Bodycheck Coming to PS Vita

Hiya. I’m David, the de-facto Chief Person at Ludometrics, based in Glasgow, Scotland. The team here has been around for a long time in various forms, prior to teaming up again at Ludometrics; we originally made games for mobile phones way back last century, if you can imagine that.

Today, though, I’m here to tell you about Bodycheck, a game I’ve been waiting to make for quite a long time. Sometimes, as it’s said, all you need is a little patience.

Bodycheck is a sports game for people who don’t necessarily like sports. Personally, I’m a fan of sports. I can sports with the best of them. But I find most sports games of recent years lack a certain something-something. Perhaps they’re not physical enough, or they manage not to capture the chaos of play, or sometimes they’re just a bit ponderous.

Bodycheck will (hopefully) contain that certain something-something. I love reading about the origins of football in the Middle Ages, with 500 players per team and matches lasting days — and the ball was actually a pig’s head.

We won’t have that many players per team in the game, and matches will be a tad shorter, but punching, scratching, and general unnecessary roughness are all actively encouraged during play. Just remember to score more points than your opponents.

Speaking of the Middle Ages, we’re also taking a cue from tales of sorcerers, witchcraft, and alchemists. You’ll have the ability to cast spells (need to resurrect one of your teammates? No problem. How about taking out your opponents with lightning bolts?), and use powerful items (the portable hole is a firm favourite). Perhaps you need a few more seconds to score the winning points in a match, or the reverse: to stop the match early while you’re in front? Simply bribe the timekeeper.

So Bodycheck is a sports game with no rules against foul play, magic powers, and (explicit) corruption. And it will be multiplayer. Did I mention that you can have four-way matches?

It’s definitely our most ambitious game to date, and PS Vita is the perfect platform for it. That’s why I’ve had to be patient — finding the right platform and team to bring your idea to life can take time, never mind finding yourself in a situation where the amazing team at PlayStation listen to your crazy idea and give you the opportunity to work on that right platform.

We’re working hard on the game as I type, and we’re aiming for a Q3 2014 release. We’ll be posting regular updates at ludometrics.com, and you can find us on Twitter and Facebook.