“Left Arrow Moves Left”
Copyright 2008 by the Sunshine Corps
The Sunshine Corps is:
Laura Cox-Sound Designer, Artist
Patrick Jalbert- Concepts, Artist
Jonathan Azzara- Documentation, Level Designer
Tyler Bray- Script, Levels
Jhon Adams Programming
Screen shot mockup
I. Artist Statement/Philosophy/The WHY Factor (why create this game? why would
someone want to play it?)
Virtual worlds were once seen as a block of text on a screen. People would explore
dungeons and interact with virtual worlds with nothing else than blocks of text. This is a
stark contrast to today, where sometimes the graphics and realism of a game can take
precedence over the gameplay and story. This game ties textual experiences of older
games with the graphical elements of today’s games into a new experience.
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“Left Arrow Moves Left” will also allow people to explore the relationships between text
and images and the varied ways they can interact. This has already been a part of
storytelling in other mediums, such as comics, but it has not been explored extensively
in terms of video games. People will be able to explore the interaction between
gameplay and narration, which is often a delicate topic.
II. Predecessor or previous games/ distinctive factors in this genre
“Left Arrow Moves Left” follows the conventions of a 2d platform game. Other games in
this genre include Super Mario, Contra, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Megaman. 2d
platform games are defined by a fixed view looking at the player character from the
side, player character movement on the horizontal and vertical planes, and a scrolling
camera that pans across the level to follow the player character. There are no prequels
or directly related predecessors to the game.
III. Target Audience
Casual Gamer, platform gamers, 15-40 in age
IV. Introduction & Story
Story of Game:
The game starts out with the simple and common scenario of an avatar shooting
enemies. After the player succeeds in killing the enemies with the character’s weapon,
the character leaps into darkness, falling through and landing in the first level without
the gun.
The first level is a huge library, impressive in size but crumbling and in disarray. The
player explores the library and finds an old man, who is sleeping on a chair. Unable to
wake him, the player explores deeper into a library. Finding an old book, the player
opens it up, causing the player to teleport back to the old man. The old man awakens
with a start, and realizes he cannot see. He asks the player if he could find his glasses,
and then falls back asleep. The teleporting ability of the book allows the player to reach
new areas of the library, and as the player explores, “You” finds the old man’s glasses.
Once the player picks them up, darkness starts creeping towards “You.” Running back
to the old man, the player presents the glasses as the darkness closes in. Now able to
see the old man repairs the library in one blinding spell, and when the light dims the
library is in order and “You” has now changed to an abstract representation of Mason.
The old man starts to tell Mason a story, leading him into the next level.
Mason follows the old man’s story into the second level, which is a dark forest. The
player sees the trickster, who runs off into the forest with a lantern. Following after him,
Mason catches up to the trickster, who remarks that he cannot find himself. He drops a
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piece of paper on the ground and says that they look like this and asks the player to
help him find the rest. Mason picks up the piece of paper as the trickster jumps up into
the canopy where the player cannot follow. The player explores the forest, finding
pieces of the paper and a large, purple crayon that Mason can use to reach previously
inaccessible areas. After finding the lost pieces of the paper, the player jumps up into
the canopy with the help of the crayon and finds a child, sitting absently in the trees.
The player puts the pieces of the paper in a picture frame, piecing together a child’s
drawing. The trickster returns, still holding the lantern, and looks at the child, who is
now smiling. They hug, and the darkness in the forest melts away. The archetype
thanks Mason for his help and gives Mason a lantern as a reward. The trickster and
child then tell the player a story, leading into the third level.
Following the trickster and child’s story, the player finds a deep, dark cave. The player
constantly uses the lantern to keep the darkness away as it comes from all around him.
On a bridge in the cave, Mason’s way is blocked by a shadowy figure. The figure warns
the player that he is not prepared to go any deeper and casts Mason into the pit below.
