tartarus - design document · 2020. 2. 15. · game design sonny matthews m026209h game design...

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GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT

Sonny Matthews

M026209H

GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT

Sonny Matthews

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Tables of Contents

High Concept ................................................................................................................................. 4

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Theme / Environment / Setting ................................................................................... 4 Unique Selling Point .................................................................................................................... 4 Enemy Types ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Pickups ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Weapon Types................................................................................................................................. 5 Player Characteristics Outline ................................................................................... 5 Target Audience ............................................................................................................................ 5 Market and Competitors .................................................................................................... 6 Design Pillars ...................................................................................................................................... 6

Level Design Plans .....................................................................................................................7

Goals ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Story ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 Focal Point ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Visual Development .................................................................................................................10 Gameplay Influences ................................................................................................................. 11 Lighting ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 Colour Palette ................................................................................................................................ 12 Asset List ............................................................................................................................................ 13

Level Development ................................................................................................................ 17

Focal Point Location ................................................................................................................ 17 Focal Point Details..................................................................................................................... 18 Story Element Locations .................................................................................................. 18 Critical Path ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Enemy, Weapon and Pickup Locations .......................................................... 25 Level Start & Level End Location ......................................................................... 32 Level Pacing .................................................................................................................................... 34

Player Typology....................................................................................................................... 36

Taste Map ........................................................................................................................................ 36 Approaches to Player Types ..................................................................................... 37

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Player Characters, Controls and Abilities .................................................... 38

Player Controls .......................................................................................................................... 38 Player Camera............................................................................................................................. 39 Character background ..................................................................................................... 40 Character/s Mechanics .....................................................................................................41

Game Conditions .................................................................................................................... 42

Win Condition ............................................................................................................................... 42 Lose Condition. ............................................................................................................................ 42

Rewards and Progress .................................................................................................... 43

Achievements ............................................................................................................................. 43 Upgrades ........................................................................................................................................... 43

Balance and Stats ................................................................................................................ 45

Player Stats ................................................................................................................................... 45 Quick Pointing and Balance Intentions........................................................... 47 Enemy Stats and Behaviors....................................................................................... 48 Weapons ............................................................................................................................................ 54 Pickups ................................................................................................................................................. 64 Physics Object Stats ......................................................................................................... 65

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High Concept

Introduction - Classic twitch style shooter with modern, physics-based,

gameplay.

Theme / Environment / Setting

Theme Survival.

Environment Fantasy, Cyberpunk Noir. Urban, Industrial, Docklands/Sewer.

Setting 1990’s. Tartarus Harbor.

Unique Selling Point

The key mechanic allows the player pick up and throw environmental objects. These can be both explosive and non-explosive items that will affect enemies in different ways. The moment to moment combat will involve the player looking for an object to throw, throwing it at an enemy, and then finishing it off with gunplay. The pull to use each weapon independently will come from the cooldown of using them.

The USP for this design comes from the matching of “DOOM” style combat (Twitch FPS), with the physics-based manipulation of environment objects; like in “Half-Life 2” and “Control”. These two FPS styles and approaches have been hinted at across a wide span of games, but the frenetic nature of the kill or be killed aspects of “DOOM” have not been matched with this sort of mechanic. I feel this is what would make it unique and stand out from other games in the genre.

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In an artistic sense, there is quite a similarity with “Bioshock” and “City of Lost Children”. But the marrying of a less futuristic, cyber-punk element, like seen in the film “Dark City”, will make a much bigger impression from a thematic and artistic standpoint. There is something distinctly 1990’s about both of those films, so if the player was to get those references, I think game styles from that era should sit alongside it very well.

Enemy Types - 2 melee, 1 projectile.

Pickups - Health. - Armor. - Ammo. - Weapons. - Keys.

Weapon Types - Telekinesis: the player can pull and throw objects. - Rifle. - Shotgun.

Player Characteristics Outline - Primarily based on Doom Guy: badass, powerful, unafraid.

Target Audience - Primarily Male: 18 - 36. Reason being that the game will be

too mature for under 18s, and there will be those of an older age that feel nostalgic for “DOOM”.

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Market and Competitors - Market isn’t too saturated in terms of this design.

Depending on which aspects of the design you would be comparing, the rivals would be: the revival of “DOOM”, “Ion Fury” and “Wolfenstein”.

