[PAX Prime 2012] Battle Block Theater

[UWCrash]

Battle Block Theater has been on the burner for quite some time now. With the leaderboards for Castle Crashers recently breaking three million players, it’s fair to say that The Behemoth’s “Game #3” is highly anticipated. Playable versions of Battle Block have been popping up since at least 2010, and at this year’s PAX Prime I had a chance to play a recent build of it on the show floor. I also sat down with Dan Paladin (co-founder, art director for The Behemoth) behind-the-scenes and received a rundown of their recently announced features.

In Battle Block Theater you play as a ship-wrecked adventurer. Betrayed by your best friend Hatty, imprisoned by evil cats in a run-down theater, and forced through a series of increasingly deadly “performances”, you’ll need to work with the theater’s other prisoners to survive. Story Mode is available for single player or co-operative play, and in each level you’ll be looking for three gems before you head to the exit. Controls offer a variety of character interactions if you have a partner, such as throwing your accomplice or pulling them up onto a ledge. An example of basic co-operative gameplay would require one player to throw the other across a chasm, raising a bridge so the other may cross; however, the puzzles grow far more sinister as you progress. You’ll also find a variety of weapons to employ, such as a crossbow capable of fending off foes or creating makeshift platforms. Most levels do not have a unique solution, so replaying the same performance is a new opportunity to find a new path to success.

If competitive play is more your style, Battle Block Theater also has an Arena Mode featuring several different styles of play. One of the modes shown at PAX was a fight for control of a level’s territory. As players move around the level, blocks they touch switch to their team’s color. The victor is the team with the dominant color when time expires. Another mode features a flying whale spewing gold coins which need to be picked up and deposited into a flying safe. At this time, there are plans for at least five different Arena games at launch.

While playing through both Story and Arena modes you’ll earn gems, an in-game currency that can be spent at the theater’s Gift Shop. Gems are primarily used to bribe the theater’s feline population into releasing prisoners, and those prisoners are then available as playable character skins. There will also be support for player-to-player trading, which will allow you to exchange gems and other items with your friends.

Outside of traditional gameplay, The Behemoth’s big announcement at PAX was Battle Block’s Level Lobby and Level Editor. The editor allows you to create your own Story Mode or Arena Mode levels using the same tools available to Behemoth’s designers. They’ve made the system very straightforward: use RT to select your block type, A to place you block, and LT to change properties (color, etc.). Block placement can also be done in “mirrored” or “quad” mode, resulting in levels that have two or four-way symmetry, respectively. Before publishing your level, you also have the option to quickly jump in and playtest it to make sure the design is solid.

The Level Lobby feature serves as the hub for all player-created levels. Within it you can search, play, and rate levels created by yourself or others. Levels are uploaded as a playlist, although playlists may only contain a single level. Core gameplay in user-generated content will remain the same as “official” levels. However, gems picked up through the Level Lobby won’t be available for use in the Gift Shop to avoid abuse.

I had a blast with Castle Crashers, and it had three long years between announcement and release. Having originally debuted in March 2009, Battle Block Theater is currently at 3.5 years and counting. Based on everything I saw, heard, and played at PAX, I’m really looking forward to this game’s release, and I’m hopeful that the long development cycle is worth it. Battle Block Theater is currently only announced for XBLA, and according to The Behemoth’s website a release date will be announced “soonish”.

[Ink Asylum]

Originally Posted by UWCrash

Playable versions of Battle Block have been available at conventions since last year

Longer than that. I played this game at PAX East 2010.

[UWCrash]

Originally Posted by Ink Asylum

Longer than that. I played this game at PAX East 2010.

Thanks, fixed.

Man have I lost track of time in my age.

[Lint of Death]

It looks like this is a massive expansion on the 4-player not-Alien-Hominid game packaged with Alien Hominid way back on the GCN release. And that's awesome!!! I loved that game, you could kill your friends or help them well before New Super Mario Bros Wii came out

[UWCrash]

Originally Posted by Lint of Death

It looks like this is a massive expansion on the 4-player not-Alien-Hominid game packaged with Alien Hominid way back on the GCN release. And that's awesome!!! I loved that game, you could kill your friends or help them well before New Super Mario Bros Wii came out

Dan said the basic gameplay was inspired by the Alien Hominid PDA games. If those are what you're referring to you should be pretty pleased. I played the crap out of CC but never played Alien Hominid, so I couldn't really speak to that.

[Lint of Death]

Originally Posted by UWCrash

Dan said the basic gameplay was inspired by the Alien Hominid PDA games. If those are what you're referring to you should be pretty pleased. I played the crap out of CC but never played Alien Hominid, so I couldn't really speak to that.

Yep! I instantly recognized that boat at the very end of the trailer. What a clever idea that was - if you had enough people around to make it work; it was a boat that only fit 2 people, but it was a 4-player game where the characters had the power to kill each other.

[Kielaran]

Hopefully it has a lot less bugs on release than Castle Crashers. All the issues with that game nearly ruined it for a lot of people.