Biomorph - 2020/2021
In Biomorph, you must use your skills to explore a vast, varied world. Solve puzzles and platforming challenges, fight deadly monsters and take their shapes to use their powers. But beware – every conquered creature can come back with new and even more threatening powers. You will level-up your character, Harlo, as you fight through the vast areas around the city, collecting new abilities, mementos and blueprints. The journey will reveal surprising and alarming truths about our hero’s own origins.
Biomorph is a soulslike metroidvania game. Fight terrifying monsters and steal their shape and powers! Solve ingenious puzzles and navigate a stunning 2D world. Meet quirky characters, rebuild a city, and uncover the secrets of a sprawling, fallen civilization…and of your own mysterious origins.
Game Features
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Become your enemy
Play as the enemies by killing them and taking their shape. You will be able to use their skills to fight other enemies or use their powers to navigate in uncharted territories. Who never dreamt of using sneaky or powerful monsters to beat up other foes?
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They learn your ways
Fight your way through a challenging AI system where previously mimicked creatures unlock new powers to create a unique experience while revisiting areas of the game. Watch out and choose wisely which creatures to biomorph!
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Choose your weapon
Choose your fighting style by using an arsenal of melee and ranged weapons, each of them having its own upgrade trees, to bash and shoot enemies. Create different builds in support of your playstyle by equipping and mixing different unique skills that you can upgrade.
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Explore a vast world
Explore a vast non-linear, interconnected world composed of 16 different environments, home of optional boss fights, eccentric NPCs, tons of secrets and upgrades to reward the most daring explorer.
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City customization
Rebuild the city of Blightmoor and befriend the townspeople, learning more about both their and the town’s origins. Customize the look of the city to have a unique experience and to feel at home.
What I brought to the project.
I was on the project since day one as the Lead Game Designer. Over the course of 18 months, we were funded by CMF twice and we were nominated as a finalist to the Ubisoft Serie Indies 2021. I spearheaded the design team while producing a vertical slice that would be presented to potential publishers. I was also responsible for planning a future Kickstarter campaign.
Creative direction (Pillars, Game flow, World building)
Game design (3C, AI behaviors, Systems)
UI/UX design
Narrative design
Dialogues and copywriting
QA and conducting playsessions
Gameplay
Core Elements
Biomorphing a Toroth and using its Charge attack.
Biomorph
The Biomorph mechanic aims to give you control of enemies as you defeat them throughout the game. Similar to Kirby, you will then be able to accomplish otherwise impossible feats by stealing your enemies’ shape. Our main focus when designing this mechanic was for it to be responsive, easy to learn and to provide a great sense of agency. To achieve that, when you’re biomorphing, you retain the same combat system (inputs and HUD) as you have while controlling the main character.
Combat
In Biomorph, you are equipped with weapons that will help you overcome challenges during your journey.
The Brutalizers are the primary weapon for close combat. They can throw fast punches in four directions and they generate Ferrox when dealing damage to enemies. Ferrox is a resource in the game acting as “stamina” that can be generated strictly with this weapon.
The Equalizer is particularly powerful against your enemies and probably most useful for ranged combat. You can hold down the button to aim at 360 degrees and simply release to shoot. No reload is needed, but each shot consumes Ferrox.
The Ferrox Magic includes a wide selection of oppressive and defensive effects. For examples, you could cast an Aura of Ferrox to keep your enemies at bay or you could summon Orbs to help you deal damage to your enemies. Beware, you can only equip a certain amount of these powers, so you must choose wisely throughout your journey. Fortunately, you can increase this amount.
Defeat your foes and steal their shapes.
Utilize a variety of weapons to defeat your opponents.
A friendly character gives you access to their shop.
Upgrades
Furthermore, there will be ways for you to upgrade all of your arsenal. You will be able to improve the efficiency of your favorite Ferrox Magic as well as upgrade your Brutalizers and Equalizer with the use of Runes. When equipped on one of these two weapons, the Runes will grant you access to multiple improvements, such as more ranged or special attacks.
The choice is yours!
Boss Fights
While discovering the world of Biomorph, you’ll come across many powerful foes including Bosses. These are tough encounters that will greatly reward you for success, as they acquire time and effort to come out on top. We designed these with two key elements in mind : Patterns and Phases. The player has to quickly analyze and master the different patterns, as these rapidly become deadlier throughout the encounter with each new phase, determined by the Boss’ health.
This is Roltaon, the last Boss fight of the vertical slice.
Enemies
In Biomorph, you will encounter two different types of enemies: Ferrox and Biomorphable.
The former, The Ferrox Monsters, are literally made of Ferrox – a peculiar blue liquid with magical properties that is also a scarce resource. Their behavior is much simpler than other enemies, but don’t let them swarm you!
The latter, The Biomorphable Monsters will have an oppressive behavior, making them more challenging. They will also be specific for each area of the game so you can enjoy the discovery of each part of this world. Once defeated, you will be able to have access to these enemies’ skills, unlocking otherwise unreachable areas.
Awards & Recognitions
Finalist - Ubisoft Indie Series (Montreal)
2021 Edition
Team (2020-2021)
Maxime Grégoire
Founder and CEO
William Gough
Musician and Composer
Francis Lapierre
Co-founder and Technology Director
Vibe Avenue
Sound Design
Sara Cousineau
Creative Director
Hélène Poulin
Level Designer
Véronique Bellavance
Art Director
Christian Haguenauer
2D Animator and VFX Artist