Dundoc | Story Book Time (GDD)

Game Introduction

This game will be an interactive story based game where a child creates their own stories and characters. They will travel from one world to another. There will be a simplistic styled map where, it will indicate what stage the player is currently on and how far they are from finishing the game. They will choose a character to play as from a set of a few different characters. They will be met with some educational type questions during their game play so it's in keeping with the overall idea of 'educational story based game'. The game will have simplistic but, colourful graphics because it fits in with the chosen target audience which is, five to eight year old children.

The game will present the player with a set of multiple choice options throughout the game-play on each stage of the game. There will be five stages for each player to go through during the course of their game play. This will be enough to keep the player interested and stimulated enough to want to keep playing the game. After receiving feedback on the game idea it was decided that he game would make use of the 'Fungus Plugin', that is available on Unity.

This will be suited to the style of game that will be produced. The player will choose how their adventure begins and ends based on the choices that they chose they will also receive an ending based on their previous answers.

Genre: interactive simulated educational story-telling game. This game will help children aged between 5-8 years of age to develop their social, educational skills. This is a fun game that engages children and will enable them to learn better and more effectively. They won't even realize that they are learning because the game is so interactive and fun to play.
GamePlay: A story-telling educational based game. There will be a total of three levels and within those levels there will be three steps that the player must reach. There will be three different worlds that the player must choose from. They will choose one that appeals to them. They will also choose from six pre-set characters that are already there for them. They will choose whatever character that appeals to them the most. Each of the worlds will have different themes to them. This will be further explained later in the Game Design Document.
Target audience & platforms: The target audience for this game will be children aged from 5-8 years old. This target audience is ideal for the overall concept of the game. This target audience was chosen after extensive research on gaming genres, age groups, game styles, game types etc.
Appearance & Aesthetics: The overall appearance of the game will be simplistic yet, 'animated' looking because after doing my extensive research I have discovered that this particular style will suit my target audience the best The game will make use of the 'Fungas Plugin' which, is available on Unity web store. The prototype for this game will be a simplified version of the overall game which has been outlined already. It will take on the general style and look of the finished game so you are able to get a feel for what the final game will look like. It will have two character options and one world to choose and one level with three or less steps in it. This will be much more simplistic in most ways compared to the final game but, it will get the overall point and style, aesthetics of the game across.

Story

This game provides learning through imagination. The child is invited to explore different worlds and interact with them. They do this by creating their own characters and story for each world. They can access different assets to help them create their characters at the beginning or they can choose from a set of characters that are given to them. They can record voices for their characters and add (free) soundtracks which will be available for them to download from the games website to help them with their stories.

They can choose to interact with pre-set characters that they can choose to use in their game-play. There will be a total of six characters and the player will choose one of them. There will be three male and three female characters that the player can choose from. These will be pre-set characters that are available in the game.

The player will choose what character and what world that they want to play and explore in. Ultimately they will choose their own story by the options that they chose when answering educational styled questions.

Characters & Characteristics (can be animals):

Female characters:

Primula- She's smart but shy and very curious.
Suzi- She's impulsive and funny but a risk-taker.
Didi- She's friendly, loyal but grumpy.

Male characters (can be animals):

Jack- Adventurous, brave but can be stubborn.
Scooter- A bit of a clown and a joker but can be forgetful.
Harry- Smart and polite but can be impatient.

By giving each character a personality type, it will improve the child's social skills and it works well with the type of game that it will be.

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How to Play

There will be a tour-guide feature to help guide the players when navigating through various stages. There will be a 'start game' screen which the player can click begin to start their own unique adventure.The game will begin and the player will choose what character that they want to play as. They will be presented with six different types of characters, some humans and some animals and they will either be female or male.

They will then choose what genre of world that they would like or theme that they will play in. The tour guide will also offer them challenges as in multiple choice questions (suitable to their age), and if they get the answer right; they can win prizes (stars). This will hopefully intrigued the player and will result in them wanting to continue to play the game.

There will be approximately five worlds available to them and they will choose which one they want to explore. There will be a map outlining where they are in their adventure and how far they have until they finish the game. Ultimately the player will choose exactly how their story will play out and how it ends based on the choices that they have made. They will be given simple questions throughout the game and there may be a timer if in 'hard mode'.

There will be an icon displaying what stage your on. There will also be a icon showing how many stars the player has achieved. The game screen will identify what stage and mode that the player is in and what type of world they are in. There will a menu button being displayed which will allow the player to pause the game and save their progress. From the menu can also return to start menu if they wish.

Technical

This game is designed to be played on a windows,Mac computer and laptop

User Interface (controls)

The controls settings will be:

Left arrow - move to the left
Right arrow - move to the right
Up arrow - goes up
Down arrow - goes down
Space - make you jump
Mouse - let you looking around
E - to interact with other set characters
X - to access the adventure map that the player chose to explore
Mouse - The rest will be done through the use of the mouse
Player View: The player will be able to view their character walking in the level that they are currently playing in and the world and characters surrounding them.

Image result for game controls

Artwork (design)

The game will take place in a variety of different 'themed' worlds. The game will take on a simplistic style in order to appeal to its target audience (5-8 yrs olds). There will also be a element of 'cartoonish' looking appearance too and the game will have a 3-D look.

There will be a mini-map icon in the top left hand corner so the player can see where and what stage they are at in the world that they chose to explore and write their story in. On the right hand corner there will be a menu icon which, will allow the player to pause the game or return to start menu if they wish to start over or quite the game.

