Analogue Game Design

FINAL GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT – MYLO JOHNSON (compressed to fit on site – original file too big)

Instruction

Finish the project as a single PDF.

Purpose

Finish the project.

My Interpretation

See above and previous progress posts.

Game Design Document Draft

Instruction

Create a draft of the game design document.

Purpose

Practice using the outline for the final submission. Get a style and basis of what to write down. Understand what each section means.

My Interpretation

I decided to theme my game design document to reflect the look of my whole game. It is grungy and dirty and faded and sharp. The theme rings through the document, not only making it more interesting to read, but committing to the Romanesque style that was originally the inspiration for this project.

Instruction

Create visuals for your game design concept.

Purpose

Allow others to view and understand your concept more thoroughly through visual aids and guides.

My Interpretation

These are the bulk of the game, the cards. These will be drawn and have various effects and change the dynamic of the game. Item cards (the golden one) can be collected and kept to ward off harmful check cards (the red one). Most cards are event cards (the gray one), simply giving you an option of two choices, the net difference being the same. Some of these event cards are positive, but most are not.

Instruction

Create visuals for your game design concept.

Purpose

Allow others to view and understand your concept more thoroughly through visual aids and guides.

My Interpretation

I decided to start my visuals by creating my stats card first. The game will focus on resource management and balancing these stats to stay alive in-game. If any reticle (not pictured in the current stats card designs) reaches zero, the game ends. Each stats card is a different character, all of them boasting different advantages and disadvantages.

Instruction

Begin concept drafts for your final game design concept. Highlight mechanics and how the game may be laid out.

Purpose

Start the organization and storytelling of your game design. Communicate clearly what and how the game will take place and how it deals with conflict, goals, and mechanics.

My Interpretation

I want the game to take place over seven days, if you successfully survive to the end of the seven days you win. You lose the game if any of your four stats (health, sanity, reputation, will) reach zero. Stats are determined by which stat card/character you pick at the start of the game. Each stats card has a unique advantage and disadvantage. Stats increase and decrease when you pick up event, check, and item cards from a shuffled deck. On day one you would pick up one card and react accordingly. On day two you will pick two and react accordingly after each card. On day three you pick up three cards, and so on until you pick seven cards on the seventh day. Event cards are the majority of the shuffled deck where you pick cards from, in these cards, a particular event happens and you are given two options which differently impact stats, overall having the same net gain/loss. You may also pull check and item cards, though these are much more rare. Check cards are designed to check a particular stat, and if it fails, you suffer the consequences. However, if you are lucky enough to have an item card saved, you may use it to reverse the negative effects of a bad check card or amplify the positive effects of a good check card. The game heavily emphasizes fate and moral decisions regarding survival. Once the character is selected and the deck is shuffled, the game is already set in terms of story, but your choices on which options to pick on the event cards is the meat of the game, alongside resource management of stats and items and the risk-reward system that comes with keeping cards for saving you later or using them now for a potentially less effective play.