Design Doc PowerPoint
This is the main UI. The majority of the game takes place here. �In the story, it’s like your company iPad where you get mail, pilot resumes etc...
Company Name
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Player chooses the company name
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Current Money
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These boxes are the “Job Buttons”
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This button is for special missions which take longer and are riskier
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
These Tabs on the left let you switch between menus like mail for you to accept missions or checking your financials
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
The firs tab is your “inbox” where you accept jobs and receive plot details or worldbuilding
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
This tab is where you keep track of your financials. With graphs showing your progress and hom much money you made and spent
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
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This tab is where you can hire and view your crew profiles. Here you assign them to their ships and manage them
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Job 1
Job 3
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This is a tab for upgrades. You can upgrade your ships, and other things from here.
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
This icon if for the crew lounge and clicking on it takes the player top a new window where they can see the pilots they hired interact and hang out if they’re not currently on the job.
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Job 1
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Here, crew appear as sprites and just hang out. The player can click on the sprites to view their profile and stats. Maybe we can give them a line of dialogue or 2.
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Job 1
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Job 4
The player can also explore the lounge like in old adventure games. Nothing too complex, just flavour text and some easter eggs
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Job 1
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Job 2
Job 4
Like for example, if you click on the big airport-like arrivals board, you can see what jobs are currently being completed.
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Job 1
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Job 2
Job 4
Or if you click on the vending machine you can actually buy a snack! You’ll get a textbox with something like: “The soda isnt actually refreshing. In fact all the super processed sugar made you a bit dizzy. You feel like having another”. DIfferent snacks have different jokes.
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
Same for the noodle stand, you can order some food and the menu has some quirky dishes
Crew Mechanics
I know we decided to play it small for our first game but one of the mechanics Sabien talked about kind of got my attention.
About mixing and matching crew members in ships to try and find the perfect build for missions. This might be worth exploring further because it not only would enforce the slower, more thoughtful pace we want to achieve but it would be something that would fit perfectly into our big game project for later.
This might not be something we want to get into immediately this week but it’s something I’ve been kicking around in the back of my mind since the stream.
Metal Gear Solid 5 and Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker kind of did this but to a much smaller degree, where you’d make “teams” to send on missions. If a mission was ranked “Difficult” then you’d better send a team comprised of your best boys!
You have a bunch of soldiers at your disposal but you can only send a limited number on a mission. So sometimes, you’d send your best boys out on a difficult mission only to have another difficult one pop up and you’d have to make do with your second best boys (I’m committed to the term “best boys” because I think it’s funny) but as their stats are lower, the mission would be riskier and they might fail or some of them might not make it back!
You could also make a team with some of your best boys and some not so best boys so that the latter could gain experience with less risk!
This would also mean a deeper level of customization for ships. We can have cargo ships, ships that are a bit more combat ready for more dangerous missions, ships that carry different numbers of crew and so on. And of course you can upgrade everything.
It would make the player’s role in the game a bit more active and add another layer of strategy.
I know this adds another layer of complexity and we were trying to keep it simple but if you think this is doable, I think we should definitely give it a shot or at the very least keep this in mind going forward!
Ship Upgrades
OK. So regarding what we talked about, a more elegant design solution would be, instead of picking and choosing what crew members go on each ship, each ship goes back to having just one solo pilot (I think I like this idea because it makes them more like space truckers) and the different attributes we can change and upgrade and mix and match are the ships themselves!
So for example, a ship has 3 attributes, engines, which determine how fast it can complete deliveries, defensive capabilities (things like armour and laser turrets) which dictate how likely it is that the ship will complete the run unharmed and load capacity (what kind of cargo it can take and how much) which will determine how much money you can make from each run.
These would be individual ship upgrades. For example; if you buy bigger lasers you have to choose a ship to install it on. This is where the pilot’s stats come in too, if he has a bigger combat ability, we would make better use of the lasers on his ship, and so on. You can buy more of the same upgrade and put in on another ship if you have enough money too.
Then there are company wide perks you can upgrade such as reducing the price of fuel for your ships, upgrading your hangar so you can add more ships to your fleet or repair them faster if they fail a mission or come back damaged, add things to the pilot lounge area to boost their moral, improving their performance.
Narrative/Systemic Storytelling
Ok so a big part of that game I eventually want to make incorporates “systemic storytelling” as one of it’s main features. This idea comes from Ken Levine’s “Narrative Legos” lecture at GDC.
I wasn’t planning on adding this feature to the minigame we’re making because I didn't want to fall victim to the “feature creep” but if I can simplify it or distill it to it’s core mechanic, maybe we can come up with a basic idea and see if we can implement it on a smaller scale.
This is what I’ve come up with so far:
In your “Inbox” you get job offers from 3 different entities. Along with Dax, you now have 2 other contacts, a space pirate and a representative for the federation (these names are just placeholders, I’ll write proper characters once we have a better idea of how this plays out).
The kind of jobs you get from them differ, for example: the work the space pirate sends your way is riskier (more chance of the ship coming back damaged and losing your cargo) but more profitable. Working for the federation is a lot safer but pays less and gigs from your buddy Dax fall somewhere in between.
Dax
Risk: Medium
Profit: Medium
Space Pirates
Risk: High
Profit: High
Federation
Risk: Low
Profit: Low
Now for the tricky part
So the job system is simple enough but the idea is to loop it into the upgrade mechanics! Here’s the idea:
The upgrades you get- engines, defenses and carrying capacity are actually procured from 3 different sources. These are vendors, so let’s say for example, there's an engine shop owner, an arms dealer and someone who makes your storage space bigger (I dunno). BUT, these characters all have their own opinions, agendas and allegiances. So for example, the engine shop owner deals a lot in black market goods so it’s in his interest that you get cozy with the pirates. and maybe he hates the federation so the more you help them out, the less deals you get on his goods or maybe even his prices go up!
