DarkSeas Games Developing Spiritual Successor To Road Rash

Feast Huggston writes "Indie Dev Darkseas Games has released an early gameplay trailer (video) of Road Redemption, a modern reimagining of the Sega Genesis (and later 3DO/N64/PSX/PC) motorcycle combat-racing classic Road Rash. The project has been in development since early 2012 and utilizes the Unity 4 engine. It is currently slated for release on PC, Mac, and Linux in 2014, with a stretch goal of eventually reaching the major game consoles. So far, it has raised over $24,000 of its $160,000 pledge goal on Kickstarter. While Road Rash creator Dan Geisler recently stated that he was interested in making another Road Rash, he is apparently not directly involved in this project, although he has given it his blessing. I grew up playing the heck out of this on Genesis and PC and it already appears that for many, a rebirth of this franchise was long overdue."

Comments

Hrmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Could have done without the head being cut off @ the end. I loved Road rash growing up, this looks like a rehashed GTA.

Not that Road Rash was all that great but it kept things simple and it was fun.

Re:Hrmmm

[hairyfeet]

That is what I thought when I saw gun targeting...NO, FUCK NO, you are missing the whole point, what made that FUN was that it was simple, you could grab a chain or a bat and whack the other guy or kick him into traffic, but because they kept it simple you could still just race and win.

Re:Hrmmm

[jo_ham]

That is what I thought when I saw gun targeting...NO, FUCK NO, you are missing the whole point, what made that FUN was that it was simple, you could grab a chain or a bat and whack the other guy or kick him into traffic, but because they kept it simple you could still just race and win.

Exactly. That and the 16 bit music were the best parts about the game.

I spent hours playing Road Rash II on the Mega Drive with my brother and my friends and it was pure arcade action. If I wanted to play GTA or a shooter I'd play GTA or any number of shooters. Road Rash was something special.

Also, damn you you Public Enemy! Made me Nitro right into a hidden cop car again!

Re:Hrmmm

[hairyfeet]

I can't remember which one I had, may have been Sega CD, but the soundtrack caused me to wreck more than the enemies! It had Kid Rock before he became famous and a bunch of other killer tracks (The Kid Rock track was "Somebody's gotta feel this" which kicks ass at 110MPH).

But what made it great was like I said, nothing to make you lose concentration on the road, you could switch music tracks, you could swing your weapon, hit the booster...that was pretty much it. This let you just lock onto the road and zone out and enjoy the shit out of the game. if they add all the targeting crap like GTA drive by missions I know I won't buy it because that ain't Road Rash, that is GTA which is lame. I want killer tunes, fast speed, simple controls, THAT is Road Rash!

Re:Hrmmm

[jo_ham]

That must have been the Mega CD version or the Playstation version. The original 16 bit version on the Mega Drive had purely midi music. It was one of the classic 16 bit soundtracks.

Re:Hrmmm

[hairyfeet]

It may have been Sega CD, I was one of the dumbasses that were first adopters. I thought it would be used to make huge Phantasy Stars, fit all these huge games that would cost a mint to make in a cart, what did we get Marky Mark...yuck.

But the soundtrack caused me more wrecks than the bad guys, it was the kind of music that just makes you want to drive full speed so my bike was full blast, just jamming to the tunes while peeling my butt off a truck...GREAT GAME. Man I hope they don't screw it up by making it GTA on bikes.

Re:Hrmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

MIDI music? The Mega Drive didn't use MIDI, dumbass.

Re:Hrmmm

[jo_ham]

MIDI music? The Mega Drive didn't use MIDI, dumbass.

Sorry, I meant 6 channel non-CD-quality music. My apologies for a flippant throwaway description. I'm sorry to have offended someone who was so brave in calling me a dumbass that he didn't log in. I'll be simply inconsolable with grief over it. Still, I'll be here when you've grown up, kid.

Re:Hrmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Well it most likely was some form of MIDI data, driving the FM and PCM channels.

Some people think midi is just those 128 sounds built into your soundcard that get played by .mid files.

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Zemran]

Yeah, and when I was a child I had to go out and hit people over the head with an anvil everytime I watched Tom and Jerry. We should ban all depictions of violence because we know that all American children are too stupid to tell fiction from reality.

Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[guises]

On the one hand I fully sympathize with people who are enthusiastically supporting projects like this. I wanted the Dreamfall kickstarter to make gobs of money and considered a Slashdot submission but held off, feeling that it was inappropriate. There are so many of these projects now that I'd hate to see Slashdot flooded with this sort of thing.

