[ COMPLETE! ] Smashboards Creates: All-Star Strife (An indie-based platform fighter!)

[FazDude]

Hello and welcome, lovely reader, to the creation thread for...

In this creation thread, we will be designing the first installment in a brand-new IP, combining characters and worlds from across indie gaming for one big ol' superstar slamfest! This thread is designed to be a rather relaxed, low-commitment endevador where anyone is welcome; Some of the finer details have already been worked out, meaning that we can get right to the fun stuff! This is my first creation thread, so let's have a ball with it!

Here is our list of fighters! For more information, please visit the official Google Doc! Alternatively, here's a brief overview of the game's content:​

Spoiler: Content Overview

Fighters

1. Shovel Knight (...)​
2. Orcane (Rivals of Aether)​
3. Frisk (UNDERTALE) ( FazDude )​
4. Cuphead (...) ( Otoad64 )​
5. Quote (Cave Story) ( Megadoomer )​
6. Shantae (...) ( AlteredBeast )​
7. Anton (Antonball) ( Wario Wario Wario )​
8. Peacock (Skullgirls) (@Darkonedagger)​
9. Madeline (Celeste) ( DragonRobotKing26 )​
10. Hat Kid (A Hat in Time) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )​
11. Meat Boy (Super Meat Boy) ( cashregister9 )​
12. Fireboy & Watergirl (...) ( DragonRobotKing26 ) (unlockable)​
13. Peppino (Pizza Tower) ( Wario Wario Wario ) (unlockable)​
14. Zagreus (Hades) ( DragonRobotKing26 )​
15. Red (Angry Birds) ( FazDude )​
16. Impostor (Among Us) ( Tankman from Newgrounds ) (unlockable)​
17. Isaac (The Binding of Isaac) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )​
18. Cadence (Crypt of the Necrodancer) ( Qwerty UIOP ) (unlockable)​
19. Springtrap (Five Nights at Freddy's) ( FazDude ) (unlockable)​
20. Goose (Untitled Goose Game) ( Megadoomer ) (unlockable)​
21. Terrarian (Terraria) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )​
22. Dust (Dust: An Elsyian Tail) ( DragonRobotKing26 ) (unlockable)​
23. The Knight (Hollow Knight) ( Infinity Sorcerer )​
24. Octane (Rocket League) (@Darkonedagger) (unlockable)​
25. Annalynn (...) ( FazDude )​
26. Lilac (Freedom Planet) ( Otoad64 )​
27. Reimu (Touhou) ( Baysha ) (DLC)​
28. Miriam (Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night) ( Megadoomer ) (DLC)​
29. Henry Stickmin (...) ( FazDude )(DLC)
30. Crow (Nefarious) ( Megadoomer ) (DLC)​
31. Neon White (...) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)​
32. Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club) ( Justoneguyhere1999 ) (DLC)​
33. Jacket (Hotline Miami) ( DragonRobotKing26 ) (DLC)​
34. Gunvolt (Azure Striker Gunvolt) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)​
35. Steve (Minecraft) ( Qwerty UIOP ) (DLC)​
36. Kris (Deltarune) ( FazDude ) (DLC)​
37. CommanderVideo (Bit.Trip Runner) ( FazDude ) (DLC)​
38. Penguin (Club Penguin) ( FazDude ) (DLC)​

