Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Week 1-Design Document

    Project Michael is a level idea that is inspired by an old Nintendo 64 game called Jet Force Gemini. Jet Force Gemini is an amazing third person shooter, with fun platform like puzzles. Some of the levels in Jet Force Gemini takes place in creepy dark space ships. Inside of these space ships are large metal crates and dangerous engine rooms full of large, electrical generators.

    My level, (Project Michael) is simply going to be about an alien named Michael escaping the hull of an abandoned space ship. Michael is a rare creature that is traded between other species for a large amount of currency. Michael is valued for his super, intellectual ability to problem solve. The spaceship that Michael is held captive in is a large resource carrier that was attacked and looted by space pirates. The space pirates took only what they could carry and mindlessly left everything else behind.

    The level will share the general mood that the game Jet Force Gemini conveys in their creepy ship levels. However my level will be full of large metal turbines and structures that look like bones from the human skeleton. The lighting of the level will mostly be interior lights from orb like bulbs and lights attached on the sides of machines. The lights will radiate yellows and maybe reds. The space in the level will be full of large pits and draw bridges controlled by switches.

    The objective of the level is pretty clear. The player must conquer different obstacles to find switches that will unlock new areas of the level. I would also like to include a system to pick up and collect items. In the beginning I would like the player to feel trapped in a cage with limited room to move around. The final area will contain an exit to leave the drifting spaceship. I would like the player to feel a sense of accomplishment and freedom. My level would mostly target the 16 to 25 age group.

    Problems I can run into while creating this game space may primarily have to do with Time. I am fairly new to the Unity game engine so I might not have enough time to incorporate a lot of the effects and or complex coding that I would like to use. I also may have an issue with space. I must calculate a level large enough to allow the player to explore.