Project 2: Apple Interactive Concept

Story Update
I have been thinking alot about the story of my game and how it works. Does it benefit the game? Does it make sense? Will it be too story heavy? I have come to the conclusion that it needs to be simpler. I know I am getting very close to the deadline but I do not want to change my whole idea, just modify it slightly. Upon reflection of other App games I decided I wanted it to be a simplistic story with "touch and play" unlockable levels similar to Angry Birds. This way, the player can pick up the game and play on the go. I have realised that the majority of people play to kill time, I rarely hear people say "Oh man, I can't wait to get home and have a long session on X", "X" being any games or apps. This is why I needed my game to be less story heavy and more focused around fun gameplay and unlockable levels, simple areas to choose levels and see your story progression. This way, I will avoid relying on players to remember any strong or comprehensive story in order to understand the game. While my story ideas for the game were never complicated in the first place, I think it’s the design of the game that has made me bottle it and change my mind at the (nearly) last minute. I am still trying to iron out details in my head so that I can write a confident synopsis ready for my design document, I will post it up asap.

As far as the design of the game goes I have designed the concepts for the main character and the main ride-able character. The reason he is mainly riding a dinosaur will become apparent when I write up the new story ideas but that will come later. Here is the dinosaur.

 

Dinosaur Concept

Quick Concept Painting of the Young 

Boy Riding the Dinosaur

 

Screen Shots & Gameplay Style 

My game will appear in the 3rd person from behind the dinosaur and boy. As I want the environment to be 3D too, I am finding it hard to do high detail concepts for how it will look. Here is a VERY BASIC screen shot concept that I have done for the purpose of trying to explain that the game is NOT a side scroller. It will play like and have similar graphics to Crash Team Racing, Mario Galaxy 2 or Crash Bandicoot 3 but I am struggling to draw this without simply using screen shots from these games for demonstration. I think for my design document I will include screen shots from games that have inspired me so that the reader can get a look and feel for how I want my game to look without me having to try and draw a highly detailed screenshot concept.

I still need to talk about controls and how the game will be played on Iphone, Ipod and Ipad but I will save that for another post. Possibly when I update you on the story. Anyway, as you can see the screen shot is incredibly basic. I used texture samples from Mario Galaxy 2 and Crash Bandicoot for the floor and rocks just to give it that slightly 3D element that I am going for. Other than that it's so very basic, I am not really happy with it but it will do for a rough concept. The user can see that the view is from behind the dinosaur and young boy and can also see that the level progresses to the front of them, not to the side like a side scroller.