Friday, May 28, 2010

What Cartoon Network characters are seen in FusionFall?

As mentioned in previous posts, characters from various Cartoon Network cartoons are represented in the game. The cartoons that are represented are cartoons that were created by Cartoon Network. Cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera(i.e. Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, etc.) are under half ownership with cartoon network, meaning that the FusionFall team can only make minor references to the shows, as well as give minor cameos to the shows.
The characters were redesigned in an anime format for the game by Foo Midori, and differ greatly from their original design, as shown below with Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory.


The picture above is of Dexter, as drawn out by animators from the show. Below it is concept art from the game for Dexter. If you notice, Dexter looks older than when he was first drawn out for his show. It can also be seen that Dexter's glasses are replaced with sleek-looking goggles for the game.

Here are the other shows represented in the game with characters from their shows.

The Powerpuff Girls:
There are a bunch of characters from the Powerpuff Girls that are represented in the game. The three main characters, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, are represented in the game, as well as the Mayor and Professor Utonium. Villains from the show represented in the game include Mojo Jojo, Princess, Him, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and Ace from the GangGreen Gang.
***When developers were creating the game, they based the Powerpuff girls' design off of a Japanese show called Powerpuff Girls Z, in which the girls are much older than in the original show.***

Codename:Kids Next Door:
All five members of Sector V(Numbuhs 1,2,3,4, and 5) are featured in the game. Villains from the show included in the game include Father, Stickybeard, and the Toiletnator.

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends:
Characters featured in the game include Mac, his imaginary friend Bloo, Bloo's friends Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco, as well as caretaker Frankie, house administrator Mr. Herriman, and Cheese, another imaginary friend featured in the show.

Generator Rex:
As of right now, There are only three characters featured in the game: main character Rex, talking monkey Bobo Haha, and Agent Six, who is Rex's handler. It is possible that more characters from the show may be added to the game at a later point.

Those are just some of the shows represented in he game with characters. I must point out that these characters are NOT PLAYABLE CHARACTERS!! The only playable characters in the game are any avatars that players created.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Avatar Items

Each character has items that they carry on them. Whether it's a long range weapon or a pair of pink goggles, certain items can help you get around, protect you, and even enhance your outfit. Here is a rundown of items, and what each can help with.

Armor:
Some people call it clothing, others call it armor. Whatever you call it, it can help to protect you from losing your health too quickly. There are three parts of all armor: the body, the legs, and the feet. only one can be used at a time, but their combined defense values are added to the player's stats.



Examples of player armor: Top, bottom, and shoes.

Weapons:
Weapons in FusionFall are important. Without them, players would keep dying when trying to get through an area filled with fusion monsters. There are six types of weapons, each having their advantage and disadvantages. These weapons are:

Melee
: Close combat weapons such as swords and hammers. Melee weapons are good for enemies that travel in packs, but not so good for attacking a single fusion monster.

The Lightning Sword(above) is an example of the many melee weapons available in the game.
Thrown: Weapons such as bombs and boomerangs. Thrown weapons are good for larger group attacks, but should not be used for attacking a single fusion monster. Thrown weapons also have to be aimed manually, where four of the other five weapon types are automatically aimed at the monster.

The Caliente bomb(shown above) is one of the first thrown weapons a player can obtain in the game.
Pistols: Pistols range from short-range to medium-range. These are good for single attacks, but terrible for group attacks.

Pistols such as the Custard Buster(above) shoot either short or medium range.
Rockets: Rockets are the other weapon type that must be aimed manually. They are like the thrown weapons, good for group attacks, but terrible for single attacks.

Rockets such as the Bullhorn Boomstick(above) is the other weapon type that must be aimed manually.
Shatterguns: Shatterguns are medium-range guns that are like the melee weapons: good for single attacks, but terrible for group attacks.

The Titan Machine(above) is an example of a shattergun weapon.
Rifles: As long-range guns, the rifles are like pistols: good for single attacks, but terrible for group attacks.

