megan farley design document: field of honour · create a character driven game where players...

Megan FarleyDesign Document: Field of Honour

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Table of Contents

I. Game Overview

II. Research

III. Game play/Mechanics

1. Controls

2. Scoring

3. Saving

IV. Menu and Screen Shots

V. Game World

VI. Characters

1. Teagan Healy

2. Benedict Clarke

3. Sarada Young

4. Nigel Bennett

5. Phedre Geroux

6. James Ellis

7. Molly Evans

8. Jack Reid

VII. Marketing

VIII. Reflection/Conclusion


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I. Game Overview

The original 'elevator pitch' given during my first presentation for my game was: “Guilty

gear meets Jules Verne; a Steampunk inspired 2D sprite based fighting game set in the

Victorian era.” I have not deviated from that original idea, though it has grown to encompass a

much more developed narrative that brings my game beyond traditional arcade style fighting

games and into the sphere of a role playing game.

My original mood board for Field of Honour.


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II. Research

I began the process of creating my game with extensive research, both into my

potential fighting game competitors, both past and present, and into the Steampunk

subculture that I wanted my game to be derivative of. Originally, I intended to only apply the

Steampunk aesthetic to the game but keep the format fairly standard.

Steampunk is a subculture and genre of fiction that was popularized during the late 20 th

Century and is based heavily on the science fiction writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

Steampunk fiction frequently puts steam powered industrial elements in a historical period

prior to these inventions or in a post-apocalyptic time where all but the simplest of industrial

technology remains. The contemporary iterations of this genre borrow heavily from fantasy,

horror, and science fiction to create its alternate histories. The most common settings for

these stories are Victorian era England and the post-Civil War period of American history,

particularly the Western frontier. Steampunk fiction is often combined with elements of the

supernatural and urban fantasy, including but not limited to the inclusion of magic, vampires,

and werewolves.

There are subsets of this genre that employ other technological developments than

steam and other time periods, such as Decopunk, which is based on the art deco period of

the 1920's and 1930's (ex. Bioshock) or Cyberpunk, which is often a fantasy projection of how

computerized technology will effect society in the future (ex. Blade Runner).


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In addition to the genre that served as the inspiration for the characters and setting of

my game I did research on other fighting games, both two dimensional and three dimensional.

I read many reviews, articles on game mechanics, and played many games, old and new, to

find what elements I wanted to include, exclude, and improve upon as well as distill the most

common control bindings to make my game as easy to pick up and play as possible.

As I researched fighting games I came to realize that, while a popular genre, they are

largely limited to the arcade setting and only popular for home entertainment among hardcore

gamers or those that consider themselves fans of the fighting game genre. In order to make

my game appealing to the widest possible demographic, I developed the game world more

thoroughly and decided to combine elements of fighting games and role playing games to

create a character driven game where players advance the story and make moral decisions

while engaging in tournament style combat. The marketing should reflect and promote this

difference, as well as capitalize on the unique aesthetic.

III. Game Play Mechanics

1. Controls

I envision the game as a console game targeted at the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

platforms. The game will employ the most common controls for intuitive fighting

game mechanics. Each of the four buttons on a console controller will correspond

to a limb of the body (left leg, left arm, right leg, right arm) and produce a simple


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punch or kick. Movement will be controlled via the directional pad or the left

joystick. The combination of movement and one of the limb buttons can produced

varied results, such as a low kick or a flying uppercut punch. Each of the primary

triggers will be programmed with a throw, which can also be issued by pressing

both of the left limb buttons or both of the right limb buttons at the same time.

The secondary triggers will remain unbound but through settings players can bind

them with a combination of two buttons, for example down arrow and kick to

produce a low kick. Blocking comes from pressing down on the left trigger.

