This GDD is my game design document for the game that I will be creating, the game is called Roly Poly. Roly Poly is a puzzle game which will be a fun filled game that will cause frustration for many. The inspiration for my game Roly Poly was actually based of an old wooden game I used to play. The game was played as a hand held game, my nan used to have one and it used to bring us all endless hours of fun playing it, but also would lead to frustration when I could not get it to work properly. This game was called a "Ball In A Maze", it was a wooden circle that you would hold which had a maze carved out, the objection of the game was to get the 3 silver balls to the centre of the circle, Which was quite hard because when you thought you had 1 ball in position you would have to move the game to get the rest of the silver balls to the centre and this would cause the ball to move and fall back out.
This was the concept that I based my own game off of. However my game will be quite different, for starters my game will be 3D on a screen and this game was 2D Handheld game.
Genre
The Genre of my game Roly Poly will be a puzzle game. According to the dictionary a puzzle is something that can cause (someone) to feel confused because they cannot understand something. This game will be a game of trial and error, you will have to navigate through the maze and try and find the exits as fast as you can. This puzzle game may lead you to become confused as to where the exits are or maybe frustrated because of how long it taking you to complete the course, but this is all part of the fun.
GamePlay
Roly Poly will be a game in which your aim as the player is to push the silver ball through the maze to find an exit. You will be able to move the silver ball forwards, backwards, right & left. You will see that the maze will contain multiple exits making it easier for you as the player as you won’t just have to rely on there being one exit to the maze, but with this there will also be a number of dead ends in the maze creating an element of fun.(maybe anger for others) The maze will be viewed at eye level, this means the maze will not be visible to you and all that you will see is the silver ball and the walls of the course. This will hopefully cause it to be a fun game and will also avoid people from cheating their way through the game. This 3D game will challenge you but may also frustrate you too. You will be racing against the clock with this game, the timer will begin when you press start and will end when you find an exit and push the silver ball out of the maze. The timer will be taken in real time and whatever time you get with this game is how long it took you to complete the maze. There will be no "set time" given for how quickly you should finish the course, the time will vary from player to player. This will bring out some peoples competitive side as they will want to finish the maze in the quickest time possible.
Target audience & platforms
The target audience of my game Roly Poly would be anyone who is up for the challenge. People who love puzzles and puzzle games and who would enjoy completing the maze. This is a child friendly game however younger kids may need help to complete the maze. I would say anyone over 8 would love this game! 8+
Look and Feel
While playing Roly Poly you will be immersed in the game. It is a first player view so you will feel as if you were actually in the maze. The maze will be tall and will be up on a height. The colours will be vibrant and appealing to the eye. I hope my game can evoke emotion of some sort. I hope it will be an enjoyable and fun game to play, I hope it will have an element of competition to it as well as frustration. However the frustration will all be worth it in the end when you complete the maze. An element of relief will also be there when you as the player finally complete the maze and find an exit no matter how long it takes you will still be glad that you were able to complete the maze! The player will feel a sense of frustration while playing the game, the player will then feel a huge sense of joy when they finally complete the maze.
Story
Roly Poly is a Maze game that is sure bring out everyone’s competitive side.
How to Play
The player will start by pressing the start button.
When the player chooses to start the game the timer will start.
The player must move the silver ball around the maze trying to find an exit.
If the player finds a dead end they must go back and try to find an exit.
If the player finds one of the exits they must roll the ball out of the map.
The player has now completed the maze and won the game.
A game over notification will appear when this happens.
The player will be able to view their time and see how long they took to complete this maze.
If the player is not happy with their time they can come back and try the maze again and try to find the exit faster.
Artwork (design)
The artwork in my game will be basic. The maze will have a brick design and the floor will be grass. The ball which is the player will be silver. I hope to have a nice blue sky with some clouds too. The game will be appealing to the player.
Technical Requirements
My game will not have many technical requirements as it is a basic game. The only requirement will be for the player to be able to play and work the game themselves.
Heads Up Display (HUD)
The player will be able to see how long they are taking to complete the maze with the help of a timer. The timer will be displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen, the timer will begin when the player presses the start button. The timer will track how long the player is taking to find an exit in the game. There will be no set time in which the player must complete the game, it will be different for each player, some may be really quick in completing the maze others will not.
Characters
The player will play this game as a silver ball. The silver ball will be the only "character" in this game. The player will be able to move this ball in every direction to find an exit. The player will view this silver ball at eye level inside the maze.
Level Design
In this game, there will only be one level. There will be 1 maze that you will need to complete in order to win the game. To win the game the player must find an exit and roll the silver ball off the map. The player will know when they win the game when a "game over" notification will appear.
Global Elements
The player will view the maze at eye level, the player will see the silver ball right in front of their eyes. The player will be able to navigate the maze in every direction. The player will not be able to escape the maze unless they have found an exit, of which there will be multiple. The background will be of the sky. The player will be able to see the walls of the maze, the floor of the maze, the character that they are playing as, the silver ball and the sky above them when they reach an exit.
Player View
The player will view the maze at eye level. The player will not be able to move the camera up or down but the camera will follow the silver ball.
Game Flow Chart
Audio & Sound F/x
There will be not music in my game. There will be no music in the background.
Technical Requirements
As there will be no audio in my game there will be no technical requirements for this.
Technical
I will be using the program Unity to code and make my game. I will be using my macbook to complete my game. I will use a number of video resources sourced online to help me through this project such as;
My macbook will need the Unity software downloaded on it to complete the game. The version of unity that I will be using will be the 2018 version.
User Interface (controls)
The player will be able to control the silver ball and move it around the maze by using the 4 arrow keys on the computer. The up arrow will bring the ball forward, the back arrow will move the ball backwards, the left arrow will make the ball go left and the right arrow will move the ball to the right. These keys will be essential to the player, allowing them to move around the maze freely and complete the maze as quickly as they can.
