Tinkerbell must die! Michael Henretty
"Tinkerbell Must Die!" is a multiplayer action-oriented strategy game that centers around protecting and attacking floating pixies, called Tinkerbells. Taking gameplay elements from titles such as Bomberman, Lemmings and Oddworld, TMD is a frantic capture-the-flag styled game, with rounds lasting only a few minutes each. The goal is to have players utilizing both their brain and their reflexes to vanquish their opponents.
The games that seemed to work the best for the ACCAD arcade cabinet were the single-screen multiplayer games like "Dodgeball" and "Spice Wars." Arguably, one of the best single-screen multiplayer games in history is a game called Bomberman. The thing that made Bomberman so unique and compelling was that the gameplay intertwined elements of action and strategy into a cohesive multiplayer experience. TMD seeks to emulate that mix, but with a heavier emphasis on the action aspect. In order to win the game players must be able to balance protecting their Tinkerbell, while at the same time taking the risk of attacking other players' Tinkerbells. Players will also have to effectively utilize the humans and the strategic advantages they offer in order to beat more advanced players.
There are three character types in TMD; Tinkerbells, gremlins, and humans. Each player will control a different colored gremlin. Gremlins will have the ability to run, jump, climb walls, attack (using thier claws), and possess NPC's. When a gremlin possesses a human, they can control the human just like the gremlin except they will run slower and cannot climb walls. When a player possesses their Tinkerbell, they will not be able to move, but that Tinkerbell will be invulnerable to attack. When a player brings a possessed human to their Tinkerbell, the pixie will put a spell on the human that sends him into a murderous rage. From then on, anytime that human comes in contact with a different gremlin, the human will kill that gremlin. When a human kills a gremlin, he will become blessed by the good deed and turn into another Tinkerbell. When a gremlin is killed, he will be sent to Hades, and it will take a few seconds (~10?) to return. A player is eliminated when all his Tinkerbells have been killed. A player will also have the ability to sacrifice a Tinkerbell (if he has more than one) which will give him the ability to kill murderous humans for a short time. Also, when a gremlin eliminates another player, he will get a permanent upgrade for the round, like no movement penalty when possessing a human.
Again, the emphasis here is on fast placed gameplay with short frenetic rounds. In a four-player match, if two players are eliminated immediately and the resulting duel takes ten minutes to complete, then that's not fun at all for two of the players. In Bomberman, the longer a round goes on, the harder it is to survive. They accomplish this by having more of the board cleared out, and therefore individual bombs have a greater blast radius. TMD also makes it harder to survive as the round goes on for two reasons. First, there will naturally be more murderous humans around as time goes on. And second, players will get power-ups as they eliminate other players, and therefore make it easier to win the game. In the end, the goal is to make it fun and flexible for the players, so that whether they have five minutes or an hour, they can enjoy what TMD has to offer.