Game Pitch Feedback:

After delivering my game pitch I used the feedback given to alter my design in a number of ways. Below are a few common questions or queries, that influenced this iteration:

"What is the purpose of the game/ what is the goal the player is trying to reach?"

The main purpose of the game is to promote the IP of Rosie Red, I chose to do this by subverting the audiences expectation of a children's game. This results in a darker style and is aimed at an older demographic, by choosing to target a older audience (a larger demographic) the brand will be promoted and more people will become exposed to the IP.

The Goal of each level is for the player (Rosie Red) to reach the exit door. They must do this without maxing out the anxiety bar (health meter). As a result each level becomes a balancing act for players when they encounter enemies on route (a dilemma is created): do I fight the enemy with the flash-light, lose valuable battery power but remove a danger; or do I run from the enemy saving the battery for another time.

This should be a constant concern for the player, fight or flee from Rosie Reds fears. By running blindly from enemies you can run into a danger in the dark, or run past hidden items. By fighting the fears you gain courage Points and remove an Obstacle:

Fight: 

• Gain + Courage Points.
• Removes the enemy from the level.
• Decreases Battery Power significantly.

Flee: 

• Save Battery Power.
• Can use valuable battery to search for hidden items (chests).
• Can get through the level 

Each level will attempt to tackle a different fear; from being afraid of the dark, to monsters under the bed. Chests will be present in each level, these are only visible when light from the torch illuminates them and will reveal more of the story to the player (as well as bonus Courage Points).

This Query influenced my decision to make the goal clearer to the player on each level, possibly by a text box at the beginning stating the goal of the level, another design element I am considering adding is randomly generating its location, by stating the goal to the player and randomising the location the player will know what they need to do but not necessarily where to go. This allows for a degree of re-playability.

"Is it suitable for the young audience of the Rosie Red IP?"

No, the concept is intended to subvert the codes and conventions that one would expect from a game based on a children's novel. The games dark aesthetics, atmosphere and theme are intended for an older audience to play. Targeting an older demographic allows the IP to reach a larger audience (the book promotes the IP for children, this game promotes the IP for older teens etc.).

"What's the conflict/ are they varied?"

There are various forms of conflict present, from enemies (bullet types and a tracking enemy etc.). There is also the level hazards (the floor is lava) that are also a danger to the player. A time limit for each level may also be imposed and as the time increases the level gets darker and darker. Other forms of conflict are present such as having to navigate the landscape, in the dark it is difficult for the player to make out objects or platforms without the torch.

The player has the ability to challenge these conflicts through the resources available, but in line with the theme I wanted to make resources finite. This creates another form of conflict as the player has to manage resources (Battery, Courage Points, Anxiety Meter) and the risk reward system when deciding to fight/flee from fears also influences this.

This feedback influenced my decision to include more varied conflict through the inclusion of new enemy types, varied spawns, resource balance, battery limit etc. which all create new data and patterns for the player. I also at this point decided I wanted the ability to self heal by using the torch on Rosie Red herself, gaining health but losing battery power.

"Where do you have to go?"

The player needs to explore the level, find any hidden coins (for +CP), hidden chests (tell more of the story to the player and +CP), choose how to encounter enemies, interact with objects and so on and so forth. The end goal is to make it to the exit door. At this points a time bonus is calculated if the player finishes the level fast enough and this is added to the total CP collected that level. A bonus will also be given to the player for defeating all enemies in a level.

At this point I wanted to make fighting enemies a more appealing incentive to gain points which can be used to unlock costumes for Rosie's Teddy. There will also be challenges for each level (find all coins/chests) and this will also give the player bonus CP to spend.

"What do you earn by achieving these goals?"

By achieving these goals the narrative is allowed to progress, more of the lore/story is communicated to the player and eventually you progress to the next stage to repeat the progress. Challenges and Rewards such as unlock-able costumes will constantly reassure the player and keep them progressing forwards as they want to unlock more things. This creates a cycle of earn CP to unlock costumes which influences Rosie's stats to earn more CP etc. An example of this would be a costume that increases Rosie's jump height to reach an otherwise out of reach platform. 