Stages

1. Celeste Mountain (Celeste) ( Janx_uwu )
2. Merchant Port (Rivals of Aether) ( FazDude )
3. Duel Grounds (Super Smash Flash 2) ( Wario Wario Wario )
4. The Office (Five Nights at Freddy's) ( AlteredBeast )
5. Dark Forest (Limbo) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
6. Stereo Madness (Geometry Dash) ( Baysha )
7. Diogenes' Mountain (Getting Over It) ( KneeOfJustice99 )
8. The Stanley Parable Adventure Line (The Stanley Parable) ( FazDude )
9. Pridemoor Keep (Shovel Knight) ( Megadoomer )
10. Floral Fury (Cuphead) ( FazDude )
11. Scuttle Town (Shantae) (@Darkonedagger)
12. Headspace (OMORI) ( FazDude )
13. The Subway (Subway Midnight) ( cashregister9 )
14. Flappy Pipeyard (Flappy Bird) ( AlteredBeast )
15. Legitimate Research (Jetpack Joyride) ( DragonRobotKing26 )
16. Snaktooth Island (Bugsnax) ( FazDude )
17. Fall Mountain (Fall Guys) ( Qwerty UIOP )
18. The Portal (Newgrounds Rumble) ( DragonRobotKing26 )
19. The Saucelands (Papa Louie 2: When Burgers Attack!) ( Qwerty UIOP )
20. The Gungeon (Enter the Gungeon) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
21. The Hub (Hades) ( Qwerty UIOP )
22. The Underground (UNDERTALE) ( FazDude )
23. Baba (Baba Is You) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
24. Slap Arena (Slap City) ( cashregister9 )
25. Nidhogg (...) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
26. City of Tears (Hollow Knight) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
27. Owl Express (A Hat in Time) ( Megadoomer )
28. Boiler City (Antonblast) ( FazDude )
29. Cobalt Plataeus (Angry Birds) ( FazDude )
30. The Skeld (Among Us) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
31. Hakurei Shrine (Touhou) ( Baysha ) (DLC)
32. Livre Ex Machina (Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night) ( Megadoomer ) (DLC)
33. Toppat Tour (Henry Stickmin) ( FazDude ) (DLC)
34. The Sovereign (Nefarious) ( Megadoomer ) (DLC)
35. Broforce (...) ( Infinity Sorcerer ) (DLC)
36. Lower Heaven (Neon White) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)
37. The Classroom (Doki Doki Literature Club) ( Justoneguyhere1999 ) (DLC)
38. The Mansion (Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion) ( Justoneguyhere1999 ) (DLC)
39. 1989 (Hotline Miami) ( DragonRobotKing26 ) (DLC)
40. The Arstotzkan/Kolechian Border (Papers, Please) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)
41. Sinner's Row (Azure Striker Gunvolt) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)
42. The Nether (Minecraft) ( Qwerty UIOP ) (DLC)
43. Ride Around Town (Deltarune) ( FazDude ) (DLC)
44. Bit.Trip Runner (...) ( FazDude ) (DLC)
45. Lava Factory (Annalynn) ( FazDude ) (DLC)
46. Iceberg (Club Penguin) ( FazDude ) (DLC)

Bosses

• The Devil (Cuphead) ( Megadoomer )
• Big the Jonathan (100% Orange Juice) ( CheeseAnton )
• Marie (Skullgirls) ( cashregister9 )
• Grimm / Nightmare King Grimm (Hollow Knight) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
• Risky Boots (Shantae) ( FazDude )
• DJ Music Man (Five Nights at Freddy's) ( Qwerty UIOP )
• Hades (Hades) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
• Photoshop Flowey (UNDERTALE) ( FazDude )
• Orlok Dracule (Bloodstained) ( Megadoomer ) (DLC)
• Ender Dragon (Minecraft) (@Darkonedagger) (DLC)

Companion Cards (Assists)

• Kick (Divekick) (@Darkonedagger)
• Bread (I Am Bread) ( Megadoomer )
• Tinker Knight (Shovel Knight) ( KneeOfJustice99 )
• Quincy (Bloons) ( FazDude )
• Black Goo (World of Goo) ( FazDude )
• N (N: The Way of the Ninja) ( KneeOfJustice99 )
• Guppy & Sylvester (Insaniquarium) ( cashregister9 )
• Sans (UNDERTALE) ( FazDude )
• The Kid (I Wanna Be The Guy) ( Megadoomer )
• Big Band (Skullgirls) ( Janx_uwu )
• Kragg (Rivals of Aether) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
• Mafia Goon (A Hat in Time) ( Megadoomer )
• The Noise (Pizza Tower) ( FazDude )
• Hornet (Hollow Knight) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
• Octodad (...) ( Megadoomer )
• Commander Viridian (VVVVV) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
• Minion Pig (Angry Birds) ( FazDude )
• Assassin (Soul Knight) ( Infinity Sorcerer )
• Jake (Subway Surfers) ( Qwerty UIOP )
• Spamton (Deltarune) ( FazDude )
• Creeper (Minecraft) ( Megadoomer )
• Squid Baron (Shantae) ( Megadoomer )
• Alien Hominid (...) ( Tankman from Newgrounds )
• Eye of Cthulu (Terraria) ( FazDude )
• Carrion (...) ( Qwerty UIOP )
• Sakuya Izayoi (Touhou) (@Darkonedagger) (DLC)
• Neco-Arc (Type-Moon) ( FazDude ) (DLC)
• Postal Dude (Postal) (@Darkonedagger) (DLC)
• V1 (ULTRAK1LL) ( Infinity Sorcerer ) (DLC)
• Simon & Calvie (Raft Wars) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)
• Joe Jumpgunner (Jumpgunners) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)
• Mettaton EX (UNDERTALE) ( KneeOfJustice99 ) (DLC)
• Glumstone the Giant (Cuphead) ( Qwerty UIOP ) (DLC)
• Peashooter (Plants vs. Zombies) ( Qwerty UIOP ) (DLC)
• Baldi (Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning) ( Justoneguyhere1999 ) (DLC)

