Action game document
By Josh Bycer
Copyright 2008
Introduction: The action genre has seen numerous hits from the underappreciated God Hand to the masterpiece that is Ninja Gaiden Black/Sigma. This title I feel is the next step in action gaming providing adequate challenge for expert players and still easy enough to introduce new comers to the genre.
Features:
· Fully realized badass: The player has 360 degree attack coverage using a variety of punches, kicks, and grapple attacks.
· Create your own combos: Every attack command is customizable and will allow players to create their own combos and attack strategies.
· Challenging fights: Enemies will play by the same rules as you, and will be able to counter, grab, and beat the crap out of you. Providing a challenge for any action fan.
· Rewards for being the best: Multiple difficulty levels that can be changed on the fly will allow the player to earn better attack moves, upgrades, and new outfits for players at harder levels.
Platform: Due to the complexity of the controls the PS3, Xbox 360, and maybe PC with game pad functionality are the best platforms for this title.
Graphics: Will be more on the realistic end.
Players: One player definite, with a possible two player option if time permits, if there isn’t then to keep the quality of the game high there will only be a single player mode.
Controls: (For this document the controls will be shown for the PS3 version, but the 360 control scheme will be the same, just switch the button names). The Square button will control the left arm, triangle the right arm. The X button controls the left leg, and the O button controls the right leg.
Start will bring up the menu for seeing your stats and setting up combo trees. The L1 button will control your defensive moves, and the R1 button will allow you to set up grapple attacks. Pressing select will let the player change the difficulty level of the game.
Game Length: For expert players who will start out on hard the game should take 8 to 10 hours just playing through to the end, but there would be more things to do for players who want to see everything.
Game play:
Basics:
For this title the game play will be set up as pure action, for each stage the player must get to the end while avoiding obstacles, fighting the numerous enemies, and defeating the boss at the end. Puzzles if any will be simple, but the majority of the time spent will be fighting enemies.
Health System:
When coming up with this title there are three possible health systems I came up with to use. One must be picked before level and game design starts as each one will change the game dramatically.
- Classic style: Boxes and random objects will drop health items of various amounts.
Positives: Easiest to set up and balance, most recognizable among action fans.
Negatives: Developing complex fights will be harder as it could leave the player unable to reach the next health drop. Levels will have to be designed to balance out giving the player enough health to survive. Chance that the player will arrive at a fight unable to continue and will be force to restart from the previous check point.
- Regenerate from fighting: Health will regenerate a certain amount after beating up an enemy, could be tied into the combo system to provide bigger benefits for continued winning.
Positives: Less chance of ending a fight at low health, rewards players who master the combat system. Can be tied into difficulty settings as well.
Negatives: Still leaves chance for leaving the player with too little health to continue. Enemy fights will have to balance for size.
- Full regeneration system: Health will slowly restore when not under attack in combat, faster once there are no enemies left.
Positives: Never done before, no chance the player will not have enough health to continue. Fights can be made as challenging and unique as we want with that issue resolved.
Negatives: Will need to be fine tuned as the entire game play experience will be riding on this method. Can make enclosed spaces unfair as there will not be enough room to evade foes. Boss fights will need to be carefully balanced as longer fights can leave the player about to die after one or two blows.
In my opinion I would like to go with option 3, as it has never been done before and will free up the constraint of having to worry about not having enough health to survive. Enemy encounters can be made very challenging which will go with the difficulty levels.
Stamina System: To promote a more strategic style of game play and get rid of the crutch of button mashing, the stamina of the main character will be a factor of game play. Stamina is figured into whenever the player performs any attacks, or defensive options. For balance, stronger moves will cost greater stamina to use then weaker moves. Stamina will replenish once the player has stopped attacking, and will replenished quicker if the player is being attacked while in the blocking position. When the player is performing any grapple moves, stamina will be slowly draining while the player holds the enemy to make sure that it doesn’t become exploitable. One idea for group fights could be to give a stamina bonus whenever an enemy is defeated to allow the player to continue fighting the group and perhaps build up a bigger combo. Just like with health, stamina will recover the fastest when there are no enemies present.
Combat System: Combat in this game will be easy to learn and difficult to master. The four face buttons will control the player’s arms and legs, with defense and grapple moves to the shoulder buttons. Tapping an attack button will result in a lower attack such as chest punches for your arms and foot sweeps for your legs. While holding the button for a split second will result in a high attack being thrown. Pressing the same button repeatedly will result in the same attack being used over again, which lowers stamina and attack values, but the enemy will learn the pattern faster. To perform combos the player has to alternate button presses such as hitting left hand then right hand then back to left hand to throw 3 different attacks.
