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TRANSCRIPT
Apex Trials Colossal Duty
By: Trevor Farnsworth, and Steven Brown
Table Of Content 1. Title Page ……………………………………………………………………...Page 1
1.1. Game Name
1.2. Version Number, author, date
2. Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………Page 2
3. Section I - Game Overview …………………………………………………….Page 4
3.1. Game Concept
3.2. Feature Set
3.3. Genre
3.4. Target Audience
3.5. Look and Feel
3.6. Project Scope
4. Section II - Gameplay and Mechanics…………………………………………Page 5
4.1. Gameplay
Game Progression
Mission/challenge Structure
Objectives
Play Flow
4.2. Mechanics
Movement
Combat 4.3. Screen Description
Main Menu Screen
Options Screen
Credits Screen
In-Game Screen
4.4. Game Options
4.5. Replaying and Saving
5. Section III – Story, Setting and Character …………………………………… Page 9
5.1. Story and Narrative
Backstory
Plot Elements
Game Progression
Cut Scenes
5.2. Game World
5.3. Characters
6. Section IV – Levels …………………………………………………………... Page 14
6.1. Training Level
6.2. Level 1
7. Section V - Interface …………………………………………………………. Page 15
7.1. Visual System HUD
7.2. Menus
7.3. Control System
7.4. Audio
7.5. Music
7.6. Sound Effects
7.7. Help System
8. Section VI - Artificial Intelligence ………………………………………….. Page 17
8.1. Enemy AI
8.2. Non-combat Characters
9. Section VII – Technical ……………………………………………………… Page 20
9.1. Target Hardware
9.2. Development hardware and software
9.3. Development procedures and standards
9.4. Game Engine
9.5. Scripting Language
10. Section VIII – Management…………………………………………….…….. Page 20
10.1. Budget
10.2. Risk Analysis
10.3. Localization Plan
10.4. Test Plan
11. Section X - Game Art ………………….…………………………………….. Page 22
11.1. Concept Art
11.2. Style Guides
11.3. Characters
11.4. Environments
11.5. Equipment
11.6. Cut scenes
Game Overview
Game Concept: Apex Trials, is at its core a boss rush game with a mix of gun and sword combat. A fast paced first person shooter, where the player faces off against a single
massive beast per level, learning and adapting to its attack patterns, and using
three different weapons and a variety of movement abilities to take the behemoth
down.
Feature Set:
● Epic multi-stage boss style battles against unique behemoths
● Varying combat with the ability to smoothly transition between swordplay
and gunplay
● New take on ranged combat with more focus on precision shooting and
tactical positioning
● A return to old-school gameplay without checkpoints and saves
Genre: Alex Trials is a first-person shooter mixed with an adventure styled game in which the player faces off against massive behemoths, in order to save the planet
and get vengeance for the death of their parents.
Target audience: Apex Trials is intended to be rated M, for ages 17 and up. Although not containing nudity, Apex Trials has a violent theme to it as a shooter, and a
somewhat dark storyline. The game is geared more towards casual gamers as
there's no multiplayer to support a more competitive scene; however, competitive
players will still find enjoyment in the difficulty of later levels.
Look and Feel: The look and feel of Apex Trials is a dark one in terms of both the world and story. The world being destroyed and torn apart by these massive behemoths
while humanity struggles to survive underground and a story built on pure hatred
and vengeance. The main character is by no means a good guy or knight in
shining armor, but more so a lone wolf pursuing his own personal goals. The
world itself is dark, with the life force of earth being drained by the behemoths,
the surface looks post-apocalyptic.
Scope: The goal with Apex Trials is to stay reasonable within scope for what can be done in a single year. The main focus is on threes, three weapons, three main
behemoths, and three levels. Beyond that we will have a few small cut scenes,
trying to limit the amount of animations as much as possible. The most
challenging part for the project which pushes the scope a bit is everything that
goes into making the behemoths. The behemoth ai is the most intensive piece of
programming that needs to get done for the game, as well as the behemoth models
needing to be well detailed as they are the main focus of the game. To help
balance things out in this regard, the main character model can be much less
detailed due to it being a first person game.
Gameplay and Mechanics
Gameplay Mechanic Progression: Most of the gameplay progression will occur through the behemoths that you fight rather than your own powers. Instead of introducing new
abilities for the player, the progression will be through the new abilities
and powers of the behemoths. The purpose of this is to force the player to
be strategic and adapt to the new situations they are in, without giving
them convenient or overpowered weapons and abilities. The only
exception to this is the possibility of introducing a new weapon for the
final behemoth battle, either that or an alternate fire to one of the main
weapons.