Rifles such as the Lightening Gun(above) shoot long range.



Accessories:
Accessories don't do much for attacking or defense. All that accessories do is enhance the armor that the avatar is wearing. There are three types of accessories: face accessories, head accessories, and back accessories.



An example of each accessory shown above: Hat, face, and back.

Vehicles:
Vehicles are great for getting around. The player travels at the same speed as they would with a run boost activated. Nanos cannot be activated while the vehicle is in use, nor can players attack fusion monsters. The vehicles do not work in the infected zones, but thy do hover above the ground, so that a player doesn't get infected with toxic fusion matter. They can be rented for a total of 15 days, and after the 15 days, can be rented again.


The Racer D Hovercar(above) and the KND Hoverboard(below) are examples of vehicles hat the player can use in FusionFall.

All items, with the exception of vehicles, can either be bought, or gained as a reward in missions. Items that are gained by doing missions are rewarded in the form of a C.R.A.T.E., which can be traded with other plyers, and sold, without being open.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Nanos and Fusions

In most online multiplayer games, there is some sort of leveling system. FusionFall is no exception to this. In FusionFall, the level of a player is determined by how many Nanos the player owns.

Nanos are miniaturized versions of the Cartoon Network characters designed to aid the player through various means. Each Nano has a selected power that can help the player defeat a fusion creature, revive their health, etc.






A few of the thirty-six nanos that Players can get. From Top to bottom:Grim(from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy), Edd(from Ed, Edd and Eddy),Wilt(from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends), Numbuh Two(from Codename:Kids Next Door), Buttercup(from The Powerpuff Girls)

Here's how Nanos are gained:
As a player defeats a fusion monster, they gain Fusion matter. When the Fusion matter meter in the right corner of the screen fills up, the player is given a nano mission to complete. The nano missions usually involves retrieving a stolen item and fighting a Fusion.
(For more information about Fusions, scroll down to the bottom of this post.)
When the item is collected, and the Fusion defeated, A nano is created, and the player get to choose what power the nano has out of three choices.

Currently in FusionFall, I have the first eight nanos. Here are the first eight nanos, along with what Cartoon Network cartoon they were on. Nanos with a star next to them are nanos that are gained in the future. all other nanos are gained in the past:
Buttercup..........(from The PowerPuff Girls)*
Numbuh Two..........(from Codename:Kids Next Door)*
Eddy..........(from Ed,Edd, and Eddy)*
Eduardo..........(from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends)*
Blossom..........(from The PowerPuff Girls)
Wilt..........(from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends)
DeeDee..........(from Dexter's Labratory)
Numbuh Five..........(From Codename:Kids Next Door)

The more Nanos you have, the more Fusion matter you'll need to get the next Nano. The only exception to this rule is when you get the Buttercup Nano in the tutorial. Buttercup's nano power is also chosen beforehand, since she is the first nano a player recieves in the game. You can change your nano's power at any point in the game by going to a nano station and having the appropriate power item and enough fusion matter.

In order to use a power, your nano must be activated. But be warned: Every nano has a stamina bar, and if that stamina bar runs out, the nano will deactivate itself until its stamina is built back up. You don't want your nano's stamina to run out when you're fighting a fusion monster, especially if the monster is a few levels above you. The best way to prevent this is to get plenty of stamina potion, and feed it to your nano when their stamina is low.
It's also worth mentioning that a player can only carry three nanos at a time, and only one nano can be activated at a time.


Almost every character in the game has a Fusion. A Fusion is a evil version of a character in the game. In order to gain certain Nanos, you have to defeat a Fusion of a character.(For example, in order to get the Buttercup Nano, you have to defeat Fusion Buttercup in her fusion lair.) The Fusions are usually green in color, and wear darker shades of clothing than their counterpart. The fusions reside in Fusion lairs, usually located within special closed off areas known as infected areas.

