aki's quest game design document |

Game design copyright (C) 2001 Kevin Meinert, kevin@vrsource.org This design available freely only to members of the ISU Game Developers club. For outside use, please ask permission from the authors. Revisions are welcome, submit them to the club or to Kevin directly.

# Contents:

- Overview
  - Authors
  - Genre
  - Keywords
  - Similar to other games...
  - Objective
  - Why is this game fun
  - Target Audience
- Gameplay
  - character
  - puzzles
  - levels
  - travel
- Story/Premise
  - TODO: nail this down...
- Guides
  - Puzzle Designer's Guide
  - World Designer's Guide
- Timeline
  - History (our story so far, pregame intro)
  - VILLAGE OF ATLA
  - OUTER ATLA
  - SUBTERRAIN ATLA
    - puzzles
  - other levels
- Game Elements
  - Main Characters (ship, aki)
  - Objects (weapons, vehicles, powerups, puzzle pieces, world items)
  - Enemies
- Timeline
- budget
- brainstorm

# AUTHOR(S) AND CONTRIBUTORS(S)

Kevin Meinert

- - inititial design concept
- - kevin@vrsource.org

# GENRE

action adventure

detail description:
  cross genre - (elements of RPG, puzzle, and arcade action combined)

# KEYWORDS

puzzle, scientific method, mechanics, geometry, heavy weapons, tank, girl

# SIMILAR TO OTHER GAMES?

aki's quest takes ideas from many places:

- blaster master (tank, and person that can get out, weapons powerup)
- ankh (triggerable objects, puzzles, remote control room)
- quake (heavy weapons, rocket, grenade, railgun, nailgun)
- zelda (market places you can buy and sell at)
- super mario (jumpsquash, size powerups (in this game size wont change))
- mario 64 (3rd person camera action)
- return to krondor, diablo (inventory screen, equip your character)
- lode runner (digging to trap enemies)
- duke nukem (tripwire, pipebomb)
- all rpg games (player stats)

basically blastermaster exploration, ankh puzzles/philosophy, quake weaponry, with zelda adventure, and mario/zelda fantasy.

(note: what's ankh, what's it look like?? go download an AppleIIe emulator and get ankh.dsk file for it :)

# OBJECTIVE

general: Save the universe while trying to get back home. specific: Solve a series of puzzles using scientific method to advance in the game. Using heavy weapons, defeating any enemy that gets in the way of the adventure. Find and gather clues about getting your home portal to open again, and possibly save the universe

# WHY THIS GAME IS FUN

player needs to be clever (puzzles!), lots of weapons, powerups, character building, RPG, puzzle, and arcade action combined

throughout, the player achievs a feeling of discovery (very important)
the player can express themselvs in many ways at once or one at a time

- engineering/problemsolving
- skill/weaponry
- budgeting of wealth and powerups.

This game will also appeal to those who enjoy ancient civilization + technology + magic (tech = mechanical, electricity, atomic)

# TARGET AUDIENCE

people who like puzzles with a mechanical/scientific slant combined with adventure with plenty of action complimented by an intelligent reason for playing (not stupid/weak like "save the princess"). The game will start out easy so anyone can play, and get progressivly harder.

# some random philosophy (TODO: move this section elsewhere)

well... similar to metroid, zelda, blaster master etc... there were tons of areas or "levels", but they do end at some point, and there is a weak story line. levels are continuous, and able to be reentered from beginning or end. for example, Aki could return to the first village in the game to pick up more supplies if needed...

The primary focus in this game is the puzzles. puzzles run the universe, and is how to release energy and reveal paths. puzzles are mechanical in nature, and require the scientific method to solve.

Story. Very behind the scenes, but is a driving force. More story than super mario (not just dumb save the princess)... player should feel compelled to play because their imagination tells them that playing is important and that they are making some great change in the world. they are learning from the puzzles, and enjoy the challenge, and like how the plot twists itself into this puzzle game. but the story is still secondary. So basically, there should be a great story, not just some dumb "save the princess" like mario had. But it is important to note that this story is _behind_ the action (the gameplay is similar to mario and ankh).