As far as this particular project is concerned: I make a point of only donating to teams that already have considerable experience and who I know can do the job well and in reasonable time. These people are not that. It's otherwise a good idea, but I don't think bankrolling the dreams of some college kids is really the best use of Kickstarter funding.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

It clearly states in the kickstarter that these aren't college kids. They've worked for major game studios on projects like Sony, Sega, and Bioware. You probably think CliffyB looks like a college kid too.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[guises]

And... are you the daddy who touched her? And is that bad? Are you suggesting that fathers shouldn't touch their children?

If you mean molest you should really say molest. It's not like children are going to catch the contextual difference between touch and touch.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

And... are you the daddy who touched her? And is that bad? Are you suggesting that fathers shouldn't touch their children?

!!!! **** !!!! GUISES is confirmed to be a child MOLESTER !!!! **** !!!! Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven, there hasn't been a /. scandal this terrible since Soulskill was found to be raping old WWII war veterans that liberated concentration camps.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[maxsthekat]

Have fun donating your money to EA and other "established" piece of crap studios then. The whole point of kickstarter is to give people a chance who otherwise wouldn't have one. That they have a prototype this far along is already a good sign. How hard it is to donate a whole dollar? People like you need to stop bitching every time they see something someone else has made, and start helping instead.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

Richard Stallman has never had consensual sex. Think about that.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[Chryana]

A cursory glance at the project webpage would have shown you that their team has worked on at least a dozen game, and has a combined experience of 35 years in video game development. They also have made a demo which, in my opinion, looks pretty cool. I'm not sure that flinging names like college kids is deserved in this case. I am also curious as to what extra guarantees you would expect to give your backing to a similar project. After all, if the project succeeds, there will be no further kickstarter fundraiser for the next ones (hopefully).

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[flimflammer]

This being modded so high is typical slashdot. Sounds insightful until you realize half his post is actually bullshit.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[AmiMoJo]

I'm tempted to donate but they don't have any kind of timeframe or estimated release date on the kickstarter page. I know, it is very hard to estimate, but any project of this size by a professional team will have some idea of when it is likely to be finished.

No promises, just a vague "hopefully this year" and some kind of estimate of the work that needs to be done would inspire a lot of confidence. Clearly they already have a fairly advanced game engine, if the video is to be believed... Although to be honest when I saw it I thought that while it may have been real-time it was a bit too perfect to be someone actually playing it. There were a lot of set pieces demonstrating features in a very short space of time with no cuts.

Go on, convince me.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[guises]

They have ten people with a combined experience of thirty five years, that's nothing to brag about. They list a bunch of games that team members have "worked on," but give no indication in what capacity. These aren't established vets, like Brian Fargo or Tim Schafer (who have kickstarted projects to which I was happy to donate), these are... I don't know what to call them that doesn't sound insulting. These are people from whom I would be happy to buy a product, but not people to whom I wish to give a donation.

I'm also wondering how they're supposed to be funding more than a year's worth of development from ten people with only $160,000.

I didn't see any mention of a demo. Could you provide a link? Or do you mean the video? The video sells the concept, and that's good, and it's a good concept. But concepts are a dime a dozen.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

The release date is July 2014. It is on the page.

Re:Kickstarter advertisements on Slashdot

[Chryana]

Yes, I meant to say that they provide a video, not a demo. My mistake.

"open source" the source code after release..

[musikit]

I like this. i think it is the funniest part of the project. as since they are using unity to build their game, the source code is already open source. as unity only does AOT compile on the iOS platform. so weather you want to give it away or not. you did! look at any unity android game and open the apk yourself and you can use a c# decompiler to get back to original source (minus comments). I actually asked for AOT compile for all platforms on unity and was ignored.

but thanks for "open sourcing" it. i guess.

Re:"open source" the source code after release..

[PaulFisch]

Decompiled code is really not at all like open sourced code. It is basically unreadable for a human when you have a large project like this. I mean, I guess every XNA game is "open source" as well then.

Re:"open source" the source code after release..

[musikit]

you really havent used unity then i take it. as i have and have seen my code decompiled to basically my code minus my spacing. function names and variable names were preserved.

Re:"open source" the source code after release..

