Research
I have been doing some research into what type of games I could make for my project as I may have an idea in mind already with the zombie horde game but I have been having second thoughts and what to broaden my options. Reason being is my original idea for a zombie game came to mind when I was asked about what I wanted to do for my project, now that I have thought about it more I would like to do some research before making up my mind.
Mobile games
While doing some research I came across mobile games being made in unreal engine, this hadn't crossed my mind before as I'm not big into mobile games myself but with how popular those games tend to be it actually wouldn't be a bad idea to make a game for the mobile.
Runner
One game that I found in my research of mobile games is runner type games and basically what these games consist of is you play a character that is infinitely running forward and depending on the theme of the game the scenery is different, so for example there is a game called 'Temple Run' where the character is running from a temple. The objective of these types of games is to not allow your character to die, this could happen by obstacles that are placed on the runner course which could come in the form of traps, rocks and holes in the ground. While you run your character gains points so the longer you run along the course the more points you gain, additionally to this there may be pickups placed on the level which can be picked up, these will give you more points or depending on how in depth the game is, power-ups.
My runner gamer
My game would be like the typical runner game with infinite running and obstacles, but I would like to add some sort of depth to the game other than continuous running. One thing I thought of is instead of the pickups in the game being points, instead they could be a form of currency that can be used to purchase different things ranging from cosmetics to power ups. Cosmetics could come in the form of skins for the character, so the character would start with a basic default skin but a range of different skins could be available for purchase required you have enough currency to buy it. Power ups could be use-able items that are used to give you a short term advantage in the game, I wouldn't want the effects permanent during a run as that would be over powered. One power up could be immunity to obstacles, this means that when the player uses that power-up then the character cant die for a short period of time, so if the character hits a rock he would either break through it or phase through it. Another power up could be slow motion, this could be used to slow down time in times where there are too many obstacles in front of you.
These are just ideas I had off the top of my head when I thought of a runner game.
Final scrapped idea
Web based game
This idea made it to the final 2 but I have finally decided I won't be creating this type of game, reason being is that I have no idea where to start with creating a web based game as we haven't even started it as a unit on the course yet, whereas we have with Unity. If we started the unit where we learn about making a web based game over a game in Unity then I may have went for this option instead, but Unity came first so that's what I went for instead.
My final idea
I have decided on what my final idea will be and that is to make a game in Unity. I wanted to create a zombie game in Unreal Engine but I was informed today that the class won't be allowed to use Unreal Engine as it is 'too easy to use', this is a huge spanner in the works for me as I spent a lot of time learning Unreal Engine and was planning on using it for my project, so to hear that I won't be allowed to use it has complicated things.
I will be therefor using Unity to create my game, however I am unsure of what specifically I want to create just yet as I was only just informed about not being allowed to use Unreal. Originally I planned on creating a zombie type of game in Unreal engine, but now that I will be using an engine I am completely unfamiliar with I will have to do a lot more research in what kind of games are on the table to create.
Unity uses a completely different way to develop games and that is by instead of using blueprints you have to actually code your game instead, now the reason this could be an issue is that I am completely new to coding so I will be starting from scratch which could prove quite difficult to me.
What I want to create
-RPG type game
I would like to create a game with certain elements in them that are seen in most RPG games, these features range from but not excluded to level up system, perks, character creation, spells and an inventory system. There is a lot you can do with an RPG type of game if you compare it to something like an FPS, as all you really do in FPS games is run around and kill enemies, but in RPG games there is a lot more depth I feel.
My original idea was to hybrid both RPG and FPS into one game, so the game would be FPS at its core but with RPG elements such as levelling up, perks, abilities and more. Now I might just go with a pure RPG game, but as time goes on I may change my plans and maybe even go along with the hybrid idea.
Project specification
-What is the project?
For this project I will be creating a video game in Unity that will be along the lines of an RPG game, but I may opt for a different type of game may it be a survival game or even a mobile game. The specifics haven't been decided as of yet but the project is 100% a game in Unity with at least some form of RPG elements.
Possible features/what I want of my video game:
-Character levelling
This means the playable character is capable of earning experience points which allows it to level up, starting from level 1 ranging upwards. The higher level your character is, the stronger it will be.
-Combat
This is a loose term but I would like my character to be able to attack enemies in all sorts of different ways, one way is via melee (so a weapon like a sword) and another way is via abilities (like spells).
