Mighty Goose 2

The sequel

This article is a follow-up to the last one, in which we took a critical look at the first Mighty Goose. In this post, I go into greater detail about the problems we identified and what Mighty Goose 2 can do to "fix" them.

This article was brought to you by the kind patrons supporting me on Patreon. You can find the article there as well!

Wait, more Mighty Goose?

At first, I had some reservations about the idea of doing a second Mighty Goose game. I'll be honest; after working on the Waterworld DLC, I had pretty much burned myself out. It's safe to say it took a lot of effort to "just add one level" than anticipated. Making more Mighty Goose wasn't particularly appealing at the time. I had my fill! So I finally took a holiday, basically a break from game development.

 

 

But as time passed, I kept thinking about that stupid goose. Other game concepts were also on my mind, of course. But the honks in my head remained. Even though Mighty Goose doesn't really emphasize storytelling, the characters have a certain charm to them that I think connects with a lot of players, young and old. Could a sequel be fun to work on?

Improvements needed

Mighty Goose has some shortcomings that prevent it from being a truly outstanding title, as I mentioned in my previous article: In terms of mechanics, it's just a Metal Slug clone with a few extras. Although that is not necessarily a bad thing, there is hardly any replay value. As a result, the game is over very quickly.

 

Can we make a second Mighty Goose that addresses the problems with the first one and is truly fantastic? I am certain that it is possible. ​

 

Mighty Goose 2 should aim to improve on a few things after considering the shortcomings of the first game:
  • Invent a gameplay hook that stays interesting throughout the game.
  • Make sure the game has replayability

An extra challenge

For Mighty Goose we are faced with an extra challenge though. The concept of a goose with a gun is no longer new. The concept has lost it’s surprise factor. It may sound like a too simple analysis, but it’s absolutely true.

"I've played Mighty Goose 1, so I know exactly what to expect from Mighty Goose 2." - This is absolutely how some people will approach the idea of a sequel. If a trailer and screenshots seem to confirm this thought, It might make them less curious to check out the game!

 

We need to approach Mighty Goose from a different angle in order to surprise people and pique their curiosity once more. So let's update the list we just created:

  • Approach Mighty Goose from a new angle.
  • Invent a gameplay hook that stays interesting throughout the game.
  • Make sure the game has enough replayability

 

Solution: copy Nintendo

Those first two points of our quest log are somewhat related. The different angle will probably serve as an excuse for a key gameplay element that the game can be designed around. One company that is very good at this is Nintendo.

  • Kirby: but with 3 allies, but yarn
  • Mario: but with a water backpack, or a controllable hat
  • Zelda: but with a flute, mask, boat, wolf, train, open world, open world but with flying

These key gameplay elements actually look pretty simple? When Nintendo executes one of these mechanics, it's flawless of course. But still, on the surface the concepts are pretty simple.

YARRR space pirate goose

Which direction is best for Mighty Goose, then? Surely it can't be that hard to think of something fresh for our feathered friend. The answers to questions like these can often be found in my sketchbook (or my digital sketchbook, the iPad).

What if Mighty Goose is a bad guy? was one of the first ideas I had. A space pirate, perhaps. He would probably be "evil" in the same sense that Robin Hood is; he would steal from the wealthy, but he wouldn't go around killing people at random. There was some effort put into that idea. Even some mockups were created.

Not good enough

Still, I believe that this and Mighty Goose 1 are too similar. Some random person might not even notice the difference if they were to look at it. After all, it's still a goose shooting things with a megaman gun.

Goose souls!?

Goose + sword

Maybe guns are the problem. So I present, goose with sword! In a medieval fantasy setting! The time period of the game will be so far in the past that it almost seems like a fairy tale. Our mighty goose is now a monster hunter rather than a bounty hunter. The game switches mechanically from pure shooting to a more melee-focused experience.

With this setting in place, we can do something fun. Mighty Goose can unlock classes, which is very typical of fantasy RPG games. These classes alter the goose's appearance, and he gains a range of abilities that can be used for monster hunting as well as overcoming environmental challenges.

 

The overall experience starts to stray a little from pure arcade action and develops more RPG-like traits. This also affects the way the levels and progression are built, which I think is for the better.

I want to keep the action aspect front and center, though. It's what makes Mighty Goose mighty. I don't even know how this will exactly play out yet; looking at the current status of prototyping and the design documents, it might very well turn out to be a weird game. But I feel there are lots of opportunities here to make a game filled with charm. The passion is back, I am very excited!

More

Of course, I actually already have a bit more material than is shown in today's blog post. But you're going to have to wait a bit to see. If you've kept an eye on my Twitter account you might have already seen a certain alchemist goose running around. Regarding the Patreon posts, they are so difficult to schedule. It's difficult to predict when I'll have something interesting to say. So I think I'll just go with the flow. When it feels right, I type one. While this post was mostly about the aforementioned 'angle', the next Mighty Goose post will most likely be about the unique hook. I'm kind of still working on that hook to be honest, so it may take a while before posting about that particular subject 😉

 

To the Patreon supporters: Thank you so much for sticking with me through a long period of writing absolutely nothing. You are my patrons. I recently looked up the definition: a patron is a supporter who actively invests in your transformation to become the best person you can be. Now that is pretty magical. Instead of commissioning an artist and receiving something "physical" in return, a patron invests in the growth of an individual. Because they believe in your potential. I'm humbled, thank you for your confidence. I will do my utmost best for you! While we are on that topic, I just updated the blastmode hall of fame. I have one more animated patron left to do still, but we're getting there!