Depressing the right trigger will toggle between stances. This can only be done

after achieving a series of three positive hits (ones that deduct health from your

opponent). A bar beneath the health bar will fill and indicate that, if the player

wishes, they can enter their alternate stance. Each character will have two stances,

one for regular combat and one using a supernatural power, which is the alternate

stance that becomes unlocked after three successful hits. The various stances are

detailed in the character section of this design document.

Navigating the on screen menus will utilize either the left joystick or the directional

pad. The start button will pause the game during a duel or a story section and the

select button will bring up an on screen options menu, which will allow the player to

change character during arcade or dueling mode, exit to the main screen, edit

trigger bindings, sound options, and restart the duel if they wish.


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IV. I reviewed a lot of research that indicated that players appreciate choice most when

playing a game and that choice is what differentiates story based games from other

narrative media, like film. I decided to include two different story modes for each

character, giving the player choices that will determine the next leg of the story and the

character's epilogue. Between duels a character will be presented with a choice, an

example would be to pursue a personal vendetta (which will lead to a duel with x

character) or to comply with orders that character has been given (which will lead to a

duel with y character). Another, simpler, example is whether or not to kill one's

opponent at the end of a duel. In story mode there are seven duels (the character

never fights themselves) so there are an uneven number of choices. Whichever moral

route the player selected most often (in the examples above, vengeful or dutiful,

mercenary or merciful) will determine the nature of the character's epilogue.

An example of how the

controls should work as well

as the aesthetic of the

packaging and instructive

materials that would

accompany the game. This is

a modified Xbox 360

controller.


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1. Scoring

Scoring only comes into game play in terms of the rounds of duels. Unblocked hits

will do damage equivalent to a percentage of the character's health and will be

deducted from the health bar visible on the screen so the player can monitor their

status. At the end of each round health is returned to maximum. Perhaps after

completing story mode with one character, the player could unlock a higher difficulty

trial that involves completing arcade mode without health regeneration or simply

one round against each opponent without health regeneration. Additional features

like this could increase the re-playability of the game and encourage people to

purchase it. There will also be achievements for completing the various story and

arcade modes with each character which players can keep track of through their

Xbox Live or PlayStation Network accounts.

2. Saving

Saving game progress will only be enabled in story mode and the option will be

available after each duel is completed. In story mode and arcade mode a duel

consists of a maximum of three round with the best two out of three winning,

therefore if the player or computer wins the first two rounds then the duel is over but

if there is a tie after two rounds, a third round is initiated. Players may edit the

number of rounds they wish to fight in duel mode, which allows them to play against

other players. A minimum of one round and a maximum of seven will be allowed in

odd number increments (one, three, five, seven). The ability to review story


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elements once they have been unlocked by character progress will also be

available from the save/load menu.

V. Menu and Screen Shots

Example of the main menu. From here the player can access the different types of game play.


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The aesthetic of the game combines 2D sprites for the characters with digitally manipulated photographs from

the time period that the game is set. The above is of the Palace of Whitehall in London and the somewhat subtle

Steampunk elements and colour palette contribute to the cohesion of the theme.


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In addition, these screen shots show what the game would look like if, in dueling mode, two players picked the

same character. Each character will be programmed with an alternate coloured costume to differentiate between

player one and player two. These screen shots are incomplete as they lack health meters, name slots, player

indicators, round indicators, and the hit progress bar.


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VI. Game World

My game is set in an alternate history version of Victorian England where early

industrial technologies, like steam power, radio waves, and lighter than air ships, are a

common part of life. These technologies are a form of natural magic; an alchemical means of

capturing innate power in elements, and were introduced to society by the supernatural

creatures that live alongside humans and who have made themselves known to the

government and monarchy. In exchange for the government's lack of interference in

supernatural matters, the supernatural underground provides an adviser to the Crown which

is responsible for the Empire's technological advances and military supremacy. The magical

element to industrialization has alleviated some of the negative impact that the Industrial

Revolution had on Britain, in particular for child labor.

