My Game

January 13, 2010 by Bill 

I haven’t really had much time for gaming this week. I’m not 100% sure why; just hasn’t worked out that way. Instead I’ve begun to write the design document for the game I had in mind for the L4D SDK. We’re not going to use Source for the project anymore, opting for a more manageable first attempt. Here’s what I have so far, minus the plot points.

 

Influences:

  1. World War Z/Zombie Survival Guide

    1. zombies are dead

    2. zombies are slow

    3. they freeze in extreme climates

    4. they only die when you shoot them in the head

    5. they will respond generally as described in the books.

  2. Suikoden/NeverWinter Nights 2

    1. You will find various survivors on your trip. The more you gather the better your base will be. (Barracks, carpenter, mason, medical bay, gunsmith, chemist, etc).
  3. The Last Stand 2
    1. I want to crib the controls/perspective from this game. Our game is going to be a bit more side scroller-ish, think Streets of Rage or Battletoads.

 

Thoughts on mechanics:

  • Zombies will reach out from behind some building fortifications.

  • Opening doors to look for survivors and supplies may cause a wave of zombies to come out.

  • These zombie rooms will randomly replace between 75% to 125% of the value of the supplies the player spent on the horde, but not always what the player used. For instance, 25 shotgun shells were used, so the user gets 40 pistol rounds and 5 smg bullets.

  • Fatigue? If you don’t camp once a day you lose accuracy. If you skip camping for several days your vision blurs to the point where you can’t hit anything.

  • Survivors call out their positions on shortwave radios. You get an idea of their locations when camping. They may not be the best at giving directions.

  • World map for traveling between towns. May include notes from shortwave, total survivors possible/found.

  • Supplies, in terms of food and water, are required to travel and avoid a fail state. Three days without bottled water is game over.

Help I’d like to have:

  • Voice talent

  • Artist(s?)

  • Probably some help programming

  • Assistance with plot and dialog

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