The sort of design I went with here, much resembled a town based in a northern area of America (On border of Canada), as you can see in the background are trees and mountains. There is buildings that is destroyed by the monsters, and they will all be situated in certain points on the map. As you can see in the image above, there will be spawn points for certain enemies. When they die, they will not spawn, but it’s where they will be when the player first loads in. I believe this is the perfect setting for an apocalypse area to be in, with rubble and destruction destroying an almost peaceful town. I think players will enjoy the atmosphere of gloom and danger, especially with enemies coming from both above and on the ground, which is where the player will be able to have some free will and either continue on foot or use their jetpack.
Production Schedule
I have create a production schedule for the weeks to come, and what I am setting out to accomplish in the time set for the certain asset. As I am only doing the prototype stage first, (Having the graphics and sound being accomplished after this is completed), I have only filled in the “Prototype” blocks. They are labeled with the name of the asset I am going to create, and the colour helps with understanding further which is which.
I believe that I have created a schedule which i can both follow, and get the right work done on time and to it’s full effort.
20/01/2020
I had set out to complete the level, and the two enemies. However, I have completed things I had set out to create later in this short period. I have completed the level with structures and buildings in the right place, and I have also completed the “Spitter” enemy. I have nearly completed the “Horde” enemy, with just the function of following a path to be completed. I had also added the player, so I can explore the level from the point of view of the person playing. I also added the health bar as to help with the development of the enemies, as I was figuring out how hard they should hurt the player and how quickly. I believe I have made progress, but I need to stay more on track with which work I am setting out to complete in the first place as in not to get mixed up.
Production Art
Main Character
The main character, who’s called “Ash”, is the main protagonist of this shooter game and who the player will play as. They are a slim built person, who is inside of a mech suit that is built to be able to act as slim “Skin” type armor. The armor is not clunky, and as you can see from the sketches they are not large but the same size of the person inside of it. They have a mask, that has an in built air filters and goggles. This makes sure that they are not in contact with the air outside, as it’s unknown if it is toxic to the player. They have a jet pack on their back, that resembles the shape of an average back pack. This enables the player in game to fly, for which is how the character is able to move in game. They wear gloves and boots, which is the same colour as the rest of the mech suit; white. The entire mech will be slightly worn/damaged as the character has been in the wasteland for some time now. These will all be subtle hints to the player, however, and not specifically said how long the apocalypse has been going on for. I think this could bring some theories and other speculations for which could have players wanting to play more to see if it is ever answered. The character will be around 5’6 and doesn’t have a gender, because it’s not really important to the story for them to have a gender, it’s a game about killing toxic enemies and that’s it.
The Horde
These small enemies are called “The Horde”, and they are small round things with silly faces but long legs and long arms. They are supposed to act as a minor convenience, but keep the player off the ground and have them some sort of panic if they are unable to kill both the witches and the horde, as there are multiple of them at a time and they all take one hit from the player each time the interact. I created The Horde to have a friendly front, meaning a smile and a goofy posture. But I did this to create a false reality to the player, and make them think they are safe- however they are as deadly as the other enemies. They have long legs and arms and their animations will just be walking.
The Witch
The witch is the shooter enemy, and is the only enemy that is able to shoot at you at a rapid pace. Out of the three enemies, the witch is one of the deadliest. It remains in one place, as a crater has formed and the ground below them has melted and they’ve formed into part of the structure they are on. They are all female, as the stereotype for witches goes from olden times. I based the witches design on the enemy named the Hive in the video game “Hunt: Showdown”. I made the witch have messed up hair that is unkempt and dirty, along with her face. She spits acid from her mouth, which acts as the projectile to kill the player.
The Gun
In video games, i found that realism is heavily kept even in the weirdest of media. That being in a zombie apocalypse, even then they do not have an option to a ray gun or a RPG or something bizarre. I believe that it’s best for a video game to be fun and be enjoyable more than keeping realism in, especially in a shooter genre and a game such like this. That is why i chose a mini gun, and the design on it is heavily based on the real life mini gun the Vulcan. It will be held with two handles by Ash, and will have an animation on the end when being shot. The barrel will twirl and little sparks will appear from it to indicate movement.
Level
The level will be set in a mountain town, with a forest behind it. It will be cloudy, with a reddish atmosphere to emphasis the point of this being an apocalyptic wasteland. There will be two big mountains, then a forest for the rest of it. There will be a bit of snow on the mountains, as it is so high up. There will be a hot air balloon in the sky that will float above the player.
The Boss
The Boss at the end of the level is a tall mess with one big face and multiple versions of the enemy “The Horde” formed into their face and their arms and legs are gone, just the face. The Boss’s arms and legs have mixed proportions and shapes, and is meant to be the most radiated enemy and the one most affected by the apocalypse in game. It’s main and only attack is hitting with it’s fists, as it’s the biggest part of them and they have no other abilities. The Boss is very slow, as the weight of the extra Horde formed into it’s face it makes it slow and unable to move fast.
Player hearts and Title/End screen
Player Hearts
The player’s hearts are only three, meaning they can only be hit three times before dying. They will be the normal, stereotypical red heart- But with three smiley faces on them. Every time the player get’s hit, one heart will go dark grey and the face will go to a sad face. This is the clearest way to indicate that the player have lost a life, and only has certain amount now. Once all three have been depleted, they will all be dark grey and sad faces. The player will have X on their eyes and drop from where ever they are.
Title Screen and End Screen
The title screen will be set in the level and with the main character Ash holding their mini gun and aiming it all the enemies in the game all huddled up on the left, looming over and casting a massive shadow to emphasis the amount of danger and how small the player is to this threat they’re facing. The title of the game “Fight the Enemy Within” will be at the top, and a small button underneath named “Play” will be available in order to go to the first level.
The end screen will be set after the level, and this time will be facing the back of the player and they’re looking at the horizon in front of them. The enemies will all be the group with X’s on the ground to indicate that they are dead. Ash (Main Character) will be stood on The Boss, and will be leaning on their mini gun which is pushed onto The Boss’s main head. There will be an open setting to indicate that the player is “Free” from danger and is on to go to safety. Though this is not said, it is heavily indicated through the illustration. There will be a button to take the player back to the title screen.
Production Schedule 31 /01 /2020
I have now finished the prototype, so now I have moved onto the graphics. I have made a production schedule and colour coded it as I did with the previous one. However, I have now added the Title and End screen. I gave myself enough time to work on all of them, and have them completed in time.
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