Many aspects of world history are unchanged, in spite of the extraordinary elements in

my game world. The Civil War in America, the Reconstruction of the South, and Westward

expansion all take place, though with some help from the supernatural as well. Contemporary

issues in Britain like the Irish Home Rule movement, Victorian morality, the lingering effects of

the Napoleonic war with France, Prince Albert's brainchild the Great Exhibition of Works of

Industry of all Nations, and the publication of The Origin of the Species.

The game takes place in 1888, forty years after a series of revolutions shook Europe

but left the British monarchy intact. Queen Victoria is monarch and Robert Cecil is Prime


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Minister. This is the year that Jack the Ripper's killing spree shook the citizens of London,

where the game takes place, and women gain the right to vote in local elections which is an

important step in women's rights in the UK. All oaths of office for government officials are also

given provisional re-wording in this year, allowing atheists to hold position without swearing to

God. All in all, this time period represents a huge step towards the advances of the 20 th

Century for the United Kingdom.

Coats of arms for the rival factions: the Conclave of the Wayward and the Ministry for the Exceptional and

Bizarre.

The narrative focuses on a tournament between two rival organizations that exist within

the supernatural sub-world in Britain, both vying for putting one of their members in the

position of Occult Adviser to the Crown, though individual members participate in the

tournament for a variety of reasons. The organizations, the Conclave of the Wayward and the

Ministry for the Exceptional and Bizarre, have very different intentions with regard to the

powerful position they wish to acquire. The agenda of the Conclave of the Wayward is to

promote the interests of the supernatural over that of humans and to manipulate the


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government to affect those ends. The Ministry for the Exceptional and Bizarre cooperates with

humans and even has human members and seeks harmony between the various species,

which include vampires, werewolves, demons, and elemental magic users.

VII. Characters

Game play wise, the characters fall into two categories based on performance in duels:

light combat characters, which respond quickly to controls and hard to hit but who do not do

much damage, and heavy combat

characters, who are slower to maneuver and

harder to block with but who deal significantly

more damage with a successful hit.

Teagan Healy

Light combat character whose

alternate stance engulfs her body in blue

flame, which negates opponents ability to

throw her.

Teagan is a fifteen year old Anglo-Irish

girl masquerading as a young boy in order to

hide her identity in the tournament. In story

mode she is referred to simply as Bob (my


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homage to Black Adder) and the player discovers her identity through the course of the story.

Briefly, she was recruited by the Ministry for the Exceptional and Bizarre because of her

control over elemental magic and has entered the tournament to fight Clarke, an officer of the

Special Branch (then called the Special Irish Branch, formed in 1883) of the London

Metropolitan Police force who uses his authority to make life hell for Irish immigrants living in

London since the emergence of the Irish Republican Army a few years prior to the start of the

game. In the epilogue Teagan will either accept her position as Occult Advisor and try to use it

to better the situation for both supernatural citizens and those of Irish heritage or she can

attempt (unsuccessfully) to assassinate the Prime Minister in a violent act of rebellion.

Benedict Clarke

Heavy combat character

whose alternate stance is a

werewolf hybrid form, giving

him increased speed over the

other heavy combat

characters. He sacrifices any

sort of ranged combat for this

speed bonus.

Clarke is a stereotypical

bad cop. Coming from a wealthy family of newspaper


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barons, he joined the police force for the personal power and, as the player finds out through

story mode, as an outlet for his aggressive werewolf tendencies and a means for covering up

crimes he commits as a werewolf. He is recruited by the Conclave both for his shape-shifting

ability and his position of authority with Special Branch. He volunteered for the tournament

simply because he enjoys violence and the player is given the option between killing

opponents and turning them into werewolves which, if the second option is consistently

chosen, then Clarke leads a band of werewolves to turn the royal family and the elite of the

Conclave into werewolves, ensuring werewolf domination of the supernatural world.

