[projectx] Design document

[Ben C. <cro...@ne...>]

Comrades (for lack of a better term that's inclusive of both genders),

I wrote up my ideas for the gameplay on Project X.  This is pure theory --
it doesn't discuss any implementation details (i.e. it's *what* to do, not
how to do it).  Please read it over, give it some thought, and reply to
this message with any ideas you have.  This is completely open to any
comments, suggestions or criticism.  To make this game the best it can be,
we need to make sure this document (and the stuff described therein) is
what we want.  So rip it to shreds and give everyone your input.

Also, on a side note, I'll be gone on Friday, so if there's any free time,
read over this in class (somebody want to print it up?) and pick it apart
there.  Group discussions are good. ;)  Send all ideas and revisions to
the list.  Also, if Royce doesn't already know, somebody please tell him
that I'll be at the Model UN conference then (which is why I'll be gone).

Without further ado, then, here it is:

--- Design doc ---
Project X will be a multiplayer action game, highly extensible (through
the Lua script engine), using a top-down view.  The basic game will be a
battlefield clash -- in dozens of scenarios such as an outdoor field, a
futuristic building, the rooftops of a metropolis, and a government
warehouse.
  Each player starts out with the basic weapon, a sword.  There are,
however, weapons scattered throughout the playing field -- bazookas, flame
throwers, bombs, and so on -- that the player can pick up.  Some weapons
-- guns, for example -- require ammunition.  By default the player gets a
limited amount, and to restock, he has to find weapon-specific ammo
deposits (which are also scattered throughout the playing field).
  Once all the players but one are killed -- i.e. we have a winner -- the
round is over.  The game may continue here, with options for staying with
the current map, having the computer choose a random map, or manually
selecting a particular map.  The winner is the only one who retains his
status (and weapons) from the previous round.
  Each player gets a score which is simply how many opponents he killed.
The winner takes that score and gets twice that much (i.e. if both he and
another player kill 3 players, the winner gets 6 points while the second
player only gets 3).  The objectives are to a) get points and b)
accumulate weapons. To get points, you have to kill everything you can,
and to keep weapons, you have to win rounds.
  The players aren't alone on the battlefield, however.  There are stupid
little grunts that just walk around getting in the way (and if you touch
them, you lose health).  There are ghost clouds, nearly invisible, that
float around and grab hold of players for random amounts of time, draining
the player's health in the process.  Parasites walk around aimlessly until
players get within a certain distance of them; then they follow them
closely.  Some are harmless, but others can hurt you (not very much,
though).  Carriers also walk around aimlessly, occasionally dropping
weapons or power-ups or ammo.
  There are a few basic types of weapons: swords (hand-held weapons that
you slash or hit with, such as swords and clubs), projectiles (anything
that flies away from the play, such as bullets (guns) and arrows), and
bombs (weapons that sit and wait for a stimulus to detonate, which may be
either players being nearby or a time limit -- bombs and mines).  Each
player can carry an unlimited amount of weapons.  However, ammo is
limited, to 50 units per weapon type (i.e. 50 bullets, 50 arrows, etc.).
  Each character (player or computer-controlled) has characteristics such
as health (usually 0-100 for normal characters, but this varies, and
power-ups can increase the limit), type (human, whatever), and so on.
  There are certain "magic" tiles which add to the gameplay -- teleports,
which either have set or random destinations; stairs for changing floors;
bushes which can be burned away by certain weapons; fire tiles, which hurt
players and are caused by either certain weapons or random events (like
disasters in Sim City); bouncy blocks which rebound players; pits that
players can fall into (which result in death); blocks that can be pushed
around (and can crush players); ice areas where players can slip and
slide; and motion tiles (flat escalators).  Obviously not all of these
tiles would fit on certain levels (i.e. bouncy blocks wouldn't quite be
appropriate on a woodsy, outdoor level).
--- Design doc end ---

Later,
Ben

-- 
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort 
and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." 
  -- Martin Luther King, Jr.