Spoiler: Credits

• @airConditioner
• AlteredBeast
• Baysha
• cashregister9
• Champion of Hyrule
• CheeseAnton
• DGYT
• @Darkonedagger
• DragonRobotKing26
• FazDude
• Glubbfubb
• homdertalia
• Infinity Sorcerer
• Janx_uwu
• Justoneguyhere1999
• KawaiiAsa
• KneeOfJustice99
• Megadoomer
• NanayaGaming
• Otoad64
• Qwerty UIOP
• Speed Weed
• Tankman from Newgrounds
• Torgo the Bear
• Wario Wario Wario
• WeirdChillFever
• Yiptap
• ZeldaFan01

So, Smashboards community, are you ready to rumble?​

 

[FazDude]

Let's start with two simple jobs!

Job #1: Submit a name!
Just what it says on the tin; Submit a name that you think would work for the game!

Job #2: Submit a special control scheme!
For the sake of simplicity, we will only be requiring special/super moves to be submitted when it comes to movesets. As such, please submit a number of special moves (as well as any related directional inputs) and a number of super moves (as well as how you use them / a name for them).

Both of these jobs will close around 11 PM EST (roughly 5:45 from now).

 

[FazDude]

Name Submission: All-Bout: The Indie Fighting Game

Job 2: I am submitting the standard Smash special scheme:

• Neutral Special
• Side Special (forward/back)
• Up Special
• Down Special
• One super move, dubbed the Indiestroyer (activated by tapping the special button)

 

[AlteredBeast]

Job #1: Indie Clash

Job #2: Four specials and also light and strong aerials similar to NASB, also we should not have shielding and instead have parrying be a thing like in Rivals.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

#1. Indievisible!

#2. A Smash-inspired style with five specials per character (Neutral, Forward, Backward, Upward and Downward), as well as strong and weak aerials. Notably, each character will also have a unique "shield" - some will function slightly differently to others. Lastly, you'll also be able to use super moves (inspired loosely by Street Fighter,) which can come in three levels. Unlike the system in PSASBR, however, you don't need to use these super moves to K.O. - just knock your opponent far enough away.

 

[Baysha]

Name: I can't come up with anything atm but I don't want it to be anything with "indie" in the title. Indie games are a broad thing that reaches many different developers. So it doesn't have as much "punch" as a company, franchise, or even medium name. Some may say that having it in the title will attract people interested in indie games. However, this can easily be achieved with a subtitle such as "Cool Fighting Game: The Ultimate Indie Game Crossover." By using a subtitle, you can have both a quick and snappy title and the eye-catching "indie."

Also, this may just be my personal feelings, but having indie in the main title seems to be slightly belittling. Implying these are "only" indie games. And it also just seems boring. What if Sonic was named "Hedgehog Runner" or Doom named "Marine Shooter"? By just having "theme + genre", a game seems to become a lot more bland to the average consumer. Lastly, because of the broadness of "indie", it doesn't really tell you anything about what the roster will be like beyond that. Will there be any other theming? Will it be full of the popular mainstream picks or more smaller characters? These are the reasons why I feel we shouldn't have "indie" in the title of this game.


