Team Meme ‘All Beer and Skittles’ Game Design Document

Table of  Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………… Pg 1

Game Overview …………………………………………………………… Pg.2

Gameplay ………………………………………………………………….… Pg.3

Mechanics …………………………………………………………………… Pg.6

Game World ………………………………………………………………… Pg.8

Characters …………………………………………………………………… Pg.10

Assets and Game Art …………………………………….……………… Pg.14

Introduction

Team Members

• Michael 
• Sophia - Art Director
• Jerome 
• William - Client Liaison
• Sean 
• Nova - Team Leader
• Bradan 

Game Overview

Concept

The game has similar mechanics to Fallout Shelter. Manage up to four characters on a spaceship and use the characters to complete tasks. Tasks include upgrading the ship, feeding the space beast (that mobilizes the ship) etc.. There is also risk involved, because you send out a character to collect resources from the nearby home planet that has a toxic atmosphere.

Design Pillars

1. Micromanagement and Multitasking
2. Decision Making and Choice
3. Progressive Goals

Development Specifications

The game is developed using Unity Engine Version 2019.4.26f1 with C# scripting. The C# scripts are edited using Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2019.

Look & Feel

Pixel art and low-res textures for sprites, sprites will be simple and cartoony, whereas the environment is more realistic with appropriate proportions. The entire game will be in 2D.

Genre

The game falls under the category of resource / time management. The main focus of the game is managing resources / time in order to achieve a goal. Another genre that could be considered fitting for our game is sci-fi as our game is based around aliens and spaceships and space itself.

Gameplay

Objectives

Priority #1 - Keep the Space Beast Fed If the space beast gets too hungry it will damage or even destroy the ship! Priority #2 - Keep the Crew Alive and Fed This is a big part of the game, as no team means no winning. Priority #3 - Repair Damaged Stations The player selects characters to use these resources to fix and upgrade their ship. Priority #4 - Gather Resources from the Planet The player's choose which characters to send down to a planet to collect resources Priority #5 - Upgrade the Ship to Level 3 Once the player has been able to complete the final engine upgrade - the game is won!

Progression

• The Game begins when the player finds themselves alone on the space-wagon, running out of food for the space-beast, and the ship is beginning to break down. Their only option is to go down to the planet and try to scavenge resources and food.
• The Player receives a random amount of resources and food and must decide how to best utilize it in order to both keep the ship running, and to feed the space-beast.
• After the first or second mission enough resources have been collected in order to start making upgrades to the ship.
• Random events sometimes occur that can:      a) reduce or consume stockpiled food and metal     b) damage or destroy existing upgrades     d) result in injury or death to one or more crewmates
• Eventually the player can make so many upgrades to the ship that it becomes able to repair and maintain itself as well as feed the beast for the player, at which point the spaceship is able to break free of the space-beast’s control and the game is won.

Gameplay Loop

Win Condition

To win the game, the player must work to progressively repair and expand the ship, collecting resources from the planet to upgrade the ship and enough food to feed the space beast and the crew. Eventually with proper micromanagement and decision making, the player will reach the final goal of the game: To rebuild the ship’s engines and finally escape the space beast.

Loss Conditions

There are two primary loss conditions:  The Ship is Destroyed - or - All of the Crew Dies

Mechanics

Physics

The game is a 2D Platformer style game that has a basic gravity system.

Combat

The only combat in our game happens “behind the scenes”. The results of which are displayed in a window or text popup. Actual combat does not occur in an interactive way.

Objectives

1. Keep the Crew Alive
2. Keep the Space Beast Fed
3. Repair Damaged Stations
4. Gather Resources from the Planet
5. Upgrade the Ship to Level 3

Randomness in the Game

Resources gathered from the planet are randomly determined, perhaps based on some conditions such as character equipment and/or selection, ect. Additionally, random events can occur that can affect the stored supplies, characters, ship, or state of the game.

Ship Upgrades

Throughout the game the player will be working to micromanage and make decisions about how to run the ships, achieve the missions, take care of the crew, and feed the space beast.

However, underlying all of these tasks is the constant drive for the crew to upgrade the ship and improve life onboard and to make its systems more efficient. Additional stations that can be added to empty ship compartments.  (See: “Station-Crewmate Interactions”, below) Additionally, in order to progress through the game and finally be rid of the cursed space beast and make it back to the rest of civilization again, the crew must also work to expand the ship in order to advance through 3 stages of construction, as follows:

First Stage: At the start of the game, the ship is badly damaged. Many of its original station rooms have been destroyed and must be rebuilt by the crew.