-Enemies
Enemies will be the characters in the game that attempt to kill the character, I would like to have different types of enemies for example maybe a skeleton, spider and even flying enemies like birds.
-Character creation
I plan on adding a simple character customisation where you can change the characters appearance for example different clothes, different colors etc. and maybe also a stat builder where you can change characteristics of the character like intelligence, strength and magic.
-Main menu
The main menu will feature a few options that are clickable, mostly notably start game, options and quite game. This is more of a quality of life change for my game and not incredibly needed, but would be nice to have as most games include this feature.
-Spells
I want to have up to 3 spells in my game that you can choose and swap out with, for example the player could start with a fire spell, then eventually gain the abilities thunder and ice spells. I could make it so different spells do different damage to different enemies too.
-Quests
This is a much needed feature in my game as it will add a main objective, these quests could include things like kill a certain amount of enemies, clear a dungeon or just a collect quest where you need a certain amount of items to complete it. Adding a main quest will add a sense of story to my game, which would be nice to have.
-Inventory
This is where all the items you collect in my game will be stored, for example if you find a new staff or loot one, it will be stored in the players inventory which you be able to access with a key press like 'i'. Inventories allow you to keep items that you may need for quests and other such items you will be able to loot in my game, without it you won't be able to carry multiple things, or atleast wont be a visual representation of it.
-Story
I havn't really thought of a story that my game could have, but I do plan on adding a story if my game gets far enough with the quests feature. With a story I will also need NPC's that you will be able to interact with, taking advantage of decision trees that will determine what path the story goes down, for example there could be a good storyline and a bad storyline depending on what dialogue options you choose with the NPC's.
-Who is doing this project?
The project will be worked on and completed by 1 person and 1 person only, that would be myself. The difficulty of working on my own is more work load that isn't spread out, so I have to literally create every aspect of the project ranging from the games sound to the games code and all the writing behind it. I will be creating a gantt chart so I can carefully plan out how I will go about creating my project, this will make it easier for me to keep track of whats done and what needs doing.
-Who is the target audience?
The target audience for my game I would like to be from the ages 12 and up, meaning my game will feature some violent elements but not completely mature. My game will be aimed at game lovers in general, especially if they are a fan of RPG games as my game will feature elements from popular RPG games. You don't need to be a gaming veteran to play my game as I plan on making it relatively simple so that it can be played by and enjoyed by a large range of people.
-Why am I doing this project?
I am doing this project mostly to learn and produce something cool, as I enjoy creating video games which I have done in the past in Unreal, except this time I will be using another engine (Unity) which I am completely new to, so I will be learning the gaming engine and creating the game at the same time. I have created projects in the past that I am not completely happy with which have RPG elements involved so I would love to have another go at it creating a project but this time do a better job at it.
-Project time scale (Gantt chart)
I have been doing some research into what type of games I could make for my project as I may have an idea in mind already with the zombie horde game but I have been having second thoughts and what to broaden my options. Reason being is my original idea for a zombie game came to mind when I was asked about what I wanted to do for my project, now that I have thought about it more I would like to do some research before making up my mind.
Mobile games
While doing some research I came across mobile games being made in unreal engine, this hadn't crossed my mind before as I'm not big into mobile games myself but with how popular those games tend to be it actually wouldn't be a bad idea to make a game for the mobile.
Runner
One game that I found in my research of mobile games is runner type games and basically what these games consist of is you play a character that is infinitely running forward and depending on the theme of the game the scenery is different, so for example there is a game called 'Temple Run' where the character is running from a temple. The objective of these types of games is to not allow your character to die, this could happen by obstacles that are placed on the runner course which could come in the form of traps, rocks and holes in the ground. While you run your character gains points so the longer you run along the course the more points you gain, additionally to this there may be pickups placed on the level which can be picked up, these will give you more points or depending on how in depth the game is, power-ups.
My runner gamer
My game would be like the typical runner game with infinite running and obstacles, but I would like to add some sort of depth to the game other than continuous running. One thing I thought of is instead of the pickups in the game being points, instead they could be a form of currency that can be used to purchase different things ranging from cosmetics to power ups. Cosmetics could come in the form of skins for the character, so the character would start with a basic default skin but a range of different skins could be available for purchase required you have enough currency to buy it. Power ups could be use-able items that are used to give you a short term advantage in the game, I wouldn't want the effects permanent during a run as that would be over powered. One power up could be immunity to obstacles, this means that when the player uses that power-up then the character cant die for a short period of time, so if the character hits a rock he would either break through it or phase through it. Another power up could be slow motion, this could be used to slow down time in times where there are too many obstacles in front of you.