Combo Tree: The combo tree which is accessible from the start menu will allow you to place your attacks in order of which ones to happen first. There will be 8 rows representing high and low attacks for all 4 button commands. When switching from one row to the other the game will start with the first command in the row. (Ex: the player gets to #3 of low left arm attack, and hit the high right kick button, the game will then use the #1 move in the tree.) If you press a button that has already been used in the combo then the game will move onto to the next move in the row. (Ex: From the first one, after hitting the high right kick button, the player hits the low left arm attack button, and the game will use the #4 move in the combo). The tree will reset once you stop attacking either due to lost of stamina or not attacking after a few seconds. If the player runs out of moves in the specific tree then the tree will be reset while the player is still attacking and start over.
Grappling works in a similar action, after pressing the button the player will grab hold of an opponent, pressing either to the left, right, or down will perform a different attack. This can be determined by its own combo tree. Pressing attack buttons will allow the player to attack the person in close range or enemies trying to surround them. Pressing up will make the character attempt to lift the person over there head to throw at enemies or obstacles; this may not work depending on the weight of the enemy.
360 degree attack coverage: With enemies attacking from all sides the player will need to be able to quickly switch priorities. Without pushing the analog stick the player will attack whatever is in front of the main character. Tapping the analog stick while pushing any attack button will cause the character to throw an attack to the enemy in the direction the analog stick is press then return to focusing on the first enemy. Holding the analog stick until the attack is finished will cause the character to turn and face the new enemy allowing players to switch targets on the fly or deliver quick attacks to keep enemies from attacking.
Running attacks: While running at an enemy the player can perform a running attack by pressing one of the 4 attack buttons. (Two ways to do this have attacks purchased at the store and automatically assigned, or another combo tree similar to what is above). These moves will cost stamina to be used and are effective at breaking up groups of enemies.
Defensive Options: Learning how to avoid taking direct damage is vital to winning and this title will have four (maybe 5) ways to avoid damage. First is the basic block which is done by holding the defensive button. You will block damage from attacks in front of the player, and while you will still take some damage it will not be as bad as if you took the attack without blocking. If an enemy attacks behind the player then they will take full damage, you can rotate the player while he is in the dodge position. Blocking will not cost any stamina to use and for each attack that is block, you’ll recover stamina to get back into the fight quicker. Attacks from larger enemies and from anyone holding a weapon cannot be blocked and the player will take full damage.
Second is dodging attacks. By tapping the defensive button just before any attack hits will cause the player to dodge the attack. (The dodge animation will be different depending on the type of attack). Dodging will set up the enemy for a counter attack by pressing an attack button while the player is still in the dodge animation. Tougher enemies could dodge your counter blow and will require a different tactic to beat. Dodging will cost a small amount of stamina to use but can be used to avoid damage from 360 degrees around the player.
Third is using an attack to reflect an attack. Here the player will block an attack by either using their hands or feet to stop it in mid attack. This is performed by hitting an attack button as the enemies attack is about to connect (will require the timing to be closer compared to dodging). This will also set up the enemy for a counterattack; while harder to perform this will cost no stamina to use. (I’m not sure if it would be better to have this from the start or as an upgrade option.). Some attacks cannot be reflected such as those from weapons. Some larger enemies’ attacks cannot be reflected without an upgrade.
Fourth is grabbing the attacker’s limb in mid strike and going directly into a grapple attack. This is performed by pressing the grab button just before the attack hits (timing will be shorter then reflecting and dodging). These moves will need to be purchase and cost stamina to use, but will do a lot of damage. This can also be used to disarm an enemy with a weapon (must be upgraded first), can work on some bosses but heavier ones will not be able to be grabbed.
The last possible one would be the standard evasive roll seen in every action title, I’m hesitant to include this as it seems too arcade like for this title. If play testing shows that people want this option, then maybe it could be set up to have the biggest stamina drain of all the options to off set the fact that you can get out of a situation easily.
With enemies that can counter the player’s attacks, the player will have to dodge the incoming attack and try to set up another counter attack. If the player is about to be grab, for now pressing the grab button before the player is grab should shake off the attack. When an enemy reflects the player’s attack the limb used will not be able to be used to reflect the oncoming attack. The only way to avoid damage is to dodge, grab the limb, or reflect with a different limb.
Weapons usage: The player will be able to use weapons including a Bo staff, nunchuks, and tonfas. At this point I’m not sure if it would be too unbalancing to let the player use them at any time or save them for specific encounters. Controlling them will be similar to hand to hand fighting. If the player is hit a lot in a short amount of time, then he will drop them and will have to pick them up.
Checkpoint System: There will be two kinds of checkpoints in this title, ones that allow the player to save in game and can be used to purchased moves, upgrades, and clothing during the level. The other is a general check point that can occur after a few fights in the level and of course before the start of a boss fight. The game will remember all tokens collected in the level up to that point (for balance, we will need to decide if tokens collected after the check point will be saved). For now the main check point in a level could be a ubiquitous bus stop marker that can be used to transport the player to purchase items.