The player continues onward, learning about the crone from the cave walls. Reaching
the deepest part of the cave, the player confronts the shadowy figure again. Handing
over the lantern, Mason entrusts the archetype with his life. At first, the lantern goes
out, enveloping the two in darkness. Then, in a flash of light, the figure re-ignites the
lantern and beckons Mason to follow. The player follows the figure to hear its story and
goes to the epilogue.
In the epilogue, after learning of the figure’s story, the player is re-introduced to the
scene in the beginning of the game. The player has a choice of whether “You” will
shoot the enemies on the screen or avoid them. If the player shoots the enemies, he
will be enveloped in darkness and the game will end. If the player evades the enemies,
the screen will grow bright and the game will end.
Story of Mason:
Mason’s life was defined by the cruelty of his father. Detached and angry, he would
treat his son and his wife poorly. When Mason was eight, his parents filed for divorce.
After about three years and several thousand dollars, the separation was final and
Mason’s family was completely broken. During this time, Mason could do nothing as his
loving mom went through emotional trauma, and without a parental source of
encouragement found he had to rely on himself to grow up. Mason grew up to be
resentful of his father and bitter about the world. His only true concern was for the
fragile wellbeing of his mother, who was the only positive influence in his life.
After moving out of his mother’s house and starting his own life, Mason heard that his
mother was going to marry again. He was a charming man, and he put a smile on his
mother’s face, but lacking any trust in father figures Mason could not trust a man he did
not meet. Mason got a chance to meet the father-to-be when he drove out to the
wedding reception, and while the man seemed kind, he remained skeptic. He was
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paranoid that the man would further scar his mother, and his fears came true when he
caught the man cheating on his mother the night before the wedding. The strain of
another loss would kill his mother, he knew it, and he had to take action to protect her.
V. Immediate and long term projected socio/cultural project impact
“Left Arrow Moves Left” incorporates text as an aesthetic, causing new thoughts into the
role of text in video games. The game encourages reading skills and shows that
reading can also be fun. “Left Arrow Moves Left” intertwines story and gameplay in a
new light, questioning the debate of whether story and gameplay can be symbiotic or if
instead they merely interfere with each other. The game also contains elements of
Jungian psychology and other psychological schools of thought, helping to educate
players on cognitive groups and archetypes.
VI. Delivery System & Requirements
Being a small, independently made game, Word Person Shooter would most efficiently
be distributed digitally either through direct download or through game platforms such
as X-Box Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, or Steam. The game would not be
graphically intensive and should not run into problems running on consoles or the
majority of PCs.
VII. Interface
The game will run full screen on the computer or console. There will be a very minimal
Heads Up Display, which will show the player the items he or she has accumulated.
The inventory will be hidden; holding down a button will reveal and hide the inventory as
the player requires. The controls are not extensive, and they should take a very short
amount of time for players to master, especially players who have experience with
platform games.
VIII. User Interaction
The player will interact with the video game by controlling the movements and actions of
the player character. The player character will initially have the ability to walk, jump,
climb ladders, and pick up objects. As the player progresses through the game, the
player character will acquire the ability to teleport within the level, jump over long
distances, and dispel the darkness obstacles by attaining the book, the crayon, and the
lantern, respectively. There will be a button to select one of the three objects and a
second button to use the object.
The book will be found by the player in the first world, the library. It will allow the player
character to teleport between two locations. The book will have a bookmark, which can
be either placed where the player character is standing by using the use key while the
player is standing still, or thrown, with left or right + use key. The bookmark can be
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thrown as far as the player character’s jump distance. Once the bookmark is on the
ground, the use down + key will open the book and transport the player character to the
bookmark. The player character can change to another item after throwing the
bookmark, but using the book’s warping ability will require the book to be held by the
player character, meaning the player character cannot long jump or dispel darkness
while using the book.