These are just ideas I had off the top of my head when I thought of a runner game.
Final scrapped idea
Web based game
This idea made it to the final 2 but I have finally decided I won't be creating this type of game, reason being is that I have no idea where to start with creating a web based game as we haven't even started it as a unit on the course yet, whereas we have with Unity. If we started the unit where we learn about making a web based game over a game in Unity then I may have went for this option instead, but Unity came first so that's what I went for instead.
My final idea
I have decided on what my final idea will be and that is to make a game in Unity. I wanted to create a zombie game in Unreal Engine but I was informed today that the class won't be allowed to use Unreal Engine as it is 'too easy to use', this is a huge spanner in the works for me as I spent a lot of time learning Unreal Engine and was planning on using it for my project, so to hear that I won't be allowed to use it has complicated things.
I will be therefor using Unity to create my game, however I am unsure of what specifically I want to create just yet as I was only just informed about not being allowed to use Unreal. Originally I planned on creating a zombie type of game in Unreal engine, but now that I will be using an engine I am completely unfamiliar with I will have to do a lot more research in what kind of games are on the table to create.
Unity uses a completely different way to develop games and that is by instead of using blueprints you have to actually code your game instead, now the reason this could be an issue is that I am completely new to coding so I will be starting from scratch which could prove quite difficult to me.
What I want to create
-RPG type game
I would like to create a game with certain elements in them that are seen in most RPG games, these features range from but not excluded to level up system, perks, character creation, spells and an inventory system. There is a lot you can do with an RPG type of game if you compare it to something like an FPS, as all you really do in FPS games is run around and kill enemies, but in RPG games there is a lot more depth I feel.
My original idea was to hybrid both RPG and FPS into one game, so the game would be FPS at its core but with RPG elements such as levelling up, perks, abilities and more. Now I might just go with a pure RPG game, but as time goes on I may change my plans and maybe even go along with the hybrid idea.
Project specification
-What is the project?
For this project I will be creating a video game in Unity that will be along the lines of an RPG game, but I may opt for a different type of game may it be a survival game or even a mobile game. The specifics haven't been decided as of yet but the project is 100% a game in Unity with at least some form of RPG elements.
Possible features/what I want of my video game:
-Character levelling
This means the playable character is capable of earning experience points which allows it to level up, starting from level 1 ranging upwards. The higher level your character is, the stronger it will be.
-Combat
This is a loose term but I would like my character to be able to attack enemies in all sorts of different ways, one way is via melee (so a weapon like a sword) and another way is via abilities (like spells).
-Enemies
Enemies will be the characters in the game that attempt to kill the character, I would like to have different types of enemies for example maybe a skeleton, spider and even flying enemies like birds.
-Character creation
I plan on adding a simple character customisation where you can change the characters appearance for example different clothes, different colors etc. and maybe also a stat builder where you can change characteristics of the character like intelligence, strength and magic.
-Main menu
The main menu will feature a few options that are clickable, mostly notably start game, options and quite game. This is more of a quality of life change for my game and not incredibly needed, but would be nice to have as most games include this feature.
-Spells
I want to have up to 3 spells in my game that you can choose and swap out with, for example the player could start with a fire spell, then eventually gain the abilities thunder and ice spells. I could make it so different spells do different damage to different enemies too.
-Quests
This is a much needed feature in my game as it will add a main objective, these quests could include things like kill a certain amount of enemies, clear a dungeon or just a collect quest where you need a certain amount of items to complete it. Adding a main quest will add a sense of story to my game, which would be nice to have.
-Inventory
This is where all the items you collect in my game will be stored, for example if you find a new staff or loot one, it will be stored in the players inventory which you be able to access with a key press like 'i'. Inventories allow you to keep items that you may need for quests and other such items you will be able to loot in my game, without it you won't be able to carry multiple things, or atleast wont be a visual representation of it.
-Story
I havn't really thought of a story that my game could have, but I do plan on adding a story if my game gets far enough with the quests feature. With a story I will also need NPC's that you will be able to interact with, taking advantage of decision trees that will determine what path the story goes down, for example there could be a good storyline and a bad storyline depending on what dialogue options you choose with the NPC's.