Difficulty System: Difficulty in this game can be altered from one of three possible settings. They are Easy, Normal
Easy: Enemies will rarely block or dodge and will not perform counter attacks. When fighting crowds of enemies the player will at most have to deal with 2 or 3 at one time. Stamina and health recharge rates may be altered to for the lower difficulty as well (will need to be play tested). The game will really be similar to the old school beat em up games such as Double Dragon in its simplicity.
Hard: All bets are off as enemies will have their full repertoire unlock for use, which includes a variety of attacks, blocking dodging reflecting and countering, grapple moves, and will learn if you use the same combos over again(this could be put on normal as well, but will need to be tested), and will avoid them easier. Enemies will not take turns anymore and you will have to deal with the entire group at once. Perhaps elite versions of enemies and bosses could be added to make things more interesting. Health and stamina rates will not be altered (that would make things too cheap in my opinion). Difficulty should be on par with Ninja Gaiden Black on hard or very hard and be balanced for expert action gamers.
Changing Difficulty: The player may change the difficulty of the game at any time by pressing select. If the player is playing on hard and is fighting unique enemies and lowers the difficulty, then the enemies will be toned down, and will not drop any tokens at all.
Enemies: Enemies will be set up in various groups, and will have different appearances allowing us to get away from hundreds of the same none descript foe. These are a few that come to mind so far:
Fat enemies: Over weight foes that their larger stomachs make lower attacks not as effective (perhaps reduce attacks by 50% and will not briefly stun them). They have the same defensive options as normal sized enemies but are less likely to dodge and will attempt to reflect and block more often. There larger size limits them from using kicks but their punches and grapple moves are stronger. Grapple attacks cannot be performed on them without purchasing an upgrade.
Muscular enemies: Body builders, wrestlers, and other well developed foes which are noticeably stronger then the player. Their kick and punch attacks do a lot more then other groups, grapple moves will not work on them without an upgrade. Cannot be stunned by attacks, and will require effective use of countering and avoiding damage to take down. Reflecting will not work without an upgrade due to the strength of their attacks.
Mini Bosses: Tougher then average versions of the above mentioned groups, which could be set up to appear randomly in a level. There will have to be some visual distinction to separate them from regular versions. These opponents will have their stats stronger then other enemies and will attempt to perform defensive moves more often then regular foes (they will still be limited by difficulty level. Idea, they could drop double the amount of tokens then normal version to give them a higher reward.)
Bosses: The big bad dudes in each level, larger then life opponents whose goal is to beat the crap out of the player. They will have their own unique moves and abilities to use against the player. Bosses who are larger then the player will not be able to be grappled with (for balance they could either be unable to be grappled period, or with an upgrade). Obviously their normal attacks will be stronger then the players. Some levels will have multiple boss fights. (Idea: on hard bosses could have underlings there to help them, will need to be play tested.)
These next groups are alternate ones that could be set up as elite enemies on hard mode.
Martial artists: Leaner thinner characters compared to the player. These martial artists are faster then normal enemies, and will use kick attacks more often. They are better at using defensive options then most enemies. One idea would be that they will always be able to dodge running and regular attacks, and the player will need to rely on counter and grapples to beat them.
Short enemies: (could be set as regular enemies depending on play test) Enemies who’s lower stature means high attacks will not hit them.
Evil Clones: Evil copies of the player who have access to the same attacks as him. Their attack power will be the same as the player, but will learn combos after one or two hits forcing the player to mix up their attacks earlier to stand a chance.
Boxers: Enemies with more muscular arms then normal enemies. While they will not use kick or grapple attacks, they’re punches are incredibly powerful and will go through the player’s block for full damage. They can dodge and block arm attacks better and can only be hit reliably by leg attacks.
Enemies learning attacks from player: On hard (and maybe normal), enemies will dodge and counter the player’s attacks faster if they repeat the same attacks or combos. The system that I think could work goes like this: Every enemy class has a number or threshold that determines when it picks up on the player’s actions and begins to avoid damage better. Every attack the player can use will have a hidden stat that determines how easy it is for the enemy to pick it up, the higher the number the easier it is. Each time the player attacks and there are enemies around to see it a counter will add the stat’s value to it, once it reaches the threshold the enemy will see it coming and dodge more. If the player switches to a different type of attack for the combo (ex: left arm punch to a right leg sweep) the counter stat that will be added will be halved. Repeat uses of the same attack will add +1 to the stat with each hit of that type. There should be a limit as it should never reach a point where the character will never be able to land a hit. Moving on to a new area with new enemies, they will start at 0 for learning the player’s attacks. For now bosses should not have this feature as it may make things to difficult (will have to be playtested).
Reward and upgrade system: There will be numerous ways to improve the player and reward them for doing well.
