Proposal:
Golden Fire came from my experiences in Wyoming and from some concept art I made about a year ago. The player is a fire jewel character who is mysteriously trapped in the bottom of a large hole in the middle of winter and in the middle of the night. I have created fire and ice NPCs, but I might just keep Fleek(Main protagonist) for now.
(Insert Fire Image)
(Insert Ice Image)
The key objects to find are golden eggs hidden in the natural environment that seem to open a way out of this area. Another key object is a house in the distance which can be seen from the bottom of the hole. The world is wild and in the middle of nowhere, all that can be seen is a gondola (or train) going over the pit. One of the gameplay highlights will be the free exploration, collectathon, and mysterious aspect to it. The intended audience is people who like a story with layers and random spawning artifacts. The game style will be low poly and will focus on lighting and particle effects to bring the area to life.
ART STYLE:
The genre goes off of calming simulation games with a collectible influence on them. I really like the low-poly models in 3D with specific lighting. This was inspired by the harsh winters of Wyoming and the very dark days in British weather. This game is going to be very stylized. Color is shown on the mood board below in circles. The objects should be light but the environment should be dark because of nighttime. Lots of shapes will be used. The pit will be large yet explorable. There will be minimum textures but many edges. It will be third person. It will be winter at night.
More Art Concepts:
I showed a majority of the colors above that are not final, but here are some ideas for the environment, I am thinking about starting small and working up in order to not overburden myself by accident.
mood board:
Starting from top left going right:
1.) Fox is in the game First Tree which inspired my gameplay and art.
2.) This was to show the nighttime camping feel.
3.) The snow-covered trees intend to show the art style to be used.
4.) The golden eggs are the collectible I want to implement.
5.) The deep purple forest is a color I want to be a focusing point in the dark.
6.) These trees are more of a concept I want to explore art-wise.
7.) The red jewel represents Fleek’s warm yet shiny design.
8.) The gondola will be something moving overhead all the time.
9.) The cliff represents the hole Fleek is in.
10.) I was also inspired by Journey and the snow levels of that game.
Question: Is there anything that I should add to the map to make the place look isolated but still fun to explore?
Also any feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated, thank you.
I am like, obsessed with this setting. A big pit in the ground with a mysterious gondola? I love it. It’s fascinating and mysterious. My only question is, with such a confined setting, how would a game with a large scope keep it interesting for the player?
That’s a good question and I really want to make interactive elements such as throwing snowballs and possibly animal tracks leading to interesting locations. The gondola I hope will lead to a feeling of civilization when the egg door is opened and I really want to make teleporting trees in order to keep the player invested.
Your strongest aspect of your game is the tone/setting, I think you’ve nailed it when it comes to making the player feel a certain mood and vibe when looking at or even hearing about your world. My question is how will the environment be traverse/searched/explored? Is is primarily through walking or are there other mechanics that would help/change the core loop?
I really hope that I can make the pit have steep walls to feel trapped and not be too big for walking to be annoying, I think maybe portal trees might help in this scenario as well as different interactions that can be made in the environment in order to give a happier feeling to the player.
Your setting is super creative between the large hole and darker lighting. This reminds me a bit of Donut County. Where would the eggs be hidden in this environment and how do they help the character escape the hole?
I immediately want something like Donut Country in terms of art style and I am thinking of hiding them within the trees, plus a couple of snow mounds. If time permits I would like to create sequences to get the eggs but I am expecting zeldaism where people will get sidetracked to do other things in the environment. The character escapes through the egg door which I quickly drew in the perspective drawing.
I immediately thought “Wow, this reminds me of First Tree”! I love the the overall art style you’ve decided to implement in the game. Are you going to implement a similar audio and item system where the story is told in segments?
I think maybe a similar audio style and I was thinking maybe story segments might work well. I really want it to be mysterious but also reflect back on my time in Wyoming where walking in the woods was total isolation but it was peaceful because of the zen feeling of the surroundings.
I love the idea of being dropped in the middle of nowhere and exploring and learning about the area yourself. I think having a darker scene with some dramatic lighting here and there will really pull with misterious place together. My question is how will we know that these eggs lead to the way out?
I want there to be an egg door that has one giant egg on it that will signify to the player to get the eggs or answer the player’s question of why they were picking up eggs, to begin with. I am currently trying to understand the lighting effect because I want it to be low poly with no textures.
I love the idea of a chill (no pun intended) collect-a-thon game. The low-poly art style combined with this gameplay idea seems like a relaxing time. Is the player going to be completely alone in this pit, or are there going to be a couple NPCs that the player will be able to find and talk to?
I am planning on making the player alone in the pit, but I want to make the collectibles a backstory for Fleet. If time would have permitted it I was thinking about making Jac part of the game, but I think I am just going to stick with a solo recollection in the pit.