Mission Structure: Since each mission plays out like it’s own boss fight, the player will find that the majority of each mission will be spent in a single location. Along
with this, the battle will progress through stages based on the behemoths
current health. As the behemoth becomes more and more injured, it will
change up its tactics and use different moves and abilities. For example
the first behemoth (the rock behemoth) will call in minions (smaller
monsters) once it is in stage two, and will move more sporadically,
charging at the player and making reckless attacks while in stage three.
Objectives: The main objective of each level is simply to defeats the behemoth; however, doing so involves secondary objectives which depend on the
behemoth you are facing. For the first behemoth, the secondary objective
would be to damage the crystals on its legs in order to down it and climb
onto to deal massive damage.
Play flow: The game will open up with an intro cinematic, covering the backstory of the world, the player will have the option to skip the intro and go straight
to the main menu. At the main menu, the player will be able to go to the
Options and Credits pages or start the game. The options page will provide
some basic options and will have a section showing the controls for the
game. Once the player is ready to go and hits the start button. The screen
will fade to black and transition into the tutorial level in which the player
will learn the basic controls for the game. Once reaching the exit of the
tunnel (the end of the tutorial level) the game will move to the first cut
scene, showing the death of the elder and discovery of the crystal cannon.
At the end of the cut scene, the player will enter the first mission, in which
they will face off against the rock behemoth.
Mechanics
Movement: The player will use standard WASD 8 directional movement with mouse movement aiming/camera control, similar to other first person shooters.
There will also be a simple jump/double jump, in which you cannot use
WASD to make mid-air maneuvers; however, rotating the character with
the mouse will allow for some maneuvering in the air. If moving when
jumping, the player will carry their momentum in the air, and holding
another direction while performing a double jump will shift momentum in
that direction. Running is another ability available to the player, increasing
their speed at the cost of being able to shoot/attack. The final movement
ability available to the player is a dodge roll, which will launch the player
in the direction they are holding (WASD) or backwards if they are
standing still, and make the player invincible for a few short frames.
During the dodge roll, the player will be unable to make any other
movements or maneuvers and the roll cannot be performed mid-air.
Combat: Apex Trials utilizes first-person shooter combat along with a melee weapon that can be used in certain situations. Primarily the player will use
their ranged weapon to shoot at the Behemoths weak points in an attempt
to wear it down. Occasionally the Behemoth will do specific attacks that
will cause it to lower itself. During this time the player may climb onto
the Behemoth to inflict greater damage using their melee weapon.
Weapons: The primary weapon is the gunsword, which works similar to a mid range rifle/ semi-automatic weapon such as the FN FAL. The gunsword will fire
as fast as the trigger can be pulled (within limits) and will be clip based,
meaning it will need to be reloaded. One feature of the gunsword is that it
has a scope (most likely a x4 scope) allowing for precise shooting, making
the weapon ideal for dealing damage to weak points and fighting from a
distance. The gunsword will act as the player's primary source of damage
against the behemoths as it does medium damage, will have a large
reservoir of ammo, and is versatile in its usability due to the scope and
range. The gunsword is powered by blue crystalline energy, which is
gathered by standing near blue crystals scattered around each level. It will
also be able to transform into a sword (hence the name) and deal out
devastating melee damage. While in sword mode the player will have a
simple swinging combo, an uppercut to knock back enemies, and a
downward stab, primarily used on weak points when on the behemoth.
The sword will also do extra damage to crystalline parts of the behemoths
and can destroy rocks with purple crystals in them.
The second weapon available to the player is the machine pistol. This gun
has limited range and relatively low damage, but makes up for it by
shooting rapid fire (automatic) which is ideal for dealing out quick bursts
of damage. The pistol will have a relatively small clip size with a smaller
reservoir of ammo than the gunsword. The pistol uses the same blue
crystal ammo that the gunsword uses and recharges in the same way. The
firing spread will be somewhat large, but can be focused in by aiming
down sights allowing for better aim and control of recoil. The main
purpose/use of the machine pistol is to deal with smaller minions that can
be encountered during fights, quickly taking them down with bursts of
damage allowing for more focus on the behemoth.
The final weapon that the player has at their disposal is the cannon. Unlike
the gunsword and machine pistol, the cannon shoots crystals instead of
just using their energy, and these crystal cannonballs explode on impact
dealing tons of damage aoe style. The catch is that the heavy weapon
utilizes the purple crystals as ammo, requiring the crystals themselves
instead of energy from them, meaning there is a limited amount of ammo
for each fight, depending on how many purple crystal rocks are scattered
around the terrain. The cannon will be projectile based, and the crystal
cannonballs will travel in and arc, requiring skill and timing to land hits on
weak points. There won’t be any aim down sights for the cannon as it
would be very difficult to bring a cannon up to your face to aim. However,
the cannon will have an alternate fire that acts similar to a shotgun blast.
