''Zeno Clash'' is a
first-person fighting
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
with elements of a
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
. It is the debut game of developer
ACE Team
ACE Team is a Chilean video game developer based in Santiago. Founded in the late 1990s by brothers Andres, Carlos and Edmundo Bordeu, the company started out by developing total conversions before turning to commercial game development. All ...
and uses the
Source engine
Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the release of '' Counter-Strike: Source'' and '' Half-Life 2''. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being su ...
. It was released for download through content delivery service
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
on 21 April 2009. The Xbox 360 version, entitled ''Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition'', was released 5 May 2010 and contains additional features not found in the PC version. The game is set in the fantasy world of Zenozoik, and follows Ghat, a young man who is on the run from his vengeful siblings, and Deadra, his female companion, as they travel through strange and exotic lands.
Critics praised its strange yet robust setting and unique character designs. It was a finalist for Excellence in Visual Art at the 2009
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...
, and was named 2009's Independent Game of the Year by ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'', and PC Game of the Month by ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' in April 2009.
Gameplay
![Zeno Clash - Fight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Zeno_Clash_-_Fight.jpg)
In the main story mode, players assume the role of Ghat and progress through the world of Zenozoik, visiting various locations in a linear sequence. Gameplay is presented in a
first-person perspective
A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller, ...
, with occasional
cutscene
A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s in a
third-person perspective
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
. When the player enters certain areas, it triggers a
scripted sequence
In video games, a scripted sequence is a pre-defined series of events that occur when triggered by player location or actions that play out in the game engine.
Function
Some scripted sequences are used to play short cutscenes that the player has ...
, initiating a battle in which the player must defeat all enemies to proceed. Ghat is proficient in martial arts, and can dodge or counter enemy attacks. While there is a strong focus on unarmed combat, Ghat can also obtain unconventional melee and ranged weapons by several means, such as disarming enemies. Intermittent segments of gameplay happen similarly to a linear progression shooter.
In addition to the single-player story, Challenge Mode allows the player to defeat enemies while climbing a tower or descending into a pit. The results are ranked through
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
every time the player beats a tower floor's final
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
.
Plot
![Zeno Clash - Father-Mother](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Zeno_Clash_-_Father-Mother.jpg)
The story takes place in a fictional fantasy world called Zenozoik, and begins in a town called Halstedom. The game commences with Ghat, the game's protagonist, regaining consciousness after setting off an explosion which kills Father-Mother, an ostensibly
hermaphroditic
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...
creature, which has raised a large and influential family. Ghat is one of Father-Mother's children, who turned on it after discovering its secret. Ghat runs away from the town, chased by his brothers and sisters seeking to kill him, and is banished from his family. He is accompanied by a female companion named Deadra who has saved Ghat from apathy.
During their travels away from Halstedom, Ghat explains to Deadra through partially interactive flashbacks the events that led up to his attempt on Father-Mother's life. One of the first things that is mentioned is that he lived for a time with the Corwid of the Free, the insane residents of the forests of Zenozoik. While he has turned away from his past life as a Corwid, his brothers and sisters still consider him as one. Ghat still harbors a sense of admiration for the single-mindedness of Corwids. Regardless, when he encounters them a fight ensues.
Later on, Deadra and Ghat reach a large desert area. When Ghat returns from hunting rabbit-like creatures, he discovers a blind mercenary known only as the Hunter, who points a rifle at Deadra's head while she sleeps. The Hunter reveals that he was sent after them by Ghat's family, and was instructed to kill both him and Deadra. Ghat pleads for her life, and the Hunter agrees to let her live if Ghat will come to a secluded area with him to fight. Ghat manages to defeat the Hunter and then leaves with Deadra. Ghat and Deadra eventually reach the end of the world. It is there that they meet Golem, an ancient being placed there by an unknown group of people to wait there until he was needed. Golem has a complete knowledge of Ghat and Father-Mother's conflict, which he says he will end, along with all other conflicts.
