Project Problem Statement
Feast for Crows (working title) is a top-down 2D survival game. The core elements of the game will include Atari style graphics, reminiscent of games such as The Binding of Isaac or Faith. Graphics will be kept simple for time allotment, but themes will be dark-focused to create atmosphere for players. Majority of the story will be told via text boxes displayed on the screen. Conversation and narration will occur in said textboxes. Play style is a rogue-like survival in a hostile forest. Players can and will encounter hostile situations including wildlife, sustenance, enemy people, and something else. Among the wildlife, there are 2 mini bosses and one final boss.
Core Mechanics
The core mechanics of the game are centered around surviving and escaping from an unknown forest location filled with enemies, and even worse, the environment. Key elements players will need to be mindful of include:
One
A fixed inventory system in which the player character can only carry so many items. Players will need to manage storage and take only what they deem important at the time. Items will be useful in some cases, and useless in others.
Two
Combat is turn-based, this includes all major and minor encounters with enemies or possible groups of enemies, i.e. a pack of wolves.
Three
Random encounters, these fall in two categories; nature and wildlife. Nature encounters will maintain simplicity such as weather interactions. For example, rain may decrease player movement speed. Wildlife encounters are the main priority, in which the player may encounter hostile animals which will increase in intensity. “Rooms” will be sections of the forest, a room is considered cleared if all enemies have been cleared, however it is possible enemies can respawn. This encourages the player to constantly keep moving forward.
Four
Player status; for time and scope purposes, player status will fall into health and hunger. Health can decrease in combat situations and increase overtime. Hunger will drop from the player taking actions.
Five
Player choices, this works in correlation with inventory management as well as which actions to take in hostile encounters. Something of note is that certain choices are only optional based on previous choices, i.e. weapons you can use for encounters. Milestone progression will govern how the story and game moves forward for the player. At the start of the game, there will likely be one type of enemy with lower spawn rates, and increase in intensity after defeating set mini-bosses. Spawning rates will increase as well as stronger enemies.