In order to advance to Stage 2, the crew must use metal to build 4 more compartments:

• 3 compartments on the left side of the ship, creating the stairwell / ladder
• 1 compartment on the bottom right, allowing another station to be added

Second Stage: In the second stage, two more compartments are available to add stations to.

In order to advance to Stage 3, the crew must use metal to build 2 more compartments, and expand one:

• 2 compartments on the left side of the ship, allowing two more stations
• Expanding the newly added station on the bottom right

Final Stage: In the second stage, one more additional compartments is available to add another station to, and the last upgrade becomes available to add - the Engines!

In order to advance to Stage 3, the crew must use metal to build the final ship engine upgrade:

• Any station currently in the bottom right compartment must first be dismantled and removed, thereby providing enough space for the final upgrade of adding the ship engines, thereby burning the space beast when they are turned on.

Once the crew is able to tackle and balance these new problems, and is able to rebuild the ship engines, the ship can finally move under its own propulsion, leaving the space beast behind and ushering in a new and well deserved future for the crew. The game has been won!

Game World

Setting

The game is set in space inside a spaceship. The ship is divided up into many rooms, each of which contain different things that can be done inside them. These range from upgrading the engine to cooking food for the team.

Story

The players are on a space-wagon being pulled by a giant space beast, orbiting a planet where they salvage resources from. Depending upon the resources gathered and the situations that develop on the space-wagon and with the space-beast, the player must use micromanagement in order to repair, upgrade and manage the ship, while at the same time making sure to feed the space-beast.

Lore

Some time in the far future, an outlaw resides in space inside a space wagon hauled by a space beast. Their home planet experienced an apocalyptic event involving pollution of toxic gas, rendering it uninhabitable. The outlaw orbits their home planet, seeking out for the last remaining resources in its crust. The outlaw recruits crew members with varying professions, and together, they aid in each others’ survival.

Atmosphere

Welcome to the ship - a kind of grungy looking and dirty ship made of rough and rusty metal, with some computer terminals in the walls, and numerous damage features. This is your home, and you are alone. 

The atmosphere of the game begins as quite dire and a poor state of affairs. Repairs are needed, upgrades are missing, and whole parts of the ship have been destroyed and are now missing - the engines included! The giant space beast who decided to attach itself to the hull where the engines used to be now leers at the crew as it periodically demands to be fed or unleash its wrath. It’s a gloomy situation, but presents an interesting challenge. So, can you get your crew out of this mess?

Time in the Game

The player will have to manage their time wisely in order to keep everything running smoothly. Forgetting certain things may cause the dropship not to be ready for its next mission, it may cause a useful station to go unused the entire day, or it may even contribute to the injury or death of a team member by the hands of the space beast or by starvation.

At the end of each game-day, the player will be presented with an option to send their dropship down to the planet to collect resources, given that it has been refueled, refilled and refilled in time at the engineering station. Whether or not a planet mission takes place, the game automatically advances to the next morning and characters left on the ship will sleep in the bunkroom given it’s not damaged.

In the morning, a report from any planet mission will be presented with the number of metal and food resources gathered, and any new crewmates that were rescued. Additionally if any random had occurred during the night a report detailing those will be presented as well.

One game-day lasts 16 minutes of player gameplay, representing 16 hours passing in the game, while the other 8 hours of the game-day happen instantaneously at the end of the day. Therefore, each minute of gameplay equals an hour in the game, and each second is a minute.

Characters

The Space Beast

Regular Crewmates

The regular crewmate is the character that the player starts out with. He can help in different areas but doesn’t provide a bonus like the specialized crewmates. 

Specialized Crewmates

There are three crewmates with specialized skills that can also be acquired:

• The Chef - A great character to have once the Kitchen Upgrade has been added to the ship. The Chef can improve the rest of the crew’s energy by cooking delicious meals.
• The Engineer - An immediately helpful character which will reduce the time it takes to refuel, refill and reequip the dropship for planet missions.
• The Doctor - This character vastly speeds up the healing time of injured characters.

Station-Crewmate Interactions

The player starts the game with the 4 core ship stations that are needed throughout the game, and 6 other station types can be added later. A number of these stations must be worked by one or more crewmates in order for them to provide their benefits, while some, such as the Med-Bay and the Barista Station, can be visited when their benefits are needed. Following is descriptions of what benefits each station provides and what they each required:

Original Starting Stations

    The Cockpit - This station is required to feed the space beast. If it is damaged, your crew should begin repairs immediately, because if the space beast is not being fed for long enough, it will become enraged and will surely destroy the entire ship!

