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GAME STORY/SYNOPSIS & PLAYER HOOK

MOCKUP OF EMPATHIZE

Player has the ability to absorb sadness/negative emotions

This ability is used to better the lives of the people/animals in the world

Turning an innate emotional response to a powerful gift

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GAME STORY/SYNOPSIS & PLAYER HOOK

PLAYER HOOK

I would like to appeal to the emotional side of persons as well as instilling valuable morals through gameplay such as compassion, understanding, caring, importance of mental and emotional health, and ofcourse empathy!

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GENRE & RATING

ADVENTURE

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CAMERA P.O.V

2D Side Scrolling Perspective

ENEBA,2022

CupHead,2017

ENEBA,2022

Sonic Mania,2017

Locked camera position so that player is always in focus. The player shall encounter characters towards the left, right and into various areas of the world, however it shall not contain any jumping or platforming systems.

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AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN

THE IDEAL AUDIENCE WOULD BE ANYONE:

Roughly the age of 8 onwards as understanding of emotional health and empathy should be established at that age range

No preference of gender

Persona would be for anyone who’s interested in life lessons and instilling better values and traits in themselves.

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GAMEPLAY LOOP

EXPLORING THE MAP
MEET PEOPLE/ANIMALS
INTERACT
DISCOVER WHAT'S THEIR PROBLEM/SITUATION
PERFORM TASK/S
TAKE THEIR SADNESS
ACQUIRE UPGRADES AND PERKS TO ENHANCE CHARACTER AND CHARACTER EXPERIENCE

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GAMEPLAY LOOP VISUALIZED

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CORE ACTIONS

MOVEMENT

INTERACT/ACTION

CHECK INVENTORY/STATUS

MOVEMENT

INTERACT/ACTION

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CORE ACTIONS

MOVEMENT:

Will utilize the 2D plane and only allow the character to move left and right, however there shall be instances where a new area or house/building can be entered through pressing UP

INTERACT/ACTION:

This shall be utilized as the main operation within the game. The player shall be interacting with people and animals throughout the entire game, and it was made in an ergonomic manner.

CHECK INVENTORY/STATUS:

This action plays a crucial role in the storyline and overall foundation of the game. Players have a sadness meter that increases in increments depending on what task the player has just completed for someone/something. This is a fundamental aspect of the game and shall be one of its most defining characteristics. The inventory system will be used to keep track of what the player has picked up along the way and if there are any task specific items that are needed for completion.

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MAIN GOAL:

MAKE THE WORLD A BRIGHTER AND HAPPIER PLACE BY HELPING EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING

GAME GOALS

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SUB GOAL:

TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD MEETING NEW PEOPLE/ANIMALS, DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT THEIR SITUATIONS, AND RESOLVING THEIR SITUATION THORUGH PERFORMING A TASK/S

GAME GOALS

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GAME GOALS

MOMENT-TO-MOMENT:

PERFORMING A VARIETY OF TASKS, SADNESS MANAGEMENT, ATTAINING NEW UPGRADES AND PERKS TO ENHANCE CHARACTER AND EXPERIENCE

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FEEDBACK(Auditory, Visual, Haptic)

VISUAL:

Player becoming visibly darker in correlation with the amount of sadness they have stored

Movement speed being decreased as sadness increases

Other people/animals losing their sadness and becoming visibly brighter and happier

AUDITORY:

Background Music

Environment

Player Movement

Interaction Audio Cue

Babble/Speaking

Sadness Element (transfer, leaving)

HAPTIC:

No Haptic Feedback

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Platform & Control Scheme

PLATFORM: PC (Computer)

CONTROL SCHEME:

TO GO INTO HOUSES AND AREAS

MOVE LEFT

MOVE RIGHT

SPACEBAR:INTERACT

E: INVENTORY/STATUS

ESC:

MENU/ USES ENTER WITHIN THE MENU, UP, DOWN, LEFT AND RIGHT

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UNIQUE SELLING POINT

lovethispic.com

picturequotes.com

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UNIQUE SELLING POINT

HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

Is CATERED FOR EVERYONE SO THAT THE CONCEPT OF UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY CAN BE WIDESPREAD

UTILIZES THE REALM OF VIDEO GAME MEDIA IN ORDER TO SHARE AN EMOTIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

BRINGS NEW PERSEPCTIVE TO THE INNER WORKINGS OF EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WELL BEING

WILL ENABLE THE LEARNING OF POSITIVE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT

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GAME THEME

Avogel,2021

ChintanJain,2018

FlyingPepper

LIFTING SOMEONE’S MOOD,HELPING OTHERS AND VISUALISING SADNESS THAT PEOPLE GO THROUGH AND WATCHING IT FINALLY LEAVE THEM THROUGH YOUR INVOVLEMENT

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GAME MOOD

HAPPINESS

COMPASSION

Auldyn Matthews,2017

Dr Shelley Hyman

GAME MOOD

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You have always had a big heart and wanted to make the world a better place

PLOT SUMMARY

Learn that you posess the ability to absorb sadness from others and store it within yourself

Manage your stored up sadness and find ways to dispose of it all, in order to continue your journey!

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USER INTERFACE

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MAIN MENU

STATUS:

PLAYER FIGURE DARKENS IN CORRELATION WITH AMOUNT OF SADNESS

0% SADNESS

100% SADNESS

INVENTORY:

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MAIN MENU

TASKS:

Rescue cat from tree
Help change flat tire

Selena: Help make cake by finding eggs

Sean: Help find lost dog

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MAP

HUD

TASK TRACKER:

1.---

2.----

SEAN------

SELENA----

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CORE SYSTEMS

MOVEMENT SYSTEM

INTERACTION SYSTEM

SADNESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

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CORE MECHANICS BREAKDOWN

CORE ACTIONS:

MOVEMENT

INTERACTION

DIALOGUE

SADNESS MANAGEMENT

UPGRADE/PERK SYSTEM

OBJECTS:

PLAYER MODEL(YOU)

ENVIRONMENT(BACKGROUND)

HOUSES

TREES

SHOPS

ANIMALS

PEOPLE

CARS

SKILL:

UPGRADED SADNESS CAPACITY (Bigger Heart)

Running Shoes(Movement Speed)

UPGRADED MAP( Bigger minimap and wider perspective)

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LEVEL DESIGN BREAKDOWN

ORDER OF OPERATION:

Player interacts with affected person/animal
Person/animal assigns a task/s for the player to complete
Player completes task/s
Player returns to the person/animal that gave the task/s and receives a reward
Person/animal embraces player, shows gratitude and transfers their sadness onto the player.

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INTENDED AESTHETICS

Earth.com,2018

WORLD STARTS OF MONOCHROME(Black and White)

Earth.com,2018

THEN BECOMES BRIGHTER, MORE VIBRANT AND HAPPIER AS THE PLAYER HELPS THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD

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INTENDED AESTHETICS(Mood Board)

HAPPINESS

SADNESS

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INTENDED AESTHETICS(Color Palette)

HAPPINESS

SADNESS

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DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY

UNITY- For Game Design

FMOD- For Music & Audio

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REFERENCES

Colors of sadness color palette. Color Hex Codes. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/10176

Davis, E., Howell, C., & Ungerbuehler, J. (2016, May 5). May artist Mood Board: "Happy place". Illustrated Faith. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.illustratedfaith.com/may-artist-mood-board-happy-place/

Happy colours color palette. Color Hex Codes. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/15131

Nature imagery has a calming effects on prisoners. Earth.com. (2017, September 4). Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.earth.com/news/nature-calming-effects-prisoners/

OMGcraftShow. (2016, October 15). The best minimap mod for minecraft | journeymap. YouTube. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSzFpfzFFmA

Sad aesthetic color palette. Color Hex Codes. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/26098

Technologies, F. (2019, September 10). Fmod: Sound for game design. 80lv. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://80.lv/articles/fmod-sound-for-game-design/

Technologies, U. (n.d.). Unity. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://unity.com/

YouTube. (2018, April 23). Side effects | original version - calarts 2018. YouTube. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5BqCKO9DY&t=3s

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