In this installment i gonna break down my inspirations, how that will drive my decisions creating this game, and see if we can figure out scope.
Yo. So last time we went over a prototype i made to test an idea i had. It turned out to be a pretty solid idea so i’m expanding it to be a full game. Today i’ll be investigating my conscious and unconscious decisions in order to make a plan and some guiding principles. Both will help keep me focused and fight against scope creep.
i have trouble actually finishing projects i start. There are so many prototypes in my projects folder that exist because i’m learning a new shiny thing. This has been a huge life-long struggle so it’s gonna be a really important step if i can manage to get this over the finish line. Don’t get it twisted, this is still a for-fun project but i want to try some new frameworks and see if making some changes in my process will help.
So far i’ve really only released maybe two games that i would consider in a state of doneness and those were made two years and two GB Studio versions ago under the stress of 48 hour game jams. i’m extremely proud of those games and the work the team did but i’ve added a lot to my bag of tricks since then.
Let’s talk about design.
So let’s focus on what i have.
Pretty immediately i’m reminded of arcade shooters such as Ikari Warriors or Shock Troopers. Two of my favorite games in the genre are Fray in Magical Adventure and Gun.Smoke. Both are vertical shoot ‘em ups with long, straight levels, a lot of popcorn enemies, and a boss at the end of each stage.
Gun.Smoke was developed by Capcom and released to arcades in 1985 and on Famicom Disk System in 1988 based on the tv western from 1955. The game is a traditional top-down arcade shooter. The automated camera slowly pans upward as the player shoots at enemies and avoids return fire. The player can collect power-up items such as different types of shots, speed boosts, and a horse. The camera’s scroll speed controls the pace of play, adding some friction and forcing the player to react quickly as enemies leap onto the screen. Each stage ends when the camera stops and a more powerful boss bandit is revealed. You must defeat them in order to continue to the next stage where the loop begins again in a new setting and greater difficulty.
Fray in Magical Adventure mixes more rpg elements into the formula. The camera stays locked to the player allowing them to freely move around the map as well as fire in any direction. Powerups are handled more like an inventory where each is stored allowing the player to choose when to use one. Levels also include some platforming elements and navigation puzzles. Bosses are inventive and full of character. Upon their defeat, you’re sent to an rpg style town where you can talk to npcs as well as purchase items and permanent weapon upgrades.
The arcade style is pretty attractive to me. It offers the player a very brisk pace. Restricting myself to just vertical levels will allow me to quickly create levels and iterate on design. i want the game to be pretty approachable so the free camera adventure style seems like a good idea. Auto scroll would add a little more friction than i’d like for newer players and i’d the player to explore at their own pace.
Another idea that comes to mind is letting the player explore the level on foot outside of the powerserf suit. This could manifest in either a Minish Cap style where a really small version of the player walks around the same world map, or Blaster Master style where the world switches to a different style such as a platformer, offering more variety in gameplay.
Inventory and hub sound a little but too out of scope for what i’m wanting to do, however a navi character that you can talk to at the end of each mission would work well. Upgrades and power ups for the next stage could be on offer as well as a briefing on how to prepare for the next boss.
In games such as Streets of Rage or Turtles in Time, the game locks you into a battle with a wave of enemies: The camera stops, and the edges of the screen now block you from progressing until all enemies are defeated. This could be a wave of enemies that appear on screen over a set amount of time or a larger mid-boss.
i’m not really sure at this point what kind of bosses i want to do. For simplicity i could go for the standard shmup/run and gun boss that is mostly a damage sponge. Ideally i’d like for each one to test the player based on targeting challenges presented in the level. Bosses outside of the mech are also an idea. These could take the form of a different style such as side-scrolling or an over the shoulder view. i think this decision could come later once i’ve done more prototyping with level design.
Vibes
Graphics! Visually i want to lean more stylish and a little abstract. I’m inspired heavily by Y2K character and graphic design. Konami and Capcom were kings of this style. The GBC was around during the time but with the GBA on the horizon, the system didn’t really get as many games that oozed this style so i want to envision games using those kind of graphics. Mecha anime is also an obvious influence, specifically ones with powersuits. I like powersuits since while they enhance the character’s capabilities, the one wearing it still uses their own physical skill as opposed to driving a big forklift.