Gameplay style: Yeah just the 4 specials with RoA parrying and airdashes. And also lights and strongs are separate buttons instead of how hard you tilt the stick. Along with a super move. Supers are never the biggest priority in platform fighters so one is enough.

 

[FazDude]

After reading over your post, I definitely agree with what you're saying regarding the game's name. I'm gonna try and come up with something myself along those lines.

 

[cashregister9]

Job 1

STRIFE!

A short and snappy name that is easy to say.

Job 2

Standard Smash Gameplay, only instead of Smash Attacks its a strong attack button that has strong aerials.

 

[DGYT]

if we are including wavedashing, wavelanding, and etc. , then we need to make every character have a 4 or 3 frame jump squat.

 

[FazDude]

if we are including wavedashing, wavelanding, and etc. , then we need to make every character have a 4 or 3 frame jump squat.

I'm not gonna bother with stuff like exact frame data to keep things simple, but I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Project F.I.G.H.T
Frantic
Indie
Greats
Have
Tournaments

Control Sceme

In my game to be unique there is a mechanic where there are 3 levels of attacks, neutral attacks, special attacks, and meter attacks

Neutral Attacks act similarly to the basic attacks of Smash Bros, press A while attacking in a certain direction

Special Attacks are the characters well special attacks, alongside the normal special attacks of smash there are some unqiue special attacks as well, these special attack categories are:

Neutral Special (Special while standing without and button inputs)

Side Standing Special (Hitting special while standing and hitting left/right at the same time)

Down Standing Special (Hitting special while standing and attacking down)

Up Standing Special (Hitting special while standing and attacking up)

Running Special (Hitting special while running)
Up Air Special (Hitting special in the air upwards)

Side Air Special (Hitting special in the air while hitting left or right)

Down Air Special (Hitting special while un the air and hitting down)

Up Air Special (Hitting special while in the air and hitting up)

Meter Attacks are varients of these above special attacks while using a meter giving them special properties, when doing a neutral standing special with a full charged meter you do this game's final smash equvilent

 

[FazDude]

I am going to end the first two jobs a little earlier than expected.

Due to the amount of submissions for both jobs, we will be voting in-thread. Please vote for your top two in each category (Self-voting is only allowed for second place in each category). Only one of each will be implemented.
Names:

• All-Bout: The Indie Fighting Game (FazDude)
• Indie Clash (AlteredBeast)
• Indievisible! (KneeOfJustice)
• All-Star Strife (formerly known as STRIFE!) (cashregister9)
• Project F.I.G.H.T. (Frantic Indie Greats Have Tournaments) (Glubbfubb)

Control Layouts:

• Smash scheme (Four specials, one super move) (FazDude)
• Four specials, no super moves, light/heavy aerials, no shielding, Rivals-style parrying (AlteredBeast)
• Five specials, three super moves, light/heavy aerials, unique shields for each character (KneeOfJustice)
• Four specials, one super move, parrying/airdashes, light and strong attacks are seperate buttons (Baysha)
• Four specials, one super move, normal shielding, light and strong attacks are seperate buttons (cashregister9)
• Eight specials, eight super moves (Glubbfubb)

Voting will close at roughly 6 PM EST tomorrow, which is also when our first character job will open!

Speaking of characters, I've decided to swap out Zetterburn from Orcane (although the former is not ineligble for future character jobs).

 

[FazDude]

Name Votes:

1. STRIFE! (cashregister9)
2. All-Bout: The Indie Fighting Game (FazDude)

Control Layout Votes:

1. Four specials, one super move, parrying/airdashes, light and strong attacks are seperate buttons (Baysha)
2. Five specials, three super moves, light/heavy aerials, unique shields for each character (KneeOfJustice)

 

[Torgo the Bear]

1. STRIFE
2. All-Bout

1. Baysha
2. AlteredBeast

 

[Baysha]

On "STRIFE!" there's already a game out there called that... and another. That's not even counting similarly named games like "STRAFE".