This will shoot out shredded crystals in a large spread and deal massive
damage at close range.
Weapon Damage Range Rate of
Fire
Special
Gunsword Medium long Semi-auto Transforms to
sword
Machine Pistol Low close Full-auto Heavy burst
damage
Crystal Cannon High long Bolt action
style
Projectile based,
shotgun alt-fire
Screen Description: Main Menu: The Main Menu of Apex Trials will show the shadow of a Behemoth looming over a field covered with UI buttons. These buttons will be Start
Game, Options, Credits, and Quit.
Option Screen: In the options screen the player will be able to adjust the volume of the game, and remap the game's controls to their preference.
Credit Screen: The credits screen will be a simple list of each member of the team, and what role they played in making the game.
In-game Screen: The in-game screen will be what the player sees when playing through Apex Trials. The view will be a first person of the main character, with
a simple, clean HUD on the outer edges, and a crosshair in the center.
Game Options: The options provided for Apex Trials will be split into two sections. One will be the standard built in Unity options that are available and editable when launching
the game. These options allow for a change in graphics and resolution. In terms
of resolution, there is no current plan to lock the resolution to a specific size. The
second options will be the in-game options, which will allow the player to adjust
the volume, both sfx and music, and also rebind the controls.
Replaying and Saving: Currently there is no plan to include the ability to save/load into different levels. The reason for this is because Apex Trials is a fairly short game. With the
current goal of having three different behemoth fights, most players will go
through the game in a single sitting. Another possible implementation would be
to include a life counter, to which the game would need to be restarted if the
player ran out of lives. This would add some replayability in that players could
possible die on a behemoth and play through to beat it again. Along with this
comes the possibility for more hardcore gamers to try and make 0 death runs in
which they beat the game without ever dying.
Story Setting and Characters Backstory: In the year 2062 asteroids plummeted to the Earth, raining fire and destruction
down on the population. As humanity struggled to recover from this destruction,
giant monsters emerged, hunting down humans and destroying whole cities. The
last remnants of humanity retreated underground barely escaping extinction. As
the survivors began to rebound, setting up an underground civilization,
(underground city name), they discovered unnatural and powerful crystals
spreading from the impact points of the asteroids. Using these crystals, the
survivors created powerful weapons and armor in an effort to fight back against
the monsters and retake the surface. The Old Guard were formed for this exact
goal, wielding the crystal infused technology, they ventured to the surface
hunting down the beasts. Many of the early expeditions were devastating, ending
in failure with few returning to the underground. However, with each expedition,
the survivors learned more and more about the beasts, learning their habits and
discovering weak points. One of the most notable discoveries being that the
mysterious crystals appeared to be infused on different sections of the monsters
bodies and that damaging the crystals was absolutely devastating. With this
knowledge, new weapons were created directly from the crystals, and the Old
guard began to make progress, clearing out some of the surface around
(underground city name). After many years, it appeared that the survivors had a
chance, hopes were high as the Old Guard cleared more and more of the surface,
and an expedition was organized to set up an above ground colony. Guarded by
most of the Old Guard a group of builders traveled to the surface to set up the
colonies foundations. Mere days into the expedition, everything went to hell as
the group was attacked by a monster larger than anything that had been seen
before. They were completely unprepared for the power of this behemoth, and the
entire group was quickly wiped out. The Old Guard was all but destroyed, leaving
behind some elders and new recruits, and the survivors hopes of returning to the
surface were completely snuffed out. No one stood a chance against this new
behemoth, and so slowly, over time, the Old Guard disappeared, and the survivors
gave up on the surface, settling into an underground existence.
Many years later, the survivors had settled into their underground lives,
many forgetting the existence of the surface. One orphan boy, the son of the head
builder and a member of the Old Guard, raised by the former leader, wasn’t
satisfied with a simple underground existence. The stories he was told of the
surface, along with a deep hatred of the behemoths, push him to demand training
from the elder. Though he didn’t want to send the orphan to the surface, he could
see the boys drive and passion, and so he taught the boy. He gave the boy his own
gunblade, the famous Old Guard weapon, and taught him how to use it. The boy
also studied everything that was known about the behemoths. After years of
studying and training, the day had come for the two to travel to the surface and
hunt down a behemoth. The orphan was no longer a boy; he had forged his own
armor and created his first crystal gun, the machine pistol. He also carried with
him the elders gunblade. Together they traveled through many caves, finally
arriving at the surface. There they began to hunt for behemoths. As they traveled
across a large, rocky plain, the ground began to rumble. (elder name) froze,
looking for the source of the tremors. Then a clubbed tail shot out from a giant
boulder, swinging high into the air and plummeting down towards the orphan.
