Island God: Paper Prototype & GDD Additions

My fellow game studies students and I received feedback on our design documents this week (see previous post for my first draft of Island God). And so I’ve started to tweak my doc based on some of the comments left by my professor. I’ve also begun work on the paper prototype for Island God. It’s not an easy thing to take a game you’ve envisioned as a digital experience and “convert” it into an analog one. But I suppose these things aren’t meant to be easy.

Here are a couple of photos of the game environment, such as it is at the moment.

In case you are wondering, yes, that is a volcano.

Glass beads have proven to be versatile damage counters, individual HP units, and so forth.

I’ve also added some new headings/descriptions to my second draft of the game design document:

“Resistance is Futile”

Failure is a part of every game. On a long enough timeline, players will fail in whatever game they choose to play, whether it be Mario, Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, or Destiny. Failure is frustrating, but it is often also instructive. Going left when you should have gone right, learning a boss’ movement and attack patterns, crafting new strategies—these things come from failure. As a game “mechanic,” failure is inextricable from the very idea of gaming. In Island God, failure is not only inevitable, it is necessary. Failure is actually the point. The game is impossible to “beat.” It can only be played again…and better.

Emergent/Evolving Gameplay

Gameplay changes from match to match based on several factors:

Exploration—in addition to a player’s central tasks, there are also secrets strewn about the island that may unlock new abilities, provide new challenges, or reveal lore.

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.

Paper Prototype

At the moment, Island God exists as a tabletop experience in which many of the proposed mechanics have been converted into analog metaphors, for lack of a better term. For example, since I cannot adequately translate attack power/advantage as it may exist in the proposed final game, I have incorporated dice rolling mechanics into various gameplay encounters/scenarios.

Island God: A Game Design Document (1st Draft)

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

1. Awakening

2. Match

3. Game Over

4. 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.