- The telekinesis mechanics could be compared to “Half-Life 2”, “Bioshock” and “Control”. Being that only one of these games is fresh in terms of release, this makes it stand out far more than others in an already crowded FPS market.

Design Pillars

- Run, Gun and Throw: the moment to moment combat.

- Interaction with Environment: the player’s need to progress being haltered with debris. The use of the telekinesis will clear the way.

- Platforming: using both the player’s jump mechanic and the telekinesis’s ability to pull them to locations.

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Level Design Plans Goals

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Story

John awakes to the sound of an explosion; he’s in a cell, with no memory of how he got there. A voice in his head says that he must reach the Sanctum and that he must use his mind to get there. He sees the key to his cell,just out of arms reach. He wills it to his location - and to John’s shock – he now holds it in his hands.

The waters of “Tartarus” have been raising over time, bringing both despair and monsters to the city. The sea level now rises more rapid, assaulting what’s left of the townsfolk and the earth they stand on. It’s up to John to stop the strange ones from the sea; once, and for all.

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Focal Point Outline The player will move out of the prison to a sea front; with homes and buildings standing in a courtyard shape. The monsters patrol the town, looking for any signs of life left in Tartarus. The player will return here often as it acts as a central hub for other locations they need to visit. This is further expanded on here.

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Visual Development

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Gameplay Influences Bioshock, Half Life 2 and Doom. The mixture of frenetic movement of Doom, with the launching and catching of physics items from HL2 and Bioshock.

Lighting

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Colour Palette

I have chosen this group of colours to emulate a nautical feel to the environment. Greens and browns are very common colours to be associated with the sea, most likely due to moss and algae that clings to both rocks and boats. The bluish hue and purple are going to factor into the more cyber-punk/futuristic look. Although I still want the environment to look quite grounded and similar to our modern day, I think a splash of either of these colours will remind the player that the world is a little more futuristic than ours.

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Asset List

Art Environmental - Explosive Barrels. - Boxes. - Lockable and Unlockable Doors. - Rock Walls. - Buildings. - Doors. - Windows. - Signs. - Table. - Rocks. - Sea Water. - Lamp posts. - Ramps. - Walk Ways. - Rails. - Corrugated Roofing and Metal. - Navigation pull points. - Sewer Bricks. - Cement Pillars. - Wood Pillars. - Touches. - City Scape. - Cloudy Skybox. - Health, Armour and Ammo. - Waterfall. Monsters - Projectile Enemy Mesh and Walk/Attack Animation. - Projectile Mesh and VFX. - Melee 1 Enemy Mesh and Walk/Attack Animation. - Melee 2 Enemy Mesh and Walk/Attack Animation.

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Player - Body Mesh. - Telekinesis Mesh and Attack/Default Animation. - Stranger’s Rifle Mesh. - Stranger’s Rifle Projectile Mesh and VFX - CrossShot Mesh. - CrossShot Projectile Mesh and VFX

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Sound Environmental

- The sea background. - Cavern background. - Door Unlock. - Explosion. - Waterfall. - Pickup.

Monsters - Projectile hit and death. - Projectile spawn. - Melee 1 hit and death. - Melee 2 hit and death. Player - Telekinesis Pull and Push. - Telekinesis Navigation Pull. - Stranger’s Rifle fire. - CrossShot fire. - Jump. - Land. - Walk.

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Blueprints Environmental

- Water Raising. - Monster Spawning. - Destroy Environment. - Weapon Pickups. - Health and Ammo Pickups. - Explosive Boxes. - Non-Explosive Boxes. - Keys.

Monsters - Projectile Enemy AI. - Projectile. - Melee 1 Enemy AI. - Melee 1 attack logic. - Melee 1 Enemy AI. - Melee 1 attack logic. Player - Character Movement. - Navigation Pull Mechanic. - Telekinesis Mechanic. - Weapon Mechanic. - Stranger’s Rifle Logic. - CrossShot Logic. - Inventory.

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Level Development Focal Point Location

Harbour Photo bash

Harbour Sketch

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Focal Point Details

Story Element Locations

• Prison: The player hears an explosion, signaling that the water is rising again.

• Harbor: A sea front, with a distant city at the horizon.

• Sewer: The underbelly of Tartarus.

• Cavern: A submerged cave dug out by the Strangers.

• Gardens: A reminder of the fairer times in Tartarus.

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Critical Path

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Enemy, Weapon and Pickup Locations

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Enemy Spawn Patterns

Some areas cannot be progressed through until the enemies in the area are killed. Each arena has a spawn pattern, where each new grouping is instanced after the one before has been dispatched.

