About
Knuckle Sandwich is an RPG about a boy who moves out of home and starts looking for work in a new city. After landing a job at a run-down diner, he accidentally gets wrapped up in a missing persons mystery that involves a ludicrous gang and a fanatical cult.
Bright City Life
Knuckle Sandwich is set in
Bright City – a fictional metropolis on an
even more fictional island in south-east Australia. Throughout the course of the game, you find yourself exploring the city, meeting all the inhabitants, and playing a role in their daily lives.
The game is split into chapters, with each one focusing on different locations and characters that bring Bright City to life. My goal with the game is to allow for players to discover many hidden interactions that they could easily miss while playing through the main story arc.
The general aesthetic of the game is inspired by Pokémon and Dragon Ball, while the story is influenced by Fargo, The Big Sleep, and American Psycho (this combo works, trust me).
I wanted to create an RPG that doesn't feature the things I dislike about the genre (like grinding, puzzle elements, having numbers all over the screen, hoarding items, etc.), so the bulk of the game is played out by completing wildly different minigames. They include cooking food, catching bugs, showering, dancing, boxing, writing, and many more.
The battle scenes are made up of sequences that require good timing, such as landing a critical hit or dodging enemy attacks. Both the player and enemy can perform Special Attacks that are very similar to the minigames played throughout the rest of the game.
Mechanically speaking, my inspirations include Warioware, Rhythm Heaven, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. While quick reflexes and a good sense of rhythm helps with Knuckle Sandwich, my aim is to make the game as accessible as possible, so less-experienced players can still beat it without an overwhelming amount of difficulty.
