THE RETURN OF JUDGE DREDD  - PROPOSAL 

Why Do It Again ? 

      There are three parts to this question 

      1) In terms of video dept. strategy it fits in perfectly. It has been generally agreed that with the lack of support (Art or otherwise) that Football is receiving it will not be completed by Sept 1st 1994. This is not a reflection upon anyone involved, simply a recognition of a situation beyond any one persons control. However, once this is accepted, (and it has been by all the major players in the video dept.) there are implications to be considered. What is to be done with the programmer on the project (i.e. Me) ? Since the delivery date is seventeen months away there seems time to embark on a another small project before returning to Football. It is generally agreed that the Football game should be pretty much the same whether it is worked on for a year or seventeen months. So, five months become available.

      It has also been generally agreed that five months of work on Dredd could turn it around from a dull game to a reasonable one. It will never sell ten thousand, but even if it only sells three or four thousand, it has re-couped all expenses and made a profit for all concerned. 

      2) The movie is coming ! It is an ideal situation to make a licence that we have purchased work for us rather than carry the licence as has been tried up until now. The licence is already paid for, so nothing is lost in trying to ride the movie hype. If the movie is a success, and the game follows this success, then there is also the potential for a profit on a home system conversion. 

      3) There is already 18 months worth of work invested in this project, with no return for anyone involved in it, including the company. This is an opportunity to recoup the money spent on development of this game, as well as perhaps make a profit. It will cost the company virtually nothing to try it, with everything to gain. On a personal note, it was the first project I was involved in, and I would like to know that not only did I manage to make a profit for the company, but that there are more than just four Judge Dredd machines in existence in the world. 

What Should Be Done ? 

      Dredd, as it stands know, is pretty basic and in need of major revision. If started from scratch, it really should be a gun game. However, if both pre-requisites for doing this project are taken into account (i.e. That the game isn't going to sell ten thousand, and we only have effectively four months of development), it should be possible to make it at least playable.

      Several major areas need to be addressed :- 

      o The play area should be increased from 50 pixels deep to at least a 100 pixels. Investigation of other successful games of the same genre (NARC, Turtles, XMEN etc) show that each uses at least half the screen. Currently in Dredd it is difficult to determine the players Z position due to such a small play area. Expanding the area will help deal with this. 

      o New Badguys on level 1. One of the most boring parts of Dredd is the first part of the game in which you fight the same guy over and over again. This can be rectified by adding at least one new enemy. This is a purely graphical problem since the coding is already there to allow new and different enemies. It might be an idea to allow new enemies to use weapons, and perhaps arrive on the scene on a hover bike. 

      o Replacing the street level (level 1) with its original distance. When testing, the street was cut in half, to avoid boring the player. I would put back the whole street and then place a rack up after the rats in the sewer. This should break up play and stop the player from getting too bored. 

      o Reprogramming the first sub-boss FINK. It was generally agreed that of all the boss monsters in Dredd, he was by far the worst. Since he was the first boss monster the player came to, it probably didn't give the player the best impression. 

      o Reprogramming the rack up sequence to look more like the Smash TV type rack up. The current rack up is acceptable, but not inspiring. A new one would help heighten the players vs player feeling. 

      o Having a playing attract mode. It was generally felt that Dredd suffered from not having a playing attract mode. 

      o Finishing the game. The last wave was never finished and thus never seen by the test players. Also, the last secret wave was never seen either, although this was finished. 

      o The platform wave needs to be slowed down dramatically, and the robot enemies need to be tweaked considerably. 

      o New sounds. If Dredd is done again, it would benefit from the new sound board giving us new music (which could come from the movie) as well as clearer sound effects. We would also need speech from Stallone, who is starring in the movie. 

      o The last modification I intend is the most dramatic. I intend to completely replace the Dredd character with a new one re-shot with the new camera. As the movie has changed the characters costume, we must re-shoot if we wish to ride the movie. The new Dredd will have at least ten times more moves, along with all the things we should have put in the first time. E.g.

                - Back flips

                - Flying kicks

                - Secret moves

                - More violent moves

                - Combination moves - two players cooperate and do one move together.

                - The ability to use the weapons dropped by the enemies

                - New fire power. Use bigger and better guns. 

      Hopefully this will alleviate some of the problems inherent in the original game. 

Can This Be Done In Five Months ? 

      That is the 64 million dollar question. Yes, it can, see below. 

Month 1

      Increase playing area. Replace street, Add new rackup, tweak platform wave

      reprogram Fink, Finish game, convert to X unit

Month 2

      New enemies on wave one

Month 3

      New Dredd

Month 4

      New Dredd - continued

      New rack up sequence, Playing attract mode, new sounds

Month 5

      Testing and Tweaking 

Who And What Is Required To Do This ? 

      To complete this would require one programmer - Me - with the cooperation of Mark Penacho who worked on the first game. Having spoken to Mark, he has assured me I would get it. This would also require one artist, preferably one who worked on the original. To this end, John Vogel has been approached. He agreed to do it on the proviso that it happen after the end of Revolution X. On the sound front, John Hey, who worked on the original has no commitments after the end of his stint on Demolition Man. He has also agreed to work on this project.

      Upon investigation of the comparative prices, I have been informed that by the time this product would be ready, it could be done on the X-Unit for the same price it would be on the 16 meg T- Unit. For further confirmation of this fact, please contact Steve Correll. The advantages of using the X are many fold.

      o New sound board standard

      o 34020 tms CPU which runs much faster - avoid a lot of bog which happened in

         the original Dredd

      o 16 megs standard. Although I honestly don't see using all 16 megs. probably 12

         at maximum

      o Improved security - Again, see Steve Correll for more details 

      As the existing cabinet stands, we can use the physical design again, although art work needs to be re-done. Since Stallone is starring in this movie, it makes sense to smother the cabinet in his image - a la T2. Also, since the movie makers are changing the costume, we can't use the existing artwork.

      Just as an idea, it might work to use which ever artist is designated to work on Football to design the Dredd cabinet art, since he won't be able to work properly on Football until it is taken up as a going project again anyway. If he finishes the Dredd cabinet, then he could start working on the Football cabinet design, since it will have to be done at some point anyway and it is something an artist can work on with out need for a programmer.