# GAMEPLAY IN GENERAL

## character

All realtime 3rd person character control, like mario 64, zelda 64. This game is not turnbased! (your character always has freedom of movement and actions).

Main character is a girl named Aki. Aki is a normal girl who unwittingly gets thrown into a quest. With the help of some high tech vehicles and heavy weapons she can really kick some ass (secondary action).

You control Aki, or one of her vehicles depending on where they are needed in the game. And sometimes you use Aki to press buttons on a control panel to control some other thing (like a robot)...

## puzzles

Along the way are several intriguing puzzles (primary action) designed to make the player think. Each world has is designed for exploration and the puzzles it contains. No bosses. There are major and minor puzzles. There are enemies along the way to slow you down or kill you (and excuse to play with some impressivly flashy weaponry - rocket launchers, plasma, etc...). Friendly NPCs and Solving puzzles can give you small clues about your mysterious quest. Killing enemies can give you wealth.

Puzzles are located below ground. This is because below ground is a tricky place created from the energy that connects all worlds. To navigate through this subterrania, you must get through puzzles. To solve the puzzles you use scientific method (see puzzle solving guide). If player gets stuck there will be an oracle hidden above ground. There will/may be clues to help the player find this oracle above ground or below. The oracle is not nessesarily a person though. It doesn't give a direct answer. Using some animated geometry it will show you something intended to spark your imagination as to how to solve the puzzle. Similarly there will be a map room hidden in each above land area to show you (with images) where you've been.

The game is structured in medium size levels (like ankh, zelda, blaster master). There is a mechanical/lego/engineering puzzle element. Objects will have many facets ("use" makes a sound, while shooting it redirects the bullet). and there are enemies to block your way. Kill enemies with weapons you find along the way, ammo is limited also so you need to find that too. very seldom you will also find a storefront where you can trade sell or buy. your life is limited by your health, and you have only one life. saving is done with powercrystals found at checkpoints along the game. you are allowed a save at exit as well. you can accumulate wealth. every x amount of wealth gives you some health. You can find health powerups too. There will be some places that your character can't go (because a halway is too narrow etc..) so you will have to get out of your ship. The ship and the player can be upgraded in terms of ship body, and player armor.

## levels

example of a below ground style level... | [missing image] example of an above ground style level...

there are aboveground and belowground areas. Aboveground are individual worlds all with different culture, but with some similar ideas (organic, ancient civ, with technology). Colors here are mainly green, brown, white... Belowground is all made from the same "fabric", so will all look very similar. There are a few themes characterized by how deep each below ground is. It's all cave-like, rocks and crystals, rooms, chambers, and platforms. Colors here are mainly blue, purple, or red (cave wall rock color for example).

## travel

Transitions between above and below happen by driving/walking your character into a cave, hole, stairs, ladder, or pipe... These portals are accessable from hidden and plain sight locations. Not all caves have anything in them, not all have exits (maybe just an entrance), some have series of puzzles and have exits to other above-land worlds. All cave exits go above ground.

# STORY / PREMISE

I'm going to brainstorm here. anyone want to revise this into english?

lets answer these questions:

- why are puzzles so important
- why is the below ground areas so infested with puzzles?
- who are these enemies that keep impeding our progress while we solve these puzzles?
- why do we need to quest in the first place? (this is sort of answered here already)
- why does belowground connect every above-land? (this is also sort already answered)
- what is some history of this priesthood, and are they really good?
  - for half of the game, they are good, and aki is working for them diligently solving puzzles and blasting evil minions.
  - along the way we get faint, then stronger hints that they may not be evil
  - for the last half of the game we find out that they are actually evil and must be defeated. we need to find a passage to their homeland (more puzzles and minions), and defeat them at their heart (which is below land and of course also has puzzles)... defeating them causes the connecting energy between worlds to dissolve, and thus Aki has no way to get back, A prophet she met in the beginning of the game steps out and is of course a member of the real priesthood of which was enslaved somewhere. He reveals that in fact the energy is not destroyed, but is only shifted. He gives Aki a token that lets her see this other dimension, and thus access the alternate patchways. Now Aki can travel back the way she came (this time through different below-ground paths).
- define the history of the "good" priesthood, and why don't we ever see them?
- think of ways to hint at this other priesthood in the game. should be very fleeting (runes on the walls, and snippet of speech by a vendor).

