Orphan A Game Design Document Copyright 2014-2015 Windy Hill Studio LLC
Orphan In development by Windy Hill Studio, LLC www.WindyHillStudio.com Facebook.com/windyhillstudio Twitter.com/windyhillstudio Brandon Goins, Owner brandongoins@windyhillstudio.com 423.341.3647 Engine: GM Studio Additional Software: Spine
This document does not represent a comprehensive list of ideas, features and other content for Orphan and is only a general guide of the concept of the game.
Table of Contents
Story
4
Setting
6
Gameplay
8
Visual
10
Audio
11
Platforming System
12
Cover System
14
Combat System
15
Enemies
16
Items
18
Levels
22
Story
Conventions In the style of classic platformers from the 80s and 90s, storyline will be minimal. Orphan will likely not include any cutscenes apart from an ending sequence. Storytelling will be infused with gameplay and important story events will occur within the confines of normal gameplay/dream sequences while the player remains controllable.
Main Character The main character is a young boy, only child, approximate age of 8, orphaned during an alien invasion. He desperately wants to find his parents. He has vivid, lucid dreams which will play a role in the story arc. (No, the game is not a dream). He has the skills of a young boy scout, is a fast learner and loves playing cowboys and Indians and Davy Crockett. Some character inspirations:
Jay, Journey To Silius
Lost Boys, Peter Pan
Sam, Moonrise Kingdom
Prologue The game begins at dusk at which time the character gets off the bus at home and interacts with his parents in order to learn the basic controls/mechanics of the game. The game moves to the backyard where a cataclysmic event occurs and the character is directed to a storm cellar and separated from his parents. The character emerges at night to find his home in ruins, parents missing and the world inhabited by an alien force.
Plot The young boy searches for his family or any other possible survivors of the attack, following a trail of destruction while evading the mysterious alien forces. An ongoing war between man and machine leaves weapons to be found and used to the boys advantage. He makes his way towards the distant mountains hoping the wilderness will provide safety from the growing army.
Setting
Orphan takes place in modern day Appalachia, an area natural beauty littered with the wooden, steel and concrete ruins of the farming, logging and mining industries. Areas that will be encountered include farmlands, rivers and swamps, mountains, railroads, bridges, tunnels, caves, coal mines, mining facilities, towns. Many settings are based on real world places in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee and many backgrounds and sprites start from my own photography of the area. Visual Inspirations
Gameplay
Orphan is a classically-styled 2D action platformer with an emphasis on stealth, item discovery and strategic combat. As the game progresses, the player will become more equipped and powerful and gameplay will become more action oriented. Progression is kept with save points. Primary gameplay elements Exploration / Platforming A full platforming system with lots of running, sneaking, jumping, climbing, crawling, pushing, pulling, etc. The terrain will provide difficulty in addition to enemy characters but will be full of hidden secrets that reward players for taking the time to explore. Stealth Avoid detection a cover system to duck behind rocks or under fog and other objects or use items that provide cover or distract enemies. Turning all lights off will make the character harder to detect but could make the terrain harder to navigate.
Item Collection Progression will depend on discovering a diverse range of items and weapons allowing the player to avoid, outsmart or destroy enemies. Luckily, the ongoing battle between the aliens and military has left lots of useful gear scattered across the countryside. Strategic combat The aliens have supreme combat abilities so combat should be avoided, but rewards await those who attacking first and disable the enemy. Throw explosives from afar or set traps.
Expanding combat Gaining access to military or alien technology can change the tide of combat and reward players who seek revenge against the invaders. Each enemy the character encounters bears unique weapons the player can acquire and use. For example, Seekers can drop their laser guns and shield generators which contain a finite amount of energy and give the player a temporary advantage. More advanced enemies drop even more advanced weaponry.
Hunting Replay value will come through collectibles found with an in-game GPS as well as challenging achievements.
Visual Design
Dark The game begins at sunset and ends at sunrise. Graphics are for the most part silhouette-styled throughout the player field, foreground and background elements. Colorful Richly colored backgrounds, lighting and combat effects. Color is often used to bring emphasis to important elements. Detailed Full 60fps at 1920x1080 HD making good use of every pixel through hi-res photography and detailed hand crafted graphics. Alive Every object is in motion from blades of grass, swaying branches and falling leaves to the characters themselves. Lots of random wildlife around each corner.
