Week 4- The Challenge

We met and discussed the game-play aspect of our game and the challenges the player will face.  The following are our combined notes taken from the meeting as I feel they show our process best:

Spatial awareness-  Need to navigate between platforms in a safe and speedy manner.

Logic and Inference- Need to choose between different routes to maximise speed and safety.

Memory- Race courses and other stages take place on the sandbox map.  So the greater the player memorises the environment the better off they will be.

Morality- Various decisions made throughout the game will present moral dilemmas

Co-ordination- The pace at which the game is designed to be played will force the player to perform multiple calculations to solve the various challenges at the same time.

Reflex/Reaction time- The pace at which the game is played will reward those with higher reflex and reaction time capabilities.

Genre- First person platformer with RPG elements

Gameplay is altered by story in the second act.  After the slave pen escape the game play changes from being a racer to being a chaser, in which the character is hunted by his former captors.  This changes the game from course driven to more open environment driven

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Able to customise and upgrade the character in game play.

Challenges are related and it is clear to the player why they are doing what they are doing.

Challenges offer a visually and mentally stimulating experience that will appeal to and engage a wide audience.

The player will be expected to display capability in spatial awareness and reflexes at almost all times.  As well as this there will be situations that call for logic and memory challenges to be completed in order to optimise the route the player takes.

Week 3- The Idea

We have settled on an idea for the concept of the game.  The idea is number two of our previous (very) shortlist.  It is a first person based freerunning parkour game.  We came to this decision due to the fact that this idea has a greater niche in the market as opposed to a racing game which would be hidden within an already saturated marketplace.  A driving based game would also make it very hard to develop any plot or characterization.

We met again today.  After confirming our game choice we set about fleshing out the story we had come up with on Tuesday.

So far the story is as follows:

Set in 2153, a city is divided into two distinct factions.  The downtrodden poor and the rich in their ivory towers. A number of the wealthy keep physically fit slaves which they then race against each other in a horrific bloodsport.  The races are filmed and broadcast as entertainment.  Those who compete are known as runners.  The opening act of the game will take place in these races.  The character will learn his trade from an elderly mentor during this time.  He will then escape and be forced to flee from the assembled might of his former owner who is hell bent on making an example.

Week 2 and a half - The Shortlist

After another brainstorming session we decided to mull over two shortlisted ideas for a couple more days.

Idea one is a racing game in which the track was procedurally generated in the distance as the race unfolded.  This overcomes a major flaw in such games wherein track memorization becomes more of a factor than actual skill at operating the mechanics of the game.

Idea two is a free-running parkour style game that was set in a dystopian  future.  This would be part of a very small market of competitors. 

Week 2 - Brainstorming the Concept

This week we arranged a meeting to discuss various ideas on the concept of the game.  We discussed a large amount of eclectic game ideas including:

Niche appeal sports game, i.e Darts or Tiddlywinks - (Rejected due to the overall small market).

Inconvenient- An action/puzzle game in which situations in the world conspire to inconvenience the player at every turn.  (Ben and Liam were very happy with this idea.  I however do not see why as it would have mearly been a frustrating inside joke that was not very funny to begin with.)

Killer-  MMO wherein a city populated by player characters were terrorised by a knife in the dark.  Each player would have a role within the story (Rejected as it would be tedious unless the player rolled an exciting role).

Pirate Simulator- (Been done before.)