3D Game Design Document White Wash By Elizabeth Beddow Jon Joyce Brandon King Matt Portelli Vincent Shaw December 21 2010 Contents 1 OVERVIEW 3 a Appearance 3 b Story Abstract 3 c Gameplay 3 d Developer Platform 3 2 GAME MECHANICS 3 a User Interface Description 3 b Use Cases See Figure 2b in VISUAL AIDS 3 c Storytelling 4 d Level Summary 4 3 USER INTERFACE DESIGN 4 a Key Screen Images see Figure 3a in VISUAL AIDS 4 b Control Summary 4 c State Transition Diagram see Figure 3c in VISUAL AIDS 4 d Design Rules 5 4 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 5 a Opponent AI 5 b Non Player Characters 5 c Reactive Items 5 5 STORY OVERVIEW 6 a Plot Summary 6 a Story Board See Figure 5a in VISUAL AIDS 6 c Character Bible 6 6 GAME PROGRESSION 7 a Flowchart see Figure 6a in VISUAL AIDS 7 b Level and Scene Details 7 7 VISUAL AIDS 8 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 12 9 LESSONS LEARNED 12 1 OVERVIEW a Appearance The appearance is winter themed with an emphasis on snow The game feel is mostly cartoon like We are leveraging existing Torque resources and possibly retexture the characters to make a more realistic game b Story Abstract The story takes place in a modern day suburban area in the winter Joey the protagonist unknowingly upsets the bully Butch the antagonist in the beginning of the game From that point on Joey is trying to run home from school without being defeated by Butch and his gang of bullies c Gameplay The gameplay is based on the Torque FPS starter kit Instead of using guns to defeat enemies in a traditional FPS the player is throwing snowballs Navigating to the end of each level includes actions like running jumping and crouching Players have the choice to avoid or defeat enemy players and environmental hazards Power ups are scattered throughout the levels to give the player an advantage d Developer Platform The developing platform for our game is the Torque Game Engine provided for our use in CSE 587 We started with the starter FPS kit as a base design 2 GAME MECHANICS a User Interface Description The user interface consists of a health bar ammo bar bag and crosshairs for aiming snowballs A mini map which shows enemy activity may be implemented as an additional item on the interface b Use Cases See Figure 2b in VISUAL AIDS Start Game The player can select the Start Game option from the Main Menu Screen which shows the Story Screen After the Story Screen the player will be placed in the game environment Navigate Environment The player can navigate around the environment using the game controls Navigation includes moving forward backward left and right jumping and crouching Throw Reload Snowballs The player can throw and reload snowballs Throwing snowballs is an offensive ability used to damage enemy AI and environmental hazards Obtain Items Power ups The player can obtain items and power ups to increase abilities replenish health bar and replenish snowball ammo Switch Weapons The player can switch between weapons using a keyboard command Replay Game Upon Failure If the player fails to complete the level then the game will reload automatically on the current level Win Game The player can win the game when all levels have been completed successfully Quit Game The player can quit at anytime during the game or after the game has been completed Interact With Players The NPC can interact with the player by advancing the storyline triggering a new level or providing strategy tips Damage Players The enemy AI can damage players by using snowballs or another form of environmental hazard c Storytelling The story is prefaced by showing intro screens before the actual game starts After the intro the player plays the story out through the levels while meeting friendly AI NPCs along the way The NPC interactions advance the story and associate different levels in the game to different sections of the overarching story d Level Summary The gameplay area is made up of four major sections Each section represents a level in the game An objective needs to be met to advance to the next section of the game The first section is the Schoolyard The objective for this level is to kill all of the bullies The second section is Old Man McGreary s Yard The objective for this level is to navigate through the maze to reach the end The third section is Stark s Pond The objective for this level is to make your way across the pond The fourth and final section is the Cul de sac The objective for this level is to kill all of the bullies The victory screen will flash when this last objective has been met 3 USER INTERFACE DESIGN a Key Screen Images see Figure 3a in VISUAL AIDS The game has multiple types of screens including the title screen loading screen main screen conversation screen and victory screen The screens may be different depending on the current level and reason for getting a Game Over b Control Summary W A S D Mouse Left Click Player Move Forward Player Move Left Player Move Backward Player Move Right Move Camera Throw Snowball F Space Ctrl E Q T Reload Snowballs Jump Crouch Zoom Button Switch Weapons Interact With Friendly NPCs c State Transition Diagram see Figure 3c in VISUAL AIDS d Design Rules The design rules for this game are used to add entertainment value and appeal to the concept An interesting environment to explore provides the player with a reason to explore instead of simply rushing towards the finish line Setting an appropriate difficulty level makes the game worth playing more than once For example power ups for the player are hidden in locations that are not obvious but also not impossible to find The game environment is carefully planned in order to minimize glitches by the enemy AI player and other environmental objects 4 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE a Enemy AI Grunt Grunt AI wait for the player to reach a certain distance away When the player is within the range or the player deals damage to the grunt it begins charging at the player and firing The grunt has a lesser accuracy than the sniper and will stop charging the player when within a certain distance Sniper Sniper AI is fixed to a single location When the player is a certain distance away from the sniper AI an attack is executed but the AI does not move The sniper has a greater accuracy than the grunt b Non Player Characters The Non Player Characters NPCs are friendly objects that interact with the player NPCs are used for strategy tips story progression and advancing to the next level c Reactive Items Bad If the player comes in contact with a bad reactive item then
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