Scope
Cool. So let’s work this into an outline that i can use to lead the design for the whole game. I don’t know everything now but this should be enough to figure out 100% of a finished, publishable game.
DESIGN DOC
Lokon Powerserf
Nintendo Gameboy/Color
Topdown 2D run and gun level-based shooter. Gameplay focuses on using a lock-on targeting system to destroy enemies and solve puzzles.
Key features
Lock On targeting system for easier multi-directional attacking
Five vertically scrolling levels with enemies to destroy, power-ups, and a boss
Shop permanent upgrades after each level
Player has five bars of health and infinite continues
Progress is saved automatically after each level
Power-ups carry over to next level (?)
Pilot can exit the suit and play as the much smaller character in the larger map allowing the player to explore areas that can’t be accessed by the larger suit. (?)
Sidequests (?)
Platform: Gameboy, Itch.io, Steam(?)
Target Audience: Kids, elder Millennials
Design Pillars: Quick, medium-paced, exciting
Setting
Future Earth, Bright, Techno Industrial, Light Punk
Dungeons
Vertical scrolling (top to bottom or vice versa) with light navigational puzzles. At least one mid-boss section (single medium HP enemy or wave of low HP). End of each level has a boss fight consisting of a high HP enemy and possibly a targeting puzzle. After defeating the Boss, the player is met with a navi character that will sell upgrades and give details on the next level.
Enemies
SM - 1 HP
MD - 3-5 HP
Midboss - 10 HP
Boss - 20 HP
Power-Ups
Consumeables
Health - One bar or full bar.
Power - Spread shot, (?)
(?) Shield - Takes one hit, stackable up to five points
(?) Bomb - Clears screen of enemies, does heavy damage to bosses
Temporary Power-Up
Movement speed boost
Increased fire rate
Invincibility (?)
Upgrades
Armor
Increased fire rate
Dash (?)
Auto-target(?)
Increased attack power
Story & Themes
TBD
Characters
Robin - Pilot of the powerserf
Support Character - Navigator. Gives info on upgrades and missions
Inspiration
90’s Top down shoot em’ up arcade games such as Shock Troopers, Twinbee, and GunSmoke. Sci-fi mecha anime. Kamen Rider. Blaster Master (NES).
Now i have a clear direction to start working from. Some things like characters, story, and enemy types will emerge as i work so it’s not a big deal if i don’t have those set yet. i marked a few things with question marks since i dont know yet if i want to implement them (or even if i can). Feel free to use this as a template to start a document for your game.
And that is where i’ll leave it. Next time i’ll get under the hood and talk scripting in GB Studio along with some of my design philosophy and best practices.
Recommendations
Backloggd
i always like the discussion of Game of the Year in specific circles. If you go on the correct parts of the internet, the lists will actually give you a lot of excellent games to look at. i personally got a little frustrated not being able to remember what i played in a year to even consider getting into the discussion. Luckily, i discovered backloggd which is like Letterboxd but for games. You can make a log of everything you’ve ever played ever or i guess use it in any way you want to.
For me its mostly just to track my influences and remember the experiences i’ve had by the end of the year because they definitely deserved to be accounted for.
i’m don’t do much review writing just yet but you can check out this list of games that changed me. i am pretty sure i’ll talk about these more in depth at some point.
You can also check out some of my favorite follows below:
Lilicay
And finally a little music rec. I’ve been listening to Lilicay’s excellent mixes while working and now they’re a part of my regular focus routine.
As always if you want to play some older creations you can check out my itch.io or if you want more recommendations and see what i might be working on at the moment you can follow me on instagram or twitter.
Later.
This is all so stinking awesome and inspiring for my own attempts at creative stuff Bryan!! Ahhhhh
(Also that music rec is killer! Third Strike sounding stuff in the best way!!!)