[PaulFisch]

I've just never tried to decompile it because I don't make it a habit to steal other people's code. I have seen decompiled XNA code before though and it was a mess. Method and Variable names were not preserved. In either case though when it is open source you actually have permission to take it and use it in your own game. With a game as complicated as this you will also want to be able to use the associated assets as well. Also comments will probably be pretty useful to have.

Re:"open source" the source code after release..

[musikit]

there is more then "stealing other's code" to decompile a unity program. like i don't know test how good it is at protecting my intellectual property. but i guess everyone who uses a decompiler is a thief. ohh wait you used a decompiler. you must be a thief.

Re:"open source" the source code after release..

[PaulFisch]

My response was maybe a bit much, but you suggested I haven't really used unity because I have never tried to decompile someone else's code, which is ridiculous. I mean I could understand doing it to try to see how someone else implemented some particular feature, but it is still not great to be decompiling and studying other people's code without permission.

darn guns

[Anonymous Coward]

all these gun violent games all they do is make kids want to go get one and kill people and millins die each year cause of it.

I even saw a pencil used in crime so i guess we have to ban pencils now too. and lots a people get beat up by baseball bats and hockey sticks lets get rid a those too.

OH and i nominate you to wear a hockey helmet cause...IM GONNA BEAT YOU WITH A BRICK

why this kickstarter, and not camelot unchained?

[Anonymous Coward]

I submitted a great story about how they are building lots of their own tech, using mariadb and Linux on their back end etc with no love. Far more relevant than this

"Spiritual Successor?"

[skine]

Watching the trailer, it doesn't remind me that much of Road Rash.

For one, you can see the cars before you hit them.

Re:"Spiritual Successor?"

[theskipper]

I'd be happy if they simply cloned the gameplay and just updated the graphics. That would be worth a $20 donation.

Imho Road Rash was essentially perfect the way it was so it would be a shame if they messed too much with the formula. Flatout 2 was the same way; lots of fun just the way it was then another studio took over and tried too hard. The sequels never came close to the original.

Re:"Spiritual Successor?"

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree. The original was less graphic in violence and more of an arcade experience. This is like an FPS on bikes.

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

How is this insightful?

Needs one thing

[wakeboarder]

As long as they get the unlimited nitro cheat in the game I will give it my blessing too. Oh and the realistic physics when you crash at 100mph, you fly through the air or one the ground for the next minute without stopping.

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent up

Shotguns and samurai swords!? No thanks.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll confine my on-bike violence to badly animated chains, clubs, and occasional kicks, and party like it's 1993.

Needs a soundtrack by Soundgarden

[UnCivil Liberty]

Like the Playstation & PC versions of Road Rash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFkxYUxxtD4

Re:Needs a soundtrack by Soundgarden

[skine]

Soundgarden was great, back in the day when you didn't expect a real soundtrack in a game.

However, I still love the music from the Genesis games.

Re:Needs a soundtrack by Soundgarden

[AmiMoJo]

The PC version was notorious for cheating. If you got far ahead the other riders would magically speed up and maintain a constant distance no matter what.

SO?

[Osgeld]

Whats this voodoo banshee game offer than breaking mechanics like guns? Gore!

Not AL.. just pointless garbage a 12 year old would find Kewl

before making a road rash omage, at least have some respect for the 16 bit games

Yes!

[lemur666]

I have fond(?) memories of lying in bed, popping pain-killers and playing Road Rash while recovering from a nasty motorcycle accident.

As long as it stays true to it's 16 bit, cartoon violence core, I'm all for it.

Let's see...

[Anonymous Coward]

Some random guy on the internet is begging for money... why should I believe that he is going to be able to deliver anything for what he is asking?

Shadowrun: Returns promised DRM free but just announced they are going Steam only due to contractual obligations.
Expeditions: Conquistador is two months late.
Legends of Eisenwald is delayed until September.

All three have obviously ran out of money. Why should I believe this random guy can deliver what he is promising for that price?

Re:Let's see...

[flimflammer]

Welcome to responsibility! No one expects you to blindly donate to something you don't believe will succeed. If you don't think they can succeed then you don't donate. It's as simple as that.

Re:Let's see...

[Dogtanian]

Some random guy on the internet is begging for money [..] Why should I believe this random guy can deliver what he is promising for that price?

Welcome to responsibility! No one expects you to blindly donate to something you don't believe will succeed. If you don't think they can succeed then you don't donate. It's as simple as that.