The elder, with all of his power, dashed into the orphan and pushed him out of the
way as the tail came crushing down on him. The surrounding terrain crumbled
under the force of the tail sending the orphan down into the valley. After coming
to, the behemoth had jumped down into the valley, searching for the next prey. As
he got up, the orphan noticed a strange weapon nearby. Picking it up, he noticed
that a purple crystal was loaded into it. With this new mysterious weapon, the
orphan stepped out into the valley, determined to kill the behemoth.
Plot Points: There are only a few big plot points in the story since this will be a fairly short game. The first being the death of the elder at the beginning and the discovery of
the strange cannon weapon. Then the player will discover some information about
the purple crystals that had been hidden by the leader of the old guard. The
information reveals that the crystals are solidified lifeforce that the behemoths
create and use to survive. The blue crystals are made of lesser lifeforce, created
from plants and animals on the planet, while the purple crystals are made of
extremely strong life force, coming from humans. With this discovery, the player
also learns of the plan laid out by the leader of the old guard. The plan to gather a
large amount of purple crystals to use against the behemoths, by sacrificing
humans through an “expedition to the surface”. This knowledge leads to the
player finding the leader of the Old Guard, who had escaped the massacre and
lived in shame and regret of the decisions he made. After a confrontation, the
player will leave the leader to suffer, and go to hunt down the massive behemoth
that killed his parents. After killing the behemoth, the game will end with the
player visiting the site of his parent’s death, and an insanely large figure
appearing off in the distance (presumably an even larger behemoth).
Game Progression: The story progression will happen sort of tandem to the game in that the majority of the gameplay will consist of fighting a behemoth, while the story will primarily
progress through cut-scenes and snippets of dialogue/text. For the three levels that
we have planned, there is unlikely to be much progression in the sense of added
mechanics, the intention is to provide the player with everything from the
beginning but put them in situations in which they will need to adapt and use the
skills and powers they have in different ways. The gameplay progression will be
more focused on the behemoths than the player, as you take on more and more
powerful behemoths in each level.
Cut Scenes: Since the majority of the story will be told through cut-scenes, we will need to make a few for the game. The intro to the game, covering some of the backstory,
will be more of an opening cinematic, using still images and text/voice over to set
the scene of the game. After this there will be a short opening cut scene showing
the death of the elder and the discovery of the crystal cannon. Following the
defeat of the first behemoth will be a short cut scene showing the discovery of
some of the Old Guard leader’s notes on the crystals. After the defeat of the
second behemoth, a longer cut scene will cover the confrontation with the Old
Guard leader and the discovery of what happened during the expedition. The final
cut scene will occur after the defeat of the final behemoth, showing the orphan
and the gravesite of his parents and the elder, with a massive shadowy figure,
looming on the horizon.
Game World: The world that Apex Trials takes place in is futuristic Earth. In this futuristic Earth, the arrival of the behemoths has destroyed and altered a lot of the surface,
leaving only a small amount of plant life remaining and large craters scattered all
over the planet. Much of the surface is covered in a fog-like smoke that partially
blocks out the sun, making the surface dark even during the day. At the same time
that the behemoths arrived, strange crystals began to appear, both on the surface
and underground. Most common was a blue type of crystal that was partially
transparent and gave off a faint glow, while the darker purple crystals are a rare
site to see, concentrated mainly in places where behemoths have set up home, or
in large cities.
The environments that the player will be in throughout Apex Trials will be
mainly craters, and large open valleys with little to no vegetation. Players will
also explore the remains of a city, almost completely destroyed by the behemoths,
there will be broken sections of skyscrapers and houses scattered about; however,
a majority of the level will be flattened out due to the behemoths constantly
trampling the debris. Beyond the surface environments, the player will spend
some time underground, in the Last Refuge, the underground city the humans
created when they conceded the surface to the behemoths. The underground
environments will mainly be a series of cramped tunnels, with the Last Refuge
being the one exception as it stands in a large cavern. The only lighting that will
be in the underground areas will be from the blue crystals, which give off a faint
glow.
Characters: Beyond the Main character and the behemoths, players won’t really be interacting with other characters within Apex Trials. The two exceptions would be the elder,
who is the main characters mentor, and the Old Guard Leader, who is responsible
for the surface expedition massacre.
Main Character: The main character is the son of a member of the old guard and
the head builder that both died in the surface expedition massacre. Growing up an
orphan, he was taken care of by the elder, and told of stories of the surface. His
dreams of the surface lead him to train and learn everything he could about the
behemoths that killed his parents. Eventually he sets out to take revenge, his goal
to wipe out every behemoth on the surface. The main character is very much a
lone wolf. Beyond the help he received from the elder, he hates relying on others,
preferring to do everything himself. He isn’t talkative, favoring action over
speech, and only speaks when he feels it’s absolutely necessary. He is a bit of a
hot head, letting his emotions control him, and often making decisions purely out
of anger/rage (such as the decision to kill all the behemoths).
