Case of Study
Do you think that everyone deserves a second chance? Well, I guess we will find out. This game is about journeys of love, curiosity, and kindness, helping this married couple to pass through new dimensions in order to save humanity or at least a version of it.
Art Direction: Pranav Gaikwad
Game Development: Miguel Pagkatipunan
Game Design & Narrative Design: Belisario Fosca W.
Click here to Download the Prototype
Storyline and Characters
Characters
Klaus
Klaus is a 37-year-old German American who was born and raised in America by his parents. Klaus is a scientist who graduated from an American university with a degree in psychology and social studies.
Klaus is a 6 ft athletic mid-build guy with high ambitions and is one of the reasons he decided to embark on this journey, ignoring his family.
Klaus adores Elissa and has always tried to protect her from his nemesis.
Klaus has been missing for a long time.
The only things left behind are his unpacked clothes and research documents, which Elissa later discovers.
Elissa
Elissa is a captivating French-Canadian woman who met Klaus during one of his studies in Mexico, where they both fell in love and married a year later.
Elissa is an engineer with a sociology degree.
She is a 5.8 ectomorph with a high IQ who has worked as Klaus’s assistant since before their marriage.
The disappearance of Klaus has shattered her and gotten the best of her anxiety.
Elissa always prioritized love over work. She dedicated her life to serving Klaus because she admired and respected his selflessness.
Elissa is a redhead who is usually seen wearing joggers and a t-shirt, which probably matches whatever she is wearing on her legs.
Narrative
< Narrated by Elissa>
Klaus, my husband is an idealistic and extravagant scientist, he has a gigantic heart, He wishes to see people happy, and his biggest ambition is to see the world shine. Klaus has one hope bigger than all the others; he visualizes the world as being free of selfishness and sorrowfulness. He speculates people to live and act with goodness in their hearts, seizing all the possibilities to make people smile.
But…. let’s make a pause, a dream without action is nothing at all! It’s an idea that has never been born.
That’s why we took this dream and make it our objective in life, Klaus and I are working on this discovery to make people reborn – yes, reborn as in coming out again from your mother’s belly. You might feel this is extraordinary, or perhaps you think this goal is grotesque and out of place, but let me explain it to you, this is the only way we could change the present and not affect the culture and razes of the human population.
Now I will explain to you how we can make this happen! There are three elements in life that nowadays the world is lacking.
The first one is LOVE, it’s an emotion and feeling so powerful that probably is the most crucial thing in life. I will tell you why, so you don’t think I am talking nonsense. Love is the weakness you have for another’s pain, love is as simple as when you see a puppy with its ears moving around while he is barely walking because he is too little, love is the friendship you have been nurturing during plus than ten years, is that person you smile and feel an entire zoo inside your belly as soon as you see him/her, is the respect you have with one another, love is the look from your mother and father when you arrive home, just think about it, love is a pretty good deal.
Element number two is CURIOSITY, the entire world is built through this desire of learning and create ways to improve our lifestyle, it is the understanding of something, we need to know what is around us, it’s like they say, the information is the most lethal weapon between humans.
Then we need to look for the third and last element, KINDNESS, in this world filled with chaos and disagreements, this society is replete with interests that we forgot what kindness means, we forgot what is to help people without expecting something in return.
Kindness is the vehicle to have a fine and peaceful civilization.
Now, I will talk to you about Klaus’s plan, he is dominated by this perception that finding these elements in unknown and remote dimensions, those elements that we need could even be in our hearts, inside all of us. WE THINK FOR ACHIEVING THESE, SOME PEOPLE SHOULD BE REBORN.
But this is a journey we must take, and I hope from all my heart we can find the answers and transform the world into an enjoyable place to live.
He had begun this adventure a few months ago and what worries me is that I haven’t heard from him at all, I don’t know if he is fine or if he is involved in some kind of trouble.
Mmm….. by the way, I haven’t introduced myself, my name is Elissa, I am 34 years old and like my husband, I am an engineer/sociologist, we have been working on this project a long time ago, and believe me, Klaus and I won’t stop until this dream and goal is completed.
I am now following Klaus’s steps, I need to find him, I feel unfortunate, but beyond all my feelings and his disappearance, I am committed to finishing this ambition we both have been working on.
Design Vision & Game Mechanics
2D Platformer which follows a linear storyline will involve dynamic dimensions, puzzles, adventure, and strong emotions. The player won’t be able to attack, input is limited just to solving puzzles and exploring.
Mechanics
AI element
1st Dimension
Act 1
- Bat AI
- Will fly to the sky when the object gets into the activation trigger.
