Final Impact

2D Arcade Shooter

My first project was the independent production of the DOS PC–Game “Final Impact”. Release was on march 1998. Development was first started on the Amiga and later put up and finished on the PC. Our team "Brainbug" consisted of four dedicated computer game enthusiasts. For a sneak peek download the Final Impact avi, which is a short trailer of the game.

Screenshot from the intro

At the start of the project we took PC Games like Raptor as examples. Later on we changed to the arcade shooter Rayden, which gave us a lot of inspiration, like the walking tanks, giant end bosses on retreat and oversized rotating turrets. Final Impact turned out to be far too hard for the casual gamer: "Wimps should not play serious stuff ..."

Ingame scenes: Final Impact supports joystick and two-player simultaneous mode
This giant tank represents one of the tougher end bosses: Its turret fires salvos of plasma while rotating. Evading these projectiles is tricky. The challenge here is to stop the tank before it reaches its destination.
Hunting bipedal walkers while evading tractor turrets: The tractor turret projects a powerful beam that will immobilize a careless target. The captured ship has one second to escape before the turret sends a destructive impulse towards it.
Two big nasty bastards: The first one prefers to take the players down with numerous turrets. The second releases ascending drones which pelt the players from far above with plasma.

Feature List

• Final Impact uses the same fire controls as SWIV (Silkworm V on Amiga). This allows the player to direct fire in eight directions, provided the weapon supports turret mode.
• Over 30 different weapon systems. Smart missile, laser and paveway bomb included.
• Two player simultaneous mode. Difficulty increases with two players.
• Mission briefings detail secret enemy weapons and offer hints for needed equipment.
• The ship yard features three different classes of space fighters. These vary in price, armor, payload, and maneuverability.
• The armory offers restocking of ammunition and the installation of mission specific equipment.
• Switching active weapons during the mission allows to take full advantage of the player's inventory.
• Parallax-Scrolling

My Jobs for Final Impact:

• Game Concept
• Story and ingame texts
• Coding of several engine parts in Amiga assembler code like shot/impact/damage system, sound routines and the encounter editor
• Video- and sound digitalization and polishing of the results
• Building the animated 3D graphics with “3D Studio” and converting them into the engine’s own format for object generation
• Scripting of animated objects with ingame editors
• Modeling and animating of the 3D cutscenes with “3D Studio”
• Level design in cooperation with art designer and programmer

Reviews/Ads

Review PC Joker 6/98

Review Abendzeitung 5/98	Advertisement Computer Bild 5/98

This file is a 75 second trailer of Final Impact, showing several ingame scenes and the intro.
Download finalimpact.avi (15.5 MB)