Lunar bandits © Game design documentation€¦ · X Statement: Robin Hood In Space Elevator Statement: Lunar Bandits is a space based action adventure fantasy game that offers players

LUNAR BANDITS © GAME DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

MARCUS LANE ©

– Lunar Bandits –

Introduction

In this role play game (RPG), the player will take the role of the pilot of a spacecraft. There

are many different levels that contribute towards being successful at this game. The player

will be required to ensure that the spacecraft is functional and well maintained.The

overarching genre of the game will be action adventure, so the player can expect the action

of games like Star Wars: Battle Front, game (EA DICE 2017 )and ‘Mass Effect Andromeda,

game (BioWare 2017) as they complete challenges and progress through levels. A key

selling point for this game will be the variety of different tasks - this will keep the player

interested and ensure they do not get bored. The game will allow for both single player

campaign mode, but also have a number of multiplayer options so that players can engage

with their friends and build their own team of bandits to take on the missions.

Key goals of the game:

1. Lead your crew through space to victory

2. Loot and scavenge from anyone who stands in your way

3. Fight for your crews survival through missions, battles and races

4. Customise your spacecraft

5. Fight for your faction's territory online

X Statement: Robin Hood In Space

Elevator Statement: Lunar Bandits is a space based action adventure fantasy game that

offers players hours of exciting gameplay. Guided through narrative and combat missions,

players work to restore balance to a corrupt space prison. With seasonal updates based on

player feedback, the gameplay will not only become more competitive but also tailored to

what the users would like to see. Offering both single and multiplayer campaign modes, this

engaging game can be enjoyed on multiple levels.

Razor Statement: Loot the galaxy to freedom

Key Platform Overview: The game will be produced for Xbox, Playstation consoles and

PC.

Target Market Overview: The vague target audience will be people who fantasy RPG

games. On a narrower scale, this game will probably appeal most to people who like the

action/ adventure element of fantasy games due to the strong combat nature of most of the

levels. Although they are the core target audience, I believe that this game can offer these

players a slight edge on classical single player RPG combat games due to the added

elements of ship building and maintenance.


MARCUS LANE ©

Detail of Game Modes

Single Player Campaign Mode

In the single player campaign mode, the player and his acquaintances are a group of low life

bandits. They are just about making it through, doing whatever they need to to survive:

harvesting asteroids from restricted zones and destroying/ looting from other spacecrafts to

maintain their own. They leave a trail of destruction in their wake but have so far yet to be

caught. Until one day their crimes catch up to them and they are captured by the SPACE

POLICE. They are taken to prison on the Asteroid Belt. This is a maximum security prison

where even if prisoners do manage to escape, they end up floating among the asteroids.

The player will complete challenges and levels to gather information, learn of the corruption

within the prison and criminal community and and work with their team to find a way to

escape. After escaping the mission is to complete all of the challenges and capture and take

down the corrupt criminals.

Co-Op Mode

Heists

Heists are missions designed to test the player(s) and are made up of Core and Optional Objectives. The core objectives needed to be completed for the mission to end and to progress. Optional objectives will give the players a higher score and potentially a loot/ customisation item, along with bragging rights. Multiplayer Modes PVP - Faction based Multiplayer Games

Scavenge - Collect the most resources to win

Scavenge is all about collecting the most resources within the time limit. Gathering

the resources requires special vehicles, so you'll need to work as a team to man the

collectors to harvest the resources, while other players defend the collector.

Alternative methods would be to let your opponents gather the resource and then

killing and loot them!

Outrun - Leave your opponents lost in Space

All players start from the same area racing towards a finishing point. The is to goal escape capture from the SPACE POLICE and reach the finish. Contact during the race to slow down other ships is required if you want to win! Space Grab - Rush to capture the zones Space grab is a territory objective based game, in which players have to fight to capture the zones that appear for ‘X’ period of time


MARCUS LANE ©

Detail the Gameplay Mechanics

The main gameplay element will be exploring, whether this be on the ship, in space or in the

prison. This gives the game a sense of adventure. There will also be times throughout the

game where challenges involve racing and battling other spaceships in a combat style or

where the player has to loot and scavenge for resources. Completion of sub-tasks and levels

will lead to the unlocking of customisation items.

Game mechanics Due to the nature of the game there will be a lot of game mechanics and they will be different depending on which level the player is completing at the time. I decided therefore to highlight 15 that I thought would be used the most in this game. They are:

Player Movement Player Action The Game itself

Walking Jumping Crouching

Flying spacecraft Exploration Racing Shooting in spacecraft Fighting as the character Vehicle maintenance Collecting items/ resources Looting

Storytelling Co-operative play Player Vs. Player Puzzles

Narrative/ Story Elements The narrative will be a Sci Fi/ fantasy based story to keep the player engaged and guide

them through to game completion. In short, it centres around a group of bandits. Throughout

the game, they realise that the SPACE POLICE are corrupt and being paid to cover up lots

of crime, so they set out to catch the criminals. Along the way, there will be battles - both on

the ships in direct combat and also as a pilot chasing the bandits. There will be times when

the player needs to loot goods to maintain the ship. The narrative of the game will unravel

through conversation with non-playable characters, this will guide the player to what the next

challenge will be.


