Game Designer Portfolio - Part 2

First, I would like to apologize for leading you on in my last post. The document I posted was in fact not a Pitch document but rather a High Concept. The difference being that a Pitch comes after the High Concept in any publisher's office. The high concept I posted however is a bit longer than what you would want, even though it is not something critical you shouldn't make your high concept longer than 3 pages. It is meant to sustain and spark interest rather than to explain everything.

In the example I have given below I have made several mistakes where my High Concept and Story sections are longer than they are supposed to be. Remember the concept document should be punchy rather than lengthy. Often designers and teams writing these documents would refer to other games to explain a certain mechanic i.e. "Like the shadow gem in the Thief games, but for sound.".  This is not only absolutely acceptable, but encouraged. Doing that also could reinforce the belief that your concept is good by referencing successful games and their mechanics. Another mistake I made was not referencing at all games with similar mechanics such Trine.

The point of the High Concept is mainly to get a meeting or interest from the publisher. Just a quick refresh for the people that might not be aware of how this works - game developers (companies that develop games) usually seek publishers (companies that publish games) with proposals for games. The publisher than reviews those and meets a few more times with the developer, if all goes well a deal is struck and the publisher funds the development of the game. Sometimes publishers seek developers and sometimes a publisher and developer are the same thing but let's keep it simple. What the publisher will look in any one High Concept is the potential for profits, remember publishers receive hundreds of concepts every day, but they cannot meet with everyone so they select just the ones that make an impact.

Here are a few tips for writing a good concept doc:

a) Short and concise - they don't have all day, make sure it doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes to read your whole document

b) Be realistic - do not promise the next MMO that will trump WoW, look at what you have and what you can achieve realistically.

c) Gameplay, gameplay, gameplay - at this stage you will not be talking about graphics, maybe mention of the visual style, but most importantly you are looking at gameplay! By reading the document they should be intrigued and thinking how fun it would be to play your game.

d) Business later - don't even think of explaining how your game is going to be a hit and make them all rich, such statements do nothing to get you a meeting with the publisher.


Now, looking back at my concept in the previous post you will notice it almost exclusively focuses on gameplay and that is a good example of explaining gameplay in my opinion, with the exception of the missing references and some sections being longer than they ought to be.


Take a look at this, it is a High Concept for another game, you will notice the structure of the document is quite different. This is a more standard structure that is seen more often.

Maze (3D Shooter)

Pencho Semov

High Concept

Fun, engaging 3D shooter that has the player fighting for their life in a labyrinth filled with laser turrets, various enemies and traps. The player will have to navigate numerous obstacles to reach the exit at the end of each level.

Features

·         Classic 1^st person view with several weapons at the player’s disposal.

·         Laser turrets are scattered across the maze aiming in random patterns that the player must avoid and destroy the turrets at the same time in order to proceed.

·         Various traps endanger the player’s health at any time.

·         Enemies wonder around in the maze ready to attack the player.

·         Non-linear areas exist in order to let the player escape from or engage a monster in more than one way.

·         Health packs could be found in shadowy corners and help the player restore lost health.

·         Jump feature allowing the player to overcome giant gaps filled with nasty substances.

·         Random turret placement each new game for re-playability and surprise fun.

·         Several weapons aid the player including a shotgun!

·         Easy to navigate interface and informative HUD showing everything that the player needs to see, including health, ammo, timer and aim.

·         Other tools such as a flashlight aid the player in darker areas or a steal pipe to smash crates.

·         Maze-like level architecture with lots of narrow corridors and rooms with different puzzles of laser turrets.

·         Darker areas where the player MUST rely on their flashlight to survive.

·         Ammo is limited so the player will have to make tactical choices of what to destroy in each room in order to proceed.

·         The dark and claustrophobic atmosphere of levels will also be reflected by the monster and turrets design. The player feels totally alone in a hostile environment that provides for some oppressive survival fun.

Player Motivation

A timer tracks how well the player is doing. If they complete a level faster they are awarded additional points based on the time as well as how many turrets they have destroyed, ect.

Genre

Classic tactical 3D shooter with Portal’s claustrophobic atmosphere and a horror theme to the level design (as opposed to a clean, high-tech lab). Traps, creatures and turrets further enhance the effect. Tactical element added in the form of player decisions on how to spend limited ammo and resolve situations. Fast paced gameplay if fighting for score that requires quick thinking or slow and careful advancement through the maze for players that just want to enjoy the ride.

Target Customer

1^st Person shooter fans will enjoy the presence of monsters to shoot as well as the tactical element. On the other hand some fans of the horror-survival genre will definitely enjoy this game as well.

Competition

Most FPS games that involve puzzles and require cleverness to overcome levels such as “Amnesia – Dark Descent” (even though there is no shooting) and "Call of Chulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth".

Unique Selling Points

·         Crazy traps that give some indication prior to damaging the player, but still require quick reaction to dodge for challenging gameplay.

·         Weapons and gadgets that are unique and aid the player in useful ways.

·         Graduate increasing difficulty curve that provides more and more challenging situations and puzzles for the player to solve.

·         Monsters that suddenly pop behind a corner bringing the survival-horror element to the game.

Target Hardware

                PC.

Design Goals

·         Create interesting yet doable situations that force the player to think and find the correct actions to get through.

·         Make every tool (and weapon) available to the player useful in some way.

·         Design levels in such ways that the player might find a health pack or ammo just when they need it.

·         Use lighting to great effect to generate proper atmosphere. Also with the flashlight in darker areas it will be a key gameplay feature.

·         Implement mouse control and HUD that are adequate.

·         Make enemies chase players intelligently.

·         Make non-linear parts to each level to enrich the feeling of being in a maze.

Story

“You wake up in dark and mysterious maze with only a flashlight. You don’t remember anything of how you got there or who you are. It’s up to you now to discover those things and more… for the horrible maze holds a dark and terrifying secret…”

Graphic Design Preview

·        HUD, look and feel of the game

·        Sample level design

Game Overview

We are looking at a 3d shooter that implements survival-horror theme and oppressive environment that forces the player to solve puzzles and think fast in order to survive.

The game will also feature:

·         Music and random sounds depending on the area that the player is currently in.

·         Story elements in the form of written messages on the maze walls.

·         Menu that pause the game and lets the player save/load their progress, restart level and/or chose different options (sound, video, preferences).

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Until next time.