Task #3: Filling in the Weaknesses (Due 6/30)

Right now, each of our game pitches has a weakness:

Landfall doesn't have a story yet. We don't know who the character is, or what he/she wants.

[Art Thief] doesn't have concrete gameplay mechanics. We don't know what playing the game will be like.

Let's fill in those weaknesses. Each team member will write a story pitch for Landfall and a mechanics pitch for [Art Thief]. Critique will be on the 30th!

Let's Look At: Unity Engine

The possibility of creating a 3D game is back on the table! Hats off to the Unity Engine for being both free and powerful. Let's explore this tool in the coming months and see if we want to use it.

Demo Reel:

 

And extra thanks to Michael Reed for discovering it. Good work, team!

Task #2: Mood Boards (due 6/9)

After a week of thinking, we had excellent pitches to critique at today's meeting. Out of the six concepts we discussed, there were two clear winners:

• [Art Thief Game]
• [Landfall]

Both ideas deserve to be fully conceptualized, and that's just what we're going to do! This week, we're building a Mood Board for each game. Gather images from around the internet and put them into the PLSE Dropbox folder.

For some tips to help your 'boarding, check out this link: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/mood-boards-812470 


Expanding story lines and further developing the pitches is also welcome!

Pitch: [Landfall]

PLSE Games

Design Concept

Ryan Sandvik

[Landfall]

PC, XBLA

Target Audience: Teens

Rating: T

Game Summary: The year is 2163 and humans are just developing interstellar space travel. Warp drive technology in combination with a prototype wormhole ring allow such journeys to be possible. Due to technological limitations the United Earth Federation (UEF) has selected a brave soul to plunge into deep space and research the unknown parts of the universe. You are launched into space and due to a miscalculation are sent much further than anticipated, arriving near a cluster of undiscovered planets. Unable to return with the fuel you have you are forced to land on one of the planets and scavenge.

Game Outline: [Space] is a 2D game rendered using 3D assets either in isometric or the classic side-scroller format. You play as the sole human on the planets or anywhere in the near cosmic vicinity. Find fuel by solving puzzles on the planets and fighting the natives. Get back to Earth at all costs.

Unique Selling Points:

• Space!
• Travel between planets in the solar system (at the cost of fuel), discover more, find more fuel. Each planet acts as a different setting.
• Defeat world bosses who are cool and different.
• Puzzles and action!
• 3D assets used in to create a 2D game has a lot of potential to look modern and sleek without requiring major coding knowledge.
• More serious atmosphere. Focused on the pure isolation and wonder of space.

Pitch: [Art Thief Game]

[Art Thief Game]
PC, XBox Live Arcade
Target Audience: 13 - 19
Rating: E10

Game Summary: "Who says that crime doesn't pay? The name's Léon Dupont: France's most infamous(ly handsome) art thief.  Now, watch closely and you just might learn something..." 

Léon isn't your ordinary cat burglar: he has a uniquely magical skill set. Namely, the ability to enter paintings like portals to other worlds. So when the world's most valuable painting comes to town, he knows exactly what to do. Unfortunately, so does his rival: Jacques! Help Léon get the loot before the dastardly Jacques can get his hands on it!

Game Outline: [Art Thief Game] is a 2D, side scrolling puzzle/platformer. You play as Léon, working your way through a museum towards your target. The museum acts as a hub, with individual paintings being levels. Léon's appearance will adapt based on the style of the painting he's in, and eventually he will get the power to shift styles on command. Each art style has a different gameplay mechanic: utilize them to solve puzzles.

Unique Selling Points:

• Art-themed game: A great way to reference art-history without being pretentious or snobby.
• Comedic and silly set up. Plenty of room for witty characters and dialogue. 
• Creative and unique puzzling.
• Massive potential for inteseting visuals! 

Similar Competitive Titles:
Portal: Similar reality-bending puzzling
Braid: 2D, side-scrolling puzzler


 

Pitch: [Untiled]

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PC and Xbox
Target Audience: 12 - 23 M
Rating: E10

Game Summary:


Game Outline:  In this unique side scroller, play with your friends to solve puzzles and explore the world around you. Create tools to help you move forward with your adventure while using them to defeat your enemies and create utter chaos. Don’t forget to destroy the world behind you for they may be on your tracks and you don’t want to leave any evidence of your presence.

 
Unique Selling Points:

• ·       Heavy Based Multiplayer (can be played single player but more fun to play with friends)
• ·       Casual Game (easy to pick up and put down)
• ·       World/Map interaction (easy to interact (destroy/create) inside the world)
• ·       3D Side Scroller

Similar Competitive Titles:

• ·      Little Big Planet (3D Side Scroller)
• ·      Castle Crashers (Multiplayer awesomeness + casual game)
• ·      Badland/Limbo (puzzle aspects)

Pitch: Alim and the City of Brass

Alim and the City of Brass
Alternate Titles: Alim and the Five Genies; Alim: Realm of the Djinn
PC, XBox Live Arcade or  iOS
Target Audience: 14 -20
Rating: E10

Game Summary: You are Alim, a charismatic Arabian nomad on a quest to save your tribe from a terrible drought. You've journeyed across the desert to the mythical City of Brass, home of the Genies. It's said that he who defeats the city's five guardians will be granted one wish. But should you fail, your soul will be trapped for all eternity!