And the more you do something a character likes, the more friendly they get towards you, lowering their prices and maybe even making special unique items available for you to buy!
The thing is (in our example), the pirate jobs don’t really need faster engines that much (but of course it helps). Because they’re riskier and you might lose your cargo to other pirates or the authorities, you actually need stuff from the arms dealer but HE hates the pirates! so since you’re running around doing a bunch of jobs for them he’s not giving you any discounts or special items!
Company Name
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Job 1
Job 3
Job 2
Job 4
DAX: Vending Machine Job
DAX: Getting Set Up
Gameplay Walkthrough
Space Truckin’ Manager
Space Truckin’ Manager
Start Game
Load
Options
Credits
Welcome and thank you for using the Magna Corp. Transport App!
Please enter the required information so we can get started!
Your Name:
___________
Your Company's Name:
___________
Welcome and thank you for using the Magna Corp. Transport App!
Please enter the required information so we can get started!
Your Name:
Sabien
Your Company's Name:
One Leif Transport Co.
Would you like a quick tour of this apps features?
No thanks
Yes Please
This would basically be some version of what we showed in the previous slides
Animated arrows would appear pointing to each button to explain it’s function
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
Dax: Let’s get started! - Took you long enough to set up the...
MagnaMail
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
MagnaMail
Howdy!
Took you long enough to set up the dang manager app… Now we can finally start making some moolah! I’ll be sending whatever jobs I find your way at first but once we start making a name for ourselves I expect clients will come to us! We just gotta be careful who we’re in cahoots with though, it’s a big galaxy and you never know what you’re gonna find…
I’ll start off doing runs on the ol’ Skiplilly until we have enough money to buy more ships and hire new pilots.
Dax
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
Dax: We got one!!! - I think I found something to get us start...
Dax: Let’s get started! - Took you long enough to set up the...
MagnaMail
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
MagnaMail
I think I found something to get us started:
As part of a recently settled labour dispute, miners and lab technicians at a hydrogen and helium rig on a nearby gas dwarf have gotten 30 new espresso machines. Can’t imagine why they need so many, there’s only like 10 of them working there…
The client made it very clear that “THERE MUST ALWAYS BE COFFEE” and the planet is in a system just next door to us so we’re not gonna make crazy money with each delivery (especially with what we currently charge per A.U.) but at the rate these people seem to guzzle that stuff down, they’ll be needing new shipments constantly.
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
MagnaMail
COFFEE” and the planet is in a system just next door to us so we’re not gonna make crazy money with each delivery (especially with what we currently charge per A.U.) but at the rate these people seem to guzzle that stuff down, they’ll be needing new shipments constantly.
Pretty good gig for our first contract I’d say.
DAX
ACCEPT
DECLINE
“Coffee Run”
Assign: …
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
“Coffee Run”
Assign: …
One Leif Transport Co.
$0000000
One Leif Transport Co. Hangar
Hire Pilots
One Leif Transport Co. Hangar
At this point the player wouldn't have this many ships, just the one but this is how a full hangar would be like, you can see all the ships in your fleet and clicking on them opens the ship & Pilot stats
Hire Pilots
Dax J.
The Skiplilly
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
Pilot Perks
Evasive Maneuvers
??? - Unlock Lvl: 10
??? - Unlock Lvl: 30
Dax J.
The Skiplilly
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
This is the pilot profile. It’s got their stats and some flavour text.
Pilot Perks
Evasive Maneuvers
??? - Unlock Lvl: 10
??? - Unlock Lvl: 30
Dax J.
The Skiplilly
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
Pilot Perks
Evasive Maneuvers
??? - Unlock Lvl: 10
??? - Unlock Lvl: 30
These are the pilot perks. They gain exp from missions and level up and every pilot has 3 pilot perks to unlock and they unlock each one as they reach a certain level.
Dax J.
The Skiplilly
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
Pilot Perks
Evasive Maneuvers
??? - Unlock Lvl: 10
??? - Unlock Lvl: 30
The perks a pilot will unlock are random and they can be anything from “Evasive Maneuvers” (gives you a bigger chance of avoiding combat encounters) to “Onboard toolkit” (damage taken is reduced)
Dax J.
The Skiplilly
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
Pilot Perks
Evasive Maneuvers
??? - Unlock Lvl: 10
??? - Unlock Lvl: 30
These are the engine, defenses and capacity icons.
Dax J.
The Skiplilly
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
Pilot Perks
Evasive Maneuvers
??? - Unlock Lvl: 10
??? - Unlock Lvl: 30
Clicking on these will bring up the “level bars”
One Leif Transport Co. Hangar
Hire Pilots
You can also hire pilots from the hangar screen! It will have a “Hire Pilot” Button.
Dax J.
Ship:
The Skiplilly
Level: 2
exp: 25/100
Species: Helicid
Homeworld: Huldra
Likes: 90s Earth rom-coms
Dislikes: Bars where you have to pay to get in
Runs Completed: 9
Failed Runs: 2
Distance Traveled: 15 AU
Pilot name Level 4 Ship: Dickfart
Pilot name Level 4 Ship: Dickfart
Pilot name Level 4 Ship: Dickfart
Pilot name Level 4 Ship: Dickfart