Stay awhile - play FOREVER

What is the point of doing this? The point is threefold. Firstly, by coming up with a load of nifty ideas, I can help crystallise what my own ideas for the game are. Secondly, it gives me something I can show to other people, to help explain what the game is to be (it's sorta like concept art) and thirdly, every now and then I can come back, and compare the current state of the game to the state I initially envisaged. It gives me a way to stay on track, and spot bugs in the spec.

Of course, as the game evolves, I'll come back and add to, or otherwise change, these ideas - but having them written down at all helps make that a concious choice.

On the second point, consultation with other people really helps bring you down to earth - they point out reasons that you didn't spot why an idea can't work, and suggest new ideas. This part of the design is influenced by a talk with someone who wishes to be identified only as 'tjm' - but who shall be called 'tom' in this document.

I apologise for switching between 'you' and 'he' when refering to the player.

As I sit down to play

The player sits down, boots up the game. Pretty quickly it gets to the menu. Slecting 'resume single player' from that menu, the game does something pretty and the action starts.

A quick recap is given to you, and you dive into the action. Moving jumping and basic attacks are second nature to the player by now, but they are a little bit rusty, having only just sat down to play - so combo moves come only with difficulty.

The game, noticing this, throws encouragement at the player - "Come on, these are just mooks" "Put some effort into it" - perhaps even going as far as to remind the player of the key combos of some of their special moves.

Getting back into the swing of things, the player pulls of some stupid excellent combo, three intentional kills, followed by a lucky bounce off of a wall, two more hits, then an intentional special move. The game goes crazy, even more so than usual for a lucky combo of that magnitude, because it was much better than the 'average' play at that time. "Wow - there's one for the recruitment adverts" huge points pop up on your HUD - and the game decides to give you a shot at a secret.

The camera pans across, to reveal someone who was stood nearby, watching. His jaw drops. The player, spotting the games oh so very subtle hint as to what to take notice of next, turns his character towards it, perhaps instintively unleshing an attack. The watcher says something along the lines of "oh shit" and ports away. The player quickly tries to do the 'teleport after someone' move - and on the second attempt pulls it off.

A 'secret'

Cut to a nice big room, with lots of furniture, and other stuff that's going to get used in the fight.

The player, because he was slow, comes under immediate attack from this watcher. The fight is going to last maybe a whole two minutes, and is one on one.

The goals in this fight, for the player, are threefold - and he knows them from previous fights (which does stop the instructor shouting them in his ear at innoportune moments)

Firstly - he wants to not get too badly hurt. If the watcher actually manages to do much damage to the player, then he will escape, and the player will find the rest of the mission more difficult, due to having already taken some damage.

Secondly - he wants to do a lot of damage to the watcher. After all, he wants to end this sub-fight and get back to the plot.

Thirdly - he wants to show off, using as many special moves and combos as possible. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, lots of points and sparkly rewards and general encouragement. And secondly, the more 'power' he shows off the more special moves the enemy uses. And if you force him to use his 'best' move - then that will be a move that the player hasn't seen before, and will now be able to learn.

The HUD should be giving some indication of the inputs required to copy the watchers moves - although just watching the avatar, and prior experience of what the buttons do, should be enough.

The fight proceeds, with much furniture thrown, more than a few special moves, mostly involving swords or teleporting (the specialities this player has chosen) and lots of flashy special effects.

The player is half reacting to the enemy, and half picking moves that they feel like using.

Eventually, they get knocked back by the clever combination that the watcher uses - and the watcher turns to make their escape.

Copying the move perfectly (it's the same as another move that they already knew, only you push 'up' at the end, rather than 'left') the player gets loaded with praise by the instructor, as the watcer falls over. [Note, that move, prior to this point in the game, wouldn't have had a special' effect - the player just got given a personalised secret by the game]

The player, triumphantly, sends the 'teleport' move to the HUD - and returns back to the main plotline.

Back into the game

The speical move that they just got has to be SPECIFICALLY useful - IMMEDIATELY, or the player will never use it again. So the next few guards that the player meets, and random guards after that, are specifically vulnerable to it.

Tha game moves on, and the player has to juggle multiple goals - deciding which to pursue. The player, being a nice sort, decides to prioritise 'rescue the child' over 'chase the bad guy' and so starts breaking into offices and searching for clues, rather than just going straight to the top of the building. Getting the plans that tell him where the most likely place the child would be held is, the player sets off.

Getting the kid, he now has to escort him safely out of the building - and remembers to knock out the cameras to make it easier.

Some fights later, and hurt from having to continually save the child, rather than just dodge, the player makes it out. And decides to evac now, rather than try and go back in.

Back at the base

Back at the base, the debreifing goes on. The commander dresses you down for your mistakes, congratulates you on the things you did right. Unveils a bit more plot, which has hints that encourage you to read between the lines - although you didn't capture the big bad guy, your commander is hinting that that is actually a good thing, for some reason.

While this is going on, you are in the training room - and in free action, quite able to continue practicing your moves (and the instructor will criticise and help)

Wanting a rematch, the player deliberately attacks the commander - who happily whups him, despite his new fancy move (but that new move gives the commander a slight pause, perhaps a combo based on that would work?) The commander calmly continues the breifing whilst beating you into a pulp.

Once the breifing (and the beating) are completed, the scene shifts back to you main room - now clutterred with trophies from past missions, bits of paper that you have scribbled notes onto, a big box of saved games, and all manner of other things.

The player sifts through a few, notes down the move they just learnt (in case they forget it later) - answers their in game email (which includes more hints from characters about the plot) and selects a new mission.

Things to note

The debreifing is an important thing, as is the TIE-fighter homage 'read between the lines' plot.

Having the debrief happen in the same game engine is good, and the running battle with the commander was suggested by tom, and I love. I think that for a few months after release, it should be a persistent rumour that the commander is unbeatable - but everyone should keep trying, just to see how close they can come, and what he says.

We've come up with a flimsy excuse for 'style points' - the recruitment video.

And we also have some notes about how moves are learnt, how the game uses dynamic content, and that later missions shouuld have multiple, conflicting, goals.

Coming up next - comments and thoughts from the field, initial reactions, refinements. Then a discussion of the various development /design models that can be used, and then - writing the spec.

Get yourself back to Catnews - or fish your way through the earlier parts of this series:

1. Story telling
2. Game design
3. Initial Concept
4. First Impresisons