The crayon will be found in the second world, the forest. It will allow the player
character to “draw” a jump trajectory for the player character to follow. This will work by
pressing the use button to activate the crayon and then, using the mouse or joystick,
drawing a line for the player character to follow. Once the line is drawn, the player
character will jump on the trajectory of the line drawn by the crayon. The line drawn can
only be of a set length, preventing the player from jumping over entire areas with the
crayon. Also, the line can only be drawn when the player is standing on the ground and
at rest, to prevent air jumps. The draw-jump ability can only be used when the player is
holding the crayon, meaning the player character cannot teleport or dispel darkness
while using the crayon.
The lantern will be given to the player by the trickster in the second world. It will push
away all of the darkness that blocks your path, allowing you to access normally
inaccessible areas. The lantern will not need to be used; it will perpetually repel any
darkness within a set area from the player character. If the lantern is removed or
replaced with the book or the crayon, the lantern’s dispelling effects will diminish and
the darkness will start to envelop the player character. Depending on the situation,
being enveloped by darkness will either completely obstruct the player’s vision or kill the
player character. Using the lantern’s darkness dispelling ability requires that the player
character is holding the lantern, meaning the player character cannot teleport or long
jump while holding the lantern.
IX. The World Layout
The player will be playing through a prologue, an epilogue, and three levels, walking
through them in a linear progression. There will be no world map, and the player will
not be able to “fast travel” between the levels. The three main levels are designed after
the NPC that resides in them.
The prologue will be short, and will introduce “You” as the player character. The player
character will fall down into an area with an enemy and will be armed with a gun, which
will be a temporary pickup. The player will need to shoot the enemy and proceed
onward, where they will fall again and land in the first level without the gun.
The first level will have a library theme, with bookshelves, pillars, tables, and building
scenery. It will also have a crumbling aspect, with rubble and structures falling over to
act as a hazard. The first level will help the player master the basic controls and solve
relatively easier puzzles with the player character’s starting move set. The first level is
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also where the player character obtains the book, and after obtaining it the player will be
introduced to puzzles involving the teleport ability. The player will be given two goals by
the old man, who is the NPC of the first level. First, the player will go through the level
looking for the old man’s spectacles. Once the old man’s spectacles are returned to
him, he will direct the player to search for the truth, leading them to continue to the next
level.
The second level will be themed after a forest, with trees, pitfalls, and outdoor elements.
The puzzles will be more difficult, requiring the player to use the book teleporting ability
and, when the player finds it, the crayon jumping ability in addition to the standard
controls. The player will meet the child trickster, the NPC of the second level, running
around and will be beckoned to follow the trickster. The trickster will then go to an area
unreachable to the player without the crayon, prompting the player to find the crayon
and then return to the area. Once the player reaches the trickster after solving the
puzzles requiring the use of the crayon, he or she will find that the archetype is tainted
and will search the forest for pieces of a child’s drawing. Once the pieces are found and
returned to the child, the NPC will be able to restore itself and direct him to the third
level, giving the player character the lantern as a reward.
The third level will have a dark, cavernous theme. There will be a prevalent display of
darkness in textual and graphical form, and the puzzles will be the most difficult, since
they will be incorporating the lantern as well as other player abilities. The Crone, the
NPC of the cave, will appear once to thwart the player character’s progress and cast the
player character into a pit. The Crone will be met a second time in the deepest part of
the cave, where the player will hand over the lantern and be shown the truth. The
player will then proceed to the epilogue.
After finishing the story, the player character will be re-introduced to the area of the
prologue in the epilogue. The player will have the choice of shooting the enemy again
or bypassing the enemy. If the player decides to shoot the enemy again, the player
character will descend to a dark area and the player will trigger the “bad” ending.
Conversely, if the player avoids the enemy, the player will experience the “good” ending
and climb to a brighter area.
X. Level Design
The player will interact with the environment through the player character. The player
character can walk on surfaces such as platforms and floors, and will follow normal
rules of gravity in the fact that things will fall in a downward direction. Walls and other
obstacles will prevent the player character from moving, and monsters and traps would
kill the player character.