MARCUS LANE ©

Controller mapping - Player Character

ACTION XBOXONE PS4 PC

Movement Left JoyStick Left Joystick w,a,s,d

Camera Movement Right Joystick Right Joystick Mouse

N/A D-Pad D-Pad

Objective Info LB L1 Tab

Zoom in over shoulder / scope (Weapon dependent.)

LT L2 Right Click

Grenade RB R1 G

Shoot RT R2 Left click

Change weapon Y Triangle Q

Reload X Square R

Crouch B Circle Cntrl

Jump A X Space

Pause Menu Start Start Enter / return

N/A Options Select

Melee Click Left Joystick Click Left Joystick F

N/A Click Right Joystick Click Right Joystick


MARCUS LANE ©

Controller Mapping - Player Vehicle

ACTION XBOXONE PS4 PC

Movement Left JoyStick Left Joystick w,a,s,d

Camera Movement Right Joystick Right Joystick Mouse

N/A D-Pad D-Pad

Objective Info LB L1 Tab

Zoom in over shoulder / scope (Weapon dependent.)

LT L2 Right Click

Heavy Weapon RB R1 G

Shoot RT R2 Left click

N/A Y Triangle Q

Increase c X Square R

Handbrake B Circle Cntrl

N/A A X Space

Pause Menu Start Start Enter / return

N/A Options Select

Boost Click Left Joystick Click Left Joystick F

N/A Click Right Joystick Click Right Joystick


MARCUS LANE ©

Gameplay Storyboard - 60 seconds of Multiplayer Mode


MARCUS LANE ©


MARCUS LANE ©


MARCUS LANE ©

Level Design Example

Figure: Example level map for the game

This level sets the scene for the main narrative of the storyline, in which the player is

captured into the prison, discovers the deep corruption within the system and starts to forge

a plan to escape. He finds other inmates and puts together a team of ‘bandits’ to help him

escape. Through talking to other players, they learn secrets and solve puzzles all to get the

resources to break free from the prison and out of the the asteroid belt.

This level tells a story. The beginning is more regimented following the players capture onto the prison ship they have to follow the process of being checked in and assigned job roles within the ship. I then wanted the player to be able to explore on their own terms and see what they could find through talking to other characters. They have to use this information to work out what is happening and piece together clues to help them escape. When designing a map it is important to ensure that every room has a purpose, so if the player enters then there should be something to be found/gained (Rogers, 2014). I therefore made sure there was a good flow through the first rooms and that there are pieces of the puzzle or resources to help build a better ship in all of the other rooms that can be explored.


MARCUS LANE ©

Comprehensive systematic walk through which works hand in hand with the map(s)

● Player is transported to the prison, prison guards usher the player off the ship and into the prison. -Mission “Check In“ starts (bottom right)

● Player is guided through the scanner, scanner alarm goes off. ● Prison Guards inform and force the player to surrender all of their possessions. ● Prison guard, take player round to the surrender area ● Afterwards the player is taken back through the scanner . ● If the player didn’t surrender any items the scanner will go off again and the player

will be taken back to the surrender area. This is will loop until the player surrenders all their items.

● After surrendering all their items the player is taken from the entry area to the “Employment office” here the player will have to do a “aptitude test” which will decide their first job within the prison. Cleaner or Cook.

● After completing the test the player is inform that they will be a cook. ● Player is escorted to their cell, time passes to the next day. ● Mission “Check In” is complete. ● Mission “How do you like your eggs?” starts. ● Player is escort to the kitchen for a training brief followed by starting work in the

prisons kitchen. ● Briefing is “Welcoming” you to the kitchen and informing you of what products are

where and how many of them need to be cooked. ● Player will then start “Cooking” the food required. ● Once this batch of food is complete, the player will be told to get some supplies from

the storage. ● When getting the supplies you overhear guards talking about something, ask another

inmate and get into a fight as that inmate is in on the deal. ● Mission “How do you like your eggs?” Completed ● Player is sent to solitary confinement for the term of two days. ● Day one in solitary confinement the player can walk around their cell/ use the bed to

go forward one day. ● On the second day you wake up to see a piece of paper scrunched up on the floor.

Player investigates. ● Scrunched up piece of paper details some information about the guards. ● Objective: “ Whats going on?” Starts ● Player is has fulfilled their termin solitary confinement, and is escorted back to the

main prison area. ● Player has no definitive objective at this point, so needs to talk to the other inmates

for information. ● After talking to some the other inmates, the player learns that the corruption with the

police is affects almost every station. ● Player vows to gather evidence and bring these corrupt officers to justice. ● Player heads back to their cell, progresses to the next day, the player gets a new job

as a cleaner. ● The player will be sent on various jobs until they fulfill their sentence. Upon release

the player heads towards a bandit camp set up on the moon of Ravensden.