     The Bunkroom - This station is required to restore tired crewmates’ energy.

     The Engineering Bay - This station is required to refill the air, re-fuel, and re-equip the dropship for planet missions. An Engineer Character can work this station 2x faster.

     The Med-Bay - This station is required to heal characters who are injured. Character’s must visit this station if they are injured in order to restore their health. If a second character accompanies them, the amount of time it takes to heal is reduced by half. If a Doctor Character accompanies them, the character is healed an additional 3x faster.

Station Addition Options

    Radio Station - By working this station, the chances of rescuing new crewmates on the next planet mission can be significantly increased from an initial chance of 10% per mission, up to a 50% chance if someone is working the radio station for the entire day.

     Workshop - Allows the crew to craft more equipment for off-ship missions?

     Kitchen - The crew is able to maintain their minimum amount of energy while working other stations and performing other tasks by eating makeshift rations, but this station will finally allow the crew to eat something tasty. Rather than being forced to eat scrap food scavenged from the planet as it is found, by coming to the kitchen and using the station to prepare a real meal will allow the character to maintain and raise their energy higher. With a Chef Character working this station, every character on the ship will be able to eat well, as their rations are replaced with delicious snacks they can carry with them!

     Barista Station - Once added this station can be of great benefit to the crew. Once a crewmate visits the station, their energy is instantly increased by 25% for 1 hour in the game, and is even able to push a character’s energy beyond max, up to 125%!

     Shield/Defense Station - This station protects the ship from asteroids, pirates and other random dangers. However someone has to be at the controls for the systems to operate.

     Onboard Farm - These stations will grow food for the crew and/or space beast thereby reducing the emphasis on gathering food from the planet missions.

Crewmate Missions

The missions take time to conduct, and while gone the crewmate(s) are not displayed on the ship, which also means they cannot work the stations and when they return, they must sleep.

By sending Special Crew members, more materials, food, or other resources can be gathered than usual. For example, by sending a Doctor or a Chef on a mission, more food may be collected, sending an Engineer on a mission means more metal can be collected. However once again these special crew members will not be able to use their skills onboard.

Once the mission time has been completed, a popup window appears that informs the player what was collected and if anything unexpected happened, and the crew automatically appears back on the ship, the Engineering Station is again able to be used to re-equip, re-fill, and re-fuel the dropship. 

Sometimes a new crewmate will have been rescued, adding to the crew. This chance of finding and rescuing additional crewmates is usually quite low, but the chance can be significantly improved by building and working a Radio Station before missions.

Gaining More Crewmates

The player initially starts with one character. Upon sending their character to a planet, there’s a chance that a new character could be discovered and recruited into the team. The radio station, once added to the ship, helps to increase the chance of recruiting new crew members. Crew members that can be recruited can have certain unique skills which can contribute to the team in special ways. These include the Doctor, Engineer, and Chef characters. 

Expanding the crew also means that the player can get things done faster. Another big part of recruiting more people into the crew is the advantage of gaining more lives. A team can have a maximum of six characters. 

Crew Management

Managing your crew comes in two parts:

  The first part is to continually monitor their energy, health, sleep, and hunger requirements and attempt to satisfy their bodily needs while maintaining a smoothly running ship and a well fed space beast, all while still concentrating on actions to progress through the game.

  The second part comes down to a number of decisions that will determine what stations are being worked at and who will go on the missions to gather more resources. Additionally, as with at the start of the game, there may be situations where you are left with several stations that need running or even repairing, and a limited number of crew. It is in these moments that the player’s intuition, quick wit and strategic planning will be most needed.

  Don’t forget to take note of any special abilities your characters might have!

Assets and Game Art

Audio

Music The music inside the game is a royalty free track sourced from YouTube.

Sound FX

All sound effects were sourced from itch.io from a bundle called 300+ Futuristic SFX.

01 - GameStarted

02 - UISelectSound

03 - StationManned

04 - StationAdded

05 - StationDamaged

06 - StationDestroyed

07 - StationRepaired

08 - EndOfDayPopUpSound

09 - DropShipLeavesForTheMission

10 - DropShipReturningFromMission

11 - EventGood

12 - EventBad

13 - SpaceBeastAttacking

14 - SpaceBeastFeeding

15 - StationFinalEnginesAdded

Visual

Rooms

Background

Tiles