Battle Bootcamp

Battle Bots in 3D!

Square up to Gizmo’s army of evil robots by unleashing the power of all 5 Teen Titans weapons, special moves and even using the area itself to claim victory in this 3D battle arena bonanza.

Brief

Cartoon Network were looking for a new action/adventure game for the popular high-energy brand ‘Teen Titans: Go!’ that would offer something different and push the envelope of whats currently possible in the HTML5 game space. They wanted a game that presented a perfectly pitched challenge for their target 6-12 year old audience.

Our Response

We pitched a 3D arena-battle style game (inspired by the likes of Lego Brawls, Disney Melee Mania and Boomerang Fu) as it fit the bill for high-octane action, could be delivered thanks to the integration of PIXI 3D to our game engine and there was also nothing else like it amongst the current Cartoon Network games library.

The Challenges

‘Teen Titans: Go’ is very much a classic 2D cartoon that we needed to fit into our 3D arena battle game concept. We also have limited assets to work with in terms of walk cycles from different angles. How do we integrate a very 2D brand into a 3D environment convincingly?

Making sure performance stayed strong across a range of devices with a game like this was always going to be tricky. Optimisation of arena models and the way the game is rendered alongside careful management of assets would be needed to ensure we keep control of memory load on mobile devices.

Developing enemy AI that could navigate around complex arenas without getting stuck and display tactics that varied across enemy type was one of our goal, which we knew from the beginning would prove challenging!

The Results

Battle Bootcamp delivers 10 levels of robot battling mayhem (including one giant robot boss fight!) taking place in a range of suitable eclectic locations, from galactic prisons, zoo’s and ninja fortresses to rooftop brawls and battles in the Titans own Tower.

Players are able to hot-swap between any of the five Teen Titans during play, letting the benched heroes rest and recover or swapping out to access certain Titan-specific special moves that might be effective in a certain scenario. From Robins bird-a-rang grappling hook, to Beast Boy’s T-Rex morph, each has something unique to offer.

Players face a wide array of enemies, each featuring different strengths and weaknesses as well as tactics. Snakes sneak up and then attack quickly, bulls charge, mice shoot from a distance and scuttle away when approached, magpies are quick and steal power-ups and generals are smart and will use arena hazards themselves! Giant lasers and trapdoors can be activated at the pull of a lever to dispatch enemies (or the player!) quickly.

Arenas are also filled with power-ups that upgrade the hero (or enemy) that picked it up for the duration of the fight. These also stack so the stakes are raised as the battle continues and both the player and their enemies get jacked on shields, super-speed and triple-shot weapons!

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