Well, he's quite entitled to voice his scepticism and/or criticism whether he intends "donating" or not. It's as simple as *that*. Matter of fact, if someone is soliciting donations, it's quite responsible for people to draw others' attention to potential shortcomings.

The fact that people have a free choice whether or not to donate or buy doesn't negate their right to criticism- implying that it does is just a variant of the annoyingly common "you don't have to buy it, so you've no right to criticise it" fallacy that keeps popping up here.

Re:Let's see...

[flimflammer]

I have no qualms with criticizing a developer's ability to deliver. I just find it meaningless to make a generic "X, Y, Z didn't do something to my expectations, so why should I believe W will?" without making even a modicum of actual research into who you're criticizing. There's nothing substantial about what he said. It amounts to little more than "Target, J.C. Penny, and Walmart make cheap products that don't live up to my expectations, so why should I believe Macy's is going to be any better?"

He could do some actual research into who these people are, and form an actual opinion on whether he thinks they deserve his charity or not, not some broad nonsense that doesn't really contribute anything into the discussion.

All he has done is outline the general problem with Kickstarter: often times it doesn't pan out. Everyone already knows that, or should know that, if they use the site and fund projects.

Ultraviolence, rah rah rah!

[Anonymous Coward]

After watching the trailer I can easily understand why the USA are so afraid of a single boob and embrace violence at all times.

I am a Genius {Score: 5, Informative}

[GameboyRMH]

With a little trickery in the title line and a little lack of observation on your part ;-)

Anyone else ever see this Road Rash mockup?

[hack slash]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvHz2u-33Y4

Saw it years ago and with my love of Road Rash really wished it would be turned into a game. Road Redemption seems like it's borrowing too much from FPV gaming with the shotgun etc. which detracts from the original Road Rash style of gaming where you go hammer'n'tongs at your opponents without having to worry about aiming or other such crap - just get close and press the hit & kick buttons like mad :)

Re:Anyone else ever see this Road Rash mockup?

[DGeisler]

Ked Connolly, who made this vid, and I(DanGeisler) have joined forces. But keep it to yourself.

Re:Anyone else ever see this Road Rash mockup?

[DGeisler]

Pardon the typo. That's Kev.

Re:Anyone else ever see this Road Rash mockup?

[hack slash]

O_O

I really really hope you can bring a new Road Rash to modern day hardware, that would be on my christmas list for sure :)

BTW, small idea for inclusion into a new RR; Biker gangs. Play as a lone ranger or join a gang and fight other gangs (making sure not to beat up your fellow gang members)

Re: This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent for great justice!

Is 4 chan raiding slashdot or something? I've never seen a series of troll comments get modded like this.

A +5 for a mod parent up? Really?

"I am so smart! S-M-R-T..." {Score:7, Implausible}

[Dogtanian]

How is this insightful?

With a little trickery in the title line and a little lack of observation on your part ;-)

You're not ambitious enough with your titles! (^_^)

Cheats?

[Anonymous Coward]

WIll they have the original cheat codes or something similar? me and my friends would just spend half the time typing in:

xyzzy spoon -- Nitrous Oxide

xyzzy thwack -- You get the chain or bat...

Road Rash remake doesn't seem that bad

[Nyder]

Look, I grew up on Road Rash. I love the game.

Genesis, Amiga, Playstation, fuck ya, I played the game. I mean, I played the game.

If i want to relive the game, I got so many choices. That's why I'm not worried that the new game, Road Redemption, has added more on to it. So we got samurai swords and guns now. Sure, compared to the original game, it's different, but dudes, you can still play the original game. In fact, if this was just updated graphics of the original game, I'm sure people will be bitching that it's not any different.

Look, shit we enjoyed in the past, we can't get the same sort of joy out of it now, so we get something new. Relax, enjoy.

I'm going to point out that I really don't use the chain, bat or kicks much in Road Rash, they slow you down. Just a little dodge and zoom on past the dudes. After all, you are more racing the clock then the other opponents.

And to be fair, I first bitched about Road Rash 3D not being the same exactly as the Road Rash I've come to love from the Genesis (and Amiga) version. But guess what? It was decent enough in itself. Granted I think it's the N64 version that sucks dogshit...

