Game Design: II

The Secret

Game Name "The Secret" - targeting an M rating Game Description  'The Secret' is a mature action game set in modern Europe. It tells the story of a lab technician who uncovers a terrible conspiracy while working late one night. Energon Ltd have invented a whole new weapon technology set to change the face of warfare forever. Stealing the prototype and running for the door, you'll need to survive in a chase across Europe, pursued at every turn by your ex employers. Fight to survive, fight to escape, and fight to keep untold power out of their hands. Level Description  "Learning lessons" - level 2 of 11 This level begins at the moment your character first wields the 'weapon'. The first level of the game has already taught the player to move and look around via a HalfLife style 'walk around the lab'. It therefore falls to this level to teach the mechanics surrounding the weapon, and hint at some of the possibilities ahead while picking up the pace. Story-wise, this level is about an escape. The player is fleeing the lab, with ever present 'security' chasing them. Up until this point the game has been entirely set in the lab interior, there's a fantastic opportunity here to make a big deal of the moment the player emerges from the laboratory. Mechanics already learnt before this level: Movement  Looking around  Simple context interactions  Mechanics to be taught in this level: Usage of 'The Weapon'  Avoiding threats Ideas  The following are some thoughts / notes on the level. These are not instructions, just some things to think about. There are two potentially conflicting goals here: Tell an exciting story about an escape, while introducing a new mechanic. Threat should be implied, rather than bullying the player through a series of hoops. A balance must be found between teaching and entertainment. The weapon can be anything - projectile or melee, violent or enabling. Paint and portals are taken, but there are plenty of different abilities which could be used. Think about the player's key goals, be they avoiding attack, moving to goals or achieving environmental objectives. Let the mechanic come from achieving that goal. Enemy presence can be implied without the literal involvement of AI NPCs. A sound file or texture might be just at successful at providing framing narrative, and free up important development time. Labs don’t need to be all white cement. Take some creative license, enjoy the quirks of the setting and create something players won’t be expecting. From Blitz.