Treasure Trove Logline It s a race against time and the greedy determination of ogres. Melikka is certain she ll get there first. Or will she? Synopsis (reworked & broke this up into a few very small paragraphs on the suggestion from the last assignment) In the tiny forest of Cedargrove the eldest daughter of Viscount Rexlarn, 6 th Earl of Cedarkiin, has discovered the fate of her father s land rests in the hands of a vile ogre by the name of Synoche. Synoche has stolen the tenant treasury and if not recovered the Earl will not be able to pay taxes for his people and feed them during the long winter that is only a few months away. Synoche, it has been discovered has hidden the treasury in a cave on the other side of the forest and guards it with the intention of having his vile ogres carry the gold and silver to another realm where it will be squandered on games of chance and other useless pleasures. Overhearing a masked rogue at the market Melikka has learned the exact location of the treasure and plans to get to it first, saving her father s tenancy and reputation. She plans to make her way across the forest without drawing attention to herself. She knows she will have the help of the gypsies who live in the forest because she befriended them as a young child. They are loyal and will not let any harm come to her. The gypsies know that if the tenancy remains as it is that Melikka will continue to share much needed resources. Along the way Melikka gathers keys that will aid in her quest. She discovers that she needs 100 keys and it ll be a close call for her success. There is another problem, ogres are coming from the west to help Synoche and they will stop at nothing to beat Melikka to the cave of their leader. I wanted the player to play the game as Melikka and that as she picks up keys along the way. The ogres are faster, stronger and more abundant but they do not have the tenacity and resourcefulness of Melikka and her friends. In a final showdown with Synoche, Melikka shows she has some tricks up her sleeve in the form of her own magic and she defeats Synoche in an epic battle of enchanted surprises. I was thinking there should be a mechanic when picking up keys that is either a little puzzle to solve, a movement mechanic like jumping in a certain sequence from rock to rock. Just walking through the forest picking up 100 keys is too simple and boring. I am keeping in mind that if this is going to be played on a cell phone or tablet that it has to be fairly simple and a person may need to stop playing suddenly and would have to save the game. (I m thinking about maybe adding an element of time where the player needs to get to the next checkpoint within a set time or it sends them back to a previous checkpoint, but it would have to be in a way that isn t discouraging)
Potential Market Treasure Trove is a linear one player adventure strategy game that could be played on a phone or tablet. I think it would be rated E. I wanted it to be an alternative to the ubiquitous Candy Crush and Angry Birds. I see a lot of people playing games when they are sitting at bus stops or in bank or fast food lines. I see kids asking mom for their phones to play while they wait. I thought it needed to be simple enough that anyone could pick it up for a few minutes at a time. This was driven partly by my own experience, when I am waiting I tend to pull out my phone and play Candy Crush and I want something different to do. I know CC is hugely popular but by level 50 nothing really changes. Reference Material I am not an artist so I will paste in some pictures that I have collected that should give a sense of the feel of the game. I see it as being a little cartoon like and nothing really scary: light hearted fun, not meant to be dark like going to the Gates of Mordor It is more like a race through the forest; maybe influenced by the race back home at midnight of Cinderella from the Disney film. It will be a bit more adult than kidlike so the adults will want to play. I want the overall look to not be frightening but more whimsical. The final boss fight and trove will be a little less whimsy but lots and lots of treasure. The forest especially leading up to the cave trove entrance is darker but not terrifying. The first two pictures of the gypsy caravan and the cat lady, with all the magical swirls around the room really spoke to me as I was scouring the internet for references. This forest is clearly part of a bigger world. The game play area is a forest path, riverside path, larger path/road and approach to the cave entrance and trove within. There are side areas all alone the forest paths and a player may not leave to travel further afield but the scenery would show there is something beyond the paths. Players will navigate their way along the forest path and while they may step off the path to complete challenges or a side quest there are boundaries stopping them from leaving this part of the forest. Players start out walking but I envision side quests giving awarding the option to run and higher levels of the game that could be unlocked where riding mounts would be a possibility. I do not see the use of flying in this game. Play will happen in real time and while there is one decision point to circle back through the start of the forest to gain more keys and experience, generally speaking a player would have to move through the entire map to get to the treasure trove cave entrance. It would take a few hours to work through all the content to the final boss fight. At the entrance a boss fight would occur followed by a puzzle challenge and the final test with keys to determine the win state Lots of opportunities to make enchanted surprises here. I could see the world being mostly unified with some consistency moving through levels of experience with. A possible leveling system (similar to Diablo 3) where a player could run through the game again with higher challenges along the way and a slightly different map emerging to make the next level more challenging and interesting. Note about game mechanics: As each puzzle is solved or obstacle is overcome in the race keys are awarded. I chose 100 that are needed. When Melikka gets to the ogre boss she will be required to fight the boss with answers to puzzles and other challenges that will deplete keys. It will take 100 keys to beat the boss, finish the puzzles/challenges and open the final door to the trove.
Game World..
Character Description Melikka would be more slender and fit than the ogres and gypsies and likely carry items including a satchel, a small weapon like a dagger. I want the overall look of the bad guys to not be frightening; no ugly Urukai but more whimsical ogres. Melikka
Gypsies Ogres Ogre Boss Synoche
Mini Cinematic Treasure Trove Gameplay Flowchart Required play questing Optional quest START Opening cinematic Melkka discovers her fathers and the identity of the antagonist Quest to set out into the forest Forest xp (gather keys) = Decision Point Riverside xp (gather keys) Side quest Gypsies Riverside xp (gather keys) Riverside pathway xp Side quest Meet up with Friends Forest xp (gather keys) Decision point does she have enough keys to take the final road to the trove of Synoche? Or need to circle back through the forest? Final approach quest or ready check Trees Final approach quest or ready check Ogres Final approach quest or ready check Loot Final path Are you ready? Trove Gateway Boss fight Trove Challenge: final puzzles and challenges. Consume the keys that were collected Trove Win Loot back!! End Game cinematic Melikka returns the loot to her father and saves the day
Examples of quests/puzzles/challenges to acquire keys Quest: tutorial on how to move. Move to predesignated spots in the immediate area. Receive X keys upon completion. (X=5 or something to get the player going, thereafter x = the number of keys deemed appropriate for the quest difficulty. There will be chance, gathering, movement and riddle quests. The difficulty will increase slightly as the player progresses with the final challenges being hardest but still quite playable. This could possibly lend itself to a harder play through version of the game. Keeping in mind that a person may have to stop and save at any time quests can t take a lot of time to complete. A sound and or visual will indicate success at getting another key; something light and pleasant. Find a small bag on the side of the path behind a rock, it contains several dice; roll the right combination of numbers to acquire another key or 2. (Straight up chance quest) Stop for tea with the gypsies. Learn to make tea (there are several steps) bring the items from around the caravan site to the main tea table to gain x keys. Discover a key shining in the water along the river. It gleams in the sun as the water rushes over it. There are several rocks in the river making it an easy catch but as soon as you step out on the first of several path options the key disappears until you step on the right stone. The pattern will be recalled later at the treasure trove. (Part 1 of a memory quest for final boss) Discover a box with a riddle etched into the lid. Read the riddle and then, type the word that answers the riddle When typed into the pop up box/field on the screen the box opens revealing x keys.