A player fighting Fusion Buttercup(The green character in the above picture) in the tutorial.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Starting to Play: Usernames, Avatars, Tutorial, and the future


FusionFall gameplay screen. In this snapshot, a player is getting transported to another area of the game by a transport service.

Now comes the fun part: Playing FusionFall for yourself.

The first thing to do when playing FusionFall for the first time, is to register a username with the game. This is important, because if you think that you can just play the game, you're sorely mistaken. It won't let you play unless you log in or register.

When you register for FusionFall, after coming up with a username and password, You get to create your avatar. When you play FusionFall, you play as your chosen Avatar in the game. Each player can create up to 4 avatars.

Creating the avatar is fun. The first thing you get to do is choose the gender and name of your avatar. There is a list of names you can choose from, ranging from a to z. My avatar's name is Jinx Abyss. After choosing the name of your avatar, You get to decide what your avatar looks like. You can choose the hairstyle, the skin tone, and the body type of your avatar. You also get to choose the top, bottoms, and shoes your avatar wears. You can change the clothes your avatar wears later on in the game.
My avatar has blue hair, with brown eyes and light skin. Her first outfit was a black and red halter, with black pants and sneakers. Now she wears a winter jacket, special exoskeleton armor pants, and matching boots.


Character creation screen

Once you finish creating your avatar, you begin the tutorial level. This level teaches you about the game: the controls, how to fight monsters, the nanocam, and many other things. Going through the tutorial is important, because the player goes through the basics of the game, and learns how to access certain windows, such as the mission journal and the . The tutorial level is also where you get your first nano.

The tutorial starts with your avatar being sent to far into the future by Dexter's sister, DeeDee. There, you learn the controls and basic game play from several Cartoon Network characters. You also get your first weapon, do your first mission, fight your first Fusion, and gain your first nano. When you are done with the tutorial, then you're on your own with missions and gaining nanos. The missions in the first few levels involve getting parts for a time machine to get you back to the past. Once you get your Eduardo nano, and get the parts you need, you can go back to the past, and continue by choosing a guide that will give you missions throughout gameplay.

This post should help you with getting started. Happy playing!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

How did FusionFall come to be?

For my first post, here's a brief background history of the game.

In mid 2007, Cartoon Network announced that it was working with Grigon Entertainment to develop a massive online multiplayer game, involving characters from Cartoon Network shows. They also announced that the game was set for release in the summer of 2008. The release of FusionFall was delayed to January 14, 2009. In November of 2008, the first of 4 beta testing periods started, where anyone with a account on Cartoon Network could try the game. This testing period was the only period that was open to anyone with an account on Cartoon Network. The next three beta testing periods were only for the ones who volunteered to be beta testers.

***As a side note, I was one of many Beta testers for the game. For those that do not know what Beta testing is, It's basically a period of time where a computer product or program is tested before being released commercially.

Beta testing FusionFall was a unique experience, because the beta testers can tell the game developers what they like, and what they need to improve on. When I first went on the FusionFall website, there was a link asking for volunteers to beta test the game. Since I thought the game was interesting, I made a account on Cartoon Network, and became a beta tester. Pretty much, you and a bunch of other people got to play a real cool game before it was released to the public. In exchange, the game developers wanted the opinion of the testers on what could stay, and what could be changed.***


A screenshot for the beta testing screen.
( To see the screenshot in a bigger size, click on the photo.)


Three days after the last testing period ended, on January 14, 2009, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall was released to the public. When the game was first released, There was two ways to play the game: a full subscription, where for a monthly fee, players could have unlimited access to the game, and a limited subscription, where for free, players could play the game, but with limited access to selected features. On April 19, 2010, the game was made completely free for all players. Players that had a subscription were refunded and given a special gift as a thank you.

So there you go. That was some background history of The FusionFall game. hope you enjoyed it.