# PUZZLE DESIGNING GUIDE.

puzzles are solved using the scientific method:

- observe and examine and explore
- collect facts from environment and from your inventory
- apply these facts to the problem/puzzle at hand

Puzzles are never solved by chance

Be clever, these puzzles should be logic based, make you think, and make you appreciate it when you've solved it (i.e. it shouldn't be obvious). The puzzles can be imbedded into the map as well (below ground generally) throughout 2 or more rooms, or small puzzles in just one room. Generally I think of puzzles as hunt/gather/apply - where you need to find the pieces, then transport them to the problem area, then figure out how to assemble them to solve the problem. use your engineering minds!

Most puzzles will require some object (key, block, crystal, mechanism, spring, etc...)

- materials should be interesting, for example:
  - audio upon [use] or when shot
  - redirection of bullet when shot
  - makes game objects appear or dissapear when held in inventory
  - increase size of inventory, when dropped will eject any items exceeding your inventory
- through observation and experimentation (only) the player will learn the object capabilities and learn how to aplpy the tools to problems found throughout the game.

# WORLD DESIGNING GUIDE

## World types

- above ground
  - organic, ancient civ, with technology
  - green/brown/white
  - tech stuff has angles, minimal curves
  - organic stuff is very round (trees pots etc...)
  - architechture is a mixture of curve and straight depending on the world
- below ground
  - rocky, craggy, cavern, angles, crystals.
  - blue, purple, or red

## Transitions between worlds

### Always transition from above-land to below-land... or vice versa.

For example:

        o
       /
    - o -- o
       \    \
        o-o  o
         \
          o

where:

     o = "above" ground
     - = "below" ground

Above-ground worlds are disconnected (just like an island is), the below-ground caves are what connect them and is how you transition from world to world.

you begin below ground, and emerge above ground in the city of Atla. from there you can exit the city and explore some forest clearings/paths and eventually find 1 of 3 possible exits. each of these exits go somewhere below ground.

The basic premise is that above leads to below, and below leads to above. only in very rare instances does above go to above (like if you found a secret transport device).

### Aki will find a paths to below-land in the form of:

- cave
- stairs
- pipe
- hole (fall)
- hole (ladder)

### Some notes on designing these connections between worlds...

1.) the map can loop back on itself.

    o--o
     \ |
      o--o

Some Ideas:

it would be cool if the loopback went to an above ground place you couldn't get to before for example, we have above-land #1, #2, #3, and #4:

     1--2
      \ |
       3--4

when you exit number 3 into the caves you'll have a choice of going to 2 or to 4. If you go to 2, then you'll come up into 2b. an area that you saw while in 2, but couldn't quite get to before.

of course, you certainly are able to enter 2 from 2b, but maybe not viceversa. Maybe only after you get the high-jump powerup (just for example) found in 2b...

No bosses! Just puzzles and minor creatures stand in your way of travel.

# OUR STORY SO FAR

The basic premise: a prophecy is about to be fulfilled. In the universe, there is energy that connects every world. Every 1000 years this energy solidifies into actual passages that allow travel between worlds. The guardians of these passages are an ancient secret priesthood. They of course know of this prophesy, and must see to it that it is fulfilled. They contact Aki, for she is the chosen one...

Main character is a girl named Aki. Aki is a normal girl, likes to play etc... she is especially facinated with toy guns and rocket launchers, and spends many hours in the back yard with her dog.