Sarada Young

Heavy combat character whose

alternate stance allows her to produce a gun

and gives her a targeting scope, allowing her

to aim the gun with the right joystick. This is

more control than the other characters with

ranged abilities get, but there is a cool down

time of fifteen seconds between shots for

reloading.

A brilliant half-Indian scientist, Sarada

was expelled from the Ministry of the

Exceptional and Bizarre for her inhumane


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experiments mingling cybernetics and dark magic. She was recruited by the Conclave and

competes in the tournament to seek revenge against her former colleagues. Through story

mode, the player can choose to have Sarada have a change of heart and give up dark magic,

rejoining the Ministry and promoting their peaceful agenda as Occult Adviser, or to kill her

former mentor and continue down her dark path.

Nigel Bennett

Heavy combat character whose

alternate stance is also ranged, allowing

him to shoot shotgun blasts from his fist

cannon, an attack that does minimal

damage but knocks the opponent back. In

regular combat he fights with his bladed

weapon only.

Bennett is Sarada's former mentor

and lead scientist for the Ministry, a former

army surgeon and inventor who pioneered

the combination of magic and cybernetic

enhancement. His metallic exoskeleton is essentially a moveable iron lung which allows him

to breathe despite suffering from Ondine's Curse (a common name for congenital central

hypoventilation syndrome, though for the purpose of our story it is, in fact, a curse) which was


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given to him when he betrayed his nymph lover with another woman.

Phedre Geroux


alternate stance is a vampire form, allowing

her to teleport from one side of the stage to

another with use of the right joystick. She

uses her parasol as a melee weapon as

well.

Phedre is a French vampire who

was born prior to the Revolution and

laments 'ze good old days' of debauchery

and excess. As an aristocrat, she fled

France for England and joined the

Conclave with the promise of some fun but

finds the new tide of Victorian morality a bore. She is competing in the tournament to win

control of the supernatural underworld and make it as decadent and chaotic as she wants.

The player gets the choice between seduction and murder for Phedre's final boss, James,

and if the player chooses the former then she turns him into a vampire and they leave for the

American West together where chaos reigns.


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James Ellis

Heavy combat character whose alternate stance allows him to shoot his mechanical

fist across the stage to either do ranged damage or to grapple an opponent.

James is an American Civil War

veteran (he fought for the Confederacy)

who lost his arm to a gangrenous infection.

His brother, an alchemist who was recruited

by the Ministry, helped outfit him with his

mechanical arm. He joined the exodus

Westward after the war and became a

Marshall until news of his brother's death in

England brought him across the ocean and,

eventually, to confront his brother's killer:

Phedre. The player's choices produce one

of two outcomes for James; he either kills

Phedre and is satisfied, riding off into the

literal and proverbial sunset by heading

back West, or Phedre's death isn't enough

and he goes on a pogrom against innocent

vampires in London, seeking vengeance for his brother's death.


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Molly Evans


alternate stance allows her to throw sticks of

dynamite at her opponent. The sticks have a

two second delay and they do damage to

anyone in immediate proximity of where they

land.

Molly is a demon hunter and a member

of the Ministry who is posing as a prostitute in

Whitechapel in an attempt to lure the

notorious Jack the Ripper to his death. After

several near misses, Jack taunts her with a

letter inviting her to the tournament to

confront him face to face and finally have her

shot. What she does with that shot is, of

course, up to the player and in the end she

kills Jack but, if the player's selections have been consistently malicious, she finds herself

possessed by the demon that Jack bore and with it, she moves to the Continent to continue

the bloodshed.


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Jack Reid

Light combat character whose alternate stance gives him the ability to glue his

opponent in one spot for five seconds. The opponent can still block and attack, but cannot

move their feet.

Jack is, of course, Jack the Ripper, the notorious killer and butcher of women who was


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never caught. Jack is possessed by a demon who feeds on fear and pain and, in particular,

the fear of women. Prior to his possession, Jack was a mild-mannered and promising, young

surgeon. The Conclave sought him out in an attempt to harness the power of the demon and

he fights in the tournament to cause, and feast upon, fear and pain. The player can either

have Jack accept the nature of the demon and be truly evil or fight the possession and

eventually overcome the demon and free himself.

