Development of Vendetta
Development of Vendetta
Our objective was to create a completely original game concept. Our team decided to make a 2D beat-’em-up video game that felt violent, gritty, and fast-paced —something that paid homage to retro brawlers like Streets of Rage while pushing into darker, story-driven territory. As the gameplay designer, lead artist, and narrative lead, I wanted to design a game that didn’t just reward combos and reflexes but also carried emotional weight through its world and characters.
The idea for Vendetta emerged, set in 19th-century Italy, as a retired fencer named Dante battles his way through an underground fencing gauntlet.
Evan Cheng - Gameplay Designer/ Artist - National High School Game Academy - Pillow K.O.
We created a narrative for our game:
"A retired sword duelist named Dante gets a mysterious invitation to compete in an underground dueling ring. Dante, burdened by his past and his oath to never pick up a sword again after accidentally killing his brother in a spar, ignores the invitation. Later that night, he is kidnapped and knocked unconscious. When he wakes, he finds the tip of a sword pointing at his face. Dante then looks around and sees that he is somewhere underground and is surrounded by a large audience jeering at him. He looks back up and finds himself face to face with a young, cocky duelist out for blood. Left with no choice, Dante must duel the young duelist for the sake of his own survival. After beating the duelist, Dante climbs up the rank and faces more opponents, each much more stronger and skilled than the other. Yet, the years of experience have never left him, and he slashes them down one by one with ease. Dante faces his final opponent, who hides in the shadows before walking into the light. The final opponent reveals himself to be Dante's brother Daniel. Daniel is no longer recognizable to Dante, but he knew it was his brother standing before him. He pleads to Daniel that they not fight, but Daniel, enraged and filled with vengeance, attacks Dante. In the end, Daniel loses the duel, and weakened by his injuries, he falls to his knees and begs his brother to kill him once and for all. Finally, Dante must make the difficult decision on whether to kill or spare his brother. Killing him would mean that Dante would have truly lost everything he held dear, but sparing him would mean that Daniel would never find his peace and would resent Dante for the rest of his life."
"Cocky opponent" Animation Reference
"Cocky Opponent" Design (Front View)
"Cocky opponent" In-Game Implementation
"Cocky opponent" Sprite Sheet
After finalizing the first opponent's design and animations, I moved onto making the game's cutscenes. I started with creating the opening cutscene, when Dante opens up his eyes and confronts the "cocky" opponent.
Next, I animated the two most important moments in the game: Dante and Daniel's fate.
KILL DANIEL
SPARE DANIEL
We completed the game the day before we would present in front of over a hundred people, including parents, students, and National High School Game Academy staff at Carnegie Mellon University's McConomy Auditorium.