Lugaru: The Rabbit's Foot (pronounced Loo-GAH-roo) is the first commercial video game created by Wolfire Software. It is a cross-platform, 3d action/adventure game, featuring Turner, an anthropomorphic rabbit with curiously well-developed combat skills.
Lugaru was made almost completely by David Rosen - including the game engine, models, animations, storyline and so forth. It was one of the first independently-produced video games to employ ragdoll physics. It uses a new and fairly intuitive combat system, basing attacks and counters on timing and context rather than different key combinations. It tended to be well-reviewed and was fairly well-received among the shareware community.
The name Lugaru is a phonetic spelling of "loup-garou", which is French for werewolf.
Story
After his family and friends are murdered by rabbit raiders, Turner embarks on a quest of revenge, only to uncover a deeper plot that threatens the entire Lugaru island. Using a wide variety of combat techniques, Turner battles wolves and hostile rabbits across grassland, snow, and desert landscapes.
To bring peace to the island of Lugaru as well as to avenge his loved ones, Turner must eventually confront the rabbit king Hickory, as well as Ash, the Alpha Wolf.
Gameplay
Hand-to-hand combat comprises most of Lugaru's gameplay, although the game rewards stealthy approaches. The fighting system is based largely around close combat, and in many cases incorporates knives, swords, and Bo staves. The player can also perform disarms, reversals, and counter-reversals.
With no HUD, the player must rely on visual cues to determine Turner's health; most notably the character's posture and the darkness and blurriness of your vision.
The combat control is original as well, since there are only three context-sensitive action buttons, which puts emphasis on fast-paced action rather than complicated button combos: one attack button, a jump button, and a more general crouch-reverse button.
Weapons
Weapons are essential to fighting in this game and all have their pros and cons
Lugaru 2
This article or section contains information about an unreleased video game. The content may change substantially as more information becomes available. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details.
David Rosen has confirmed that there is a sequel currently in development, and that it will be based on a new game engine called 'Phoenix'. The engine includes a number of advanced features, such as procedural texture blending and detailed fur/terrain effects. It will also feature an enhanced movement engine in which run/jump/roll/rotate transitions will be handled smoothly (see Quicktime movie) as well as having variable character stances/animations depending on environment, mood, and even personality. The game environment will be affected by conditions such as weather – for example, trees will grow more rapidly in sunlight, etc.
References
^ Post on iDevGames forum by David Rosen, Lugaru's developer
External links
Lugaru website at Wolfire software
Lugaru wiki
Wolfire blog, used to post status updates on Lugaru 2
