Draft:Pix and Bit's First Game Design Document

Note: This page is dedicated to all the documentation and discussion around the Pix and Bit video game. The page should, as time goes on, form into something more 'professional' and coherent. Try to keep all the informal discussions in the discussions tab.

Introduction

In the historical analysis, we will highlight the importance; of the technological and design strives made in early 3D platformers while paying respects to all the developers whom built on the rich 3 decade long tradition, analysing the successes and failures of the genre beginning at the first pioneers (such as Bug!, Super Mario 64, Alpha Waves, Bubsy 3D, etc.) to more modern releases (such as A Hat in Time, Super Lucky Tale, modern Super Mario franchise, etc). The history of individual 3D platformers are analysed in separate essays, their gameplay, stories and aesthetics dissected; hyperlinked to this design document. Due to the inexperience of the author/s of this document, it might take characteristics of a scientific, professional, college and academic paper and possibly something else entirely even indefinable.

Game Overview

Pix and Bit: the Untitled Prototype is a 3^rd person puzzle-action-adventure 2-player co-op 3D platformer, built in the Godot Engine.

Game Theme

The world of Pix & Bit is set in the far future of a shattered Earth, Humans are long gone though ruins of their civilizations are a common occurrence, some used as a settlements for many different species that inhabit the world. The shattered planet is comprised of many floating chunks, ranging from dust clouds (that may coalesce into duststorms) to Moon-sized continental chunks.

Game Concept

The main design pillars of Pix & Bit is Co-op oriented platforming and puzzles, both tying in to support the action.

• Example: Rushing into a fight and spamming the basic ATTACK move should not work because enemies will have strengths and weaknesses, they will be immune when you do not exploit their weaknesses, perhaps there is room for difficulty levels.
• Puzzles have to involve both of the players solving it together, however in the hub world or more open-ended sections of level some areas will not need the players to be together to access secrets (encouraging them to sometimes split-up)
• As with combos in combat, there will be combos during platforming, each character offering their up-sides and down-sides when it comes to platforming and how they can aid each other's shortcomings.

Gameplay

Playable Characters

A playable character is a character that is controllable by a player.

Non-Playable Characters

Enemies

• The Keyster, a fat six-legged hamster hiding inside keyholes ready to swallow keys of unsuspecting keyholders.

Bosses

• Sorcerer King Girnigoe (based on kyunastralgoat's Girnigoe)
• Triks & Hit (based on Jpepwepy's Triks and Hit)
• Cilantro Sky-Pirates (based on Jpepwepy's Captain Coriander Slantreaux and Professor Parslei)

Graphical User Interface

The Main Menu is the initial scene that loads after you run the program and all the intro-scenes finish running (Godot Engine logo ex.)

Intractable elements

Aesthetic elements

On-click buttons: New Save; this option prompts the players to type in a new name for the save, Load Save; this should open a new window with a list of saves showing the name, the progress reached in collectibles, time spent and in the place saved in. Options is sub-menu will show a list of sliders, boxes and drop-down menus that will allow the user to change how the program renders itself on their display. This includes (and is not limited to): volume adjustment, color blindness modes, resolution and window scale, windowed/fullscreen mode, viewporting modes (splitscreen and windowed), brightness & contrast, general quality settings, keyboard/controller configuration, etc. Credits loads a new scene with a scroll-down wall of text showing all the people (and the tools they used) whom have contributed to the development of the program. Quit to desktop displays a confirmation window upon click begging the player to stay, with buttons Yes and No underneath the warning, No would close the prompt while Yes would close the program.

The logo that would float above all the buttons: placholder logo

Game Menu

is an post-Main Menu in-game window that is opened by pressing the ESC key (on a typical US keyboard), it cannot be opened in the Main Menu instead the ESC key will prompt the player to quit the game. Pressing the ESC during a cutscene pauses it and opens the menu. In all instances of the game

• Continue
• Save Game
• Load Save
• Options
• Return to Main Menu
• Quit to Desktop

External Links

1. GitHub: https://github.com/captaincronch/pix-and-bit