Game Overview
Island God is a one-player 2D Tactics/God Sim hybrid where the player takes on the role of a primordial force of nature (think King Kong meets Swamp Thing) in a symbiotic relationship with a small, remote island. The island is devoid of humanity. What it is filled with however, are strange creatures that roam the landscape, each with their own behaviors, intent, personalities, and so forth. As Island God, your goal is maintain the harmony of the island by performing tasks such as tending to structural issues (putting out fires, damning up flooding rivers, etc.) and ensuring that the creatures survive (healing their wounds, separating them when they “fight”). The player has no health bar, but the island does. Keeping the island alive is your goal. This goal is complicated by the fact that humanity eventually finds your island and seeks to inhabit it. At that point the player must thwart off humanity’s advances or the island and all that it contains will perish.
The game does not feature gore or adult themes, but it does have a somewhat complex gameplay structure. Suffice to say, it should be appropriate for players 12 and up.
Synopsis
You have awoken from a long slumber to find yourself on a pristine island. Your memories are hazy, but you know that you are somehow bound to the island and its inhabitants. After you spend some time exploring the island, you come upon a creature with its horns stuck in the bramble. You choose to help it. Upon releasing the creature, a disembodied voice can be heard saying, “You are the island. The island is you. Protect and keep it. For it shall be your undoing to see it fall.”
Game Objectives
The objective of the game is to maintain the island’s “health” for as long as possible while facing natural disasters and enemy units.
Game Rules
The game takes place on a small island sub-divided into hexagonal micro-regions. These regions play host to a variety of scenarios, including creatures in danger, disasters or ecological events, and enemy incursions. The player can move from hexagon to hexagon based on their movement ability (upgradable) and engage with these scenarios in a turn-based fashion. While the player themself cannot be harmed, they do have a stamina meter that, when depleted, will negatively affect their movement and action ability. Failure to solve these scenarios with a positive outcome results in a loss of Island HP. When the island’s health is depleted, the “match” is over. The player can choose to end their run or they can reincarnate into a new form upon a restored island with the upgrades to their avatar from previous matches still intact.
Game Structure
Awakening
Match
Game Over
Choose to end run or reawaken
Game Controls
The player uses the mouse to move the character, select actions from menus, and end their turn.
Game Camera
Top-down view.
HUD
Island Health
Player Stamina
Enemy Health
NPC Health
Turn Indicator
Emergent/Evolving Gameplay
Gameplay changes from match to match based on several factors:
God Powers & Abilities—the player carries these with them as the move from match to match (during the same run).
Consequences—the player’s actions have consequences. For example, using a fire-based action against an enemy may destroy that enemy, but it can also set fire to the dry brush in the area, causing a cascade of damage that the player needs to address in as soon as possible.
Enemy advancement—each time a match is lost, the Elder Gods who preside over the wider world (your bosses, essentially) enact a “Genesis” on the island, razing the land, its inhabitants, and its enemies. The island and you are then reformed with the purpose of “getting it right this time.” BUT! The world around has not stopped moving. This means that advancement in human tactics and technology have advanced. Therefore, the human enemies you engage in subsequent playthroughs are more advanced and more dangerous.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
A playable version of the above with limited color graphics and simple shapes to suggest the player, NPCs, enemies, and so forth.
Scope
Fully rendered assets with movement and damage states.
Environmental effects.
Music and sound design.