Cecil Stedman is the next character coming to Invincible VS, using his teleportation tech and ReAnimen to fend off his opponents with an unexpectedly solid kit.
When I first got wind that Cecil would be joining Invincible VS, I was understandably skeptical. Out of the entire cast of characters coloring the comic’s pages, Cecil is one of a few without superpowers, instead relying on technology from the Global Defense Agency to teleport himself around the world and dodge attacks from disgruntled heroes.
How could the team at Quarter Up possibly make him an interesting addition to the rest of the Invincible VS roster? I hypothesized about his potential moveset, playing ‘theory fighter’ in my head until I got the chance to see his trailer during a discussion with the game’s developers.
My fears were instantly and thoroughly put to rest. Cecil might not have superpowers, but he’s definitely solid in this game, boasting tons of options for both zoning and mixups. He can use a gun to keep enemies at bay and knock them out of the air, or summon the ReAnimen to do his dirty work from a distance. He can zip back and forth on the battlefield using teleportation, leading to some hype-worthy, big-damage scenarios.
From what I’ve seen, Cecil is undeniably saucy in this game. I was thoroughly impressed with his trailer and quizzed the devs at Quarter Up about their decision to bring Cecil into the fray and how they managed to make him a viable threat, considering the competition he’s up against.
Invincible VS devs explain why they chose to put Cecil in the game
For Quarter Up, adding Cecil to Invincible VS was a no-brainer. After all, it’s hard not to love a grizzled, former secret agent who’s forced to make difficult decisions for the good of humanity, all while managing an unruly team of superheroes.
“ Cecil’s not only a fan-favorite, but a favorite amongst all the devs, too,” said Michael Rogers, Narrative Director for Invincible VS. “And I think there was a force of will that wanted to bring Cecil into this game, and also to do it right. As we started thinking about him, we realized that, well, you know… he is an old man, right?
“He’s not a super-powered alien, but he’s got tons of resources and tech at his disposal, beings like ReAnimen, teleportation devices, and things like that. We realized that this could actually build a really unique kit. He sort of does what he does best, which is commanding people and the ReAnimen to fight for him.
“He’s also not afraid to get his hands dirty and go back to his field agent days. Pull out a grid auditor, a modified Flaxan rifle, all sorts of things that cost taxpayer dollars that give him the edge and uniqueness that make for a great fighting game character.”
Cecil drives off enemies with ‘bullet hell’ of projectiles
Executive Producer Michael Willette broke down Cecil’s wealth of high-tech tools, explaining that he has a bevy of both long and mid-range options for “manipulating” the battlefield in his favor.
For instance, he can plant sonic mines both on the ground and in the air to trap enemies. He’s also got projectiles like a rocket launcher, which can be boosted to fire three rockets at once – and, of course, he can use his teleportation technology to move around the fray “at taxpayers’ expense.”
“He can basically put a ‘bullet hell’ in front of you to try to get in on him,” Willette explained. “And then he has the power within our omni tag combo system to call and assist strategically while he’s filling in the screen, just to get that one hit confirm and take your ass to the white room, or come in, do a combo, and hit you with a level three where he brings down the hammer.
“For us, it was having this cool, different version of a ranged character that can lay down a bunch of traps and projectiles and make it hell for you. He’s tapping into the agent of old, but he’s taking command like he knows how to do.”
Keeping Invincible VS at 60 FPS was devs’ biggest challenge making Cecil
Making Cecil fit in a fast-paced fighting game wasn’t easy, and Quarter Up wanted to stay true to his character in every possible aspect, from his moveset to his animations and even his banter with other characters.
“It was a different playing field with this guy, because we had to rethink a lot of the common practices that we have for those typical superhero characters, which Cecil is not, from a gameplay perspective,” Art Director Dan Eder said.
“But also, there’s the narrative side of things of, ‘How do we make it plausible that Cecil actually fights Omni-Man in a way that feels authentic to the show?’ Which is why we have him relying on stuff like teleportation and the ReAnimen, which is something that Cecil would do.
“I think fans of the show would appreciate that we’re not just giving him a generic superhero kit template, but we’re really designing the gameplay around what’s authentic to the character. Beyond that, he’s just badass. He’s a really fun character to play and might be my favorite character from a gameplay perspective, just because he’s so different, very projectile-based, and visually exciting.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Willette revealed that one of the biggest challenges in bringing Cecil to life so authentically was trying to get the game to stay at 60 frames per second with all of his projectiles and ReAnimen on screen at once.
‘I’m the 60 frames per second police,” he joked. “It has to run at 60 constantly. And with a character like Cecil, you have so much shit going on. I mean, calling in ReAnimen, and you already have a game where potentially you have like six characters on screen at the same time. It’s really about figuring out how we make everything work with all the projectiles and the ReAnimen, and the teleportation and all the other characters.”
Ultimately, the team at Quarter Up want a roster with lots of gameplay variety to appeal to both players and fans — even if those characters aren’t someone viewers would consider at first.
“You’ll hear the name first, you’ll be like, ‘What the fuck? Really?’ And then when you see Cecil, ‘Holy shit, like he’s badass.’ I think that’s what’s so cool, capturing the essence of this character who used to be a badass field agent, and he’s had decades’ worth of experience and then commanding and leading the Guardians. He knows crises. So when he goes into a situation, you know that he’s gonna be super tactful and lay it down. I think it it, when you see it, it’s really fucking cool.”
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