Visual Storytelling Project: Prototype Sprites and Object List

NOTE: Changes might be made later in production

Sprites: (20 max)

1. Kalaze Stand Front
2. Kalaze Stand Back
3. Kalaze Jump Front
4. Kalaze Jump Back
5. Kalaze Attack Front
6. Kalaze Attack Back
7. Kalaze Fire Blast Front
8. Kalaze Fire Blast Back
9. Platform
10. Ground
11. Underground
12. Lava
13. Invisible Wall 1
14. Invisible Wall 2
15. Heart/Lives
16. BGM
17. Shadow Creature Right
18. Shadow Creature Left
19. Shadow Soldier Front
20. Shadow Soldier Back

Objects: (15 max)

1. Kalaze
2. Fire Blast
3. Shadow Soldier
4. Shadow Creature
5. Ground
6. Underground 1 (Solid)
7. Underground 2 (Cave tunnel)
8. Lava
9. Platform
10. Barrier 1 (For enemies)
11. Barrier 2 (For enemies)
12. Barrier 3 (Prevents player from leaving the level at the start)
13. Goal
14. Lives
15. Level BGM

Visual Storytelling Project: Game Mechanics

Basic Gameplay Controls:

• A/Left: Move Left (Kalaze, Hurrifu and Quachi only)
• D/Right: Move Right (Kalaze, Hurrifu and Quachi only)
• W/Up: Jump (Kalaze, Hurrifu and Quachi only)/Move Up (Blusui only)
• S/Down: Move Down (Blusui only)
• Spacebar: Attack
• X: Attack 2 (Kalaze and Hurrifu only)

 Player Mechanics:

• Lives: 3
  • Game over when all 3 lives are lost
• Kalaze Stats
  • Jump Ability: Normal
  • Movement Speed: Normal
  • Attack 1: Sword Slash
  • Attack 2: Fireball Blast
• Blusui Stats
  • Jump Ability: N/A
  • Movement Speed: Fast
  • Attack: Water Blast
• Hurrifu Stats
  • Jump Ability: High
  • Movement Speed: Normal
  • Attack 1: Arrow
  • Attack 2: Boomerang
• Quachi Stats
  • Jump Ability: Low
  • Movement Speed: Slow
  • Attack: Claw Slash

 Enemy Mechanics:

• Shadow Soldier
  • Moves right and left
  • Stops to shoot shadow blasts
• Shadow Squid
  • Moves up and down
  • Shoots shadow blasts
• Shadow Paratrooper
  • Hovers above ground
  • Moves up and down
  • Shoots arrows
• Shadow Creature
  • Moves right and left

Level pick-ups:

• Heart
  • Restores 1 life
• Earthquake Power-up
  • Kills all on-screen enemies
  • Only found in Quachi’s level
• Elemental Gem
  • Grab to finish
  • Different colours in levels
    • Kalaze: Red
    • Blusui: Blue
    • Hurrifu: Green
    • Quachi: Black

Visual Storytelling Project: Prototype Planning

Prototype content:

• There will be a menu featuring the island of Aether with buttons to select a level
  • The buttons are located on the islands different tribes coinciding with the level of the character (e.g. Fire Tribe = Kalaze)
  • There will be a help menu for controls and level aims
• The prototype will have 4 levels, 1 per character
  • Level 1: Kalaze
  • Level 2: Blusui
  • Level 3: Hurrifu
  • Level 4: Quachi
    • The levels will not take long to complete
  • Each level will have a short theme playing
    • The menu will have the main theme played

Changes from original planned content:

• Some sound effects will not be included in the prototype
• Each level won’t have as many assets than originally planned
• To minimize worktime some character abilities will change

Potential changes during development:

• If low on work time the game will have only one level
  • The level will be chosen based on near-completion
  • The menu will change along with it
• Some character abilities will have to be scrapped
  • Both player and AI enemy abilities
• Some character sprites might be removed
• The flash animation might serve as the games intro (just a idea)

Visual Storytelling Project: GarageBand Instrument List

• Drum Kit
  • SoCal (A then S) (Use at the start of Kalaze scene and end of the animation)
• Electronic Drum Kit
  • Pile Driver (H) (Use during hero scenes)
• Guitar
  • Hard Rock (W & E) (Use in tune during hero scenes)
• Orchestral
  • Stings
    • String Ensemble (Use during the start of the animation)
  • Woodwinds
    • Flute Solo (A) (Use on meteor shot)
  • Synthesizer
    • Classics
      • Evolving Shades (A) (Use at the start of the animation)
    • EDM
      • Dark Bass Drive (A) (Use for the first scene)
    • Rhythmic
      • Hypnotic Synth Bass (A then S then D then F) (Change during each hero)
    • Soundscape
      • Pulsating Waves (A) (Use throughout from Kalaze’s scene)
    • Vintage Electric Piano
      • Classic Electric Piano (W and E) (Use alongside Strings and use throughout the animation)

