Concept Design Document: Electro Adventure

1.           Game Overview: Electro Adventure

1.1 Game concept

Our goal is to create a game which will make students interested in physics and show the how fun you can have while playing with electrical circuits and electrical devices. This concept is called Electro Adventure. Electro Adventure is a plat forming adventure game. The player must jump from platform to platform to reach higher places and eventually the exit.

The game takes place in a broken wire. The wire is broken and there is water leaking inside of it. The player controls a small electricity spark, which tries to escape the wire before the water reaches him. While the player does the standard plat forming part of the game he also needs to collect key’s and solve puzzles to reach the exit and so the next level.

The game will also have a quizmaster. Once you answer the question of the quizmaster correctly, you unlock the exit to the next level.

This concept is made to hold a lot of features. Since it’s an adventure plat former each level can hold its own piece of electronics theory, starting from the very basics and ending on the hardest parts of electronics theory that is taught in high school. The best way to describe this is to compare Electro Adventure with an electronics book. The first level is the first chapter. Here players learn about the flow of electricity and get to play with it. In the second level the player learns about serial and parallel circuits and get to play with it, and so on.

In short, Electro Adventure is a book in the form of a funny, enjoying, instructive game.

1.2 Feature Set

Electro Adventure is a game made to hold a lot of features. While in the proof of concept there are only a few features featured the game has a lot of room for more. This way the game becomes non – linear and has enough replay value to keep the target audience interested. Here are some features that you can find in the first level of the game.

The most important feature is the quizmaster. The quizmaster is the one that decides if you are “worthy” to continue to the next level. He does that by asking you several questions. If you answer them correctly, the exit of the level is unlocked. The questions that the quizmaster asks can be modified externally by the teacher. Like this, the teacher of a class can determine what questions he asks his students. With this we hope to encourage teachers to keep teaching the students in their own way and style, without that our game forces them to teach the students certain pieces of theory so that they can answer the questions.

A second feature is the circuit flow system. Within the first level of the game the player will have to turn switches on and off to start and stop the electrical flow within that circuit. The player uses the circuits to reach higher places within the game world.

The player also has enemies. To keep the game challenging, the player himself cannot defeat the enemies. The player is forced into timing his jumps and thinking ahead so that he won’t die.

The game is made to be able to hold a lot of features. Each level another feature and in the end of each “Chapter” (a collection of levels) the player will have to use all the features he mastered to finish the chapter. A good example for this is Zelda. In the Zelda games the player is introduced with a different mechanic each temple. In the end the player has to use them all to finish the temple.

Like this each level will have its own special feature which is connected to the theory that is being taught to the corresponding chapter in a theory book. For example, the 1^st level introduces the players with the flow of electricity and how it works. The second level could introduce players with parallel and serial circuits etc.

1.3 Genre

The game is an adventure plat forming game. We chose for this genre because it’s flexible (a lot of new features can be implemented) and it can be really enjoyable. The platform game (or plat former) is a video game genre characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps.

1.4 Target audience

The target audience for this game are children that go to the 2^nd and 3^rd year of their high school. Our goal is to create a game which will show these children how much fun electrical engineering can be and showing them that choosing for the BETA side later in the 4^th year could really pay off.

1.5 Controls

1.6 Look and feel

The game should have a cartoonish style. Such a style is very appealing to our target audience. The interface will support this visual style by also being cartoonish with bright colors. In the following images you can see some examples of the cartoonish style.

2.           Gameplay and Mechanics

2.1 Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty basic (which is also necessary for our target audience). The player controls his own character. He needs to jump from platform to platform while timing and controlling his jumps. Each level will introduce its own feature. This keeps the game new and refreshing. In the first level the player must find the keys, turn the switches on/off and activate the “flow” to reach higher places.

The game progresses linear and it should follow the theory of an acclaimed theory book used by teachers. Each level should make use of the theory discussed in each chapter of the book. In the last levels the player will have to combine the knowledge to beat the game.

The difficulty curve is also pretty linear. It starts easy, introducing the player to the game, letting him get familiar with the controls and physics. As the game progresses the enemies will become harder to dodge and the puzzles will become harder to solve.

The skills that the player must master to beat the game are, reflex, timing and observation. Though some point can only be overcome by trial and error, we didn’t want the game to become trial and error based, but more skill based. That means that a player that regularly trains his observation and reflexes will have more success within Electro Adventure than someone that doesn’t.

2.2 Mechanics

 

2.2.1 Physics

The game will feature simple gravity physics. When the player jumps the physics will force the player down. When the player walks off a platform the gravity physics will make sure he falls down. Enemies are also affected by physics.

2.2.2 Movement

Player movement is also pretty basic. The player can jump and move left or right. The speed of the player is fixed and cannot be changed. Jump height is also fixed and unchangeable, except by power ups.

2.2.3 Objects

Since the game is based on being dynamic and changeable for each level, the game could have a large amount of objects. These are the objects we will be using for level 1:

Quizmaster: This person is your key to beating the level. Once you find him he will ask you a question. If you answer the question correctly you unlock the exit and are able to proceed to the next level.

Switches: These switches can activate a flow circuit and allow the player to reach higher places. Both switches on both ends must be closed for the flow to activate.

Keys: These keys allow the player to close or open the switches.

2.2.4 Combat

The game does not feature combat. If the player collides with an enemy is immediately spawned at the start of the level. It doesn’t reset the level though. Like this the player can just walk back where he “died” and try again.