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Overview

RESEARCH and DESTROY is set in a post-human era, where we’re way past the point of Supernatural creatures merely roaming the land, thirsty for blood and carnage; they’ve settled in, built communities, and only bother roaming if the neighbours start getting on their nerves. As for the blood and carnage: the Vampires and Werewolves are still kind of into it, but there isn’t much left to practice on, what with human beings being extinct and all. Sure there’s plenty of wildlife, but come on! They may be horrible Supernatural creatures, but they’re not MONSTERS.

Supernatural society is organized very loosely, with more intelligent and potent Supernaturals lording over the small-frys. Vampires, Poltergeists, Trolls; these formidable creatures sit on top not merely because of their power, but also due to their complexity and scarcity. Anyone can imagine up some more Zombies or Ghosts to replace the fallen, but the sheer creative capacity needed to summon up the higher echelons of the Supernatural hordes has largely passed from the world along with the last humans. Not even the mighty Relics and Cubes (?! Play the game to find out!) can replace the likes of a Vampire that has fallen in battle or slipped […]

In RESEARCH and DESTROY you’ll have access to the complete breadth of humankind’s surviving super science know-how and the means to mold that knowledge into Supernatural-destroying apparatuses–or, to put it into layman’s terms, “totally brutal weapons.”

There are quite a few science machines you’ll be able to develop–providing you do the requisite research, of course! In addition to the base model for each weapon there’s a variety of modifications that alter or augment the utility of the device. Every weapon in RESEARCH and DESTROY has two modes, and these modes are often complementary and/or utilitarian. Let’s take a look at some of the available hardware.

The Laserizer is the apparatus of choice for the Scientist who likes their device more straightforward;  point-and-shoot, and modeled after the pew-pews from the Before Times. It excites photons, somehow breaks the laws of physics, and gives these photons mass. Et voila! A light bullet for the face of every Zombie, Werewolf and Troll cursing our once-beautiful planet.

The primary mode for the Laserizer, called Max Frequency, is a simple affair. Pull the trigger and spray light bullets everywhere. Go wild, all weapons in […]

In this post we’ll talk about RESEARCH and DESTROY’s campaign Strategy map. From the outset we wanted to create a non-linear campaign mode for RAD to keep repeat playthroughs fresh–and of course, like the Turn-Based Action missions, also be fully playable in co-op.

Making the campaign playable in simultaneous co-op was a huge design challenge. We also wanted to keep the gameplay theme of “direct control” consistent between the Strategy map and Turn-Based Action battles. You’re not moving pieces across the board–you ARE the pieces!

Or in this case, you’re a van. The RADvan acts like a cursor that you’ll use to carpool your team of Super Scientists around the Strategy Map. The events and decisions you make on the Strategy map affects the Turn-Based Action missions, and the outcome of those missions affects what happens on the Strategy map!

Time works much the same way between the Strategy map and Turn-Based Action missions–the Super Scientists and the Supernatural each take turns to do their stuff, and time only passes when you move the van! Each Super Scientist turn lasts 40 days (in-game time) before the Supernaturals make their move.

After you liberate a territory by completing […]

In this blog post, we’ll talk about RESEARCH and DESTROY’s unique time management system and how we mixed Turn-Based Strategy and Third Person Shooter into something we like to call Turn-Based Action.

X-COM was a primary influence and starting point for our first prototype. However, RAD quickly evolved into something very different, something much closer to a Third Person Shooter.

Turn-Based Strategy games like X-COM usually have “Movement points” or “Action Points” which must be used in sequence. Typically you move each of your avatars a certain distance, then instruct them to attack or perform an action. Then you sit back and watch the show.

While prototyping RAD we discovered that this wouldn’t work with the main feature we were trying to add to the genre: cooperative multiplayer.

We ruled out having players take turns because it was boooooooring waiting for others to finish. Other players’ avatars would end up getting in your way causing you to end up a meter short of cover, walk into your line of fire, or just outright lose your intended cover to some fleet-footed jerk, thus leaving you sitting out in the open like a duck in the middle of a lake with a lightning rod taped to […]