Every so often a game spawns an entire genre unto itself.MetroidandCastlevaniacreated the pillars of the Metroidvania,Demon’s Soulsspawned the Soulslike, and it’s easy to imagine how Roguelikes got their name. Perhaps the newest to do this wasVampire Survivors, with the upcomingBlack Dragon Magebilling itself as a “Survivorslike.”
Black Dragon Mageis hardly the first game todraw comparisons toVampire Survivors.Black Dragon Magedeveloper Tom Nemec, in a Game Rant interview, was quick to point out some elements of the new genre go back as far asAsteroids, but it’s impossible to dispute the impactVampire Survivorshas had on the gaming landscape since its release in 2021. And forBlack Dragon Mage, the invoking ofVampire Survivorsis entirely intentional. It was a direct inspiration for the game, and describing itself as a Survivorslike has been part ofBlack Dragon Mage’s marketing.
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Nemec laid out what he sees as defining the burgeoning genre and where his game finds its place among its early titles.
“I think that there are a lot of different influences that come together in the genre …You have this scaling power-up dynamic, hordes of foes, meta progression, but also relatively simple patterns in terms of how the enemies behave: pretty straightforward movement mechanics, pretty accessible controls, ample power-ups, relatively dynamic power scaling. And, most importantly I think, also very short run times, somewhere between 10 to 30 minutes. That’s something that I feel is approachable for even people who put the game aside for a while and want to jump in later. The barrier for reentry is super low.”
There’s another key element that Nemec cited as well, what he called a “bullet heaven.” In contrast to thepopular notion of a bullet hell, Nemec defines a bullet heaven as an inversion of the more familiar concept; instead of the player dodging among countless blasts saturating the screen, the player becomes the origin of those blasts, and the purpose changes from dodging to crowd control. Effectively, a bullet heaven is when the player is the boss of the enemy’s bullet hell.
But Nemec didn’t want to simply make a game that typified the new notions of Survivorslikes or bullet heavens.Black Dragon Magechallenges the basic formula that is crystallizing at the core of the Survivorslike as well. Notably, Nemec focused a lot of effort on making the Survivorslike more robust in terms of physics, allowing a better feel for enemy movement or environmental hazards, and of course letting players reposition enemies in ways meant to feel more satisfying. He also mentioned more detailedsprite workthat he hopes will helpBlack Dragon Magestand out among its competitors.
Black Dragon Magealso sets itself apart with its increased focus on a narrative bond between mage and dragon. Starting out, the mage is protecting an egg, incubating it, and helping shield it from the danger of the wastes they find themselves in. But as the game progresses, the dragon hatches, grows, and becomes an asset in combat akin toan ultimate in a game likeOverwatch, Nemec explained.
“Typically, the genre is very ‘fill everything in yourself’-style when it comes to the lore and to backdrop, but I provide a little bit of author-designed backdrop with the story of the mage, landing in the desert through merit of a teleportation mishap, an accident, and the mage ends up in this arid hell. It’s kind of a time loop kind of situation where the mage is attacked by all of these demonic abominations, the plant life seems also hostile. Everything is hostile. The mage discovers an egg, which has been left behind in the desert, it hasn’t been incubated yet, but there is still room for it. The mage feels a strong instinct to protect the egg being alone in the desert and takes it along with him to this hub area.”
That bond and companionship, he says, gives players more of a narrative purpose for their actions. The dragon isas much a Nintendogas it is a combat asset. They not only want to progress to avoid death, but to nurture something and, in turn, be protected by it. To Nemec, the dragon symbolizes protection and resiliency, and that symbolism is born out in the game’s story and mechanics.