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Level Start & Level End Location Start

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End

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Level Pacing

Overview

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Bubble Map Pacing

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Player Typology

Taste Map Where the game sits in terms of Jason VandenBerghe’s Taste Maps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uX6ye66NK0&t=2788shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uX6ye66NK0&t=2788s

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Approaches to Player Types Killer Killer player types will be the easiest type to please with the current design, due to the high volume of enemies that need to be disposed of. How satisfying each of the weapons are to use, as well as how easily they can meet the challenge of the enemies, will be the biggest influencer on how fulfilled they are. Achiever The achiever type will be appealed to via the use of achievements at the end of the level. Depending on how successful they were during the events of the game, the end level screen will display information pertaining to it, similar to how “Devil May Cry” and “Doom” do it. Explorer The world itself, as well as the story, will meet the expectations of the Explorer type. The mechanic used for navigation via the tether points will make traversing the world exciting, as well as the secrets that can be uncovered by using it. The type of player that scours the level will be firmly rewarded for their efforts. Social There will not be much application to the player that is more attracted to social elements in games. It could be that there are leader boards, but due to the lack of explicit multiplayer, I can’t imagine this type being attracted to this game with the current design.

It could be employed by using a similar system to what “Dark Souls” has: where players can leave notes in the environment to offer hints to each other. Online communities often form around games that have a mysterious story, so this could be another form of attracting that kind of player.

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Player Characters, Controls and Abilities

Player Controls

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Player Camera UI

Player Camera Stats

Perspective First Person.

FOV 90°

Damage Feedback

Flash Red

Body Mesh Movement

Fixed to Camera

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Character background

(none of this will be known to the player at the beginning of the game)

First Name John

Surname Claus

Age 36

Nationality Tartarian

Job Title Ex-Cop

Voice Gruff

Hair Brown, semi- receding.

Similar Characters from Other Media

John McClane (Die Hard) Nick Sax (Happy!) John Murdoch (Dark City)

Character Traits

Impatient Abrasive Unafraid Relentless Reluctant Hero Brave Shrewd

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Character/s Mechanics Telekinesis

Other Mechanics Summary

Jump? Yes

Crouch? No

Swim? Yes, but not underwater

See Balance and Stats for full breakdown

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Game Conditions

Win Condition By reaching the end of the level. Once done, the player will be congratulated and informed on how long it took them to complete, and how many kills they accrued.

Lose Condition. There isn’t, strictly speaking, a lose condition. The player will get the chance to try again once their health has reached 0.

If they die, a UI screen pops up, informing that they can try again.

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Rewards and Progress

Achievements At the end of each level, a score is presented to the player, determining how well they performed during it. “Devil May Cry”, “Death Stranding” and “DOOM” all feature similar systems, but “Devil May Cry” would be the exact one I would be looking at. Score will be determined by how long the player took to complete the level, coupled with how little damage they managed to take. Depending on how well they did, they are given a letter rating, like B, C, A* and S . Unfortunately, due to poor scope, the full extent of this system could not be implemented in time. These were my original intentions.

Upgrades

Upgrades would take the form of upgrading the player’s abilities and weapons. These would occur across an expanse of levels and not within this prototype. Here are examples: Telekinesis

- Pull Force (pulling objects quicker). - Push Force (reducing the arc of the throw, making it

more accurate). - Picking up and throwing of minor enemies. - Pulling objects (beams) out of the wall and hitting

enemies in between it. - Lifting enemies into the air.

Weapon

- Mod weapons with extra abilities: for example, the rifle would get a scope.

- Explosive barrels now explode with bullet fire.

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Character

- Increased Defense. - Increased Ammo store. - Dash. - Underwater Swimming. - Pause after Telekinesis grab (opens up areas).