Main Character Model
Main Character model sheet/concept
Elder: The elder was the first leader, and one of the last remnants, of the old
guard. He had stayed behind in the Last Refuge when the surface expedition
massacre happened, and he took care of the main character in place of his parents.
Though, as his name suggests, the elder is in his later years of life, he is still a
very capable fighter, and with some reluctance, he trains the main character to
fight behemoths. The elder is tall and muscular, bald with a scruffy black beard,
and he wears his tattered Old Guard armor and cloak. Almost the complete
opposite of the main character, the elder keeps his emotions in check, always
thinking before acting, and he enters every situation with extreme caution. Old Guard Leader: The leader of the Old Guard is the one responsible for the surface expedition massacre. Following the massacre, he lost his heavy cannon, and spent his life searching for it while living in small caves across the surface. While he was once a rational and intelligent leader, his many years spent alone on the surface, along with the lingering guilt from the massacre, has made the leader somewhat insane.
Levels Training Level: To begin the game the player will start inside a dark tunnel, walking along with the elder. They will learn basic WASD movement and mouse aiming as they
move along. The player will first come to a pile of old mining explosives blocking
the path, to which the elder will tell you to step back, aim down your sights, and
shoot the explosives (teaching the player aiming, ADS, and shooting). The player
will then encounter a ledge which they will need to use double jump climb.
Closer to the end of the tunnel they will come to a wall of purple crystals, which
the elder will then instruct the player to break using their gunsword, prompting
the player to press E to transform their weapon into sword form. After breaking
the crystals the cave will start to collapse, and the elder will tell the player to
“RUN!”, prompting the player to hold shift with the ending of the cave being a
small gap which the player will need to dodge roll through (F), teaching them the
last bit of movement mechanics.
Level One: Level one will be a sort of trial by fire for the player, going from base movement mechanics to a full on battle with a behemoth. The level layout will be fairly
simple, a somewhat open valley with scattered rocky and crystal structures
throughout, and surrounded by large rock walls. The behemoth will be a rock type
with crystal weak points on the head legs and neck. It will also have three stages
similar to most boss fights, with the second stage bringing minions and the third
stage having the behemoth move more sporadically, almost in a rage-like state in
which it will relentlessly attack the player.
Level Two: In the second level the player encounters a new Behemoth in a ruined village. The village has clearly been ruined by some sort of disaster. It is implied the
nearby Behemoth destroyed the village. Similar to the first Behemoth the player
must battle the Behemoth in order to return back to the cavern.
Level Three-In the final level the player returns to the cavern only to find the
Behemoth that killed your parents has found the cave and is rampaging through it.
As a final battle it is up to you to take on this Behemoth, and avenge your parents
death.
Interface Visual System HUD: The HUD will be similar to standard fps hud layouts, with a few additions. Overall the HUD will include a bar for the behemoths health, a bar for the
player’s health, a display image showing the currently equipped weapon and a
number display for the amount of ammo for the weapon. In order to keep screen
clutter to a minimum, the HUD will be small and spaced out, making sure to
avoid blocking off key areas of the screen. Along the top of the screen will be the
behemoths health bar, and the player’s health bar will be vertical on the right side
of the screen with the gun image and ammo below it in the bottom right corner.
Along with these displays, there will be a different crosshair icon in the center of
the screen for each of the weapons. The crosshair will mainly be used for aiding
the player in hip firing, and there will be no crosshair while in sword mode. When
the player scopes into their weapon, the majority of the HUD will temporarily
disappear, with the only remaining piece being the behemoth health bar at the top
of the screen.
Example HUD with bottom right ammo count, player health bar on the right, behemoth health
bar on the top, and a centered crosshair
Menu: There will be two primary menus for Apex Trials, the main menu that the player will see when they start up the game, and the pause menu that can be pulled up at
any time during gameplay. The main menu will have a custom designed title with
a few menu buttons. One will be the play button that launches the game, another
will be options which will allow volume control, including controls for both sfx
and music, and control rebinding, there will be a credits button taking you to the
credits for the game, and a quit button to exit the game. As of right now there is
no intention to put in a load game button/feature as Apex Trials is relatively short
and intended to be played for a single sitting. As for the pause menu; when
opened, the menu will pause all gameplay and other inputs beyond those for the
menu itself. The options on the menu will include an options button which would
allow for control rebinding, a quit button which, on click, will open a second
menu making sure the player wants to quit the game, which upon clicking yes,
will exit back to the main menu.