Upon Ghat's return to the city, he is confronted by his angry brothers and sisters once more. After this confrontation, a heavily wounded Father-Mother reveals itself, showing that it is still alive. It declares another fight with Ghat to end the strife once and for all. A ferocious battle ensues, in which Ghat defeats Father-Mother once more. With Father-Mother at his mercy, he decides neither to kill it, nor reveal its secret. However, Golem discloses the secret anyway—that Father-Mother is actually a male creature that steals babies from their families. It is revealed that Ghat, upon inadvertently learning this, was chased out of town by Father-Mother in an attempt to protect his secret. The game ends after Golem makes several cryptic statements about their world and family.
Development
![Zeno Clash - Vs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Zeno_Clash_-_Vs.jpg)
While ''Zeno Clash'' was ACE Team's first original game, they have been developing game
modifications since the 1990s.
Their last project, ''Zenozoik'', was far larger in scope than ''Zeno Clash'', and attempted to incorporate the disparate elements of shooting,
role-playing
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
, melee combat and
sandbox game
A sandbox game is a video game with a gameplay element that provides players a great degree of creativity to interact with, usually without any predetermined goal, or alternatively with a goal that the players set for themselves. Such games may ...
play. ACE Team later realized that it was too ambitious for a small independent studio, and decided to make a more focused game. ''Zeno Clash'' is what emerged—player exploration is linear, and role-playing elements were excluded altogether.
The game was initially conceived as a total conversion modification using the
Source engine
Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the release of '' Counter-Strike: Source'' and '' Half-Life 2''. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being su ...
. ACE Team showed a demo version to Valve, the creators of the engine, who were impressed by the game's quality. The two companies then negotiated an engine licensing and distribution deal.
In an interview, the developers have stated that they consider the game to be a "First-Person Fighter (with some shooter elements)". They also likened it to "
Dark Messiah meets
Double Dragon
is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
The original ...
", and stated that they have drawn a lot of inspiration from traditional fighting games—this includes "versus screens" sliding in before combat is initiated.
Regarding the art style, they cited
Hieronymus Bosch
Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...
's paintings and
John Blanche
John Blanche is a British fantasy and science fiction illustrator and modeler who worked on Games Workshop's ''White Dwarf'' magazine, ''Warhammer Fantasy Battle'', ''Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'' and ''Warhammer 40,000'' games and was the art d ...
's "punk fantasy" illustrations as visual inspirations.
They stated that publishers were unsure if consumers could relate to the art direction, but nonetheless stuck to their vision, creating a game that looks unlike anything else on the market.
To get their desired organic look, they used static props exported from
3D Studio Max
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capabil ...
with pre-rendered lighting instead of using brush-based geometry that Source was specialized for.
On October 2009, ACE Team announced that they partnered with
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
to release a port of the game for
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
.
This version of the game dubbed ''Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition'' adds new game modes and features such as
cooperative gameplay Cooperative game may refer to:
* Cooperative board game, board games in which players work together to achieve a common goal
* Cooperative game theory, in game theory, a game with competition between groups of players and the possibility of cooperat ...
for tower challenges in both offline and online games, new attacks, new weapons, a new voice actress for the character Deadra, a character gallery and an awareness system. ''Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition'' was released on Xbox Live Arcade on 5 May 2010.
In July 2009 the SDK of the game to allow easier modding was released by the developer.
Marketing and release
The game was first released for download through Valve's content delivery service,
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
, on 21 April 2009, and is available for purchase either directly through Steam or via Direct2Drive. It was published for retail by Noviy Disk in Russia, and by Iceberg Interactive in Europe. In October 2009,
Tripwire Interactive
Tripwire Interactive LLC is an American video game developer and publisher based in Roswell, Georgia.
History
Tripwire was co-founded by John Gibson and Alan Wilson with support by members of the international team that created ''Unreal Tour ...
announced that it planned to publish the game for retail in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
"soon".