One night she wakes up to the sound of scratching at her closet. Fearless, she gets up to investigate and discovers that there is a cool wind coming from under the door. Throwing it open she climbs in and emerges into a rocky cavernlike tunnel. The door slams shut behind her and she is unable to open it.

clawed hands grab aki, around her are several birdlike figures in robes (like titanAE). they introduce themselves as an ancient order bestowed with the task of preserving order and freedom to the universe. they explain that there are several caves just like the one they are in that lead to other worlds. A prophecy has foretold that someone from aki's world would restore order and stability. "but why do you need me? you seem to know a lot about this already..." they explain that priests are not able to fight the evil that invade the interworld subterrainia because the evil force possess technology far too powerful (several mages have been defeated already it seems, the preisthood only possess a weak form of magic that allows them to read crystalballs and tealeaves and perform lesser magic such as healing and etc...)

       [add in dialoge from the first paragraph of "our story so far"]

the mages create a flock of luminescent insects and explain that they will guide aki to the start of her adventure. they wish her luck and cast the flock into the darkness. aki follows, and emerges from a secret door on the side of what appears to be a large ziggarraut...

anyway, this is where the story picks up, and the gameplay begins.

# VILLAGE OF ATLA (THEME IS ANCIENT MAYAN)

At the base of the ziggurat there is a marketplace. Unsure what to do, Aki tries to blend in and checks out several of the stalls. One of them houses a strange mystic that upon seeing her invites her to come in and talk. Asking him questions teaches her much about her new world. Strangely he knows about her entrance from the closet, and informs her that she will not be able to get back because there is a force holding it closed. To disable the force will require some research and aquisition of powers the mystic can not provide. Thus he suggests that she explore the land and see what she can find. throughout the market are hidden powerups, so exploring here is a good thing. NOTEs: she doesn't find her vehicle until later, inner and outer atla she is walking and building her character Zelda 64 style.

# OUTER ATLA (JUNGLE WITH CLEARINGS)

Here powerups are found in organic containers: mushroom stools, on enemies, etc... Also found in plain view: floating items, gems. (expand on this, gameplay, enemies, puzzles, etc...) Hidden is an entrance to the subterrainian world.

# SUBTERRAIN ATLA (ROCKY + TECHNOLOGY)

lots of loderunner and mario action (ledges, weapon/item/wealth powerups, enemies). Here is where she vinds a vehicle, appanently it was being stored by some techomancer... To find it she solved 3 puzzles involving locks. The locks are not standard locks, but must be cleverly triggered. Inspection of the world are all the hints she has.

## 1st puzzle

10 rooms. press wall plates in a long winding corridor. The number above the plate opens the door with that number. you as a player need to notice that the numbers may be connected with each other.

## 2nd puzzle

she finds a key that emits a short tune. match this to the door that emits the same tune.

## 3rd puzzle

she finds a new kind of object that when "used" it emits a burst of energy (or bullet)... The burst always exits from the same direction (world aligned) no matter how she drops the item on the ground. She can "use" it while it is on the ground, or while it is in her inventory. Shooting it with a weapon will redirect the burst in the object's direction as well (only with certain gun). There will be a timed door that when triggered will close again after 2 seconds. Unfortunately for Aki the trigger is just too far away. She must place the shooting object near the trigger and shoot at it while standing near the door.

The vehicle is too big to fit through the way she came, and must exit out a larger tunnel, which leads her to a new world.... Plans on the walls of this cave showed that the vehicle is a prototype design. The plans illustrate the vehicle's advanced capabilities. currently, the vehicle can do the normal driving plus straef and jump. she soon notices that the vehicle is upgradable when she finds a simple weapon for it (drive over it to pick it up).

NOTE: the addition of the vehicle adds the need to find power for it. If the vehicle power runs out, then Aki's health meter is displayed, but will probably run out fast if against a vehicle-strength enemy... If vehicle power becomes too low, it will sink to the ground unable to move. Aki is able to get out and find vehicle power cells or repair kits.

# OTHER LEVELS

describe some levels here. going into details about the puzzles and strategy in each part. describe items and enemies too. give sketches or pictures of the map for each level (concept or fully planned)...