Tokens: By defeating opponents, they will drop tokens that can be used to purchase new moves, clothing, and upgrades. There will be 4 types of tokens, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Bronze, silver and gold will drop normally from defeated enemies while platinum is considered a reward for boss fights. Depending on the difficulty chosen certain tokens will not appear (Easy: only bronze, Normal
Token Drop Rate System: (Still tentative at this point). Each type of enemy will have a max number of tokens possible upon defeat (for ex: normal enemies could be 2, muscular 10. As mentioned above you will not be able to obtain rarer tokens without playing on the harder settings). For now I think a time system could work, upon interaction with an enemy (either by attack or defense) an invisible timer will count how long it took for the player to defeat the enemy and will give out tokens based on the time. I think a randomize system could be used to determine if a bronze, sliver, or gold token will be one of the ones dropped. This will be modified by the combo system. Players can repeat a level for a more tokens and a better rank, but only if the player earns more tokens then before will be counted. (Ex: First time through a level the player gets 5 bronze, 3 silver, 2 gold. Second time the player gets 2 bronze, 4 silver and 7 gold. The player will not earn any more bronze, 1 more silver, and 5 more gold to be spent during the level the player won’t be able to spend the new tokens earn until they past the amount of tokens collected the first time through). Bosses will only drop 1 platinum token upon defeat and only once regardless of the number of replays due to the powerful upgrades they give.
Combo System: As the player defeats more opponents a combo number will appear. After every opponent defeat the total will increase by one, and will be reset to 0 if the player is hit. The greater the number, the greater the chance a token will drop. (Ex: Let’s say between 0 and 5, it will increase the bronze token drop rate, 6 to 10 silver, 11 and up gold, will probably need to be adjusted during play test.)
Buying Moves: Before the start of a new level (or at a checkpoint mid level) the player has an option of visiting his master who will teach him new moves for a price. Moves will cost a certain amount of one type of token (Nothing like costing 3 bronze, 2 silver, 5 gold). Moves will be split up by their animation, attack speed, stamina cost, and attack damage. These stats will be used to assign moves to cost different tokens, with moves that offer both high damage and low stamina cost in the gold section for example. Moves that can be purchased are : High and low right and left arm attacks, high and low right and left leg attacks, running attacks, grapple attacks, grab counter moves (after upgrade) . At this point I can’t see having individual moves costing platinum tokens; perhaps an upgrade could unlock a set of moves which would cost a platinum token. (Idea: will need to be play tested, but have a base set of moves available from the start, and the rest will have to be unlocked by spending either a large number of bronze, silver, gold tokens (ex: 20 of either bronze, silver, or gold) or by spending 1 platinum token .This will allow the player to always have something to spend tokens on and gives a choice between getting more powerful moves unlocked earlier or powerful upgrades.)
Buying Clothes: Before the start of a new level (or at a checkpoint mid level) the player has an option of visiting a friend of his master who is a seamstress. She has agreed to accept tokens in exchange for clothing to be worn by the player. Clothing will affect how much damage the player will take from attacks, an overall stamina drain modifier, and whether certain types of attacks with have an attack modifier. As a guideline, clothing that offers greater protection, will increase stamina drain on the reasoning that the clothing is heaver and requires more strength to move around in. Clothing that covers a limb or limbs will lower the damage from that limb as it’s easier to move your limb without clothing getting in the way. Will need to be tested, but we’ll need to decide if all the clothing should be available from the start, or new items will be unlocked after each stage.
Buying Upgrades: Along with new moves, the player’s master can improve his abilities with upgrades. Upgrades run the gambit of unlocking the defensive options, to increasing his attack ability against certain types of foes. The majority of the upgrades will cost platinum tokens, but some will cost a lot of the other types of tokens. Health and stamina upgrades are available with a rising cost for each subsequent one. An expert player should be able to get through the game with the base health and stamina stats, but this should be a way to help newer players along. (Will list upgrades that come to mind at the end.)
End of Level Rank: At the end of a level the player will be given a rank based on the following statistics which will make up a number score. Time spent on level, amount of health lost, highest combo, if the player got through the level without changing the difficulty, lastly what difficulty the player beat the level on. The rankings are C, B, A, S with S only available if the player got through the entire level on hard. B and A will only be possible on normal and hard respectively. Rank C will give the player 10 bronze tokens as reward, B, 10 silver, A 10 gold (these numbers are just examples for now), and S will give one platinum. If the player repeats the level and gets the same rank, there will be no more bonus tokens.
One idea I have is that instead of a stat screen, a cut scene will play and depending on how well the player did, various dialogues and interactions will be altered depending on how good/poor the player did in those areas.
Camera System:
The camera for this title will need to be set close enough that the player can make out the various attack tells of opponents yet still far away that the player can see enemies around them. (Will draw up a basic sketch to illustrate what I want.)
Music: I would like a main theme for the character, which rises and falls depending on the action. The more enemies attacking the player at once the greater it will be; less enemies the music will tone down. During boss fights I would like each of them to have their own distinct version of the theme playing during the fight.