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
announced that they would be bringing an Ultimate Edition of the game to the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
as an
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
download in March 2010. ACE Team continued to provide support post-release, releasing character models for use with another Source engine game,
Garry's Mod
''Garry's Mod'' is a 2006 sandbox game developed by Facepunch Studios and published by Valve. The base game mode of ''Garry's Mod'' has no set objectives and provides the player with a world in which to freely manipulate objects. Other game ...
, several new Challenge levels as free
downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
, and a
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...
.
''Zeno Clash'' received some press for its developers' reaction to
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
. ACE Team member Carlos Bordeu left comments on many torrent sites saying that ACE Team did not intend to stop the unlicensed downloading of ''Zeno Clash'', but rather implored downloaders to purchase the game if they enjoyed it. ACE Team later claimed that their unique approach, while probably not changing the minds of potential infringers, accidentally generated press which helped to market the product.
Reception
''Zeno Clash'' received "generally favourable reviews", while the ''Ultimate Edition'' received above-average reviews, according to the
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
.
In January 2009, ''Zeno Clash'' was a nominated finalist in the
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...
yearly competition, in the category of Excellence in Visual Art. It was one of five games to be selected for this award, from a total of 226 participating titles.
It was named PC Game of the Month by ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' for April 2009. It was praised for its originality and "satisfying sense of combat."
It was a finalist in the category of Best Debut in the Tenth Annual Game Developer Choice Awards. It also won ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''s 2009's Independent Game of the Year.
The gaming website ''
Rock Paper Shotgun
''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...
'' reviewed the game two days before its release, giving it four out of four thumbs up and highly recommending the title.
The unique visual design and story received high praise from most critics. The reviewers of ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun'' stated that while the art of the game was "really unusual to look at" they felt that the visuals were "something of a reward".
''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
''s Dan Pearson called the PC version's environments "lushly crafted and massively colourful".
Jamin Smith, reviewer for ''VideoGamer.com'', felt that the ''Ultimate Edition''s "narrative that was (probably) conjured up during an intense drug induced trip."
He went on to call it world "incredibly cohesive" and stated that the story provided a perfect complement to the atmosphere.
Jason Ocampo of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' remarked in his review that "thanks to smart design and storytelling, it feels refreshingly original and completely compelling."
Reviewers were divided on gameplay aspects. ''
1Up.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
''s Scott Sharkey felt that the first-person fisticuffs were convincing when combined with camera motion; he compared such aspects to ''
Mirror's Edge
''Mirror's Edge'' is an action-adventure platform game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2008, and for Microsoft Windows in 2009. Set in a near-future city, the game follows th ...
''.
Eduardo Reboucas of ''
GameRevolution
''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots ...
'' felt that the trigger-based controls of the ''Ultimate Edition'' took some getting used to and that some encounters with enemies can occasionally become frustrating.
Ocampo felt that the hand-to-hand combat was "a bit clumsy, but wholly satisfying at the same time."
Brett Todd of ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' was less favorable, calling it "simplistic" and "monotonous," citing its lack of variety in gameplay.
Sales for ''Ultimate Edition'' are reported as being significantly lower than the PC version. It did, however, place eighth in sales the week of its release.
Sequel
On 19 May 2009 the developers announced that a sequel to ''Zeno Clash'' was in the works. Ghat reprises his role as the protagonist, and several characters such as Father-Mother and Golem return.
ACE Team expressed a desire to incorporate elements of
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s that were present in their previous abandoned project, ''Zenozoik''.
References
External links
*
*
{{ACE Team
2009 video games
ACE Team games
Atlus games
Beat 'em ups
Fantasy video games
First-person shooters
Iceberg Interactive games
Indie video games
Single-player video games
Source (game engine) games
Tripwire Interactive games
Video games developed in Chile
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
Xbox 360 Live Arcade games