Fantendo Christmas Showcase 2021/Presentations/Faz Studios

Hello and welcome to the Faz Studios presentation for the Fantendo Christmas Showcase 2021! …Well, I guess it’s not really a Christmas showcase since I’m doing it on New Year’s Eve, but I don’t make the rules.
Anyway, I’m Faz, and as per usual, I will be your host for the evening. Today, I’m going to be talking about my two current projects; CrossClash II and Project Cape Rumble (I decided to expand the scope of the showcase a little).
Before that, though, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who’s supported my work so far. It’s a labor of love, and it’s honestly pretty humbling to see this amount of people enjoy these silly little game concepts and characters I come up with. Not too long ago, we even got CrossClash II featured, which I am very thankful for. While what I’m going to announce here is all I have planned now, I’ll be sure to keep you updated through my blog posts, any future showcases, or on the CrossClash II Dojo.
Now then, on with the show!
==CrossClash II==
===Phase 3===
For those of you who haven’t been following the CC2 Dojo, I’ve split development of the game into five phases. I just finished working on Phase 2 late last month, and since then, I’ve been taking a little bit of a break from the game.
Next month, however, I’ll be starting work on Phase 3. Here’s what that entails;
*I’ll be adding one more boss to the game. I was originally going to hold off on this boss until Phase 4 began, but seeing as said boss will be present in the game’s Arcade Mode, I kinda have no choice but to add them ahead of time. I won’t say too much, but see this addition as a little glimpse into the future. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
**There are also two more bosses I need to add, but these will DEFINITELY be Phase 4 additions.
*I’ll be adding the Arcade Routes for all 108 fighters in the game thus far (including Season 1 and 2 DLC fighters). As of writing this, I have seventeen routes complete, which is an alright place to start. That’s about 15% of all the routes!
*I’ll be adding the Assists for all represented franchises thus far. I don’t have a definite number on how many Assists there will be, but this’ll definitely take me the longest of all the tasks that I need to do in this phase. Please stay tuned!
*Finally, I will be rolling out Season 2 of DLC. The season is finalized, and I’m super excited to show you all the new stuff it’ll bring!
Of course, as I promised, I will be revealing the Franchise Pack for Season 2 in this presentation. Before that, though, I want to address how future seasons may be handled.
===Future DLC Seasons?===
I wasn’t really sure how to write this in a cohesive and neat paragraph format, so just take a bunch of random bullet points.
*I have begun work on plans for Season 3, and I have a bunch of rough concepts for seasons beyond that. Heck, I already have a rough concept for the absolute last season for when the time comes to do that.
*That said, while Season 3 will almost definitely be a thing, I’m not sure how many seasons will happen beyond that. Could be one, could be two, could be none. We’ll see. (I definitely won’t do more than ten, though - This game has to end sometime!)
*Right now, Season 3 is lined up to release in Summer 2022 (May at the absolute earliest). However, since I don’t want to start working on the Story Mode until summer, if I finish Phase 3 of development early, I will do a “Phase 3.5” dedicated to rolling out Season 3 of DLC, with Season 4 coming out over the summer instead.
*On the topic of Season 3, I’m going to be doing something a little different with it. It’s something that I’ve kinda already done with the first CrossClash, but in a different way. I’ll talk more about it when the time is appropriate, but I do ask for honest feedback once that time comes. It could very well shape the future of DLC to some extent.
Those sure were a bunch of bullet points.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Please take a look at this.
===Fight Like Hell (DLC Newcomer)===
The trailer opens in the fiery landscape of the Nether as Kris is launched backwards by an unseen force. Barely able to keep their feet on the ground, they skid back to a group of heroes who seem to be fighting alongside them; These include the Mario Brothers, Pac-Man, Michael Afton, and Cuphead. However, all of them seem relatively tired from their battle.
The camera transitions to a shot behind the party, revealing their adversaries; Jevil, Bowser, Blinky, Springtrap, and the Devil. Leading the charge is the One-Winged Judge himself, Sansiroth, who lets out a chuckle at his victims’ misfortune. Preparing Superdunking, he raises his arm in the air with the intent of finishing the heroes off… before a shotgun blast tears his arm right off its socket.
Already being dead, Sansiroth is not really harmed by the blast, but is instead rather annoyed. As he and his small army turn their heads to face the intruder, they all gain terrified expressions on their faces as they see a man clad in green armor before them. Behind the man lies the stomped corpses of Goombas, socketless eyes floating in the air, and various other monstrous beings taken out through various means.
The camera then cuts to a close-up shot of the marine, starting from his feet and panning up to his head before he cocks his shotgun, prompting his splash text to appear…
The Doom Slayer Razes Hell!
----
That’s right, the DOOM franchise is ripping and tearing its way into CrossClash II as Season 2’s Franchise Pack, with the Doom Slayer leading the charge as a playable character!
Before I start, did you know that the first DOOM game celebrated its 28th birthday this month? While the actual day of its release, December 10th, was a little too early to reveal the Franchise Pack then, it’s better late than never!
I’ve actually had the chance to try out every DOOM game (except for Eternal) after getting the Slayer’s Collection for the Switch over the holidays. I’m not usually too big of an FPS fan - Before DOOM, I only really played Team Fortress 2. However, DOOM’s gameplay feels really fun to me, since the objective is the same every time you play; Kill demons and get to the end. Not bad for one of the founders of the genre.
