The Inspiration from White Knuckle
- Feb 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 22
White knuckle? What the hell is that? And where the hell is the next development log?!
It's been a while since my last update, and I won’t sugarcoat it—I’ve been a bit preoccupied and currently don’t have the funds to bring this game to life. I understand this is a significant letdown. However, I want to discuss a game that has truly inspired me and given me a clear vision for the core gameplay mechanics of Blood Engine. I’ll elaborate on this in a future devlog (or maybe in this one! :P).
So... why has White Knuckle garnered my interest?
I watched the YouTuber Markiplier play it almost like... 9 months ago? Yeah, a massive amount of time, I know. I stopped halfway through the first episode because I lost interest and was getting a little bored. This game, which recently caught my attention again, has an incredible mix of 3D and 2D.
The main mechanic is climbing, and you do a LOT of it. You climb under pressure, you climb using items, you climb avoiding creatures and obstacles, and you climb while ignoring your own fear-induced sweat and stress — because falling causes you to lose a massive advantage in time and pace, which will ultimately ruin your run. Yes, your run — did I fail to mention this game is pretty much a roguelike?
The game is indeed a roguelike. It will force you to go through trial and error as you come to grips with learning the ins and outs of every obstacle and surface you can grab onto. You can't take your time, however, as there is a mass of bodies at the bottom slowly rising that will drown you if you get too close. As you reach certain sections, you will be given checkpoints to restart from that area rather than having to redo the entire thing — but once those lives are out, it's donzo for you! You can also get upgrades at terminals that are scarce but strong enough to keep you pushing upward.
This caught my attention massively, as did the fact that the climbing mechanic uses a grasping system that makes it hard to stay in one place for long. I was messing around with the punching mechanic for my game and wanted to incorporate this 2D pixel aspect into the punching and fists! (More on that soon.) The overall concept was so fun and matched exactly what I want Blood Engine to be at its core.
The punching mechanic! So essentially, Blood Engine's sole and main mechanic will be... PUNCHING THINGS! Punching and breaking everything with your fists! Oh, you can't just jump? BREAK THROUGH THE WALL LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!! (It quite literally does.)
For this, I want the player to, in a way, think outside the box — only to find themselves inside another one. You're given a problem, you think of a really dumb way to solve it, you go "noooo that can't possibly be the solution!"... so you think of a new one. Then you look at your fist, then at the wall with the massive lever and power supply, and go "ohhhhh yeaaaaa!".
It may sound really silly, but I want this game to be mindless fun and reward you for creative problem-solving in the dumbest ways imaginable. As for what those rewards actually look like — I have absolutely no idea yet, lol
Anyway, that's all at the moment. I know it's been a while, and there's still a lot up in the air, but Blood Engine is still very much alive in my head, and I'm excited to keep working on it one idea and concept at a time.
— Newtie
