Vines and Steel Concept Document
High Concept
The story of Vines and Steel tells of a world in ruins that has been taken over by evil forces and the struggle of a young girl Bloom to free the world of this blight.
Setting
Vine and Steel is a third person action adventure RPG set in the fantasy kingdom of New Caledon
The game will be highly story driven with the player controlling a series of characters at different stages of the game to either progress the main story or enhance the history of the kingdom and story by playing through flashbacks.
The games geographical settings will change as it progresses with the initial levels been set in bright lush forest landscapes, then evolving into more rugged urban areas with large amounts of industrialisation and stonework. The final arc of the game will see the vistas change to more haunted forests and bleak landscapes.
The player will control through the course of the game at least 5 different characters. This is controlling them as individuals not as a group ala Final Fantasy.
The characters will all have different play styles, ranging from stealth to all out assault. Through this method it gives the player a more engaging and unique experience.
This break up of characters also allows for the story of the game to be told from different angles including from the antagonists point of view.
The story of Vines and Steel tells of a world in ruins that has been taken over by evil forces and the struggle of a young girl Bloom to free the world of this blight.
Look and Feel
Vines and Steel is set in a 3d environment that uses a third person camera to follow the player’s character model. The camera is set at just above and behind the player’s character so that any movement made by the player can be quickly seen. If the camera was at a more traditional over the shoulder perspective it would make the game feel claustrophobic with the camera concentration on where the characters head was facing. This is a camera option more in common with third person shooters as the direction the player is facing denotes where they are aiming their weapon.
Vines and Steel’s camera, however allows the player to rotate the camera around the character model freely without it having to pass through the character model. This setting gives the game a feeling of freedom and mobility that will allow the player to explore and enjoy the environment and surroundings as well as making sure that the player can quickly scan respond to an attack or threat from any direction.
In addition to the camera the game also has a fast paced movement system which allows the player to explore the terrain in a quick and fluid manner.
The game 3d graphics free to move camera is in keeping with the ethos that the game should be explored and make the player completely aware of their surroundings.
Control System
Vines and Steel uses a control system that gives the player the maximum amount of control over their character. It allows the player to move and respond to external stimuli quickly without any confusion.
The button configuration for the game uses a standard left thumb stick for movement and right thumb stick for camera layout. The game however uses a “shift” system that allows for a buttons function to change if a modifier button is held at the same time. For example moving left on the thumb stick will move the player left but when the shift button is held at the same time, the player will roll to the left instead.
The controls are more in line with an action adventure game than a classic RPG. The controls are simple but in combination with the “shift” key allow for a great range of movement and interaction. The shift key can be used both in combat and in dialogue to give the player an alternate set of commands. In a combat scenario the player has can change the standard attack buttons to ones that allow them to evade an attack, to disarm the opponent, to counter attack both high and low attacks and to use the alternate fire option on their weapon.
The shift system when used in a dialogue scenario gives the player options that change the outcome of a conversation. In the standard scenario the dialogue will follow a set path but with the use of the modifier buttons the player can intimidate, flirt, joke and hit the NPC to change the outcome of the conversation.
Combat System
The combat system in Vines and Steel uses a small number of buttons which in combination with the shift key allows the user to have a wide range of attacks and defensive options.
The standard attacks for the character consist of a light attack, a strong attack and a projectile attack. The light attack, depending on the weapon equipped, delivers a quick hit to the target for minimal damage and the strong attack delivers a slow but powerful attack for high damage. The projectile attack use the primary fire ability of the projectile weapon equipped. This damage varies depending on the weapon equipped.
This method of attacking give the player the option to chain together a series of different attacks of different speeds to overcome different kinds of enemies i.e. fast attacks against a foe that move too fast to be hit by strong attacks. The challenge in this system comes from the danger of being hit whilst trying to perform attacks, with the strongest types of attack leaving the player defenceless.
The player also has access to a block function which when pressed will block all but the most powerful attacks.
With the shift button pressed the player has the option to respond directly to incoming attacks. This modification allows the player to disarm an attacking opponent, to grab an opponent and do a damaging attack and to also counter an attack from an enemy. These counter attacks can be used against high attacks and low attacks but the player must press the corresponding counter button for the counter to work successfully.
The shift system also changes the primary fire mode for the projectile weapon to the alternate fire mode.
This system allows the player to chain together different attacks and defences against multiple enemies in quick succession leading to a fast paced combat system.
