meltdown a debugging debacle. overview game design character design ui overview controls ...
TRANSCRIPT
MeltdownA Debugging Debacle
Overview
Game Design
Character Design
UI Overview
Controls
Mechanics
Level Design
Game Design – Plot
A robotics research facility is overrun by a corrupted AI during the development of a new user-free robotics system.
This infections program has turned the factory into a war-zone.
To save humanity you must take control of a next generation defense robot and prevent this epidemic from spreading.
Game Design – Gameplay
The goal of this game is to progress through the defense facility and shut down the bugged system to prevent it from propagating its corrupted code.
Game Design – Mindset
The player is rushed, nervous, and excited. We can provoke these emotions through alarm systems (triggering multiple waves of unknown-type enemies per level) and miscellaneous power-ups and weapon drops.
Quick Level Mockup
Start
Pickup First Beam(Stun)
Solve a door puzzle to advance.
Pickup First Power-up
(Hack/Overwrite)
Ammo Crate Mid-level Enemy
Character Design (Robots)
All of the characters in this game are iterations of the same machine.
Low-Level Enemies are older robots, the base model, they don’t do much damage-wise and navigate slowly.
Mid-Level Enemies are the current generation models, they do a fair amount of damage and move at a normal pace. These will be found in the end areas of the floors.
The Final Boss and Main Character are “Next-generation” models, they are experimental, so they are powerful, but sometimes a little buggy.
Robot Timeline
We want the player to feel like the robots were developed sequentially.
Base Robots Current Robots
Experimental AI
Robot
Prototype Defense Robot
Beam Types
Standard Beam
Fires a destructive pulse at enemies.
Stun Beam
Fires a pulse, with less damage than the standard beam, which saps enemy movement.
Fire Beam
Fires a devastating pulse at enemies at the price of increased energy and heat cost.
Freeze Beam
Fires a pulse that freezes enemies in their place, but does no damage.
Power-ups
Hack/Overwrite
Disarms an enemy robot and forces lesser robots to fight for you.
Selective EMP
Fires a directional pulse that disarms robots in front of you for a short time period. This is an experimental weapon, so it disarms your energy beam for a small period of time too.
Overclock Chip
Allows the user to use energy without limits for a small period of time. Heavy cool-down price. Costing heat and energy.
UI Mockup
Status Bars
Beam Selection
Power-up Selection
Menu Button
Controls Keyboard + Mouse
WASD + QE – Movement
Left Click – Fire Energy Beam
Right Click – Deploy Power-up
Arrow Keys – Select Power-up
1-4 or Tab – Select Energy Beam
Shift + WASD – Pan Camera
Controls Gamepad
Pan the camera
Move
Select Power-up
Select Energy Beam
Fire Energy BeamDeploy Power-up
Fire Energy Beam
Deploy Power-up
Menu
Mechanics (Heat)
Heat plays a vital role in survival. Using energy and/or certain power-ups contributes to heat, which depletes slower as it increases.
Heat % Depleted per second
0-59 5
60-69 4
70-79 3
80-89 2
90-100 1.5
100+ 1
Mechanics (Energy)
Energy allows the player to fire a variety of energy beams. Different beams have different effects and the cost per shot fired is broken down below.
Beam Energy Used per Second
Standard 1
Stun 2
Fire 4
Freeze 3
Level Design
Ground Floor
Mood
Bright, Tense, Inactive
Objects
Ambient
Laser Flashes
Electric Sparks
Interactive
Door (disarm with puzzle)
Cabinet (Cut off spawning)
First Power-up (Hack/Overwrite)
First Advanced Beam (Stun) (Slow enemy movement, less damage)
Level Design
2nd Floor Mood
Bright, Tense, Active
Objects
Ambient
Laser Flashes
Explosive particles
Electric Sparks
Interactive
Door (to disarm)
Switch (to stop spawning enemies)
Second Power-up (Selective EMP)
Second Advanced Beam (Fire) (Damage over time) (increases heat)
Ammo Depot
Level Design
3rd Floor
Mood
Dark, Tense, Active, Decay
Objects
Ambient
Laser Flashes
Rusted Piping/works
Drowned sparks
Interactive
Door (to disarm)
Switch (Spawns a larger enemy and kills the other ones for energy)
Third Power-up (Overclock chip)
Third Advanced Beam (Freeze) (Stops enemies, no damage, unfreeze and minor damage on hit)
Level Design
4th Floor (Final Boss)
Mood
Moody, Tense, Chaotic, Electric
Objects
Ambient
Laser Flashes
Alarm on entrance
Sparks
Interactive
Barriers (to hide when the boss is invulnerable)
Power Switch (After defeating boss)
Questions??