"Will there be different enemies/ powerups?"

There will be multiple types of enemies which will create new patterns for the player. A bullet style enemy who travels along a set(but randomly picked) path and does heavy damage to the player. A tracking enemy who will persistently follow the player across the level and possibly a turret enemy. Power Ups will be unlock-able as teddy costumes as they will influence some of Rosies abilities (speed, jump height etc). Another form of power-up is health/anxiety boosts and battery pick-ups as they recharge the relevant meter.

"Does the Battery decrease on the torch?"

Yes, this feature was influenced by the feedback. The battery will deplete rapidly with prolongued overuse, it will slowly recharge when not in use. Battery pick-ups will automatically recharge the battery life on the torch.

"Will the dark aesthetics impact Game-play?"

Yes, again this is something that has been heavily influenced by the feedback. The aesthetics are meant to resemble a kids scrapbook, with scribbles and childlike handwriting, the enemy, sound and level design also adhere to this. This design choice was chosen to contrast the innocence of the source material and again target an older demographic. The gradual increase in darkness was also decided here to become a feature as was the idea to make the torch a more useful tool..

Game Pitch Script:

Below is the script and PowerPoint slides I used in my Game Pitch This Stage was particularly useful as I clarified a lot of aspects about my game, while slightly altering others. The name of the game was also decided here, Rosie Dread, mainly because it fits the theme:

Your first impression when you look at Rosie Red is that of a winsome children’s book. It’s innocent, full of colour and meant to make everything seem bright, happy and cheerful. I wanted to choose subversion to juxtapose this, and I wanted to explore games as art.

Most media texts tend to focus on a colourful innocent theme, I wanted to go in the opposite direction. I wanted to focus on the world from the kid’s eyes (Rosie Red) but from a darker perspective. That’s why my theme has a macabre atmosphere as it supposed to explore Rosie Red’s fears or nightmares. Kids may have anxiety, may be scared of the dark, fear monsters under the bed and so on and so forth. But the game still needs to promote the IP, so the main focus is on the character herself, trying to overcome her fears, anxiety and to become courageous. Many of the characters in the book will be present.

The game style will be sketched, similar to a child’s drawings, the world will be black and white with important items being highlighted in colour. Aesthetics are an important part of the experience, new data is communicated to the player through this sketched style and any relevant information (tutorials and hints) are shown to the player via sketched text.

The mechanics involves using WASD to move Rosie Red and the mouse to control the flashlight. The art style of the game is a core component, the game is dark, void of colour and it’s difficult to make out dangers. By using the flashlight Rosie Red is able to light up an area which will reveal a danger such as an enemy, this will fade out the enemy (defeating them). She can also interact with objects; some good objects give her courage points which are the main points system in the game. If she interacts with a bad object i.e. a bed with a monster under it, it will increase her anxiety meter. If the anxiety meter maxes out the game is over.

The main goal of the game is to make it to the exit (door), along the way the player should interact with objects to gain courage points and attempt to avoid or defeat enemies by shining a light on them for a duration. With the courage points gained you can upgrade your teddy with costumes such as an astronaut or a dinosaur suit, these change the aesthetics of the teddy logo on screen and also affects Rosie Reds stats e.g. max anxiety meter, walk speed.

The conflict are the enemies (ghosts) and environmental dangers (floor is lava etc.), to overcome these you must use the games rules: use the flashlight. These enemies will contain a degree of randomness as their quantity and spawn location will change on each play through and possibly slight differences in the level design.