Inventory system
The inventory system for this game is important as the inventory section of console based RPGs can be an area that results in over complication and bad design choices.
An example of this is the inventory system for Oblivion which featured an overly complicated system that was difficult to navigate and confusing for the user.
For my inventory system I decided that I would keep it to a minimum with older less powerful versions of armour and weapons automatically being broken down to scrap that is used as the games currency. The player has the option to protect items if they do not want them to be destroyed.
Each area of the characters body features a slot that can have an item placed into it. These items include armour, weapons and gadgets that all affect the players various attributes and combat prowess. The different items also change the appearance of the character so that changing one armour type for another will result in the player models changing.
Any collectable items that are found are stored on a separate screen so that they do not clutter up the main inventory screen. Any items that the player chooses to keep, as well as health items are all stored in the main inventory panel so that the player has quick access to it.
Levelling Process
Characters in Vines and Steel level up through the collecting of experience points that are dropped from fallen enemies. The amount of experience the enemies drop is in proportion to their difficulty and number, with the player receiving extra experience for defeating large groups of enemies at once. This method gives an element of risk vs reward as the player could risk loss of live or health in attacking multiple opponents but if successful would receive a greater amount of experience.
Once the player has received a set amount of experience then they will reach the next level of the characters progression. Upon completing that level the character receives a number of points that can be spent on increasing the players statistics.
These statistics are the traditional RPG elements of Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Wisdom, Charisma and Luck.
Choosing how to spend these points allows the player to customise the main character to suite their playing style. For example if the player puts points into strength then the characters physical attacks will increase in power.
The statistics affect the character in the following ways:
- Strength increases physical attack damage and carrying capacity
- Dexterity increases ranged attack damage and dodge speed
- Constitution increases the characters health as well as resistance to poisons
- Wisdom increases the characters ability to use vapourmancy and other technologies
- Charisma increases the players dialog options and their chances of passing conversation challenges
- Luck increases the players chance to do critical damage as well as finding extra items when exploring.
The game would also feature a system that the more a certain type of weapon is used the more proficient the player becomes with it. This proficiency allows the player access to new attacks and extra damage.
Goal of the Game
The goal of Vines and Steel is to follow the story of Bloom from her beginnings in her family’s village up to the final battle against the Rose and its Knights in the capital of New Caledon.
The player will travel from the starting village in the north, down through the 4 kingdoms where the player will fight to rid the land of the Blight there until they reach the final level at the capital of New Caledon. During the journey the player will experience the history of the land by playing flashback levels as other characters. This method will allow the player to experience different playing style and story elements.
Game Characters
Bloom
Bloom is the main protagonist of the game and the one that is primarily controllable by the player. Bloom is a young girl of 15 that has grown up in the forest village of her family. The village has cleansed itself of any technology and returned to literally to its roots. Bloom defies her people’s traditions however by secretly experimenting with lost technology.
Bloom is the main protagonist of the game and the one that is primarily controllable by the player. Bloom is a young girl of 15 that has grown up in the forest village of her family. The village has cleansed itself of any technology and returned to literally to its roots. Bloom defies her people’s traditions however by secretly experimenting with lost technology.
Orr
Orr is Bloom’s grandfather and the village drunk. An old man that lives in a battered shack outside of the village, Orr are laughed at for the tall tales he tells about how he was once a great warrior. Bloom is the only one that believes he is telling the truth.
Onyx
Onyx is Bloom’s elder brother and leader of the Spriggens. The Spriggens are the village’s warriors and are tasked with keeping the village safe from all threats. Onyx is a proud warrior and deeply protective about the village. This pride can make him a difficult person to live with and he often clashes with his sister.
Lenora
The village is led by the elder woman Lenora. Lenora use the white magic of the forest to help her village and has communed with the forest so much that she never leaves her lotus flower prayer mat.
Petal
Petal is Blooms little sister and will one day be the next village elder. She has already shown great potential in communicating with the forest. Her mischievous nature keeps getting her in trouble though.
(not pictured)
(not pictured)
The Knights
Sir Elim
The Knights of the Efflorescence are led by Sir Elim. Once the Kings most trusted knight he has now become a slave to the Rose. Like all the other knights his body has become corrupted by the Blight.
Knight Errant
A medium level enemy character the player will face
Heavy Knight
A high level enemy solider.
Vine Archer
These enemies merge with the woods of Caledon making them difficult opponents to spot.
