Um den geheimen 3DS Titel handelt es sich um Code Name S.T.E.A.M., ein neues Spiel von Intelligent Systems. Der Entwickler der Fire Emblem und Advance Wars-Series bleibt auch bei diesem neuen Titel des Genres Strategie treu, dennoch bietet das Spiel mehr Action aus einer Third Person Perspektive.

– Nintendo will also be demoing the game on Treehouse Live tomorrow
– new game due out next year
– Codename S.T.E.A.M. confirmed
– steampunk vibe, takes place in London
– a man riding a motorcycle is shown
– cel-shaded style
– everything is steam-powered in the town, including bridges and trains
– „Has the queen arrived?“ „Not yet, we’ll let you know over the wireless.“ „Wireless? Strange times.“ „the troops are in position captain.“ We see a guy in a colorful suit with a star on his chest.
– an attack happens and airships are exploding. The main character Fleming is going to have to fight aliens. Large spider like enemy onscreen called Devastator
– no gameplay was shown in the debut trailer. It is actually the opening cinematic of the game.
– Hitoshi yamagami is involved
– Turn based strategy game with action elements
– Intelligent Systems involved
– Paul Patrashcu (director) and Takako Sakai (art director)
– action elements are taken from third person shooters
– „Players will take command of the unit steam a unique fighting force created by Abraham Lincoln to defend against a mysterious invasion from space,“
– Artstyle is from American Comic books
– three save files
– game was birthed from the combination of Turn-based strategy, third person shooter, steam-punk
– third person perspective that lets you move during turns. Includes some stealth
– utilizes touch screen, which has a steam meter. This depletes as you make moves. Also use the touch screen to aim guns.
– pick up coins as you travel around
– swap between players in your party when the aliens take their turn in order to get a better view
– throw bombs by following a yellow arch showing where you’ll toss them
– idea for a map was going to be used, but that was tossed out for the more immersive third-person view
– total of 4 playable characters in your team. Use all of them to get a better idea of the level layout.
– The field is filled with small brick ledges, crates and lamps held by floating Steam balloons. Green-lit TV screens are propelled through the air.
– Different collectibles are scattered around the field. A book with a heart stamp was seen, which is used for health
– use steam pipes on the map get to your objective
– green TVs give you gameplay clues
– enemies can attack more than once
– action points show how much a unit can move and the speed they can move. Time units replenish steam. Action points are represented by steam units. Moving and attacking uses steam.
– a steampunk setting was chosen before it became such an integral part of gameplay
– If you are spotted while exploring, your move (steam consumed) is locked in
– the team considered an undo button, but moved away from that idea
– each map has an objective
– 9 characters shown with 3 empty slots left
– Character powers should be obvious based on the characters‘ appearance. Moving away from focus on grinding to enhance a characters‘ abilities
– lots of character and weapon upgrades to obtain. You can also find items. Utilize these elements to build a balanced team
– visuals were inspired by Silver Age comics
– Jack Kirby and other comic artists were large influences
– utilize main and sub weapons
– characters on screen include a woman (The Fox) with face paint and a braid reaching out for a bird friend, a tall black man with a gold bull head on his shoulder, a young child with goggles, a burly blonde guy and a skinnier, nerdy-type holding a book and wearing glasses.
– main character is Henry Fleming
– there’s the eagle rifle and it features a bear’s head on top of it.
– there is a giant cat-like man called Lion
– levels will feature depth and verticality
– characters on higher portions of the land can be used as scouts
– terrain uses pixel art
– aliens are inspired by HP Lovecraft
– aliens share the element of ice
– there’s a monster called the Devastator, a monster that looks a bit like the nightmare mode of a purple octopus. Another enemy is called the Prowler. They work together in teams to hunt you down.
– aliens can use weapons and machines. There are many types of aliens
– overwatch attack is an attack during the enemy’s turn. These can be stacked. There’s also a delay in deployment, so the enemy may be able to avoid. You can do big damage to the enemy and stun as well.
– there is a way to regenerate steam
– another enemy type is called the Ripper
– the game never plays the same way twice
– strike special move is super American themed
– Spinning green pillars on the field allow you to save your game. These points let you restore health/steam with medals you’ve collected. By using up medals you won’t be able to buy some of the bigger weapons down the line near the end of the game. Medals will not be sold via eShop.
– one difficulty setting
– the lion character pounces forward on her enemies–attacking and moving
– Each character also has a “Special Ability” that can be used once per map. No two are the same
– answer to a question about the game being in London and still involving Abraham Lincoln: „The setting being what it is, the middle 19th century, it is still fantasy“ At the time the British empire was the biggest on earth, so London makes sense as a starting point. You will eventually go to the U.S.
– on why this game is taking a more shooter-like direction: „The goal of this game was to make a strategy game that would be as accessible to as many people as possible.“
– NOA notes that the shooter style of game is very approachable with constant player feedback
– here were several settings pitched. One was „steam punk civil war“. Eveyone had lots of ideas to riff on within the team. Felt it was a rich context choice.
– game features rock-style music
– „Since the gameboy advance, advance wars .. the music has been composed by (the same guy) I think you noticed the similarities. I wanted the music of the game to reflect steampunk setting. Most of the arrangements use a stringy part, inspired by 19th century music, the heavy metal is inspired by the machinery.“
– no permadeath…revive characters on the map by using medals
– there is multiplayer modes…but there’s confusion as to whether there’s online multiplayer or some other use of online

– there will be quite a few characters, but a specific number wasn’t given
– the lead developer likes Valkyrie Chronicles, but it wasn’t an inspiration. Nintendo & IS wanted the shooter like gameplay to be integral.
– Nintendo says they are ‚always thinking about our next iteration of Advance Wars and Fire Emblem.‘
– S.T.E.A.M. stands for Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace
– the development of this game has not impacted development of FExSMT

Arne Schreiber

Wenn ich daran denke, dass ich mehr in meinem Leben mit Videospielen zu tun hatte als nicht, zeigt es mir zum einen, wie alt ich bin und wie lange ich mittlerweile dem Gaming zugetan bin. Meine erste Konsole war das SNES und spätestens ab diesem Zeitpunkt war ich dieser Leidenschaft verfallen, die bis heute anhält. Auch wenn durch den Alltag leider die Zeiten von verspielten Tagen vorbei sind.