Proposal: Games Development Brief

Theme: The Environment

“Every day our planet is changing and there are signs of need that we must address. Polar bears are drowning. Glaciers are melting. Forests are being cut down. At the same time, there are good signs: people and businesses are recycling more, and learning how to reduce their carbon footprints. Scientists are researching renewable energy such as wind and solar power, and cities are taking steps to improve air and water quality. Artists are informing and inspiring us about what's at stake if we fail to act. The world needs solutions, and the good news is that everyone can help.”

I propose to create one level for a game themed on the environment as outlined in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup. I intend for the game to be similar to a First Person Shooter the main difference being that there will be no killing involved.
One of the many things we can do to preserve our environment is to reuse things we no longer need. The protagonist’s goal in my game will be to recycle rubbish in his environment using a specially designed gun. The game will be controlled in a fashion familiar to anyone that has played a first person shooter.
The game will aim to make players more aware of the need to recycle rubbish at the same time as providing an engaging and enjoyable playing experience.

The game will have a cartoony appearance, in a style that has been made popular by games such as Zelda Windwaker or XIII. There will also be comical elements e.g. the option to turn a homeless person into a post box.

I intend to make a mock up of my game in flash, and will use game maker or unreal engine to construct my final level.
I would like to learn some visual basic during the course of this project but feel it would be too ambitious to create a whole game engine from scratch, bearing in mind the current level of experience I have. Learning some visual basic during this project will no doubt assist me in the construction of my game, giving me a better understanding of coding as a whole.

I plan for this level to be based in a forest environment, which happens to be a popular tourist location, so has a bit of a rubbish problem. The rubbish that has to be recycled will be alive – e.g. an empty coke can with legs, this will make the targets more difficult to hit and add to the comic element of the game.
There will be an overall time limit; each item of rubbish will be worth a different amount of points. The goal of the game will be to recycle as much rubbish in the level during the given time limit, similar to some of the mini games in the recent wii game Links Crossbow Training, and older games such as Time Crisis. The final game would have an arcadey style, intended for short bursts of play.


Plan of action:

Sketches of trees and like to prepare for creating forest environment.
Complete unreal engine tutorials to make creating game possible.
Complete game logs on shoot ‘em ups with similar game functions.
Create flash mock up.
Start creating level in unreal.