Visual Storytelling Project: Project Plan

Timetable

Dates	Tasks
4th January – 17th January	Research and Plan Project
18th January – 14th February	Conceptual Development (Concept Art, Flash Video, Prototype Planning, Game Mechanics Planning)
15th February – 5th April	Project Development (Game + Asset Development, Sound Design, Testing)
6th April – 20th April	Final Adjustments (Fix Glitches, Fix Coding, go to Contingency Plan, Evaluation)

Production Process

The Legend of Aether is a game that I am creating as my Visual Storytelling project. The proposal has been completed so it is now time to begin the process of creating it.

The process will go through multiple phases.

• Phase 1 will involve research and planning for the project, even though the proposal is done I still need to research and plan how I am going to create the game. While I’m doing that I will also create a Gantt chart to monitor my progress.
• Phase 2 is the conceptual development, I will be creating concept art and also a flash animation showcasing the product. The animation will be then later be uploaded onto YouTube. Also I will continue planning by planning the game mechanics and the prototype of the game.
• Phase 3 is developing the game itself, I will also be creating the sounds and music for the game and also testing the game.
• Phase 4 will be doing the final adjustments. For the final 2 weeks of the process I will be fixing glitches and coding errors in the game, or if the worst comes to it I will resort to one or so of my contingency plans.

Along the way I will be posting my activities on a development blog daily to chronicle and back track on my work.

Programmes that will be used

• Photoshop (concept and reference artwork)
• Illustrator (logo design)
• Flash (animation)
• Game Maker (game development)
• Garage Band (sound design

Contingency Plans

In the event of a problem emerging within the development process I will resort to several contingency plans based around the following situations.

• What I fail to create a concept art of a character: If I fail to create a concept art of a character either due to artist block or if I have ran out of time, then the character will be scrapped or shelved for later on.
• Sound isn’t working on the flash animation: If the sound isn’t working on the flash animation and if I haven’t got the time to fix it in phase 2 (where the animation will be made) then I will fix the problem in phase 4, prior to that I will search for solutions. If none of these solutions work then the sound will have to be scrapped due to time constraints.
• The flash animation is taking too long to create: If the animation is taking a very long time to create within phase 2 then the animation will be shortened than originally intended.
• The game programming isn’t working properly: If something is wrong with the programming then I will attempt to fix the problem in phase 4.
• What if I fail to fix any glitches: If I am unable to regrettably fix the glitch or glitches then I will have to resort to improvising by changing several aspects of the game, even though it means the glitches will remain.
• What if I fail to complete creating all of the levels: If I am unable to finish the levels, design-wise and asset controls, then I will resort to using only one level for the game.
• What if I fail completing everything in a phase: Well if I don’t everything in a phase on time then I will have to finish what’s left in my spare time.
• What if I fail to submit on time: I’m screwed…

Visual Storytelling Project: Flash Animation Plan

Programmes to use: Adobe Flash (for the animation itself), Photoshop (character design reference), Garage Band (sound design)

Purpose of the programmes:

For creation of the animation I will be using Adobe Flash. I have created flash animations before so for this project this will be the go-to programme for creating the animation.

Photoshop will be used for the creation of reference art for the animation just like I do so for the game, the logo will be created on Illustrator instead. If possible I might be able to add some the artwork onto the animation to save time.

None of the animations that I have done had sound included, hopefully this time I will try to change that. For the creation of the music that will play in the animation I will use Garage Band a sound design programme that I have used before. The theme will also be used in the games main menu as the main theme music.

Run time: 45 seconds (30 seconds, contingency plan time)

Planned Synopsis:

The animation starts with the Legend of Aether logo and then changes to a scene featuring the Shadow Emperor leading an army of Shadow Tribe creatures and the inhabitants of Aether being infected by shadow energy generated by the Shadow Emperor. Then the 4 meteors containing the 4 heroes come crashing down onto the island.

Afterwards a montage plays showcasing each of the 4 legendary heroes: Kalaze, Blusui, Hurrifu, and Quachi. Each of them battling enemies in their tribes, the scene also gives an idea of the gameplay of the characters and their abilities. The animation ends with the title and release date details.

Visual Storytelling Project: Game Design Plan

Programmes to use: Game Maker (to create the game), Photoshop (character design reference), Illustrator (logo), Garage Band (sound design)

Purpose of the programmes:

In the past I have created games on Game Maker so I will be more familiar with using this software to create the project. In addition I will be creating the assets such as the sprites and objects. In my 4^th mini-brief task I created 2 sprites so I will be using the techniques from that task for the creation of the sprites, even though they will developed on Game Maker.

