Grind Craft: Digital Prototype Feature Treatment

As a game development student, I have to make a digital prototype of a game with my team by the end of this semester. In this prototype, it is the most important to let players feel the game. This could includes how the game works, how does it flow from start to end, how the game looks, and what are the controls, etc.

My game is a 3rd person vcalled Roboy In the Hood. It features a robot that thinks it is a human boy and fights against criminals in their hood as a cop. The game style is pretty similar to GTA series and Sleeping Dogs where players explore in a large scale environment and complete certain amount of missions.

Sleeping Dogs screenshot

GTA 5 screenshot

What I concern the most is the gameplay and the design of the environment for the digital prototype. First of all, gameplay is the most significant thing to any game; a great game often requires to have great gameplay. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate how the players play in RIH(Roboy In the Hood) and what fun they can get out of it. Since the time and the team size are limited, we will aim for shooting as the only combat system in the game. Players would have options to obtain and switch weapon, and if they ever encounter large group of enemy, they can hide behind objects and move between them to help them fight or escape. This inherits the style of gameplay from the examples we look up to, but the most important thing is to execute it in the game. Therefore, the gameplay will be the highest priority in this prototype. Besides the gameplay, the design of the environment has a significant impact as well. For this particular gameplay, it relies on the environment a lot. For example, how do players travel around the city to complete their mission, or how can the objects in the environment enhance the excitement during combat should be taken into consideration when designing the world. With a well-designed environment, it can lead to more interesting gameplay, therefore, it is also important as gameplay for this prototype. Furthermore, one of the major feature for this type of game is that it allows players to play as a character in a virtual world and they can act accordingly to the rules or options that are predefined in the world. So, a well-designed environment can help to set the tone of the game. Besides these priority concerns we have, there are many other things we have to take into account. To have gameplay, we need to have a clear list of control players have on the character. For example, players would have a clear understanding different sets of action come from the character and guide them to understand how these action can help them progress and have fun in the game. Also, the aesthetics is a crucial element. The environment needs to be filled with well-textured and design buildings in order to deliver the atmosphere we want players to have in the game.

Besides the concerns we have, we also understand what would kill the game if something does not work out. The worst thing that would kill the game is that players are not able to explore around the city in maximum control. This includes many factors that may provides negative experience to the players such as control of switching from action to action. When players move around the map, they should move in a realistic speed with nice animated model, and switching from walking to running or to sprinting should smooth and convenient. It would a mood killer if there is a lag or delay between actions while they travel around. Therefore, this will be what we are trying to avoid in this prototype.