Control System: Standard player movement will be WASD with spacebar to jump and mouse movement
to aim. While in the air, tapping spacebar again will give you a small upward boost,
similar to a double jump.
Holding left shift will allow the player to run, speeding up player movement, and F will
make the player do a dodge roll, temporarily making them invulnerable, and launching
the player in a specified direction (backwards if no directional key is being pressed).
Left click will shoot the currently equipped weapon with right click for aiming down
sights/alternate fire. The scroll wheel will change between the three weapons, and R will
reload them.
With the gunsword equipped, E will change the weapons mode between sword and gun.
In sword mode, left click will work as a standard attack, swinging back and forth, right
click will be a downward stab primarily used for dealing damage while on top of a
behemoth.
Audio: The audio of the game will generally switch between two different themes of calm, and quiet with not much more than the sound of your own footsteps.
However while in battle the player will experience many loud sounds between the
cries, and stomping of the Behemoths, along with the sound of their gun with the
chorus in the background.
Music: The overall tone of Apex Trials will be a mix of quite sad tones during down- times of the game, followed by intense choral themes when engaging in the boss
themes. On the title screen it will be a soft-rain theme that gives off a sad vibe.
The cavern will have a soft theme with emphasis on xylophone. The battles
against the Behemoth will have a feeling of epic, with most of them being
orchestral pieces, with a choir. Each boss will contain its own battle theme to
match its specific style of the Behemoth.
Sound Effects: The main category of sound effects is split between SFX for the weapons, player, Behemoths, and miscellaneous. For the weapons we will need sound effects for
reloading, shooting, and picking up more ammo. For each Behemoth they will all
have a roar specific to them, but will also have sound effects specific to their
attacks. The player will need sound effects for their action sequences such as
when the player does a dodge roll. Last we will need sound effects for different
smaller effects such as the rain, or rocks being destroyed.
Help System: While there will be no direct help system in Apex Trials, both the tutorial and options menu will serve as such. The tutorial level will provide the player with the
basics in terms of controls and game concepts (how to get more ammo, where to
shoot behemoths etc.). The options menu, which is accessible from both the main
and pause menu, will show the controls for the player as they have the ability to
remap controls on that screen.
Artificial Intelligence
Enemy AI: Apex Trials does contain several enemy AI that the game focuses around. For each Behemoth there will be a specific attack pattern tree that they follow that will
often focus on the different attack styles of the Behemoth. The attack pattern is
based on the behemoths distance to the player, broken into extreme close, close,
mid-range, long, and extreme long. Each distance allows the ai to choose from a
set of moves, which is decided randomly with some weighting based on the
previously used move and the behemoths current stage. The behemoth ai will also
have move sets broken into three stages. The move set used will be based on the
stage the behemoth is in (stages determined by the behemoths health).
Rock Behemoth The first behemoth, the rock behemoth, will start out with a fairly basic
move set. At extreme close, it will either do a body slam straight down, or jump
away from the player to a mid-range distance. At close range, the behemoth will
either bite at the player, or swipe at them using its front paw (either one). At mid-
range the behemoth will have multiple options. It can chase the player, following
them until its distance changes from mid to either long or close. The behemoth
can perform a pounce which will take the player's location at the beginning of the
attack, and jump a short distance to that location. If the player is not hit by the
pounce, the behemoth will be downed temporarily, allowing for the player to
climb up its arm and deal damage to its weak point on the neck. The last mid
range option for the behemoth is the projectile attack, which will launch straight
out and drop down towards the position the player was at when the attack was
started. The projectile will be a chunk of crystal and deal damage in a small area,
similar to the explosion of a grenade. At long range the behemoth will be able to
perform the same projectile attack, or charge at the player. When charging at the
player, the behemoth will get the location the player was at when starting the
attack, and travel at a high speed at the location. If the player comes into contact
with the behemoth while it is performing a charge, the player will be damaged
and knocked back, essentially stunned, to which the behemoth should follow up
with a projectile attack or swipe depending on the distance. If the charge doesn’t
connect with the player, the behemoth will run a short distance past the location
then stop moving, taking a short idle/rest before taking another action. At extreme
long range, the behemoth will enter roaming mode, moving to the nearest node on
its roam path, and quickly moving through each node until the distance between it
and the player changes back to long range (at least).
The second stage of the behemoth will add on the ability to call in minions.
This move will come in the form of a roar that occurs immediately upon transition
into stage 2. After the roar, minions will steadily spawn around the map. Beyond
the minion ability, the behemoth will prefer most direct attacks over movements
and overall movement speed will increase.