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Balance and Stats Player Stats

Constants Character Stats and Attributes Max Health 100 Max Armor 100 Max Rifle Ammo 200 Max Cross-Shot Ammo 120 Max Mana 100 Loadout

Default Weapon Telekinesis Max Weapons 3 Character Physics On Land: Fast and agile. Strafe-able. Max Movement Speed 800 Jump Height 500 Max Step Height 45 Walkable Floor Angle 45 Crouch? NO Jumps Per Launch from Ground 1 Jump Z Velocity 500 Air Control 0.05 On Water: Cannot move below water, slow and exposed. Max Swim Speed 500 Buoyancy 5

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Start of Level Character Stats and Attributes Starting Health 50 Starting Armor 0 Starting Mana 50 Starting Rifle Ammo 70 Starting Cross-Shot Ammo 120 Loadout

Loadout Default

Respawn Character Stats and Attributes Starting Health 100 Starting Armor 0 Staring Mana 50 Starting Rifle Ammo 70 Starting Cross-Shot Ammo 120 Loadout

Weapons From Last Checkpoint

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Quick Pointing and Balance Intentions

Weapon Effectiveness

WEAPON GRUNT KHAMIERA SPIDER

Barrel V.HIGH V.HIGH HIGH

Yellow Box V.HIGH MED MED

Khamiera Projectile V.HIGH MED HIGH

Rifle V.HIGH LOW LOW

Crossbow (shotgun) V.HIGH HIGH MED

Enemy Strength vs Player

MONSTER DAMAGE TO PLAYER

Grunt HIGH

Khamiera LOW

Spider MED

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Enemy Stats and Behaviors

Khamiera AI Behavior

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Khamiera Stats

STAT VALUES

Health 125

Damage Type Projectile (see Physics Object Stats for more)

Damage 8 to Player; 75 to enemies

Sight Range 10000 (∞)

Lose Sight Range

None

Attack Range 10000 (∞)

Peripheral Vision 180

Speed (patrol) N/A

Chase Speed 450 (in behaviour tree)

Knock Back Damage N/A

Knock Back Force N/A

Melee Damage N/A

Special Mechanics

Shoots and then moves to avoid incoming fire.

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Gruntling AI Behavior

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Gruntling Stats

STAT VALUES

Health 25

Damage Type Up Close Explosive

Damage 75


Lose Sight Range

None

Attack Range N/A


Speed (patrol) 225

Chase Speed 700 (in behavior tree)

Knock Back Damage

N/A

Knock Back Force N/A

Melee Damage 75

Special Mechanics

On applying damage to the player, the Gruntling destroys itself.

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Spider AI Behavior

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Spider Stats

STAT VALUES

Health 250

Damage Type Melee

Damage 7


Lose Sight Range

None

Attack Range 150 (melee); 1200 (Charge Attack)


Speed (patrol) N/A

Chase Speed 600

Knock Back Damage

N/A

Knock Back Force 800

Melee Damage 25

Special Mechanics

Charges at the player if their location is greater than the charge attack range. Otherwise, it approaches for a melee attack.

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Weapons

The Reach (telekinesis)

Basic Information Weapon Name The Reach Weapons Type Telekinesis

Firing Characteristics and Attributes Value Units Firing Speed 0.4 Second Effective Range 1500 cm

Ammo Used 50 per pull of object

Ammo Per Clip N/A Ammo Usage Speed Instant Weapon Shake NO Reload Time N/A Firing Characteristics (notes)

Heavy and impactful.

Specific Rules/Mechanics

Weapon is always equipped on the right side of the screen.

Bullet Type and Attributes Shot Type Hitscan Sphere.

Shot Characteristics Linear and instant with large hit zone.


Objects that can be picked up or interacted with glow in the appliable trace length

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Damage Characteristics and Attributes Value Units

Pull of Object Force 100 Unreal Units

Pull Force Application per second start 0.1 seconds Pull Force per second end 0.05 seconds Pull force lerp (start to end) length 1.25 seconds

Push of Object Force 400 Unreal Units


Pull force is accumulated over time which gives the appearance of a gradual pull effect. Each object has a different weight, giving resistance to the pull force.

For Damage and Weights of Objects please see sheet with telekinesis object information

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Ammo Pickup Class Characteristics and Attributes Value Units Ammo Type Mana Mana Starting Ammo 50 Mana Min Ammo 0 Mana Max Ammo 100 Mana

Regenerative Start Time After Use

2.5 seconds after throw

Mana Regen Amount 1 per regen tick rate

Mana Regen Tick Rate 0.05 per second

Ammo Characteristics Auto Refill Specific Rules/Mechanics

Pull of an object depletes the mana value, while having an object grabbed pauses the auto regen of mana. Before it starts again, there is a time delay.

Player Effect Characteristics and Attributes Player Movement Effected YES

Effect

Player can pull themselves to select objects in the world. Does not cost mana to perform.

Physics YES

Effect Physics objects can be picked up.

