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Game Design Document
The executive summary:
- A fantasy/sci-fi game similar in gameplay to Adventure of Link but with spiritual inspirations drawn from Super Mario World, Metroid and Elden Ring with a focus on exploration, swordplay and action adventure elements.
A very brief description of the theme and setting of the game:
- In an isolated fantasy world with a buried technological past, a guard stumbles upon an ancient existential threat facing their world.
A few bullet points introducing the main features:
- Fast paced timing-based swordplay
- Large overworld maps with lots of nooks and crannies
- Rich levels full of secrets
- Lively towns with interesting NPCs
- A streamlined but satisfying leveling up system
- Weapons, abilities and power-ups that are discovered throughout your journey
- Enemies and bosses with detailed background lore
Sheriff 1: I don't have any name or characterization for Sheriff of Town1 yet but I want them to be an interesting character, may base them on an old boss of mine or something since I want to make it feel like you're on the job. -Ryan
Judgelord1 Judgelord of County1. I don't know much about this character yet either. -Ryan
Judgelord Boarheart: Judgelord Boarheart is a Holy Judge of the Church of Galungawa and one of the nine Judges presiding over the Sheriffs of the various counties of Wudragar. They are the highest political and religious figures in the land, formally called Judgelords. Boarheart believes himself to be the true incarnation of the Boarheart of ancient legend and sees it as his duty and purpose to reform the traditions of the church and the laws of the land in his image. He is ultimately deranged and obsessed with divine power such that he begins to see himself as a prophet of Galungawa and writes an entirely new volume of the Divine Teachings himself. This creates a political divide in the land of Wudragar wherein some people embrace his new teachings and others don’t, even amidst the nine Judgelords. Lord Boarheart and his supporters form a splinter branch of the Church of Galungawa as well as a new political party to challenge the church’s ancient traditions. He will appear as a late game boss (most likely the final Judgelord) after it's been established that the player's goals do not align with the goals of his new order.
The game opens with the Player character starting his/her first day of work as the new Deputy of Town1. They will meet their new boss, the Sheriff of Town1, who will give them a brief 'training session' to explain controls, make them feel like it's their first day on the job and give them a general sense of their objective which is to patrol their jurisdiction looking for anything out of place and helping citizens in need, then they'll be set loose into the initial tutorial sector of the map where there will be a few points of interest within the region to go to such as an old ruined temple, a rocky area with a cave, some forests and a farm or two. They are now free to explore any of these areas including Town1 but will be told it's not within their jurisdiction if they attempt to leave the County (tutorial area) at this point.
There will be a number of townsfolk to talk to and a number of things that may be observed that will indicate to the player that things have been amiss lately. Problems such as people having trouble with monsters on their farms, seeing or hearing strange things in woods, a villager that has gone missing and was last seen in a frantic state heading into a cave and strange noises coming from within the ruined temple. Doing these quests will introduce the basic low level monsters and threats that the player will be facing throughout the game and will also help set up the story.
Going to the ruined temple will reveal some Deputy guards that tell the player they're not permitted to set foot in the temple and they have to get written authorization from the region's Judgelord to be allowed to enter. Judgelord1 [don't have any ideas for name or characterization yet] will be found in Town1 in a church or civic building. The Player gets an audience with Judgelord1 and is laughed at and harshly denied access to the old temple on their first day of work (as very few people are allowed access to any ancient structure). This introduces the character Judgelord1 and may also trigger a sudden event in town [haven't worked out all the details] that distracts and leads the player back to the ruined temple where we find that the guards are missing and one is fatally wounded so there's nothing stopping the player from entering. If you talk to the dying guard he tells you the other guards followed something into the temple.
The player enters the temple and we find that it is Dungeon1, where we will find our first boss. Before entering the boss area, the player may talk to another dying guard who says they wounded it but couldn't kill it. The player will follow the path into the dark unseen depths of the dungeon and discover the monster, which will be some kind of hideous demonic beast that appears wounded in some way and isn't too hard to kill but isn't super easy either. Upon defeating the monster, a path will continue to open up into the dungeon that takes the player into new areas that appear to be undiscovered. At the end of the dungeon the player will find a strange technological altar that imbues them with a High Jump ability. This allows the player to jump back to the surface of the dungeon level and return to the overworld map.
Now that the player has High Jump there are areas in the rocky region to the west that are now accessible that were not before. If you head west into this rocky region there is a cave entrance that will lead you deep into a cavern with lots of gaps and chasms in the pitch darkness, so not only will this cavern make good use of your new High Jump ability, but you’ll also need a lantern to proceed. The lantern can be purchased in Town1 so if the player hasn’t bought it yet somehow then they’ll need to return to Town1 and do so.
Once the player works their way through the dark cavern it will open up into a second level, Dungeon2, which will be a slightly trickier and more dangerous dungeon than Dungeon1.