1. Project F.I.G.H.T.
2. All-Bout

1. AlteredBeast
2. Mine

 

[cashregister9]

1. Project F.I.G.H.T.
2. Strife

1. Baysha
2. Mine

On "STRIFE!" there's already a game out there called that... and another. That's not even counting similarly named games like "STRAFE".

I should probably look these things up before I submit things

Hey FazDude would it be possible to alter my submission a bit just to change it to be "All-star Strife"? It's totally fine I can't though.

 

[FazDude]

Hey FazDude would it be possible to alter my submission a bit just to change it to be "All-star Strife"? It's totally fine I can't though.

Since it’s a minor change and we’re still relatively early in voting, I’ll let it slide this time. I’ll just add a little note at the end so people don’t get confused (meaning that people who’ve already voted don’t need to edit their votes unless they want to).

 

[Otoad64]

1. All-Star Strife
2. Project F.I.G.H.T.

1. KneeOfJustice
2. Fazdude

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

1. Indie Clash
2. All-Star Strife!

1. Baysha
2. KneeOfJustice

 

[Deleted member]

1. F.I.G.H.T.
2. All-Bout

1. AlteredBeast
2. KneeOfJustice

 

[Deleted member]

1. Allstar Strife (is this a Homestuck reference.)
2. Project Fight

1. KneeOfJustice
2. FazDude

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

1. Indie Clash
2. FIGHT

1. KneeOfJustice99
2. Altered Beast

 

[AlteredBeast]

1. STRIFE
2. Project FIGHT

1. KneeOfJustice
2. AlteredBeast

 

[Glubbfubb]

It seems acronyms are quite popular

Indievisible
Project F.I.G.H.T

Kneeofjustice
Fazdude

 

[Glubbfubb]

[Delete This]

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Name Votes.

1. All-Star Strife!
2. All-Bout - The Indie Fighting Game!

Gameplay Votes.

1. Baysha
2. AlteredBeast

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. F.I.G.H.T.
2. All Star Strife

 

[FazDude]

Votes are closed, and the results are in. Folks, welcome to All-Star Strife! Congratulations to cashregister9 !

In addition, we will be adopting the moveset structure designed by KneeOfJustice99 , which means every moveset submission must include:

• Five specials (Neutral, Forward, Back, Up, and Down)
• Three super moves
• Unique shields for each character

KneeOfJustice has also said that every character has light and heavy aerials ala Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, but do keep in mind that aerials are not required in moveset submissions; Only the items listed above. That said, if you want to include aerials or any other standard move, please do feel free to!

With that out of the way, it's time for the fun to really start with our next two jobs!

Job #3: Submit a fighter!
Submit any indie* game character you feel should join the playable roster. If you want, feel free to explain them or why they should join! (Please do not submit movesets or alternate colors, as they will be covered in future jobs.)

Job #4: Submit a stage!
Submit a stage concept revolving around an indie* game (the fighter and stage do not necessarily have to correlate.) Do not submit music tracks; They will be covered in future jobs.

*Please note that for our purposes, for a game to be eligible, they must have been indie at their conception (meaning that games such as Minecraft are okay, despite being owned by larger entities.

Both jobs will close sometime tomorrow evening - I will try my best to give advance warning.

 

[FazDude]

Job #3: Frisk (UNDERTALE)

(Render by MutationFoxy on DeviantArt!)

Frisk is the protagonist of UNDERTALE, an indie RPG which has taken the world by storm since its release in 2015. While the game and its follow-up Deltarune have no shortage of characters who would be prime fighting game material, why not start with the main protagonist?

Job #4: Merchant Port (Rivals of Aether)

Merchant Port is Orcane's home stage in Rivals of Aether, and is a common starter stage for competitive play. It serves a similar role in All-Star Strife, with its hazardless version being a great place to learn the basics of the game. If you turn stage hazards on, the center platforms will rotate as the wheel in the background spins.

 

[Otoad64]

Job 3: Cuphead

Pretty obvious pick but he's a popular character that I think could work well in a platform fighter so why not?