Game Outline: Experience Alim's quest in a 2D, side-scrolling platformer. Each of the five guardians has its own realm (level), with unique visuals and challenges to face. As you defeat Genies, you will claim their powers as your own. Conquer the six guardians and save your people!


Unique Selling Points: 

• Smooth and immersive platforming: Emphasis placed on animation, weight and momentum.  
• Unlock magical powers to expand your platforming arsenal. Each power has a unique color and particle effect!
• Five surreal and beautiful environments to explore. Huge potential for variety.
• Five memorable bosses!
• Arabian mythology is a rarely explored setting.

Similar Competitive Titles:

• Prince of Persia: Let's get the obvious out of the way.
• Dust Force: Huge emphasis placed on smooth and flowing movement.
• Journey: It's... so... beautiful!

Pitch: Clockwork Revolver

Clockwork Revolver
PC
Target Audience: 15 - 21 M
Rating: T

Game Summary: Two words: Robot Cowboys.  Welcome to a wilder West, pardner.

On the lawless Frontier, cyborg bandits prey on the helpless townsfolk. The law means nothing to men with steam-boiler hearts and hydraulic claws. But there's a new gun in town: a robot bounty hunter with a grudge to settle. Blast thugs to scrap metal on a quest to avenge your maker. But will you fight for justice? Or will you burn the Frontier in your wake?

Game Outline:  Play the mechanical desperado in an isometric, top-down shooter. Each level represents a bounty, and ends in a boss fight against the target. Use the money you make to purchase upgrades, weapons and costumes. But be careful: the choices you make will decide the fate of the Frontier!

Unique Selling Points:

• Fast paced arcade action mixed with RPG character development.
• Isometric camera allows for interesting combat and exploration.
• Characters and enemies can be created in 3D!
• A morality system that doesn't lock you into "good" or "evil"
• In-depth character customization [more variety than a human hero could have].
• Extremely suited to mini-games and alternate modes (horse/motorcycling chases, etc).
• Seriously: Robot Cowboys!

Similar Competitive Titles:

• Red Steel 2: fantasy-western beat-em-up
• Laura Croft & The Guardian of Light: Isometric camera shooter [but in full 3d]
• Diablo II: 2D isometric action

Task #1: Brainstorm Game Ideas (due 5/9)

Our first major job is deciding what kind of game we're going to make. Throwing a lot of ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks is a great way to get started. 

This week, each team member will come up with at least 3 game ideas. Each idea should be outlined in a one page document, and posted to this blog before April 2nd. We'll crit all the ideas next week, but the write-ups should be able to speak for themselves!

Here's an example of a one-sheet pitch, taken from Scott Roger's book Level Up. We don't have to follow his formatting if we don't want to. [The notes in red are the author's, not mine]

Farm Wars (Game title) Concept Overview
XBOX LIVE/WII WARE/PS3 Download (platform)
Target Age: 15-21 (target audience)
Rating: E10

Game Summary: Old MacDonald has a farm... and those animals are fed up! Tired of being exploited, the animals build cybernetic death armor and attack! Farmer MacDonald must fight frenzied waves of killer cows, sinister sheep and crazed chickens to protect his produce. Sell your crops to upgrade the farm and buy weapons! Farm as well as you fight, otherwise you'll "buy the farm!" (Include the beginning, middle and end of the game story, give an indications of the game play style, the player's objectives and elements. Keep it short and sweet.)

Game Outline: Players create and maintain a basic farm, plants and cares for crops during the Farming Round. Enemies attack during the Battle Round.Harvest and sell remaining produce during the Selling Round. Use profits to buy new seed, rebuild your farm and upgrade your weapons in the Buying Round. After a Season (4 sets of 4 rounds), the player will fight a boss to progress to the next season. Later seasons will feature weather that will affect farming, selling and battle rounds. (Don't go into great detail, but it needs to be more in depth than a summary).

USP (Unique selling points)

•  RTS action meets farming simulation!
• Build and breed unique farm, weapons and crops. Hundreds of combinations!
• Over 50 weapons from a simple hoe to the DeathBringer3000!!
• Fight hordes of enemies and bosses!
• Multiple game endings based on player's performance.
• Multiplayer "Barnyard Brawl" battle mode.

(Use USPs to highlight cool and unique features- game play style, game modes, single or multiplayer, technology innovations, cool features. There shouldn't be more than 5-7 of these)

Similar competitive products:
Tower Defense, Harvest Moon series, Lock's Quest
(Choose competitive products that are successful, recent or very well known - preferably all three.)   

 
  

Announcing the PLSE Dev Blog

We'll be using this blog to post and discuss content related to our upcoming game. It's going to be a wild (and possibly maddening) adventure for all involved, so brace yourselves. Let's work hard and make something fun together!

As always: "Break your backs, boys!"
-Mike Salyh, PLSE Games