Indiana Brown ✧ University Blog

On Monday we were presenting again, and once again, I had a slot near the back. This was when class was busiest, and I had ample time to get nervous all over again. Fortunately my presentation went well, and I got a lot of lovely feedback and game ideas!

Now, we were officially in the prototyping phase, and had 4 weeks to come up with three prototypes. Preferring to stay organised, I’ve made a plan to manage my time to ensure I stick to my committments:

INDY’S PROTOTYPE ACTION PLAN:

• CRITERIA PER PROTOTYPE
  • A solid premise
  • A game loop idea
  • A gameplay demo (paper or digital)
  • 1 concept art asset

WEEK 1

• Come up with 3 ideas to turn into playable demos
  • Must include:
    • Basic narrative
    • Game loop
    • Win/lose states

FRIDAY:

I had to take a sick day on Thursday, so the majority of my work this week was done on Friday, where I came up with 3 seperate prototype ideas:

DOG APOCALYPSE	MONSTER DISPATCH	MONSTER PARKOUR
Basic Narrative: You play as a small terrier dog trapped inside a house with an injured owner. Your job is to supply them with food, medical aid, weapons, and keep away zombies!	Basic Narrative: You play as a dispatch operative, receiving calls about various monster mishaps. Your job is to identify the monster that the person is calling about using the story they tell, and give them the best advice until a professional can arrive using the Monster Manual.	Basic Narrative: This time, you play as the monster, attempting to claw your way up from the depths of hell.
Gameplay Loop: Sequential puzzle game: – Find medical aid for your owner – Find food for your owner – Provide your owner with a weapon – Barricade the door	Gameplay Loop: – You receive a call – You identify clues within their story to identify a specific monster – You use the Monster Manual to give advice about what they should do until a specialist arrives	Gameplay Loop: – Enter a higher ring of hell – The landscape of hell changes to reflect that ring – Parkour your way to the next ring
Win/Lose States: This is a linear narrative with 1 ending. Puzzles may take as long as necessary. The game ends with your owner turning into a zombie from their injury – however the dog, unaware of this, still stands guard of them as the game ends.	Win/Lose States: At the end of the day, you receive an accuracy check (nonspecific to the particular call). Too many failed responses and you lose your job!	Win/Lose States: Win State: clawing your way out of hell and making it to Earth. Lose State: Falling into the depths below, where you’ll respawn at the last checkpoint.