Havoc Studios
March 2021 Newsletter
Jumping Into the Future
Spring has come around. A time for change, a time for life, a time for something to begin anew. At Havoc Studios, we are excited to bring Havoc Fox into the future and cannot wait to share the news with you! We’ll give you a hint: it involves the number three.
A New Character Approaches!
A third playable character is now in the works, complete with his own campaign! Meet Barkley, the eccentric, energetic, overly-excited poodle!
Barkley’s journey begins in Miracle City where he works as an ambassador for the city’s running club. He joins forces with Grey and Venice when they convince him that saving the kingdom is “identical to running a marathon, but with more explosions.” This excites him greatly, causing him to tag along which unlocks his campaign in the main menu.
Barkley will have a unique moveset that offers both melee and ranged attacks, much like Grey and Venice. At close range, Barkley can use his bite attack to inflict high damage to nearby enemies that are in front of, above, and below him. From afar, he uses his trusty “Chucky Ball” which he can throw at enemies. These balls bounce around the screen multiple times, dealing damage to any and every enemy they touch, sometimes attacking the same enemy more than once! As for his Special attack, Barkley unleashes a powerful bark that hurts all enemies on screen and can even shatter glass, opening up secret areas within the world!
Barkley will take some time to develop, but we’re hoping to have his character finished by October 2025!
Current Development Update
This month, we’ve entered the third dimension.
After conducting numerous studies with our Twitter, Discord, and Facebook communities, we have learned that the retro pixel-art aesthetic isn’t doing too well nowadays. We’ve struggled with this revelation for quite some time, but at last we’ve found the solution. As you can see from the above model, we’re transitioning Havoc Fox’s characters into 3D models (NOTE: these models are only prototypes and not representative of the final product).
We’re starting with just Venice and Spooky for now. As this is an experiment to see what would work best with our player base, we’ve decided that each campaign will offer a different style. Grey’s campaign will remain with 2D sprites whereas Venice’s will make the transition over to 3D. The gameplay will remain the same despite these graphical changes.
In order to ease into this new 3D format, we’re beginning this experiment with a 2.5D gameplay perspective. Character models will be in 3D, but the stage and backgrounds will remain in its current pixel-art style. After additional feedback from the community, we’ll choose to either move into full 3D or revert back to 2D. Your opinions matter! Please tell us what you think of these changes through either our Twitter, Discord, or Facebook communities!
February Community Spotlight - Austin
In each edition of the Havoc Studios monthly newsletter, we will highlight the works and/or relations of a member from the community or studio. We are grateful for everyone within the community and would like to recognize those of you who help bring life to the community. Our July community spotlight features Austin, the co-lead of Havoc Studios! Wait a minute… that’s me!
How did you first get involved with the Havoc Fox community?
I dunno.
How long have you been involved with Havoc Fox’s Development?
Vibeo gaem.
What is your favorite part about Havoc Fox’s story?
Funny coffee rabbit.
How has the community helped you? How have you helped the community?
Denmark.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I dunno man I didn’t really plan this part of the newsletter out.
Show me some love! Drop in and say hi to me on the Discord server! I’m lonely...
March Meme Gallery
Unfortunately, the fan art gallery hasn’t been too popular amongst the community as it is seen as outdated in this age of memes. As a result, we’re shifting our focus to something more approachable by the community at large. The following memes have been submitted to us by various members of the community through our Discord server. Check out the submissions for March!
Thank you for your submissions! If you would like to have your artwork featured, submit your drawings to the #havoc-memes channel on Discord!
That's all for now!
We’re excited for the abundance of three! If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on Twitter @havocfoxgame. Join the conversation on the official Discord server. Support us on Patreon! Check out the original soundtrack and development live streams on our YouTube channel! Like us on Facebook and Instagram!
Thank you for reading the March edition of the Havoc Fox Newsletter. Stay safe, stay healthy, April Fool’s, and we hope to see you again tomorrow!