Concept Devlog

3 years ago by CameronBl

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Working Title:

MotoMadness

Concept Statement:

MotoMadness is a 2D motorbike riding themed puzzle solving game where the player is tasked with collecting all key objects within the map before they are able to finish the level. The challenge lies with the complexity of the level and the elastic suspension of the motorbike. Each level may contain traps in the form of objects that will kill the player on contact or objects that will invert the gravity or have other effects on the player.

Genre:

The genre or category of MotoMadness can be defined as a mix of Racing and Puzzle due to the nature of game play. It fits with the puzzle genre as each level contains objects in difficult to reach places within the level that must be collected in order to finish. The game fits within the racing genre as well given there is a time factor the player must consider in each level providing them with “race against the clock” component to the game.

Concept Creation Process:

The process of concept creation for MotoMadness is influenced by a game titled Elastomania. The idea of MotoMadness is to have the player navigate their vehicle around a level, collecting objects in order to complete each level. The player should avoid any obstacles and attempt to complete the level in the most efficient way possible in the least amount of time.

A major part of the concept, due the generally linear mode of game play, is to ensure the player is adequately challenged yet not to the point of frustration or boredom. The flow on from this player engagement target would be to increase the difficulty of each level to match the players increase in skill, thus the reward to effort ratio will leave the player with a sense of accomplishment.

The game can be considered casual, and should be simple enough that returning players are able to pick up the controls and goals of the game within a short amount of time.

It is worth mentioning another major influence of MotoMadness at this point, as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1 – Influence example.

Target Audience and competitive analysis:

MotoMadness does not have any particular target audience, although it may appeal more to those who enjoy riding motorbikes. Anyone who enjoys a simple puzzle game and a challenge aught to find the game enjoyable. The limited controls and level of game complexity should appeal to a wide range of people both young and old or those who may have a disability.

With the limited text (basically just UI text) the game could easily be translated to other languages further increasing the target audience.

During the process of competitive analysis, the obvious competitor identified is the game Elastomania. MotoMadness is similar in game play to Elastomania but differs mostly in the updated graphics and physics system. Additional features to set MotoMadness and Elastomania apart will present themselves in the form of objects that can affect the player both negatively and positively. Elastomania has only two objects that effect the player in a negative way. These are the kill on hit and invert gravity objects.

Elastomania was first released in 2000 making it over 20 years old and yet is still available for purchase. This alone is testament to the game’s popularity. A new game of this type will appeal to those who enjoyed Elastomania and therefore will increase the target audience even further.

Game Treatment:

Ride your motorbike in a 2D world while attempting to navigate through each level, avoiding traps and collecting keys in order to reach the exit with the best time. Each level will provide a challenge that will put your rubber-suspension-motorbike riding skills to the test!

Key Features

Each level designed to make the player think about the best possible way to complete it.
Collectibles that can affect the player in both positive and negative ways.
Addictive game play to keep the player engaged.
Rubbery suspension for an additional challenge.

Concept Art:

The concept art for MotoMadness is fairly basic in that there are few elements that require somewhat detailed art. The two most detailed pieces of art will be the motorbike and rider shown in figure 2 and 3. Both rider and motorbike sprites in figure 1 and 2 are separated out in to their segments that will move independent of each other.

Figure 2 - Motorbike

Figure 3 – Rider

Concept art for the environment is shown in figure 4 which shows an example of the terrain style and possible level layout. Figure 4 also highlights other environmental objects such as trees and bushes that could also be included in each level to obscure the players vision of the motorbike, further increasing the difficulty in key areas of the level.

Again figure 4 shows the use of a collectible item withing the level in the form of an apple. All the apples must be collected in order to finish the level.

Figure 4 – Terrain Example (Elastomania)

Figure 5 is an example of some possible collectible objects that the player can interact with that may affect the behavior of the motorbike or collected as part of the level completion. Icons may be placed randomly around each level or in places that force the player to work towards obtaining them by carefully planning manoeuvres.