With the Doom Slayer in particular, I really wanted his gameplay to feel like his home series without compromising the gameplay of CrossClash II. While the version of his moveset isn’t exactly what I previously envisioned, I am much more proud of it, and the Doom Slayer in general has been one of the most fun and rewarding characters to design.
I’m really looking forward to showing you more of the Doom Slayer and his hellish world in a future CrossClash II Dojo post, which I plan to release in mid-to-late January 2022.
(Oh, by the way; In that list of codenames I shared on the Dojo, Doom Slayer was what “Armor” represented. Have fun guessing the other three codenames!)
==Project Cape Rumble==
As the last part of the presentation, I’d like to give a quick update on Project Cape Rumble.
The game’s been on hiatus for a while now, since I consider CrossClash II a project which deserves some more work than PCR does, as it’s technically less complete. Right now, all I have to work on is the game’s story mode, Exam Day. While it isn’t too big, it does require me to do a lot of art which I don’t always have the motivation for.
That said, the game will eventually come off of hiatus by summer 2022 at the latest. I say “at the latest” because it could potentially be a bit earlier than that, depending on how IRL stuff goes. We’ll just have to see there, I suppose. This may be a bit disappointing, but I want to make sure I have the time and energy to make a good story for these characters. Please bear with me here.
…However, I did want to show you a rough concept for the beginning of the mode. Please take a look, but note that this doesn’t necessarily reflect the final product.
Story Mode opens with a brief narration from [REDACTED], describing the basic lore of the Project Cape series and establishing the mode's plot. The narration is played over disconnected scenes of various heroes from the series battling each other. 	Story Mode opens with a brief narration from [REDACTED], describing the basic lore of the Project Cape series and establishing the mode's plot. The narration is played over disconnected scenes of various heroes from the series battling each other.
 	[REDACTED]
The Project Cape Initiative was founded in order to train the next generation of superheroes that would defend the world. After many years of honing their skills, their Exam Day had finally arrived, and their abilities were to be put to the test in order to determine if they truly had what it takes to be a true hero. However, what happened on that day was something nobody expected...
The screen then transitions to a sunny day at the home of these young heroes; The Project Cape Initiative's central headquarters in the city of Neo Metroville. A bus pulls up to the entrance of the campus, with only two beings on board; A robotic bus driver manning the vehicle, and a more organic figure as their sole passenger; The player's Custom Hero. The doors of the bus swing open along with the building's gates, with the new hero stepping off the bus as the driver bids them farewell.	The screen then transitions to a sunny day at the home of these young heroes; The Project Cape Initiative's central headquarters in the city of Neo Metroville. A bus pulls up to the entrance of the campus, with only two beings on board; A robotic bus driver manning the vehicle, and a more organic figure as their sole passenger; The player's Custom Hero. The doors of the bus swing open along with the building's gates, with the new hero stepping off the bus as the driver bids them farewell.
 	Busbox
Thank you for riding! Welcome to the Project Cape Initiative Headquarters, where your heroics begin!
As the bus' doors shut and it drives away, the hero steps through the gates and onto campus, making their way through the neatly-trimmed lawn leading up to the main entrane of the building. It seemed oddly quiet for what they had been promised; Instead of seeing fellow heroes-in-training hanging out and honing their skills, the exterior was barren, with not a single other being in sight... until someone is suddenly launched through the windows facing the hero. 	As the bus' doors shut and it drives away, the hero steps through the gates and onto campus, making their way through the neatly-trimmed lawn leading up to the main entrane of the building. It seemed oddly quiet for what they had been promised; Instead of seeing fellow heroes-in-training hanging out and honing their skills, the exterior was barren, with not a single other being in sight... until someone is suddenly launched through the windows facing the hero.
 	Chewout
GHRK-!! Ugh...
The purple-clad heroine rises to her feet, looking at the building which she was just ejected from before noticing the player. 	The purple-clad heroine rises to her feet, looking at the building which she was just ejected from before noticing the player.
 	Chewout
Those friggin... Oh, hey. You're the new recruit, huh? Nice to meet you, but we gotta do introductions la -
She's interrupted by the opening of the building's doors, where a small legion of small, tread-riding robots flood out to face her and the player down. 	She's interrupted by the opening of the building's doors, where a small legion of small, tread-riding robots flood out to face her and the player down.
 	Chewout
...Looks like we've got company. Hey, rookie, how's about an impromptu first lesson?
The "rookie" nods, assuming their battle stance alongside Chewout as the robots grow closer, ending the cutscene. 	The "rookie" nods, assuming their battle stance alongside Chewout as the robots grow closer, ending the cutscene.
That’s all I’ll show you for now, but hopefully you now have a general idea of the plot. Please stay tuned for any future updates.
For now, though, that ends my Christmas showcase! I hope you’ve enjoyed the reveals made tonight, and I encourage you to check in in the future for more updates.
As we head into a new year, I’d like to once again express my gratitude for the Fantendo community. Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs, but overall, I’m happy to be here for the ride, and I look forward to having more fun with y’all in 2022!
Until we meet again, have a great new year, folks!
…Oh yeah, there is one more tiny thing.
Project Retraux is now in development.
I won’t say what this project is quite yet, but I do want to mention that this is something entirely new for me. I’ve never done anything quite like it for Fantendo, and it isn’t a huge project, but I’m excited to be working on it anyway. I will share more when it’s ready.
Okay, that’s it for real this time. ;)