Progression will come in several forms, including:
- an EXP based leveling system where each enemy destroyed gives the player a fixed amount of EXP and the amount of EXP needed to level up increases with each level up. Upon each level up the player will be allowed to choose to upgrade one of four stats: HP, ATK, DEF, or EN.
- Upgrading HP adds to the total hit point value the character has and increases the size of the red HP meter
- Upgrading ATK increases base attack stat across all weapons including projectiles and magic
- Upgrading DEF increases base character defense stat
- Upgrading EN increases the size of yellow EN meter, thus increasing both short and long-term endurance
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A weapon leveling system calculated separately from the character leveling system that multiplies the base attack stat of the sword and bow individually. For example, killing enemies with the sword will accumulate 'Sword EXP' and will eventually lead to a 'Sword Weapon Level Up' which will multiply damage done only with the sword, whereas killing enemies with the bow will accumulate 'Bow EXP' leading to a 'Bow Weapon Level Up' which will multiply damage done only by the bow. This will hopefully encourage the player to use both their sword and bow often.
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The player will find physical sword, bow, shield and armor upgrades throughout the world that will add to ATK and DEF stats separately from the standard character or weapon leveling systems and may also increase physical stats such as sword reach, arrow speed, etc. This type of upgrade might include finding a new sword or shield, upgrading a sword, shield or armor at a blacksmith or something, finding a new bow or bow accessory, etc.
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The player's blue MP meter, which runs out when using magical attacks or abilities, is the only standard meter that doesn't upgrade with level ups. The MP meter instead upgrades with power up items found in the world called 'Magic Expansions' (not that, but something better than that). They are actually ancient technological devices that work with the player character's metabolism to create magical energy (which is canonically why eating certain foods can restore MP meter). Magic Expansions may be found anywhere in nooks and crannies of the world on ancient tech altars and function similarly to Metroid power ups such as energy tanks or missile expansions.
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Gaining physical magical abilities such as High Jump or obtaining items such as the Whip may give the player access to new areas. Additionally, defeating certain bosses, solving certain puzzles or riddles, completing certain levels, and engaging with certain NPC interactions are all situations that may trigger events or environmental changes that allow the player to reach previously inaccessible areas. This is how objectives may be gatekept in situations where we want things to be done in a certain order, such as storyline or side quest progression.
Adderlily: A carnivorous vine that contains the ‘berserked’ gene. Some varieties are poisonous.
Bandit: Human enemies who come in many varieties. They are wanted by the law or have been deemed heretics and criminals for their misdeeds and untrustworthiness. Their having been ostracized from society gives them no choice but to pursue a life of dastardly crime, making them some of the prime targets for the Deputies. The player will find no shortage of bandits in the land of Wudragar. They may swordfight using movements similar to the player's.
Landlouse: Landlice are parasitic arthropod type creatures who carry the ‘berserked’ gene. They are small, quick, carnivorous and aggressive in their larval form when they hatch from their eggs which are carried in the bodies of adult landlice. When fully mature, adults develop fertile eggs asexually and then bury their entire head in the ground (like a tick does on skin) and start drinking nutrients straight from the soil. This can kill plants and trees and may sometimes destroy crops or gardens. As it drinks it grows and will more than quadruple in size before its death at which point it will explode into goop and its eggs will drop, hatching quickly and releasing multiple aggressive larva at once.
Scuttler: Scuttlers are the descendants of people who became ‘berserked’ long ago. Over time berserked humans were mostly eradicated on the surface world but many had been driven into the deep, dark and unfathomably huge cave and maintenance tunnel systems beneath the bubbles. For thousands of years they have lived and reproduced and writhed in the darkness below the bubbles, evolving and changing genetically to reflect their berserked and deranged state physically as well as mentally. They are blind as their eyes are not needed in the dark but they can hear and smell exceptionally and are very fast when climbing or ‘scuttling’ though dark caves.
The game will have an overworld map that functions as a hub world to go between levels. The player will walk around on the map in a simple top-down 8-directional setup that won't require any real physics. There will be a number of interesting features visible on the map. The player will have the ability to press a button to choose to interface with or 'search' map nodes. More eye-catching and individualized land features might generally indicate larger or more intricate levels while simple repetitive features may indicate nothing at all. Interacting with different map nodes by pressing the 'search' button may trigger any of the following events:
- The player is prompted to enter a side-scrolling level (dungeon, cave, town, etc.)
- The player is teleported into a combat side-scrolling level (enemy encounter)
- The player is shown a text prompt or NPC interaction right there on the map
- The player finds an item
- Nothing is found
- Perhaps a small sound (like a little 'tch tch') to indicate that a 'search' has taken place.
