Friday, 20 July 2012

Game Design - One-Pager for Stealth Platformer


Here's the one-pager for another of my ideas. I've gone with the crazy notion of not actually having any serious player-inflicted violence in this one; can it still be fun? 

As an aside, PEGI have an interesting and comprehensive questionnaire which you are required to fill in if you want to comply with this self-regulation (but crucially, if you want to sell physical copies of your game it's pretty much mandatory). It's fascinating to see what they consider the boundaries to be for each rating.


C-List Saviour – Concept Overview

Platform: PC/Online

Target Age: 18-30

Rating: PEGI 16 (for violence, potential suggestive scenarios and drug use)

Game Summary: 
Famed whiter-than-white C-list celebrity Bailey Rogers has got a problem. After winning the coveted ‘Best Celebrity Hair’ award, Bailey leaves for home with the trophy in hand, but receives an anxious phonecall. Bailey’s brother Danny is in serious trouble; he owes some loan sharks and if he doesn’t pay up within twelve hours, they will repossess his legs. Not only does Bailey need to track down the loan sharks and get them to release the brother, but Bailey needs to do it without being spotted by the paparazzi! Armed with just the ‘Best Celebrity Hair’ award Bailey sneaks around some of London’s trendiest – and sleaziest – areas in order to uncover the unscrupulous web Danny has become unwitting embroiled with; all while avoiding being splashed across the front page of the tabloids. Various missions will lead Bailey to the loan sharks’ base, where Bailey hands over the cash, but before Bailey and Danny can try to escape the base without being detected, the loan sharks snap a photo of Bailey and decide it will earn them far more money.

Game Outline: 
The game has a mission-style structure, which need to be completed in order to lead Bailey to the loan sharks’ secret location and obtain the £10,000 needed to get Danny back. Bailey starts off in the streets of Soho searching for a local hoodlum Danny has mentioned. This hoodlum gives the bulk of orders to Bailey, allowing the player to collect the necessary money through a series of scandalous scenarios; being the go-between for a drugs sale, finding some strippers for an impromptu stag night, selling bootleg DVDs in a pub, etc. As Bailey meets other characters through the missions, more information is unlocked about the loan sharks’ hidden location. By the time enough missions have been played to get £10,000 enough information will have been released to allow Bailey to find the loan sharks’ hidden base.

Throughout the game, Bailey must avoid being caught by the paparazzi’s cameras and hide using any objects available; such as cardboard boxes, rubbish bins, outfits from sex shops, etc. Bailey can also escape the paparazzi’s interest by ducking into various buildings; the more salacious the establishment, the more attention will be drawn.

Bailey is not a fighter, so the only available weapons are objects that can only stun or immobilise; such as the award which can dead-leg opponents, to handcuffs for binding people. For example, Bailey can procure lube from a sex shop and use it to send paparazzi flying or to obscure their lenses. Health is represented by Twitter ratings; the further Bailey’s drops, the worse the health is. However, if Bailey is caught by the paparazzi doing specific minor acts such as visiting sex shops or in possession of weed, Bailey’s reputation may change to infamous for a short while. This temporarily gives Bailey extra powers, such as the ability to headbutt paparazzi and still be considered likable.

USP:
  • Stealth and evasive gameplay is favoured over fighting.
  • Fully customisable avatar; any age, race, sex and sexuality can win ‘Best Celebrity Hair’!
  • Twitter rated health system – Bailey’s survival is entirely dependent on public opinion.
  • See all the beauty of London’s sleazy nightlife!
  • Access to a wide variety of increasingly ridiculous ‘weapons’ to deter paparazzi – stop a snapper in their tracks with a spray of Silly String.


Similar Competitive Products:
  • GTA: Vice City
  • Metal Gear Solid series

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