 

[cashregister9]

Job 3


William Afton (Five Night's at Freddy's)

(AKA Springtrap, AKA Scraptrap, AKA, GlitchTrap, AKA Burntrap)

He Always comes back, William Afton is the main villain of the FNAF Franchise, A Franchise with no creator whatsoever, He would be a very vicious character and has some interesting potential for a moveset

Horror is an important genre in the indie scene

Job 4

Saturnian Palace (Slap City/Princess Remedy)

Slap City is a platform fighter that had some decent popularity and this is a stage represents one of Ludosity's other games.

1. Allstar Strife (is this a Homestuck reference.)

You can't prove anything.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Fighter: Anton Ball and Annie Bell (Antonball)

If an indie crossover doesn't have Literal Whos, it's not an indie crossover - just Smash with a low budget. Anton and Annie would likely be alternate costumes and fight by keeping an Antonball out at all times they can manipulate by attacking it and creating traps that interact with it.

Stage: Duel Grounds

This would be based on Smash Flash 2's version of Battlefield. Sneaky fangame rep!
Smash Flash 2 would be referred to as merely "Super Flash 2" The Smash Ball would be changed to a McLeodGaming fist.

 

[Deleted member]

Peacock (Skullgirls)
We already have a fighting game character, but Skullgirls and Rivals are very different games. Went with Peacock since I think she would be more interesting for this kind of game than a character like Filla due to her wacky off the wall personalty.

Celeste Mountain (Celeste)
Players fight through the mountain from the game of the same name. It's a sort of traveling stage, with various characters from the game making cameos. The layouts are pretty simple, but feature hazards taken from the original game.

 

[Yiptap]

Hat Kid

One of the more recent indie games but still popular nonetheless, it's Hat Kid! She would use attacks from her different hats and badges. I pretty much just chose Hat Kid because I really like her. Plus, she's a cult-classic, which is a recurring trope in crossover fighting games.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Isaac

My boi Isaac would be a perfect fit for this game, an early celebrity in the Indie Boom of the early 2010s, Isaac would be a great addition along the likes of shovel night, he would act as a mostly projectile and zone styled fighter using stuff like his tear shots, bombs, creep trail, and other attacks he has to annoy and pester the opponent

Plus he is muh boi

Basement
Isaac's introductory stage would be randomly generated like his game, but there would always be a pit in the center, after being chased by Isaac's mom she has her eyes looks around the area and if she catches a glimpse of you she would do one of several actions

She would drop her foot down with her signature stomping attack which can stun

Summon Monstro who scatters bloody spread from his mouth

Summon Baby Plum who uses a stream of projectiles to push to opponent back

Summons The Bloat to shoot his infamous brimstone beams which can hit though walls at the nearest player

Has a brimstone beam shoot though her eye

Summon hearts which can heal anyone who grabs them

 

[FazDude]

View attachment 346729
Isaac

My boi Isaac would be a perfect fit for this game, an early celebrity in the Indie Boom of the early 2010s, Isaac would be a great addition along the likes of shovel night, he would act as a mostly projectile and zone styled fighter using stuff like his tear shots, bombs, creep trail, and other attacks he has to annoy and pester the opponent

I'm going to approve your submission, but just note that if Isaac were to get in, you would have to resubmit the moveset when the proper job comes.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

Job 3:Meat Boy (Super Meat Boy)

Meat Boy is the protagonist from Super Meat Boy, his mission is save his girlfriend Bandage Girl (wow,what an "original") and defeat Dr. Fetus. Super Meat Boy is a classic indie game, created by Newgrounds and there some other classic indie characters as CommanderVideo from Bit.Trip and The Kid from i Wanna Be The Guy

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Job 3: Captain Viridian (VVVVVV)

The Villi Captain of the DSS Souleye, Viridian found himself and his crew members scattered around the strange VVVVVV Dimension following a crash... however, with his optimistic spirit (and his ability to manipulate gravity,) he nonetheless set off - hoping to save his friends in the process!

In terms of gameplay, I do think there's a surprising amount of stuff to work with. Observing, for example, Indie Pogo, various aspects from VVVVVV itself are implemented into his moveset - which would be a clever way of representing the game as a whole! Not only this, but I think that it would be clever to really experiment with his gravity manipulation abilities, going a little wild with them. As you can imagine, he'd be a tricky character to deal with - having a surprising amount of aerial options and manouverability, but somewhat struggling to really land meaty hits on opponents.