VIII. Marketing

I think that a character driven marketing campaign would best suit Field of Honour.

Banners, posters, t-shirts, and other products with individual characters in dynamic poses on

them would be both eye catching and would serve to set this game apart from others, due to

its unique aesthetic. The hurdle of getting casual players to take interest in a fighting game

could be overcome by pulling them in with stylistic characters before they even know the

nature of the game. Certain website banners with certain characters can be targeted to

particular audiences on websites, for example banners featuring the attractive female

characters targeted at a young male demographic or banners featuring the villainous

characters (Jack the Ripper in particular) to a horror fan demographic.

The crests of the two factions can be put on a variety of sellable media or even given

away as promotional stickers or badges. Additionally, such badges could be packaged with

special editions of the game. Action figures or statuettes would be another way to promote the


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characters. I think that their design would encourage their purchase, even without any interest

in the game, and then perhaps the action figure box has a percentage off coupon for the

game or a free trial through the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. Another option that I

support would be to emphasize the story based component and, in particular, the element of

choice and the player participation in determining the outcome. It is not simply a 'win/lose'

game, but it offers another level of interactivity and, because of the multiple options, re-

playability.

Another strength in this idea is the franchise potential. Since there is no canonical

winner of the tournament, there is no room for an immediate sequel, but the infrastructure

exists for subsequent tournaments (say, once a generation) for a new Occult Adviser in a

different time and setting (circa 1930 for a Decopunk aesthetic or circa 2100 for a Post-

Cyberpunk feel, for example).

IX. Reflection/Conclusion

I chose to write my reflection after giving my presentation to the class. I think that,

primarily, I am unhappy with my own achievements this semester but not with the idea itself. I

did not complete several of the objectives I set for myself and I find that very disappointing

because I think that I have created something very interesting, just not enough of it. I stuck to

my plan and the order in which I intended to do things, but I paced myself far too slowly which

lead to having to catch up at the very end and, ultimately, sacrificing some essential artistic


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elements so that I could spend time fleshing out things like controls. With that said, I think that

my error early on was limiting myself to a fighting game. Had I picked something perhaps

broader in scope or more narrative I would have been more excited by the prospect of

creating this game and things like marketing would not have seemed so daunting.

There were many times where I asked myself “why the hell would anyone play this

game?” and I couldn't answer the question, but it was far too late to start over. I compensated

by putting a great deal of time into developing the world, the character concepts, and the

stories which all excited me and as I look back on this semester, still excite me going forward.

However, a great deal of that work would never see the light of day if this game actually went

into production as I have envisioned it. I learned a great deal about myself as far as my ability

(and at times, inability) to motivate myself when I felt defeated by this project.

An aspect of my game development that I am simultaneously most proud of and most

disappointed in is my sprites. I created a sprite sheet for what was supposed to be a playable

round crafted in GameMaker and could never quite get it to work in GameMaker, in spite of

watching dozens of tutorials and feeling totally overconfident in my abilities at the beginning of

the semester. I am disappointed that my sprites never got to shine, but I am very proud of the

surprisingly gratifying, laborious process of making the sprites themselves and intend to

continue honing my previously nonexistent sprite making skills.

Distilling my lofty ideas into something deliverable and, ultimately, this document


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proved a great challenge for me. I tend to ramble, both in speech and in text, so trying to

convince people to get on board with my idea without talking to them for hours about the

favorite colour of this character or the hometown of that villain was difficult for me, but very

practical. I do not know if I will continue to develop these characters for a game more

narrative based or perhaps just for a narrative, in the form of a graphic novel, but I do know

that I am not done with the world I created.

An example of some of my sprites.

Thanks for a great semester. -M

megan farley design document: field of honour · create a character driven game where players...

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