UNIT 12
Game Maker
MoodBoard
In this project, I will be developing a game concept and be researching different genres and styles. It is really hard to come up with an entirely whole new concept but will try and gain some inspiration for a combination of different genres like a story based, puzzle, horror/ thriller, Sci-fi and much more. I gave myself the main theme of Gravity and could be used for incredibly visual and obscure imagery but can be a difficult task to achieve but in the project like this, it is all way a good idea to be ambitious. I think that the development of ideas should always be a journey and that's what I think a game should be, a journey into another universe.
What Type Of Game Concept?
One of the first games that come to mind is Gravity Rush. It is an action-adventure video game developed by SCE Japan Studio and Project Siren and where gravity, is the core game mechanic. You play as Kat, the main protagonist in the story and she is able to shift gravity around her in ways she can traverse across the landscape, fighting enemies. It has a unique art style, being cell-shaded and atmospheric with floating islands and cities.
Portal 2 is a puzzle platformer game. You wake up as Chell in a room in the Aperture labs and find a Portal gun and you have to do puzzles to traverse to different platforms and levels. You have to use more than the portal gun, the in-game physics you can use to your advantage. The inspiration I can take from this is the puzzle platformer aspect and like gravity rush and giving world building to be more creative too so you can get from point A to B.
Dishonoured is a stealth game with brilliant level design and interesting story. The game gives the option to take out your enemies in many ways with powers and different weapons. You get collectables which are important to upgrade and adding more replayability. I do enjoy the exploration of the levels and using your powers to move to a different area or behind an enemy.
The Final Fantasy is a JRPG series created by SpareEnix. Before there the games mostly turned base gameplay but over the recent title it action JRPG`s with fast combat and it's straightforward to learn but and give the player the sense of reward for levelling up the main character
I would say the major influence on the concept of my game is Kingdom hearts. Kingdom Hearts is an Action RPG game with a story that crosses over between Disney and Final Fantasy. Both Disney and Final Fantasy are complete opposites, Disney being the more child-friendly and the Final Fantasy being the darker tone. You paly as the main character Sora who gets chosen to wield a Keyblade and begin the journey to fight the darkness and travel to different Disney worlds. The story is about friendship and a battle between light and dark.
Prince of Persia is an adventure game and you play as a thief in this mystical world and you meet a woman who is descendent of a magical family that has to protect the tree of life. Soon after you, the world becomes corrupted and she is only one that could defeat the corruption. The combat in this game is rather straight forward enemies always being one on one but fighting is always about chaining together combos. Combos vary and give you a sense of reward when getting combos right.
Other Media
Doctor Strange and Avatar the last are completely different but has the theme of spiritual and coming together as one to fight evil. I do take a lot of inspiration from both these mediums and each having a unique style and visual presentation.
Concept Art
Environment art
For the world design, I wanted a broken dystopian world and the idea is to have it feel open world but has also kept a linear path throughout. the concept of the tree is the place where the game would start. It is a mystical tree with the power of the cosmos and is the centre of the universe. Some inspiration was taken from Doctor Strange and the mirror dimension where the buildings have a kaleidoscope visual style. and from Avatar the last air bender and the legend of Korra and how the animators envisioned the spirit realm. I wanted an overall style to the look cartoonish but some realism to it.
The Alter-verse can be a mirror dimension of another one world where you can unlock more abilities for the main protagonist and find harder obstacles and some puzzle aspects too.
The shrine concept is where the player can travel into the Alter_verse, a mirror world of the one you are on and you well be reward with items and things to help you to progress through the game. the game will be more challenging and rewarding. Platformer puzzles will be more consistent there because the main character has a spiritual form. Each world in the game will have an Alternative dimension some with be really important and others well be a choice to the player to playthrough.
Character art
One of the most influential styles was Japanese anime and Disney Pixar and having anime over the top and with realism feel that the Pixar has. The character I drew is the guardian of the tree in the alter-verse you are confronted by her in the story and she will explain why you ended up eventually protecting the tree.
Character art
The character is not final, but I wanted to have transformation forms that could help aid the gameplay and add more variety and combat styles. The three forms will increase some abilities like strength, defence and magic. The first one is Dark form It is a transformation you will unlock early in the game which gives the character a strength and but the attacks are slower, one wrong move and you could mess up. Light form focuses more on defence fighting and it will increase magic and hits from enemies won't deal as much damage. The last form is Balance is a mixture between both of dark and light, this form will increase the stats of the character by a certain percent. The fighting style with each form will be different including the weapons you wield.
Game Document
Theme / Setting / Genre
Theme
Action Adventure, Gravity, Fantasy, Action RPG, strategy
Setting
Earth, and 6 other dimensions, Broken worlds.
