LEMMING KNIGHT
DESIGNED By
CRACKERSPAWN INDUSTRIES
Game1406-002
Fall 2014
Pitch Presentation
Overview
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Mission: to create a fun, addictive game with a
unique form of gameplay not yet seen on
mobile devices, that can be played quickly, or
continued for hours at a time.
High Concept: Puzzle/obstacle maze using the
player’s finger trace during idle mode to set the
path AI for their character during dynamic
mode. Navigate moving obstacles with switches
and timed movement.
Narrative
While out on their anniversary, our Lemming
Knight was incapacitated and her husband
kidnapped by a band of thugs! A close-up of the
symbol on their garb revealed the leader of this
devious group was Hawk Boss, an evil raptor
working to thwart the king. Vowing to rescue
her husband, She sets off in search of his lair.
Lemming Knight, a rodent warrior in service to
her king, sets off to rescue her husband, and
discover her destiny!
Game Play
The player traces his/her finger along the path
from the beginning of the maze to the end in one
motion while the maze is static, and cannot
trace backwards from the end to the beginning.
If the player traces outside of the path, the trace
indicator resets and the player must start over.
The player CAN stop and hold his/her finger in
place to force Lemming Knight to “wait” for
obstacles to clear, etc., but cannot modify the
trace path during dynamic play mode, only upon
restart. Then, the player presses play. The maze
comes alive, activating moving obstacles, and
starting patrol routes for the enemies. Lemming
Knight follows the path traced by the player until
it reaches the exit, dies, or gets stuck. The
player can then retrace the path, trying to
account for obstacles, repeating until the
character successfully navigates the path.
The player also tries to accomplish goals within
the maze, such as navigating obstacles and
solving puzzles, collecting keys,foods and fruits,
chasing and capturing enemies, racing enemies
to collectibles, escaping from traps, and
rescuing kidnapped civilians until she finally
reaches and saves her husband.
Single player gameplay, with ability to buy player
generated “map packs” for minimal charge
($.99/ 15-20 new maps!)
Game Flow
Legend
Formal Elements
Rules: If player traces outside of path, trace
blanks and player must start over. Character
stops or dies depending on obstacle touched
during dynamic play. Player cannot modify trace
path during dynamic play mode, only upon
restart. Player must trace fully from beginning to
end in one motion, cannot trace backwards from
end to beginning, and cannot stop short of end
or trace will disappear and must be redrawn.
Player CAN (and likely must) stop and hold finger
in place to force Lemming knight to “wait” for
obstacles to clear, etc., but cannot remove
finger from screen during this time, or trace will
disappear and need to be redrawn. (May cause
conflicts, needs testing)
Objectives: Reach finish line per level. Navigate
obstacles and solve puzzles. Objective types
include: Collection, Capture, Chase, Race,
Alignment, and Rescue/Escape.
Procedures: Player traces finger along path from
beginning of map to end, while map is static.
Player presses play. Map becomes dynamic,
activating moving obstacles. Character follows
path traced by player until it reaches the exit,
dies, or gets stuck. (When character collides
with object, that object is checked for a “stuck”
flag which lets the system know that this object
will not allow player to bypass) Player can then
restart path, trying to account for obstacles,
repeating until character successfully navigates
path.
Outcome: Player defeats the Hawk Boss,
rescues husband, and lives happily ever after,
or does she?
Player(s): Single player, with ability to buy
player generated “map packs” for minimal
charge ($.99/ 15-20 new maps!)
Conflict: Character vs. nature, character vs.
character (NPC), character vs. machine,
Character vs Time, Character vs Mirror?
Boundaries: Character moves within pathing area
defined visually by tan “dirt path” routes drawn on
screen. Tracing outside of path erases path and
player must trace again.
Resources: Inventory items intending to be keys
to solving puzzles (color coded), infinite lives,
special terrain (slow walk areas, sliding tiles, etc.)
time/timing (race or chase maps have limited time,
most other maps do not)
Dramatic Elements
Character:
Protagonist: Small lemming (female, though the
sprite doesn’t show gender) in knight’s
armor—“cute cuddly, but don’t make her angry!”
Main Antagonist: large hawk-like bird in dark
knight’s armor
Other antagonists: various smaller predators,
including skuas (smallish birds), foxes, “stray”
cats, weasels, owls, humans w/ chemicals (late
in game), and Rats Riding Rubber Duckies!
Dramatic Arc:
MAIN-Peaceful intro scene of husband and wife
on picnic is disrupted by Antagonist (Hawk
Boss), who kidnaps husband, forcing wife to don
knight’s armor and hunt him down to rescue her
beloved.
PER LEVEL- static at beginning, dynamic during
play-mode. Tension comes from watching your
character die and restarting level. Win screen
upon completion offers resolution/falling action
Story: You are Lemming Knight, celebrating your
anniversary with your beloved when the evil
Hawk Boss busts in with his henchmen and
kidnaps your him! Now you must find and fight
your way through a labyrinthine land to find his
lair, rescue your husband and fulfill your destiny!
Challenge: Control/navigation to solve puzzles.
Timing character movement to bypass dynamic
obstacles, which get more frequent and complex
as the player moves up in level. Boss involves a
more “free-form” movement around grid/maze.
Play: Touch screen controls. Buttons on screen
and finger tracing. Play Consists of tracing a
maze, clicking “play”, watching the animated
level, and re-tracing the maze to revise path to
accommodate moving obstacles.
Premise: Lemming knight follows path and solves
puzzles by diverting flow, Opening locks/gates,
collecting game items to reach goal and defeat
Hawk Boss who stole husband.
World Building: Items and “buildings” are sized to
scale with character, natural objects/textures
(grass, shrubs, roots, etc.) are oversized to
represent lemming’s true size in the world
(lemming is normal, not human sized—think
“Secret of Nimh”)