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Impact FX Characteristics and Attributes

Explosion Type Dependent on Object

Effect N/A Specific Rules/Mechanics N/A

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Stranger’s Rifle

Basic Information Weapon Name Stranger's Rifle

Weapons Type Bullet-like, M1 Garrand.

Firing Characteristics and Attributes Value Units

Firing Speed 0.55 per second

Ammo Usage Speed On bullet fire: 0.55 per second

Ammo Used 1 per shot Reload Time N/A Ammo Per Clip N/A Weapon Shake YES

Weapon Shake Details Sharp, back and forth.

Firing Characteristics (notes)

Single-Shot Rifle with a regular, none changing firing rate.

Specific Rules/Mechanics Can be held to fire.

Bullet Type and Attributes Shot Type Projectile Shot Characteristics Bullet-like, linear Specific Rules/Mechanics N/A

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Damage Amount 25 per projectile

Impact Damage None Impact Damage Amount N/A Damage Type Health Damage Characteristics

Direct hits cause damage only

Specific Rules/Mechanics N/A

Ammo Pickup Class Characteristics and Attributes Value Units Ammo Type Rifle Ammo Starting Ammo 70 Ammo Min Ammo 0 Ammo Max Ammo 200 Ammo

Ammo Characteristics Single Pickup, destroy on collect


Player Effect Characteristics and Attributes Player Movement Effected NO Effect N/A Physics YES

Effect Physics active objects will move

Player Health Effected NO Player Weapon Types Effect NO Effect N/A Player Ammo Types Effect NO Effect N/A

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Impact FX Characteristics and Attributes Explosion Type NO Effect N/A Specific Rules/Mechanics N/A

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Cross-Shot

Basic Information Weapon Name Cross-Shot

Weapons Type Shotgun, 6 magic slugs.

Firing Characteristics and Attributes Value Units

Firing Speed 0.3 per second

Ammo Usage Speed On bullet fire: 0.3 per second

Ammo Used 6 per shot Reload Time N/A Ammo Per Clip N/A Weapon Shake YES Weapon Shake Details Pitched. Roughly

15 degrees from default position

Firing Characteristics (notes)

Magical Shotgun that fires 6 projectiles.


Bullet Type and Attributes Value Units Shot Type 6 projectiles Linear Spread (Random Range) 0.5 to 3 yaw Horizontal Spread (Random Range) 1 to 5 pitch Specific Rules/Mechanics N/A

Shot Characteristics

Shotgun - randomized spread.

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Damage Amount 10 per projectile

Impact Damage N/A Impact Damage Amount N/A Damage Type Health

Damage Characteristics Direct hits cause damage only


Ammo Pickup Class Characteristics and Attributes Value Units Ammo Type CrossShot Ammo Starting Ammo 120 Ammo Min Ammo 0 Ammo Max Ammo 120 Ammo

Ammo Characteristics

Single Pickup, destroy on collect


Player Effect Characteristics and Attributes Player Movement Effected NO Effect N/A Physics NO Effect NO Player Health Effected NO Player Weapon Types Effect NO Effect N/A Player Ammo Types Effect NO Effect N/A

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Impact FX Characteristics and Attributes Explosion Type NO Effect N/A Specific Rules/Mechanics N/A

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Pickups

RIFLE AMMO CROSS-SHOT

AMMO HEALTH ARMOUR KEYS

TARGET Player Player Player Player Player

SIZE/VALUE SMALL 10 10 10 10 N/A MEDIUM 25 25 25 25 N/A LARGE 50 50 50 50 N/A

RESPAWNABLE? Yes, on death. Yes, on death. Yes, on death. Yes, on death

Once one is collected, the player has them until the end of the level

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Physics Object Stats

Explosive

OBJECT NAME

WEIGHT PICKUP-ABLE?

TYPE OF DAMAGE

DAMAGE RADIUS

DAMAGE

Red Barrel 200kg YES Explosive/Radius 400 125

Khaimera Bomb

100kg YES Explosive/Radius 156 8 to player; 75 to enemy

Non-Explosive

OBJECT NAME

WEIGHT PICKUP-ABLE?

TYPE OF DAMAGE

DAMAGE

Wooden Beam 125kg NO None N/A

Yellow Box 125kg YES Blunt Distance from throw location * 0.15

Big Yellow Box 300kg NO None N/A

Red Box Melee NO None N/A

tartarus - design document · 2020. 2. 15. · game design sonny matthews m026209h game design...

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