Job 4: Canabalt.

Whilst Canabalt's Runner might not be such an interesting character to work with, the unique, almost oppressing aura of Canabalt's world would make for a wonderful stage. Set on the rooftops of the city, and overlooking the grey skyline, it's almost quaint - birds will perch on the rooftops and hop around, as well as flying away if you get too close. Of course, there's also stage hazards in the form of ships that fall from the sky, smacking into the ground (though with a little icon indicating where they'll hit.) They deal massive damage on contact - making the stage perilous to battle atop... but also slightly picturesque.

 

[CheeseAnton]

Suguri (SUGURI)

Suguri is the titular character of the 2005 Bullet-Hell SUGURI, she is an altered human who has protected the earth for millenniums.

Known for excelling at multiple weaponry while being swift, she'd likely be an extreme glass canon. She has the ability to dash, she has a Riffle (can be used for charged attacks or rapidly fired), Missiles, and a Sword. Suguri even has Hyper attacks with the Riffle and Sword in game (Hyper A: Hyper Riffle; Hyper B: Hyper Arrow; and Hyper C: Hyper Sword) which conveniently make for 3 great supers.
(hope that wasn't interpreted as me making a moveset for her, I was just trying to convince people she does have things to work with because I don't know if any one here would be familiar with this character)

Reasons to include Suguri is because Orange_Juice is still a relatively small development team despite existing since 2004 so I think having a character from their games would be really cool to maybe bring awareness to them. Suguri is also a character who I think is popular within small fandoms, and to be honest I also picked her because I thought she would be cool in a platform fighter.


The Arena (Devil Daggers)

Devil Daggers is a 2016 Fast-Paced Arena shooter where you play as an unnamed character with the ability to shoot Daggers from your hand, trying to survive unlimited amounts of enemies for as long as possible. The game is known for it's fast paced gameplay, it's spectacular sound design, and one hit by anything will end your run.

It's hard to translate a game like this in, the player character has no models, the enemies don't have much to work with as fighters, and in general would be weird. However this game is fantastic and I feel needs to be here, and after thinking hard I think a stage would be good.

Gems are a stage only mechanic that can be dropped by certain enemies, if a player grabs them they become stronger. Gems spawn indefinitely and make the players stronger for indefinitely.

The stage is a flat area with stone-flooring and "ketchup" being spilled after each enemies death. Multiple enemies including the SQUID, SKULL, CENTIPEDE, and SPIDER (and SPIDERLING) will appear on the stage.

SQUID (spawns 1 gem): Slowly rotates, if left uninterrupted for ten seconds it will spawn 10 SKULLS. 10% damage will end it.
SKULL (spawn 0 gems): The Skulls will collectively gather in a group to swarm nearby players, and they fly. they only have 1% of health.
CENTIPEDE (spawns 25 gems): The Centipede will appear 117 seconds into the match. They circle around the stage for a while until they decide to attack the players by sweeping up and down. It takes 75% to defeat it.
SPIDER (spawns 1 gem): The cannot directly attack players, instead it will search for gems and consume them to lay an EGG. They have 25% of health.
SPIDERLING (spawns 0 gems): Basically Skulls but they can only walk on the floor and take 3% of damage. They spawn from the EGGs that the Spider lays.


So, yeah the main gimmick of this stage is that it gets harder to survive in the longer you play on it, while allowing the players to become extremely powerful.

 

[Janx_uwu]

ZERO (Katana Zero)

(Fanart by Ranveld on Reddit)
Zero is the main character of Katana Zero, released in 2019. It was developed by Justin Stander (who also worked on Tower Of Heaven if you're familiar with that). It's a 2D sidescrolling action game where you play as a war veteran turned assassin skilled with both his katana and the mysterious ability to slow time around him to a crawl. In All-Star Strife, Zero would be a glass canon, referencing the one-hit kill and one-hit death structure of Katana Zero.
Not much other than that. Katana Zero is a really fun game, and Zero would be cool to have (maybe we could do something a little more creative for his time manipulation than just giving him a counter).

unrelated gif of a government assassin bussin it down