Character, location and asset reference art will be created on Photoshop. Some of the art will be included in the game, mainly the backgrounds of the levels. The games logo will be created on Illustrator as I created a logo on Illustrator for my 5^th mini-brief task, and also the programme is said to be ideal for creating logos.

Garage Band will be the programme I will use to create the sound for the game, it also be used for my animation. I have used Garage Band for the sound and music for games that I have made in the past so I do so again with this one. However Garage Band isn’t available on the college computers so work on sound design will have to be done at home.

Planned content:

The game will only be a demo containing 4 levels, one per character. The game will be a 2D side-scrolling game and the gameplay varies depending on the character the player plays as.

Kalaze’s level is set in a volcanic area and will be played in a platforming format as Kalaze will have to jump on levelled terrain. His playing style involves close-range and long-range combat, being able to shoot fireballs from afar and can also attack with his sword, making him a balanced all round character.

Blusui’s level is set underwater and is played in a side-scrolling rail shooter format as in this level she swims. Her level involves her trying to reach the end of the level in a fixed path, she can move up or down to dodge enemies or simply attack them, Blusui can shoot enemies with water blasts and can also use her trident as a shield to deflect attacks back at enemies.

Hurrifu’s level is set on a mountain range and is played in a platforming format like Kalaze’s level but with more emphasis on airborne gameplay. His level involves him traversing through the level by jumping and gliding above chasms while battling enemies along the way, Hurrifu is a long-range battler and attacks by using a boomerang and arrows, he doesn’t use his elemental powers to attack in his level.

Quachi’s level is set underground and involves digging through the terrain to reach the end of the level. His gameplay is in a way a polar opposite to Hurrifu’s as he is a close-range battler and his level is set on the ground, but he can still jump, just not as high. Quachi can only dig through certain areas from his side or below him using his claws which can also be used to attack enemies, he can also cause earthquakes to take out multiple enemies but only by grabbing power-ups.

Game Assets:

• Sprites: Create on Game Maker
  • Kalaze
    • Kalaze standing
    • Kalaze jump
    • Kalaze move
    • Kalaze attack
    • Kalaze death
  • Blusui
    • Blusui swimming
    • Blusui swim up
    • Blusui swim down
    • Blusui attack
    • Blusui defend
    • Blusui death
  • Hurrifu
    • Hurrifu standing
    • Hurrifu jump/glide
    • Hurrifu move
    • Hurrifu attack 1
    • Hurrifu attack 2
    • Hurrifu death
  • Quachi
    • Quachi standing
    • Quachi jump
    • Quachi move
    • Quachi attack side
    • Quachi attack down
    • Quachi attack up
  • Shadow Soldier Minion
    • Soldier standing
    • Soldier attack
  • Shadow Creature Minion
    • Creature move
  • Shadow Sea Creature Minion
    • Sea Creature move
  • Shadow Paratrooper Minion
    • Paratrooper hover
    • Paratrooper attack
  • Ground
    • Ground Kalaze level
    • Ground Blusui level
    • Ground Hurrifu level
    • Ground Quachi level
    • Ground Quachi level fragile
  • Platforms
    • Platform Kalaze level
    • Platform Hurrifu level
    • Platform Quachi level
  • Power-ups
    • Earthquake power-up
• Backgrounds: Create on Photoshop
  • Main menu background
  • Kalaze level background
  • Blusui level background
  • Hurrifu level background
  • Quachi level background
• Images: Create on Game Maker, Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Logo (Illustrator)
  • Kalaze (Photoshop)
  • Blusui (Photoshop)
  • Hurrifu (Photoshop)
  • Quachi (Photoshop)
  • Button (Game Maker)
• Sound & Music: Create using Garage Band
  • Main theme (used in animation and title screen)
  • Level themes
    • Kalaze theme (used in Kalaze’s level)
    • Blusui theme (used in Blusui’s level)
    • Hurrifu theme (used in Hurrifu’s level)
    • Quachi theme (used in Quachi’s level)
  • Sound effects
    • Sword slash (Kalaze standard attack)
    • Fire ball (Kalaze special attack)
    • Trident spin (Blusui defend)
    • Water blast (Blusui attack)
    • Boomerang (Hurrifu attack 1)
    • Arrow shot (Hurrifu attack 2)
    • Dig (Quachi attack)
    • Earthquake (Earthquake power-up)
    • Shadow blast (Shadow Minions attack)
    • Death (when the player dies)