Troubadour
Game Design Elements
Formal Elements
• Players
• Objectives
• Procedures
• Rules
• Resources
• Conflict
• Boundaries
• Outcome
Players
• Single-Player vs. Game
• The player is playing as a
Troubadour with the power to
tame and control animals with
music
Objectives
• The game has 2 main objectives:
• Keep the kingdom safe from pesky
creatures
• Collect every type of creature in the
game
• At its core, the objectives are
combat and capture
• There is also an element of
exploration through unlocking
areas on the map
Objectives
• Combat:
• The player must win music-themed
battles against creatures of many
types
• These objectives will be stated
clearly as they come up by NPCs
• Ex:
• The bakery is overrun by rats. Defeat
the rats to save the bakery.
• The cornfield is being decimated by a
murder of crows. Defeat the crows to
save this year’s crop of corn.
• A dragon is attacking the castle.
Defeat the dragon to save the king.
Objectives
• Capture:
• This objective is player-driven. It is
not a strictly-stated objective of the
game but rather a side-benefit of
battles that should appeal to
Achievers and Collectors.
• Each battle has a chance to let you
keep the creature you defeated in
your collection.
• Collectors will repeat battles over
and over to complete their
collection.
Objectives
• Exploration
• As the player completes combat
and capture objectives, new areas of
the map will be unlocked.
• This drives story progression.
• It also makes new combat and
capture objectives available.
• The player will customize the look of their
Troubadour (such as hair style and color,
clothing, etc.)
• New creatures can be collected by clearing
a music-based “battle”
• First the player must choose a piece of music
that they think might work (different pieces
have different efficacies for each creature)
• Touch controls, player must tap the correct
points on the screen as they light up to the
correct beat
• The player will get items unlocking new
pieces of music through quests that are
stored in a Songbook
• The player can also get new items for
customizing the look of their Troubadour
• There is a “Practice” mode for each song
in which the player plays the rhythm game
with no risk
Procedures
• Creatures can only be defeated and
tamed using certain pieces of music,
different for each creature
• Getting a poor score on a battle (not
doing well in the rhythm game) can
result in losing the chance to tame a
creature/can create additional steps to
finish a quest
• The player can’t play any music that
they haven’t collected in their
Songbook
• Quests must be done in a certain order
• Movement on the map is, with a few
exceptions, linear. The player must
walk through all consecutive spots on
the map to reach a different place.
Rules
• Music- New pieces of music are
collected and put in the Songbook
for future use in battle
• Creatures- Creatures the player
tamed are kept in the Stables. Some
creatures must be collected and
shown to the appropriate NPC as
proof of skill for quests
• Instruments- New instruments can
be unlocked, opening up the
possibility of new songs and new
creatures
• Clothing- Vanity item, used to dress
up the Troubadour. Certain outfits
can unlock quests for the player.
• Gold- Used to purchase other
resources from NPC vendors
Resources
Conflict
• Creatures are wreaking havoc on
the kingdom and it is up to the
player to bring them under
control.
• In this world, Troubadours are
called in before warriors and
hunters in an attempt to
humanely stop beasts like
dragons from causing trouble.
• Conflict ranges from minor (such
as rats infesting a bakery) to
major (a dragon holed up in the
King’s castle).
Boundaries
• The game takes place on a map
with defined boundaries.
• The player can travel anywhere
on the map that they’ve unlocked
through questing but cannot leave
the bounds of the map.
• The entire game takes place in
one kingdom on a single
continent. Future DLC might
include new “kingdoms” with new
maps to travel to.
Outcome
• The outcome of each battle is
uncertain and is based on the skill
of the player as well as the song
chosen for the battle.
• The final outcome or end state of
the game is to calm all disruptive
creatures in the kingdom
(complete all quests and sidequests in the game).
• Because this is a mobile game,
additional quests can be added at
any time to keep the players that
have “completed” the game
engaged.
Dramatic Elements
• Challenge
• Play
• Premise
• Character
• Story
• World Building
• The Dramatic Arc
• The game begins with simple
melodies to get the player
accustomed to the controls and
gameplay.
• Difficulty increases with the addition
of more complex musical pieces
that the player must complete.
• Players can choose to practice songs
outside of battles in “Practice
Mode” so that when it really counts,
they’ll be good at the song.
• Or, they can jump into battles sight
unseen and test their skill in the
rhythm game with new pieces of
music.
Challenge
Play
• The main play in Troubadour is
a combination of make-believe
play and competitive play.