Audio Design
Natural The ambience of each room’s natural elements will provide a strong audio base track throughout the game. Alien The strange sounds of the enemy will be the first clue to the player that danger is near. Lonely / Tense A sparse ambient soundtrack will help shift moods between serenity and danger. A mix of acoustical and subtle electronic instruments with styles mixing ambient/world/folk. Musical inspirations include Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Bon Iver.
Platforming
Orphan will be based in standard 2D platforming conventions and will emphasize smooth, responsible and versatile controls. Controls will allow a smooth transition over the course of the game from stealth to action.
Controls Non-physics: Player movement is precise and predictable. Flowing: Walk, run, duck, run while ducking. All motions and animations smoothly transition. Versatile: Attack while in any stance and hold a stance while attacking any direction (Run while shooting backwards, or lay on the ground and shoot straight up).
Basic Character Actions
Terrain The terrain in Orphan can be both hazardous and helpful. For instance, mud may slow the player down but provide cover. Shallow ice may be difficult but provide a handy trap for the heavy alien machines. Solid
Stand on it, can be sloped
Ledge
Climb up /down ledges to progress or use as cover
Movables
Crates, haybales, etc, can be moved and stood on
Mud
Slows player, can be used as cover
Snow
Slows player and can be sloped
Ice
Slippery but can also break!
Damage
Damage for standing, touch (Fire, electricity, etc)
Crushing
Things that can fall on player for instant death
Pits
Instant death
Water
Sadly, the character never learned to swim
Fragile Platforms
Loose boards, fraying ropes
Cover System
There are three types of cover systems the player can use to avoid detection by enemies, line of sight cover, environmental cover and tactical cover. Line of Sight Cover All enemies use line of sight detection that is broken by solid objects. Line of sight is calculated from the enemy’s eyes to the player’s head. Standing behind solid objects prevents detection. The player can enter duck or prone positions to lower its profile behind smaller solid objects. Environmental cover Interaction with some objects in the environment renders the player invisible. For instance, standing in a shadow , laying in a prone position by a rock, ducking under water or under thick fog. Tactical cover Smoke from fire or smoke grenades block line of sight. Smoke grenades can be placed or thrown, or carried while running for a smoke-screen effect.
Combat System
When the cover system isn’t enough the player can engage enemies in combat. Enemies cause high damage and can quickly kill the player so combat is geared towards distraction and surprise attacks or traps, however technology discovered along the way may turn the tide. Distraction Debris can be picked up into inventory, selected and thrown. When thrown, the noise will attract enemies to the impact location. This also works for thrown weapons like explosives which make noise. Lit flares will also attract enemies. Flares can be thrown like debris but can also be placed and will still attract enemies. Damage Lasers and bullets can damage unarmored enemies Dynamite and grenades can trigger explosives that damage and temporarily disable unarmored enemies. A direct impact can permanently disable an enemy. Throwing explosives can also attract an enemy to its location. EMP grenades can temporarily disable all enemies including armored ones, with the exception of the destroyer. Traps Use distraction techniques to attract an enemy across dangerous terrain like thin ice, loose boards or land mines.
Enemies
Seeker Patrols between two fixed points searching for player. When player is spotted, will pursue across field until player is lost or destroyed. Attacks with laser. Can be distracted by debris, flares or other thrown items. Can be damaged by explosives, EMP or lasers. Armored Seeker Similar to seeker but cannot be damaged by explosives or laser. Can be disabled by EMP. Has rapid fire and a shield generator. Bomb Scans for movement on an interval timer. Movement will trigger explosion causing deadly damage to player or enemy. Sometimes stationary, sometimes rolling or even flying. Can be disabled with an EMP and reprogrammed by player. Alien Unarmored alien. Fast moving and deadly but easily damaged by weapons or explosives. Attacks with laser and uses shield. Destroyer Giant alien machine. Move in and out of field looking for player (does not patrol). If player spotted fires massive laser weapon triggering explosion. Many other enemies as well as boss battles will remain a secret until Launch!
Items
Items can be selected via inventory and then typically have two actions via the “Use” and “Attack” buttons. Lantern Provides light allowing the player to navigate dark areas, attracts enemies. Use: Toggles Off and On. Miner’s Helmet Provides light in dark areas, attracts enemies but leaves hands free for other items. Equips from menu with a passive effect, so On and Off buttons can be used for another equipped item.
