Heart of the Wild is a third-person exploration and adventure game for the PC that uses Unity engine to plunge players into a world where they experience life in the perspectives of different animals.
Heart of The Wild
Game Design created by Julia Lo Iacono
Heart of the Wild is a third-person exploration and adventure game for the PC that uses Unity engine to plunge players into a world where they experience life in the perspectives of different animals.
Section 1: Game Overview
Please Note
The creation of this game is part of Creative Digital Media course at Technological University of Dublin. This project is part of learning process of game design, ideation and development. The final product will be built using Unity engine following the covered material from Unity tutorials.
1.1 Game Concept
Game Concept
Heart of the Wild is a third-person exploration and adventure game for the PC that uses Unity engine to plunge players into a world where they experience life in the perspectives of different animals.
You begin your journey in a dense forest. The fox will be your first animal. You will be given the opportunity to roam and explore your surroundings, crossing paths with various animals some intimidated or indifferent to your presence while others will display hostile reactions.
Eventually, you will be faced with an obstacle generated either by the environment, other animals or a mixture of both. You will need to use your animal’s abilities to overcome obstacles.
After you complete an obstacle, you will be given the heart of a creature of the wild. Don’t worry, you will not be given a bloody piece of flesh. The heart is the essence or spirit of the animal which manifests itself as a glowing heart-shaped stone. The heart will be the key to unlocking your next animal. Once you have it, you’ll need to look for a totem pole nearby. The totem pole will be distinctly carved and decorated as the next playable animal. By placing the heart next to the totem pole it will activate it, making the next animal available. Activating the totem pole will also give you the chance to respawn at a closer location upon death.
Players looking for a laid-back, casual, atmospheric indie game with nice visuals and simple gameplay mechanics, with small elements of exploration however the game primarily focuses on progressing through the different stages and areas of the map. Despite that, the emphasis lies more on the journey rather than the destination.
Estimated Game Age Rating: 7+
1.4 Look and Feel
Look and Feel
The game is 3D, set in nature, in the wilderness; very similar to flora and fauna you will find in the real world. However, the visuals of the game will depend on available open-source/ free to use game assets. Generally the looks and feel of the game will be slightly more impressionistic or cartoon-like rather than realistic. There will be slight elements of fantasy related to player's ability to shift into various animals - the 'heart', and Native American totem poles which serve as a guide and respawn checkpoint.
3 stages of the game sectioned to the 3 different locations.
1.5.4 Number of NPC's
List of NPC's for each map
Forest
Birds
Butterfly
Fox (Enemy)
Moose(Enemy)
Stag(Enemy)
Doe
Waterfall & Lake
Fish
Birds
Prairie
Birds
Butterfly
Horses
Section 2: Gameplay & Mechanics
2.1 Gameplay & Progression
KEY:
* What's in bold is a must have in the game.
* The rest would be nice to have but not necessary for the game to progress. This will depend on how soon the main goal is met.
The player explores the current surroundings for each stage.
During exploration they can interact with the environment e.g. tear leaves, break branches, forage berries/nuts.
During exploration they can also interact with NPC animals e.g chase, hunt, vocalize.
Player will reach a point where their path is blocked by an obstacle.
Player attempts to overcome obstacle.
Once obstacle is solved, player is given a 'heart' of next playable animal.
Player must find totem pole to activate 'heart' and change into different animal.
Player can then switch between animals at will and use the abilities of different animals to overcome other obstacles.
If player dies they can respawn to the last totem pole they visited (checkpoint).
Climb: Can crawl up high and near-flat surfaces. Glide: Spreads limbs revealing a patagium that allows them to glide through the air for a short period.
2.6 Swallow Mechanics
Main Class: Prey Secondary Class: Avian (flying animal)
Flight: Flaps wings and takes off the ground. Once button is released, the swallow will glide for a short period, losing altitude over time until it starts to fall. Notes: Would be nice to mimic its acrobatic flips an turns
2.7 Fish Mechanics
Main Class: Prey Secondary Class: Aquatic (water animal)
Rise and fall - Spacebar: Player has option to travel deeper under water or keep and remain near the surface.
2.8 Buffalo
Main Class: Predators Secondary Class: Terrestrial (land-based animal)
Head-butt: Slams head and horns onto target, dealing damage. Stomp: Raises itself standing on hind legs, building force to smash front hooves on target, dealing damage.
Section 3: Setting & Obstacles
3.1 Stage 1 - Forest
Part 1 Playercan only play as a white rabbit. Obstacle:Escape the enemy fox that is hunting you. Powerups Available:Carrot gives extra HP/ movement speed Reward: Fox 'Heart' gem
Part 2 Player: White Rabbit/ Fox Objective:Hunt baby doe. Obstacle:Moose and stag protecting baby doe Powerups Available:Plant, bone, or meat gives extra HP/ movement speed Reward: Moose 'Heart' gem
3.2 Stage 2 - Waterfall & Lake
Player:White rabbit/ Fox/ Moose Obstacle:Falling Boulders. Objective:Continue forward, avoiding falling rocks & Stepping stones on river. Powerups Available:Plant or berries extra HP/ movement speed Reward: Bird 'Heart' gem
3.3 Stage 3 - Prairie
Player:White rabbit/ Fox/ Moose/Bird Obstacle:Cliff/ Waterall Objective:Reach the totem statues at the end of the prairie. Powerups Available:Plant or berries extra HP/ movement speed Reward: None. Game End.