• Players can live out the fantasy of
being a musician without any real
musical training
• Players are trying to “beat” the
game
• As the player grows in
confidence, their confidence is
reflected in the game through an
expanding collection of creatures
and music
Play
• This game should appeal to
multiple types of players for
different reasons:
• The Explorer: unlocking the entire
map
• The Collector: multiple things to
collect, both functional and vanity
items (creatures, music, clothing)
• The Achiever: Beating all the
quests, unlocking more challenging
instruments
• The Artist: Dressing up the
Troubadour in unique
combinations of costumes
Premise
• Creatures, both real to our world
and fictional, are causing mayhem
all over the kingdom. It is up to
the kingdom’s best Troubadours
to bring peace back to the land.
Character
• The character plays a
Troubadour, a musician whose
music is so beautiful that
creatures will stop what they’re
doing and do the Troubadour’s
bidding.
• This is for the most part a flat
character that the player can
project themselves on to. They
can even customize the
character’s look to suit whatever
personality they envision.
• The story begins with the player’s
Troubadour being called to duty for
the first time. They have just
recently completed their training
and are eager for a change to prove
themselves.
• The main story progression is the
growth of the player’s ability. There
are multiple smaller story arcs set in
the quests, but the overarching story
is that of the growing skill and fame
of the player’s character. This will
be reflected in NPC dialogue.
• When the player starts out they get lots
of “Who are you?”
• By the end of the game people are
fawning all over the player “I’ve heard
so much about your skill with the
lyre!”
Story
World Building
• This game takes place in a
medieval-style kingdom that
prefers non-violent ways of
resolving problems. It is a
peaceful kingdom with little in the
way of war. Most conflict comes
from nature and the Troubadour
is the first line of defense against
nature.
The Dramatic Arc
• This game is almost entirely
character vs. nature
• Civilized society must fight of
hoards of beastly animals
• The player must tame or calm the
wild nature of the creatures
• From a game system perspective,
the game is player vs. game
system. There is no interaction
with other players.
System Dynamics
• Objects
• Properties
• Behaviors
• Relationships
• Troubadour
• Avatar of the player in the game
• Instruments
• Player can collect different instruments
• Music
• Players can collect different songs
• NPCs
• Non-player characters fill out the world and
provide the player with quests and guidance
• Creatures
• These are the “enemies” the player must tame in
the rhythm game
• Stable
• This is where tamed creatures are kept
• Songbook
• This is where known songs are kept
• Clothing
• Change the look of the player’s Troubadour
• Map
• Where the quests can be found
Objects
Properties
• Troubadour
• Equipped instrument
• Clothing
• Other physical attributes chosen by
the player
•
•
•
•
Hairstyle
Hair color
Eye color
Skin tone
• Fame
• A score that grows as the player
completes quests and tames creatures
• Skill
• A score based on how well the player
does in the rhythm battles against
creatures
Properties
• Instruments
• Player can collect different types,
each with a different degree of
difficulty of use and with different
looks
• Panpipes
• Pipe
• Lyre
• Lute
Properties
• Music
• Player can collect different pieces
of music, all classical and folk
music from the real world, to play
against creatures
• Songs range in difficulty
• Easy: Three Blind Mice
• Hardcore: Flight of the Bumblebee
• Different songs work better against
different creatures
Properties
• NPCs
• Different NPCs have different
functions
•
•
•
•
Quest-giver
Side/mini quest-giver
Merchant/Vendor
Fan (may give the player free items for
certain achievements)
Properties
• Creatures
• Each creature the player fights has
several properties
• Songs that work well against them
• Songs that don’t work at all against
them
• Difficulty score (how well the player
must perform the right song to tame
the creature)
• Can be real world creatures or
fantasy creatures
Properties
• Stable
• This is where tamed creatures are
kept
• Essentially a trophy case
Properties
• Songbook
• This is where the songs the player
has learned are kept
• Players can access “Practice Mode”
from here
Properties
• Clothing
• This is used to change the
Troubadour’s outfit.
• Different combinations can unlock
quests or rewards from NPCs
Properties
• Map
• Locked locations are greyed out
• Unlocked locations are in color
and the player can travel to them by
double-tapping on them
• Troubadour
• Can move linearly on the map
• Instruments
• Panpipes
• Basic starting instrument
• Tap the right note
• Pipe
• Hold down multiple spots to form the notes
• Lyre
• Tap the right note, some strumming/sliding
between notes
• Lute
• Adds strumming mechanic
• Hold down the right note while swiping another
part of the screen
• NPCs
• Dialogue differs based on Player’s Fame
score
• Creatures
• Different creatures react differently to
different songs
Behaviors
Relationships
• Troubadour
• Plays music, tames creatures, wears
clothing
• Music
• Played by Troubadour, affects
creatures
• NPCs
• Affects inventory of player, gives
guidance to the player
• Creatures
• Affected by music, tamed by
Troubadour
Troubadour