Levels are devised of puzzles that will impede the player character’s progress. The
puzzles will initially be simple, involving jumping, switches, and keys. As the game
progresses, and the player masters the controls and acquires new skills, the puzzles will
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grow more complex in nature. Later in the game, puzzles will require the player to use
both platforming skills and the use of the book, crayon, and lantern to successfully
progress past traps and puzzles.
The goal of each level is to meet the NPC/archetype of each level and talk to it. As the
player grows closer to the archetype, the world will slowly change from completely
textual to graphical in aesthetics. Conversely, as the player moves away from the
archetype, the game will revert back to its textual nature.
XI. Visualization- characters, flow charts
“You” aka Mason-player character. No explicit description of the player character is
given, but the stories told by the other characters are different perspectives of Mason’s
life. The player character follows the unexpressive “blank slate” schema of protagonists
traditionally found in platform genre games.
The Librarian-archetype. The Librarian represents the archetypes of the Old Man and
the Senex. In his old age, he finds himself unable to perform his duties without his
glasses. Having lost them somewhere in the library, he sits in the library as it falls into
disarray. The player finds and presents the Librarian’s glasses to him, allowing him to
see and clean up the mess around him.
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The Jester-archetype. The Jester represents the archetypes of the Trickster and the
Child, which are two separate entities that travel in unison. A storm came to the forest
where they played, and while the child went for cover, the trickster ventured out into the
storm and was tainted by the darkness. The trickster then started to spread the
darkness around the forest, leaving the child in the safety of the canopy. The player
presents the child with a drawing he pieced together from torn pieces in the forest,
helping to cleanse the trickster and reunite the two halves of the archetype.
The Witch-archetype. The Witch represents the archetypes of the Crone and the
Shadow, and is the source of the darkness. Embodying the truth that Mason is hiding
from, the once beautiful archetype has become twisted and embittered. The Witch
pushes away Mason, who ventures into the darkness of the cave, warning him and
casting him into a pit. When the player confronts the Witch in the deepest area of the
cave and presents her the lantern, the Witch then releases the truth to Mason, casting
away the darkness.
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XII. Music/ Sound Design
Despite the dark themes in the story, the overall feel of the game is somewhat more
contemplative – the music and sound design will be composed to reflect this. Traditional
game sounds such as beeps and explosions will not be present. The music was
recorded in midi format and converted to .ogg format for use within the game. The
musical style is inspired by composer Tim Story (http://www.timstory.com/) in that it will
be subtle and more melancholy.
XIII. Rules and Gameplay A. Setup, B. Gameplay, C. Scoring
The player character will be able to move with the arrow keys or WASD and jump with
the spacebar. The player will be able to select items with the number keys and use the
items with the Q key. The E key will operate the mouse, which can click and allow the
player to manipulate puzzle-sensitive words. The inventory would be accessed with tab
key. The inventory would either only be displayed when the tab key is held down, or the
tab key would toggle the inventory on and off; in this case the tab key may also be a
pause key. When a word is selected, the controls will be frozen and the keyboard will
output text. The text integration of the game would be an argument for not exporting the
game to consoles, as the player would have to buy a console-approved keyboard to
solve these puzzles and this would dramatically reduce the available audience. A
compromise in this case, if publishing were to take place on a console, would be to use
an on-screen keyboard that is already implemented in next-gen consoles; however this
would reduce immersion when players would have to focus on typing rather than on the
game environment.
The gameplay rules will be standard for a 2d platform game. The player character will
move at a set speed and jump at a set height, and the player character will fall if the
player character is not standing on a platform or floor. Ground enemies will follow these
same rules of walking and falling. If the player touches an enemy, the player character
will be destroyed. If the player falls down into a “death” pit such as a spike pit or a
murky bog, the player character will be destroyed. If the player is hit by an
environmental trap such as falling rubble and enveloping darkness, the player character
will be destroyed. The player’s goal is to successfully travel through the levels by
meeting the archetypes and uncovering the story each NPC has. After meeting the final
NPC and playing through the epilogue the player will have completed the game.
