Long term goals.

Here´s a long list of goals for our design process. I´m pretty sure I have missed some goals so expect this list to get extended over time.


General Goals:

The name: Has to be appealing to our target audience, should describe what the product is and should attract attention.

Deadline: We should have a vertical slice finished by GGA 2010. No deadline set for the finished game.

New ideas: We want our game to bring some good, new ideas to the market.


Game Design Goals:

Difficulty: 12-14 year olds should be able to play the easiest parts of the game whereas mature, experienced gamers should be able to enjoy the more difficult parts of the game.

Competition and teamplay: It must be important to win and teamplay has got to matter. We dont want players running around on their own without any intention of helping the team.

Pre-made teams vs Pick up and Play: There must be a functionality for pick up and play teams to allow them to adjust classes and tactics and be able to play against pre-made teams.

Ready made characters vs customized, personal characters: Customized characters must be balanced with the ready made characters that are in the game from the start.

No endless grind: All classes must be balanced and fully playable from the start. Players will not benefit from investing 100 hours of playtime into their character.

Building up anticipation for the fights: The customization part should be fun and feel meaningful and not like something you have to get out of the way to get to the fun stuff.

Skill based combat system: The players skill must matter. The game must have enough depth to allow the player to develop his/her skill and playstyle. Buttonmashers shouldn't stand the same chance of winning as skilled, experienced players.

Customizable characters: The customization of characters should not only be costmetical. Every choise the player makes affects their characters play style – even the sex.

Males vs females: Male and female characters should have differences but they must still be balanced and both sexes must be able to fulfill any role in a team.

Story: The story will not be told in a linear timeline throughout the game but rather through the characters, their gear and the different levels.

The world: The levels are spherical with confined spaces where the players can move to create more of an arena feeling.

Weaponry: There must be a distinct difference between the different weapon types.



Art Goals:

2D or 3D: The graphics will be in 3D with full use of textures such as specular, normal and glow maps.

Different graphics: The are style shouldn't resemble other games in the genre.

Art style: The art style should be surreal and somewhat grotesque. The environments should be colorful but yet dirty and worn out. No grey-brown boredom a'la GoW or Fallout 3.

Interface: The interface shouldn't cover too much of the screen. Teammate portraits may not be needed but teammates health must be visible as well as nameplates of enemies.


Technical Goals:

Playability: The game should be playable both through a browser and as a downloadable .exe.