The third stage of the behemoth will increase the behemoths damage as it
enters enraged mode. It will also prefer dangerous attacks like pounce and charge,
which deal out massive damage, at the risk of taking massive damage. Their will
be changes in charge and pounces speed, making both have a faster windup and
overall shorter time to complete. The projectile attack will launch three crystal
shards, with a short pause between each shot, each shot retargeting on the position
of the player as they move. Another change will be a shortened time in which the
behemoth stays in the downed state after pouncing, and a similar shortened time
in which it idles after charging.
Stage Moves Damage Speed Extra
1 Pounce, charge, jump
away, bite, claw swipe,
projectile attack, roam
standard standard none
2 Adds roar(minion spawn)
and double claw swipe 1.5x 1.25x Favors More
aggressive
moves
3 Adds increased minion
spawn, triple projectile,
tail swipe
2x 1.75x Favors Pounce
and Charge,
shorter time
spent in
downed state
Rock Behemoth Minion The Rock minions will have very simplistic ai, aiming to be more of a
minor added difficulty, rather than an entirely different challenge. Minions will
spawn as the behemoth enters its second stage, and will spawn at a specified rate
for the rest of the battle. Spawn locations will be scattered around the outskirts of
the level, and minions will only spawn on locations that are further away from the
player, that way the player doesn’t have minions spawning inside/on top of them.
The ai for the minions will have them running straight for the player, without any
extra pathing, and once they are within range, they will perform a single melee
attack. Minions will not flinch from damage, and have no critical hit point, which
makes up for their low health.
Rock behemoth Behavior Stage 1
Technical
Target Hardware: The target hardware for Apex Trials is PC, as it will reach a wider audience and requires no additional port work to release on PC.
Development Hardware and Software: Apex Trials will be developed primarily on Windows OS. 3DS Max will be used for creating models, with Adobe Photoshop for textures, and programming will be done through Monosoft development.
Development Procedures and Standards: Every Friday the team will meet and begin working on their specific tasks. These tasks will be listed in the Google Drive and will be worked on until completion. Some outside work will be required as the semester goes on.
Game Engine: Apex Trials will be created in the Unity engine, specifically version 4.5.
Scripting Language: Since Apex Trials is being made using the Unity engine, we will be using C# as the game’s scripting language.
Management Budget: Due to Apex Trials being made for a college course, no finances will be needed for the production.
Risk Analysis: One of the largest risks of Apex Trials is the intended scope. Creating a shooter is a daunting task and the addition of unique and complex ai for each of the battles makes the game that much more of a challenge. Another risk is that Apex Trials is releasing into a market full of shooter games, which could affect the game’s overall popularity and success if our marketing is unsuccessful in making Apex Trials stand out.
Localization Plan: Since Apex trials is intended to be a somewhat small scale release, the game will be English only, with no intention of translating for other languages/audiences.
Test Plan: The plan for testing the game will be broken up into multiple steps and tests, which will each have a specific focus. The tests in order will be: primary controls, combat, stage 1 ai, first level/UI, stage 2 ai, second level, stage 3 ai, third level, full build. The plan is to make edits and changes after each test, and following the first full build test, we will make changes and repeat the test until we feel the game is finished and fully polished. Each test will be done by a small group of peers (most likely game design majors) with the intent of each test being done by different people. The full build tests will be opened up to a much larger group and include past testers as the goal for these tests is to get as much feedback as possible. Primary Controls test: this test will have players use and provide feedback for the character controller and movement abilities, including walk, run, jump and dodge roll. Players will give feedback on both the functionality and feel of the controller. Following the test, we will make changes to the controller as needed, and fix any reported bugs. Combat Test: this test will focus completely on the functionality and feel of the four weapons available to the player. Players will use the gunsword in both forms, the machine pistol, and the heavy launcher, testing them all out on an early version of the stage 1 behemoth, and its minions. While the ai will be available in this test, the focus will be completely on how the weapons function and if they feel good to the players.
Stage 1 ai Test: this test will focus on the behavior of the stage 1 behemoth an
it’s minions. The major focus here is to find any issues with the ai, in terms of
situations in which the behemoth may become glitched/bugged, or perform an
action that it shouldn’t. While this test will also be for checking if the behavior of
the behemoth feels right, the major focus will be in making sure that the
behemoth does what it’s supposed to, without any bugs/glitches.
First level/UI: this test will focus on the functionality, and more importantly, the
fun of the first stage. Players will navigate from the main menu into the first
stage, and play it through. The goal here is to make sure that the first stage is one
- beatable/functioning properly, and two - enjoyable/fun for the player. The test
will also gauge the functionality of the main menu and pause menu.
Stage 2/Stage3 ai Test: these tests will be copies of the stage 1 ai test in focus
and goal, with the change being the stage and behemoth.
