Game idea/design

For this assignment I intend to create a mind map and mood board for my game design. The game will be a first person role playing game which will use open world gameplay. This will be a fictional game based on a zombie apocalypse which will also make it a survival horror game. The game would need photorealistic graphics to make it realistic and serious to the gamer and also give a possible sense of reality.

The game will focus on the journey of an individual survivor of the zombie apocalypse. I would want the game to cover these various storytelling points which are: the nature of survival (survival of the fittest) and moralities between humans, theme of loneliness, isolation, sanity and emotions. When playing, the gamer must constantly feel on edge and experience what its like to survive in this situation and environment. The look of the game will be very dark, gritty and gory.

The open world gameplay will connect with the storyline similar to games such as: Skyrim, Farcry 3 and the Mass Effect series.

Harley Jones 12cUnit 1 Assignment 3

Mind mapSetting

Theme

Game ideas

The infected

caused by a virus passed by blood or saliva, causes a need for human flesh limitless stamina and speed and has an instant transformation. Appearance: bloodshot eyes, pale complexion, protruding veins and make snarling noises. Throughout the story different theories of what created the virus arise creating a confusion of the real conclusion.

The game will focus on the journey of an individual survivor of the zombie apocalypse. I would want the game to cover these various storytelling points which are: the nature of survival (survival of the fittest) and moralities between humans (turning on each other - murder, rape, cannibalism) theme of loneliness, isolation, sanity and emotions.

The game setting will be based in London and the outskirts of London such as the countryside which will make the open world gameplay very big. I used a real environment to make the game realistic and believable, other than using a fictional game setting which can take the sense of realism away.

Item/weaponThroughout the game the character will be able to find and use a range of various weapons in the story. However, I think it is good to give the character a signature weapon which is an old double barrel shotgun because although it is fun to use when killing zombies it is also a well known and a common weapon used in the zombie horror genre in films and games likes The Evil Dead franchise. I think using this will grab the attention of gamers because it will connote more to the games genre.Plot

The plot of the story is focused on a normal everyday person who tries to survive the zombie outbreak that has affected the world. The story starts with the character Jason Blake trying to get out of London because of the infection spreading through the city. The character flees out of London to the countryside where he grew up hoping to find his family, only to find a badass shotgun and a badass car. The character is now alone and has lost all hope with an unknown infection killing millions of people. Roaming the streets and abandoned roads the survivor hopes to find civilization.

Game ideas

Mind mapRPG

Open worldThe open world gameplay would allow the player to explore and discover things around the map such as finding new weapons and other missions, this will give the player a feel of what its like to survive in this environment from looting abandoned supermarkets, finding shelter in houses, meeting other mysterious survivor's and many other interactions and obstacles throughout the game.

Throughout the game the character will gain more experience from using weapons and driving ect, which will level up the character and increase his strengths. Also, environmental challenges such as running will increase the characters stamina. The character will have an inventory which will hold all the items the player is currently carrying such as: weapons, food, apparel etc.

Choices made throughout the game affect what happens and what path the character takes. When interacting with other characters the player can choose whether to commit a renegade action or good action which will determine what kind of character you are.

The map would look similar to the one below which is the Grand Theft Auto 5 map which contains the city itself and the outskirts that includes the countryside.

The player will have a minimap displayed on the bottom left corner of the screen that also shows health and stamina.

CharacterJason Blake

He will be portrayed as an antihero type of character, he knows the difference from right and wrong but is also cold and heartless and uses this attitude to survive. These are some similar characters from film and games of which I would like my character to be alike: Max Payne, Mad Max,

27 year old working class man

Lives in a flat in London on his own

Has a family living on a farm where he grew up on the outskirts of London

Throughout the game the character goes through emotional changes adapting to the decaying environment with the new infection spreading and finds it hard to keep sanity thinking to be the last person alive. Also becomes more aggressive and violent.

I used an ordinary person (working class) in this game to make the gamer think it could be anyone in this position and to relate to. It also gives a realistic sense e.g not using a character who is a veteran soldier, I think this makes the player relate easier and become more interested in the character and story.

Mood board

Setting

I chose this picture from the game Fallout 3 because it underlines the theme of loneliness in a rotting environment.

This image shows all the infected people on the streets.

This picture shows the player out of city and establishes the size of the free roam capability

These are some images of the type of environment the game will be set in.

Character/protagonist

Character clothing:

These clothes show he was a working class man with a jacket that gives a sense he’s a badass.

Item/weapon

Characters signature weapons that are received at the beginning of the story when the character journeys to his parents house where he grew up in which is in the country side.

Other weapons available in the game.

Vehicles

This vehicle is given to the character near the start of the story and is received when the character goes back to his parents house in the countryside and finds this old rusty car in the barn.

I have purposely chosen a rusty looking car to show how old and abandoned the car is and that it hasn’t been used in a long time.