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Technical Specifications

Schedule

-Rules and mechanics-

Artwork and user interface

Gameplay and balance

Music and sound

Background story

Characters

Levels

Artificial Intelligence



Rules and Mechanics

1.1 First Player Mode
1.1.1 Protagonist’s Movements
1.1.1.1 General Information
The main character, Zephyr McGavin, will move using the classic controls for a PC. The main character will be able to move quickly and decisively to evade the attacks of the mutated animals. He is bounded by the normal laws of physics and will move so accordingly.

1.1.1.2 Controls
W – move forward
A – move left
S – move backward
D – move right
Q – switch weapons
E – Special Action
R - Reload
Spacebar – Jump
CTRL – Duck
Left Click – Fire
1 – Select weapon 1
2 – Select weapon 2
3 – Select weapon 3
4 – Select weapon 4
Mouse Move – Adjust viewing angles
*NEW* Tab - Show scores

1.1.2 Damage and Hit Points
1.1.2.1 General Information
There will be three different types of guns. Each gun is specialized to attack certain types of animals. Normal bullets aren’t very effective on the majority of the creatures because of the thick hides they developed from mutation. Guns will have a maximum amount of cartridges the character can hold. The character will be able to hold 10 gamma launcher cartridges, 5 harpoons, and 6 RFML cartridges. He will start off with these amounts at the start of each level and must use ammo wisely to progress through the level. These amounts may vary from level to level, depending on the amount and size of creatures in each level.

1.1.2.2 Guns
Gamma Launcher - The first gun will be a small gamma ray emitting handgun. This gun is most effective on smaller animals. The gun will emit a green, squiggly line as it leaves the barrel to simulate gamma rays. The gamma rays cause copious amounts of damage to anything it hits. Unless the head has been struck a few times, though, these creatures will not go down easy. It contains 100 beams in each cartridge before it needs to be reloaded. It can fire very quickly.

The Harp - This next gun is for use on larger animals. It fires a medium sized harpoon to penetrate the thick hide of the animals. After each harpoon is fired, it will disappear to conserve system resources. It will deal a large amount of damage to anything it hits, however the weapon is slow, so it will be difficult to hit your targets.

Rapidfire Mine Launcher (RFML) - This is the heaviest gun and most versatile. It can rapidly fire 5 mines in less than 7 seconds. It causes large amounts of damage to small animals but only some damage to larges, because of their thicker hides.

1.1.2.3 Melee Weapons
ZooBar When the main character first arrives at the zoo, he discovers that normal weapons are useless against the thick hides and will not penetrate their skin. When he gets split off from the rest of his military team, he picks up a broken, sharpened bar from a zoo cage. He will use this as a melee weapon for the first mission.

1.1.2.4 Damage Gauges
Damages Character does to Animals
Gun Speed (sec) BodyShot on Small BodyShot on Large HeadShot on Small HeadShot on Large Cartridge Size
Gamma Launcher 0.6 27% 9% 65% 12% 100
The Harp 2.0 105% 35% 190% 55% 1
Rapidfire Mine Launcher 1.3 80% 20% 110% 30% 5
ZooBar 1.0 50% 3% 75% 5% none

Damages Animals do to Main Character
Creature Bodyshot
HedgeRat 5 damage
Hawke 10 damage
Turtear 15 damage
Tarkion 20 damage
Whaguana 25 damage

1.1.2.5 Defense Amounts for Creatures
1.1.2.5.1 General Information
Each creature will have a certain amount of defense. Bosses will also have added defense. To compute the damage of each shot this formula will be used: Damage = Gunshot Damage * Animal Defense i.e. Using the Gamma Launcher on a Hawke and hitting the body will produce this damage for each shot: 27 * 0.9 = 24 damage (always rounded down)

1.1.2.5.2 Normal Creature Defense
HedgeRat – 1 defense
Hawke - 0.9 defense
Turtear – 0.7 defense
Tarkion – 0.5 defense

1.1.2.5.4 Boss Creature Defense
Hawke - 0.7 defense
Turtear – 0.5 defense
Tarkion – 0.2 defense
Whaguana – 0.1 defense (primary boss)

1.1.2.5 Taking Damage
When a character is struck, their screen will flash red. The amount of health will show up on screen of a number from 1-100.

1.1.2.5 Health – First Aid Kits
To heal, a character merely will touch a first aid kit to apply it and give the character full health. These first aid kits will be placed strategically throughout the levels.

1.1.3 Game Ending
Once all four of the levels have been completed, the game will end. Each level has a specific mission that the player must complete in order to progress in the game.

1.2 Multiplayer Mode
1.2.1 Character’s Movements
1.2.1.1 General Information
During multiplayer, each character that plays as a human will be given an infinite amount of ammunition. Creatures will only have the biting/clawing abilities. Once dead, each human/creature will respawn in 15 seconds from their death at their starting points. The starting points will be on opposite ends of the map and the first will last for as long as there are people playing. A score will be kept of the amount of deaths and kills each player gets.

1.2.1.2 Controls
The controls for multiplayer will remain the same as that of the first person part. However the animals, played by users, will need a new defined list of controls.
W – move forward
A – move left
S – move backward
D – move right
E – Special Action
Spacebar – Jump
CTRL – Duck
Left Click – Bite/Claw
Mouse Move – Adjust viewing angles

1.2.2 Damage and Hit Points
1.2.2.1 General Information
All the guns and melee weapons will remain the same from the first player mode. The percentages and formulas will also remain the same. The only added feature will be the player’s control over creatures. The creature’s moves will primarily consist of biting/clawing and strength of biting/clawing.

1.2.2.2 Biting/Clawing Damage Gauges
Percentages and decimals are in comparison to the human's health and speed, respectively.
Creature Speed Between Bites(sec) Running Speed BodyShot HeadShot
HedgeRat 1.0 1.1 20% 45%
Hawke 1.4 1.2 35% 55%
Turtear 2.4 0.7 40% 75%
Tarkion 2.0 0.8 50% 65%
Whaguana 4.0 0.5 80% 110%

1.2.2.5 Taking Damage
When a character is struck or shot, their screen will flash red. The amount of health will show up on screen of a number from 1-100. There is no friendly-fire in multiplayer. Later implementations can include it but this version will not. There are no first aid kits in multiplayer.

1.2.3 Game Ending
In multiplayer, there will be no "end" to the game. It will just continue to be a never ending battle between the creatures and human characters.

   Copyright Firedragon Designing 2008. All rights reserved.