Lantern
Flare Provides light, attracts enemies. Can be placed or thrown to provide light or distract enemies away from player. Use: Lights fuse, cannot be turned off Attack: Throw or place Flare
Debris Rocks, bottles, other random items, throw to distract enemies away from player Attack: Throw Dynamite Provides light, attracts enemies, after 10sec delay causes explosion damaging enemies or player, volatile around fire Use: Lights fuse, cannot be turned off Attack: Throw or place
Dynamite
M67 Grenade 2 seconds after thrown causes explosion, damaging enemies and player, unlike dynamite does not need lit, does not attract enemies and is not volatile. Attack: Throw AN/M8 or AN/M18 Smoke Grenades Immediately after thrown causes thick area-ofeffect, reduced visibility allowing player to evade enemies. Can run while activated to create smoke trail behind player. Use: Turn on, cannot turn off Attack: Throw or place AN/M14 Thermite Grenade Thermite grenades produce molten steel which can melt through enemies in a matter of seconds. Their primary purpose in Orphan is to destroy an armored enemies or destructible objects/barriers.
Use: Turn on, cannot turn off Attack: Throw or place M19 Anti-Tank Mine Powerful anti-tank mine which can destroy most enemies with one hit. Can be placed and will not detonate until it comes into contact with an enemy. Use: Arm and place mine M72 LAW Light Anti-Tank Weapon. Yes a rocket launcher. This will be one of a few hidden weapon in Orphan. Only after finding it will rockets for it be available at a munition cache. Attack: Fire a rocket
Alien Technology Alien technology are “drops� that can be acquired by defeating enemies Bomb Alien technology, if movement detected in range causes explosion damaging enemies or player. When disabled and picked up by player, becomes active 2 seconds after being thrown or placed. Attack: Throw or place
EMP Grenade
EMP Grenade Alien technology, 2 seconds after thrown causes explosion that disables mechanical enemies Attack: Throw or place Alien Gun
Gun Alien technology, fires lasers damaging enemies and creates shield that absorb damage Use: Creates shield Attack: Fires laser A few more weapons are planned and will be secret until launch.
Shield
Interactive/Not Equippable Items Other helpful items found along the way. Crate Crates may contain one or more items / ammunition and can be used one time before turning into an Empty Crate. Empty Crate After items are taken from a crate it can be turned upside down and use for portable cover ala Metal Gear. Undetectable while not moving. Can be entered/exited but not equipped/carried. Also can float! Munitions Cache An unlimited ammunition refill. (Boss battle incoming) The Orphan can only carry so many of certain items and these crates can be returned to if a player needs to restock.
Level Design
Basic Structure The game will be somewhat linear but offer multiple paths and allow and occasionally require a little backtracking to find a “switch” or “key,” alternate route or search for items and weapons that will make the path ahead easier. Where areas like the countryside may be mostly linear, areas like mountains, caverns and mines will allow both vertical and horizontal design and little bit of that Metroidvania design. Prologue The player gets off the bus and can wonder around inside the player’s home and around the front and backyard. Home is destroyed in attack. Player trapped in shelter below home. Finds lantern and then exits. Home in rubble. Countryside Barns, hayfields, fences, hills. No enemies, player learns controls. Final room introduces destroyer and player is chased into woodlands. Woodlands Dark and foggy. Lots of opportunities for cover as player is introduced to basic enemies. Splits paths towards the cavern or the mountain. Cavern Lantern necessary, natural obstacles including pits and crushing rocks. Enemies include the motion-detecting alien mines. Valley A rugged expanse of steep grades connected by old rope bridges and train tresses. Natural obstacles including pits, crushing rocks, collapsing bridges. Intertwines the caverns and mountain areas.
Mountain Snow covered terrain hard to move through. Enemies can follow footprints so harder to hide, heavier focus on combat. Wild River Less enemy presence, more natural dangers. Whirlpools, collapsing bridges. Coal Yard Lots of machinery, conveyer belts, more puzzle oriented than other levels. Coal Mines Maze-like level with puzzle elements. Lots of bomb enemies. Other Areas Forest fire, town, alien ships, mothership, more‌
Concept Layout General idea of how a linear journey can be given some Metroidvania aspects.
Mountains
Valley
Forest
River
Town
Mines Countryside
Woodlands
Caverns
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