-Who is doing this project?
The project will be worked on and completed by 1 person and 1 person only, that would be myself. The difficulty of working on my own is more work load that isn't spread out, so I have to literally create every aspect of the project ranging from the games sound to the games code and all the writing behind it. I will be creating a gantt chart so I can carefully plan out how I will go about creating my project, this will make it easier for me to keep track of whats done and what needs doing.
-Who is the target audience?
The target audience for my game I would like to be from the ages 12 and up, meaning my game will feature some violent elements but not completely mature. My game will be aimed at game lovers in general, especially if they are a fan of RPG games as my game will feature elements from popular RPG games. You don't need to be a gaming veteran to play my game as I plan on making it relatively simple so that it can be played by and enjoyed by a large range of people.
-Why am I doing this project?
I am doing this project mostly to learn and produce something cool, as I enjoy creating video games which I have done in the past in Unreal, except this time I will be using another engine (Unity) which I am completely new to, so I will be learning the gaming engine and creating the game at the same time. I have created projects in the past that I am not completely happy with which have RPG elements involved so I would love to have another go at it creating a project but this time do a better job at it.
-Project time scale (Gantt chart)
Task
|
Start date
|
End date
|
Player movement
|
October [2018]
|
October [2018]
|
Character script
|
November [2018]
|
November [2018]
|
Player animation
|
November [2018]
|
November [2018]
|
Health & Mana bar
|
November [2018]
|
November [2018]
|
Player attack
|
November [2018]
|
November [2018]
|
Spell casting
|
December [2018]
|
December [2018]
|
A.I adjustments
|
December [2018]
|
December [2018]
|
Actionbars
|
December [2018]
|
December [2018]
|
Effects
|
December [2018]
|
December[2018]
|
Casting bar
|
January [2019]
|
January [2019]
|
Enemies (killing, health bar ETC.)
|
January [2019]
|
January [2019]
|
World map
|
January [2019]
|
January [2019]
|
Environmental aspects
|
January [2019]
|
January [2019]
|
Tilemap
|
January [2019]
|
January [2019]
|
More enemy stuff
|
January [2019]
|
January [2019]
|
Keybinds
|
February [2019]
|
February [2019]
|
Spells
|
February [2019]
|
February [2019]
|
Inventory
|
February [2019]
|
February [2019]
|
Tooltip
|
February [2019]
|
February [2019]
|
Loot window
|
February [2019]
|
February [2019]
|
Character panel
|
March [2019]
|
March [2019]
|
Visible character gear
|
March [2019]
|
March [2019]
|
NPC (Vendor)
|
March [2019]
|
March [2019]
|
Quests
|
April [2019]
|
April [2019]
|
Plan A idea (Top down RPG game)
My main idea is to create a top down RPG game which involves standard RPG mechanics and features such as combat, spell casting, world maps, enemies, quests and much more. Due to the difficulty of creating quests I will likely leave that as a last feature so it may not even feature in my game due to time constraints, but hopefully I will be able to feature it in my game as quests are a main feature of an RPG game. I want my game to look similar to pic related as its art style, so pretty much a modern day top down style of graphics, not too old core and not new core either, sort of in the middle so it will please a larger audience. I have created a gantt chart on how I want the process of creating my video game to go, I tried ordering things in terms of difficulty and when it makes sense to implement it, I also ordered some things in terms of how important of a feature it is in a sense of enjoyment, for example I would like to create some form of combat early on so that in case of time constraints I will atleast have some form of fun you can gain from playing my game. However, the order of the features shown on the gantt chart may not be the order I go with at the end of the day, as I may change my mind on some of the features and end up implementing something completely different, for example I haven't even mentioned anything about saving or a levelling system on the gantt chart which could feature in my game at a later date.
Plan B idea (3D Platformer):
If my RPG game fails I will probably resort to creating a platforming game. This platforming game would involve jumping from platform to platform to avoid death while at the same time picking up collectables as a side objective. The reason for having this as a Plan B is because platforming games are generally easier to make, so this would be less of a challenge to create as a project that the RPG game would be. I want my game to be similar to something like Spyro in terms of gameplay and graphics, so I would like cartoony graphics and a side objective like collectables similar to what you see in Spyro the Dragon.
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