Monkey of Doom

Game Design Document

Copyright 2007 : Sarah Nicotra

Overview

The goal is simple: escape the dungeon. In this game, you find yourself in a dungeon

with only a skeleton for company. There is no jailor to bring you food, no cot to sleep on, no toilet, and no windows. You must either escape or waste away in the dungeon, eventually becoming nothing but a skeleton yourself.

Overview cont.

Monkey of Doom is best classified as a puzzle game, and more specifically as an "escape the room" game.

Monkey of Doom was created in Flash 8, and will run in Flash or on the internet.

This game is for people who prefer to spend some time solving puzzles and using their brain. There is no mindless clicking involved.

Game Mechanics

Core Gameplay - All of the gameplay consists of the user finding objects and using them to escape the dungeon.

Scoring - The user wins points based on how quickly he escapes the dungeon. The faster he escapes, the more points he gets.

Game Mechanics cont. Mode of Play - Gameplay is very easy. The user

clicks on objects in the scene. An object that cannot be used will acknowledge the click with a very short sound effect or animation (e.g. clicking a spider will cause it to move around, eventually settling back where it started). An object that can be used will disappear from the scene and reappear in the inventory. To use an item from your inventory, drag it from the inventory onto an object in the scene. If the object is used correctly, it will cause a reaction. If used incorrectly, the item will simply reappear back in the inventory.

Game Flow The title scene takes the place

of any "boot up" scenes. When the game is loading, the title screen will show. When the game has finished loading, instructions will appear beneath the title. Several seconds later, the instructions will be replaced with a "begin" button.

Game Flow cont. Pressing the “begin” button takes you to the first dungeon room.

Finding and using objects in this room will lead you to the second room. Objects in the second room will allow access to the third room. Once all three rooms have been "unlocked", the user can travel freely between them by clicking on the walls. The inventory is always displayed on the right.

Game Flow cont. The character is never visible because it is a first

person game. The user looks through the eyes of the character. All game interactions occur through the mouse, not through the character bumping into anything.

Game Flow cont.

The user causes all actions. If he is not currently doing anything, the scene will remain just as he left it. 

When the user escapes the dungeon, the game is over. An ending sequence plays and the score is shown.

Challenge The challenge in this game comes in two parts. First, in actually

finding the objects you need to use. Some of them are out in the open, but some of them are hidden. Second, in figuring out the correct way to use the objects you find. This is not intuitive, and requires some imagination.

The game also gets slightly more difficult as you continue. The first objects are purposely easy to find, so you can get started. After that, the objects are hidden, and you must search for them. Then you must use the objects you have already found to find more objects. Once all the objects are found, the easy part is over, because now you must discover how to use them correctly to escape the dungeon.

Challenge cont.

The game is not extraordinarily difficult. It's not based on skill, so anyone can win given enough time. The most difficult part about it is that the interactions between objects is non-intuitive, and requires some imaginative thinking. I don't know how long the game will take to complete, since I've never played it, and I already know how to beat it. A rough guess would be 10-20 minutes.

Media

Art Monkey of Doom was

created in Flash, and reflects that simple 2D style. This reinforces the idea that the game takes place mostly in the user's mind, and does not rely on flashy graphics to make it interesting.

Sound and Music Overall, the sound and

music should convey a slightly suspenseful, thought provoking atmosphere.

Media cont. The music during gameplay will be low, and just

suspenseful enough to remind the user that he's in a dungeon. But since there is no time limit, it will not be quick or frenzied.

The music during the ending sequence will be happy and playful, to signify that the user has won.

Any sound effects will pertain to the objects being clicked. For example, clicking on a wooden door would cause it to creak.

Storyboard

Storyboard

Storyboard

Storyboard

Storyboard

Storyboard