Second/Third level: these tests will be copies of the first level/UI test, except they
will not need to test the functionality of the UI, unless there is a glaring issue. Full
Build Test: this test will look at Apex Trials as a whole complete package. Players
will start from the main menu, and play through all three stages of the game test
both functionality and fun. This test will be a last resort to catch any bugs that were
missed on previous tests, and will be a check for us to see if players are enjoying
the game, and what things we could possible change to make the game better. This
test will be repeated until we as a team feel the game is polished.
Game Art Concept Art:
Style Guide: Color Scheme The game has a darker feel to it as it tells the story of humanity on the brink of
extinction.. The darker colors are used to set the mood, as humanity has given up
on the surface and struggles to survive underground (Image 1). The main
character will be the redeeming light that brings a new hope to the world (Image
2). The color scheme will include cool colors with muted, earthy neutrals to show
how humanity has had to fall back on using natural materials (Image 1).
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Monster
The monsters that run throughout the surface are behemoths that seek out life
force to sustain themselves, hunting the humans of Earth. They draw influence
from games like the Monster Hunter series and Shadow of the Colossus with both
their size and nature-esque features. These monsters are larger than life and born
out of meteorites so many will have a large portion of them that is made of rocks
and rocky materials (Image 1). The monsters will also have the blue and purple
crystals on certain parts of their body since they need the crystals to survive.
There will be a variety of monsters, some which walk on four legs (Image 3),
others that walk on two but lean forward, similar to the posture of a t-rex. Due to
their correlation with nature, the monsters will mainly be neutral, earth tones with
their assimilation of crystals providing flashes of color (Image 2).
1
2 3
Crystals
The main resource that is seen through this world. Crystals provide color and light
to the world in jewel tones (Image 1). While the surface is seemingly recovering,
there won’t be very much plant life, limiting the amount of green that will be
seen. These crystals are going to be smooth with jagged parts of them that are
jutting out (Image 2). These large crystals will be prominently blue and purple as
they contain two different types of life force (Image 3). The crystals will have a
mysterious feel to them due to the fact that they contain the energy of countless
lives that is being stored inside of them. When seen they should evoke a sense of
mystery but at the same time curiosity
when looked at.
1 2
3
HUD
The menu and HUD systems will feature a combination of sci-fi and fantasy
elements. It will be simple, intuitive and fluid. The display will be similar to
modern shooters such as call of duty and destiny (Image 3), with an image of the
currently equipped weapon and ammo, displayed in the bottom right (Image 1).
Above that will be a vertical health bar for the player (Image 2), and going across
the top of the screen will be the behemoths health.
1
2 3
Characters: The main character will be a futuristic looking knight, but with rogue elements. He is no white in shining armor; in fact, his armor will not shine at all, and he will
likely have a cowl or cloak (Image 1). He will also be wearing a helmet of sorts,
most likely one that covers the whole face. His design is loosely based off of the
hunter character from Destiny as well as elements from the glass armors from
Skyrim (Image 3). The Armor will have a worn rustic feel to it and will have
many scratches and scrapes from the battles it has seen (Image 2). It will also
have some of the crystals embedded into to it which will give off a faint glow
(Image 1). The colors used for the main character will be a mix of browns and
oranges for the armor, dark greens or blues for the cloak, and brighter blues and
purples for the crystal sections. Overall the main character will have a feel that is
full of vengeance to him as he fights for his fallen comrades and his family that
has been taken from him.
3
1
2
Environment: Game World Surface
The surface will be a dark and hazy place, with bits of nature emerging back into
a destroyed landscape (Image 1). The surface is viewed as dangerous by the
humans, and the environment will reflect that view with treacherous cliffs and
ravines, and rocky jagged terrain (Image 2). The sky will be consistently dark,
and, depending on the area, there will be heavy fog, smoke and mist filling the air
(Image 3). There will be very little plant life/vegetation due to the arrival of the
behemoths, though there will be small amounts of vegetation growing back in
certain areas. Many of the areas in which monsters live will be flatter terrain, as
the hills and valleys have been terraformed by the behemoths into open plains.
Much of the environment will have the mysterious crystals incorporated within
them as they seemingly spread throughout the world.
1
2
3
Game World Underground
The monsters have forced humanity into living underground. The underground is
a series of dark, dank, caverns and tunnels (Image 2). Even the underground city
that humanity established is rundown. and Humanity has almost been completely
been cut off from the Overworld. The caves are the home to makeshift homes and
small colonies that have banned together to survive (Image 3 and 1). There are
crystals that have begun to start growing underground and they have started to
become more prominent as well as a
valued resource.
1 2
3
Equipment:
The weapons in Apex Trial will be a mix between futuristic and post-apocalyptic
due to humanity being more advanced, but confined to the technologies available
underground.
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