The Blue Print of the Map and the Gameplay Mechanics

Time to get rocking on the game level and map design. The gameplay mechanics, lets say... this is not a fighting game, nor a shooting game, RPG yes.

The game is something familliar to the game 'Harvest Moon' where you walks arround raising your farm or talks to npcs in town. But theres another key element instead of living your live, you'll be playing as 'Lost'; so you need to try and gain your memories back through daily lifes and events. There wont be much fighting in this game which are replaced with puzzles that allows the player to move their brains and think.

What to do when you get lost while playing? Well... Getting your memories back isn't just your main objective in this game. You may also get friendly with the villagers, get close with 'Stone', helps 'Kuma' grow up then either choose to make him stay or help him found his family back in the forest and events which ocours randomly during the game.

 

Here is a sketch of the blue print outline of the map, it may be hard to understand as it is incomplete and filled with circles.

 

And here we have a detailed blue print discribing each location and outlineing the boarder and objects.

Ch 2 – Conceptualization spawning your imagination

Story~ Background and Theme?

Every great advanture needs a story and a theme, so this story will be set in the medieval era, country side village by the forest where a cottage is isolated at the side.

I want the design to be untechnologised country side. So it means theres no cars, street light and electronical stuffs. the cottage is on a hill right beside the forest with a pathway leading down into the village surrounded by rock walls. Might look a bit better with a little farms.

Character

Characters are the most important thing in a story, so i had created three characters to develop this story with asigned roles as: Witch, Wanderer and Pet.
   -Yes, the Pet is also counted as a character.

Lets start the introductions starting with the Witch:  Her name is Stone, she is not your typical stereotype witch. She was gifting with ability and knowledge to understand and unidentified herbs and plants from birth and given the title Witch. But her eyes are cold as stones and her blunt personality which makes it hard for people to approach her. Witches are said to have live long lifes, but thats a lie. Witches are normal humans and a 17 years old girl living by herself separated from the village is very lonely.

Second character to be introduced is a wandering girl with amnesia - no name and no background story, there is a big scar comming down across her torso which is to be the course of her memory lost. She ended up at the door of the Witch's Cottage and the witch took her in. Living with Stone and keeping her company slowing learning human culture again and making Stone smile. Stone named her Lost.

Lastly dont forget the cute Pet thats owned by Stone, a small brown bear Kuma named by Stone. Kuma was the only friend of Stone before Lost and is always by her side, Kuma was founded abandend in the forest while stone was out picking mushrooms and also tooked in my her, his helpful at helping Stone with but helpless when his playing.

Ch 1 - History & Background the world of the level designer

1. Imagine that you are a level designer working in the 1980s. Knowing the limitations associated with this era, what type of game would you develop?

Since in the early 1980 the technology of a game is limited, a side scrolling game and plateform game is best suited for the era. If I were a level designer, a game in that era i would develop will be a game more similarity to Sonic.

2. Play three games - one from the 1980s, one from the 1990s, and one released after 2004. Compare and contrast how levels and envirobments are designed in all three games.

1980s Super Mario on GameBoy had no colour and simple pixelised pictures and enviroment. In the Nintendo 64 that was released in the 1990s, the game Super Mario 64 were add colour and instend of a 2D platform game where you can only go left and right, it was created as a 3D action game where the camrea and mario can go in all direactions. Later on after 2004, Nintendo Wii was released with the new Mario Galaxy 2. The style of the game was mixed between the platform sidescrolling and the 3D action. the gamestyle changes in certain area or world. 

3. How does a game's genre affect the way its levels and evironments are designed? Choose one level from three different games - each from a distinct primary genre - and compare how these levels are designed with regard to setting goals puzzles and risk - reward system.

In the platform game Mario, the level and evironment is designed to match each world mario is in, and there are puzzles in the Mario game which you have to complete to move forward on through the level, like getting a key through a lava flowing room as well as some risky optional challenges for power-ups or leveling skipping rewards.


RPG games like Legend of Zelda, the game's levels designs alters from seven years to the future and present time with the enviroment being lifely in the present and dark in the future. There are some mini games and challenges Link can do to earn extra health points and increase his weapons.


Strategy games like Fire Emblem, the battle screens changes as where the character stands, a plain, stone floor or in the woods. There are sub-missions where the player is optional to complete to get more units for the battle and stronger equipments.