The game is now playable, and the team is working on balancing it this very week; there are plenty of parameters that need yet to be defined such as barricades duration, social interactions durations and so on. We've got less than a month left and the clock is ticking but as I said, everyone here's working hard!
Last time we updated the English version of this site we didn't have the Conviction system, so let me introduce it briefly. When starting a level, every character in Knockin'Dead has a conviction - for instance, to leave the scene or wait for help, or how to complete the objectives, or sometimes, more ethical choices. Since they have different convictions, this will create confrontations, and these confrontations will end up, most of the time, in negative consequences - characters becoming nervous, getting on the verge of panicking, and so on. The player will of course be able to use a character to convince another, which will lead to interesting situations - but no one will be safe from changing their minds, even after having been convinced! This will really add life to Knockin'Dead, with characters automatically talking when they bump into each other, dialogues "popping" in the tabs, and so on. And since we were worried that all those conversations would make the game illegible, we defined several color codes for the texts in order to summarize the contents of what characters say so the player doesn't have to read if they don't have enough time - and as you know, time is precious in Knockin'Dead! Needless to say, we're all here eager to see that system at work!
On the artistic side of things, the game is looking better every day. We have spent so much time with placeholders that we had gotten used to it but we're receiving, day after day, animations, characters, items, etc. The camera system is now in place and I must say the 3D view is really scary; plus, our very harrowing music now pleasantly accompanies the undead invasion during the game. We'll probably post screenshots, artworks and videos next week.
It's frightening to see how everything's speeding up as we're approaching the release date, but it's also really exciting. So keep an eye out for web updates! ;)
Hello everyone! Created during the latest Supinfogame intensive week, the Knockin'Dead teaser is now online and can be viewed here. Plus, we're all very happy to announce that on next saturday, March 14th, will take place the Supinfogame open day in Valenciennes - day during which you'll be able to test Knockin'Dead!
Then, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of the Knockin'Dead (not so) short story are available, enjoy!
This week was long, but constructive. The game design was refined, with the establishment of a flight (the fact of fleeing, not flying :p) system for the characters, and some other details. Plus, we have received the first part of the characters animations, and the least we can say is that it looks good! Of course, the 3D models aren’t done yet, but the photo-shoots with our actors are going fine, and a first character sheet was drawn. It’s the kick-off for our CG artists, who’ll craft, we're sure, superb characters!
As well, the production of the 2D resources is going smoothly and the game, little by little, is gaining an exciting visual identity. We’ve got sketch effects, textures and filters in matching shades; the objects are being created and we’re all impatient of seeing applied on their 3D edges, until now rather conventional, the cell shading we chose for the game.
What’s wonderful with that job, is when you see all the front lines moving forward at the same time. I mean, coordination, timing. A musician works alone to make us a piece of music while a CG artist is drawing icons, while a sound designer is creating footsteps, etc., and of course, perusing these creations is very pleasant, but it’s nothing compared to the satisfaction one feels when all those small pieces become visible together. This is where we realize how much road we’ve travelled, since the first words scribbled on a sheet of paper, to the moment the characters are actually moving, talking, fighting and all the rest, and where we think, “okay, here we are”.
For Knockin’Dead, this day is coming fast, and for us it is of vital importance to keep moving. But the anticipation of the satisfaction that we will then feel – and the confidence that players will enjoy the game – is enough to keep us motivated!
Last word, here’s the third chapter of the short story, available in the news right below. Read well!
Vue du ciel, la cité a l’air à feu et à sang. J’indique au pilote de ne pas monter trop haut. Des gens courent dans les rues avec des armes de poing ; d’autres errent, ahuris, et vu d’ici ils me font penser à de grands insectes ivres. Des officiers de police tirent sur des groupes d’ombres avançant vers eux ; ajustant mes lunettes, je vois distinctement une berline faucher une femme qui traversait la rue. Elle est projetée au-devant du véhicule et roule sur le goudron avant de terminer sa course dans un caniveau. Elle se relève.
Détournant les yeux, je ne peux m’empêcher de penser à Barbara, dont j’ignore la position et si elle est encore en vie, et à ma chère Infork, à laquelle je m’apprêtais à accorder l’émancipation, et qui va vivre ce soir un terrible traumatisme. Va-t-elle y survivre ? Existera-t-elle encore au lever du soleil ? Nick ne m’a donné aucune nouvelle : il ferait mieux d’être mort, ou lundi matin, il sera au chômage.
Quant à moi, je sens que la nuit va être longue.
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Donwload chapter 3.