A video game by Nathan Savant

Transcription

1 A video game by Nathan Savant

2 Elevator Pitch Mage Ball! A game of soccer like you've never seen, summon walls, teleport, and even manipulate gravity in an intense multiplayer battle arena. - Split screen local multiplayer - 17 different abilities - 10 unique levels - Environmental traps - Online multiplayer (would require additional funding) Business Brief Mage Ball is aimed at a core gaming audience with player creativity being the primary focus of the gameplay. A family-friendly, non-violent multiplayer game that s fun for everyone! Menus - Play - Play Match - Server Select - Options -Video/Audio -Controls - Achievements - Credits - Quit Game

3 Gameplay Game plays from a top-down perspective at a similar angle and field of view as the zelda series of games. Player controls with joystick or d-pad directional input, and has one permanent interact button, and one permanent menu button. Four additional inputs come in the form of abilities for the player. These abilities can be dropped (by pressing Interact + [ability button]) and regained (by pressing the empty ability button) throughout the game. A selection of abilities can be stored in menus for use as needed, the rest must be picked up from shrines spread throughout the level. Control layout: WIP Multiplayer Screenshot:

4 Mage Ball Rules Players compete to get points by putting the ball into their opponents goal. To do so, they must overcome the obstacles spread throughout the level, as well as the other players themselves. Each multiplayer map consists of two goals at opposing ends of a field, and a ball in the center. Each map s area of play focuses on the flat path between the goals, but there are also areas outside of that linear path that can be traversed for the sake of powerups and other advantages. Each match lasts until a team earns a certain number of points, after which a score screen provides players with leaderboard data. I would like leaderboard data to include some way of tracking supporting characters. Perhaps every time a player blocks or scores a goal, the game could check for buffs on that player, and reward the person who gave them that buff a support point? Hosts of a multiplayer game will be given a choice of maps, powerup distribution on that map, number of players present, overall game rules, etc. Other players will then join their game and play based on the rules setup by the host. Player counts will range from 2v2 to 4v4. Powerups that are chosen by the server host will be present in various locations on the map. Game rules can also be defined by the host and include things like everyone runs twice as fast or start with 1 hp. Game Design of Mage Ball follows traditional sports. Each player should take a role as a member of a four-person team. 4 v 4 matches will be the focus of the design, with intended roles being 1 goal defender, 1 ball handler, and 2 mid fielders to control the flow of the match.

5 Abilities All abilities have a function when the button is held and another when the button is let go. For many, this will either be a charge attack or a simple aim assist (sometimes both), but for some, the function of the ability changes completely when held or when pressed. Held = GetButtonDown. Press = GetButtonUp. Preferably there would be a short lag before hold starts so that pressing doesn t cause it. All abilities have a time-based cooldown and all characters have a stamina bar that refills quickly. The cooldown prevents the same spell from being used too often, and the stamina bar prevents too many spells from being used at one time. Stamina should refill very quickly to keep the pace of the game moving forward. In the below images, the blue square is the player, the orange squares show the area of effect for a press, the red squares show the area effect of a hold.

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8 Metrics/Best Practices For the sake of consistency and ease, this game will be created on a grid system. Each in-engine unit should be the size of 1 in-game tile. So if Unity s engine defines 1 unit along the x axis, that 1 unit should equal 1 tile in the game. The player character will occupy 1 unit in width and depth, and will be 2 units high. The player character will generate ranged spells from the second unit of height, meaning that if an obstacle is placed blocking a player s path, that obstacle should be 1 unit high, so the player will still be able to shoot spells over the top of that obstacle. Levels should be designed with a top-down 2D approach, meaning that tiles should be placed as in a 2D game so that no two tiles overlap each other (unless specifically hidden). For reference, think Link Between Worlds. Standard paths should be 3 or 5 units in width, giving players enough room to maneuver. 1 unit paths may be used, but only sparingly, for the most chaotic environments. More open spaces may be whatever width is necessary. 2 or 4-tile paths will create asymmetrical walkways, and should only be used when asymmetry is desired. Abilities should all function based on full or half metrics. A spell s range should be 3 or 4 units, rather than 3.2. This is to keep abilities intuitive for players. They will understand the feel of an ability without the need for in-depth scrutiny. Maintain openness and consistency in the game s code. Each variable needs to be editable by anyone. Similarly, abilities should be quickly usable by any entity. If the player casts a fireball spell, or places a fireball trap, or runs across a fireball launching statue, those fireballs should all be identical (preferably the same prefab). Cool colors represent enemies and danger, warm colors represent safety.

9 Level Design Rules Every level will have two goals and a critical path. The ball will be placed equidistant from the two goals, and the critical path will be flat and without obstruction. The critical path can follow any shape, but must be free from all obstacles. In each multiplayer level, a set of powerups is available at specific points off the critical path. These powerups offer the player a reward for taking the time off the main path to explore the level. The side paths can also be explored with the ball, but only the critical path is devoid of traps and obstacles. The location of powerups is defined by the level designer. What powerups are IN those locations is defined by the player through a menu (think Perfect Dark or Goldeneye guns in multiplayer).

10 Powerups Powerups are items that are found throughout the multiplayer levels that will benefit the person who activates them. Activating a powerup is done by tossing a spell stone into the powerup object. Once a powerup is active, its effect will take place. Some powerups will give the player who activated it a large boost. Others will give their whole team a smaller boost. Still others will hinder the opposing team. In all of these cases, the spell stone used to activate the powerup becomes locked, and the player is unable to use that ability slot for the duration of the powerup. Once the powerup has ended, the player may return to the powerup location to retrieve their spell stone, or pick up a new one from the environment. Player Powerups: Invisibility - Player becomes invisible for 10 seconds Invulnerability - Player becomes immune to spells for 10 seconds Team Powerups: Haste - Teammates speed is increased by 25% for 7 seconds Stamina - Teammates don t lose stamina while casting spells for 7 seconds Enemy Team Powerups: Slow - Enemy team s movement is slowed by 25% for 7 seconds Screen Warp - A disorienting effect is applied to the camera of the enemy team