Genre
Fantasy, Liner story, Magic, Spirit, Life, Dark and Light, Mystery
Game Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Core Gameplay Mechanics Brief
- Single player
- Third person
- Level up system
- Free roam but liner due to different worlds (similar to Kingdom Hearts 0.2 birth by sleep)
- Equipment to enhance skills
- Collectables and chests
- Fighting combo mechanic (being able to chain combos like a fighting game)
- Dark and Light fighting system (once you unlock it you can choose different play style and combos will change to the very light and dark.) (will not affect the story)
- Gravity (spirit form)
- Two Different characters
- Q.T.E (quick time even)
- Trigger animation aka Enlightenment. (similar to Q.T.E`s but combo orientated, you would have to chain together different combos but it will give you the chance to deal a much higher damage rate.
- boss fights
- In boss fights your opponent can learn from you and how you chain together and can counter if you keep repeating combos.
- have puzzle aspects.
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Objectives
To complete main quest line and side quests, acquiring new skills, weapons and abilities along the way.
Targeted platforms
PS4
Xbox One
PC
Target Audience
From age 16 (Teenagers)
Young Adults
Monetization model
Retail purchase
Digital download
Project Scope
Game Time Scale
1 and a half Years Post Production, 4 years production
Licenses / Hardware
Maya, Substance Painter, Mudbox, quiet, substance designer, etc.
Team size
200
Total Costs with breakdown
400 Million Total. 300 Million on Production, 100 Million on Marketing
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Influences (Brief)
- Influence
- Kingdom Hearts 1, 2 and Birth by Sleep -(Memorable characters confusing story by it is a puzzle left to the players it figures out the story, It is an action JRPG. Dark and light
- Influence
Doctor Strange (marvel movie)
Giving a glimpse of the different dimensions and into the spiritual realm. Trying to find one's self and a broken world.
- Influence
Sacred Geometry, patterns
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- Influence
Avatar The Legend Of Aang - and Avatar- legend of Korra
A major influence, the entire Asian, mythology and fantasy aesthetic, also given a spiritual aspect.
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- Influence
Prince of Persia 4
-The fighting had a combo chain and when you a combination of buttons you can perform aerial, ground and magic attacks.
The elevator Pitch
It is an Action RPG adventure game set in a dystopian world mixed with other dimensions with gameplay similar to Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 15. You are put in a world where a war between light and dark that is inescapable but you as the main character begins to questions this war that destroyed the earth.
VUE-Environment
I was experimenting with VUE, it is a piece of software where you can create different environments with lush trees and have open rivers and islands. The good thing with working with VUE is creating procedural landscapes and you are able to edit how it looks giving brushes to change. The downside it the ease of use, the camera controls are spread across four panels and I felt like this slow done the workflow.
Flowchart
The game starts with the main character waking up on a shore between the roots of a tree the size of a skyscraper.
You as the player find that you are not the only person in this world.
You travel to the other world to find who is behind the attack of the tree.
After fighting the shadows a gateway is opened showing where the shadows came from.
In all new worlds, you need to help protect the people and save it from being consumed by dark. (some worlds won't have people but well reveal the story more)
Defeating bosses in some of the worlds will gain you more powers. (one ability is being able to Spirt bend this is also Astro projection)
You play the tutorial as the training montage and get to know the characters that help protect the tree.
The tree is being attacked by creatures from other worlds called Dream shadows and you must protect this tree.
Going back to the previous world to find a shrine and send the character Astro body to alter-verses.​
The Alter-verses will reveal more about the main character story and unlock more powers and transformations. Puzzles and enemies will be more challenging in this universe.
Go
Don`t go
If you do not go, enemies will be more of a challenge and going to worlds, defending it will gain you EXP throughout the game.
Go Back if not enough EXP.
Levelling up will reward the player with special items and weapons to help you.
Near the end you come to realise that you are going to find who is after the tree but one gradians and also friend of the main character is consumed by abences the darkness.
The friend you had was killed by you to protect the tree. (this is the end of the game but extra content is unlocked like secret bosses and harder difficulties.
Evaluation
The game maker project had its ups and downs when I was still unsure of what concept I wanted in the final. I had many ideas and which made the concept really confusing. I then took some ideas out in order to simplify it down to be more understandable and more realistic. The decision was to make it an Action RPG that would have a linear storyline to follow, where you as the main character wakes up next to a massive tree and you would have to protect it against dream bells. you would also travel to different worlds to find out who is behind the attacks. The part I enjoyed most about this project was to create concept art, I digital painted in Photoshop and getting to use Substance painter for texturing. I do see myself returning to this project and to see how I would improve and add or even removing something that would not work in the end.