Story and Setting: (Very tentative at this point.)
Story:
Taking place in a modern city, the player lives there with his mom and is a slacker for the most part. He has been training with a master of combat for some time now as a way of relieving boredom. After a brief scuffle at a gym the player leaves to find a jewelry store has been broken into. The owner was knocked into a wall while the person responsible is looting the place. The police arrive to only be hit be a strange device the robber has turning them violent and out of control. Forcing the player to step in and stop this insanity, setting up a crazy adventure for the player to save the city.
Characters:
Player age 23: Snarky, heroic, laid back. The hero of our story, who just wanted to learn how to fight to beat up people who annoy him, now is the only person who can save the city.
The master age 35: Loud mouth, intelligent, non conformist. The self titled master and mentor to the player. He has a unique way of teaching and will teach as much as beat the crap out of the player by the time the game is done. His past and involvement with the corporation will be revealed as the crisis escalates.
Villain age 45 : Arrogant , self righteous : His fear that society is crumbling has lead him to develop a device that will let him control the people of the city and to set up a form of monarchy, in which he will be the ruler of. His family believes in his vision and will aid him in anyway they can. He is the CEO of the corporation that is causing so much trouble for the player.
Wife: age 42 Controlling, manipulative: She is the Villain’s #2 supporter and is charge of the goons the player will have to fight. While the Villain’s base of operations is the corporate office, she moves around from the various factories and research faculties that make up the companies’ assets.
Daughter age 17: Apathy for other people, elitism: The youngest member of the family, she isn’t old enough to own any property of the corporation, but that hasn’t stopped her from gathering up a small army of her own ready to enact her will. Following in her father’s footsteps she has trained in hand to hand combat and is ready to let out all her angst against the player.
Son age 24: Elitist, pompous. Taking the worse qualities of his father and uncle, he considers himself to be perfect and rather not get his hands dirty, but loves to stand over everyone else .He controls the mining operations the corporation uses to grow their income and of course to get first crack at any rare materials that are dug up, he love to go out and take from the poor to give to him.
Brother age 43: Greedy, stubborn: A man who wants nothing but power and has sided with his brother for the power that controlling a city will bring. He has taken over as chief of police and leads the corrupted public office against the player.
Children: Some children watched the player fight it out, and have become fans of him even though he doesn’t want them.
Seamstress:
Levels: (Story is still tentative at this point, some stages may be able to be switched with others. There will be cut scenes to move the story along in between levels).
Stage 1: Taking place on the streets of the city the player will need to chase down the robber while dealing with the people he hits with that strange device. The fighting moves through out the city streets until the player follows the villain up a fire escape to the rooftop. Boss Fight: a landlord who has been turned into a huge behemoth and has to be stopped on a roof top.
Stage 2: After accepting his new “fan base” the player is dared by them to spend a night in the local graveyard, where they discover some kind of mining operation by one of the local companies. The player takes it upon himself to investigate and is attacked. Following the path of the machines leads him to discovering jewels that the company was interested in. When a suave man appears and knocks the player around. Before leaving he activates strange devices placed on the graves bringing back the dead to fight. Boss Fight: A group of undead fighters that can only be killed by destroying the body after they have been knocked down.
Stage 3: While he was fighting those undead warriors, his fan base was recording his moves to be sent to the most popular reality show on TV: Death Course where contestants run a life threatening obstacle course with traps and fighters to walk away with 100 million dollars. On suggestion (or complaining) from his mom that he hasn’t earned any money in his life and that the crew have arrived at their home the player accepts the challenge. The player runs through the course and has to fight a pumped up wrestler to finally reach where the money is at, only to be stopped by the producer and creator of the show, and is forced to fight her for the money. Boss Fight: A wrestler who out matches the player and shrugs off his attacks. The creator of the show, a crazy woman whose martial art skills are only matched by her whip skill.
Stage 4: The footage of a man beating the crap out of a “poor defenseless” woman hits the airwaves and the women of the city are up in arms about this. Thus a group of women against the player is formed and quickly gains support in the city. After a life traumatizing event (for the player anyway), he figures the only way he’s going to have peace (and spend the prize money) is to kick the ass out of every woman in the city. He meets opposition on the streets from members of the group and has to fight the #2 in charges on top of a truck. Arriving at the headquarters he fights his way to the office and meets the woman in charge. Before he can start “a nice civil discussion” a mysterious woman appears with one of those strange devices and zaps the lady with it. The lady transforms into an Amazon like figure and uses the device on all the woman in the room, out matched and out number the player leaps out the window and lands in a truck to escape. Boss Fight: The second in command, a real manly lady who was out spreading the word when the player drops in.
