Our game involves a rebellious, teenage shape-shifting alien who lands on Earth and must interact with the different animal species that inhabit it (land-based, water-based, and air-based).
Emotions:
- Wonder
- Longing
- Hope
Moodboard:
I like the black/white sketchy style of the upper left corner. However, if we want to use more color, I like the stylized pixel art examples (shown for each type of terrain: land, water, and air). I think the style should be cute, aesthetically pleasing, and somewhat whimsical. Character designs should be unified across different animal species.
Spotify playlist:
Explanation (aka hear me out):
- This song is about teenage rebellion: the premise of our story.
- It’s about self-discovery and the mix of fear/excitement for an unknown future: the theme of our story.
- Space and (feels like teenage) sass and singing about traveling across the universe to find a new home. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.
- This is more of the vibe I want players to experience while playing our game. Typically light, quirky, whimsical, but with deeper undertones.
Game Directions:
1. Platformer
This version puts more focus on the mechanics rather than the story. Each level is a different “terrain” and the player shifts into a different animal with unique abilities necessary to defeat the level. Includes transitory levels where you can talk to the animals to practice new skills and gain narrative insights.
Narrative: enacted
Types of fun: challenge, small amount of narrative
2. Narrative-drive exploration
Alternatively, we might use this version incorporating a more “click-through storybook” feel, with minor gamified elements. Players have more control over the pacing and ordering of key narrative elements. Players can decide who to talk to, where to navigate, and what to investigate. There are two sub-versions: first, the choices matter and impact the story (emergent narrative), and second, the choices do not change the end story (embedded narrative).
Narrative: emergent (choices matter) or embedded (choices don’t matter)
Types of fun: narrative, discovery, small amount of challenge
3. Some combination of the above!
Finally, the two versions can combine to provide a more balanced gameplay. Characters still explore the world in a more “click-through storybook” style at the beginning of each level. To transition to the next terrain, they must pass a platformer challenge using the skills/items they found prior. I’m most fond of this version since it keeps the platformer gameplay and provides more of our narrative, which I think is key for our game.
Narrative: Depending on implementation, it can be enacted, emergent (choices matter), or embedded (choices don’t matter).
Types of fun: narrative, discovery, challenge