Collectibles in the game will be gained when the player answers an educational type question correctly. Once they have gained the star, it will automatically display it on the screen in the corner of screen and will say how many the player has too.

Pre-Set Characters

The characters will be a mix of animals and people with a simplistic yet, animated look. There will be a total of six characters that the player can choose from.

Male Characters (can be animals & humans):

Jack will be an adventurous type of character where, he loves to explore and visit places. He is also incredibly brave too which, can be a good and bad trait to have. Jack has a negative personality trait because it will make him seem more realistic to the player and they will be able to relate to him too. Jack is also quite stubborn when it comes to his opinions and making decisions.

Scooter is a bit of a clown and joker. This character will appeal to the player because they will find the character humorous and enjoyable to play as. Scooter can be a bit forgetful meaning, he may forget what decision or answer he has just made previously.

Harry is completely different to the other characters because he takes on the personality type of being smart and clever. This might come in handy to player while they play. Harry is quite polite too, for example; if the player chooses the wrong answer Harry won't mind and will say 'good try!'. Although Harry is very impatient and might become annoyed if the player takes too long on a question and or might complain too.

Female Characters (can be humans & animals):

Primula is quite smart and intuitive which will aid the player during their game-play. Although she is very shy as a character and this may affect the players game-play. She is quite curious and she may give the player hints when her curiosity has peaked.

Suzi is very impulsive as a character and this can be deemed as both a negative and positive aspect of her personality. She is quite a funny, witty character and this will entertain the player as they play. As well as being impulsive, she is also a risk-taker and this may or may impact on the game-play as the player plays.

Didi is a nice, friendly character who is full of joy. She's a likable character that the player will enjoy being. She is loyal as a character and won't become frustrated with the player at any point. Although she can become grumpy at times.

NPC'S

There will be characters in the game that the player can interact with and they will give the player either educational based questions or simple generic type questions. The player can also ask them for help and guidance if they are stuck and they will offer the player hints to aid them in their adventure story. This element of the game will definitely be useful to the player if they are unsure what to do next.

Stages Design

There will be a map outlining what stage the player is in and how long until they finish the game. This map will take on colourful elements and will take into account what type of world the player chose in order to appeal to this theme of the world. There will be three levels in every stage that they will go through on their journey through the map and a total of three stages.

The map will be easy to follow but will take on a theme that represents the overall theme that the player chose at the beginning. The map will be simplistic yet, in keeping with the desired theme of world that the player chose to explore at the start of the game.

Level Design

Each level will take on a simplistic style that represents the chosen 'theme' that the player chose at the beginning. There will different modes that the player can choose from (easy, normal, hard) hard mode will have a timer for every question of step. Easy mode will give the player hints and help them. The tour guide will help them. Normal mode will not have a timer and will have no hints either. There will be a total of three levels within each stage. There will also be a total of three stages that the player will navigate through on their journey of exploration. There will not only be questions and educational questions on every level but, there will be a 'treasure hunt' element to it as well. This will work when the player receives a description of an object and they must guess what is being described and once they get it right they must locate the 'lost' object and bring it back to the 'tour guide' character. This will make the game more entertaining and more enjoyable for the player to play.

The three different types of worlds that will be available to the player will be:

Medieval world
Fantasy world
Futuristic world

Game Architecture

This is the architecture of the game. This will help explain how the game works and how you go from one point of the game to another. This is important to understand because if it is not understood then it may become confusing to really know how the game flows.

Player Elements

This is where the player elements will be discussed. When the player finds a hint with the 'tour guide' a "ding" sounding noise will appear to show them that they've discovered a clue. There will be no vibrations in this game because it wouldn't suit this type of game however, when the player chooses on a local character to interact with a "bing" noise will play to let them know that they're choosing this action.

Splash Screens

This is where splash screens for the game will be discussed. The splash screen will display the game logo and menus at the beginning of the game and anytime the player decides to open the game. This will have background music that will be imported from the Unity store and will be an ambient background. This will work perfectly for this particular type of game. This will only add to the add to the game.

Audio & Sound F/x

Each level will have a backing track to keep the player interested in the game when playing it. Certain levels may have sounds but I have yet to really narrow down exactly how I'm going to do that. The backing track to each individual world that the player chose will be different from each other. The music and sound effects will fit into the theme of the world that they chose. The music may perhaps evoke a mood in the player and this will enable the player to become immersed in the game-play. This is an important element of the game because without any music being played the game may become boring and dull over time.

The game will make use of non-copyrighted music and sound effects. These will be from various websites that offer them. Here are some examples:

Key Features

1). Player chooses their character from a row of pre-set characters and they can both animals and humans. They are also male and female too.

2). The player will go through each level and stage answering multiple choice educational based questions or puzzles in order to create their own unique story. The player can also receive guidance from the 'tour-guide' character that will be implemented on every stage of the game.

3). The player will navigate through the map creating their own unique story and finish their story with an ending that came from their own choices that they made.

4). The player will get their ending and they will see their overall progress that they made. They will be able to check how many stars that they collected and how many they may ave missed.

Global Elements

The background music will be atmospheric and evoke curiosity in the player. The game will have a calming sounding background music too in order to keep the player calm as they play. A faster sounding music comes on when solving an educational based question and this may make the player feel under pressure in that moment but nothing to overwhelm the player. When the player's character is walking they will hear footsteps which indicates movement of their character walking which, are the sound effects to be included.

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Story Book Time (GDD)