If the player dies, the screen will go white, and then the player character will be respawned at a set checkpoint farther back in the level. There will be no extra lives or
game over, making the only punishment for death a loss of progress. The player will
also be able to save at the checkpoints if a saving system is implemented. There will
also be no timer or scoring system so that people are not rushed or compelled to play
the game faster than their own pace.
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XIV. Program Structure
Everything from title screens to levels are created using XML. Platforms, objects and
decorations are described in the markup. This markup allows the layout of the levels to
be separated from the programming that drives them. The presence of a fully featured
editor allows both the team’s level designers and the casual modding community to
make use of the engine.
The core of the game engine is written in C++. This engine reads in the XML and uses it
to create a new scene. Every time an event occurs – a new frame, keys being pressed
or the mouse being moved – these events are passed to the scenes and are then
passed along to the individual objects.
The main subjects that react to events are the player and the puzzles. The player
responds to keyboard events and ensures that she is not passing through the floor. The
puzzles react to the player’s movement through switches and the player’s use of items.
XV. Technical Specs: Physics, Rendering System, Lighting Models
The game will be in 2D, with all graphics and animations created digitally in art
programs such as Adobe Photoshop. The physics and gravity system are simulated, in
comparison to more advanced 3d games that create a physics engine where objects
react to gravity in real time. The game is programmed in C++ and is a self-contained
executable. It has only been tested under Windows, but was designed to be easily
ported to other operating systems. The game has no significant hardware, or graphics
requirements.
Rendering objects will consist of display artist-created image files and animations. All
texturing, lighting, and coloring will be done in the art programs for the art assets in the
game. The images files will be raster images (pixel based) rather than vector images
and will be saved as PNG files. The text will be created out of dynamically using fonts;
for example, the word “PLATFORM” will consist of the eight letters, rendered
independently. While this increases the number of triangles required to render the word,
it significantly decreases the amount of memory required. Since the fonts are loaded
dynamically, a large variety can be easily obtained allowing for changes in
capitalization, theme, color, and environmental influences.
XVI. Implementation
The game would be most efficiently published digitally, through methods such as
Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, or direct download sites. This would be beneficial because
the cost of physical copies of the game, including boxes, cover design, instruction
manuals, CD production, and shipping would be far beyond the low-budget scale of a
smaller game such as this. Game promotion will be mostly implemented through
gaming websites with banner ads and sponsorships. This will more efficiently spread
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the word of Left Arrow Moves Left to the game’s target audience without breaking the
budget, and will also tie in well with online purchases, allowing the target audience to
pick up the game immediately after hearing about it.
XVII. Production Timeframe
Emphasis on project goals will be to have game assets completed to be presented for
class. The entire game is planned to be finished by November 25 th, to allow time for
polish, debugging, and Game Festival promotional work. Most of the time constraints
on the game will come from script revising and playtesting the puzzles so that they are
challenging but solvable; this puts an emphasis on completing as much of the art and
programming assets required to make the puzzles as possible.
October 1: Levels set for level one, revision A
October 8: Begin working on puzzles, Revision B
October 15: Continue on puzzles, first version of level one, start level two
October 22: Level one finished, Level Two revision B
October 27: Level 2 finished, level three start. Music composition completed.
November 5: Level three revision B
November 12: Level 3 finished
November 19: polish
November 25: game production finished
Remaining time will be spent on debugging and promotional materials.
VIII. Research
Most of our research will be into dream archetypes and Jungian psychology for our
archetype NPCs and the themes of the game levels. Some research will also be done
into typography for choices of fonts and textual design.
XIX. References
Games such as Super Mario, Contra, and Sonic the Hedgehog will be referenced in
terms of popular games that define the 2d platform genre. Games such as Portal, Silent
Hill, Braid, and Knytt Stories will be referenced in terms of puzzle design and making
puzzles in a 2d platform game. Music design will reference Tim Story.
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XX. Concept Art
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