The characters in this world are mages, and our main character is a young aspiring mage with a goal of self discovery. They come from a lone past and use a special type of magic that most have never heard of. At the moment the game takes place, our main character is searching for an object to aid in their journey.
We are set in a Victorian England inspired world. Our main character is exploring the outside market for information and supplies. By exploring, the player learns the setting and some background information. I want it to feel a little whimsy, playing off that historical context with a magical twist. This is the first time the main character has gone into the magical city and I want the player to experience a kind of shocking awe that the character would be feeling.
Our character has a magic staff that can interact with different objects and people in different ways. The player must use the magic skills of the character to solve puzzles that advance the gameplay.
I want the game to be more stylized and abstract with the visual elements, using bright solid colors with high light/shadow contrast. The vibe should be more calming, with aspects of cozy games, while still being visually interesting. The use of Victorian England as a jumping off point for the setting creates an environment that players vaguely recognize while also being its own world.
Gameplay would be focused on puzzle/adventure in a fantasy world. The main mechanics would be the use of the magic staff to manipulate objects in the world to solve the puzzles and advance the gameplay, with an overall objective of seeking out the mystery of the main character’s history and cause of their different magic while learning more about themself and magic during the journey.
I really like the concept art and the mood board, especially the art style reference images. I feel they fit the vibe of the game so well and can be accomplished in scope. How do you plan on using the staff in the game? I feel that its use is somewhat vague rn and would help for both playing and for production if there were some specific use cases.
I really love the distinct setting of a magical victorian city! I also think it’s really cool translating that to a more stylized theme, since a lot of victorian architecture feels very grandiose. I’m also curious about the staff mechanics, mainly if moving objects is going to be a more loose physics based action (kinda like portal) or more of a precise moving-object-along-a-track style (more puzzle-platformer style)?
The idea of using the unknown setting to help the player feel more at home in the character’s shoes is a really cool idea and could be used to help create a really fascinating atmosphere. Would you have spells be different colors or would the staff change in some way?
I love the art style you’ve chosen for the game! I think it will work really well with your concept. I’m wondering if the player character has a different type of magic than the rest of the world. I think you hinted at it in your description but I wasn’t sure. If so that will be a really cool mystery to solve!
I like the combination of magic and Victorian England! It’s not a time period that seems to be used for fantasy world often. What aspects of society would be completely different from our world’s due to the existence of magic?
The setting seems like it would be fun to explore. How will you show the impact of people having magic on daily life and on the world around them?
I really like the idea of the victorian England setting, especially with the twist of a wizard being the player character. What kinds of puzzles will the player be running into if they are meant to be solved with magic?
I like how the little wizard in the concept art, it’s whimsical. The whole setting reminds me of the Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. Is the setting of the game filled with NPCs and shops(like in the concept photo) or is it more on being in the street and talking to people.
I quite enjoy the setting of the place–I’m interested in seeing how you allow for Victorian England to come alive in your game. With such a twisting and mazelike city, will players end up in less-than-savory areas? Or will all their surroundings stay bright and cozy?
As others have mentioned, the setting of Victorian England sounds very interesting and beautiful. Do you have any particular plans for how you will develop and reveal the wizard’s journey of self-discovery?
curious about the staff – how many abilites is it planned to have for the scope of this course?