There may also sometimes be a boss enemy on the map that can teleport the player into a combat side-scrolling level upon collision. These enemies would be very specifically placed and mostly stationary unless approached at which point they may give chase but give up quickly if the player leaves their range, giving the player a fair shake at avoiding these battles. These enemies are NOT random pop-up battles, and there are NO pop-up enemies in this game except for those which are not random and are the result of an elective button press or which make sure to give the player fair chase.
I want to simulate the idea of the hardship of travel while the player traverses the overworld. The EN meter will be a yellow meter that gradually drops as the player walks around the overworld. If the player isn't moving then time 'stands still' and the EN meter doesn't drop, but for every unit of distance the player travels, a respective amount of EN is lost. When the player enters a side-scrolling level, the EN level will determine the duration of the player's 'Combat Stamina' which is a meter inside of the EN meter that drops and recovers quickly when the player performs attacks (similar to Souls games). The taller the EN meter, the taller the Combat Stamina meter. If the Combat Stamina line hits the bottom of the EN meter the player will become fatigued, lengthening attack recovery time and forcing the player to wait for the Combat Stamina meter to recharge before returning to normal. The Combat Stamina meter can NOT charge any higher than the EN meter's fullness allows for and a yellow item must be consumed or the player must rest at an inn or campsite to refill the EN meter.
These are one time use items that are dropped or found on the ground and provide a benefit instantly upon collision with the player. They are perishable items usually dropped by enemies, trees or boxes and barrels that the player destroys. They are color coded such that red items restore HP, yellow items restore EN and blue items restore MP. Non-primary colored items (orange, purple, green) will replenish multiple meters.
Red Apple: Restores small amount of HP upon collision. Found on trees, sometimes dropped by enemies.
Rare Steak: Restores large amount of HP upon collision. Dropped by large beast / animal type enemies.
Yellow Apple: Restores small amount of EN upon collision. Found on trees, sometimes dropped by enenmies.
Goldenberry: Restores small amount of EN upon collision. Found on small shrubs.
Blueberry: Restores small amount of MP upon collision. Found on small shrubs. Sometimes dropped by enemies.
Blue Shrooms: Restores small amount of MP upon collision. Found on the ground beneath trees or cliffs.
Orange Carrot: Restores small amount of HP and EN upon collision. Found on the ground.
Green Apple: Restores small amount of EN and MP upon collision. Found on trees, sometimes dropped by enemies.
Purple Plum: Restores small amount of MP and HP. Found on shrubs, sometimes dropped by enemies.
These are items that are stored up to a certain quantity and can be used at any time from the inventory screen. They are non-perishable items usually purchased in shops, given as quest rewards or found in chests or when searching the overworld.
Jerky: Restores large amount of HP, small amount of EN
Pickles: Restores large amount of EN, small amount of MP
Prunes: Restores large amount of MP, small amount of HP
Antitoxin: Cures poisoned status ailment
Medicine: Cures sick status ailment
Bandage: Cures bleed status ailment
Mineral Water: Cures heatstroke status ailment
Fire Water: Cures frostbite status ailment
Snake Oil: Cures all status ailments
Deputy Sword: The initial sword the player begins the game with. Equips to right hand. Standard issue sword used by guards working under the Sheriffs. Ordinary sword with no special powers or abilities, deals baseline damage.
Deputy Shield: Initial shield the player begins the game with. Equips to left hand. Can be upgraded, provides base defense points and blocks low level enemy collisions if raised in front of player character.
Lantern: Casts an aura of light around player in a dark area. Can be raised in the same manner as the shield to project a narrower beam of light out in front of player. Equips to left hand so it may be used instead of shield, sacrificing defense for light. May be purchased in Town1, will be needed to navigate dark caves safely.
Mysterious Sword: Is found in Dungeon2 in the opening area. Can have upgrades and magical abilities added to it. Replaces the Deputy Sword, deals slightly higher base damage and has upgradeable attack power. Is actually an ancient multi tool device.
Whip: Will be available to purchase in towns / shops outside the opening tutorial area. Does damage to enemies and can be used to swing across gaps and chasms.
Bow: Will be available to purchase in towns / shops outside the opening tutorial area.
High Jump: The first main powerup the player receives in the game, found in Dungeon1 in the opening area and becomes the standard jump for the rest of the game. Allows the player to jump 3 tiles.
Double Jump: Is found later, not sure when yet. Gives player the ability to perform an additional jump in mid-air.
Quest items given or traded by NPCs, ancient or magical items used to solve puzzles or riddles, possibly actual keys to unlock specific doors, books that contain lore.
Initially, the game will release as a digital PC/Mac standalone version available through common retailers such as Steam, GOG, etc.,.
Could add console support (through e-stores, perhaps no physical release?) in the future.
Consider the following engines: Unity 3D
For project management use JIRA. Use Github for storing code and assets.
TBD properly in Technical Design Document.