The core actions performed in the game are walking and jumping, exploration is rewarded and a reason to keep the player coming back: to be further rewarded and go through the story. I believe the Game should follow the EGA framework, with the experience, theme and narrative hoping to create an emotional response with the player (fear, empathy and hopefully at the end, happiness). Through whether they choose to be aggressive and try to defeat the enemies or flee from them (survival and aggression), the player will either way be rewarded. The gameplay next should be simple in keeping with the ironic childlike style, with the overall goal being to survive through fight or light to get to the exit (door). Finally the actions are simply enough running, interacting and confrontation (fighting). The game should try to motivate the player through rewarding the player with points, story and costumes but should also try to change their minds about certain aspects.

A lot of the games elements were influenced by some of the theorists we have learned this year such as Le Blanc who influenced my decision to create a fantasy world with a strong emotive narrative and is further explored through discovery and exploration. Caillios and llinx (the feeling of vertigo) as the game tries to get an emotive response from the user, whether this is through making the player feel fear or happiness through the theme or narrative.

As previously stated the game the game hopefully should use subversion to deliver an unusual experience but at the same time hope to educate or explore a theme not often correlating to the medium of a children’s novel. This should hopefully make the game more unique and interesting. This game through the narrative should both create an engaging experience and promote the IP possibly having a target demographic of an older audience. Thanks, any questions?

Game Concept:

Game Conceptualisation & Game Pitch:

When I first saw the IP of Rosie Red I knew I wanted to subvert the genre, I wanted to create a unique experience that would promote the IP by targeting an older demographic. Due to time constraints and the time needed to become competent with the game creation engine I knew that the design I needed to make would need to be fairly simple at the base, but have deep functionality and give the player a lush experience. The topic Nightmares and Fears is not often considered to correlate with a children’s book, but the subject seemed very interesting to me none the less.

I began by creating a mind map, at the base was Rosie Red and at the branches I explored such things as: the genre of the game, what would the player be doing, what terms would I use to describe the game and so on. This ended up being a dark platformer with horror esque aspects set in Rosie Reds mind (as a dream/nightmare). A few actions that immediately came to mind was to fight or flee, to run from enemies or to attempt to attack the enemies. I also wanted the game to contain some form of seeking and management. This would take the form of seeking collectibles and managing the anxiety bar(Health bar) and maintaining battery life of the torch(which is used to see the environment and to defeat enemies).

During this process I went through a few Iterations of the design. Firstly I wanted to get a clear idea of the mechanics (WASD to move, mouse controls the flashlight etc.) then I wanted to explore the Players abilities. I wanted the player to feel under-powered to an extent, as a result, taking on an enemy would entail a risk/reward system (do i make the journey to the target destination easier by defeating this enemy at the risk of losing some health?), i felt this would fit in nicely with the tone of the game.

Next I wanted to further explore some of the more core elements of the game, this was the starting point where I began to think how I can include some knowledge I've learned in this semester to help me design my game. Le Blanc and Pearce were particularly influential in this:

Objectives: To reach the exit door(Goal) which is hidden somewhere in the level. Avoid maxing the anxiety meter by colliding with Obstacles.

Uncertainties: If possible enemy spawns should be randomized.

Conflict: this would be enemies or environmental hazards. The enemies should more erratically to create an unsettling atmosphere and if they make contact with the player it will drain the players life. The environmental dangers include such things as a lava floor and other things a child might find scary.

Rules: If the Player comes in contact with a hazard their anxiety bar increases. If it maxes out the player has to restart the Level. Interacting with good objects (her teddy bear) lowers her anxiety. The torch is used to defeat enemies by hovering over them. When the torch is in use the battery drains.

Discovery: The player should be able to search the area and interact with hidden objects through using the torch.

Narrative: This should tell the basic story of Rosie Red, a young child as she battles her fears. The player should also have simple choices in the game (fight or flee from her fears), As the levels progress more and more fears become apparent and eventually conclude with her becoming comfortable with or conquering her fears.

Fantasy: The world is set in Rosie Reds nightmares, therefore the backdrop throughout should be dark and unsettling to create unease and adhere to the genre.

Submission: The game should encourage the player to become invested in the narrative to a degree and hopefully create an emotional attachment to the main character Rosie Red.