I want at least 3 of the levels themed to each of the following,

- Mayan villages, african/mayan jungle (atla)
- nile river valley
- ancient crete

# DESCRIBE MAIN CHARACTERS

## aki

like the Link character from zelda, but female and kick ass! she is really agile she's strong dark hair (with blue highlights) is excited by heavy weaponry. can run, walk or jump (like mario) not afraid of anything anime/cartoony style. we need a good balance so that she's not awkward to control like tomb raider. mario and zelda are both really easy to control (maybe because of character proportions?) she can turn on a dime, is controled while she jumps, etc... she can "jump", "use", "fire", "change weapon", "straef", crouch maybe too... some weapons auto aim, but not all. |

# ENUMERATE GAME OBJECTS

## weapons

rocketlauncher chaingun plasma pistol (never runs out of ammo) others? submit your ideas... |

## vehicles

describe some... |

## powerups

- health crystal

## puzzle objects

- invisible power up, made visible by some external trigger
- bullet shooting box triggered by some external trigger
- box that catches gunfire and redirects to one direction (world aligned) (only certain bullet types though.)
- triggerbox that when "use"d generated a trigger event this will be hooked up to an item that receives external events.
- TODO: copy others described above into this list...
- think of some more puzzle pieces...

## world items (can't pick them up)

- box that emits a personal item. (usually out its top) triggered when you try to "use" this item. (triggered when you bump it too?)
- Panel that when "use"d generates a trigger event. This can be hooked up to a receiving (personal or world) item.

# ENUMERATE ENEMIES

- need to think of some.

# Timeline (milestones)

hmmm... probably will take a while.

# BUDGET

$0 (just time cause we're all free!)

# BRAINSTORM FEATURES (sorry no time to write this up! :)

    just a raw brain dump...
    - vehicle and aki mode (i.e. she can get in and out of the vehicle)
    - powerups (for ship and aki)
      - for vehicle weapons, and aki weapons
      - health, speed, armor, etc..
      - treasure (different values of jewels spread everywhere like in Spiro)
      - aki can't carry ship powerups
      - ship can't carry aki powerups
    - "get out of your vehicle" mode
      - there will be narrow areas that require this
      - there are a different class of weapons powerups for this mode
    - Jump for both vehicle and aki
    - puzzles
      - remote control
    - RPG stats (for ship and aki)
      - speed
      - aiming
      - armor
      - hand to hand combat
    - bonus levels
    - random thoughts
      - some enemies you can't squish
      - some you can't bury
      - some you can't shoot with certain weapons
    - weapons
      - hot keys (like quake 1-9 and 0)
      - dig holes (like loderunner)
      - jumpsquash (supermario style)
      - traditional
        - rocket ...................(best)
        - railgun
        - chaingun (plasma?)
        - plasma ...................(worst)
    - singleplayer with option for mplayer (pretty much singleplayer game)
    - inventory screen
      - arrange picked up items.
      - specify what parts of ship has armor, weapons
      - covers entire view (to simulate not paying attention when arranging)
      - does not stop gameplay! :)
    - triggered items
      - some remote control weapon (box that shoots, like in ankh)
        - the remote control can be picked up separately of course. :)
      - timed door who's trigger is in another room
        (thus you'd have to use the remote control
         weapon to push the button for you)
    - savegame
      - save crystals found at every checkpoint give you the opportunity
        to save them up and choose when they are used.
      - save is allowed at game exit (we're not cruel)
      - cheat mode gives a quick save anytime, but you don't get treasure.
      - consider this... quicksave available everywhere except for in areas
        near the end of the level.
    - lives
      - just one (like diablo ii)
      - you have a health meter (power ups will be available)
    - vehicles
      - after certain "special" enemies are killed, you can repair their ship
        - and use it.
      - issue... how to repair the ship?
        - aki carries a repair kit found in special aki-only areas of the map
      - need to switch vehicles
        - new tank allows you to jump higher to a place you need to get to
        - more inventory but slower ship (or less and faster)
        - tank weapons can't transfer (cause the aki can't carry them!)
    - camera (like mario64)
    - enemies
      - when you learn the puzzles, the this can give the game replay
      - makes the game more fun, harder when puzzles are easy.
      - some can be buried, some jumpsquashed.  most can be shot, but not some. :)

    TODO: break all this stuff out into chapters.  should make a nice 50
    page doc when done. :)