Stage 5: With the women of the city now looking like contestants for the Iron Maiden competition, the player now has an army of she hulks to deal with. Fleeing to his master’s house the player is given a bow staff to help him with these new combatants and is told to head back and defeat the lady in charge and smash the device to reverse this. With the streets swarming with these ladies, the player heads across the rooftops to the office that now looks like a jungle. Boss Fight: The #2 again this time a lot bigger and wielding some construction beams as weapons. The lady in charge, now speaking and acting like some cult leader, she has made her office into a jungle and now with her followers fights in the make shift trees .
Stage 6: With the broken device in hand, the player returns to his master who examines the device and finds the corporate logo of the same company who was mining the graveyard embedded in the device. The master now sends him to the corporate office but not before giving him a special shirt that should protect him from gun fire (Will have to figure out a plausible explanation.). After arriving and sneaking around for a total of one minute, the player decides to makes things simpler and sets off the alarm. He arrives at a monorail station and arrives just in time to jump on as it leaves the building. Aboard the train the player meets an explosive expert and has to defeat him before the train explodes. Arriving at a mysterious factory the player snoops around and overhears talks about a new use of the device and finds oddly shaped cans before he decides to leave. Before he can get out the door he is confronted by four strange bodyguards. Boss Fight: Explosive expert, using his strength and grenades he wants to turn the player into ash. The bodyguards: A quartet of female fighters owned by the villain’s wife, after spending a good minute insulting the player in every way possible the player responds by quickly knocking one of them out, and now has to deal with the other three.
Stage 7: The Corporation decides to use the police force in charge by the villain’s brother to take down the player. The police arrive the following night to talk to the player about the break in, taking him outside then attempt to beat him up. The player responds like he always does. SWAT quickly arrives to take the player in for questioning little do they know that he’s still wearing the shirt given to him by the master. After an hour of “questioning “the player sees and opportunity to escape and does so. Leaving him to fight his way out of the station. The station goes into lockdown with the only way out is to turn it off at the chief’s office. Boss Fight: Detective (Need to come up with name): The detective, who brought the player in, trained in martial arts and is not too happy about the player escaping. Chief of police: The man in charge who will use brutal punches and the various tools in his office to take the player out.
Stage 8: A new health drink is on the market, which claims that it can make anyone fit. Thanks to the player’s aversion to anything fruit flavored he avoids drinking it and notices the same corporate logo and weirdly shaped can design from the factory. Walking around town he notices that the people look a lot bigger, and are acting a lot dumber. The player figures that there has to be something going on and heads to his master’s house and seamstress’s shop to see if they’re effected. The master who has the same aversion is fine but the seamstress looks like something out of quest for fire on steroids. After subduing her and with his hypothesis confirmed, the player makes his way to the factory to stop this. Reaching the corporate office he finds a husband and wife team in charge, after confronting them they immediately ingest a large amount of the liquid. Transforming into two hulking beasts that look like they could explode at any minute. Boss Fight: Pumped up Seamstress: Roaring and jumping around the shop breaking anything she gets her hands on. Muscle couple: Pumped up and completely out of their minds, this couple wants to grind the player into dust.
Stage 9: The Corporation puts their plans into action; using a larger master version of the device they begin to use it to control the people. A riot ensues and after getting some free stuff, the player decides to put an end to this. Fighting his way through the rioters and the personal guard of the corporation the player gets up to the rooftop to meet the family celebrating their success. After a small dialogue they activate a machine to have the device affect them, making them a lot stronger and more powerful, and proceed to smash the player. Boss Fight: None for this level.
Stage 10: The player is left barely alive after just managing to escape; the master finds him and his mother and brings them to the safety of his house. The player questions his master on how he knows the corporation and the devices used and learn the truth about them. The player is forced to stay inside and heal for one month while the villains change the city into their perfect vision. After the month has past and the player has healed, the master tells him he has plans to design clothes using a similar piece of technology as the device to augment his strength and give him a chance to take the city back. Unfortunately he needs the help of the seamstress to help create it, and she was out there when the entire city was taken over.
The player now has to find her in this new city
Stage 11: Arriving back at his master’s house with the seamstress in tow they wait for the device’s effect to wear off. She returns to her old self and helps the master create the new clothing to help the player. With the player now having a fighting chance against the denizens who have been affected the most by the devices, the player heads out to explore the city. Fighting his way through the streets to what is considered to be the upper crust of society now, he spots the man who beat him up in the graveyard and gives chase. First the player has to deal with the guards preventing the lower class from entering. Entering this section of the city marks a change, no more does the city look like it’s falling apart but reflects the now noble class of people living there. Finally the player catches up to him and a fight starts. Upon defeating him the player grabs him and takes the unconscious trouble maker back to the master’s house. Boss Fight: Royal Guard, defenders of the entrances to the higher classes of the city. Villain’s son: Now on equal footing the player now has a chance against him unlike at the graveyard.
