Alright, design team, it's been a bit, sorry for dropping off the face of the internet for a week or so, basically.
Anyway, although having meetings over skype is definitely the best way to get things accomplished, we haven't had one yet where it's been more than Stig and I, so I think we're gonna cover how the sword is gonna work here in a topic.
Obviously, there are some unchangable aspects of the sword: namely, you press a button to swing it and it hurts what it hits if what it hits can be hurt. The way I think we've decided to do it in this game so far is that as far as using items goes, there are three buttons to which you can assign items (let's call them A, S, and D), you can assign the sword to any of them, the hookshot to any, etc.
Also related to the item use is the "action" button, which if we're comparing this game to Wind Waker, would be R. For some items, we've already decided what this does (ie, when aiming an arrow, it switches which type you'll fire), but we haven't discussed how it will work with the sword.
What we're leaning toward right now (I think) is that what it will do is dependant on the context of what else you're doing. For example, when you're jumping with the Roc's cape, the R-action button would prompt a down thrust, should you have learned this move from a sword tutor dude.
Also to be noted is that the shield will be a seperate item from the sword. Meaning if you want to use it, you have to press the button you've assigned it to, and it has it's own context dependant R-action button actions when you're using it.
SO, with all that introduction: what types of sword and shield attacks should we put in King of Thieves? I loved the new manuvers in Twilight Princess and Minish Cap, but they could be taken further than MC did for a 2D game. So what types of attacks do you want, how will they work?
I'll start off with a couple moves Stig and I think will work in this game.
Roll Attack
Learned from Sword Master
While rolling, you can press the button you've assigned to sword to in order to initiate a roll attack, which entails Link sliding forward with his sword pointed forward to hit enemies. Akin to how the Pegasus Boots' attack works, this unexpected attack can also sometimes pierce enemies defenses.
Shield Bash
Perhaps learned as soon as the shield is acquired, in order to give the shield more functionality, perhaps learned from the sword master.
While holding the shield button, press the R-Action button to preform a shield bash, which can knock regular enemies back away from you. Preforming this action on certain enemies lowers their defenses and creates an opening to attack.
So, what other attacks do we want? I was thinking particularly of the down thrust, if the player finds the Roc's Cape, an optional item, he can learn it from a sword master.
Also, I'm curious if there is some attack that would be special and make sense if you pressed the sword button while the shield is equipped.
Furthermore:
The down thrust would work if you pressed the sword button while jumping.
What if you pressed the jump button while holding the sword button (like for charging a spin attack)? This seems like the method to initiate a jump attack to me!