Games development

LI YANXI (0361436)

Bachelor of Design In Creative Media

Game development

                                                                                                                                            

Instructions

                                                                                                                                            

Week 1 Introduction & prepare

This course requires us to present a game in the end. In the first week, the instructor listed the previous assignments of our senior classmates and told us some types of games that we can operate. This course is an upgraded module from the basic game course I did in the past. This time we will present a complete game with a large framework.

In the first week, we were a group of three, including me. I and another student were majoring in UIUX design, and we worked with a computer science student to complete the project. So from the beginning, we assigned our respective tasks. The design major completed the early game background, game character design, and game mechanism design. The subsequent code part was handed over to the computer science student.

Our first task was to complete the topic selection in the first and second weeks, and to make a PPT presentation and speech in the third week. However, since our second week was a holiday, the process did not include classes, but more of our discussions.

So at the beginning, we decided that our overall theme would be about the jungle, the ocean, or something like that.

Then we also discussed the style of our game, whether we should go for pixel style, realistic style, comic style, etc. At the beginning, I didn’t know much about pixel style and didn’t know how to draw it, so I chose a normal cartoon style.

We finally decided that our theme was a jungle adventure and treasure hunting game, so we started thinking about our game background, game framework, game narrative, etc. We started thinking about how many protagonists we would need, whether they would have skills, monsters, NPCs, reward mechanisms, deduction mechanisms, level passing mechanisms, how many levels, etc. We completed the first part of the GDD.

So we made the first version of the PPT and GDD（Game Development Document), and waited for the third week presentation and the instructor to give us feedback.

version 1 GDD.pdf

version 1 ppt.pdf

                                                                                                                                            

Week 3 Game：Awakening Wings

We got feedback from our mentor, who said that our story background was too simple and the plot was too ordinary, so the mentor hoped that we could be more thoughtful and gave us some inspiration, such as the protagonist could be an elf? Maybe they don't have to look for treasure, but for their own wings? So I continued to optimize my ideas according to the mentor's suggestions, and proposed a new theme in the group. After discussing with the group members, they both agreed to change the entire game design and theme, so our final game name was determined to be: Awakening Wing. According to the theme background, I reset the roles of the protagonist, villain, monster and NPC, and redesigned the image. We finally decided to use pixel style, which is more convenient for the unification of our design.

So we started to divide the work according to our respective responsibilities. In the early stage, Jia Ern and I had to do more parts.

And my part was: Game overview, Story and narrative, Game objective, Target Audience, Inspiration, Character & entities, Main character design, Enemy design, NPC design, Game statistics (health and damage), Relics/collections (random drops), Rewards

So between the fourth and sixth weeks, we have to complete the Game asset task according to our own part, that is, I need to design the character and present the character's appearance, skills, and visuals. In the sixth week, we will give a presentation to the instructor and get feedback.

                                                                                                                                            

Week 7 Progress with design

In the sixth week, I received feedback from my instructor to improve the character design. I also felt that my initial design was a bit boring, so I made an updated version and put the final upgraded design into the GDD and ppt.

This is the initial design, and the final design is in the gdd and ppt. In the final character design, the color of each character has become richer and no longer monotonous. I added a flower crown to the protagonist, added a purified upgraded color to the villain, and adjusted and upgraded the color and appearance of the monsters.

The initial design and exported design drawings were very unclear. I made them clearer in the final presentation. In the final design, I drew out their skills in the form of a sprite sheet.

El design before

After

Elder Feather Spirit before

After

Vine Giant before

After

Feather eater before

After

Feather eater become normal Feather Spirit

After

Wind Blade before

After

GDD

Game overview (brief description of the game): 

In Awakening Wings, players will play the role of a young and brave Feathered Guardian, El, and embark on a challenging adventure.In the mysterious and peaceful forest, the ancient Tree of Life is corroded by darkness, the Guardian Lothar has fallen into a Feather Eater, and El's wings are torn into pieces and scattered in the forest.El must travel through the dense forest, defeat the creatures and guardians corroded by darkness, retrieve the wing fragments, gradually restore the gliding and sprinting skills, and finally challenge the Feather Eater dominated by darkness, purify the fallen guardian, and save the entire forest.

During the journey, El will face powerful enemies such as jungle monster vines and wind blade crows, and respond flexibly through skills such as jumping, gliding and sprinting. In the end, he will use the power of hope to awaken the Tree of Life corroded by darkness and bring the forest back to life.