Re:Road Rash remake doesn't seem that bad

[flimflammer]

I mostly agree; I don't think adding to it detracts from being Road Rash-like. However, I do have personal reservations with the use of guns. I definitely think the whole catch up and attack in gameplay is a bit more interesting because the guns put perhaps too much advantage into people behind you with no real way to defend yourself aside from driving spastically. If you add too much stuff like this, driving the race becomes less and less practical and becomes more about simply killing everyone until there is no one left.

Also a bit concerned about decapitations. Does that end your run? No matter what happened to you in the original games, you could get back on your bike. Game over in one swing seems a bit much.

Bootstrapping one's career

[tepples]

I make a point of only donating to teams that already have considerable experience [...] not [...] bankrolling the dreams of some college kids

If everybody followed a policy like yours, how would anybody gain "considerable experience"?

Re:Bootstrapping one's career

[guises]

Not through Kickstarter. I suppose they'd have to do it the old fashioned way.

Re:Bootstrapping one's career

[tepples]

how would any [new video game developer] gain "considerable experience"?

they'd have to do it the old fashioned way

Which "old fashioned way" do you recommend, specifically?

Re:Bootstrapping one's career

[guises]

You want suggestions for an aspiring game designer? You got me, you'd be better off asking an existing game designer. Here's what thirty seconds on Google found me:

http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/522/entrylevel_video_game_.php?page=3

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm Dan Geisler who did RR. I have always tried to make games that give you the thrill of doing something you couldn't possibly do in the real world. There will always be those who can't distinguish the difference. I would say violent games save more lives than Darwin claims IMFO.

To confirm, this is not my project.

[DGeisler]

Hello Slashdot. This is Dan Geisler, and I want to confirm, that I am not in anyway connected with this project. However, I do support their effort. That being said this is not the vision for a remake that I have in mind. I wish them the best, but the spirit of the game remains in the souls of the original team, and due to popular demand, many of us old souls have come together again. Stay tuned.

Re:To confirm, this is not my project.

[Anonymous Coward]

About three years ago I worked on an 'official' new version of Road Rash for EA, unfortunately it was cancelled after about 6 months of development. We were never told why it was cancelled, it was coming along rather nicely. Posted as AC obviously....

Re:To confirm, this is not my project.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Dan Geisler, i am a big fan of your game...road rash...is unique...among all bike games....those who have brains who wish to remake this legendary game will really think wat made it a big hit....i guess they should ask old folks..like us....i still believe no game can replace Road Rash..coz its bloody awsome....

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[DGeisler]

I co designed the original Road Rash. The game allows you to experience things you could never do in real life. I suggest, allowing people to get their fix this way, saves more lives, then Darwin reaps. IMFO

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes but Road Rash was one of the shittiest games ever made. If anything, it would discourage kids from wanting motorcycles.

Re: This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

Look again, he got you (sucker). The score is zero, the subject is "Re: This is fucked up {score 5, Insightful}. If you're at work, have some coffee before you fuck something up!

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 22/7, Mindblown}

[Westwood0720]

I still have the CD and original case in my CD rack. I remember doing everything I could to unlock the cattle prod.

Re:This is fucked up {Score: 5, Insightful}

[Anonymous Coward]

Just a thank you for Road Rash, one of my all-time favorites. It's what got me to upgrade from DOS to Windows; a friend had the older console version. Great game, loads of fun. And yes, you could never do those hings in real life, at least without going to prison or dying.

Road Rash Reborn....

[Anonymous Coward]

.we all miss it..our Road Rash. ur Road Redemption Game .
should have the same theme like jail..chains...clubs..smoke. girl..only diff modern graphics...the old had a cool club feeling..u can use smokers and fellow bikers..and yuck...stinking washrooms...if u can make a 3d replica...the game will be a hit...oh dont forget kick ass driving...with chains....please review road rash
Please dont miss the cool features of road rash...or else..i guarantee this game will be a flop.....Road Rash still rocks....no bike games can reach its fun...

Please review this comment

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah it would be cool if you can just remake the old game with modern graphics..instead of trying...to do some experiments...dont forget about clubs..smokers stinking toilets girl friends...punk style characters....cash price at the end....and of course chains and kick ass driving....

cheap jordan shoes,Air max shoes,jerseys sale

[cheap jordan shoes1]

====( http://www.sheptrade.com/ )==== This is a shopping paradise We need your support and trust, you can find many cheap and high stuff,Believe you will love it, WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD /WESTERN UNION PAYMENT YOU MUST NOT MISS IT!!!