Stage 12: With the villain’s son in their custody the master finally explains how to set things right. The master device set up on the corporation’s HQ is beaming it’s effects to various receivers around the city, if the player can destroy them all the rest of the city will no longer be effected leaving the player with a straight shot at the HQ to destroy the master device. Checking the pockets of the villain’s son revealed a keycard which must be to one of the receiver devices. The player figures that the receivers must be set up at the various homes of the city’s new rulers and decides to head back to where the son was to see if he can find it. Arriving at the biggest house in the area the player enters and has to deal with the servants, and reaching the son’s room. Upon entering he gets a call from the master saying that the son broke out and knocked him unconscious, and that he looked different. As the player is speaking to the master the son arrives now juiced up by the device’s effect he stands ready once again to fight the player. Boss Fight: Head Maid: Servant/bodyguard for the villain’s son she is ready to mop the floor with the player. Powered up son: With the device enhancing his abilities he now stands as a far greater threat to the player.
Stage 13: Back at the master’s house the player catches a TV program of the villain’s daughter showing gladiator fights at her castle (which has been built over the city’s park). The player decides that even if the receiver isn’t there, stopping the daughter will at least improve things in the city. Arriving at the castle the player will have to fight his way through the daughters own private army decked out with weapons. The player gets caught in a trap and arrives at a dungeon to face off against her #2. Escaping he makes his way through the castle he arrives at a grand hall where the daughter is waiting for him. Boss Fight: Head Gladiator: A massive brute wielding a massive spiked ball and chain. Villain’s Daughter: A nimble fighter who makes use of her martial arts training.
After the fight the player shows mercy to her and grabs the key around her neck and prepares to walk out. Enrage she activates a hidden device on her body and becomes enhanced and charges at the player for round 2.
Boss Fight: Juiced up daughter: No longer nimble but a massive brute the daughter wants to crush the player.
Stage 14: With the city starting to look like its old self the player figures that the next device must be at the police station where the brother is in charge. Arriving at where the station used to be, the player finds a massive fortress and decides to storm it. The former police guards now troopers will try to stop the player lead by the former detective. Arriving at the top he finds the brother sitting at his desk watching over the city. Boss Fight: Detective, now in command of his own squad of troopers he eagerly awaits payback on the player. Supped up Brother: Not even attempting to fight fair he juices himself up and attacks the player.
Stage 15: The player returns to find the master’s home in ruin and him, his mother, and the seamstress missing. A broadcast begins playing from the Wife goading the player to a fight at the site of her factory. With no choice the player makes for the factory to find a building straight out of a sci-fi movie. Guards are decked out in space age body armor and try to stop the player. Reaching the holding cells the player comes to face to face with himself… or a clone who wants to kill him. After rescuing the hostages the player reaches a massive warehouse to find the wife waiting for him. Instead of using the husband’s device to power herself up, she instead steps into a robotic battle suit of her own design to fight the player.
Boss Fight: Evil Player, with all the player’s moves and technology on his side the clone is ready to fight. The wife, with a state of the art battle suit she is ready to test it out all over the player’s skull.
Stage 16: TBA
Game Script: This wills an early draft of the conversations and actions that will happen during the cut scenes.
Stage One: Scene: Outside an undisclosed building, player arrives and looks at the door. A message on the door says “Gone out, go to the gym for tonight”.
Player: Ah come on, he couldn’t just call up right? Nooooo, he better pay me back for the bus, (sigh) and I thought tonight was going to be interesting.
Fade to Black.
Scene: Inside a gym alone, the player is hitting one of those karate devices, when a group of 2 boys and 2 girls come in.
Boy A: Hey punk what the hell are you doing here? You blind? The sign says the gym is closed.
Player: I got a special deal with the owner; I get to practice here when shmucks like you and your group are out doing something stupid I assume.
Girl A: Listen to the mouth on this idiot, we’re regulars here and we don’t like to be left out of the loop.
Boy B: Yeah so you better get your ass out of here or you’ll have to deal with these!! (Flexes muscles)
Girl B: Don’t you have any respect for you betters? We’ve been working out here for months.
Player: Look I don’t want to have to fight you… ok I do but I thought it would sound nicer if I said that.
Boy A: Let’s get this punk!
(Tutorial starts).
After lessons on combat, the health and stamina system, and defense. The group is down but getting their second wind.
Player: Oh come on, don’t you know when your ass has been handed to you?!
Walks over to the training device and pulls off two of the wooden sticks to use as weapons.
Player: Alright it’s time to end this workout.
After the tutorial on weapons, two members are knocked out, and the other two decide to run away. The player throws the sticks at the retreating duo and knocks them to the ground. He then starts going through their pockets.
Girl B: You’re robbing us now?!
Player: Yeah, no way in hell I’m paying for this damage and consider it payment for your lesson on how to lose a fight. Also it’s more of a preference but I don’t like to leave people I fought conscious so… (The player delivers one final left hook to the girl knocking her out). Well that takes care of that I’m going home now, turn out the lights when you’re done here.
