[Game name here ] Whitepaper

- isometric fantasy rpg Flash game with real time combat

Mauno Koponen, September 2nd 2010

maunokoponen@gmail.com

Main features:

• Free-form isometric world
• Easy to use point and click interface with option to use keyboard shortcuts for actions.
• Dynamic area creation
• Detailed player character and NPC animation
• Real time combat with combat animation and sound / visual effects
• Quests and storyline

Game engine

Freeform isometric world

The engine is not tile based as majority of isometric rpg’s are, but it is freeform: items, NPC’s player charact all can be positionsed freely, and game areas can be any (flat) shape. NPC’s will move in the world freely, selecting the straightest line to target location or curved path around obstacles.

Dynamic area creation

Areas are created dynamically, selecting an area floorplan , NPC’s in the area, positioning entry and exit teleports, postioning “props” (like tees, stones, huts, castles) and items, like chests and potions based on the area data generated in game content creation process.

Dungeons can be created procedurally, having network of randomly created areas. Amount of levels, amount of rooms in a level and amount/type of mobs are given as parametes to the engine and dungeons are generated based on these. Randomly created content is unique for each player.

Player character

Player has these statistics: speed, health, weapon and shield values.

At this moment there aren’t different character classes to choose from.

Free movement with 4-direction animation

Character animation is frame rate independent (to a degree). Game will run on varying framerate depending on computer capability and scene content amount, and animation is adjusted to be as smooth as possible, with constant framerate.

Player character and NPC’s have several different animation loops: walk, attack, hurt, cast spell, death. Animation is detailed “cardboard animation”.

Monster NPC’s

Monster NPC’s have free-form pathfinding: monsters will navigate around simple obstacles when pursuing player character. They also will avoid colliding eachother.The algorithm for pathfinding is relativelty simple, so having 10+ monsters in a view doing pathfinding doesen’t make significant hit in game performance with average setup machine.

Currently there are 8 different monster types. Adding new mosters is straightforward, once the graphic asset containing animation frames is created.

Friendly npcs

There are stationary Friendly NPC characters, which can have quests and storyline dialogue attached to them.

Gameplay

Navigating in world

The player character is centered in the game view. Around player, one can see nearby surroundings, and by clicking the ground one can move to a different location. When moving, the game world “scrolls”, keeping the player character in center of the view always.

Game areas may have places not reachable by walking. These can be reached by using a teleport spell, which will be obtained while following the story line.

The game world consists of separate areas, which are linked with teleports. Teleports vary visually, so they can look like doors or stairs, for example. Player is transferred to destination area when he player character walks onto a blue rectangle next to the teleport.

Game areas are relatively small, but there can be dozens of game areas linked to each other with teleports. Teleports may also be locked. To use locked teleport player must have corresponding key item in game inventory.

Alternative way of transport is using the world map, which will present hotspots for key areas. The world map has “teleport spots” that will activate when player visits a key areae.g. area with special type of teleport, “map teleport”.

Once reached, these areas can be accessed by pressing a hotspot in map.This functionality can be deactivated in chosen areas (for example in dungeons).

One of the key areas can be chosen to be “home area” where player is moved to when death occurs and when new game session is started.

Combat

Game applies a real time approach to combat. While wandering in the wilderness player will encounter monsters, which will pursue player, and start melee or spell combat once they are in suitable range.

Combat is “action based”, meaning the player needs to initiate all actions in combat. For example, to swing a sword towards a monster player must first select the monster by clicking it (or by keyboard shorcut) and then do attack action. Monster will not stay idle waiting for players move, but charge relentlessly always.

In game there are three types of combat actions: melee attack, spell attack and area effcet spells.

Different damage types

There are different types of damage: normal, fire, ice, poison, holy, and electric

Different equipable weapons / shields

Weapons and shields are equipable, and when equipped, weapon and shield graphics are changed on player character in play view also.

There are several weapons and shields with distinctive visual appearance and varying statistics.

Death handling

Once killed by monster (or by players carelessness with area spells, for example) player is teleported back to “home area”. The inventory remains intact and there is no other gameplay sanction.

Items

Collecting items

Items lying on ground can be picked to inventory by clicking the item if player character stands near enough the item.

There are chests scattered in wilderness and dungeons. If standing near enough, player can click the chest, and it will open, and items inside I will be placed outside the chest ready to be picked.

NPC monsters can carry loot and drop it when destroyed.

Friendly NPC characters can also give items to player as part of quest storyline action.

Item types

Here are some examples of items in game:

-weapons: axes, swords

-shields

-gold

-healing potions

-damage dealing items (for example Ring of ice, with Ice damage area effect around caster)

-area effect spells , like fire spell

-teleport spell, to teleport small distances inside single game area

-key items (to grant access to otherwise locked teleports)

-quest items

Inventory & Quick bar

When item is picked, it will be placed to inventory. Inventory consists of grid of slots, and item will be placed to first free slot in the grid.

The topmost row of the inventory grid, called quickbar, is special: it is always presented in bottom of the UI and items on this first row can be activated while playing.

When the inventory is opened, items can not be activated, but there is drag and drop functionality so user can reorganize the inventory, placing most useful items to top row, e.g. to quick bar.

In quick bar there are also two special slots: weapon slot and shield slot. When clicking a weapon in normal slot, it will be equipped, and placed to the weapon slot. shield can be eqipped in similar fashion.. Statistics of the equipped weapon and shield are presented in the UI.

Item persistance

Items are persistens, so once picked up, item will disappear from the world and it is placed to inventory. This state change of the game is persistent across different play sessions. Items in the world and items in the inventory are saved each time an area is exited.

Item stacking

Some items are stackable, so when one picks more than 1 item, they are placed in same inventory slot, and there is item amount counter showing the size of the stack. Typical such item would be gold coin.

Item consuming

Some items are consumable. When activatingsuch item, it removed from the inventory, or in case of stacking item the counter of the stack is altered. Typical such item would be a health potion.

Item cooldown

Items can have cooldown period. During the cooldown, the item can not be activated again. The duration of the cooldown is displayed with animated bar over the item in the inventory slot. Typical such item would be a weapon. Most items have a cooldown period.

Quests

Game has item based quest system. When clicking a friendly NPC a guest dialogue will be presented.  Each quest giving NPC can currently have one quest attached to them.

Quests have quest phases. When initiating a quest dialogue, inventory is browsed, and if player has item marked with same quest and and quest phase id’s that phase dialogue is presented to player.

Quest dialogues have three different modes:

-promptok: There is quest text displayed, with ok button.

-promptAccept: player can receive an item. There is quest text, and accept/cancel buttons presented.

-promptswap: There is quest text, and accept/cancel buttons presented. If player accept an item is removed from inventory, and another item is placed in the inventory instead.

With this relatively simple setup, many different kind of quests and storylines can be created easily.

Game saving

Game state is saved each time player uses a teleport to change area. Currently there is only 1 “save slot” so from one machine/browser, only 1 game session can be maintained.

There is no “save” button to make quick saves during gameplay.

Saved data includes:

-         Inventory

-         Equipped weapon and shield

-         Current “home area” (game will start there next time)

-         Quest statuses

-         Areas, with their monsters, monster positions and health

-         Already visited “home areas”

Technical details

- a single Flash file, size around 2 Mb

- size 700*550px

- target framerate 100 fps

- coded with Flash Actionscript 3, for Flash player version 9

- sharedObjects for locale storage of game status