Bully
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Bully key art: Jimmy Hopkins face to face with the school principal
Role Game Designer
Studio Rockstar Games
Period Sept 2003 – June 2006
Released October 2006
Platform PlayStation 2

Bully

Third-person open-world brawler

I was a core member of the four-person team that created and designed the combat system.

01What I owned

On Bully I worked on scripting mini-games and NPC navigation before moving on to bosses and combat.

  • Core member of the four-person team that created and designed the combat system
  • Responsible for boss designs and ensured their implementation
  • Scripted mini-games and ambient NPC interaction systems
  • Created the Future Street Race 2165 mini-game
  • Scripted NPC navigation
  • Designed the social reputation system

02Mini-games and NPCs

I scripted mini-games, NPC navigation and ambient NPC interaction systems. Future Street Race 2165 was one of the mini-games I created.

Jimmy standing in front of the Future Street Race 2165 arcade cabinet, with a Play game prompt on screen
The Future Street Race 2165 arcade cabinet in the game.

03The combat system

At Rockstar, I was part of the small team that created the combat system for Bully, designing enemy behaviors, building boss encounters, tuning difficulty, and iterating until fights landed emotionally and mechanically.

Jimmy kicking one student while another waits with his fists up inside the school
A fight inside the school.

Multiple enemies could surround you but they could only attack you based on a token system we created inspired by classic kung fu movies where only one enemy would attack you at a time.

YOU FIG. 1Token system Plan view Token Key Holds the token Attacks you No token Surrounds you, does not attack Rule Only one enemy attacks at a time. Inspired by classic kung fu movies. YOU FIG. 1Token system Token Holds the token Attacks you No token Surrounds you, does not attack Only one enemy attacks at a time. Inspired by classic kung fu movies.
The token system, from above.
A group of students running across the schoolyard after Jimmy
A group of students coming after Jimmy.

Originally we used all the face buttons for combat but we were given the challenge of retaining the depth of combat while simplifying it to one button.

We successfully created a combat system which elements could be seen in later titles such as Sleeping Dogs and Arkham Asylum.

04What I learned

My AAA grounding comes from Rockstar Games and, after it, Slant Six. That is where I learned what complex pipelines, large teams, and a high production bar actually feel like in practice.

Skills Applied

Combat Design Boss Design Scripting NPC Systems Mini-game Design Open World