MARCUS LANE ©

Business Strategy

In terms of monetisation, the game itself will be retailed for console and PC at a price similar

to its competitors. Most free-play mobile games capitalise on the use of in-game

advertisements in order to generate money. As a console game, I don’t feel this would be a

good idea. In game product placement is another option, however this may distract from the

immersion between the player and the game. One way that I would look to generate revenue

would be by offering loot crates as in-game purchases. This allows the player to progress

through the game quicker than doing all of the little side missions and allows replenishment

of vital resources that they might need for survival. Before launching the game, it is good to

get the target audience to test a beta version and see what they think of the game. This

feedback will help to shape the final release and make sure it is as successful as possible on

release. In order to engage the playing community further, I think it is important to give them

polls on which bits of the game they like and where they see improvements should be.

In terms of marketing the game, social media is an invaluable platform, allowing word to

spread quickly and allowing a following to build up. Social media can then be used to show

trailers and clips from the game to build excitement. Closer to release (if money allows)

when the product is more finished, adverts on the TV or in cinemas may be used to show

game play footage to potential buyers. For cinema, the adverts would have to be shown in

showings targeted to the audience of the game. Other good ways of marketing would come

from reviewers being given the chance to try the game before release and giving it good

feedback which would make consumers more likely to go out and buy the game.


MARCUS LANE ©

Competitor Analysis

The games that I believe are most similar to my proposed project are Sea of Thieves,

Starfox 64 3D and EVE Online

Sea of Thieves, game, (RARE 2018)

S – Players have the freedom to roam with other players, this allows them to do as they wish

create their own stories or quests.

W- Constant PvP area, Players rely on other players for experience on ship to be tangible.

There is no single player campaign, players have to always create their own stories /

missions. Character creation is limited

O – A single player campaign to tell the players about the lore of Sea of Thieves, delve into

the world's history.

T – Game has “cross platform” with Xbox Play anywhere, which allows many players to play

simultaneously.

Starfox 64 3D, game (Q-Games, Nintendo EAD 2011)

S - Player can take different routes depending on which way they want to complete the

missions.

W - The different ways to complete the levels isn't communicated very effectively to the

player. No multiplayer option

O - Allowing spaceship flight, linear start to finish flight and “All range mode” which allows

the player to fly around in all directions, however in lylat wars this is used for bosses only.

T - Remade for handheld consoles well received, Lunar Bandits would not work on 3DS

systems.

EVE Online, game (CCP Games 2003)

S - Massive multiplayer, volunteers, players that aid with community management and

testing.

W - Issues with players scamming.

O - Event based online play, allowing players to engage in community challenges that affect

the game world.

T - A well established game for many years.


MARCUS LANE ©

Project Management Overview

Although the game production cycle will alter depending on size and scale of both the game

in concept and the workforce available, there is a basic idea that can be applied to most

games.

Figure: A schematic to show the basic pipeline for production of a game from concept to release

(Chandler, 2014)

All games begin in the preproduction phase - this is where the concept is born. In this stage

it is the producer's job to establish what they think a suitable budget and schedule would be

for the production. In the preproduction phase, the design documents for concept and art will

be created and a strategy for creating the game decided. After this has been done, the

schedule can be tweaked accordingly to reflect the choices for artwork and graphics (Cohen

and Bustamante II, 2010).

Then the game will enter the production phase and the designers and programmers will

begin work on generating assets and coding. As this is such a long process, it will be

important to ensure that the production is sticking to schedule and the plan set out in pre-

production. Once the game is in a playable condition, QA testing can begin to check for bugs

that cause crashing, these are reported back to developers and continue in this cycle until

the game runs smoothly and is ready for submission. Beta Testing is also a good way to

uncover issues quicker than using just QA staff as players are keen to review the game and

pick apart where it needs work. After release, the game will most likely need patches for

bugs that slipped through the net before submission. New content can also be made

available as DLC. Finally forums can be useful not only to get player feedback but also to

allow communication with other players and keep people interested and talking about the

game.


MARCUS LANE ©

References

Chandler, H. (2014). The game production handbook. Burlington MA: Jones & Bartlett

Leaning books, pp.3-16.

Cohen, D. and Bustamante II, S. (2010). Producing Games: from business and budgets to

creativity and design. Oxford: Elsevier, pp.69-73.

Electronic Arts (2015). Star Wars: Battle Front, Video Game, PC PS4 XBOXONE, EA Dice,

Sweden

Electronic Arts (2017). Mass Effect Andromeda , Video Game, PC PS4 XBOXONE,

Bioware, Canada

Microsoft Studios (2018). Sea of Thieves, Video Game, PC XBOXONE, Rare, England

Nintendo (2011). Starfox 64 3D, Video Game, Nintendo 3DS, Q-Games and Nintendo EAD,

Japan

Rogers, S. (2014). Level up!. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley, pp.241-247

Simon & Schuster inc (2003), Eve Online, Video Game, CCP Games, PC and MAC, Iceland

.

Documents

Lunar bandits © Game design documentation€¦ · X Statement: Robin Hood In Space Elevator Statement: Lunar Bandits is a space based action adventure fantasy game that offers players