The Winter's Tale - Brainstorming

Me and my group partners did some brainstorming to get an idea of what the game is going to be all about, and about the other elements such as artistic style, gameplay, character bios, rough plot, asset breakdown, and suggested game flow diagram. This is what we wrote up in our document, with a few minor adjustments made by me for the sake of this blog post.

Intro

Our game will cover Antigonus’ encounter with a bear after abandoning the child of Leontes and Hermione on the beach. A thrilling chase ensues that emulates the classic Crash Bandicoot games, a level in which the player character has to escape from a rolling boulder that crushes everything in its path. Your goal is to escape from the bloodthirsty bear with your life intact, with a few Shakespearean twists along the way. Player, enter stage left.

Artistic style

Our art style blends the cartoonish animation style of Pixar with traditional medieval artistic elements, particularly in the UI and menus. We aim to have character models that are colourful with exaggerated expressions and movements.

Gameplay description

The gameplay will be simple; the player controls the character Antigonus who can run forward, jump, and duck. There will be obstacles that the player has to navigate around, and running into them will slow you down and bring the bear closer to you. We might possibly use an 'auto-runner' feature which makes the player constantly run forward while the player controls the direction and actions. The player must navigate around obstacles that can slow down or stop Antigonus, which will decrease the distance between him and the bear. The goal is to reach the end of the level without getting caught by the bear. If caught, it's instantly game over.

Character bios

Antigonus - The main and playable character of the game who is ordered by King Leontes to banish Perdita far away from the Kingdom of Sicily. After Hermione visits him in a dream, he decides to protect the child from danger. Upon bringing her to safety, he is chased away by a bear
The Bear - The game's antagonist who chases Antigonus with the intent to kill and vague motivations.
King Leontes - The King of Sicily, who his wife Queen Hermione is doubting him with his friend Polixenes. His jealosy leads him to imprison Hermione and banish his daughter Perdita.
Queen Hermione - The Queen of Sicily, who is imprisoned by Leontes for doubting him. She is seen in a dream Antigonus, who decides to take the Queen's daughter Perdita to safety.
Polixenes - Friend of King Leontes who visit the Kingdom of Sicily for a stay. Queen Hermione offers him to stay longer, which makes King Leontes believe the two are having an affair.
Perdita - The daughter of King Leontes and Queen Hermione. As an abandoned baby, she is rescued by Bohemian shore by a Shephard
The daughter of Leontes and Hermione, seen as a baby in the game and then as a teenager in the ending. She is rescued from the Bohemian shore by a Shephard and grows up as a common person.

Rough plot

A brief introduction to the world is captured through an opening cutscene, detailing King Leonte’s belief that his buddy Polixene is cheating on his wife Hermione and that the baby she is carrying is actually his. Polixene escapes a plot on his life by Leontes, who also sends Hermione to jail for her alleged infidelity. She gives birth to a daugher in jail, who the King wants nothing to do with, ordering that the child be abandoned. That’s where Antigonus comes in; the man ordered to take Hermione’s daughter far, far away.

Instead, Antigonus is visited by Hermione in a dream, who asks him to save her child. On the beach coast of Bohemia, where Antigonus had planned to leave the child, he encounters a large grizzly bear.

This is where the gameplay kicks in and Antigonus must make a speedy escape from the clutches of the bear to save Hermione’s son.

Asset breakdown

Standards:
3D/2D rendering state machine in Unity.
User interface/HUD.
Collision detection.
Particle systems.
Art:
Protagonist and enemy: running animations, idle animations, jump, actions, facial(?).
Additional items: Power-ups, potions, health bar(?).
Landscape: Change in setting from beach to forest, forest environment changes.
Menu and instructions.
Text:
Cut scene to introduce the story and game.
Text for tips like how things work in the world.
Text for the aim of the game (‘Run away from the bear if you want to live’).
Sound:
Royalty-free Background music.
Diegetic sound effects for the characters (e.g.: jump, attack, pickup, and other actions).
Non diegetic sound effects (e.g.: selecting menu items).