Story and narrative (plot, backstory, and story progression):

In a mysterious and peaceful forest, there lives a group of elves who protect nature - the Feathered Elves. They are born with white wings, symbolizing the purity of nature and the vitality of life.The young Feathered Elves guardian *El* is famous for his optimism and bravery in the tribe. One day, the ancient tree of life in the center of the forest suddenly withered, and darkness began to spread from the roots, covering the entire forest. *Lothar*, the strongest guardian in the legend, fell into *Feather Eater*, becoming crazy and aggressive. He destroyed the Feathered Elves Village, tore off El's wings, and scattered the fragments in two areas of the forest.

Encouraged by the elder Feathered Elves, *El*, who lost his wings, embarked on an adventure to find the fragments of his wings. He must restore his ability to fly, defeat the Feather Eater, and save the forest.

Game objective (what does the player need to achieve):

1. Recover the wing fragments: After the attack of the Feather Eater, El lost his wings. Players need to go to the dense vine forest, defeat the guardian BOSS, find the wing fragments, and unlock the gliding skill.

2. Defeat the final BOSS-Feather Eater: After finding the wings, players need to go to the Tree of Life and fight with the fallen guardian Feather Eater. Use the gliding skill to flexibly dodge the attack and counterattack, and finally purify the dark power.

3. Save the forest and restore the Tree of Life: After defeating the Feather Eater, the forest will be revived, the Feather Spirits will return to peace, and El will become the guardian of the forest again.

Main character design:

1. Protagonist: El：

Identity: Young guardian of the Feathered Elf

Features: Broken golden-green wings, symbolizing hope and rebirth

Personality: Brave, determined, and growing in the face of adversity

Skills ：Jumping: Basic movement

              Gliding: After finding the first wing, glide briefly

              Sprinting: After finding the second wing, sprint quickly

Basic Attack:

Gilding attack:

*Visual design

*Initial form: Incomplete wings, faint light

First wing: Half of the wing is lit, with a green trail

Second wing: Complete light wing with golden flash

2.Villain: Feather Eater：

Identity: Guardian of the Fallen Feathered Elf

Features: Black broken wings, eyes glowing red

Personality: Cold, corrupted by darkness, and thirsty for power

Skills: Black Feather Shockwave: Fires a straight black feather blade and attacks quickly

Battle phase: Fires shockwaves, El glides to avoid

*Visual design:

*Initial form: Black feathers keep falling

Final form: Purified and restored to normal Feather Spirit

Enemy design (Types of enemies, AI Behaviour, difficulty)

BOSS:

Vine Giant (Level 1):

Attack: Slam with vines

Mechanic: Jump to avoid, glide close and attack the head

Visual design: Covered with vines, with a golden leaf on the head

Wind Blade Crow (Level 2):

Attack: High-speed dive attack

Flying:

Mechanic: Use sprint to avoid, then attack when the crow pauses

Visual design: Silver light in black feathers, red eyes

NPC design : Elder Feather Spirit ：

Role: Opening quest guide, mid-quest encouragement

Appearance: Long green feather wings, holding a natural staff

Lines:

Opening: "El, darkness is eroding the forest, your wings are the light of hope."

Passing: "Courage will regenerate you, the power of your wings is yet to be restored."

Final: "Well done, El, the fate of the forest has been rewritten by you."

Game statistics (health and damage)

1. Protagonist: Ael

HP: 3 Feather Hearts = 3 lives (each represents a chance to be hit)

Injury mechanism: Lose 1 heart each time you are hit

Death when HP is depleted, return to the nearest save point

Recovery method:

Feather Fruit: Restore 1 Feather Heart (obtained at a specific location)

Attack power: Basic attack power 1

Normal attack: Direct damage 1 point

Glide impact: (After unlocking the gliding skill) Dive from the air and cause 2 points of damage

BOSS 1: Vine Beast

HP: 8

Attack: 2

Attack: Whip Slam, Frontal Attack

Weakness Mechanism:

Head: Jump Attack for 2x Damage

BOSS 2: Windblade Crow

HP: 8

Attack: 2

Attack: High-speed dive attack

Mechanic: Use dash to avoid, then attack when the crow pauses

Weakness: Short stagnation after dive

Relics/collections (random drops) ，Rewards:

 1. Recovery Item: Feather Spirit Fruit

Function: Restore 50% HP

How to obtain: Pick up in the level

Appearance: Green fruit with a faint fluorescence

2. Key Item: Wing Fragments (2 pieces)

First piece: Unlocks the gliding skill

Second piece: Unlocks the sprint skill

Appearance: Glowing green feathers, suspended in the air

Effect: After collecting, the wings gradually light up

3. Final Quest Item: Nature Amulet

Obtained: Automatically obtained after defeating the Feather Eater

Function: A symbol of forest rebirth, representing the victory of the Feather Spirits

Appearance: Golden green halo with a wing pattern engraved in the middle

Version 2 - Final GDD - Awakening wing - pdf

Awakening wing - Game asset - pdf

* Final Awakening wing present pdf: