Daemon- Elevator Pitch

(Yeah I know this isn’t an elevator pitch length at all but all of this, including the GDD, is still heavily in WIP. I need some feedback so I can feel a bit more comfortable about my general direction.)

This is a version 2 of a “GDD” that I made months ago. In retrospect, that thing was more or less a fanfic with fancy label slapped on- I might modify that doc later to make it a character overview/lore bible but it lives on the internet now I suppose.

Working Title: Daemon

Genre Descriptor: Metroidvania/Action RPG/Fighting?

“Feels” Descriptor: heavily inspired by tokusatsu, especially 2nd era Heisei Kamen Rider series and early-mid 2000s Ultraman shows. Not too nitty-gritty or “gothic” but still touches upon some dark themes.

Players will explore the vast realm of the Underworld, a large open world area with different mini-dungeons.

They will have to manage between life and combat- collect information in the Overworld before heading down to fight off demons and making their power yours.

Game loop:

Explore Overworld -> Something happens in Overworld (trigger the quest) -> “Defeat” the demon (Send it back to the Underworld), deal with the vessel’s worries (quest complete, either through combat, narrative puzzles, or both)-> descend into the Underworld (find an entry point and get in the dungeon), find the demon’s lair (free roaming exploration)-> Defeat the demon, acquire its powers in a vial (complete the mini-dungeon)-> use the new vial powers to progress further in, both Overworld and Underworld (gated exploration)-> repeat

Transformation

You can transform into a demon superhero wielding a lightsaber that can change its shape to your will using the power of other demons. Transformation time and timing is heavily limited on Overworld; you will have to transform and always remain such in the Underworld.

Overworld Gameplay

Sidescrolling RPG. Bizarre incidents happen all the time in the city- track those down using different sources and conversations (with friends, villagers, even the internet).

Demons always require a vessel to come up to the Overworld- and they will attach to humans’ deepest and darkest insecurities to manipulate them and strike a deal. You must drive the demon out of possession by solving those anxieties and defeating the demon, driving it back to the Underworld.

Underworld Gameplay

Descend into the Underworld through one of many entrances in the Overworld (these unlock as you get more Vials to reach those entrance points). Underworld is a one giant connected maze, with very distinct sections spread throughout. 

The Underworld is spearated into four large quadrants, each ruled by the elemental demon lords. Under them are the 17 demons of that elemental type. Though they reside in the same area, it doesn’t mean that players can (or should) progress to the next quadrant when they collect all the vials in a single quadrant- vial collection will be spread throughout the game, so players will have to backtrack and revisit familiar areas with new powers in order to collect vials. Demons preside in different location and reaching their lair will be a challenge on its own. (Think of Shrines in BotW) Each lair will be a mini challenge/dungeon, allowing players to either prove their strength in a hand-in-hand combat or their wit using the platforming and vial skills they have learned so far. When defeated, demons will grant players vials- a concentrated essence of their power, allowing players to use certain special abilities based on the qualities and abilities they represent.

Demon lords are rulers of each quadrant- and “sectional bosses” of the game. They are mandatory and must be defeated for the final boss battle. Their lair is secluded and can only be found by combining different vial powers- vials required to reach each demon lord will be presented in the main storyline. Demon lords grant elemental vials, more powerful types of vials that grant new transforming powers, allowing players to transform into different forms and play in different playstyles, weapons, special abilities, etc. Once all demon lords are defeated, the lair to the true Underworld will open up, allowing players to fight the final boss of the game.

Daily Thoughts: Auto Battlers

Edit: Added few bits here and there, deleted the life update bit now that’s outdated. Working on a more polished version of this

Okay, it’s time to talk about auto battlers. They have been on the rise lately with the continued popularity of DOTA AUTO CHESS and with the release of subsequent… genre titles…. ehem. You know, stuff like Dota Underlords, Teamfight Tactics, and Drodo’s own Auto Chess. Market is slowly becoming more and more saturated, and none of the more popular titles haven’t really touched up on the original Auto Chess formula.

You may ask, “What is the original Auto Chess formula?”. Well, here we go.

Auto battler is a subgenre of turn-based strategy game where the player purchases units of increasing strength with random occurances to fight other players in a free-for-all format. Unlike the similar “deck-builder” strategy games (see: Clash Royale), auto battlers focuse mainly on strategically building decks on-the-go, with special stat boosts added and a unit leveling system that focuses more on strategy rather than good units or player interaction.

Here are some common features of this genre:

• 8 players fight off in a free-for-all format. Last one standing wins.
  • In a ranked format, top 4 are the ones who are awarded at the end.
• Players are given gold and some preparation time before every round. Players can then buy units with that gold or buy experience.
  • Gold is given passively or when the player wins/loses as a bonus.
  • Passive gold is a set amount but may increase with win/loss streaks, interest, or other systems.
  • Units are dispensed randomly into a group of 5-6 at a time in a “shop”; players can spend gold to “reroll”, or swap out the current group and replace it with a new one.
  • Experience is gained passively or can be bought with gold (usually a set price, costlier than most units and rerolling price). Enough experience levels up the player, allowing them to put more units on the board and allowing player to get higher cost units from the shop more easily.
• Units can be either “benched” or placed on a chessboard-like game field; once the preparation time is up, they will fight on their own against enemy units.
  • Unit placement matters, as each unit behaves differently on the board.
  • Units can “level up”, gaining stats or even new abilities. 3 of the same units grant one upgraded unit, to a max level of 3.
  • Units have different costs, often in 5 different tiers (usually there is a 1-to-1 relationship between tier and cost). Higher the tier, the more expensive, impactful, and rarer the unit. Leveling up a 3, 4, 5, or higher tier unit is much harder than leveling up a 1 or 2 tier unit.
  • Units belong in certain subspecies; different units of the same subspecies grant synergies, a substantial stat boost that often guides the way players place and buy units.
    • Synergies may be unique to a certain unit or a small group of units. Synergy bonuses may be extended to an amount that is unachievable with only the units in that subspecies.
• Every couple of rounds, players will encounter an NPC round where they fight off non-player enemy units.
  • These grant not only experience and gold when slain, they also grant items that can be equipped by allied units. Items grant passive stat boosts.
  • Items can be benched as well.
  • Items may also be combined by placing certain items together in one hero; they may grant even greater stat boosts or possibly additional capabilities that may change the course of the game significantly.
  • Equipping an item is permanent, though selling off that unit will give back the item.

As you may see, strategy and randomness are the two guiding factors of this formula; player skill is largely focused on having good luck and knowing their item compositions/unit synergies, more so than mechanical skill or reflexes, traits that are commonly valued in traditional RTSs or MOBAs (a genre that this game mode originally came from- Auto Chess is based off a MOD of StarCraft, or so I heard. Please correct me if I’m wrong). However, unlike common deckbuilding games or trading card games, like Hearthstone or Clash Royale (or even Clash of Clans, which is actually a lot more similar in that players determine the placing of the units and units fight automatically), decks are built on-the-go and improved on-the-go, and only the units that are on the board are used, which also differentiates it from Arena/limited format games of TCGs. Randomness is involved, but the chances of better units are improved over the course of the game, unlike others where randomness predetermines the units from the very beginning.

It can be hence said that auto battlers maximize variance (where randomness gives the player a set of tools to work with and its up to the player to decide how to use them- the player is in control of the results) for strategy and uncertainty (where the player does not know the outcome because it’s random; commonly called “RNG”, the player is not in control of the results) during combat.

More and more games are starting to add new features (gimmicks) to the original format; Teamfight Tactics where certain items grant additional origins for better synergies and a random drafting system of items and champions that gives losing players a chance to pick up better champions before others, potentially setting up for a comeback. Dota Underlords has different obstacles that the player can strategically place for covers or other benefits during combat.

I am very curious as to what other changes devs can bring to this formula- right now I can think of the combination of this with the battle royale format, where 50-100 players gather in a (possibly) double-elim or other out system shorter than the traditional 100 HP system. This forces the unit selection and board size to shrink up, which is a nice constraint to have that can bring up some new idea to the board, literally.

Also, I saw this Tweet:

https://twitter.com/nexidava_/status/1145603950080454656

So I came up with some ideas for a Pokemon auto chess.

• First off, basics: gold = pokeballs, unit levels = evolve. Duh.
• Synergies are represented by types. Pokemon with two types at once have a primary type and a secondary type; secondary types may enjoy synergy bonuses but may not contribute to the unit cap required by that synergy.
  • For example, let’s say that flying type enjoys +30% attack speed for 3 units/+50% attack speed for 6 units (only for flying type pokemon). Charizard (I know boring example, hear me out though), who has a fire primary type/flying secondary type, enjoys 30% increased AS when there are other primary flying type pokemon on the board but does not contribute to the units required. So, when there are 5 primary flying type pokemon and a Charizard, they all enjoy 30% AS, not 50%. Synergies have weaknesses, just like the original game; let me change the rules here a bit as well, and make that:
    • Weaknesses only affect abilities- there are no damage multipliers for auto attacks. Secondary types don’t count towards weaknesses (Charizard doesn’t get x4 damage by a rock type). damage multipliers are x1.6 instead of the traditional x2. Ignore all other factors that affect damage multiplication. All pokemon will use abilities that are the same type as their primary type, so no damage multiplier for using the same type ability. All units with the same name are the exact same- no random stat distribution for each unit.
• Bending the rules a bit, all units have a basic attack; basic attacks charge up PPs, which can be used to cast abilities. Abilities differ by each pokemon; they gain better abilities as they evolve. For instance, a Charmander may use ember as their ability; a Charizard may use Flamethrower instead.
• Low-cost units evolve twice and will be common throughout the game. Mid-tier units evolve once or don’t evolve and will be rareer. High tier units will (mostly) be legendary pokemon and do not evolve.
• Megastones evolve the pokemon beyond its final evolution state. They have the following properties:
  • Stat boost will be proportional for the “4th evolved” version of the pokemon. Their abilities will also significantly improve to a Z-skill (sorry for the mix and match, I need more time), a one-per-type ability. So a mega-evolved Charizard and Turtonator use the same ability, Inferno Overdrive, even though Turtonator uses Shell Trap for its ability.

• Side note: As you may have noticed, not all pokemon from the pool will have actual mega-evolutions in the actual game. Let’s just say that they… just exist? Maybe a golden glow-up for non-megas and a model change for pokemon who have actual megas available.
  • If pokemon have a secondary type, this is elevated to a second primary type. Certain pokemon will also gain an additional secondary.
  • Mega Charizard X, for instance (not that I’m adding X and Y vairants, just X is the default. I’m sorry Y fans), will have fire and flying primary and dragon secondary.
• Mega evolutions last for 5 battles before becoming deactivated. There can be only one mega-evolved pokemon on the field at one time.
• Megastones are obtained randomly by defeating non-player enemies or keeping a winning/losing streak (randomness still involved there). They can also be combined through items (this is a quick concept, I don’t have time to get into items)

Recap on Daemon

So obviously I flopped on my initial design doc. I focused too much on the story aspect that I completely failed to illustrate the design of the game, the core appeal of the game.

My main goal with this game was to combine the nonlinear, item-gated, platforming exploration of Metroidvania with a stylish, combo-oriented action with plenty of options during combat. I wanted to combine stylish action (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta) with Metroidvania, a genre where combat feels a bit flat and too timing-specific.

Looks and feels-wise, I want to really embrace the tokusatsu aesthetic. It is really hard to put these in words, but the rough image of this is:

• Lots of cool explosions and visual effects
• Exaggerated actions, often focusing on a single item or a gimmick (afterall, the shows are there to sell toys)
• Exaggerated design, usually focusing down on one to two motifs
• Emphasis on collectible (toys); some sort of small gizmo that interacts with the main weapons or item

So there’s my three pillars- Metroidvania, stylish action, and tokusatsu. Now, let me connect the three pieces together.

Metroidvania

Stylish action- gated, nonlinear exploration means that there will be multiple tools for combat under a certain situation. When and how to use those tools will be the player’s choice.

Tokusatsu- exaggerated, heavily theme-specific design means a consistent theme for a single area. Lots of room to work through here.

These two components mean that I will incorporate a lot of open areas for my game for combat purposes. There will be areas where platforming is emphasized, but I don’t want to bog down players with both combat and platforming.

Stylish action

Metroidvania- hidden collectibles and item-gated exploration means that multiple tools will be available for players. As they explore, their toolset expands; as their toolset expands, there will be more tools to elongate their combos and make satisfying moves.

Tokusatsu- seems a bit obvious, but stylish action genre itself is mainly inspired by tokusatsu.

Tokusatsu

Metroidvania- collectibles and different items are a perfect way for merchendizing (or, in other words, showing cool new abilities)

Stylish action- same as above.

V2 of the doc is coming… soon (I hope I can work on it this week but no guarantees, I am busy).

(V2 on the works!) Design Document: Daemon

EDIT: After some amazing feedback from Reddit /r gamedesign, I decided to work on a more comprehensive V2 of this GDD. I think I considered this more as a TV production and less as an actual game, so it is really heavy on stroy but light on actual game design. Hence, this doc will probably serve as a story bible- after some heavy edits, of course. General sense of the game will be the same, but until I finish my new(er) GDD, feel free to critique or send ideas on the game. Thank you always for the amazing feedback. 

 

 

 

Please note that:

1. Literally, everything in this document is temporary. The story reads like literal fanfic from Wattpad and is overwhelming with overused tropes and boring cliches. Please gimme feedback. I need it.
2. For TL;DR purposes, my MVP (minimum viable product) will be this: a sidescrolling Metroidvania with a combo action system, guard, and switchable forms.
3. I know, as all student projects are, this game has a scope that is way beyond my ability. Obviously, this will probably never see the light of the day; I just needed somewhere to organize my thought after reiterating it over and over again for about a month now.
4. Art aesthetic isn’t complete yet, but I think I got the general grasp of it. Hang on tight.
5. Again, please trash me and give me feedback. At this point, I really don’t care if it’s constructive or not. But that said, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Title: Daemon (Placeholder name)

Intro

You have awakened after 3000 years to a completely different world. Having no memories of your past, you must find out the truth of your mysterious birth and protect this world as it gets slowly engulfed in the flames that raged this world, 3000 years ago. Daemon is a Zelda and Metroid-esque action-adventure dungeon crawler, with its story and theme heavily inspired by Japanese tokusatsu shows.  

Character Bios (Note: ALL names are temporary placeholders.)

“Zero”- Main protagonist. He has risen from a cellar of an abandoned church after a 3000-year slumber. His bodily age, however, is merely that of a teenager (around 16-17). Having lost all of his past memories and deeply anxious, he struggles to reintegrate himself into modern society. Unaware of neither who he is nor where he came from, he struggles to find his true identity. He possesses the power to transform into a fierce, hellbent warrior wielding a heavy sword and dealing hell magic, but he struggles to find his place between a “normal” teen and the protector of a world unknown to him.

“Swordy”- A mysterious emblem that Zero held when he rose from his slumber, Argent Blade, or simply “Swordy”, is a hellforged demon blade with a witty personality. Combined with his belt counterpart, he possesses the power to transform Zero into a warrior. He guides through Zero’s perilous journey through the underworld while also struggling with him in the modern world.

Lucifer- the true lord of hell himself, Lucifer is the vile menace behind the heinous acts of violence caused by the demons. He intends to reignite the 3000-year old conflict once more, this time using the mortal realm as a stepping point. He, however, keeps many secrets…

Michael- the current head of the Army of Heaven and the practical leader of the high Heavens, Michael is a cold-blooded leader and an archangel of dreadable power. His justice is swift and unforgiving, smiting all who do not follow the lord’s plan… though it looks like he has some secrets upon his sleeves.

Patrick- A former youth pastor-turned-writer, Patrick is a struggling single dad of a teenage daughter. He coincidentally found Zero right after he awakens from his slumber and takes him in, trying his best to manage both his (now two) children and his personal struggles, including the absence of his partner. He is Zero’s trusty guardian and father-figure, mentoring him whenever he struggles to find his place in the world. He also knows a lot about the magical realm, maybe a bit too much…

Anna- A typical high school girl, Anna is Zero’s best friend and companion. She tries her best to integrate Zero to modern life, including helping with his schoolwork and being close friends with him. Wacky and lighthearted, Anna is a history fanatic and a wannabe archivist.

Sean- Rival character, teased during the first act, formally introduced during the end of first act/beginning of second act (“the second rider”). Formerly a typical white-collar worker at a game dev company, Sean became a cold-blooded demon hunter after his family got abducted by demons (or so he thought). Striking a pact with the holy angels, he was granted the power to transform into a powerful warrior (much alike to Zero’s transformed state), skilled in scorching light magic and marksmanship with his powerful magic gun. Recently betrayed by the angels and stripped of his abilities causing great pain, he now hunts all magical creatures, demons and angels alike, swearing vengeance to all that is magical; he, however, knows that this is the only way of survival for his fleeting life. He keeps a close eye at Zero’s mysterious identity, sometimes standing on his way while also helping him from time to time.  

Yona- the Supporting protagonist, pops up during the third act (“Third rider”). A school librarian-in-disguise, Yona is a covert black ops agent of the special magical ops division of the military. Once horribly traumatized and losing their limb, they now act as a covert agent, secretly gathering intel about magical creatures hiding in human society while also helping the other two protagonists in battle. They wear a high-tech special ops suit, focused on speedy melee combat and stealth.   

Rough Plot

The main protagonist, Zero, awakens from his long slumber with a small necklace, with a grotesque pendant on it. Patrick finds Zero, shivering and almost dying, whilst visiting the cemetery; he takes him in and becomes his guardian.

6 months later, Zero now attends high school with Pat’s only daughter, Anna. He struggles to adapt to the modern world. He encounters the hideous crime caused by a demon on his way home one day and is forced into a fight against the demon after being suddenly forced into it by the mysterious pendant, who introduced himself by the name of Argent Blade. He kills the demon, confused and tattered, only to find out that this was his destiny and he was once used as a weapon of war, slaughtering millions of innocent lives. Shocked and anxious about his identity, Zero decides to take up his newfound partner’s advice and venture down into the underworld to slaughter demons.

Zero grows in strength as he slaughters the first four great demons, but as he questions the integrity and the aftermath of his past and current actions, a hooded figure appears in front of him and confronts him with the shocking truth that he is the son of Lucifer and all the demons were “attacking” the mortal world just to find him. Mentally shattered, Zero confronts him and eventually wins, but the hooded figure falls in front of him unconscious. Zero brings him back to his dwelling and nurses him back to health, only to find out that he is a vicious hunter seeking for vengeance. Using the last bit of advice from him, and combined with his increased powers from the demons he killed, he ventures into the underworld once more, this time to confront his supposed father.

He soon comes to the realization that his school librarian, Yona, is not actually a librarian but rather a secret government agent and a spy, sent to keep a close eye on him. With the fights getting ever more harder with the hooded figure interrupting him constantly, he gladly takes in their help. Now backed by the secret anti-magic agency, Zero fights off demons both in the real world and the underworld, with growing questions about his identity and his place in the world. He finally faces Lucifer after facing the 7 Sins, only to realize the actual circumstances of his birth: he is the reincarnation of Chaos, the twist of the universe and the creator of the mortal realm, and that he was actually the cause of the war but never the supposed weapon of mass destruction. He also reveals the plans of the heavens to eradicate the mortal realm: they have cleverly manipulated the forces of hell (or so they thought) while also growing their own army to burn the civilization down to the ground.

Zero and his crew, now supported by the forces of hell, venture into the high heavens as they prepare for the final fight to prevent the conflict, once and for all. Michael tries to bring down the creator, but eventually admits defeat and, admitting his corruption, dies. In order to restore the damages done by the descending of the creator and the death of the head of the heavens, Zero and his crew give up all of their powers (including Swordy). Now just an ordinary teenager, Zero goes back to normal life. 

Gameplay Description

Daemon combines three different genres into one with some unique twists: Metroidvania, dungeon crawler, and melee action. In its core, Daemon is a Metroidvania, complete with free flow, item gated exploration of a large, interconnected map, backtracking and remembering crucial information, and side view platforming. The player controls Zero, who wields Swordy, the magical sword from hell, clad with a hellish suit of armor. The action style is stylish, complete with combos similar to fighting games or stylish action games and with different sets of abilities.

The two biggest features are guard and form change system. Zero will collect different “vials”, this title’s main collectible items. He can harness the power of these vials, and each vial will provide different abilities, whether it being extra platforming prowess, assistance in combat, or giving him completely new skillsets to use in both combat and exploration. The guard system adds an extra layer of depth in the typical Metroidvania combat. In his default form, Zero can defend enemy attacks; guarding attacks will either completely negate the attack or reduce the damage of it. Combined with the form change system, however, this feature turns into a completely different system; each form has different methods of guarding enemy attacks, whether it is completely dodging the attack, reflecting projectiles, absorbing damage than releasing them, etc. This will add an extra layer of depth and provide the satisfaction of stylish action that other Metroidvania games could not provide.   

Artistic Style outline

As mentioned above, this game takes very heavy influence from Japanese tokusatsu shows. The game is also a modern fantasy, although it also incorporates some dark, gothic themes.

Most of the ally and enemy design will be based on whether or not it would be possible to create a functioning suit design. Hence, most of the design will focus heavily on physical authenticity. The design does have an advantage, however, of not being an actual TV production and hence will allow for some deviations that are not possible in an actual live action setting, e.g. flame capes, special effects, etc.

Three main “factions” exist: demons of the underworld, angels of the high heavens, and humans of the anti-magic covert ops. Demons will primarily focus on spikes, crimson red and black color scheme, and the 72 Demons of Solomon. Angels, on the other hand, will focus on straight, linear lines, sky blue highlight with a mainly ivory and white color scheme, and a more of a high-tech finish more than high fantasy. Humans will focus heavily on round shapes with realistic tactical designs, focusing on the colors purple and black.  

(Note: project timeline, assets, components, etc. are not listed here because in NO way this is going to be a real project)

Game Pitch- Moody Metroidvania

This one has been in my mind for quite a while now, so I want to elaborate a bit more about this.

Story-heavy platformers and Metroidvanias have been done countless times by indies. I am well aware. What I want to try is two games of totally different genre combined into one- a visual novel-esque story-driven RPG and action-heavy Metroidvania platformer.

For the visual novel part, I am trying to play bunch of different visual novels, story-driven RPGs, and other games that focuses heavily on story.

For the Metroidvania part… well, I am going to play and learn from Metroidvania games and action/fighting games, to learn about the open world/backtracking features and the stylish action that I wish to recreate.

So, here is an incomplete list of games that I am drawing inspiration from: (underline means I already completed that game)

• Metroidvania
  • Ori and the Blind Forest
  • Hollow Knight
  • Super Metroid
  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  • Rabi-Ribi
  • Guacamelee
  • Cave Story
  • Dark Souls
• Visual Novels/Story-heavy RPGs and such (leaning more into nondirect/non-linear storytelling)
  • Doki Doki Literature Club
  • Fate/stay night Realta Nua
  • Undertale
  • Freebird RPGs (To the Moon, Finding Paradise)
  • Life is Strange
• Action/Fighting games
  • Tekken 7 (Learning the basics)
  • Bayonetta Series
  • Devil May Cry Series
  • Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance