I’ll be finishing the first design iteration today. I’ll share the process I used to get there after I share the design. The process will take some explanation to make comprehensible and I’d like to do a semi-decent job it.
In the meantime here is a warm-up exercise I did yesterday. I just start writing down an idea and go with it until I’m tried of brainstorming.
Also I’ve been doing a lot of overhead stuff, like monetization strategy, details on the design process, research into some of my inspirational areas – tv, what I want out of the game long-term, how I plan for the “collaborate on the game across the web” details to work out and so on.
I want people to play my game because it will be fun. The experience will be diverse and emotional. Ideas will spring out of the screen. The player will have an intense journey. They won’t know what hit them.
The biggest goal – no a goal – is that the player can express him or herself. She can create a unique experience. She can dance and be intense. She can explore like in Zelda. She can conquer bosses and design weapons and strategies. She can recruit friends.
Deus Ex: Too Human: the game taught me how cool stealth is. I already knew but hey, I can always learn stealth again. I like sneaking around guys, though I hate having to try a level over and over again. Waiting without any consequence -other than to restart a boring mission (monotonous) – is bullshit.
Stealth is fun when you have to deal with the consequences. That’s what makes stealth exciting. Every moment changes your perception of what will happen if you get caught, what you need to do to not get caught, and whether you will be caught. You also have to plan your escape strategy.
I loved camping and sneaking up on people. I have a distinct image in my head of hiding in the bushes. I really enjoyed that. Campfire, smoke, darkness, walkie-talkies. Friends around the fire. Strangers. Prowling, stalking, searching. Hiding in the bushes with a friend. Finding the group with a friend. Being lost in the wilderness. Not knowing if you will ever be found. Being scared.
I love being frightened. God game development is going to be difficult. If I can get all of my main emotions figured out maybe I can determine the core mechanic that needs to go in to deliver those emotions. I really can create a great game.
Believe in yourself. I want a new kind of game. I want it to blow minds. I want it to be mature. I want it to be smooth. I don’t want it to be bullshit. How many games are complete bullshit, not respecting my time at all.
I need to stitch ideas together. Level design: go. Legend of Zelda. Dungeon. Oh shit.
3 enemies. Each one pushes you in a different direction. Based off of 3 animals. You have the bear, the wolf, and the jaguar. The bear is just a bigger, slower, wolf. The wolf, the jag and the bison crew.
The wolf stalks and plans and works in a team. The bison are more defensive but will challenge you if you encroach on their turf. The jaguar is sneaky and limber. It can use the terrain to its advantage.
The jungle is important because it is difficult to navigate, even between two points that are totally obviously connected. Mountains in the distance, water nearby, creaks and streams, pebbles, roots, underbrush, clearings, meadows etc.
Each animal has strengths in each environment. Your job is to go from each area to area, back tracking and learning the environment, trying to find safe passage, get the right supplies and skills to defeat the enemies.
Going one place gives you courage, or peace of mind, or whatever. Going somewhere else gives you intellect. Each environment affects your state, also provides for different biological needs. You get hungry and thirsty. You need to rest. You need variety and safety and a balance of sunshine.
You need protection from mosquitoes. You need to wipe your bum. You need to eat, a balanced diet. You need to wash yourself. Most importantly you need to learn to hunt, to be stealthy, to walk in each terrain effectively.
As you master things, your environment, your body, you gain the ability to take down the serious animals. At the beginning the animals just kill you. You are afraid of the threat of beasts. Their images haunt you. You hear a sound and must fight a wolf or at least your fear of one.
A wolf sound is made or the area darkens. You become afraid and run. You are judged on your success. You gain courage and skill. The player gains skill too.
Animals and the forest. Zelda is about many different challenges spread out in a maze. The player has to backtrack a lot, to gain knowledge, to use items, to unlock greater access to the dungeon, then eventually have a showdown with the boss.
I don’t want my player to die. I will put death in but it will be infrequent. Instead the player will lose things. He can become injured, his psyche can be damaged, he can lose his health. Most encounters don’t happen with the animals directly.
In reality animals will kill you, at least the ones I’m using. So encounters have to be minimal or the player has to be overpowered, or can re-spawn like crazy. I want minimal death and a lot of fear. But I also want a lot of interaction with the animals.
I will solve this problem in two ways. First we have the “images” of animals. Since this game depends on the defeat of creatures the player character will always be focused on this. He wants to kill them but he doesn’t want to put himself in harms way unnecessarily. So we need “half” encounters.
Spirits aren’t cool for many reasons. I’ll have little versions of the big animals. A little wolf can act like a big wolf but isn’t a wolf and should not be killed and is less dangerous. The player plays with these to build up his skills.
An actual battle is long-lasting. When you fight a wolf for real you go all over the terrain you already know.
Actual mechanics. I want a lot of air. I want something like climbing trees. I want lots of terrain. I want all the control to be centered on the character’s body. So he doesn’t use a lot of tools. He relies on strength and finesse, like the Prince of Persia or Mario.
He can climb, grab, jump, slide, swing and so on. He can fall and get hurt. Moving from point A to B is always a task. Basic traversal is challenging especially at break-neck pace.
The main goal is running. Normally the player wants to get into a good position. Attacks themselves are limited and drawn out. When an attack happens everything slows down and is blown out, maximized.
The question becomes how can the player get into an optimal position so that his next encounter with the enemy goes well? He wants to get a slight edge by injuring the opponent, changing his opponent’s trajectory.
There are slight mental state changes in the opponent with each encounter. After each state change a new realm of possibilities open up. The player must find the best way to exploit each state by using the environment to his advantage. He should have a lot of practice in each environment that he chooses to battle in.
A battle lasts about 5 minutes. The most important parts are:
- getting to point B (from A) competently
- choosing point B well
So there must be several types of terrain, that each combine well with others, and there must be a lot of variety in their traversal.
the Game 