The player leaves the gym and heads outside, across the street is a group of people watching a jewelry shop the player goes over and taps the shoulder of one of the people standing there.
Player: So what is everyone staring at?
Passerby: Some guy in a mask broke into the jewelry shop.
Player: Why the hell isn’t anyone trying to stop him?
Passerby: The owner tried, and the man threw him into that wall over there Points to the man still stuck in the wall.
Player: Oh, well there’s something new.
A police car arrives just as the masked man leaves the shop. Two police officers get out and approach the man.
Cop 1: Freeze! Put your hands up!
Masked Man: No thank you, I really must be going.
Cop 2: Aims guns at Masked Man don’t move!
Masked Man: (Sigh) I hate to show off my latest creation so early, but what can you does when dealing simpletons? Taking a device out of his coat, he shoots both police officers with it. Crowd panics and runs away, both cops start convulsing and start growing and ripping through their clothes. They start growling and screaming and turn to face the player who hasn’t moved at all. At least there is one brave soul in this city, you two kill him. A masked Man step back and waits just inside an alley.
Player: (Looks around Well is anyone going to stop these guys? No? Guess it’s up to me then.
After player defeats both cops.
Masked Man: Well aren’t you stubborn, I don’t have time to play with you, but I’m sure I can find some folks who will. Masked Man runs into the alley.
(Boss cut scene)
Player is climbing up a fire escape that he just saw the masked man climb up. Camera cuts to rooftop as the Masked Man climbs up and heads to the other side, when the landlord comes out with two officers.
Landlord: What the hell are you doing running up my fire escape! I can’t hear myself think.
Cop A: Sir please go back inside, this man is a robber who already took out two officers.
Masked Man: I’m sorry but I’m just too busy to be playing with you people, now let’s see what this thing does at full power. Presses a button on the side of the machine and fires it at the landlord. Camera cuts back to the player who is almost at the top when a loud roar followed by screaming is heard. The player stops to see one police officer thrown off the building, and another one thrown into the side of the building opposite of the player.
Player: You don’t have to this (Player’s Name), dinner is probably almost done you can just go back home now… oh well it’s not every night I get to punch my way through down town. Player climbs up fire escape to rooftop to find a huge man at least 10 feet talk roaring with the masked man looking on.
Masked Man: I can’t believe the power of this device. Turns and looks at the player. You again? Well like I said, I found you a playmate now you two play nice. Runs and leaps off the rooftop to an adjacent rooftop and repeats until out of sight.
Landlord: Roars
Player: Aww you think your scary? Cracks knuckles That’s nothing.
Landlord: Roars again and punches an air vent.
Player: Sorry not doing anything.
Land Lord: Roars again and lifts air vent out of the rooftop and throws it off the building
Player: Ok that was pants wetting I’ll give you that.
Content that can be added in if there is time:
Side Quests: (Tentative right now) given by either the seamstress or master, or both. These missions require the player to accomplish objectives under specific guidelines (For ex: Defeat enemies without using arm attacks, defeat by only using grapple moves, don’t get hit, etc.) Rewards can be new moves, or clothing options. Will be set to unlock as the player goes through the story line.
One on One Fight: Special fights where the player will have infinite stamina but health will not regenerate. Could either be boss fights or special matches that can happen in a level. Rewards should be either tokens or a new move.
Two Player Modes:
Lists of features:
Move List:
Arms (High): Right hook, left hook, right elbow smash, left elbow smash, right uppercut, left upper cut.
Arms (Low):
Legs (High):
Legs (Low):
Grapple:
Running Attacks:
Upgrades:
Pain tolerance: Increases the max health of the player by conditioning his body to take pain.
Endurance Training: Increases the max stamina of the player by improving his endurance with running.
Weight Training: Improves base attack of arm or leg attacks (separate research) by pumping weights to increase the player’s strength.
Massive Strength1 (Need to be renamed): Allows the player to lift up heavy opponents.
Massive Strength2 (Need to be renamed): Allows the player to lift up muscular opponents.
Energy redirecting training: Allows the player to reflect muscular opponent’s attacks.
Mastery of the fist training: Improves all arm attack damage by 10. A secret training by the master for desperate times.
Mastery of the leg training: Improves all leg attack damage by 10. A secret training by the master for desperate times.
Proper throwing and grappling form training: Improves grapple attacks by 5 and unlocks the ability to perform special grapple based counter attacks
Disarming techniques: Allows the player to grab a weapon out of an enemies’ hand when grabbing their limb in mid attack.
Hard Body training: Improves attack value of all limbs and increases defense.
Clothing:
Robe of the master: A robe created by the partnership of the technical prowess master and tailoring mastery of the Seamstress, capable of augmenting the wearer’s nature strength.
