Unicycle Samurai

Unicycle Samurai is a local 2-player party game where samurai joust on unicycles and can collect pickups to embody the Champion of the Arena.

Objective: Drive the pointy bit of your sword into the other character before they do the same to you. This will drive like a unicycle so you’ll have to make broad turns.

Concept: Twins in feudal Japan had a loud argument. They woke a Tanuki (trickster spirit), enraging it. In response, it flung them through time and space and permanently welded them to one-wheeled contraptions. 

They wander from arena to arena, continuing to fight over whose fault this was. In each arena, one of the pair can claim Champion of the Arena, transformed by a local spirit into the embodiment of the place where they fight.

Will these two ever break the curse, or are they doomed to fight eternally?

Controls

Since it’s a two-player game, you’ll need two controllers or a controller and a keyboard. The game is intended for two controllers but keyboard support is included for convenience.

Join: when you enter a level, press one of the buttons/keys listed below on one controller/keyboard to join the first player, then repeat with the other controller/keyboard for the second. (We plan to streamline this so you don’t have to redo it each Arena. The menu included here is just functional and doesn't represent the final design)

Start: Press Start (controller) or Enter (keyboard) on both to begin the match.

• You don’t have to Start both at the same time.
• You can in fact just use Start/Enter on both controllers/keyboard to join and start at the same time.

Action

Game Controller

Keyboard

Notes

Move

Left Stick

WASD Keys

Spin Left

Left Shoulder

Q

Spin Right

Right Shoulder

E

Dodge (Dash back)

Left Trigger

G

Has recharge time

Dash

Right Trigger

H

Has recharge time

Start

Start

Enter

Lean

Right Stick

Arrow Keys

Menu

Escape

Select

Just a sliver feature for convenience; full game would have a pause screen so you can’t exit accidentally

Team

Environmental Artist: Kirsten Alumbaugh

Producer/Programmer: Peter Guenther

Sound Designer: Cameron Havlish

Character & VFX Artist: Al Wang

Project Duration: 8 weeks.
This was our Projects 2 & 3 in Michigan State University MI 455: Game Design & Development II.