- Elissa gets damaged if the bats touch her.
- Snake AI
- Patrols an area; will attack the player if it’s near
- Panther
- Patrols the area
- Attack the player
- Chase the player when she is in the chase range
- Can also destroy trunks
- Tribesmen
- If Elissa is near their line of sight, tribesmen will attack with projectile weapons
- Else, if Elissa is just within tribesmen’s “area of awareness,” they will search around for her
- Their awareness will also trigger if Elissa steps on the trunk (more on that later)
- Alligator
- Will be floating on water
- If it detects Elissa, it will attack her and her boat
- Bear
- Similar to panther
- At one point, it can also kill the tribesmen
Interactions/Obstacles
1st Dimension
Act 1
- Aforementioned enemies above
- Boxes
- To be pushed/pulled by Elissa
- Also for Elissa to go on top to reach certain areas
- Will make a sound if it falls off a platform (like a thud)
- Can be destroyed by the panther
- Vines
- Can be climbed by Elissa
- Must swing
- Raft
- On land, it’s similar to boxes; will make a splash sound if it hits the swamp
- Elissa will need to go onto these rafts, so she can go through the water areas
- Can be destroyed by the alligator
- Swamp (will kill Elissa if she falls into it)
- Herbs – restores Elissa’s health
- Lava (kills Elissa if it touches her)
- Trap for the bear (trigger)
- Cable
- Elissa will hang on to this to cross to the other side
- Checkpoints (wherever the storyboard parts end; 7 for this act
- Branches
- Elissa can stand on them
- will make a sound if Elissa stands for more than 4 seconds, and the sound will last for the next 4 seconds
- Will break if Elissa stands on it for 8 seconds
Player Mechanics
1st Dimension
Act 1
- Running
- Jumping
- Crouching
- Walking
- Climbing
- Sliding
- Hanging
Level Design
Level Progression
1st Scene of Gameplay – not prototype
This scene will have the player controlling Klaus, it will be based in the second Dimension of the game, after 45 seconds of playing the screen will turn black, is Klaus dead? Or he just disappeared?
1st Cinematic – not prototype
This is the cinematic with Elissa explaining all the game aand story while she is travelling in a train to accomplish the married couple mission.
1st Dimension: Element of LOVE
- Act 1: Jungle – PROTOTYPE –
On picking the spot A from the map the menu turns away with a map folding animation and the game will load Act – 01
This act is a lesson were Elissa explores the forest for being the primary source of natural resources for mankind. Mankind have been exploiting these resources since a very early age and have seen a drastic depletion of these elements. The higher beings had assigned this as a task for Klaus to explore and learn. The aim of these Acts are to make the humans aware their actions and to learn the process of reincarnation. Every human can be seen protesting about this depletion, but people still end up consuming these resources in high amount for being unaware or ignorance. This Act gives the players a chance to look back and see how beautiful and dangerous elements the nature has served us with.
On Arriving the spot Elissa Discovers a beautiful plant that helps her regenerate her health in order to keep her living and help her continue her exploration. Elissa is about to learn the three Sides of nature the devoted(giver), the Self Absorbed (Taker) and the existent (surviving).
The Devoted is the one where Elissa discovers natures determination to serve this planet with whatever it can.
While exploring this section Elissa gets to see the efforts our planet has to take and the amount of suffering it has experienced to serve us. Elissa keeps experiencing constant tremors and volcanic eruptions out of which our planet have emerged triumphant and have continued to survive, so will Elissa.
The Self Absorbed is where Elissa will discover how nature had to build some elements a bit too fierce to protect themselves and are wild. Humans were lucky enough to be born with tenderness where some beings have to fight or also kill each other for survival. Nature did the best it could to keep those beings away from humans, but sheer selfishness and curiosity have directed man to these wildlings and now it’s a brawl.
The Existent is are those resources where nature with its kindness served this planet with elements required for survival. Those strong beings who could crush any human within seconds, choose to stay calm and avoid the scuffle. Though being exploited those resources continue to survive with least discontent for the exploiters.
At the end of this Act, Elissa will be given a option to click a picture to keep it as a memory and a visual contentment for being privileged enough with such beautiful parent which is the nature.
- Act 2: Dessert
- Act 3: City
- Act 4: Snow Mountains
- Act 5: Antique City
- Act 6: Weeding 🡪 2nd Cinematic
Environments
1st Dimension
The first dimension will take place in the real world, taking to life 6 places around the world like the Jungle, Dessert, City, Snow Mountains, Antique City and Elissa & Klaus Wedding day as the 2nd Cinematic.